# 72
**Chapter 72: Training Begins**
From the day after Lin Qiye arrived at the training camp, more and more new recruits began pouring in. The once-empty dormitory building was now almost fully occupied without anyone noticing.
By the third morning, Lin Qiye was woken by the noise in the hallway. He sat up and rubbed his sleepy eyes.
“Huh? The fatso’s up this early?” Lin Qiye glanced over and saw that the pigsty-like bed beside him was already empty. He raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Looks like this rich kid really is a bit different.
After spending a couple of days together, Lin Qiye had formed a basic impression of Baili Pangpang. He wasn’t the arrogant, domineering type of rich kid. Instead, he seemed to be trying hard to hide his background, pretending to be from an “ordinary family”—though his acting was painfully bad.
Not a bad person at heart, just a bit lacking in common sense. That was Lin Qiye’s initial assessment of Baili Pangpang.
Lin Qiye wasn’t afraid of trouble. In fact, in some ways, he even hoped his roommate would be an arrogant, confrontational type—someone he could beat up and then take over the whole room.
But instead… he got this harmless, lovable fatso!
The guy smiled at him every day, gave him gifts at every opportunity, and spoke politely. Lin Qiye felt like he was punching cotton.
Beating him up… would weigh on his conscience. Not beating him up… well, when the fatso snuck his foot near Lin Qiye’s face in the middle of the night, it was hard to resist.
The worst part was, after Lin Qiye woke up from the stench, Baili Pangpang would look into his eyes with seven parts sincerity and three parts shyness and say:
“Qiye, you still haven’t answered me—does my foot smell nice?”
Fortunately, Lin Qiye didn’t have a knife nearby, or the fatso wouldn’t have lived to see the next sunrise.
Lin Qiye stretched, put his toothbrush in his mouth, and dragged his empty thermos out to wash up.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw a huge crowd gathered in front of the opposite dormitory. In the middle of it all, a glittering, jewel-encrusted fatso was shouting at the top of his lungs:
“Comrades! I brought some local specialties from home—please don’t be shy! I hope we can all get along well this year!
Hey, don’t push! Everyone will get one!”
Baili Pangpang raised his chubby arm, wrapped in over a dozen different luxury watches like a mummy—pure opulence.
The surrounding recruits went wild.
“Don’t get the wrong idea—I’m not some rich kid! I’m just from an ordinary family. I just want to get along with everyone…”
—*Clatter!*
Lin Qiye stood frozen, toothbrush falling from his mouth as he stared across the way.
“What the hell is this guy’s background?” he muttered.
Even the richest kids didn’t give out luxury watches to all 200+ recruits. This was just throwing money around!
Still, not everyone was swept up in the chaos.
Lin Qiye noticed a boy leaning against the wall on the same floor, watching coldly from the sidelines.
He stood there like he was in another world, completely detached—an invisible wall seemed to separate him from the noise, his eyes calm as still water.
On the girls’ dormitory to the right, a long-haired girl stood on the balcony, squinting at Baili Pangpang with clear disdain.
The more Lin Qiye looked, the more he realized how many people were quietly watching this farce. Some were indifferent, some amused, some disgusted, some eager…
Baili Pangpang’s stunt had ignited the dormitory atmosphere—and also unveiled a hidden tapestry before Lin Qiye’s eyes.
And as Lin Qiye noticed them, they noticed each other.
Just then, Instructor Hong stormed into the dormitory area with several other instructors, glaring up at the noisy building and roaring:
“What the hell is going on here?!”
“Running a market, are we?! You want me to bring in some strippers to spice things up?!”
His shouts echoed across the buildings. The crowd around Baili Pangpang scattered instantly, leaving only the fatso clutching his watches. He quietly dropped to the floor and muttered:
“You can’t see me, you can’t see me, you can’t see me…”
Instructor Hong’s eye twitched. He barked:
“Just because training hasn’t officially started doesn’t mean you can run wild! Once you walk through that gate, you’re soldiers!
Soldiers follow *discipline*!
This is your first and only warning! Next time I catch anyone causing trouble, I’ll make you regret it!”
He roared again, “Did you hear me?!”
“Yes, sir!” came the reply from all three dorms.
Instructor Hong’s gaze swept across Building Three like a blade. Then he said slowly:
“Everyone, assemble at the training ground at 2 PM sharp!”
He turned and left with the other instructors.
Baili Pangpang peeked through the railing, then scrambled up and ran to Lin Qiye’s side.
“That was close… luckily I hid fast!” he said, clutching his chest.
Lin Qiye: …
“Guess I won’t be giving out the rest of these gifts,” Baili Pangpang sighed, looking at the watches in his arms.
“Why are you so obsessed with giving gifts?” Lin Qiye asked.
“How else do you make friends?” Baili Pangpang said matter-of-factly. “My dad says the world runs on relationships…”
“…” Lin Qiye rolled his eyes. “If the world ran only on that, society would already be dead.”
He picked up his toothbrush and walked off toward the hot water room, leaving Baili Pangpang standing there, scratching his head in confusion.
…
Afternoon.
Lin Qiye changed into the military uniform he’d picked up from the supply station and headed straight for the training ground.
Baili Pangpang waddled after him, struggling to stuff his butt into his pants, calling out, “Qiye, wait for me!”
By the time they arrived, most people were already there. No formations had been assigned yet, so everyone stood around randomly—tall, short, fat, thin.
On the platform, over twenty instructors stood tall and straight like pine trees.
At the front, Head Instructor Yuan Gang looked down at the chaotic crowd, eyes narrowing…