Chapter 234: Award Ceremony (Part one)
Two days later, at the Yanjing Military Martial Arts Venue, many buses arrived, and the soldiers were all present in their military region’s uniforms because this was the commendation event after the competition.
Every participating soldier came in formal military attire, and the muscular soldiers standing in rows gave off a very energetic feeling. Here, you wouldn’t see any young meat (TL note: slang for young boys with silky smooth skin). These were all tough men that had been through combat.
Xu Cheng also saw familiar faces, including Ye Qiu and the others. Although still injured, they all came to attend the event. Now, only those that couldn’t get out of bed were still resting at the hospital; those that could move all came.
Daoba Li looked a bit awkward when he saw Xu Cheng. He walked over and said to Xu Cheng, “About what happened in the past, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, I already beat you up. But if you don’t feel satisfied in the future, I can give you another beating.”
Daoba Li lifted his eyebrows and then laughed. “Don’t worry, next time we still won’t know who will be the one doing the beating.”
Then, both of them walked into the venue, and inside, the over 500 participating soldiers all walked to their seats which had been arranged by the military regions.
Xu Cheng saw Commander Xie, the Chief of Staff of the 5th MR, and Instructor Yan sitting in the first row. This year, the seating was quite interesting. Due to the unexpected ascension to first place, the seating area of the 5th Military Region was at the very front. The smile on Commander Xie, and the Chief of Staff’s faces just didn’t stop; it was just such a satisfying feeling to sit at the front with everyone looking at the back of their heads.
Once everyone had been seated, a couple of general commanders walked in, and everyone stood up to salute. Then, the national anthem began playing with the flag being raised in the stadium, and everyone remained standing and sang quietly.
Then, everyone sat down, and the general commanders went up to give a speech, motivating the soldiers.
“It would only be a country if there’s a home, and protecting the country is protecting our home, protecting the hundreds and thousands of homes. This year, you have all displayed excellent capabilities, and I hope that no matter where you are assigned to in the future, you can all be the backbone that protects the stability and safety of our country. The stronger you guys are, the stronger the people’s sense of identity and the more prosperous the nation will be. I hope that in the future, you will always live by the duty of a soldier. I’m proud of you all for constantly working hard to better yourselves.”
Thunderous applause sounded from the crowd.
The commander finished his simple speech as he gently looked at the crowd, and then he passed the podium to someone else to continue the following ceremony.
First, all the soldiers that participated in this competition would be promoted one rank. Those rookies that came to the competition this year usually didn’t have any ranking or merits, yet being able to be selected to participate in this competition was already enough to reward them. So, all the rookies were promoted to the second lieutenant rank, with a corresponding badge, uniform, and certificate. As for the veterans that were already promoted in the previous years, they wouldn’t get another one if they didn’t get into the top 200 and would only get a participatory honor certificate.
The rewards were handed to them by the commanders of their military region, and the rookies all couldn’t be more excited as they accepted with both hands. Some even had red and teary eyes, but they knew what occasion this was and quickly wiped their tears off before and stood up tall as they accepted the awards.
Then, it was time to give out the awards from the 100 to 200th place. The rookies would be promoted two ranks, and the veterans could get a promotion as well.
Xu Cheng and the others all applauded and congratulated the recipients.
After this segment was over, the host said in a serious tone, “Now, let us welcome the 51st to 100th ranked soldiers of this jungle competition to the stage.”