From Soldier to Officer: A Game Addict's Journey

132  One Dream, One More Time

In the dormitory, Wang Ye felt utterly bewildered. The sudden call for an emergency assembly had unnerved everyone, not just him.

Liang Fan had already thrown his blanket down from his bunk in a hurry to get ready.

Even though he was a bit late, Wang Ye decided to follow suit and jump down as well.

However, Ye Sanshi's angry scolding froze the dormitory in silence, as if time had come to a standstill.

After a brief moment of hush, Liang Fan embraced himself and cried out in pain, "Damn it!"

It was only then that Wang Ye realized he hadn't heard the assembly whistle at all.

Glancing at Song Yuejin on the upper bunk across from him, Wang Ye couldn't help but mutter, "I... Class monitor... I... I must be dreaming!"

Even Song Yuejin seemed dumbfounded at that moment. He sat on his bed, turned to look at Liang Fan, and appeared somewhat at a loss.

The nightmare had startled him awake, but it had also roused the others.

"Brother, if you keep doing this, someone's going to die!" Liang Fan said with a bitter smile.

He had been sleeping soundly, but not only was he now wide awake, his blanket had also been thrown down.

"Hey!" Wang Ye let out a sigh of helplessness and lay back down.

It was at this moment that Wang Ye noticed the other beds in the dormitory were still empty.

This meant that no one had slept for long. In any case, it hadn't been an hour.

"Alright, let's go back to sleep. Don't make a fuss. If there's an emergency gathering, they'll definitely blow the whistle. I'll wake you up too," said Ye Sanshi, who was also taken aback by the unexpected situation.

After all, he was human, too and needed rest. He was actually quite sleepy.

And so, they all returned to their beds to sleep.

"Brother Fan, I'm sorry. Why don't I help you pick up the blanket?" Song Yuejin offered quietly, a bit embarrassed.

"Forget it, I'll do it myself!" Liang Fan replied weakly as he climbed out of bed.

The poor child, Wang Ye, was still struggling to get back to sleep, crawling up and down restlessly, feeling agitated from the earlier commotion. He knew it would take him a few more minutes to finally doze off again.

At this moment, he wasn't in the frame of mind to pay attention to anything else.

Half-asleep, Wang Ye faintly sensed that someone had returned to the dormitory.

However, he didn't fully wake up. Instead, he turned over and lay on his side.

The drowsiness was overwhelming. Even though he registered the sound of their return, his brain compelled him to ignore it.

Amidst this haze, Wang Ye overheard Zhang Ping'an's complaint.

"Be careful next time. If you wear my pants again, I'll be really mad at you..."

Evidently, Zhang Ping'an had found his pants. However, it seemed that they weren't left in the dormitory but had been worn by someone else.

Wang Ye didn't dwell on this matter or pay much attention to it.

He simply raised his hand to cover his head and ears, hoping to block out any further disturbances and get some much-needed rest.

...

"Shh! Shh... Shh... Shh! Emergency assembly!"

This time, it wasn't just sleep-talking; the dormitory was facing a real emergency.

The loud whistle in the middle of the night was piercing to the ears.

"Damn it, I just laid down!"

"What the hell?"

Someone in the dormitory cried out in pain.

It hadn't been more than twenty minutes since Qin Li and the others had returned.

Some of them had barely settled on their beds. Zhang Ping'an was searching for his pants using a small flashlight borrowed from Ye Sanshi. Others were wasting time looking for their shoes.

Though they hadn't lost anything significant and had just gone to bed, now they were being disrupted.

"Quick, get dressed and pack!"

Ye Sanshi had woken up when they returned and had earlier hushed them, advising them not to make too much noise. However, now he was asleep again. Being a veteran, he was accustomed to such situations and was mentally prepared for tonight's events.

With authority in his voice, he began to shake the beds of a few deeply sleeping individuals, rousing them awake.

As for Wang Ye, he didn't need any loud commands like before.

Even in his sleep, he was more alert, so when the emergency whistle sounded, he immediately woke up.

He sat up, just like he had done before, swiftly packing his clothes.

In the dormitory, things were much smoother than the last time.

The noise level had reduced significantly.

The key difference was that everyone was mentally prepared this time. Ye Sanshi had warned them all, whether it was the four, including Wang Ye, who returned earlier or the six who came back later. They were all informed about the possibility of another emergency assembly that night. As a result, everyone took extra care with their clothes and shoes, not daring to toss them around carelessly.

Wang Ye efficiently packed his belongings in an orderly manner, slightly speeding up his process this time.

Once he was done, he dashed out of the door, not even bothering to pack his bag or buckle his belt.

He remembered his promise to Wu Jianfeng that he would be the first next time.

In fact, Wang Ye's speed this time was only marginally slower than Ye Sanshi's.

"Alright, let's head downstairs!"

Ye Sanshi looked at Wang Ye and spoke.

"Yes, sir!" Wang Ye replied promptly. This time, Ye Sanshi didn't wait long. He addressed the dormitory, "Hurry up. I'll head down first. You all must be down within five minutes."

During the first emergency assembly, Ye Sanshi and the other class leaders had been stationed at the door, urging everyone to gather. It was partly to help the newcomers.

But this time, it was indeed a genuine emergency gathering.

After quickly packing their belongings, they gathered in front of the dormitory building as instructed.

Wang Ye followed Ye Sanshi downstairs, and as they reached the stairs, he heard footsteps coming from the floor above. However, he didn't pay much attention to it.

Once downstairs, Ye Sanshi headed straight to his seat in Class 5, while Wu Jianfeng positioned himself at the corridor entrance. When Wu Jianfeng spotted Wang Ye, he didn't say anything, and Wang Ye reciprocated the gesture by standing not far from Ye Sanshi.

Looking around, Wang Ye saw four others already standing outside. He noticed that he was the only recruit among them, while the rest were veteran squad leaders.

However, this didn't necessarily mean that he was faster than all the other veterans. Some of them had taken a bit longer due to their concern for the recruits in their respective classes.

In a matter of seconds, two more people rushed out of the stairwell - one was a veteran, and the other a recruit from the second squad.

Upon seeing the situation outside, the second squad recruit seemed slightly surprised at first, but then his expression relaxed. However, when his eyes fell on Wang Ye, he halted in his tracks.

Clearly, he was struggling inwardly. He had assumed that being a new recruit, he would be the only one among the veteran squad leaders outside. Unexpectedly, Wang Ye had managed to outpace him this time.

.....

Five minutes passed, and all the recruits in the company had gathered.

"Attention..."

The platoon leader on duty began forming the platoon, and each squad leader reported the number of people in their respective squads. After the counts were reported, Wu Jianfeng decided against making them run three kilometers this time.

Instead, all the squad leaders turned on their flashlights and began inspecting their squads.

Anyone who hadn't packed their bags properly or had other issues was immediately called out.

This time, no warnings were given before being punished.

Wu Jianfeng addressed them, "I understand you guys must be tired from boxing just now. So, let's try something new. We'll walk like ducks this time. We just need to walk around the field."

This was a novel form of punishment that the recruit company had never done before.

However, Wang Ye was familiar with this approach.

As they were being checked outside, some of the veterans remarked that this form of punishment was not something done by humans regularly. It was a rare training method and was only brought out when something went wrong or someone made a mistake.

Thankfully, Wang Ye didn't have to experience it this time. He passed the inspection.

In truth, not many people were punished during this gathering. Only eight individuals were selected from the entire company, and among them was Qin Li, the unlucky one from Class Five.

When Qin Li was called out, his expression was indeed pitiful, knowing he had been chosen for this special form of training.