Li Ling only stood up when a square-faced sergeant in an army uniform with a leather belt strode up to them.
Looking at the sergeant, who is also Xiao Zhuang's future squad leader in the original story, Zheng Sanpao, nicknamed Laopao.
Old Pao glanced at Li Ling and said coldly, "Didn't you hear me calling you?"
Li Ling straightened up, his military posture even more perfect than that of an old soldier, and shouted, "Reporting, sergeant! There were so many soldiers here just now. You only mentioned that soldier, but you didn't call me by name. How are we supposed to know which soldier you were calling?"
“I have a name,” Li Ling added.
Chen Xiwa, who was standing nearby, was shocked. She hadn't expected Li Ling to be so fierce, and quickly reached out to tug at Li Ling's sleeve.
"Hey, this is interesting!" the old man thought to himself, glancing indifferently at the anxious Chen Xiwa before ignoring him.
He turned his gaze to Li Ling, looked him up and down, and said with a forced smile, "Not bad! You even know to call out 'Report, squad leader!' What's your name?"
Li Ling shouted, "Reporting to the squad leader, my name is Zhuang Yan."
Li Ling shouted this even louder than before, with a hint of provocation in his voice. He was determined to leave a deep impression on the veteran.
The old man impatiently twirled his ear piercing with his finger and said, "What are you yelling for? If you like yelling so much, you'll have plenty to yell for later."
Upon hearing this, Li Ling's tense body suddenly relaxed. He turned his head to look to the side and said disdainfully in a voice just loud enough for the three of them to hear:
"What's so great about you? You're just the one who takes over the recruits, not my squad leader. We might not even have anything to do with each other in the future!"
Chen Xiwa, standing next to him, twitched his lips, barely managing to suppress a smile, thinking to himself, "This guy is really something else."
"I still..."
The veteran's temple throbbed, and a sense of absurdity rose in his heart. He had never encountered many new recruits who dared to provoke veterans. How come this kid looked even more like a seasoned veteran than the seasoned veterans?
After glaring at Li Ling for a few seconds, the old man nodded slightly and said calmly, "Zhuang Yan... I'll remember you!"
Li Ling shrugged and said, "Reporting to the squad leader, my name is easy to remember, you can just call me Xiao Zhuang."
Old Pao nodded again and said, "Xiao Zhuang, good, very good."
After saying that, he turned and left, but judging from his slightly tense cheeks, he was holding back a lot of energy!
Li Ling gave the old man the middle finger as he walked away, then smiled and tilted his head at Chen Xiwa, saying, "Let's go!"
Chen Xiwa was completely stunned by Li Ling's actions!
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Chapter 24 Sharpness
Let's go!
Li Ling pulled Chen Xiwa, who was stunned by her own bold performance, towards the platform.
Previously, the train they were on was a special train for local troops to be received, but the train they were about to take was going to the city where the troops were located.
The unit they were going to belonged to the Southwest Military Region (the original drama was set in the Southeast Military Region, but the story takes place in the southern border area of the Southwest Military Region, so it has been changed to the Southwest Military Region here).
On the train, Li Ling sat in the aisle seat, and Chen Xiwa sat opposite him.
Li Ling looked at the train junction, and across from him, Chen Xiwa took an apple out of her pocket and stuffed it into Li Ling's hand, laughing, "Have an apple, you really offended that soldier just now!"
Li Ling casually wiped the apple on his clothes, took a bite, and found it quite sweet. He smiled and said, "It's okay, ignore him!"
Chen Xiwa: "..."
Meanwhile, on Lao Pao's side, Lao Pao and another sergeant were at the rendezvous point chatting with the recruiting officer about the new recruits.
The officer said to them with great interest, "Let me tell you, among our new recruits this time, there is a college student, I heard he is from the directing department of the drama academy, he's into the arts."
"Which one?" the old man asked in surprise.
But for some reason, he seemed to have a plan in mind.
The official pointed to where Li Ling was and said, "Over there."
Following the direction the cadre was pointing, Lao Pao's gaze met Li Ling's.
Li Ling looked at him, her lips slightly pursed, and took a big bite of the apple in her hand.
The old man snorted softly, a strange smile playing on his lips, recalling Li Ling's words, "Whether we fight or not is uncertain?"
Hmph, I'll give you a chance to deal with me! "I hope you don't back down, you greenhorn!"
"We'll see, you old bastard!" Li Ling thought to himself with a snort.
"Don't look so preoccupied, what are you thinking about?" Chen Xiwa looked at Li Ling, puzzled.
Li Ling nodded his chin in the direction of the old soldier and smiled meaningfully, "I have a feeling I'll run into that old bastard again."
"Huh?" Chen Xiwa was taken aback. He turned around and saw Lao Pao's face, which looked like someone owed him a lot of money. He immediately shrank back and said nervously, "No, no way."
Li Ling patted him on the shoulder and said, "Relax. Even if you run into this kind of veteran again in the army, it's hard to say who will take care of whom!"
Chen Xiwa scratched his head and advised, "He's a veteran, why are you taking it so seriously? We're unfamiliar with this place, we're likely to suffer a loss."
Li Ling chuckled: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Besides, the army is so big, we might not even run into him."
Of course, these were Li Ling's words to comfort Chen Xiwa; he would definitely run into Lao Pao.
He and Lao Pao would become comrades-in-arms who relied on each other in their future special operations careers. However, Lao Pao was someone Li Ling disliked very much at this stage, so Li Ling felt it was necessary to confront Lao Pao now, make him suffer some losses and learn a lesson, and change his attitude towards new recruits.