Chapter 9 Training
With a grim face, Himmelstoss first took them to collect the equipment. The equipment was diverse, ranging from gas masks, shovels, to lunch boxes and tents. All of them were things that would be used on the battlefield in the future, weighing about 25 kilograms in total.
Lu Mingfei carried all the equipment on his back. The heavy backpack made his shoulders hurt a little, but he could still hold on.
After they had put their equipment on their backs, Himmelstoss took them to a newly plowed field. The field was full of wet, sticky mud and emitted a foul smell, somewhat like a rice field.
They will practice running and lying down in this muddy field with guns and 25 kilograms of equipment on their backs.
"Sir, why are we training here?"
Some recruits found it hard to accept. It's not like they had never seen other recruits lying down during training, but that was on dry and flat ground, not in this muddy ground where no one knew what was hiding.
"On the battlefield you won't be able to choose whether to lie down on flat ground or in the mud! Follow the order now!" Himmelstoss shouted.
Indeed, this reason was irrefutable, so Lu Mingfei and his companions could only do as they were told. They walked into the mud and lined up. The soft touch of the mud made them feel sick.
"Ready! Start running!"
After hearing Himmelstoss's instructions, Lu Mingfei and the others ran forward through the mud.
"Get down!" Another command came. The moment Lu Mingfei heard the command, he threw himself down into the mud. Because he threw himself too hard, some mud flew into his mouth, forcing him to raise his head. Some new recruits were in a similar situation as him, all raising their heads and trying to spit out the mud in their mouths.
"William Hans, lower your head!" Himmelstoss roared when he saw Lu Mingfei raise his head. Wearing his shiny boots, he stepped into the mud and walked towards Lu Mingfei.
The pair of muddy boots stepped on Lu Mingfei's head, pressing his raised head into the mud, and the mud instantly flowed into his mouth.
"If you don't want to be shot in the head by bullets flying from nowhere on the battlefield, just lower your heads."
The boots crushed Lu Mingfei's head repeatedly, seemingly in retaliation for the humiliation he had just caused Himmelstoss.
This made Lu Mingfei feel an unprecedented humiliation. He clenched his fists, and his eyes buried in the mud began to turn light gold again.
At this moment, he seemed to feel that he was about to explode with endless rage. The anger in his heart was like a flood and beast, almost devouring his sanity. He had an urge to tear Himmelstoss to pieces.
At this time, Himmelstoss's boots moved away, Lu Mingfei regained his sanity, and the light golden color in his eyes began to fade gradually.
"Don't think I'm cruel. Once you get to the battlefield, you'll know what true cruelty is. Now get up and continue training."
Lu Mingfei suppressed his anger and got up, then continued running and lying down under Himmelstoss's instructions.
It seemed that he was somewhat satisfied with stepping on Lu Mingfei just now. He did not do anything out of line and just gave orders again and again.
In the vast muddy field, only Himmelstoss's "Ready, Run, Get Down" was repeated over and over again until the sun was about to set. Lu Mingfei and his men felt exhausted and couldn't even lift their arms. They felt that they had become as soft as the mud under their feet. There were also some gravels hidden in the mud. Many recruits' hands were scratched by these stones, and spots of blood were scattered on the field.
They supported each other and walked back to the barracks, washed off the mud on their bodies in the bathroom, and after changing into clean clothes, they could not go to eat yet, as they still had to knock the mud out of their guns.
If the mud is not cleaned out in time, the wet mud will begin to corrode the internal structure, making it more likely to jam. Taking such a gun to the battlefield is tantamount to seeking death.
When they finished all this, it was dark outside again. They walked into the restaurant in depressed mood. The soldiers in other platoons had already finished their meals, so they could only eat some cold leftovers.
The cook looked at Lu Mingfei and his group in surprise. It was the first time he had seen such a strange team. At noon, they were so majestic as if they could poke a hole in the sky, but at night they were as wilted as eggplants hit by frost.
After finishing the meal, Lu Mingfei and his companions returned to the barracks. Just like yesterday, Lu Mingfei fell into a deep sleep soon after he touched the bed. What he looked forward to most every day now was sleeping, because in his dreams he could return to his original life and escape from this hellish place.
As time passed, Lu Mingfei began to get used to life in the military camp. Under the leadership of Himmelstoss, they had to undergo more training than other recruits. Basically, they had to participate in all the training.
This made them miserable. After training every day, they no longer fell asleep immediately but cursed Himmelstoss together for an hour before going to bed.
They changed from kind and simple young people to barbarians speaking vulgar language, and only these vulgar and unbearable words could vent the anger in their hearts.
However, after going through these trainings, the relationship between them became closer, and something called comradeship gradually emerged between them.
If Lu Mingfei only considered Paul and Kemmerich his friends because of William Hans' memory, then after going through so many things together, they truly became good friends.
The time spent in the military camp has a greater impact on them than the education they received in school for several years. These recruits come here with the intention of becoming heroes.
But what they didn't expect was that here they would be treated like slaves, with tiring training, unbearable insults, and all kinds of torture. These things completely erased their ideals and personalities, turning them into machines that only knew how to obey orders.
In the barracks, they not only had to train but also had to do some miscellaneous tasks, such as serving their superiors and cleaning the barracks. At this time, Himmelstoss would deliberately make things difficult for them.
One morning, Lu Mingfei made the bed for Himmelstoss. Every time, Himmelstoss could find something that made him unhappy, and then he would mess up the folded bed again. That time, Lu Mingfei made the bed for Himmelstoss nearly twenty times.
Another time, when they were cleaning the barracks, Himmelstoss only gave them a few toothbrushes and asked them to clean the barracks inside and out.
Lu Mingfei and the others accepted all of this. They were full of anger at the beginning, but later on, everything seemed so indifferent to them.
But something happened later that changed them. A classmate named Wolf in Lu Mingfei's class died of pneumonia due to excessive practice.
(End of this chapter)
