In the last competition, because Chen Daliang was taken down quickly, his current mental state can be said to be the best among their team.

Take Ji Changfeng, for example; winning was not easy for him, especially since the last match was a physical contest that consumed a lot of energy.

Not to mention there was another battalion commander who was left exhausted and couldn’t even stand.

Of course, there were also six battalion commanders who hadn’t competed yet.

However, who would doubt Lu Cheng’s intentions?

Others believed that Chen Daliang hadn’t performed well in the last match and hadn’t unleashed his full potential, which was why Vice Commander Lu was giving him another chance.

If Chen Daliang won this time, his reputation would be significant.

Even if he lost, losing to Vice Commander Lu wouldn’t be embarrassing, and the incident of being taken down last time could be forgotten.

Although Lu Cheng disdained playing mind games, that didn’t mean he was incapable of them.

In fact, with his outstanding combat ability and academic prowess, how could he not be crafty?

However, being straightforward, he didn’t want to use his schemes on his own people; he believed his thoughts should be directed at the enemy.

Thus, Chen Daliang could be considered the first person he wanted to “consult” with.

As the two entered the battlefield, Lu Cheng said, “Does everyone know why Chen Daliang lost so quickly in the last match?”

Chen Daliang felt a bit embarrassed, while everyone chorused, “He was ambushed.”

Lu Cheng nodded, “Indeed, he was ambushed, but…”

At this point, his gaze sharpened, and before Chen Daliang could react, Lu Cheng used his renowned killing move directly on him.

They both fell to the ground, but the difference was that Chen Daliang was pinned down while Lu Cheng was the one who could have killed him. “However… on the battlefield, any oversight, any carelessness, any inattention can cost you your life.”

Lu Cheng released Chen Daliang and helped him up. “If you were successfully ambushed once, why would you allow yourself to be ambushed a second time? Yes, Chen Daliang knows me and was unprepared. Today, in our sparring, he might be unprepared because he knows me. But tomorrow, on the battlefield, he might be unprepared because the enemy is disguised as civilians.”

Chen Daliang was already feeling embarrassed from being taken down so quickly by Lu Cheng, and now hearing his words made him feel even more ashamed.

In fact, Lu Cheng’s words were completely accurate.

They were soldiers; the protection of civilians was their duty.

Therefore, their weapons should never be aimed at civilians.

What if one day civilians suddenly appeared on the battlefield?

What should they do?

They would lower their weapons.

But what if those civilians were disguised enemies and they dealt a fatal blow the moment their weapons were lowered?

So, while the weapons could be lowered, vigilance should never be discarded.

Just like now, Chen Daliang had already learned the lesson of being ambushed once, yet he still wasn’t on guard against Lu Cheng.

This was clearly a serious mistake.

Chen Daliang humbly and earnestly said, “Thank you for your guidance, Vice Commander Lu. I will remember this.”

Lu Cheng nodded. “That was just a demonstration. Now let’s have a real match.”

Chen Daliang was surprised. “Wait, I still have to spar with Vice Commander Lu?” But then he thought it was okay; if they continued to spar, he needed to be careful not to get taken down so quickly again to save some face.

Having learned from the previous two lessons, Chen Daliang was particularly cautious and guarded against Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng motioned to him with a smile, “Please.”

This time, he didn’t launch a surprise attack but rather approached the sparring in a formal manner.

However…

Five minutes into the sparring, it still hadn’t ended.

Ten minutes into the sparring, it still hadn’t ended.

“What’s going on? Is Vice Commander Lu going easy on him?”

“Maybe, after all, Chen Daliang was taken down twice before, so Vice Commander Lu might want to give him some face?”

“Face doesn’t matter in sparring. Is Vice Commander Lu getting tired?”

“Impossible! I heard Vice Commander Lu once went seven days and nights without rest during a mission; that mission was used by many leaders to educate their soldiers.”

That mission was also what allowed Lu Cheng to be promoted from deputy battalion commander to battalion commander in just two years.

But who could imagine the difficulties behind such a splendidly completed mission?

Catering Team of the Third Company

Lin Qingqing went to the cafeteria around three in the afternoon.

She had been at home because Zhang Hongping had come to discuss cooking methods with her.

When she arrived, she found that Qi Shao and the others were enthusiastically discussing something.

Upon seeing Lin Qingqing, the most lively Lin Bao said, “Sister-in-law, this afternoon our independent regiment is sparring with Battalion Commander Li’s regiment, and our Vice Commander Lu is quite impressive.”

“Impressive?” Lin Qingqing was curious. “Did he win?”

“Of course!” Lin Bao replied. “Vice Commander Lu took down both of their battalion commanders by himself. One of those battalion commanders, Chen Daliang, was taken down by Vice Commander Lu in one minute the first time and then knocked down in half an hour the second time… I wish I could be as formidable as Vice Commander Lu.”

This tone definitely sounded like a little brother.

Qi Shao said, “Then you should leave our catering team and go train.”

Lin Bao had managed to enter the military and had passed all the necessary checks, but his physical fitness and reaction time weren’t suitable for the battlefield, so he ended up in the catering team.

“Oh, come on, squad leader, don’t! I still have to cook for our third company. The mission of the catering team is so sacred, only I can complete it.” Lin Bao laughed.

“Do you often compete in your unit?” Lin Qingqing asked curiously.

“We often spar,” Lin Bao replied, “but it’s the first time we’re having a full regiment competition like this afternoon. Our independent regiment is feeling quite proud again.”

Seeing the excitement on their faces as they talked about the sparring reminded Lin Qingqing of the enthusiasm of her male classmates during basketball and football competitions back in school.

At that time, she was just a spectator, watching her classmates from her class compete against others, and she felt just as excited. “Then you could organize a food competition,” she casually suggested.

“A food competition?” Qi Shao and the others looked at Lin Qingqing, momentarily stunned.

“Yes, your Vice Commander Lu brings honor to you all during sparring, so your catering team could hold a cooking competition with other units’ catering teams. Wouldn’t that be interesting?”

Hearing Lin Qingqing’s suggestion, they surprisingly became interested.

“Our third company has Lin comrade, so we could definitely spar a bit,” Qi Shao hinted.

Lin Qingqing replied, “I’m afraid I can’t.”

“Why not? You’re one of us in the third company,” Qi Shao insisted.

Lin Bao said, “Exactly! Why don’t you suggest it to the higher-ups, and we can hold one?”

Lin Qingqing had only mentioned it casually, not expecting them to actually discuss it.

She asked, “Is this really feasible? Would the leaders think we’re not taking our duties seriously?”

Qi Shao said, “Not usually, but during the National Day holiday, we could. We have performances and cultural troops during the holiday. If our catering team held a food competition, that would also work.”

Qi Shao imagined their catering team winning the championship certificate, and just thinking about it made him excited. “But this needs to be planned out; we’re still far from National Day. Moreover, we don’t know if the leaders will agree. However… Comrade Lin, why don’t you discuss it with Vice Commander Lu? It might just work.”

Since everyone would be off during National Day, they could take the time to have a sparring session, and the leaders wouldn’t oppose it.

“Lu Haici, Ji Yang, Qin Ming… you all stop!” Teacher Qian heard the children’s words and was startled, realizing that Lu Haici and a few other kids were fighting.

At this moment, Lu Haici, Ji Yang, and Qin Ming were all surrounding Chen Zhou, who was crying on the ground.

“What are you doing? How can three of you gang up on one? Isn’t Chen Zhou your friend?” Teacher Qian pulled Chen Zhou up.

Luckily, his face wasn’t scratched, but one of his shoes was missing, and his pants were pulled down to his backside.

She didn’t understand why the kids were fighting and ended up in such a state.

“Chen Zhou hit Lu Haici first,” Qin Ming said angrily.

“Yeah, he hit Lu Haici, so we hit him back,” Ji Yang added, fuming.

Lu Haici was his best friend, and he certainly couldn’t let Chen Zhou hit him.

The other kids could only watch helplessly as Chen Zhou was being beaten; they had all been warned by their families not to argue with Qin Ming.

In the whole neighborhood, probably only Ji Yang and Lu Haici dared to confront Qin Ming.

“Wah wah wah…” Chen Zhou cried out in distress, “They are all hitting me, they took off my pants, my shoe is gone, they want to hit my butt, wah wah wah…”

“They should hit your butt,” Qin Ming said.

“Yeah, hitting the butt is the most embarrassing,” Lu Haici added defiantly.

In the minds of these little ones, hitting someone’s butt was an embarrassing thing, so they had started doing just that during their fight.

Teacher Qian was truly helpless. “You four stand straight, and one by one, tell me why you are fighting.”

Qin Ming was the first to speak: “Let me go first! It was Chen Zhou who hit Lu Haici first.”

Ji Yang chimed in, “Right! We were looking at pictures with Lu Haici, and Chen Zhou came over and hit Lu Haici.”

Lu Haici added, “He also tried to take the book my mom gave me. He’s the worst!”

Chen Zhou, filled with anger, retorted, “Because your mom made my mom cry! Your mom is a bad person; she’s the worst!”

When Lu Haici heard this, his big eyes turned red, and he charged at Chen Zhou like a little bull, wanting to knock him down.

However, he was stopped by Teacher Qian. “Lu Haici, you stand still. The teacher will figure this out; you can’t hit anyone again, understood?”

Lu Haici bit his lip, his eyes reddened.

But after a moment, he couldn’t hold it back anymore, and while crying, he shouted, “His mom is the bad person! He insulted my mom; I should hit him!”

Ji Yang yelled, “Yeah, hit him! Lu Haici’s mom is a good person; she even gives us tasty food!”

“Exactly! Chen Zhou’s mom is the bad person,” Qin Ming echoed.

Teacher Qian felt overwhelmed.

These little ones might be small, but when they yelled, their voices were quite loud. “You all stop making noise! I will call your parents. If anyone makes a sound, the teacher will make you stand as a punishment.”

The children quickly shut their mouths, but their eyes were still fierce.

Teacher Qian sighed and asked the nearby kids, “Does anyone know where Lu Haici, Ji Yang, and Qin Ming live? Can someone help the teacher call their parents?”

She didn’t dare leave, fearing that if she did, the kids would start fighting again.

“I know! I know!” one of the kids said. “Lu Haici’s mom is in the cafeteria, and Ji Yang’s mom is there too. I’ll go call them.”

The speaker was a kid who was relatively close to Lu Haici and Ji Yang.

“I know where Qin Ming lives; I’ll go call his grandma,” Qin Ming’s little follower said.

“I know where Chen Zhou lives; it’s next to my house. I’ll go get his mom,” said a usually quiet little one.

Teacher Qian thanked them: “Thank you! When you go to call your parents, be careful on the road. Don’t run, and don’t fall, okay?”

“Got it!” The kids left the kindergarten.

In the cafeteria of the Third Culinary Unit:

“Auntie… Auntie…” The little one, who had eaten at Lu’s house before, recognized Lin Qingqing.

He arrived at the Third Culinary Unit cafeteria, saw Lin Qingqing in the kitchen through the window, and jumped up, calling out loudly.

He was afraid that Lin Qingqing wouldn’t see him, so he jumped up.

Lin Qingqing heard the child’s voice and looked toward the window, seeing Lu Haici’s good friend outside.

She naturally recognized this little one. “Hello, little friend! What brings you here?”

The little one said, “Auntie, Lu Haici and Chen Zhou are fighting! The teacher asked me to call their parents.”

Lin Qingqing hurriedly left the kitchen and gently asked the little one, “Little friend, how did Lu Haici and Chen Zhou end up fighting? Aren’t they friends?”