A row, a class, a total of ten people.
The moment Mo Shangjun entered the door, all ten of them came fully into view.
Ten people were lined up in two rows, standing in the aisle between beds, heads up and chests out, standing at attention.
As the door opened, Mo Shangjun received their saluting gaze.
Ten pairs of eyes shot towards her simultaneously, the invisible force hitting her face was enough to instantly dissolve any casualness in Mo Shangjun.
Her expression grew a few degrees more solemn as Mo Shangjun walked a few steps inside, her sharp gaze sweeping over them, the whole class didn’t dare to even breathe heavily.
“Who is the squad leader?” Mo Shangjun asked.
“Reporting, it’s me!”
The first one on the right shouted toward Mo Shangjun properly.
“Go to the other dormitories and gather the new recruits in the hallway, remember to bring stools,” Mo Shangjun ordered sternly.
“Yes!”
The class leader responded decisively.
The next moment, under nine reluctant stares, he vanished like the wind from the dormitory.
Standing quietly at the door, Mo Shangjun looked at these guys, each standing straighter than the last, giving her a real headache.
There was no need to think about it, the soldiers in the other dormitories were definitely not far off from this style.
Mo Shangjun was too lazy to face such a situation, akin to a leader’s inspection, time and time again.
“New recruits, fall out,” Mo Shangjun ordered in a loud voice.
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
The two new recruits at the end of the two rows called out with bated breath.
“Take your stools and go to the hallway.”
“Yes!” the two said in unison.
As their voices fell, they quickly grabbed their stools and walked towards the hallway in perfect step.
“You,” Mo Shangjun said, looking at the few veterans, she noticed their nervousness; frowning, she finally said, “Dismissed.”
“Yes!”
The seven men shouted out loud, all breathing a sigh of relief in their hearts.
They had already experienced the deputy company commander’s methods; they couldn’t let the deputy company commander catch even the slightest fault!
Being incautious in front of the deputy company commander was akin to making trouble for themselves.
With such an interception, the deputy squad leader was inwardly flustered, but asked calmly on the surface, “Deputy Company Commander Mo, is there something else?”
“I need a stool.”
She retracted her hand and said with a smile.
“Alright,” the deputy squad leader quickly agreed.
He soon contributed his own stool.
As Mo Shangjun walked out the door with the stool, the new recruits were all holding their small stools, lined up neatly in two rows outside, looking for all the world like they were assembling for an emergency.
Keeping her presence subdued, Mo Shangjun casually scanned past the doorways of the various dormitories and immediately saw many heads darting back inside; this bizarre scene really made her want to laugh and cry.
“Form four columns, one in each direction: front, back, left, and right,” Mo Shangjun said to the new recruits.
The new recruits, their whole bodies tense, looked at each other uncertainly upon hearing this, and for a moment, none of them reacted.
Mo Shangjun didn’t repeat herself, just stood by the door waiting.
Thankfully, none were truly foolish, and after a few seconds’ hesitation, the new recruits quickly scattered, forming a circle front, back, left, and right.
“Sit.”
Mo Shangjun finally said.
They sat down with their stools, every movement uniform and simultaneous.
Seeing their cautious demeanors, Mo Shangjun didn’t make a sound; carrying the stool, she went to the nearest column and sat down right in the middle of it.
As for the set phrases she had prepared in advance, she casually tossed them aside at the last minute.
Just like that, the work of ideological education proved to be quite difficult.
“Have you adapted after being in the company for two days?” Placing the printed plan on the table, Mo Shangjun asked casually.
“…”
No one made a sound.
Mo Shangjun’s gaze lingered almost imperceptibly on the person opposite her.
Feeling nervous under her scrutiny, that person hesitated for quite a while before finally stuttering out, “Adapting, adapting.”
“I’ll give you guys a choice,” Mo Shangjun touched her nose and laid it out straight, “either communicate with me properly, or we all go see the instructor together.”
“Go see the instructor for what?” A new recruit on the left stretched his neck to ask.
Mo Shangjun turned her head, squinting as she replied, “To receive his esteemed teachings.”
The new recruits shivered, even those sneaking peeks from behind the door felt a sinister chill blow down their backs.
“Deputy Company Commander Mo, how about I act as a representative?”
A new recruit across her raised his hand and suggested to Mo Shangjun with a grin.
Mo Shangjun looked him over twice, recalling all his information from her mind.
Xiang Yongming, 22 years old, just graduated from college, majored in foreign languages.
He was quite good-looking, with a handsome face, a friendly smile, and welcomed everyone with a grin, though it always felt somewhat insincere.
Mo Shangjun remembered him, not because of his looks but for his scores in the recruit training.
With top scores in all subjects and far exceeding the second place, he stood out among all the exceptional new recruits selected from various training units for his leading scores in all subjects.
Additonally, Xiang Yongming was the only recruit who handled the training she devised with ease.
Her thoughts shifted, and Mo Shangjun raised an eyebrow to ask, “You know all of them, do you?”
“Know them! Quite well!” Xiang Yongming immediately took up the conversation, smiling and looking around at the other new recruits.
“Yes, yes, yes…”
“Familiar, familiar, familiar…”
Everyone quickly agreed, nodding.
“Alright then,” Mo Shangjun nodded and then asked, “So, what are the masses’s opinions?”
“Old soldiers have been nice to us, and we’ve adapted pretty well.
We’ve experienced army life in boot camp and are used to it.
We do miss home, but we’re all tough guys; we’ll get through it with a bit of endurance,” Xiang Yongming said, pausing deliberately and showing a hesitant expression, “But there’s one thing…
I don’t know if I should say it.”
“Speak,” Mo Shangjun narrowed her eyes, watching him with interest.
Without guessing, it was apparent what he was about to bring up.
“Well, Deputy Company Commander Mo, the way you welcome new comrades,” he paused, receiving numerous winks and nudges from the others, but he did not stop and frankly said, “makes us somewhat resentful.”
The new recruits inwardly sighed, while the older soldiers hiding behind the door face-palmed.
This guy really must be blind, mustn’t he?
Why argue with a woman!
Just get it over with and leave, right?
“So?”
Unexpectedly, Mo Shangjun seemed to not react much.
“Could you possibly change your methods a bit?” Xiang Yongming looked much more serious and proposed earnestly.
“Like?” Mo Shangjun followed up on his words.
“The intensity of training could be increased gradually, and the criticism and belittlement could be replaced with motivation and encouragement,” Xiang Yongming voiced everyone’s inner thoughts.
“You think…” Mo Shangjun smiled with a curve of her lips, slowly asking, “that I am undermining you?”
“Aren’t you?” Xiang Yongming countered.
The smile deepened at the corner of Mo Shangjun’s lips.
At the same time, a chill spread among the new recruits, making their hearts race.
“Then,” Mo Shangjun began lazily, picking up the dossier as she stood up, her smile-laden gaze swept over all the recruits, her voice was calm to the point of sounding casual, “who wants to have a comparison with me?”