"I'll be in touch frequently," Qin Fen said, a slight guilt coloring his tone. Though he genuinely hoped to stay in contact with Song Jia, the words felt hollow, as if prompted by Lin Liqiang's earlier reminder.

Thankfully, Song Jia didn't notice his awkwardness, her face blooming into a genuinely happy smile. "I'm very satisfied. Remember what you promised."

Qin Fen nodded earnestly. Even though he was used to solitude—no one had seen him off when he joined the army—a touch of desolation lingered. Song Jia seeing him off provided a unique warmth in his heart.

"Remember to practice the Huisheng Jue when you're tired."

"En."

"If you get sick, go see the army doctor right away."

"Okay."

"Most importantly," Song Jia stared at him seriously, "remember to miss me."

The thirty minutes passed in a flash. The horn of the large troop transport ship docked at Pier Number Three blared to life.

The young recruits slowly began ascending the gangway. Qin Fen gestured toward the incessant horn. "I have to go."

Song Jia nodded gently, her voice softening considerably. "Be careful."

"I will."

Qin Fen turned away. Suddenly, he felt Song Jia's palm strike his shoulder. He instinctively looked back, catching sight of that exquisite face rushing close.

Smack...

Her red lips, fragrant with orchid-like sweetness, brushed lightly across his cheek. Before he could react, Song Jia had already spun around and darted away, leaving only a whispered phrase echoing in his ear: "Remember to miss me."

Hundreds of envious eyes shot toward him. Qin Fen's face flushed hot, his heart hammering. He lightly touched the cheek that had been kissed, then followed the crowd onto the warship.

The last soldier boarded, and the ship’s departure horn immediately sounded. The massive transport slowly pulled away from the harbor.

Song Jia stood among the crowd, watching the ship recede, and dialed Lin Liqiang. "Qiangzi, the ship has sailed. You couldn't even make it for the send-off now."

"Jiajia, men and women are different. Two big guys moping around—how uncool is that? A real man sometimes can't be wishy-washy. Alright! That's it, I see a beautiful girl over here. I'll talk to you later."

Among the well-wishers on the shore, Lin Liqiang hung up. Usually full of chatter, he lacked his usual interest today. He stretched languidly and slowly began squeezing out toward the port exit.

"Beep beep..." Looking at the disconnected call, Song Jia shook her head. "I really don't get it. Such a good friend, and he won't come to see you off now, but goes chasing women."

In another corner of the crowd, Yin Zhaluota maintained his usual silence, slowly turning to walk toward the port exit.

Qin Fen stood by the railing, a deep smile playing on his lips. Looking back from the deck, he could easily spot Lin Liqiang and Yin Zhaluota hiding within the tens of thousands gathered to see them off. Sometimes, the connection between friends was truly inexplicable.

The troop transport sailed for about three nautical miles. The recruits gradually shifted from complete silence to low murmurs, understanding that for the next six months to a year, they would likely share the same training camp. Getting acquainted sooner was better.

Qin Fen located his designated spot—Second Platoon, Squad Two, of the Third Company, Second Battalion—on the deck and began thinking quietly. This transport could only carry two thousand men, and reaching Australia would take at least four days.

Given today’s technology, an air transport could accomplish the journey in a fraction of the time. Why use this slow, time-consuming method?

"Alright! You little brats! Get over here!"

A rough voice suddenly blared over the loudspeaker, interrupting many recruits who were still waving farewell to their families.

"Your temporary designations are on the deck. You fresh cream soldiers, get to your assigned posts!"

The simple, harsh command caused immediate chaos on the deck as people scrambled to find their company and squad locations.

A group of veterans, clad in impeccably neat uniforms, emerged from the ship's hold.

Compared to the recruits who possessed zero military bearing, the veterans demonstrated through their actions what swift, orderly movement looked like.

"Hello everyone. From today onward, I am your squad leader. If you have any confusion or difficulty, feel free to come to me anytime. You can call me Squad Leader Hao."

Compared to the harsh, booming tones of the squad leaders around them, the leader of Qin Fen’s squad spoke with a remarkably kind tone, his face radiating a sincere smile.

The newly nervous recruits instantly showed expressions of relief and shot glances filled with extreme sympathy toward the recruits in the neighboring squads.

While the other squad leaders continued their rugged speeches, Squad Leader Hao smiled and continued, "You don't need to be too tense. Come on! Let's sit down and chat."

This level of approachability surprised the new soldiers, making them secretly grateful for their good luck in finding such an even-tempered leader.

"I imagine many of you are curious why we are taking this time-consuming sea voyage instead of using rapid air transport?"

As Squad Leader Hao finished speaking, Qin Fen and the members of his squad nodded in agreement. However, he noticed one person in the squad who wore a faint, cold sneer on his lips and did not nod with the others.

"Actually, this is how it is," Squad Leader Hao didn't pay attention to the one person who hadn't nodded. He scratched the back of his head, speaking with an honest look. "Implementing sea transport is just to let you adapt to military life ahead of time. The moment you step onto this ship, your military training has already begun."

The squad leader of the adjacent squad immediately followed up with a rough roar: "Cream Puffs! Don't think being a soldier is a vacation! Since the higher-ups have given you the opportunity to be drilled, I will show you what a soldier is! From now on, outside of eating and sleeping, all your time is dedicated to training! Start with two hundred push-ups for warm-up, then run twenty laps around the ship, and after that..."

Squad Leader Hao smiled apologetically. "See? This is the mission assigned by above."

Fear flickered across many faces. This wasn't training; it looked like a death wish.