Chapter 5: The Soldier Must Run

Chapter 5: The Little Soldier Must Run

One

“That’s amazing!” Wei the Monk exclaimed.

Even Li Yunlong was unusually quiet for once, and he gently opened the little booklet to read it.

Guan Shan explained from the side, “Aside from medical supplies, our pharmaceutical plant can now produce two main categories of medicine. One is for stopping bleeding and treating wounds. The other is for common illnesses—antipyretics, painkillers, cough suppressants, antiemetics, antidiarrheals, and the like...”

He did not go into more detailed or specific matters. For example, in the hemostatic and wound-care category, they had tinctures, pills, powders, salves, and pellets, but no sulfa drugs for inflammation. Whether those could not be made or were simply too scarce to keep was impossible to say.

For another example, the plant could already produce belladonna tablets for treating gastrointestinal spasms, as well as quinine injections and glucose injections. It had even developed the technology to manufacture morphine hydrochloride.

“Astonishing. Truly astonishing!” Li Yunlong said with deep feeling.

Then he turned his head, put the book down, and looked Guan Shan over from head to toe. “How’s your leg recovering?”

“Is there a mission?” Guan Shan asked at once.

Li Yunlong bared his teeth in a grin and laughed, pointing at Guan Shan to Wei the Monk. “See? What did I tell you? What did I tell you?”

Wei the Monk chuckled and said to Guan Shan, “The regiment commander heard your marksmanship was only so-so and wanted to see how your leg was doing. If it’s no big problem, he wants you to practice this afternoon.”

“With live ammo?” Guan Shan rubbed his hands together, visibly excited and eager.

In his previous life, Guan Shan had not been completely unfamiliar with guns, but he had only handled real firearms during college military training. Later, the airsoft-style games in team-building activities used imitation guns.

In this life’s memories, ever since he had signed up to join the Independent Regiment, he and Wang Gensheng had touched guns very few times, almost always only in training. Altogether they had fired just three live rounds, and all three had missed.

In those small-scale engagements, Guan Shan and Wang Gensheng had both been assigned as grenade throwers, and had not been issued rifles at all.

“Hahaha, live ammo? Dreaming, aren’t you!” Li Yunlong laughed, then said to Wei the Monk, “Monk, this brat’s yours now. Teach him properly!”

“Yes!” Guan Shan and Wei the Monk answered together, snapping to attention.

Two

“What? He can shoot live rounds already? It’s only been a few days. Monk, don’t fool me!” Li Yunlong looked at Wei the Monk and Guan Shan behind him in disbelief.

“He can definitely handle prone firing now! I hung two bricks on him and he was steady as a rock. I also checked his sight picture and trigger alignment, and this!” Wei the Monk lifted a thumb with pride.

Guan Shan also straightened his chest with confidence.

“Heh! Tell you lot you’re fat and you start puffing with pride!” Li Yunlong sat on the edge of the kang, hooked up his shoe with his foot, knocked the dust off, and slipped it on. “Come on. Let’s take a look!”

“Brother Shanzi’s got plenty of strength, and he used to shoot a hunting rifle too. He’ll be fine!” Wei the Monk beat his chest in guarantee on Guan Shan’s behalf.

Just as Guan Shan and Wei the Monk were about to follow Li Yunlong out, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came to a stop at the doorway.

“Report!”

“Come in!” Li Yunlong called.

A signal runner ran in, breathless, saluted Li Yunlong, and said, “Report, Regiment Commander. The soldier sent by Third Battalion on reconnaissance was ambushed by the Japanese. Only one made it back. The political commissar is at Third Battalion headquarters and has already notified the battalion commander and company instructor to go there. The commissar says it would be best if you could hurry over as well!”

“All right, understood!” Li Yunlong said. “Monk, Shanzi, come with me!”

“Yes!” Wei the Monk answered loudly.

Guan Shan hesitated for a moment, then also answered loudly, “Yes!”

He was thinking that Li Yunlong and Wei the Monk had apparently forgotten that the plaster splint on his leg had actually not yet been removed.

But Guan Shan assessed it himself as well. A week had already passed. Although he still took care not to exert too much force, that was only his own caution. From the experience of his previous life, he should already be fine.

Wei the Monk ran off to get the horse ready for Li Yunlong. Guan Shan returned to the room, packed his books, paper, and pens into a shoulder bag, and slung it over his back. After a moment’s hesitation, he left his crutches by the door, then thought better of it and decided he should still take them along.

“Brother Shanzi, hurry up! I’m going ahead with the regiment commander. Catch up fast!” Wei the Monk shouted from the doorway. Before Guan Shan could answer, he heard hoofbeats and Wei the Monk’s footsteps following close behind.

“All right, I’m coming!” Guan Shan replied. He tossed one crutch behind the door, tucked the other under his left armpit, tested the ground with his left foot, and then ran out of the regiment headquarters courtyard with a limp.

Three

The marathon is a popular fitness sport with a scientific and systematic training method. So long as one follows that method, even a complete beginner can, within half a year, at least take part in a half marathon.

Put simply, the training can be broken down into fourteen steps and four stages.

The first step is being able to complete 3,000 meters. The second is being able to complete 5,000 meters. There is no time limit. This belongs to the “easy run” stage and usually lasts about a month, with the exact duration adjusted according to the individual’s condition.

Starting with the third step, one advances from easy running to interval training. Through pacing and endurance training, the third step is 3,000 meters in twenty minutes and thirty seconds, the fourth step 5,000 meters in thirty-five minutes and thirty seconds...

Within the first week after injuring his left leg, Guan Shan had not tried running, but he certainly had taken restorative walks.

After testing himself with a run of a hundred or two hundred meters, Guan Shan could already feel that his left leg was no longer an issue. He did not deliberately accelerate to catch up to Li Yunlong and Wei the Monk. Instead, he simply followed behind at his own steady pace, slowly savoring the joy of running.

This was also Guan Shan’s first run since crossing into this life. For an enthusiast whose muscles remembered long-distance marathon running, that kind of joy was something others simply could not feel.

It was truly blissful.

The regiment headquarters was only a dozen li or so from Second Battalion. Though it was all mountain road, the route was relatively gentle. For a healthy Guan Shan, that distance was certainly nothing.

And after this run, Guan Shan was basically certain that his recovery from injury must indeed have been secretly aided by the system. That was wonderful. He silently thanked the system in his heart, grateful for its quiet, unspoken, yet immensely powerful support.

As he left the regiment headquarters, limping and running with a crutch in hand and a splint on his leg, Guan Shan drew a great deal of attention from the soldiers. Some who knew him, and who had already heard of what he had done, even took the initiative to stand at attention and salute him, which filled Guan Shan’s heart with pride.

The Eighth Route Army had always upheld the tradition of not leaving the front line for minor wounds, and Guan Shan’s behavior was not all that unusual.

For Guan Shan, however, he urgently needed to carry out missions and take part in combat. He had to get onto the starting line as quickly as possible and begin his all-out sprint through this life, in this era.

Please save this book and thank you for your recommendation!

End of chapter.