Chapter 42: Investigating the Past

Chapter 42: Investigating Past Events

Xu Qiao could roughly guess what he was thinking, but since this acquired younger brother of hers had agreed, there should not be any major issues.

The only question was whether anything could actually be found.

However, this was just a spur-of-the-moment idea for Xu Qiao.

While considering helping Squad Leader Wu, she suddenly thought of those people. In Xu Qiao's memory, although that group of people had treated her quite well, something had always felt off.

Coupled with that somewhat bizarre car accident, the more she thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

Therefore, upon hearing Xu Gao agree so readily, she casually brought it up.

Whether anything could be uncovered this time was not important; at the very least, it counted as a good start.

As for the job Xu Gao arranged for Squad Leader Wu, it suited him perfectly.

Given the kind of person Squad Leader Wu was, if she were to directly offer him relief and charity, he certainly would not be willing to accept it, and she could not help him for a lifetime either.

Because she was unfamiliar with computers, she had to start from the absolute basics. Reading through basic textbooks one by one, though not difficult, wasted quite a bit of time.

Right at that moment, Cheng Yifei could not help but cry out, "It's unfair! Sister Liu is so capable, why can't she stay?"

Cheng Yifei did not dare to nod aloud, but she tacitly approved of it.

At this point, Cheng Yifei wore a look of utter indignation, clearly not on her own behalf, but for that Sister Liu.

"An exercise might give you the chance to make mistakes and try again, but the battlefield affords no such second chances."

This way, it would not waste his years of accumulated ability, would reflect his true value, and would allow him to earn money to support his family.

Seeing this situation, Xu Qiao was stunned for a moment before immediately realizing that they had also gone to see off the veteran soldiers and were only just returning now.

Upon hearing what Guan Yuqi said about the reorganization, she instead felt a surge of anticipation.

"And what you need to do right now is to train diligently so that such problems will not occur in the next exercise."

Guan Yuqi's expression was not pleasant either, but she was calmer than Cheng Yifei. "Yifei, from your perspective, that might have just been an exercise."

Xu Qiao's memory from her past life was fairly decent; at least during her school days, she never had to worry about memorization. However, those subjects always followed certain rules or could be logically understood.

Guan Yuqi looked at them and said solemnly, "I know that seeing your comrades leave brings sorrow to your hearts, but their departure has its reasons. An iron-clad military camp sees a flowing stream of soldiers; everyone will reach this day eventually."

The radio code words had been memorized for a while now, but they were still a long way from being thoroughly mastered. Learning equipment operation was important, but memorizing these codes was equally crucial.

Therefore, she had no choice but to wait until lights out, grope her way through the dark to the outdoor lights outside, and continue reciting them.

Yet these codes seemed to defy any logical pattern, relying entirely on rote memorization.

Though designated as technical soldiers, Xu Qiao always felt something was missing.

"As far as I know, this reorganization is not just about technical aspects, but military ones as well. Although we are a technical company, we must re-strengthen our military training."

Cheng Yifei froze for a moment, instinctively wanting to retort, but meeting Guan Yuqi's gaze, she swallowed her words back down.

Over this past period, she was no longer a clueless novice; she understood that these code words played a vital role in the communications squad.

"Otherwise... the ones being eliminated today are them, and tomorrow it might be you!"

"Squad Leader, did you hear some news?" Someone noticed that her words seemed to carry a deeper meaning.

Hearing this, Xu Qiao instantly caught on to something and looked up.

The more she pondered this, the more reassured she felt.

"What if that... had been a real battlefield?"

Though filled with anticipation, she did not show it too overtly.

A soldier who cannot shoot and cannot fight—what kind of soldier could they be called?

Fortunately, the others were currently immersed in their own thoughts and did not notice Xu Qiao's expression, otherwise it would have sparked another heated argument.

Hearing her words, everyone fell silent.

She could not help muttering in complaint, "Besides, she herself wanted to stay on. Is it really just because of a single exercise?"

The few looked at each other and fell silent, not daring to complain any further.

This invisibly encroached upon the time she had for memorizing code words.

"As for how intense it will be, I'm not certain. In any case... our future training volume will be much greater than it is now."

"Once a war breaks out, we are the ones who charge to the front lines. Even if we are not a combat unit, we must be prepared at all times, rather than treating exercises as a joke!"

Instead of letting him languish, it was better to place him in a position where he could truly utilize his talents.

Unexpectedly, just as she picked up her codebook, she saw the others walking back with red, tear-rimmed eyes.

"Otherwise, the next person you send off might just be me."

"You want to say that this wasn't a real war after all, right?" Guan Yuqi guessed her thoughts and voiced them aloud on her behalf.

Xu Qiao did not go over to exchange troublesome greetings; she simply sat on her small folding stool and lowered her head to memorize her code words.

Hearing Guan Yuqi mention the strengthening of military training, her eyes lit up instantly.

Although Xu Qiao did not fully understand their situation, she could grasp the general gist of it.

"If this exercise had been a real war, neither you nor I would have any more opportunities to sit here and say these things, and those who have already left wouldn't even have had the chance to take off their military uniforms."

Perhaps still immersed in the sorrow of parting, no one paid attention to her as they each returned to their beds and sat down.

Guan Yuqi's expression shifted, and seeing that the others seemed to tacitly agree with that sentiment, she stated directly, "Have you forgotten that we are a field communications company? You all know what that implies."

"It's not just our company; the entire regiment is about to undergo a comprehensive reorganization."

Furthermore, she knew very well what mattered most right now: she needed to catch up with the others in operating communication equipment before military training commenced.

After entering the communications squad, military training consisted mostly of physical conditioning, while the rest of the time was dedicated to technical training.

Afterward, she could not help but voice her grievance, "Clearly, after doing so much over the past few years, she only made this one mistake. Does all her past contributions no longer count?"

Although the sadness of farewell lingered, lingering over it further served no real purpose; it was better to focus on practical tasks.

Having missed the recruits' company training, she truly had not experienced a single day of genuine military training—she hadn't fired a gun or practiced hand-to-hand combat. Even during her time under Squad Leader Wu, she had only trained in physical endurance and never had the chance to proceed to the subsequent phases.

Guan Yuqi sighed. "Actually, you should all be able to figure it out. The problems exposed during this exercise could not simply be swept under the rug."

Thus, time and again it had been delayed, leaving her mind feeling somewhat numb.

Just as she was continuing her grueling battle with the codebook, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her. Xu Qiao instinctively turned her head. "Squad Leader... why are you up?"

"Someone suddenly goes missing in the middle of the night, what do you think?" Guan Yuqi gave her a helpless look.

Xu Qiao offered an awkward smile. "There was no time during the day, and it was too chaotic, not suitable for memorizing things."