Chapter 642: Chapter 313: A Few Incidents of Friendly Fire

"Copy that!" Sun Yang moved quickly, raising his Pulse Gun to fire.

"Shen Qiuyue, watch your six!" Bai Lin’s voice came through the headset.

"Got it!" Shen Qiuyue spun around, cleaving through the enemy behind her with her sword.

"Everyone, watch your pacing! Don’t panic!" Li Chang’an’s commands came steadily through their headsets.

"Maintain formation! Get your coordination down!"

The high-intensity training continued for an hour, until everyone was completely exhausted.

"End!" Li Chang’an pressed the termination button and looked at the data on the screen.

"A little better than I expected, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.

Go back and rest. We’ll review this tomorrow!"

By the time they got back to the dormitory, the entire squad looked as if they had just crawled out of a mud pit, every one of them dejected.

"Captain, you’re really something else," Sun Yang muttered, dragging his feet toward his room.

"We’re already the hardest-working team among the new recruits, and you’re still adding extra training. Aren’t you afraid we’re all going to get wiped out one day?"

"You don’t get wiped out from training too much. You get wiped out from not training enough," Li Chang’an replied coolly from behind them.

"Remember this: no matter how tiring training is, it’s still easier than the battlefield!"

"There he goes again!" Han Ruoxi leaned weakly against the wall, rolling her eyes.

"Captain, can’t you get a new line? I’m so sick of hearing that one!"

"The line isn’t for you to hear, it’s for you to remember," Li Chang’an said calmly as he walked up and pushed open his door.

"Alright, everyone get some rest. I have a new assignment for you tomorrow."

"A new assignment?" Han Ruoxi froze for a second.

"Captain, be clear. What new assignment? Don’t tell me it’s just another way to torture us!"

"You’ll find out tomorrow." Li Chang’an gave a meaningful smile before closing the door.

Sun Yang returned to his room and collapsed onto his bed, sprawling out like a starfish.

"I can’t go on like this!" he yelled, his voice carrying through the wall to the next room.

"Stop shouting and get to sleep!" Shen Qiuyue’s voice came from the intercom.

"You’ve got so much energy right now, maybe we should add another hour to your training tomorrow!"

"No, no, no! Have mercy, my lady!" Sun Yang shot up from the bed and grabbed the intercom.

"I’m just letting off some steam! That high-pressure simulation today nearly ran my legs off!"

"Then you can choose to shut your mouth," Shen Qiuyue replied coldly, then decisively cut the connection.

"So cold-blooded," Sun Yang sighed, flopping back onto the bed.

’I just don’t get it. How come there isn’t a single gentle girl on our team? And the Captain... how does he always manage to drill us this hard...’

He mumbled to himself as he groggily drifted off to sleep.

「The next morning, they assembled on the training grounds again.」

"Today’s assignment is divided into two parts!" Li Chang’an announced, standing before the squad with a mission sheet.

"Part one is standard training. No further explanation needed. Prepare yourselves mentally."

’Standard training? Probably another one of those weighted runs,’ Han Ruoxi muttered under her breath.

"Part two is a combat drill," Li Chang’an said, glancing at her.

"Base command just issued a new order. Our squad will participate in a simulated mission against another recruit squad."

"A simulated mission?" Shen Qiuyue’s brows furrowed slightly.

"Who’s our opponent this time?"

"Meteor Squad," Li Chang’an said, flipping open the mission sheet.

"Their captain is an old acquaintance of yours—Nie Feng, Instructor Wei’s top student."

"Nie Feng?" Sun Yang froze, his mouth twitching.

"Captain, are you serious? That guy Nie Feng is a notorious madman, and his squad is supposedly full of hotheads. How are we supposed to fight them?"

"That’s why it’s a combat drill," Li Chang’an said, lifting his chin.

"Weren’t you all just complaining that the training ground pressure isn’t realistic enough? Here’s your chance to experience true combat coordination."

"But they’re really strong..." Han Ruoxi said hesitantly.

"Can we really win?"

"Winning isn’t what’s important," Li Chang’an cut her off.

"What’s important is identifying our problems and improving our coordination.

Every one of you will give it your all. Is that clear?"

"Clear!" everyone answered in unison, their voices tinged with apprehension.

The morning’s standard training passed in a blur of sweat and exhaustion. The team had almost no time to complain before they were led directly into the briefing room for the simulated mission.

"This mission is a Capture the Flag match," Li Chang’an said, pointing at the tactical map on the screen.

"Our objective is to defend our own flag while trying to capture the enemy’s.

Meteor Squad’s tactical style is aggressive, so watch out for their raids."

"Captain, can you lay out the plan for us?" Sun Yang asked, scratching his head as he looked at the map.

"The thing I hate most about these missions is when everything descends into chaos and nobody knows what they’re supposed to be doing."

"I already have a plan," Li Chang’an said, pointing to the mission sheet.

"Han Ruoxi and Bai Lin, you’re on ranged support. Prioritize stopping their raids.

Shen Qiuyue, you stay at the defensive point and make sure our flag isn’t taken.

Sun Yang, you’re with me. We’re on offense."

"No problem!" Sun Yang’s spirits lifted the moment he heard he was going with Li Chang’an.

"Captain, we’ve gotta catch them completely off guard this time!"

"Don’t talk big," Li Chang’an shot him a cold look.

"Stick to the plan. No unauthorized actions."

"Understood!" Sun Yang nodded immediately.

Once the mission began, the Insect Hunter Squad quickly got into formation.

Han Ruoxi and Bai Lin took up advantageous ranged positions, constantly pinning down Meteor Squad’s raiders.

"Two hostiles approaching, three o’clock!" Bai Lin’s voice came over the headset.

"Copy!" Han Ruoxi raised her hand and released an arc of electricity, successfully halting their advance.

"Shen Qiuyue, enemy approaching on your left!" Li Chang’an’s voice followed immediately.

"Understood!" Shen Qiuyue quickly adjusted her position, forcing back the enemy’s attack with a single sword strike.

Meanwhile, Li Chang’an led Sun Yang on a push along the flank. The two coordinated seamlessly, gradually closing in on the enemy flag.

"Captain, I think we’ve got a real shot this time!" Sun Yang whispered while providing cover fire.

"Don’t celebrate too early," Li Chang’an replied calmly. "Stay focused."

Just as the two of them were nearing their objective, a sudden rush of hurried footsteps sounded out. Nie Feng and several of his team members were flanking them.

"Captain, they’re here!" Sun Yang shouted.

"Don’t panic! Cover me!" Li Chang’an quickly adjusted his tactics and engaged the enemy with Sun Yang.

A fierce confrontation erupted in an instant.

Meteor Squad’s coordination was indeed tight, but under Li Chang’an’s command, the Insect Hunter Squad also demonstrated impressive strength.

Finally, the tone signaling the end of the mission sounded, and the score was locked in a draw.

"Good work," Li Chang’an said, taking off his helmet and looking at his team.

"We didn’t win, but you performed better than I expected.

That’s all for today’s mission. Go back, review what happened, and prepare for the next one."

After returning from the simulation grounds, the entire Insect Hunter Squad was holed up in the break room. Everyone was drenched in sweat, but the atmosphere was noticeably more relaxed than usual.

"See? I told you we wouldn’t lose!" Sun Yang said smugly, wiping his face with a towel.

"It was a draw, but in my opinion, we totally could have won! We just ran out of time!"

"Oh, give me a break," Han Ruoxi said with a roll of her eyes.

"If it weren’t for Shen Qiuyue’s counterattacks at the end that suppressed them, you would’ve been shot full of holes by Meteor Squad’s sniper!"

"Hey, hey, hey, how is that my fault?" Sun Yang immediately retorted, indignant.

"I was charging ahead to draw their fire and create an opening for the Captain! Besides, didn’t the Captain almost get the flag at the end?"

"’Almost’ isn’t ’got it,’" Shen Qiuyue said coldly, leaning back in her chair.

"Nie Feng’s ability to adapt is truly impressive. He adjusted his tactics almost instantly."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.