It took the three of them a full hour to drag the luggage to the military camp, and by that time, only a few others had arrived. Most of the other students were still struggling on the road.
Tang Guo and Lin Bao'er were waiting at the entrance of the camp. When they saw the three approaching, they cheerfully ran over. Tang Guo said with a playful smile, "I'm really sorry for the trouble. There aren't any restaurants around here, but I promise to treat you to a nice meal after the training."
Lin Bao'er even pulled out a small handkerchief, pretending to wipe Ye Qiu's sweat. Ye Qiu blocked her with his hand, recognizing the insincerity, and asked, "Why haven't you gone inside?"
"How could we go in? The instructors are waiting inside. If we walked in empty-handed while you were carrying our luggage, wouldn't the instructors get suspicious?" Tang Guo explained.
Dragging the suitcase, Ye Qiu asked, "Can we go in now?"
"Not yet," Tang Guo replied. "The other girls haven't arrived. How could two delicate girls like us have gotten here so quickly with such big suitcases? You guys go ahead; Bao'er and I will wait here until the rest of the girls arrive, and then we'll go in together."
"Suit yourself." Ye Qiu signaled to Yang Le to put down the suitcases, and the three of them finally headed toward the camp.
"Should we—maybe—rest for a bit too?" Li Dazhuang panted, his thin frame struggling under the weight of the two large bags he had been carrying for an hour. His legs were so weak that he just wanted to collapse and lie down.
"There are quite a few people already here. If we don't go in now, we might end up among the last ten," Yang Le said with a chuckle. Although a few other boys had caught up with them due to the added burden of the suitcases, it wasn't as dire as Yang Le suggested—they wouldn't actually be the last ten.
"Never mind, let's just go in then—we're already here," Li Dazhuang said, wobbling a bit.
Ye Qiu reached out and took the two bags from Li Dazhuang. His physical strength was far beyond ordinary, and this amount of exercise wasn't even enough to count as a warm-up for him. He had considered taking the bags from Li Dazhuang earlier, but he knew that the instructor had arranged this to build the students' endurance. If he had taken over, Li Dazhuang would have missed an opportunity to strengthen himself. Li Dazhuang definitely needed the exercise.
Ye Qiu's old mentor had once mentioned a method to stimulate the body's meridians to help someone grow taller, but since he didn't know Li Dazhuang well enough and didn't want to reveal his medical skills, he decided against it. Besides, he wasn't confident it would work.
Giving someone hope only to disappoint them is one of the most detestable things. That's why Tang Guo didn't have a good expression when she saw him now.
"You have good stamina," Ye Qiu said to Yang Le. Yang Le was carrying almost as much weight as Ye Qiu but still looked full of energy, without any signs of fatigue, which made Ye Qiu curious.
"I like to exercise regularly. This amount of physical activity is nothing," Yang Le said with a modest smile.
"Don't be so humble," Li Dazhuang said weakly. "Last time, when we were checking out clubs, I dragged Yang Le to the Taekwondo club to watch their demonstration. I was so impressed that I joined right away. I thought he was a complete newbie like me, but at our first meeting, he knocked down a vice president who couldn't get up."
Seeing Ye Qiu squinting at him, Yang Le laughed and said, "It wasn't as dramatic as Dazhuang makes it sound. I just trained for a few years with my uncle when I was young and have always kept up with my workouts. It wasn't that I'm so strong, but that the vice president was weak. We're just students—how many real experts could there be?"
Indeed, while students might have various interests and join different clubs, the skill level was usually not that high—it was mostly for fun. The vice president Li Dazhuang mentioned was probably just a mediocre practitioner, so it wasn't surprising that Yang Le beat him. Beginners often idolize those ahead of them, only to realize later that their skills aren't as impressive as they seemed.
From a distance, they could see about ten instructors standing in a row like spears, with a small group of students gathered before them. These early arrivals looked exhausted but were trying to keep their spirits up. Ye Qiu, Yang Le, and Li Dazhuang quietly joined them and stood at attention.
Li Dazhuang glanced at Ye Qiu with a bitter smile, thinking that Tang Guo and Lin Bao'er were the smart ones. If he had known this was going to happen, they could have rested at the gate for a bit before coming in, avoiding this extra punishment. Ye Qiu and Yang Le shared the same thought.
After a few minutes, several soldiers in uniform arrived. Lei Da suddenly shouted, "Ye Qiu!"
"Here!" Ye Qiu responded loudly.
"Lead the early arrivals to rest. The logistics staff will assist you," Lei Da ordered.
"Yes, Instructor."
Upon hearing Lei Da's command, the students finally allowed themselves to smile. This was more like it—fair rewards for early arrivals. However, with the instructor present, they didn't dare to show too much excitement. They gathered their belongings and followed Ye Qiu to the rest area, where a young soldier from the arriving group led them to the dormitories.
"Your dorms have already been assigned, based on your department and student number. Each dormitory houses twenty students, and your names are posted on the doors. You can choose your bunk based on the order you arrived," the young soldier explained with a smile.
Since the Archaeology Department had few students, they were all placed in one room. The remaining spot was filled by a Psychology Department student. Ye Qiu chose a lower bunk near the window, and Yang Le and Li Dazhuang each picked lower bunks next to his. They tossed their luggage onto their beds and collapsed, exhausted.
Despite their fatigue, none of them could fall asleep. More students trickled in, and the noise grew louder. The barracks were two-story buildings, with the first floor housing the boys and the second floor housing the girls. The staircase to the second floor was blocked by an iron gate, which would be locked after curfew.
At noon, the assembly whistle blew. Ye Qiu quickly jumped out of bed, saw that Yang Le and Li Dazhuang were already up, and started putting on his shoes to run outside. Being late could result in punishment.
Sure enough, those who took their time and came out several minutes later were scolded harshly.
"Let me make this clear: no matter the time, whenever the assembly whistle blows, you must arrive here within three minutes. Understood?" Lei Da shouted.
"Understood," the students responded in unison.
"Good. Now, I'm going to appoint an acting squad leader. You can report any issues to him, and he will relay them to me," Lei Da announced.
His sharp eyes scanned each face, and after surveying the sixty-plus students, he said, "I appoint Ye Qiu as your acting squad leader."
Yang Le and Li Dazhuang exchanged smiles. In the military, being appointed as an acting squad leader by an instructor usually meant extra points on the final evaluation. They were happy to see Ye Qiu chosen for the role.
"Report, Instructor, I have an objection," a student suddenly shouted.
"Step forward," Lei Da ordered, his expression darkening. In the military, obedience to orders is paramount, and he hadn't expected his first appointment to be challenged. However, the student had merely expressed an opinion, not outright opposition, so Lei Da had to investigate.
A short but burly young man stepped forward, his skin pale but his muscles prominent.
"Why do you object?" Lei Da asked, locking eyes with the student.
The student met Lei Da's gaze without flinching and replied, "Report, Instructor. I don't know the reason you appointed Ye Qiu as squad leader."
"Do I need a reason?"
"Report, Instructor. Yes. Because out of these sixty-plus students, over forty are from the Psychology Department. I believe it would be more appropriate to appoint a student from that department as acting squad leader," the student argued.
"I've already stated that I don't care what department you came from. From now on, you're all part of the same unit," Lei Da said, his face growing darker.
"But I still believe Ye Qiu is not suited for the role of acting squad leader," the student insisted.
"Give me a reason."
"He just violated your orders," the student said confidently.
"Which one?"
"You told us not to help anyone else with their luggage when we were on the road. Ye Qiu broke that rule by helping some girls with their suitcases."
Lei Da's furious gaze immediately shifted to Ye Qiu, "Ye Qiu, is this true?"
"Report, Instructor. Yes," Ye Qiu admitted, unable to deny it, as too many people had witnessed it.
"Go run twenty laps around the training field," Lei Da ordered, his tone softer than before. He had initially considered ordering Ye Qiu to skip lunch, but he hesitated and couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Yes, Instructor." Ye Qiu saluted and started running toward the training field
.As Ye Qiu was leaving, his eyes briefly met the gaze of the student who had reported him. The student smiled at him with a look of provocation.
To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8