The next day, Rowan took Sienna to do a big shopping, buying everything they needed for the house. After the training, they wouldn't have time to go shopping.
He didn't feel comfortable letting Sienna go shopping alone. She didn't know the area, didn't know the roads, and wasn't familiar with the place. He worried she might get lost.
In the evening, Felix also arrived at the base and went straight to Rowan's house.
"Knock knock knock."
Rowan heard the door and went to open it. When he saw who it was, he said, "What are you doing here?"
"Do you have an extra room? Can I stay the night? I still need to organize my dorm."
"Come in."
After Felix entered, Rowan went to the bedroom and got a blanket, handing it to him. "The second room on the left, go and make your bed. It's clean."
"Okay, but make me a bowl of noodles. I'm starving." Felix went to make his bed.
When Rowan heard that, he ran to the kitchen. Soon, he came out with a bowl of noodles. "Felix, food's ready."
"Thanks," Felix said as he quickly left the room and entered the living room. He saw Sienna and called out, "Sister-in-law."
Sienna nodded but didn't speak. Felix didn't mind, quickly finishing the noodles. He then took the bowl to the kitchen, washed it, and put it away.
Back in the living room, Felix took a passbook from his bag and handed it to Rowan. "Old Rowan, this is for your wife."
Rowan took a quick look and saw it was a passbook with quite a bit of money in it. He quickly tried to return it to Felix.
"Keep it. It's for Sienna. She did so much work for my brother's surgery. This is her reward. You've seen my family's situation. We don't need the money. Everyone in the family works, and no one spends money carelessly."
"Felix, we can't take it," Rowan said.
"It's for Sienna, not you. She worked hard for my brother's surgery. If you don't want it, should I have my grandfather give it to you?"
Hearing that, Rowan quickly accepted it. "Alright, we'll take it. No need to bother Grandpa Tang. Is Brother awake yet?"
Felix's expression darkened, his mood sinking. "Not yet, but I believe he will wake up."
Seeing Felix's reaction, Rowan didn't say anything more. Felix took a moment to adjust his mood and then said, "Do you have any thoughts on tomorrow's training?"
"Just go and train as usual."
Felix didn't comment further, trusting that Rowan would handle things. He went back to his room to rest.
The next morning, the two of them went to the training ground and saw a group of soldiers standing there, whispering among themselves.
"Wonder what kind of leader our new battalion commander is?"
"Who knows, but hopefully not a useless one."
"…"
Rowan stepped forward. "Fall in!"
Everyone quickly lined up. As soldiers, even though they weren't happy with the new battalion commander, they still knew how to follow orders.
Once everyone was in line, Rowan said, "I'm Rowan, your new battalion commander starting today. The person next to me is Felix, your new deputy commander."
Suddenly, someone spoke up. "Report."
"Speak."
"I want to ask about what your wife said. If we're not convinced, we can challenge you. Does that count? Do you accept our challenge?"
When he heard that, Rowan stayed calm. "It counts. As long as you're willing, anytime. What do you want to challenge me in?"
Felix understood from the company commander's words that something had already happened even before training began.
"We all want to challenge you. We want to see if you're really qualified to be our company leader. I'm sure you don't want us to just pretend to obey you."
"Of course not. After all, we'll be doing missions together."
Rowan knew clearly that comrades working together must be able to trust each other with their backs. That kind of trust needs complete and unquestionable obedience.
"Reporting. Li Ming, platoon leader of the second platoon, would like to fight you. If you win, our whole platoon will follow your orders without question."
"Alright. Step out. No need to go anywhere else. Let's do it right here."
As soon as Rowan finished speaking, another voice spoke up. "Reporting. Li Hui, platoon leader of the first platoon, also wants to compete with the deputy commander."
Rowan looked at Felix, who said, "Step out."
The two of them stepped forward. Rowan said, "Let's split up and fight at the same time. That way we won't waste too much time."
"Yes," all three answered together.
The soldiers watching were excited by what they saw.
The matches began quickly. Rowan didn't give the opponent time to react. He made the first move, and they started fighting. Both sides were strong. Rowan had to admit, Li Ming's skills were impressive.
They exchanged punches and kicks, each move filled with power and precision. Rowan's attacks were fierce and fast, each punch strong like a storm. Li Ming, however, moved flexibly, skillfully dodging attacks.
After figuring out Li Ming's strength, Rowan stopped holding back. He sped up and quickly brought him down. In the end, Rowan restrained him from behind. Li Ming struggled but couldn't break free.
The fight was over, and the crowd broke into loud applause.
On the other side, Felix also ended his fight. Li Gang was pinned to the ground.
Seeing the match there was also over, Rowan looked over and the two exchanged a glance. Then Rowan said, "If anyone else wants to challenge us, step up. Felix and I are ready. Don't be shy."
Soon, two more platoon leaders stepped out. The third went to Rowan, and the fourth to Felix.
Rowan once again fought his opponent. Once he got a sense of their strength, he quickly ended the match. Felix was a bit slower, but still won easily.
"Anyone else?" No one stepped forward.
Rowan said, "Other kinds of challenges are okay too—obstacle courses, cross-country running, shooting. You can choose."
He waited, but no one said anything.
"Then we'll start training next. I hope you all follow the orders. I gave you your chance."
Everyone stood at attention and shouted in unison, "Yes!"
Their platoon leaders had all lost. They had nothing to say now.
Rowan was satisfied. He said, "It's getting late. Dismissed. This afternoon, we'll start formal training."
"Yes!"
Rowan and Felix left the training field together, giving the others space to talk things over.