Chapter 82

Hearing this, Lin Liannan also came to his senses. The discipline in the training squad was strict, and a collective punishment system was in place. If someone violated the rules, not only would the squad leader be punished, but the area captain would also be implicated, making it a lose-lose situation.

"These two would be fine if they returned early. After all, Instructor Zhang never checks at night," Lin Liannan said.

"We can't be so optimistic. Instructor Zhang doesn't check because no one sneaks out. This old man has sharp eyes. He might be watching us from the shadows," Liu Hane Dong said.

Lin Liannan panicked: "What should we do? Punishing us for others' mistakes is unfair."

Liu Hane Dong said, "You won't be punished. Why are you so anxious?"

Lin Liannan said, "What do you mean? We're buddies. Punishing you is the same as punishing me."

A flash of insight crossed Liu Hane Dong's mind, recalling his conversation with Zhang Y森 in the office. The training squad was a team, and he was the commander. Lin Liannan saw him as a brother, but in the eyes of the instructors, he should see every trainee as a brother or sister. If they were on the battlefield, whether Chang Jin and Sui Muxin acted on their own or deserted, the commander would have to make a decisive decision.

"Let's go find their squad leader," Liu Hane Dong got up and put on his clothes.

Chang Jin and Sui Muxin belonged to the second squad, and their squad leader was Wang Jinshui, a polite young man who had graduated from the Environmental Art Design program at the Agricultural and Forestry University. At that moment, he was snoring in bed. Liu Hane Dong shone a flashlight in his face: "Wang Jinshui, get up."

Wang Jinshui rubbed his sleepy eyes and got up, his voice still drowsy: "Area Captain, what's up?"

"Chang Jin and Sui Muxin went out without permission. How did you manage this!" Liu Hane Dong said in a low voice.

Wang Jinshui instantly woke up completely. Looking at the two empty bunks, he realized they were indeed gone. In the police academy dormitory, if someone sneaked out, all roommates would be punished. As the squad leader, Wang Jinshui was even more responsible, and he immediately trembled: "Will I be expelled?"

Liu Hane Dong said, "These two are just asking for trouble and want to drag us down with them. I suggest we go out and bring them back immediately."

Wang Jinshui scratched his head and said, "They might just go out for a while and come back."

Liu Hane Dong said, "You don't know these two. They've been holding back for half a month without drinking or having fun. They'll definitely go all out once they get out. Whether they can return by morning is uncertain. Can you stake your future on their integrity?"

Wang Jinshui shook his head: "Of course not, but if we go out to catch them, it's also a violation of the rules."

Liu Hane Dong said, "We have three options: one, hope they return before the wake-up call and aren't caught by Instructor Zhang; two, call the instructor now and request punishment; three, go out with me to catch them. There's not much entertainment near the school, just a bar and a barbecue stand. They're likely to be there."

Wang Jinshui was still hesitant.

"Bring the police equipment and handcuffs. If they resist, cuff them. I'm the area captain, and I'll take responsibility," Liu Hane Dong looked outside. "Let's go now, or Instructor Zhang will ruin everything."

"Alright, let's go quickly," Wang Jinshui finally agreed.

There were eight people in their dormitory. Excluding Chang Jin and Sui Muxin, six of them put on their training uniforms, wore police multi-functional coats, and put on training caps. They tucked handcuffs and rubber batons into their belts and went out the main door of the dormitory building. Under Liu Hane Dong's lead, they came to the wall under the tree shadows.

"Chang Jin and Sui Muxin went out from here," Liu Hane Dong said.

After half a month of physical training, climbing over the wall was easy. They helped each other over and quickly ran to the nearby bar.

The police academy was in the suburbs, and it was the end of the year, so many entertainment venues were closed. The bar was closed, but there were people at the barbecue stand. Under a tent, Chang Jin and Sui Muxin were drinking and eating, cursing Liu Hane Dong.

It was midnight, and they were the only ones at the barbecue stand. Suddenly, two cars arrived, and a group of drunk men and women got out, looking for a place to continue drinking. Sui Muxin glanced at them and chuckled, "Those black stockings and long legs are great. If I could carry her on my shoulder all night, I wouldn't trade it for a deputy position."

Chang Jin was even bolder, whistling and shouting, "Ladies, are you cold? I'll warm you up."

This remark caused trouble. The others were not good people and were already drunk. A few men immediately surrounded Chang Jin, cursing and threatening to beat him.

Chang Jin, who had been holding back in the training squad, was ready to vent. He swung a punch, and Sui Muxin, seeing his leader in action, threw the charcoal stove at them.

The two hit hard, and although the others had a numerical advantage, they couldn't gain the upper hand. They went back to their car to get baseball bats. Chang Jin, seeing this, shouted and tried to run, but was blocked and tackled to the ground. The baseball bats came down, but he managed to dodge, or he would have been seriously injured.

Sui Muxin was also beaten badly, rolling on the ground.

Suddenly, eight men in police multi-functional coats joined the fight, using rubber batons to counter the baseball bats. They applied the techniques learned in riot control training, working in pairs to quickly subdue the drunk group, who were crawling on the ground.

"Let's go!" Liu Hane Dong ordered, and they quickly left. Chang Jin and Sui Muxin, bruised and battered, followed their teammates, climbing back over the school wall, finally calming down.

"Chang Jin!" Liu Hane Dong called.

Chang Jin, who had been furious with Liu Hane Dong, was a reasonable person. He had been beaten at the barbecue stand and would have been in serious trouble if Liu Hane Dong hadn't helped. He forced a smile and said, "Area Captain, thanks for..."

Before he could finish, Liu Hane Dong punched him, sending him stumbling back. His face changed, and he was about to attack, but two classmates held him back.

Lin Liannan picked up a rubber baton and hit Chang Jin in the stomach.

Chang Jin hunched over, vomiting out the barbecue he had eaten.

"You too," Liu Hane Dong said to Wang Jinshui.

Wang Jinshui walked over, and Chang Jin glared at him, drooling. Sui Muxin tried to intervene, "Don't hit my brother, or I'll report to the instructor."

Wang Jinshui suddenly turned and punched Sui Muxin in the stomach, making him double over in pain.

"Leaving the camp without permission is the most serious violation. The two punches are a lesson from the instructor. Do you accept it?" Liu Hane Dong asked, looking down at them.

"Damn..." Chang Jin touched his mouth, his teeth loose, but he didn't dare to refuse. If caught, he would be expelled.

"I accept!" Chang Jin's voice was strained.

"I accept," Sui Muxin also submitted.

"Back to the dormitory," Liu Hane Dong said. The group of shadows quickly entered the dormitory building, and finally, Chang Jin and Sui Muxin, supporting each other, went in.

In the office, Zhang Y森 was watching the scene through an infrared camera. Seeing them return to the dormitory, he coldly hummed and turned off the monitor.

The trainees quietly entered their dormitories, not even taking off their clothes before getting into bed. They heard the familiar sound of leather shoes on the polished stone floor in the corridor.

Zhang Y森 was coming!

They didn't even have time to take off their shoes, jumping onto their beds and covering themselves with blankets, pretending to snore.

The door opened, and Zhang Y森's flashlight swept the room, counting the people before quietly closing the door.

"Phew!" The trainees who went out that night were relieved, especially Chang Jin and Sui Muxin. If caught by Zhang Y森, they would be expelled!

The next morning, the wake-up call sounded, and the trainees got up, quickly washed up, and headed to the main square to gather.

Zhang Y森 walked over with a stern face, hands behind his back, scanning each trainee's face.

Chang Jin and Sui Muxin were bruised and clearly had been in a fight. They couldn't hide it and were immediately called out of the line by Zhang Y森.

"Explain what happened," Zhang Y森's voice was soft but authoritative.

"Instructor... I fell out of bed and hit the railing," Chang Jin lied.

"And you?" Zhang Y森 asked Sui Muxin.

"I hit the door," Sui Muxin mumbled.

"Seems like the police academy's food is terrible," Zhang Y森 said.

Everyone was confused. Why would a trainee's face injury be blamed on the food?

Zhang Y森 sneered, "I remember the police academy cafeteria has chicken, fish, meat, and eggs, with plenty of Vitamin A. How did you two get night blindness?"

Chang Jin and Sui Muxin lowered their heads. This poor lie could only fool a physical education teacher, not in the police academy.

Zhang Y森 ignored them and walked to Wang Jinshui, "You're their squad leader. Explain what happened."

"I..." Wang Jinshui was speechless, afraid to speak. Deceiving the instructor was a serious offense, punishable by expulsion.

"If you can't explain, everyone will be punished. The violators will be expelled, the responsible leaders will be dismissed and punished. You have three minutes to think about it," Zhang Y森 looked at his watch and started pacing leisurely.

The 150 trainees were silent, a dead silence.

Chang Jin and Sui Muxin were pale, thinking they were doomed. However, they still held a sliver of hope and refused to confess, hoping for a chance.

The north wind howled on the main square, and everyone could hear the ticking of the second hand. Three minutes passed quickly. If Chang Jin and Sui Muxin didn't confess, they would face severe punishment, and the squad leader Wang Jinshui, area captain Liu Hane Dong, and their roommates would also be punished, from criticism to expulsion. The entire squad might be implicated, and with Zhang Y森's temper, at least a ten-kilometer run.

Three minutes were up, and Zhang Y森's face changed, "Still haven't decided?"

"Report!" Liu Hane Dong shouted.

"Step out!" Zhang Y森 pointed at Liu Hane Dong with his teaching rod, "You're the area captain, responsible for all trainees. Explain what happened last night."

Chang Jin and Sui Muxin looked at each other, seeing despair in each other's eyes. Liu Hane Dong, to clear his name, was indeed going to betray them. But it was understandable; they had conflicts, and to protect himself, he had to report. If it were Chang Jin, he would have reported last night.

"Report, Instructor, Chang Jin and Sui Muxin challenged me last night to settle personal grudges. The injuries on their faces were from me!"

Fighting in the training camp was a serious offense, punishable by a reprimand, but better than expulsion. However, as the area captain, Liu Hane Dong had the responsibility to enforce the rules, and breaking them would result in a more severe punishment, likely to be dealt with harshly by Zhang Y森.

A flash of anger crossed Zhang Y森's face, "Liu Hane Dong, you fought alone? How did you not get hurt? Don't tell me you're a martial arts expert who can take on two tall, strong men without a scratch."

Liu Hane Dong raised his head, "Yes, Instructor, that's correct."

Zhang Y森 laughed, "Do you think I'm a fool?"

Lin Liannan stepped out, "Report, Instructor, I was involved too!"

Wang Jinshui hesitated for a few seconds and stepped out, "Report, Instructor, I was involved too!"

The other five roommates also stepped out, "Report, Instructor, we were involved too."

Fighting was a minor offense, and the law didn't punish the masses. If the unauthorized departure was exposed, they would face expulsion.

Zhang Y森 nodded, "Alright, you have team spirit. Gang fighting and bullying are serious offenses. Are you prepared for the consequences?"

"Report, Instructor!" Chang Jin stood up straight and shouted.

"Speak!"

"No fight happened. I felt my deep mistake and asked the area captain to educate me," Chang Jin lied smoothly.

"So, you asked them to beat you into a pig's head?" Zhang Y森 looked at Chang Jin with disdain.

"Yes! Without touching the skin, one cannot touch the soul. This is what the instructor often says. I asked them to beat me, the harder the better!" Chang Jin was determined to lie through the end.

"And you?" Zhang Y森's sharp gaze fixed on Sui Muxin.

Sui Muxin shivered under Zhang Y森's cold, deep gaze, stepping back and saying, "No, no, no, not me."