Chapter 8

"You, a criminal soldier, do know some manners. Alright, get up and speak."

"Thank you, sir!"

"I am Wang Deyi, the Chief Compiler of the Bingzi Camp. I have been sent to inform you that from today on, you will be assigned to the You Tan Qi. Since this is a new unit, I have come personally to inform you." He paused and then asked, "Can you read and write?"

"The criminal soldier can read and write."

"Ha ha, that's very good. This is your order. You can go and look at it yourself. After that, take it to the newly established You Tan Qi camp and find Lin Zedong, the battalion commander. He will arrange your placement. Alright, you may go."

From the time he entered to the time he came out with the order, it took less than the time to drink a cup of tea. Zhang Yan was still a bit dazed. He deeply felt the helplessness of a small shrimp, completely without the qualifications to ask questions, just following orders.

However, the terms "You Tan Qi" and "newly established" made him feel uneasy.

You Tan, isn't that the meaning of a roving scout? And "Qi" is a unit level between "Ying" and "Hu." This You Tan Qi is newly established, and even the Chief Compiler has to come to notify personally, indicating that they are short of personnel.

However, Zhang Yan also noticed that Wang Deyi said to find a battalion commander named "Lin Zedong."

A battalion commander is a position at the camp level, and a "Qi" level should be a "Chief of Qi." But Wang Deyi wouldn't get someone else's position wrong, so there was only one possibility: a battalion-level Qi unit.

As he walked and asked for directions, Zhang Yan quickly figured out some details in his mind. This was an instinctive action. In the past, when he was on the streets on Earth, he relied on his brain. If he didn't think things through, Zhang Yan would have died many times already, especially with those tomb raiders who were ruthless and wouldn't even spit out bones.

On the way, the camp was indeed as new as it could be: just a bare, empty field where a group of people were pulling tarpaulins, apparently preparing to set up tents.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Ah?" Zhang Yan quickly turned around and saw a burly man with a full beard, bare-chested, looking at him fiercely. The man's aura was strong, the kind of pressure Zhang Yan had only seen from elite warriors.

"Who are you looking for!"

"Oh! I'm looking for Battalion Commander Lin!" Zhang Yan instinctively handed over the order.

The burly man took the order, looked at it, then looked at Zhang Yan, nodded, and said, "Follow me."

"Who are you?"

"I am Lin Zedong."

"......Criminal soldier pays respects to the大人!"

"Alright, let's go."

As they walked into the new camp, Lin Zedong occasionally greeted the busy soldiers around him, sometimes scolding, sometimes joking, which seemed very different from the battalion commanders Zhang Yan had imagined.

The only tent that was fully set up was Lin Zedong's command tent. Inside, there were scattered copper scrolls and some large boxes, making it look quite messy.

"Originally, with your background and experience, you wouldn't have been assigned to my You Tan Qi. But your feat of killing three demon soldiers with three shots last night earned you the chance to be here. In other words, only the elite of the elite, those with special skills, can come here.

You are very lucky."

"Thank you, sir, for your favor!" Although Zhang Yan felt that the words were unoriginal, he still clasped his hands in excitement. He knew how to play along in such situations.

Lin Zedong looked at Zhang Yan and smiled, a bit surprised. He had seen the order and the records from the scribe, which clearly stated that Zhang Yan had entered the Yubei Mountain Fortress seven days ago as a criminal soldier for arson and murder, and was known as a "madman" for his erratic behavior. Even though he adapted quickly on the battlefield and showed remarkable skills, he was still a new recruit. But the man in front of him didn't act like a new recruit at all; he lacked the nervousness and confusion typical of new soldiers and instead gave the impression of a seasoned veteran.

Lin Zedong turned to the deputy outside the tent and ordered, "Go and fetch Qin Hao."

Then Lin Zedong smiled and continued to Zhang Yan, "The You Tan Qi won't have many people, currently less than three hundred. It's a newly established unit, mainly to implement Lord Song's principle of 'proactive strikes and preemptive intelligence.' So, the people in the You Tan Qi are both scouts and guerrillas. You need to be mentally prepared for this."

Lin Zedong's words made Zhang Yan's heart sink; he had been guessed correctly.

Before Lin Zedong could continue, a voice from outside the tent announced, and a short but muscular bald man quickly walked in. This was the Qin Hao that Lin Zedong had asked the deputy to fetch.

"Sir!"

"Qin Hao, this is Zhang Yan. Take him and arrange a position for him. By the way, he is a good spearman. Think about how to use him."

"Yes, sir!"

After that, Zhang Yan followed Qin Hao out of Lin Zedong's tent. They arrived at an open area, and Qin Hao threw him a spear, the kind he usually used.

"Stab me with one spear."

"This......" Zhang Yan was a bit at a loss with this request. He could sense that Qin Hao was also a warrior, but weapons are dangerous, and a single mistake could be fatal. Zhang Yan couldn't help but hesitate.

But Qin Hao frowned and said, "I told you to stab me with one spear. Remember, this is a test. If you don't want to clean the latrines, show your true skills."

Clean the latrines?!

If there was one of the worst jobs in the camp, it was cleaning the latrines. No one wanted to do it, and Zhang Yan didn't want to either.

So, he gathered his spirit, gripped the spear with both hands, and without using the "Golden Light Divine Spell" to enhance himself, he sank his waist, planted his feet, turned his body, gathered his strength, twisted his waist, and thrust the spear forward!

Zhang Yan was very familiar with this move, aiming for Qin Hao's left shoulder. He thought that even if something went wrong, it wouldn't be fatal.

But to Zhang Yan's surprise, just as the tip of his spear was about to hit Qin Hao, Qin Hao slightly lowered his shoulder and easily avoided it. The shoulder that rose again directly collided with the spear shaft, sending a wave of force back to his hands, causing the spear to be violently shaken out of his grip, and his hands to tremble and go numb.

"Haven't you eaten? Try again!" Qin Hao frowned. He didn't think the technique that killed three demon soldiers with three shots would be like this, feeling that the criminal soldier was being perfunctory.

"......" Zhang Yan picked up the spear, feeling a strange pressure. He now understood the difference between a warrior and an ordinary person like himself, especially when Qin Hao used his shoulder to knock the spear out of his hands.

Could this be the legendary internal energy of a warrior?!