"Li Wu, your pants..."
Someone suddenly spoke up, pointing at Li Wu's exposed backside.
Li Wu snapped to attention, covering himself with both hands in a panic. Oh no, oh no—he'd completely forgotten! When had his grass skirt disappeared? Good heavens!
The group burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Hu Zhenghao bit back his amusement, suppressing a chuckle.
"Come on, let's go change your pants."
Hu Zhenghao pulled Li Wu along, with Li Wen silently trailing behind.
"Big brother, should we sew the pants first and then wash them, or wash them first and then sew them?"
Now dressed in fresh trousers, Li Wu no longer felt embarrassed. He tilted his head at Hu Zhenghao, eyeing the tattered pants with holes bigger than his face.
"Wash them first. It's hot out—they'll dry fast. Next time, don’t be so lazy."
Hu Zhenghao thought for a moment before answering.
Li Wu obediently gathered the clothes and went off to wash them.
Li Ying soon returned. The large stretch of forest had been cordoned off, and they’d have to wait for further inspection before entering again.
"Get some rest early tonight. Tomorrow, I’m taking you all to the shooting range."
The moment Li Ying finished speaking, the children erupted in cheers.
"Really? Can we touch the guns?"
"You’ll get your chance, depending on how you perform."
Li Ying’s words stoked the children’s curiosity. What boy didn’t love firearms?
They woke up at five the next morning for drills and a five-kilometer run. The kids finished minutes faster than usual, lining up with eager discipline, their eyes fixed on Li Ying.
"Breakfast first. After that, we head to the shooting range. Today, I’ll teach you a shooting song."
Li Ying had barely sung the first line when he realized the children already knew it.
"Good. Louder now. Forward march—to the canteen."
A group of new recruits from the National Defense force were drawn in by the scouts' singing, turning to watch.
They knew a little about the Boy Scouts, so they weren’t too surprised—until after breakfast, when Hu Zhenghao’s squad lined up alongside them, marching together to the shooting range.
Today, your instructors will demonstrate a competition for you. There will be two events, ensuring everyone gets to participate—including our young scouts. The winners get to try shooting and enjoy braised pork tonight. The losers? An extra five-kilometer run.
Hu Zhenghao and the others widened their eyes. They were competing against adults? How could they possibly win?
"I want to shoot!"
Li Wu was practically bouncing with excitement.
The first event is gun disassembly and reassembly. For fairness, the scouts get an extra minute. The second event is a one-kilometer obstacle course—eight obstacles for the recruits, six over eight hundred meters for the scouts.
Once the rules were announced, everyone was fired up.
The instructors stepped forward, with Hu Jun as the head referee.
Meanwhile, deep in the mountains, Shen Xianjun led a team sweeping for landmines. The borrowed detector was operated by a specialist.
"This detector is still experimental—it’s not foolproof and can be affected by other minerals."
The specialist explained the limitations, and Shen Xianjun nodded. By yesterday afternoon and this morning, he’d already marked out safe zones—areas they’d previously traversed, separated from the unknown.
Clad in heavy bomb suits, with medics on standby, Shen Xianjun took point.
Based on the crater from yesterday’s explosion, he’d estimated the mine’s power and identified its general type from the debris.
Whenever the detector beeped, Shen Xianjun would mark the spot and clear the area with an entrenching tool.
Pressure-activated mines weren’t safe to dig up without specialized training. Shen Xianjun carefully checked but found no mine—just rusted metal fragments, remnants of past battles.
Despite the false alarms, Shen Xianjun didn’t call off the search. If anything, the fragments made him more meticulous.
Each flagged spot deepened the team’s doubts as errors piled up.
At the fourth location, Shen Xianjun slowed his movements even further. A black corner peeked through the dirt.
"Fall back to a safe distance. Hand me the blast helmet—I’ll detonate it."
Shen Xianjun ordered the retreat. Here, his rank was highest.
"Major Shen, let me handle it."
"You’re not even married yet. I’ve trained for this. Follow orders—fall back."
Shen Xianjun shot him a look, donned the helmet, and waited until everyone was clear. Then he heaved a large rock, took aim, and hurled it down.
These old mines were pressure-triggered, requiring enough force to explode.
But after years underground, even disarming them risked detonation. The safest option was to blow them in place.
The explosion echoed, drowned out by gunfire at the range, where all eyes were on the competition.
Hu Jun’s brow twitched slightly as he glanced toward the mountains.
Dirt sprayed, the ground shaking as the team rushed to Shen Xianjun, buried under soil.
"I’m fine."
Shen Xianjun shook his head, pulling off the helmet.
"Luck’s on our side—this area’s clear now. Keep searching."
He sat up, scanning the flagged spots.
The medic refused to let him move until after repeated examinations, confirming he was unharmed.
"I told you I’m fine. Let’s go."
Shen Xianjun climbed to his feet.
Back at the range—
"Wow! The instructors are amazing!"
Li Wu led the cheering.
Even the recruits were impressed—the scout instructors were full of surprises, matching their own instructors blow for blow.
Li Ying didn’t take first place, but second among twelve instructors was no small feat, with razor-thin margins.
"You’re this happy even though I didn’t win?"
Li Ying laughed at the kids’ awestruck faces.
"Second is still incredible! And every instructor was amazing!"
Li Wu piped up, uncharacteristically diplomatic.
"Kid, always aim for first, got it?"
"Got it! I’m gonna be the best!"
Li Wu thumped his chest.
Good. Next, your instructor will teach you gun disassembly and reassembly. You’ll have ten minutes to learn, grouped by squad.
Hu Jun laid out the rules, giving them three minutes to prepare.
The Boy Scouts had ten members, while each recruit platoon had thirty, split into competing teams for scoring.
At the instructor's direction, everyone sat in a circle around them, cross-legged on the ground.
A whistle blew. Hu Jun started the timer.
The instructor dismantled the gun, naming each part, counting the pieces, then explaining reassembly.
