Strongest Soldier King

A week later, in the morning.

Luo Zheng was at the Special Warfare Team's information center training on computers. The beautiful instructor had just reached the topic of remote attack techniques using botnets when someone knocked at the door. It was the team leader's communicator, who, after saluting the instructor apologetically, scanned the classroom with a fierce gaze and shouted with a strong voice, "Zhengzi, the team leader summons you, immediately."

"Yes." Upon hearing that the team leader was looking for him, Luo Zheng was puzzled. He stood up, responded, and looked at the beautiful instructor who nodded. Luo Zheng quickly left, and when he reached the training field, he looked up at the office building diagonally opposite and asked in a low voice, "Brother, what does the team leader want with me?"

"Not sure, but the team leader's face doesn't look good, so there might be trouble, be careful," the communicator said quietly.

"Thanks." Luo Zheng responded and briskly made his way to the office building, took the stairs two at a time, knocked on the team leader's office door, heard a response from inside, then pushed the door open and found all the members of the first squad inside. Stunned, he quickly closed the door, saluted, and shouted, "First Squad's Luo Zheng reporting, please instruct."

"Everyone's here, take a seat," the team leader said with a somber expression, his eyebrows tightly furrowed and his eyes filled with remorse and bitterness.

Luo Zheng's heart sank, realizing that something had gone wrong. He glanced at Shan Hu and the others, noticed their baffled expressions, and took a seat on the sofa nearby, sat straight, and waited for the team leader to speak.

"Brothers, I owe you all an apology," the team leader began with remorse, astonishing Luo Zheng and the others. They all looked at him as he clenched his hands, his eyebrows knotted, seeming to be controlling his inner anger or struggling with someone invisibly.

"Team leader, what's the situation?" Shan Hu voiced everyone's confusion.

"The military district's Song Yang reviewed your last operation and thinks the way you handled the meal in Shengmiao Village and the use of firearms could harm the diplomatic relations between the two countries, and he ordered the Special Warfare Team to deal with it severely," the team leader said grimly.

"What, we only did that because of the mission?" Shan Hu exclaimed. "In foreign territories, during special circumstances, special measures are permissible, and as long as we're not caught, it's usually not a problem. Such incidents have occurred before without penal consequences because other military districts also have such instances. Of course, military rules don't permit this, but it has been tacitly accepted. I never expected this to be turned against us now."

For a moment, everyone was at a loss, turning their gaze towards the team leader. Only Luo Zheng, picking up on the surname Song, vaguely guessed something. His face darkened with shame and anger, feeling guilty for letting his brothers bear the brunt because of him. Unable to swallow his pride, he looked at the team leader, who also seemed to have realized something and looked back sharply. After thinking it over, Luo Zheng suppressed his anger, deciding to wait and see how things unfolded.

"Brothers, Song Yang handles ideology work, and our actions might indeed be inappropriate from a certain perspective. I understand the rules, but with Song Yang seizing this issue, I have no better solution. After much effort, Song Yang agreed not to discharge everyone from military service, but punishment is mandatory," the team leader explained apologetically.

Seeing the others' faces filled with displeasure, Shan Hu quickly raised his hand to calm everyone, took a deep breath, and after quelling his anger said, "Team leader, I am the captain of the first squad, and all military actions were directed by me. They were just following orders. If punishment is necessary, it should only apply to me, not to them."

"Bullshit, we're brothers in arms, sharing life and death together, and we all agreed to it," Mountain Leopard retorted angrily.

"Exactly," the other men shouted as they stood up, faces filled with rage.

"Enough, let it go," the team leader said, seeing that everyone had jumped up. He hastily intervened, "I'm the one to blame. I sent you out to fight and die, and now I can't even secure your military honors. I'm sorry. Rest assured, this isn't over; I will seek justice from above."

"Enough, let's stop this. Team leader, you're ranked higher, and we can't blame you. Just tell us, how does the higher-up intend to punish us?" Shan Hu calmed down and signaled everyone else to stop talking before asking.

The team leader looked at everyone, their faces grim as if they were ready to explode with rage from the burden they were carrying, and said guiltily, "Brothers, I failed you all. Based on the directives from above, the party committee of our team ultimately decided that everyone would be demoted one rank with two options. Either go to a local unit as a deputy leader, choose any troop you like, or serve as an instructor at the Training Team. Except for Zhengzi."

"Oh?" Everyone looked at Luo Zheng in surprise, then turned to the team leader.

"Zhengzi will stay in the Special Warfare Team, but he will be assigned to the cook squad," the team leader explained with a bitter tone.

"What? You're making Zhengzi a cook?" Shan Hu exclaimed in surprise. The others were equally incredulous.

Luo Zheng instantly understood the malicious intent of Song Yang. It was a plot to utterly destroy him. Being assigned to the cook squad meant no more training opportunities. The Special Warfare Team, unlike the Training Team, only consisted of twenty or thirty who needed meals, but being part of the larger troop structure with several hundred needing meals meant he would be too busy to train, thus unable to improve his skills, sentenced to a life of obscurity. How could he then compete with Song Yang? Indeed, it was a clever scheme.

"Guys, stop. This is the best I could do. According to the instructions from above, Zhengzi was to be dismissed directly from military service. You guys only avoided this due to your accumulated military achievements, which balanced out the offence, hence the demotion and reassignment," the team leader explained bitterly.

"Is this deliberately targeting us?" Shan Hu asked, his perceptive eyes flashing with insight as he looked deeply at the team leader. The others, putting pieces together, also realized the irregularity. Eating a free meal could be seen as a minor or major issue, but according to the unwritten rules, as long as no explicit evidence was caught, it wouldn't be probed. This harsh treatment was unprecedented and clearly a setup.

Luo Zheng, stifled by shame and anger, was about to reveal the truth and apologize to Shan Hu and the others. Seeing the stern look from the team leader, he reconsidered. Given the circumstances, even an apology wouldn't solve the problem and might further provoke his brothers into rash actions, playing right into Song Yang's hands. He thus chose to remain silent. Some things were better left unsaid, waiting for a better opportunity to make a change.

The team leader gently soothed Shan Hu and the others, finally adding, "Brothers, you're just going to the local troops temporarily, consider it a form of training. When the time comes, I will definitely bring you back. Also, you guys aren't getting any younger. Retiring bravely might not be such a bad thing. Please, brothers, let it rest." He pleaded, hoping to put an end to the discussion.