The Camp
"Wow, the wind is blowing—so refreshing!"
Li Wu cheered as he felt the cool breeze against his face.
He had originally thought that coming to the military camp with his uncle and father would be all about seeing tanks and cannons. And sure enough, he did see them—but he never expected to have to train every day, let alone study!
Why? Why couldn’t they just let him enjoy his vacation?
At the front of the line stood Hu Zhenghao, leading a troop of ten young scouts arranged from tallest to shortest.
"This weather isn’t right."
Hu Zhenghao’s brows furrowed as the whistle blew.
"Assemble!"
Li Ying, the drill instructor in charge of their group—a seasoned soldier with three years of service—immediately called for formation as soon as he noticed the shift in weather.
Shen Xianjun and Hu Jun also tensed up the moment the strong winds picked up.
They had brought the children, along with this year’s National Defense University freshmen and new recruits, to this remote forested area for real wilderness training.
"Gather everyone immediately. No sheltering under trees—move to open ground to avoid lightning strikes."
Hu Jun swiftly issued orders while Shen Xianjun relayed them.
Meanwhile, Li Ying, realizing they were too far from the main camp, directed the children to an open area.
"The wind’s too strong. Everyone, hold hands and crouch down!"
Li Ying hadn’t anticipated the wind speed increasing so rapidly. The gusts were now dangerously fierce.
Without hesitation, Hu Zhenghao tightly gripped the hands of the twins on either side of him. The group crouched low, staying close to Li Ying.
"Hold on tight and move forward—fifteen meters to the left!"
Li Ying shouted over the howling wind, pointing toward a large boulder that could shield them from the wind.
The distance wasn’t far, but the gale made progress difficult, especially for the group of young children. Gritting his teeth, Li Ying decided to carry the youngest twins first.
"Stay down. I’ll come back for you."
After ensuring the other children were lying flat, Li Ying dashed toward the boulder.
"Let’s crawl forward slowly."
Hu Zhenghao, watching his younger brothers being carried away, refused to just wait for rescue.
The other children agreed—even advancing a single meter would make it easier for the instructor to reach them.
"You two stay here. I’ll go get the others."
Li Ying set the twins down by the rock, his mind still on the rest of the group.
"Okay."
Li Wen responded, gripping his brother’s hand tightly as the two huddled against the boulder.
When Li Ying turned back, he was stunned to see the children crawling forward in formation. He barely noticed the grass and leaves whipping into his eyes.
He grabbed two more of the smaller children and ran back, each time seeing the group inching closer.
By his third trip, the children had already reached the boulder.
"Hahaha, we did it!"
Hu Zhenghao beamed with pride.
"Brother’s amazing!"
Li Wu, ever the enthusiastic cheerleader, chimed in.
"You’re definitely Commander Hu’s son."
Li Ying couldn’t help but laugh—a child had outmaneuvered him.
"Heh!"
Hu Zhenghao puffed out his chest proudly.
"Move further in—this might be hail."
Li Ying’s expression darkened as he pulled out a rain tarp from his pack, wrapping it around the huddled children.
The temperature plummeted as hailstones pelted the ground, stark against the lush green grass.
At first, the children were fascinated, sneaking their hands out to catch the icy pellets.
"Keep your hands inside—now!"
Li Ying scolded sharply.
Li Wu, nudged by Li Wen, quickly withdrew his hand. But one unlucky child, who had not only reached out but also stuck his head out, took a direct hit from an egg-sized hailstone. Blood instantly trickled down his forehead.
"Everyone squeeze in tighter!"
Li Ying barked, swiftly pressing a gauze pad from the first-aid kit against the wound.
Li Wu immediately behaved after seeing that.
As the hail intensified, the air grew colder. Even huddled together under the tarp, the children shivered.
Their light summer clothes offered little protection against the biting chill.
Hu Zhenghao held one edge of the tarp while pushing the twins further into the center.
Meanwhile, Hu Jun and Shen Xianjun weren’t faring much better.
The freshmen, though top recruits from across the country, lacked physical preparedness. The sudden storm had thrown them into chaos.
When the hail began, Hu Jun and Shen Xianjun ordered everyone to take cover under trees or shield their heads.
But some recruits panicked—tripping over themselves, dragging others down in the process.
The instructors, rushing to help, ended up injured themselves.
"Do you have any idea what you just did?"
Shen Xianjun yanked a recruit aside, his voice seething.
"I—I was just scared! I’ve never trained for this before! It wasn’t on purpose!"
The recruit trembled.
"You ignored the assembly call, ran wildly during evacuation, knocked people over, and even pushed others behind you as shields! On the battlefield, you’d be a deserter—a coward who gets others killed!"
Shen Xianjun took a deep breath, his temple throbbing from a hailstone strike.
"I’m filing a report to have you sent back. Stupidity is one thing, but stupidity that harms others is unforgivable."
After a headcount, his thoughts turned to the children.
"Brother, does it snow in summer too?"
Li Wen couldn’t contain his curiosity.
"That’s not snow—it’s hail. Grandma Yang once told me hail forms when hot and cold air collide, so it usually happens in warm weather. But it’s an extreme phenomenon that causes a lot of damage."
Hu Zhenghao, older and more educated under Professor Wen’s tutelage, knew far more than the others.
"Grandma Yang’s vegetables and Grandma Wang’s grapes… they’re probably all ruined now."
At this, Li Wu’s eyes widened. His lips quivered.
"So… no more veggies? Grandma Wang promised to save the grapes for us!"
"Hail that big would smash anything it hits."
Li Wen sighed at his brother’s single-minded focus on food.
"What about Grandma? Could the hail break the roof?"
Li Wen suddenly worried about home.
Hu Zhenghao fell silent—because that was entirely possible.
Time crawled by. Some children began sneezing, and gradually, the hail subsided.
