Chapter 329: Another Second-Class Skill Merit

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“Work hard and strive to break the military district record next time, and hopefully, I’ll shine a bit more on my face!”

The award was personally presented by the military commander to Wang Ye.

There was a silk banner, along with a certificate and a medal.

The medal wasn’t a second-class or third-class merit, in fact, both the certificate and the medal were commemorative items for breaking the record, considered a commendation.

Of course, Wang Ye didn’t feel any disappointment.

Because as soon as the host finished announcing this event and didn’t continue, Wang Ye knew that the major recognition was still to come.

After all, for the five-kilometer race, he had only broken the record of the division headquarters.

“Yes, sir!” Wang Ye saluted the military commander, and then descended from the stage amidst the applause of the audience.

Soon, the colonel host on stage spoke again: “Private Ding Weikang of the 373rd Regiment, 3rd Battalion, Artillery Company!”

Awards were given, and the top three individuals in the individual competition were honored.

Here!

From the battalion, a voice was heard, and then the colonel host on stage continued to announce his achievements.

“Ding Weikang, with a time of eighteen minutes and eight seconds, won second place in the Armed Cross-Country Five-Kilometer race, let’s give him a round of applause!”

Clap-! Clap-! Clap-!”

Applause erupted again, but this time, the applause was clearly not as vigorous as when Wang Ye had gone on and off the stage.

Well, even though he was strong, now that the results were out…

In terms of hearing, there was a direct seventeen-minute interval between Wang Ye, the first-place winner, and Ding Weikang, the second-place winner.

One that started with sixteen minutes, even though it quickly became seventeen minutes, isn’t it still in the seventeen-minute range?

Conversely, although this one is just over eighteen minutes, it’s still over eighteen minutes.

The gap is so significant that it sounds quite discordant.

In fact, at this moment, when Ding Weikang from the 373rd Regiment went up on stage, there was a somewhat bitter smile on his face.

He himself felt that the gap was too big, and now being announced like this, he didn’t feel like he was going up to receive an award. On the contrary, he had the feeling that he was going to embarrass himself…

“Freak!” Watching Wang Ye coming down from the stage on the other side, he cursed inwardly through gritted teeth.

Soon, he reached the stage.

Immediately, everyone could see from his award ceremony that the difference between first and second place was not just in the results.

Wang Ye received three items as awards, and they were presented personally by the military commander.

As for Ding Weikang, he received his award from the division commander, and he only got one thing.

A silk banner.

No medal, no certificate.

Ding Weikang tasted even more bitterness in his mouth, but he also knew that this kind of competition reward was just like this.

The silk banner represented honor and could be hung in the company, while the certificate and medal were rewards reserved for breaking records.

Although he didn’t get a certificate and medal, he had received a silk banner, and today’s performance would definitely be recorded in his file.

At the end of the year, the unit would evaluate merits, and this was a significant performance.

As for trying to achieve merit directly through this competition today, it wasn’t that easy.

At the very least, breaking a record in one of the competitive events or ranking first in the overall nine events might earn someone a third-class merit. The top three can only receive commendations.

Soon, the third-place winner was also announced.

Similarly, they received a silk banner.

After announcing the top three, they immediately moved on to the next event.

This was a brutal competition involving over a hundred companies in the entire division, with more than a thousand participants. In the end, only the top three in each event received rewards, and the rest could only run along, witnessing the honor of others.

“Private Wang Ye from the Iron Bones Heroes Regiment, 2nd Company, 4th Platoon!”

Once again, Wang Ye’s name resounded.

At this moment, Colonel Hong on stage had an exceptionally radiant smile on his face.

Or rather, he had been smiling brightly all along.

It was just that after Wang Ye stepped down earlier, he toned it down a bit. But now, his smile instantly blossomed again.

He looked around at his fellow battalion commanders.

Hmm… none of the other battalion commanders congratulated him, and they didn’t even turn their heads.

Each of them felt a sourness in their hearts and had no mood to watch him show off…

Here!”

Wang Ye responded loudly once again.

At this point, his hands were empty.

The silk banner was in Wu Jianfeng’s hands, while Kang Hua helped carry the certificate and medal.

“Comrade Wang Ye, with a time of one minute and twenty-four seconds, you’ve secured first place in the 400-meter obstacle race in the individual nine-event competition.”

“At the same time, Comrade Wang Ye, with this achievement, you have broken the record for the 400-meter obstacle race in our XX Military District, becoming the record holder for the 400-meter obstacle race in our XX Military District. Let’s give him a round of applause!”

At this moment, the host on stage had a loud voice, especially after the applause, he even started clapping into the microphone himself.

This was true glory.

An inter-division competition organized by the division itself, and other units might not even be aware of this event.

But Wang Ye had just broken the military district record.

No need to say much, in a few days, not just his military district, but the entire army would know the name of Division A.

That’s what it meant to bring glory.

“Comrade Wang Ye, you must be quite busy today!”

Wang Ye had just stepped onto the stage, and the military commander greeted him with a smile.

At the same time, another female soldier came forward with a tray.

The colonel host spoke loudly, “Comrade Wang Ye, for breaking two records and, in particular, breaking the military district record in the 400-meter obstacle race, which had a significant impact, as decided by the Military Commission, Comrade Wang Ye is awarded the Second-class Merit once.”

They didn’t mention anything else, only these two record-breaking achievements. In fact, the latter alone was enough.

The division record was just icing on the cake, optional. But if Wang Ye had only broken the division record without breaking the military district record, he would have probably received only a Third-class Merit this time.

The military commander presented another award to Wang Ye.

This time, there were more items.

A sash, a Second-class Merit medal, a Second-class Merit certificate, and also a silk banner representing the record-breaking achievement and first place in the competition.

The applause in the entire venue thundered, and Wang Ye stayed on stage longer this time than before.

Photographs and group photos were taken.

Draped in the sash, holding the Second-class Merit certificate in one hand and the silk banner in the other, with the Second-class Merit medal hanging from his chest.

At this moment, Wang Ye became a model of honor.

He took photos with the military commander, the division commander, and even with the colonel host and the battalion commanders who had run out from behind the table.

From going on stage to coming down, it took seven or eight minutes. If it weren’t for the tight schedule today, this time could have easily been extended several times over.

However, after Wang Ye stepped down again this time, it didn’t take long before he went back up when the third event began.

In the Small Arms and Firearms Disassembly and Assembly combined event, Wang Ye ranked second in the entire division and received another silk banner.

As the military commander had mentioned earlier, Wang Ye was quite busy.

In the nine events, Wang Ye hadn’t fallen behind.

In the 100-meter freestyle swim, Wang Ye was first.

In hand grenade throwing, Wang Ye was second.

In double-barrel shooting, Wang Ye was third.

In single-barrel shooting, Wang Ye was second.

In individual combat tactics, Wang Ye was third.

In precision shooting, Wang Ye was first.

It’s worth mentioning the last shooting event.

There was no second place in this event, but there were a total of thirty-one people who tied for first place.

However, everyone received a silk banner, so they all had a share.

“Oh, it’s too heavy to carry! There are too many silk banners, Wang Ye, when you go back, even the wall of your platoon in the company might not have enough space!”

When Wang Ye returned with the silk banner for first place in the shooting event, Wu Jianfeng held the Second-class Merit certificate and medal box in his left hand, while his right hand held several silk banners horizontally. He walked over in an exaggerated manner.

At this moment, the soldiers in the company couldn’t help but glance sideways.

Many people’s eyelids were trembling.

He’s showing off too much!

And it’s so envy-inducing!

Look at these silk banners, one for each of the nine events, and there were only nine participants from the 4th Platoon in total. That’s enough for everyone to have one.

Moreover, there were also medals and certificates, and the key was that it wasn’t over yet!

The colonel host on stage had just announced the end of the individual single events and immediately said that the awards for the top three in the overall rankings would be presented next.

At this moment, everyone’s eyelids couldn’t help but twitch.

“Private Wang Ye from the Iron Bones Heroes Regiment, 2nd Company, 4th Platoon!”

As expected, the first name called out was the one that everyone’s ears had become accustomed to in the past few minutes— the battalion, the company, the platoon, the rank, and the name of Private Wang Ye.

As Wang Ye once again loudly replied with his slightly hoarse and raspy voice and stepped out of line.

The colonel host spoke up again, “Comrade Wang Ye, in this individual nine-event combined competition, your performance has been exceptionally outstanding.

Four first-place finishes, three second-place finishes, two third-place finishes, with two record-breaking achievements. Your total score is 105 points, ranking first in the overall standings!”

As soon as Wang Ye’s score was announced, even though everyone had been mentally prepared, they couldn’t help but twitch at the corners of their mouths.

In today’s division competition, a ten-point system was used for ranking.

First place in an event earned ten points.

Second place earned nine points, and third place earned eight points.

Next, from fourth to fifth, it was 7.5 points.

Sixth to tenth place was seven points.

From tenth to twentieth was six points, and from twentieth to fiftieth was five points.

Anyone ranking below fiftieth place received zero points.

Because this was a comprehensive nine-event decathlon, following the words of Wu Jianfeng during training within the company, even if you placed in the top fifty in the entire division, you had the nerve to ask for a score?

They’d just be happy to receive a big fat zero.

Of course, if someone excelled in certain events, they did have a chance to get first place.

Breaking the division record added five points, breaking the military district record added ten points, breaking the military area record added fifteen points, and breaking the national record added twenty points.

In other words, if you had the ability, even if you two zeroes, you might still end up with a perfect score in the end.

However, today, even if someone with a perfect score appeared, it would be impossible for them to take first place.

With a perfect score of ninety points, Wang Ye had exceeded the ceiling of a perfect score, securing first place with a lead of fifteen points.

“Clap-! Clap-! Clap-!”

Applause thundered once again.

At this moment, someone in the audience couldn’t help but shout, “Awesome Wang, you’re amazing!”

“Wang Ye, you’re the pride of our 4th Platoon!”

It was the soldiers from the 4th Platoon, Wang Ye’s comrades, who couldn’t contain their excitement at this moment.

Of course, no one tried to stop their cheers at this moment.

Even on stage, Colonel Hong, standing behind a row of tables, couldn’t hold back and laughed heartily as he called out to Wang Ye, “Haha, Wang Ye, I truly didn’t misjudge you. You are indeed the pride of our Iron Bones Heroes Regiment!”

Triumphant indeed!

The first half of the year had been so frustrating that it was better left unmentioned. When the division called for meetings, if they didn’t specifically call his name, he probably wouldn’t have attended.

But now?

Looking at these familiar opponents on the side, Colonel Hong no longer had to worry about the military commander who wasn’t very familiar with him still being on stage.. He really wanted to flip the table over and shout at these guys who were both brothers and competitors, “Who else is there?”