OBS Chapter 436 Came here for a vacation?
Chapter 436 Came here for a vacation?
These thirty or so men were mostly elite reconnaissance soldiers from various units. His thinking was clear: special forces soldiers, their skills were a given, needless to say.
But most importantly, one must be quick-witted and have a strong mental fortitude. When faced with unexpected situations, complex environments, or even desperate situations, one must be able to quickly analyze, make decisive decisions, and respond flexibly.
In this respect, reconnaissance soldiers who have undergone rigorous selection and combat training do have a significant advantage over ordinary infantry.
As for how to train, he wasn't really sure. Although he had a vague concept of future special operations from his past life, he had never actually done it before.
Thinking about it and doing it are two completely different things.
Zhang Haiyang? You can't count on that kid either. He's good at charging into battle, but he's far from being able to train systematically.
Let's keep it simple and direct. Besides daily physical training and proficiency in hand-to-hand combat and firearms, we need a realistic training scenario, no fancy moves. We'll take the team to the deep mountains and forests of the wilderness. Their troop base is surrounded by towering mountains, with many areas being sparsely populated and practically primeval forests. The ecology is currently quite good, with wild boars, bears, leopards, and even tigers roaming the dense forests—a natural training ground.
Today we're taking the team out again, and all we're equipped with are our personal military bags, mainly containing firearms, daggers, ropes, and other items. We're not bringing tents, clothing, or food; it's not a vacation or camping trip.
Wild Man Gully is about 30 to 40 miles away from the nearest village, and that's the straight-line distance. It would take most of the day to hike there. This is their destination for this training exercise.
The group walked through a winding, thorny forest. There was no path underfoot; they cleared a way with machetes. Tall trees overhead blocked out the sun, making it dimly lit even in broad daylight. Unidentified birds chirped and clucked from the depths of the woods—a series of eerie sounds. Anyone traveling alone would have been too afraid to come here.
Zhang Haiyang led the way, brandishing his machete. The dense forest was stifling and hot; he was soaked in sweat, sticky and panting heavily.
"Yuemin, I fucking believed your nonsense. I should have just stayed in my office, drinking tea and reading the newspaper—how comfortable that would have been!"
Now look what's happened! You tricked me into coming to this godforsaken place to suffer like this. Is this a place fit for a human being? It's a giant, fucking steamer!
Zhong Yuemin followed steadily behind him, and upon hearing this, he chuckled and said sarcastically:
"Don't bite the hand that feeds you. You're ungrateful. Do the math yourself. How long has it been since you escaped death in the Gobi Desert? Look at all the fat you've gained. If you keep sitting like this in the office, I bet you'll be as fat as those pigs that our company's cooks carefully raise for the New Year. I'm helping you lose weight and get stronger. You should thank me."
"Get lost, I should be thanking you properly!"
After a morning of arduous trekking through dense forests with virtually no paths, the team finally reached the heart of Yeren Valley.
The scenery here is even more primitive and wild than the surrounding area. The trees are taller and denser, with thickets of shrubs layered upon each other, completely blocking out the light. Even at noon, it is dark and gloomy all around.
The air was filled with a strong, peculiar stench, the result of years of accumulated decay and rotting leaves, mixed with the earthy smell and an indescribable musty odor. It was extremely pungent and unpleasant to smell.
The air inside is stagnant, filled with a hazy, miasma that makes breathing difficult and may even be toxic.
Zhong Yuemin stopped and scanned the surroundings:
"Okay, this is it. For the next week, we'll be operating in this area. The training will consist of only one subject: wilderness survival."
Looking at the young yet tense faces, his tone remained calm:
"I don't care what methods you use, whether it's making fire by rubbing sticks together, setting traps to hunt, identifying wild fruits, finding water sources, or digging pits to make shelters... it doesn't matter."
I have only one request: in seven days, I want to see you all standing before me, fully recovered and able to move. Alright, dismissed. Find your own places to settle down.
Having said that, he ignored the various expressions on everyone's faces, walked straight to a thick tree trunk that required two people to hug, and nimbly climbed up a flat branch three or four meters above the ground. He sat down comfortably, leaning against the solid trunk, and even leisurely broke off a blade of grass from a nearby vine and put it in his mouth, looking like he was watching a show from the sidelines.
In less than half a day, Ning Wei, being a top-tier soldier, quickly hunted down a wild boar, not very big, weighing around 100 pounds.
The process of removing hair, gutting, and cutting was so skillful that it seemed as if the chef had worked in the mess hall for over a decade. As the campfire was lit, the wild boar meat on the grill sizzled and dripped with fat, filling the air with an enticing aroma.
This remote mountain forest is dangerous, but it's also rich in resources, especially natural seasonings.
Ning Wei somehow found some wild Sichuan peppercorns, a few unknown plants with a spicy aroma that resembled wild chili peppers, and a small handful of wild scallions. He crushed them, mixed them with a little coarse salt, and evenly spread them on the golden-brown roasted meat.
The aroma instantly intensified, and the others could only watch longingly as they munched on the sour wild fruits they had found. Even Zhong Yuemin, who was leaning against a tree branch as a "supervisor," couldn't help but swallow hard.
Ning Wei sat cross-legged by the fire, expressionlessly tearing into the charred and tender wild boar meat, ignoring the envious glances cast his way.
It's not that we don't value camaraderie!
This is an ironclad rule: everyone must solve their own survival problem for seven days. Food and water will not be shared. Anyone who fails this most basic survival test will be eliminated without question.
Driven by Ning Wei's provocation and their survival instincts, the others gradually figured it out in the following days.
The traps began to take effect, the rudimentary bows and arrows became accurate, and wild rabbits and pheasants became their meals one after another. One group even worked together to successfully hunt a sizable wild deer using carefully set snares and encirclements.
The aroma of various roasted meats and soups began to waft around the campsite. The initial tension and fatigue on many team members' faces gradually faded, replaced by a sense of satisfaction and even a little laziness. They patted their bulging bellies and chatted and laughed around the campfire.
As Zhong Yuemin leaned against the tree, watching this scene, he felt a little uneasy:
Damn it, this isn't right... The original intention of choosing Wild Man Valley was to let them experience the cruelty of wilderness survival, but they all look like they're here for a mountain vacation and a picnic.
Is this place too "rich"? At this rate, people like Zhang Haiyang will not only fail to lose weight, but will also tend to gain weight!