Two hundred meters from the finish line, it was in this final stretch that Gao Yuan and his team secured their advantage.

“Ah!”

“Ah…”

As they neared the finish line, everyone was shouting; after crossing the line that represented the finish, Zhang Zhe immediately let go of Li Xiaodong, then started to run back to pull others.

“Quick! Hurry up!”

Gao Yuan was the last one, because he was pulling two others, but his entire squad was the first to race past the finish line.

Exhausted from dragging others along, Gao Yuan plopped down onto the ground, now not wanting to move at all.

Wei Guo waved his hand and commanded, “Report the order of finish.”

Liu Siming, holding a clipboard, wrote down a name and then bellowed, “First place, Squadron One’s first small squad!”

A sense of achievement, a feeling of pride.

That sense of achievement and pride sprung up spontaneously, even though this was just a training exercise, not even a competition. But where did this pride come from?

In the past, Gao Yuan only felt that getting first in a training exercise wasn’t a big deal, but now, he truly felt joyous and proud.

Sitting on the ground, Li Xiaodong said weakly, “Zhang Zhe! You hit me seven times!”

“Call me squad leader!”

“To hell with that, but I forgive you—seeing that we took first place, I forgive you.”

Li Xiaodong decided to lie down on the cold ground, “My butt hurts, better to lie down.”

The guard platoon leader Liu Siming walked over and said loudly, “Get up! Stand up! Don’t lie on the ground, you can go back to the room and rest for now, move it.”

Zhang Zhe stood up and said, “If you don’t want to fall ill, get up and find a place to rest. No point in cooling our heels out here in the cold wind, waiting for the others. We’re first, who cares who’s second or third, let’s go!”

This triumphant shout of “Let’s go!” filled Gao Yuan with vigor, and he too stood up. He looked towards Wei Guo, and Wei Guo looked back at him, nodding in satisfaction.

Back in his room and lying on the bed, Gao Yuan had no desire to move. Just then, Tong Siming passed by his bedside and said earnestly, “Thanks, Gao Yuan. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have made it through this run.”

Still feeling accomplished, Gao Yuan waved his hand and said, “You’re welcome.”

Li Changfeng, who Gao Yuan had also helped, added, “Even though we were sure to take first, I still owe you my thanks, Gao Yuan.”

Zhang Zhe rolled over, looked at Gao Yuan seriously, and asked, “Ever been a soldier?”

“No.”

“Not bad, you deserve praise.”

Zhang Zhe gave Gao Yuan a thumbs up, but he said with all seriousness, “Let’s have a contest later, I think you’re strong enough to compete with me. As for today, well, you did great.”

Gao Yuan felt somewhat disinclined to engage with Zhang Zhe, because his first impression was not great, so he just smiled.

After resting inside for a full half hour, all of the teams had finally run back.

Their feet hurt and their legs were weak, but they had regained a bit of strength. That’s when someone outside shouted, “Gather up, it’s time to eat.”

Gao Yuan and his team exited the building, with Zhang Zhe walking in front, strutting and arrogantly saying out loud, “We got back early, I wonder which team came in last. Someone tell me which one it was.”

Such arrogance might get someone beat up, but Gao Yuan thought since they came in first, why shouldn’t they be arrogant?

“The fourth squad of the third platoon came in last, there you go, no food for you.”

When Xiang Weiguo said no food, he meant no food and he assured he could do as he said.

A squad hung their heads in dejection, their squad leader berating them furiously, but Xiang Weiguo showed no reaction.

“Now I announce that the first squad of the first platoon came in first; the reward is a packet of instant noodles for each person.”

Instant noodles?

Zhang Zhe immediately froze, then his mouth fell open, and eventually he stammered out, “Really?”

Xiang Weiguo went on with an indifferent face, “Now, all squads gather to go eat in the soldiers’ canteen. After you’ve finished eating, gather for a lesson on the use of hand signals. Dismiss your troops now.”

Pumped up, Zhang Zhe shouted, “Instant noodles, hey, instant noodles!”

Li Xiaodong asked with a curious face, “Captain, what is hand signalling?”

“You don’t know hand signalling?”

After thinking for a bit, Li Xiaodong said, “Oh, you mean hand gestures. I got confused just now. But why are we learning this?”

“Why are we learning this? Obviously, because it’s useful. Why do you keep asking such pointless questions?”

Li Xiaodong replied urgently, “No, I mean why don’t we practice something genuinely useful, like shooting? Instead of target practice, we’re learning hand signals. What’s the point?”

Gao Yuan knew what Xiang Weiguo and the others were trying to do, but he kept quiet.

Zhang Zhe said carelessly, “Whatever they tell you to learn, just learn it well. Why do you ask so much? Instant noodles! Didn’t you hear just now? Xiang said there’s a reward of instant noodles!”

After finishing, Zhang Zhe was so excited that he couldn’t even talk properly.

“Man, if we get instant noodles every time we come in first, then we’re in luck! Damn, it’s been so long since I’ve had instant noodles; aren’t you guys excited?”

Several people shook their heads at once, but several others nodded in agreement.

“I’m sick of it, even thinking about it makes me nauseous.”

“Damn, instant noodles taste so good! I didn’t appreciate them before, but now, just thinking about them makes them sound delicious.”

They reached the soldiers’ canteen, where the queues of soldiers waiting to eat curiously eyed these new faces before filing in to eat.

“Instant noodles, instant noodles, when are they going to hand them out…”

The meal included two pieces of meat, which for these volunteers who hadn’t eaten meat in a while, made for a delicious and hearty breakfast.

The only one still fixated on instant noodles was Zhang Zhe.

“When can I eat instant noodles…”

With a sigh, Zhang Zhe started to dig into his rice.

Unable to bear it anymore, Gao Yuan whispered, “Captain, can you please stop mentioning it? I’ve had enough of instant noodles, just the thought makes me sick, really, can you just stop talking about them?”

Zhang Zhe said dreamily, “You don’t understand, back when we were with the unit, after training, hiding in the bathroom to sneak some instant noodles, oh that aroma…”

Gao Yuan was stunned and said, “Hiding in the bathroom to eat instant noodles? Am I hearing this right? Damn, who has gone crazy here?”