Ordering soldiers to die for supplies is devastating to morale. It may seem to bring greater benefits in the short term, but commands that lead to the collapse of trust and cohesion are often not worth the cost in the end.
Even if you could list a hundred reasons for it, who would willingly volunteer to be the one opening the crate?
And if a commander forcibly assigns someone to do it – even if military discipline ensures the order is carried out smoothly – can they really bear the pressure of something that comes so close to murder?
Objectively speaking, Tao Rui’s model was closer to perfection. But the instructors still hoped that a data analyst would make plans based on both their own abilities and their team’s actual capabilities, and then continue revising and adjusting those plans as their understanding improved. Only that kind of model has a real foundation, instead of being a castle floating in the air.
Knowledge beyond his level and exceptional talent had already begun to interfere with Tao Rui’s judgment.
He had never suffered a real setback before. He did not know that beyond any model, there were many things that could not be measured by data. He did not understand how real-world experience and fear could affect decision-making. Cheng Feng was probably the first person to confront him so fiercely and bluntly about being wrong. That was why it hit him so hard.
“Among you,” the instructor said, “some may one day come into contact with this kind of thing, while others may never need to understand it in their entire lives. I hope you can grasp this principle before you begin to regret your choices. Because once this kind of regret appears, it never disappears for the rest of your life.”
Technical positions are cruel – talent determines half of a person’s future prospects. The students gathered for this training camp, especially Tao Rui, were considered prized prospects no matter where they went. Everyone still hoped they could mature as quickly as possible.
The instructor continued, “Of course, you’ll have plenty of chances to understand this lesson. Third year, fourth year, and the military district exercises after that won’t be fairy tales like the full-scale simulations you’ve had before. Prepare yourselves mentally – the make-believe games are over.”
The lessons taught at the base were already comparatively gentle. After their fourth year, once they entered reserve service, if they still failed to correct this way of thinking, they would face lessons far harsher and far more direct.
So the instructors were not overly worried.
After all, no matter how arrogant or unruly someone was, after going through life-and-death situations a few more times, after meeting the families of fallen soldiers a few more times, they would come to understand what the weight of a human life truly meant.
The students all drooped their heads in silence, finally no longer talking back.
Although people tended to grow numb to the value of life during simulation battles, most of them would still reflect afterward. It was just that they had no real sense of all those unreal deaths and could not truly put themselves in others’ shoes. The desire for victory made it all too easy to skip over that moment of self-examination.
The instructor lowered his gaze and swept it faintly across those still-youthful faces.
The lighting still failed to illuminate every expression. Beneath those sharp, resolute outlines lingered many restrained emotions that could not be put into words. It was the extravagant spirit unique to young people standing on the threshold of maturity.
“In a short training camp like this, there’s only so much we can teach you. As long as you’ve gained something, as long as you’ve come away with some understanding, then the trip wasn’t wasted. I hope you remember every setback you’ve faced here, and grow into someone capable of standing on your own.”
The instructor for the professional courses turned around and pointed ahead. “All right, let the other instructors say a few words too.”
The few instructors who had just been acting carefree and smirking immediately straightened up. They exchanged looks with one another, silently urging some unlucky comrade, through impressively expressive eye contact, to hurry up and take over this “talking” duty.
Mr. Xue irresponsibly lifted a foot and gave another instructor a light kick, once again pushing forward the social butterfly of the instructor group to set the example so the rest of them could simply follow up with a “same here.”
Mr. Zhou stepped out helplessly. After pondering for a moment, he said in a rather unserious tone, “Now that today’s Red-versus-White camp battle is over, this training camp is also coming to an end. Normally we shouldn’t be saying this kind of thing so late at night, but if we say it now, then tomorrow morning we can take half a day off. So let’s just get the formalities over with.”
The heavy atmosphere eased slightly, and the students collectively booed in protest.
Mr. Zhou raised one finger to his lips in a gesture for silence.
“What’s this? After all these days, you’re still this rebellious? An instructor just wants a little holiday – is that such a crime? You have no idea how exhausting being a soldier is. Honestly, it’s beyond what human beings should be made to endure.”
The students burst out laughing.
“You lot… this really is the first time I’ve ever said this with such complete sincerity -you’re the worst class I’ve ever taught!” Mr. Zhou said with a face full of misery. “The last group I trained was a third-year infantry unit. Do you know what that felt like? Human potential is limitless. But when I’m dealing with you people, I feel like my patience is limitless instead.”
The students grinned foolishly.
Halfway through the conversation, the food-delivery robot arrived.
Behind its dark-blue front was a cargo box. As it approached, the light on its head kept flashing between red and white, and from far away it was already calling out in a childish voice, “Food’s here, food’s here! It’s all heated up!”
Its clumsy, silly appearance instantly reminded Cheng Feng of the little owl.
They had to be made by the same manufacturer. Both were obsessed with flashing those bizarre lights. Completely incomprehensible.
Unfortunately, everyone was probably too hungry by now. Even smelling the aroma of rice drifting through the air, they barely reacted.
Mr. Zhou paused the conversation and urged, “Come get your boxed meals first. We’ll talk while eating. We haven’t had dinner yet either.”
The instructors had actually eaten quite a few snacks while spectating the matches, complete with drinks, and had been living quite comfortably – they just hadn’t eaten a proper dinner yet.
Everyone lined up to receive their boxed meals, then sat back down on the ground, gripping their chopsticks and quickly shoveling food from the containers.
Nighttime meals always brought a sense of happiness, even if the atmosphere was quite different from ordinary gatherings.
The scene instantly became warm and relaxed.
After eating a couple of bites, Mr. Zhou raised his hand and wiped a grain of rice from the corner of his lips, saying somewhat unclearly, “In this exercise, although Cheng Feng didn’t get a full red rating, she had the best overall evaluation.”
Everyone looked up – some toward the instructor, others toward Cheng Feng.
“I’m talking about evaluation, not scores. And of course, this doesn’t include what she did last time when she hit someone.” At that, Mr. Zhou suddenly remembered something. He picked up a piece of beef brisket, shoved it into his mouth, and chewed hard, then glared at everyone with a kind of warning. “Don’t test the limits of military discipline. I’m telling you, I never expected military students to make such a basic mistake! No, this can’t just be brushed off. I need to reframe the condition… Oh right – within this camp battle, her evaluation was the best.”
Cheng Feng looked at him skeptically, feeling that nothing good could possibly come out of Mr. Zhou’s mouth. She scooted slightly to the side while holding her meal box with both hands.
Mr. Zhou followed with a look of disgust, rolling his eyes before continuing, “From a professional standpoint, her modeling ability has improved very quickly. In the camp battle she actually built several predictive models, though unfortunately they weren’t used in the end. What kind of opponent is the most terrifying? One that keeps improving.”
He took a sip of soup and let out a satisfied burp.
“More importantly, her ideological awareness is more developed than yours, and in terms of command, she’s already starting to look the part. Her personality is still a bit immature and needs more grounding, but she can bring out something called ‘team spirit’ – you know what I mean?”
Earlier praise from the others had been somewhat exaggerated and performative, which Cheng Feng had actually found quite enjoyable to hear.
But now, although the gazes were silent, the emotions behind them were much more intense. Cheng Feng scratched her cheek awkwardly, feeling a little embarrassed.
In truth, Cheng Feng’s decision not to open the crate was more about wanting to teach Tao Rui a lesson.
Her understanding of reality versus simulation was very precise – she could distinguish them perfectly and could also accept all the utilitarian choices made purely for victory within a game. In fact, in previous simulations she had often leaned toward that kind of approach herself.
If her teammates had said no and chosen survival, she would also have been able to adjust her strategy in time.
Mr. Zhou gave her a thumbs-up and a twitchy sort of wink: “You don’t get the UFU’s 5,000 bonus – but you get your instructor’s like!”
Cheng Feng: “…”
Not that useful, honestly. It would’ve been better if it could be cashed out. Even one digit less would be fine.
Shen Dan pointed at herself, actively requesting feedback, ears perked up and ready to receive praise.
After all, she had just taken out nearly one-eighth of the Red Team on her own!
Like a divine weapon descending from the heavens!
Mr. Zhou said in shock, “Do you still remember you’re a deputy commander? I thought you’d forgotten! What right do you have to be proud? If you had even half as much self-awareness as Chen Huayue, you wouldn’t be running around the entire field like a headless chicken! I don’t even want to give you a passing score!”
The “divine weapon” was instantly shattered.
Shen Dan collapsed right there on the ground, unwilling to face reality.
After that, Mr. Zhou went on to evaluate the rest of the team. Each person got a brief analysis and a line of advice that sounded vaguely like nonsense.
By the time he finished talking, his mouth was dry – and the boxed meals were also finished.
He placed his container down, scraped so clean it had even been wiped with soup, and led the commotion. “Alright, UMU students, next let’s hear a few words from Mr. Xue. Welcome!”
The UMU students applauded enthusiastically for their instructor.
This review of the exercise continued until one in the morning. The other instructors, unlike Mr. Zhou, couldn’t squeeze out nearly as much nonsense even if they tried. As things went on, their remarks became increasingly perfunctory, answering with vague “mm-hm” and “ah-huh” just to get through it.
Mr. Xue, already half-asleep, delivered a very half-hearted closing statement. “Maybe we’ll meet again in the future. That’s about it. A coach will come pick you up tomorrow at nine. Get up on time! Anyone who dares to be late will be sent to the neighboring village to do odd jobs for the villagers – no bailouts accepted. Alright, dismissed!”
Everyone stood up one after another, dragging their sore limbs back to the dorms to rest.
Half the streetlights outside the training building had gone out, while warm orange light still spilled from windows on the upper floors. A few hours later, those too gradually dimmed.
The night quietly ended as everyone collapsed into exhausted sleep. After another cycle of sun and moon, everything resumed its usual orbit.
Mr. Xue’s final threat was so effective that Cheng Feng only went to bed after showering, even spraying on perfume borrowed from a senior student. Yet she still spent the entire night having nightmares about cleaning up cat litter.
The next morning, before eight, Cheng Feng already had her backpack on and was waiting at the base entrance for the coach.
Near noon, the group once again stepped through the imposing gates of UFU.
