The rest of the inspection team had also benefited from Xu Ze’s good fortune yesterday. Because of Xu Ze and Commander Wu’s drinking contest the day before, both tables of people had collectively watched the showdown, and later Xu Ze alone had taken down a whole crowd. Naturally, they hadn’t drunk any more after that, so everyone was full of energy this morning.
After everyone finished breakfast, the officers who had been in the drinking contest the day before slowly trickled in one after another—each of them looking listless, faces pale, forcing out greetings when they saw everyone present.
Then, seeing Xu Ze sitting off to the side with a ruddy complexion and excellent spirits, these officers all looked embarrassed and greeted Xu Ze with faces full of admiration.
Finally, Commander Wu walked in with a somewhat awkward expression, smiling as he greeted Li Jun and the others. Seeing Xu Ze sitting there eating breakfast, looking so energetic, he let out a dry laugh and walked over, patting Xu Ze’s small shoulder and praising him: “Director Xu, your capacity for liquor is truly extraordinary. Yesterday I wasn’t able to keep you company to the fullest—please forgive me…”
“Not at all, not at all… Commander Wu, you’re too kind!” Seeing that Commander Wu was straightforward and gracious even in defeat, Xu Ze found himself appreciating this plump commander a bit more.
After everyone finished breakfast, they began inspecting the special forces brigade’s training. This wasn’t any formal exercise—just an examination of the special soldiers’ training conditions and some tests. If there were any unsatisfactory or unqualified areas, the joint team from the Military Training Department and the Special Operations Division would offer inspection recommendations—praise or criticism as appropriate.
Everyone entered the training grounds. At this time, the special forces soldiers were running in from outside in formation, one group after another. The special forces brigade commander, Li Bin, began reporting the training situation to the inspection team.
These special warriors had just completed a five-kilometer cross-country run carrying twenty kilograms, and were now returning to formation… Next up was the thirty-meter barbed wire crawl…
Xu Ze stood on the training ground, watching this group of special warriors—carrying backpacks and weapons, panting and drenched in sweat, yet in excellent spirits, running in formation without a single person falling behind—and nodded repeatedly in approval.
Seeing the expressions on Xu Ze’s and the other inspection team members’ faces, Wu Lei stood to the side looking quite smug.
The following barbed wire crawl better demonstrated these special soldiers’ skills. Watching the special soldiers line up one by one, nimbly crawling under the barbed wire that was only about a foot high, then running back and quickly repeating—their low crawl movements were standard, crisp, and clean. Major General Li Jun, the team leader, and the Military Training Department people also nodded secretly. The Northwest truly deserved its reputation as a key military region—it seemed Commander Wu hadn’t been slacking.
The next few events were indoor ones: lifting a 15-kilogram dumbbell 150 times, 100 pulls on a chest expander, 100 reps on a grip strengthener—each one done crisply and cleanly. These were things everyone didn’t even need to watch closely.
What came next was the main event… live-fire shooting, Sanda (free combat), and hard qigong… These were the important items for the first day of inspection.
In the shooting range, all kinds of firearms were available. About a dozen special soldiers at a time used their weapons to shoot at the targets ahead. The target spotters called out scores continuously: “Ten rings, nine rings, eight rings…”
Seeing the inspection team was thoroughly satisfied, Wu Lei laughed heartily: “Leaders, since you’ve come down today to inspect and guide the training, why not show our lower-ranking soldiers a thing or two?”
Everyone exchanged glances. Since the man had made the request, the higher-level organ that had come to inspect naturally couldn’t show weakness. This had been prepared for in advance. Two officers from the Military Training Department smiled and stepped forward, took pistols, fired a couple of test shots, and then formally began.
The special soldiers who had come up for inspection stood to the side, heads held high, watching to see whether these superior officers would embarrass themselves.
The officers naturally knew what these enlisted men were thinking. That was just how it was—the military ran on ability. If you couldn’t command respect, you’d have no face to come inspect.
The two officers from the Military Training Department had naturally been chosen as experts before coming out. Holding their pistols in their right hands, they squeezed off shot after shot… The target spotters on the opposite side called out: “Nine rings, ten rings, ten rings, ten rings…”
After the two officers finished shooting, Wu Lei naturally led the applause… The row of special soldiers behind also conceded and joined in clapping.
Everyone thought the next event would be something else, but Wu Lei then smiled at Xu Ze and said: “Director Xu, today is your first time coming down to give instructions… and you’re also the leader of our Special Operations Division. I wonder if we might have the honor of asking Director Xu to give us a demonstration?”
Hearing Wu Lei’s words, everyone felt amused. Wu Lei was certainly direct—having lost face at the drinking table yesterday, today he wanted to win it back on this front. Truly straightforward.
However, no one was particularly worried about Xu Ze. After all, Xu Ze had led people fighting in and out of Africa, and had single-handedly shot down five fighter jets with a gun. Although no one had actually witnessed it, his marksmanship surely couldn’t be bad.
Xu Ze smiled, knowing Wu Lei still wasn’t willing to let him off. Although Wu Lei conceded on Xu Ze’s drinking capacity, he still wanted to test his other abilities.
That was only natural. He was just twenty-two years old and already sitting in the position of deputy director of the Special Operations Division—countless people must be unconvinced. This was an opportunity to show his stuff. If he didn’t overawe these people now, he’d have no peace in the future.
So he smiled and stepped forward, saying: “Since Commander Wu is in such good spirits, Xu Ze will make a fool of himself!”
The special soldiers lined up behind had been curious about who the director of the Special Operations Division was, but seeing Xu Ze come forward, they were all stunned—such a young director? And from the looks of it, a senior colonel… Their hearts lit up. No wonder the commander had asked this person to demonstrate—if he really looked like this and was in charge of special operations, if he didn’t have the goods, even they themselves wouldn’t be convinced.
Xu Ze took the pistol and examined it in his hand. It was the familiar Type 92 pistol. After confirming it was loaded, he turned sideways, glanced at the targets ahead, and fired casually. Back in the virtual space, he had been ruthlessly drilled by the strict Bond until he could barely stand it—marksmanship that could pass Bond’s standard naturally couldn’t be bad. For shooting like this, it was easy.
He raised the gun and fired, his finger pulling the trigger without pause, shot after shot. In less than twenty seconds, he had fired all fifteen rounds in the magazine. After finishing, he flicked his wrist and tossed the pistol back to the equipment officer beside him, then smiled at the somewhat dazed Wu Lei: “I’ve made a fool of myself…”
The target spotter hurried over to check the target. On the twenty-five-meter target, the bullseye was shot to shreds—outside the ten-ring, there wasn’t a single bullet hole.
His face full of shock, he quickly reported: “Fifteen shots, all ten rings, no misses…”
“Uh…” Wu Lei inhaled sharply upon hearing the spotter’s report. Firing casually like that, fifteen consecutive shots all in the ten-ring—unless someone was extremely familiar with the Type 92, unless they were a super marksman, they couldn’t have done it. He admitted that if he went up there, he’d need to fire fifteen rounds with pauses in between to possibly maintain a ten-ring hit rate—otherwise it would be absolutely impossible.
Then Zhang Zuo behind him excitedly led the applause. As Xu Ze’s direct subordinate, with such a capable superior, he naturally shared in the glory.
Hearing Zhang Zuo’s applause, everyone quickly joined in clapping. That was only natural—marksmanship like this was something that might produce only a handful of people in the entire military. The special soldiers present all wore expressions of shock, not a single one unconvinced, all clapping with genuine admiration.
The next events were Sanda and hard qigong. The Chinese special forces’ Sanda and hard qigong were traditional strengths. As a key military region in the Northwest, this special forces unit dared not slack off in the slightest in these areas, so everyone came with an appreciative mindset.
They watched the soldiers in the training yard sparring crisply, performing impressive breakfalls, and the dozen or so red bricks splitting in two after a special soldier smashed his head down on them…
Seeing this scene, everyone nodded. Such momentum truly marked a strong army. If special forces nationwide could be at or above this level, they would be unmatched.
As usual, several instructors from the Special Operations Division were invited to come down and give pointers. This time Wu Lei was too embarrassed to speak up again. The accompanying brigade commander Li Bin smiled at the familiar Zhang Zuo and the others: “Section Chief Zhang… how about going down today to give these youngsters some guidance?”
Zhang Zuo smiled and nodded, then turned to look at Xu Ze in front and asked: “Director… shall I go down and stretch my legs?”
Seeing Zhang Zuo about to go down, Xu Ze smiled and then said: “Never mind… it’s my first time here, so I’ll go. Year after year it’s always you going down—everyone’s tired of it, and it’s lost its meaning.”
Hearing Xu Ze’s words, Zhang Zuo was stunned for a moment, then smiled. He naturally understood Xu Ze’s meaning—going down to establish authority, to save trouble in the future. He quickly nodded: “Director, you going down personally is naturally good… we’re in luck this time, we can learn from you…”
Seeing that Xu Ze actually wanted to go down personally, Li Bin and Wu Lei beside him were both stunned, and roughly understood Xu Ze’s intent. Their faces showed some embarrassment, knowing Xu Ze meant to show his skills. But naturally they wouldn’t refuse—if the deputy director of the Special Operations Division wanted to personally come down and test them, no one could say that was bad.
But in their hearts they were somewhat looking forward to it. Let’s see how this young special operations director performed in close-quarters combat, aside from that terrifying marksmanship.
Li Bin quickly accompanied Xu Ze down to the ground. After a shout, the special forces soldiers all quickly stopped training and ran over.
