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墨書 Inktalez
When I returned to the Barracks, I found all the soldiers gathered together. They surrounded me as soon as they saw me, bombarding me with questions. "Squad Leader, are we going to be split up?" "Squad Leader, are we really going to be restructured?" "I don't want to be transferred!" "I'm used to working with everyone; I'm afraid I won't be able to get along with the newcomers!"
I scanned the room and then looked at everyone seriously. "Everyone, stop speculating. The honor of Sharp Blade Company is very important to us. Every decision made within the unit is for this goal! Securing Sharp Blade Company will undoubtedly be difficult; All Excellent is a qualifying hurdle. Right now, I just want to ask you: can all of you achieve All Excellent? If you can, I will do everything I can to lead you into the competition. If you can't, then there's no need for me to embarrass myself, and the unit will likely make corresponding adjustments."
"We can do it!" "We can!" "Squad Leader, believe in us!"
"Well then, by the end of the year, I’ll be retiring anyway. If I die, then so be it!"
...
"Alright, starting tomorrow we'll have a baseline assessment. Those who don't reach All Excellent will begin intensive training!" I announced immediately.
The next day was the weekend. The Unit announced that each squad could organize additional training if they wished. I led my entire squad through the assessment process for self-evaluation. The results were disappointing; we didn't achieve All Excellent. Just in the Five Kilometers Armed Cross-Country segment alone, five individuals scored average, and He Baisha surprisingly didn't even pass. This infuriated me; he had always managed to pass before—how had he regressed? His explanation was that while the Unit's runs were on a track where he could guarantee passing, this Armed Cross-Country involved running on the unit's internal circular route with many ups and downs. He truly felt overwhelmed.
I was at a loss for words; this unit built into the mountains had its challenges—steep inclines were common. There was a nearly 60-degree slope right in front of the office building, and during that climb, it was almost impossible to run up; most people had to bend over just to walk up. With added weight, some could only crawl up using both hands and feet, which consumed even more energy. I barely managed to scrape by with a good score myself, so I couldn't criticize anyone too harshly.
The Crossing the Sea to Island Obstacle was better; everyone scored well individually. However, when we attempted it as a squad, chaos ensued. Since most obstacles were single-lane passages and each person adapted differently—some fast and some slow—it led to faster individuals finishing while slower ones got stuck in the middle, blocking those behind them. I had no choice but to carefully record everyone's scores; it seemed that after this round we would need to adjust and optimize our passing order.
The worst was Armed Swimming. We used tires as flotation aids; large tires were heavy and stable and wouldn't sink. Each class held onto one tire while crossing the river along a roughly ten-meter-wide channel. This meant we couldn't spread out in the water and had to split into two groups of four classes each, forming a square formation as we moved forward. I arrived at the finish line with the last class, nearly hugging the tire while helping everyone across the river. After reaching shore and calculating our time, my mood plummeted—I felt utterly hopeless. In the end, only Garfield's class achieved an excellent score; all three other classes failed!
This was disastrous.
The entire squad recognized the gap in performance, and from then on they trained even harder and more diligently—almost every three Major Items were practiced in rotation. Some even engaged in targeted training afterward: those lacking strength worked on strength training while those lacking technique focused on improving their skills.
Time flew by over a week of intense training. During this period, I noticed that the Company Commander occasionally came to observe our training sessions; however, I pretended not to see him and didn't report anything.
Before I knew it, Thursday night arrived—the following Saturday our entire company would undergo assessments by squad units—but several members of my squad still hadn't achieved excellent scores. What should we do? Haikou had made bold claims earlier, but now I understood that sometimes circumstances are beyond our control; it felt quite forced as I sat in my chair in the Barracks worrying about it all. Suddenly, my Communicator approached me—the Instructor wanted me at Company Headquarters.
I thought perhaps the Instructor was going to confront me about something. After acknowledging him, I stood up and headed toward Company Headquarters while contemplating how to secure more training time for those who hadn't reached excellent scores.
To my surprise, when I entered the room, both the Company Commander and Instructor were present! Looking around further revealed that all unit officers except for me were there? I felt confused—was this going to be a struggle session? If so, that would truly be disastrous; being called out like that could lead to serious consequences.
I quietly took my seat at my designated spot when suddenly the Instructor spoke up: "There has been a change regarding the competition!"
I stared at him in surprise as he quietly said, "The team just received a notice. The assessment candidates must be based on last month's Roster, and personnel cannot be changed arbitrarily. This means our Integration Plan cannot be implemented."
I let out a sigh of relief. So, I wouldn't need to reorganize my squad after all?
But then the Instructor said something that made my heart sink again. "The notice also states that each of the three Units must send one squad, along with the Special Operations Unit's reconnaissance squad, making four squads competing in the Sharp Blade Company competition. We need to confirm which squad will participate today, and once reported, it cannot be changed."
I felt restless. If each Unit sends one squad, would mine be able to compete? That would depend on the Company Commander and the Instructor. However, considering how heated my argument with the Company Commander had been, would he even allow me to participate?
I couldn't help but glance at the Company Commander, but he was staring blankly out the window. The Company Headquarters fell silent as the Instructor clearly waited for the Company Commander to speak.
"It must be a directive from the Deputy Chief of Staff. They've blocked every avenue, forcing everyone to face off against the strong Seventh Company, A Row, and Bayonet," the Company Commander muttered to himself.
"Each squad report on your training status," he said softly.
According to the order of precedence, it was my turn first. I stood up and reported, "For Armed Cross-Country, one Comrade has not reached excellent; for Obstacle Course, everyone passed, but the overall time is still not ideal and needs to be compressed further; for Armed Swimming, there is still one class that hasn't reached excellent."
After I finished, I sat down and pondered over the last issue regarding Armed Swimming: if I were in that last class, my performance would only drag down the results further. Joining Garfield's class would undoubtedly slow down their fastest pace; but if I were in one of the middle two classes, I worried that I might hinder one class from achieving excellence. What should I do?
At this moment, I heard the Second Squad Leader report their situation. "Report Leader, for Armed Cross-Country we have five soldiers who did not reach excellent; for Obstacle Course, four did not reach excellent and one is unqualified due to being overweight, which made it difficult during the tire obstacle course and affected our squad's speed; for Armed Swimming, one class did not reach excellent. Report complete."
So it turned out that Second Squad had it tougher. Then the Third Squad Leader stood up to report. "Report Leader, for Armed Cross-Country our squad achieved All Excellent; for Obstacle Course, there is one unqualified due to insufficient arm strength—one of the rope net obstacles was particularly difficult to climb over and could lead to our squad's disqualification; for Armed Swimming, one class did not reach excellent. Report complete."
After hearing their reports, everyone fell silent. "Wang Squad Leader!" the Instructor called out.
"Here!" I instinctively stood up and responded.
The Instructor glanced at the Company Commander before continuing, "I have exchanged opinions with the Company Commander and observed your training and results comprehensively. If you have no objections, we will send your squad to compete."
The Company Commander remained silent. I knew he was reluctant to break that tension between us. Without hesitation, I stood up and declared, "I am very willing to represent our Unit in this competition and strive to keep the honor of Sharp Blade Company within our battalion!"
The Instructor then outlined some important points and shared training methods before announcing that the meeting was adjourned. As I stood up to leave with everyone else, suddenly the Company Commander called out from behind me.
"Wang Squad Leader! Stay back!"
I froze for a moment before slowly turning around to see the Company Commander standing up and gesturing for me to come over and sit down. It seemed he wanted to break the awkwardness between us first.
I looked at him as he pulled out a cigarette, lit it up, took a deep drag, and then said, "Wang, you have some thoughts about me, don't you?"
I remained silent.
The Company Commander continued to speak to himself, "You have a point. You remind me of myself in the past. Over the years, I have served as a Squad Leader and then as a Company Commander, but I have never been afraid or worried because I never thought my team would lose! But this time is different because I don't have time left. If we lose, I won't be able to make it back."
I was taken aback. What did he mean?
"The Instructor is transitioning out at the end of the year, and I am also preparing to move on by then. Look at my age; I don’t have any children. The pressure of family is growing, and life needs to stabilize. So before we leave, we want to give our military careers and our time with the Unit and Commander a perfect conclusion."
"Are you all leaving?" I couldn't help but ask. Previously, from what the Instructor said, I thought the Company Commander was getting promoted, using this opportunity to pave the way for some honor. I didn't expect that the Company Commander would also be leaving here.
"Yes," the Instructor replied. "We have already made our decision and submitted our reports. We have also found some connections for arrangements in the local area. We are not worried about the Unit competition; it's just that we didn't expect there would be another Sharp Blade Company contest before we leave. We don’t want to lose this honor on our watch. To be honest, losing this title would be a disgrace for us at Sharp Blade Company. However, regarding the competition between squads, neither the Company Commander nor I have found a better way to help you, so we are quite concerned!"
"Wang, you are very motivated; we can all see that. If possible, we would love to lead the team ourselves in the competition, but this time, we really have to rely on you," the Instructor said sincerely.
I glanced at the Company Commander; he was still sulking while smoking, looking quite dejected. For some reason, my heart ached at that sight. Gritting my teeth, I stood up and said, "Leaders, please rest assured. As it stands now, my squad may not inspire much confidence, but I will do my best! There is still time; I will find ways to improve everyone's performance and ensure we keep the title of Sharp Blade Company!"
(To be continued; more exciting content tomorrow!)
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