"I never dreamed of becoming a soldier because I'm afraid of death. But now, I hold soldiers in the highest respect!" — Mu Yucheng's blog.
Mu Yucheng was an IT coder working in Yangcheng, usually swamped with work from nine to nine. Though well-paid, he had lost his personal life. So he liked to squeeze in time for novels, reading web fiction, using others' words to fulfill his own fantasies about life.
Today, in his editor's strong recommendations, he spotted a military novel called *Soldier Assault*. The title was plain and unremarkable, but it came from a favorite editor of his, Qiangzi. Curious, Mu Yucheng clicked in.
Out of habit, Mu Yucheng first checked the synopsis and reviews. But the polarized clash in the comments startled him.
"Terribly bad! Dropped it after two chapters!" "Toxic, enter with caution!" "Thanks to the guy above for testing the poison. Glad I didn't read it." "No rebirth, no cheat abilities—tell me how the protagonist gets by?" "The protagonist's just a useless loser, okay? Doesn't dare fight his fate, always getting called a coward by his dad. If it were me, I'd never put up with it!" "Can't follow it. Who can tell me how chapter one suddenly jumps to chapter two? It's a mess. I think my writing's better than the author's." "Above, that's a flashback technique. Don't trash it if you don't get it!" "Writing web fiction with flashbacks? This author's lost it too." "Hey, whose paid trolls are you all, trashing my author Yang? This novel's great—I almost cried reading it, okay?" "Agree with above. You city-born kids don't know rural hardship. I grew up in the countryside, and I feel like the author wrote my story. I almost got sent to the army by my dad back then." "Quietly saying, don't you think at the end of chapter two, Xu Sanduo making that surrender gesture at the tank is hilarious?" "Plus one, I nearly laughed out loud!" "Are you all really okay laughing like that? Xu Sanduo got spotted by the higher-ups and left a bad impression. His days ahead are probably tough!"
The comment section was a mixed bag—fans raved, but detractors were just as vocal. Mu Yucheng found it puzzling. Yet it sparked his curiosity, and he decided to buy and read the current chapters.
As soon as he opened it, the prologue gave him a different vibe!
How to put it?
Very literary! But not the fake kind that piles on fancy words. The author's language was plain, yet described the ants with such delicate detail that Mu Yucheng, as a reader, clearly understood the ants were just a metaphor for soldiers!
"Worker ants don't cry..." Mu Yucheng savored that line, feeling a tightness in his chest.
Chapter one covered Xu Sanduo and his teammates on a mission. A few names popped up: Chengcai, Yuan Lang, Wu Zhe. Each had a distinct personality. What stuck with Mu Yucheng was Xu Sanduo's simplemindedness and Chengcai's coldness. Chengcai was a sniper, so being cold was fine, but Mu Yucheng even felt their personalities clashed!
Yet during the retreat, when Xu Sanduo was ordered to cover the rear, Chengcai's actions touched Mu Yucheng's heart.
"Chengcai: 'Xu Sanduo, I'm waiting for you.' Xu Sanduo turned from a just-completed shot: 'Huh?' Chengcai looked like he wanted to punch him, but just signed a hand signal amid the gunfire, then followed Yuan Lang and Wu Zhe, who had already pulled out of the concealed position. Xu Sanduo showed the same smile he had watching the ants. He understood the hand signal, and then he faced the endless enemy alone."
Mu Yucheng's heart ached. He felt the bond and unspoken understanding between Chengcai and Xu Sanduo, but also sensed that Xu Sanduo, covering the rear, was likely in grave danger!
Sure enough, as he expected, Xu Sanduo couldn't climb the broken bridge support and fell heavily from the height into the factory ruins...
Mu Yucheng's mind jolted. As he felt for Xu Sanduo, he suddenly realized something was off.
Damn, the protagonist dies in the first chapter?
He read on and understood why someone in the comments mentioned a flashback. As the protagonist's consciousness blurred, he seemed to see his father, and the story rewound to the very beginning, when Xu Sanduo was born.
Wait!
Mu Yucheng grew frustrated again.
Did the protagonist die or not? And that combat mission—why did it look like an exercise?
Then, without any explanation, it jumped straight back to the start?
Mu Yucheng felt like a hundred claws were scratching his heart, deeply unsettled.
"Ah!" He couldn't help but yelp, drawing stares from others on the subway. Realizing his mistake, he gave an awkward smile.
The story was gripping. Despite his annoyance, he couldn't stop reading.
But then the tone shifted. No longer the tense battlefield, it moved to a backward, impoverished village. The farmers' simple talk, family trivialities—not everyone's cup of tea. No wonder some readers got impatient and dropped it.
But Mu Yucheng wasn't that shallow. Impressed by the author's writing, he patiently kept going.
It wasn't as hard to digest as he'd imagined.
Old Man Xu had three sons: the eldest was Yile, the second Erhe, and the third—Sanduo!
Oh, and the village chief's kid was Chengcai. So Chengcai was Xu Sanduo's neighbor!
But their family situations were worlds apart!
Chengcai was born with a silver spoon, while Xu Sanduo came from poverty. The third child meant another mouth to feed, adding weight to Old Man Xu's shoulders.
With his wife long gone, Old Man Xu couldn't give his three kids a good start. His only hope was to send them to the army, letting the state provide rations. But neither Yile nor Erhe amounted to anything, crushing his expectations.
The author's style was actually quite witty, but the harsh reality woven into the words made it heavier instead.
Mu Yucheng wanted to laugh several times but couldn't. He felt despair more than once, only for some interesting bits to ease the sorrow.
How could he have such a brother?
Sending his younger sibling to buy him porn...
But Yile's line, "I'm over thirty, how could I be embarrassed," stung Mu Yucheng. Yeah, over thirty and still unmarried—what a joke!
Yile was too poor to marry, while Mu Yucheng was too busy...
This chapter was long, and unlike other web novels, Mu Yucheng read it carefully, getting so absorbed he almost missed his subway stop.
Time to start work!
Reluctantly, he put down his phone, but before doing so, he couldn't resist picking it up again.
"Brilliant beyond words, moved to tears—your talent deserves this reward! Mu Yuchen tipped *Soldier Assault* 100,000 Qiyue coins."
Not much, just a thousand yuan—a drop in the bucket for Mu Yucheng's income. But tipping a work he couldn't put down? He was happy to!
"Don't you dare drop it. I need to know if Xu Sanduo actually died from that fall!" Mu Yucheng added with a quiet chuckle.