Chapter 343 The list of dismissals left Qiao Lin dumbfounded. Lei Kuan's face turned ashen; he was already furious with the lack of discipline among these soldiers.
Upon hearing Qin Ye's order, female instructor Zhang Ruobing immediately stepped forward, holding up the newly compiled list in her hand. Her clear yet icy voice resounded across the drill ground:
"Zhang Kui, First Platoon of Male Soldiers!...!...!"
When Zhang Kui's name was called first, his burly body trembled violently, the flesh on his face shook, and he turned pale instantly.
"Second Platoon of Male Soldiers, Sun Wukong!...!..."
"Female soldiers, platoon one, Zhou Zhihui!!"
Zhang Ruobing's voice didn't pause for a moment, like a merciless carving knife, imprinting one name after another into the cold morning air. A long list of names was read out, totaling more than fifty, almost two-thirds of the entire battalion.
With each name announced, another ashen face appeared in the line.
The air in the entire playground seemed to have been sucked out, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere.
The sixteen people who were lucky enough not to have their names called held their breath, barely daring to breathe, yet a sense of relief welled up inside them. Those whose names were called, on the other hand, were terrified, their bodies turning ice-cold.
After announcing the list, Zhang Ruobing gracefully stepped back, handing the stage back to Qin Ye.
Enraged, Lei Kuan snatched the list from her hand, not even bothering to look at it, and slammed it to the ground. Pointing at the group of late soldiers, he cursed loudly, spitting as he spoke: "Sixty-seven men in the entire battalion! Only sixteen arrived on time for the one-minute emergency assembly! Sixteen! Where is your face! Where is the discipline you learned in military academy! Did it all go to waste? You all brag so loudly usually, but when it comes to a critical moment, this is your behavior? What kind of soldiers are you! On the battlefield, you'll just be live targets for the enemy to kill!"
Qin Ye slightly raised his hand, a simple gesture that abruptly silenced Lei Kuan's thunderous roar.
His gaze, like a searchlight, slowly swept over the late soldiers who had their heads down and were silent as cicadas in fear. The weight in his eyes made everyone feel suffocated.
Finally, he spoke, his voice still calm and even, yet carrying an undeniable air of authority.
"Everyone whose name has been called, step forward!"
More than fifty soldiers, including Zhang Kui who had been gloating earlier, now looked ashen-faced, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. Step by step, like walking corpses, they walked out of the ranks and stood in a dark mass in the center of the parade ground. Each one of them hung their head dejectedly, like eggplants that had been hit by frost.
Qin Ye looked at them and uttered an order that made them feel even more desperate.
"Stand still, 'duck walk,' ten laps around the track! Now, immediately, begin!"
Upon hearing this, an uncontrollable wail of despair erupted from the crowd.
"ah?!"
"Ten laps?! Instructor, one lap is 800 meters, so ten laps is eight kilometers!"
"Instructor, please spare us! People will die!"
Walking with their hands behind their heads, unable to stand upright, their weight is on their knees and ankles. Even walking on flat ground is exhausting, let alone walking eight kilometers around the track! This isn't just punishment; it's like they're going to ruin their legs!
"Any objections?"
Qin Ye's gaze was as cold as a knife, landing precisely on the soldier who had shouted the loudest.
The soldier's wailing was like a chicken being choked, instantly stuck in his throat. His face turned red, and he couldn't utter a single word.
All the wails vanished in that instant.
The entire playground fell silent once again.
They had no doubt that if anyone dared to say "no" again, their fate would be a hundred times worse than those eight kilometers of duck-walking!
"No objections! Mission accomplished!"
It's unclear who started shouting it, but soon a few scattered voices echoed in agreement.
More than fifty soldiers dared not disobey in the slightest. With long faces, they resignedly squatted down, put their hands behind their heads, and lined up like a flock of real ducks that had been driven ashore. They began their long and painful "journey of punishment" in a crooked and ugly manner.
Soon, only the sixteen soldiers who arrived on time remained on the parade ground, along with... Qiao Lin, who was still standing there dumbfounded, at a loss.
She was kept behind.
She was late, and the last one to arrive, yet she wasn't punished.
An indescribable ecstasy instantly swept away the fear and humiliation in her mind, like an electric current.
He didn't punish me!
He really does treat me differently!
He must have been taking pity on me, seeing how badly I fell, and couldn't bear to let me suffer the same punishment as these stinky men and country bumpkin women!
In Qiao Lin's heart, that pitiful fantasy that had long been crushed unexpectedly rekindled like weeds. She even felt that the earth-shattering fall just now was worth it!
Doesn't this successfully make him remember me and treat me specially?
She quickly composed herself, enduring the burning pain in her knees and cheeks, and was about to speak when she said in what she considered the most delicate, grateful, and slightly aggrieved tone, "Thank you, Instructor, I..."
Qin Ye didn't even glance at her, as if she were just a wisp of air.
His gaze passed over her and turned back to the female instructor, Zhang Ruobing. His voice was colder and more penetrating than before.
"Instructor Zhang," Qin Ye said slowly, "did you bring the debriefing report from the last red-blue confrontation exercise, and... the list of trainees recommended for expulsion by the command based on their overall performance since entering the camp?"
Upon hearing this, not only Qiao Lin, who was still immersed in her fantasy, but also Jiang Yan, who had been calmly analyzing the situation, and Bai Wei, who was secretly plotting, all had their pupils suddenly contract!
A list of those to be dismissed?!
What is this?
The exercise was over, wasn't it? Didn't Vice Minister Zheng announce that Battalion No. 3 would retain its formation and achieve a great victory? How can there still be a list of those to be discharged?!
...
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