gnovel Chapter 0077: In fact, Gao Cheng was convincing himself.
Chapter 0077: In fact, Gao Cheng was convincing himself.
When I returned to the 7th Company, it was deserted everywhere, like a graveyard—that was probably my feeling. When I entered the dormitory, the familiar dormitory, this emptiness was amplified even more.
Four beds were empty, but what was most infuriating was that Shi Jin's bed was completely empty, with nothing on it.
Zheng Yingqi was stunned.
Gan Xiaoning was also stunned. Xu Sanduo had gone mad. He howled and then frantically searched through boxes and cabinets, trying to find Shi Jin's things and personal belongings, but there was nothing!
"Just like that, he left..." Zheng Yingqi was stunned. Cheng Yongjun left, Ning Hao left, Yang Guangqing left, all of which were within his acceptable range, but why... why did Shi Jin still leave?
"what!"
Xu Sanduo rushed out like a howling wild beast, wanting to find Shi Jin—but so much time had passed, where could he possibly go?
Zheng Yingqi snapped out of his daze and remembered Xu Sanduo: "Go find Xu Sanduo! He's so stubborn!"
He and Gan Xiaoning chased after him like madmen, but where could they find him in the huge barracks? They asked the sentry at the gate, who said he saw Xu Sanduo running westward. The two gritted their teeth and silently followed him.
Gao Cheng was dragged back from the training field—by four other marksmen from the same platoon. At the time, Gao Cheng chuckled and said, "So what if you went to the division headquarters? You didn't say a word and just dragged me, the company commander, along?"
Finally, someone caught their breath: "Company Commander, something bad has happened... Xu Sanduo has escaped. Zheng Yingqi and Gan Xiaoning chased after him, but they've also disappeared without a trace."
"Xu Sanduo? He ran away?" Gao Cheng listened to the news in a daze. Ran away? He wasn't in basic training, nor was he a problem soldier under special attention. How could Xu Sanduo be associated with the words "ran away"?
"What's going on?" Takashiro asked, puzzled.
"We don't know either..." Bing said with a puzzled look. "We just heard Xu Sanduo howl after entering the dormitory, and then he ran away in a flash. By the time we realized what was happening, Zheng Yingqi and Gan Xiaoning had already chased after him."
"Oh no!" Gao Cheng finally realized why Xu Sanduo had run away—this misunderstanding had gotten out of hand!
"Hey you, get Squad Leader 7 and Wu Liuyi from Squad 5 over here." Gao Cheng instructed a resting soldier. The four men who reported looked surprised. Why did he need to see Squad Leader 7? And why did Wu Liuyi go to Squad 5?
After the 7th squad leader arrived, they finally understood what was going on—it turned out that Shi Jincheng had become the 7th squad leader!
When the two arrived, Gao Cheng explained the situation, and then added, "Don't make it public yet, let's try to find the person first."
Shi Jin and Wu Liu looked at each other in disbelief, never expecting such a thing to happen.
"Stop dawdling, get in the car first," Gao Cheng stepped into the car and waved for the two to get in as well. "Where could that kid be going?"
Shi Jin was confused and disoriented, but Wu Liuyi was more thoughtful: "Let's go back and ask the sentry for directions, and then we'll decide based on those directions."
Back at the barracks, Gao Cheng asked the sentry and learned that they had gone west. Looking westward, Gao Cheng exclaimed, "Goodness, could they have gone to the train station?"
A few days ago, he had just seen off a lot of soldiers with a heavy heart. He still remembers it vividly from that direction!
Shi Jin was both angry and touched, and quickly said, "Company Commander, let's give chase!"
A car with four wheels is much faster than two legs, but it wasn't until it had traveled more than ten kilometers that it saw Gan Xiaoning running frantically on the road. With a loud screech, the jeep blocked Gan Xiaoning's path, and Gan Xiaoning narrowly escaped crashing into it.
"Why are you the only one here? Where's Zheng Yingqi? Where's Xu Sanduo?" Gao Cheng asked abruptly.
Gan Xiaoning stared at Shi Jin and Wu Liuyi in the car, feeling like he'd seen a ghost. It wasn't until Gao Cheng pulled Gan Xiaoning into the car that he came to his senses, stammering, "Squad Leader, Deputy Squad Leader Wu, what... what happened to you...?"
"Let's get down to business. Where are those two lads?"
Gao Cheng asked in an annoyed tone.
Gan Xiaoning, panting, said, "There was a fork in the road, and Zheng Yingqi and I split up and ran away."
"That direction leads to the recruit training camp—yes, that silly kid might go there too!" Gao Cheng analyzed, and Shi Jin simply said, "Company Commander, I'll go that way."
"Forget it, I'll go. I think Xu Sanduo is more likely to go to the station—I'll go find Zheng Yingqi." Gao Cheng said, jumping off the car. He urged, "Hurry up! Bring that kid back to me!"
The jeep sped away, and Gao Cheng, watching it disappear, muttered, "What kind of mess is this?!"
On the other side, Zheng Yingqi slowly stopped, pondering to himself:
"Given Xu Sanduo's personality, the chances of him going to basic training are slim—he probably ran towards the train station!"
"Zheng Yingqi, Zheng Yingqi, how could you be so stupid?"
Zheng Yingqi cursed himself for being an idiot and decided to turn back. Although the recruit company had Xu Sanduo and Shi Jin's memories, the chances of Xu Sanduo running back to the recruit company were slim.
After walking back for a short while, Zheng Yingqi ran into Gao Cheng. As soon as he saw Gao Cheng, Zheng Yingqi remembered the empty bed and immediately became unhappy. He pretended not to see him and ran forward.
"Hey!" Gao Cheng scoffed, then cursed, "All stubborn mules? Zheng Yingqi, you've really grown some guts now?"
Zheng Yingqi stopped and said in a muffled voice, "Company Commander, I don't understand! Why!"
In the original storyline, the main reason Shi Jin was discharged from the army was because of his hands—an excellent marksman, when he needed more than half a magazine to shoot down a target, he was no longer suitable for the army.
So Shi Jin's retirement was reasonable—but what about now? Shi Jin is still so outstanding, even producing three soldiers who ranked in the top ten of the entire army's reconnaissance corps. Why would such an excellent squad leader retire?
"Why? Why?" Gao Cheng feigned ignorance.
"Our squad leader!" Zheng Yingqi exclaimed, raising his voice, "Why was our squad leader discharged?"
Seeing Zheng Yingqi's angry expression, Gao Cheng felt a mischievous urge. He said, "Why so many 'whys'? This is the army, not your home! Zheng Yingqi, you're a veteran, how come your awareness is still so low?"
"I..." Zheng Yingqi instantly lost the desire to speak. I'm trying to reason with you, and you're talking to me about awareness? So when I talk to you about awareness, you bring up military discipline?
Gao Cheng saw Zheng Yingqi's disappointment and realized that the kid's mentality was the problem—this really involved the issue of awareness, and from this point of view, Zheng Yingqi really hadn't grasped or understood this issue.
"Zheng Yingqi, do you think that an outstanding squad leader and an excellent sergeant like Shi Jin should be allowed to stay on as a matter of course?"
"Yes," Zheng Yingqi answered without hesitation.
"What's the reason?" Gao Cheng asked back, his attitude as if Shi Jinzhen had really left.
Zheng Yingqi said confidently, "Just because Shi Jin is an excellent squad leader, he can train many more excellent soldiers! Moreover, he himself is an excellent soldier! An outstanding military man!"
"Among those soldiers who retire each year, do you know how many outstanding individuals are among them? The army remains, but the soldiers come and go!" Gao Cheng shouted. "No one is indispensable! We are part of the army, and no one is irreplaceable! What makes you think Shi Jin should stay while others should leave?"
"This year, 32 soldiers from the Steel Seventh Company retired. How many of them weren't outstanding?" Gao Cheng said, his words fading into his most painful memories. 32 soldiers—he had watched each one grow from the bottom up. Yet they had to leave the army, only to be replaced by a new batch, and he would watch them grow again…
The endless cycle—if possible, wouldn't Gao Cheng want to keep leading these excellent soldiers forever?
"This is the principle for maintaining the vitality of the army! Being excellent is not an excuse or a reason!" Takashiro was actually trying to convince himself.
(Who said I was going to take a day off? I just moved the midnight update to the evening! Anyway, I'm going back to writing now, so you'll see a chapter when you wake up tomorrow morning!)