73: Chapter 73: The Su family has a daughter participating in the selection? It can't be such a coincidence, can it?

As the night deepened, the lights in the selection command room at Falcon Base remained bright.

Su Han sat at the desk, a blank training schedule spread out before him, his fingers lightly tapping the surface.

Outside the window, the occasional sound of patrolling soldiers' footsteps drifted in, and the searchlights from the distant training ground swept past, casting mottled shadows on the wall.

"Women's Special Operations Team..." Su Han muttered to himself, training models of women's special forces from various countries he had seen in his past life flashing through his mind.

He picked up a pen and quickly jotted down a few lines on the paper, crossed them out, wrote again, and crossed them out again...

The rustling sound of the pen tip against the paper was exceptionally clear in the quiet room.

*Knock, knock.*

The sound of knocking echoed.

"Come in," Su Han said without looking up.

The door was pushed open, and Zhou Mo walked in carrying two cups of hot tea. "Not resting yet?"

He placed one of the cups in front of Su Han. "The Captain asked me to come and see if you need any help."

Su Han took the teacup and took a small sip. "Thanks."

Zhou Mo's gaze inadvertently swept over the training schedule on the desk, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

"This..." He pointed at the densely packed training items on the paper, his voice trembling slightly. "Is this the training you plan to arrange for the female soldiers?"

Su Han casually flipped the paper over to cover the contents and smiled. "Just some random notes, they might not be used."

Zhou Mo swallowed hard, the keywords he had just seen still lingering in his mind—

"20km extreme cross-country with 50kg load," "Underwater breath-holding training," "Extreme cold resistance training"...

The intensity of every single item far exceeded the routine training standards of the Falcon Special Forces!

"Su Han," Zhou Mo hesitated for a moment, "I know you're very strong, but there is, after all, a gap between the physical fitness of female and male soldiers..."

Su Han stretched and leaned back in his chair. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

His tone was relaxed and casual, as if they were discussing what to have for breakfast tomorrow rather than the life-and-death training of a special operations team.

Zhou Mo hesitated to speak but ultimately just nodded. "Then get some rest early. The female soldiers will be arriving tomorrow at noon."

"Okay."

————

War Eagle Squad Dormitory.

"How is it? Is Su Han's training plan reliable?" Da Xiong asked impatiently.

Zhou Mo closed the door and shook his head with a grave expression. "I saw a part of it. The intensity is even higher than our training."

"What?" Houzi jumped straight up from his bed. "Is he crazy? How could female soldiers possibly endure that!"

Shanmao frowned. "Could it just be a preliminary idea? It should be adjusted in the end, right?"

"He said it was just random notes," Zhou Mo sighed, "but I always feel... like he's very serious."

A brief silence fell over the room.

"Say," Houzi scratched his head, "Su Han's personal strength is indeed great, but training troops and individual combat are two different things."

Da Xiong nodded in agreement. "Yeah, our Falcon training system was developed over ten years of trial and error. He's just a recruit who's been in the army for less than a year. Even if he's a genius, how can he compare to the experience of the entire Military Region?"

"But his performance in the Grand Competition..." Shanmao said hesitantly.

"That's individual ability!" Zhou Mo interrupted him. "Leading a team in training is a completely different matter. I'm worried that if he's too confident, it'll end up hurting those female soldiers instead."

"Should we talk to the Captain?" Houzi suggested.

Zhou Mo shook his head. "Let's observe for a couple of days first. Maybe Su Han has his own considerations."

He walked to the window and looked at the command room in the distance, where the lights were still on, his brow furrowed.

————

The night was deep, and the dormitory building of Falcon Base was silent.

Su Han gently pushed open the door, thinking Xiao Budian was already fast asleep, but he didn't expect to hear a milky voice calling out as soon as he stepped inside—

"Great-grandfather!"

Xiao Budian sat on the bed, hugging a teddy bear. Her large eyes were bright in the darkness; she clearly hadn't slept at all.

Su Han was stunned for a moment, then walked over with a smile and rubbed her little head. "Why aren't you asleep yet? You have to get up early tomorrow."

Xiao Budian pouted her little mouth. "Great-grandfather, I heard you chatting with Uncle Zhou Mo and the others. Are you going to train those big sisters tomorrow?"

Su Han sat down by her bed and nodded. "Mhm, selection starts tomorrow. Great-grandfather will be very busy."

Xiao Budian asked curiously, "Is it like when we were at home, and the adults in the clan taught the children martial arts?"

Su Han nodded with a smile. "Pretty much."

Xiao Budian blinked, her little hands clutching the quilt, and asked softly, "Then... can Xiao Budian come along?"

Su Han laughed and pinched her little cheek. "No, the selection training ground is not a place for playing. It will be very dangerous."

"But..." Xiao Budian lowered her head, her voice muffled, "I don't want to be alone."

Seeing her looking so aggrieved, Su Han's heart softened, and he said gently, "Although Great-grandfather can't be with you all the time, you can go play with the other uncles on this base. They can take you around to other parts of the base."

Xiao Budian's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Of course," Su Han smiled. "You can go sit in a helicopter, or look at tanks, or even go to the shooting range and let the uncles teach you how to fire a gun."

"Wow!" Xiao Budian instantly became excited, waving her little hands. "I want to shoot a gun! I want to ride in a plane!"

Su Han nodded with a smile. "However, you have to promise Great-grandfather one thing."

"What is it?" Xiao Budian tilted her head.

"First, you can't run around blindly. You must listen to the uncles," Su Han held up one finger.

"Mhm, mhm!" Xiao Budian nodded vigorously.

"Second, you can't disturb the selection training. When Great-grandfather is working, you can't run over and act spoiled."

Xiao Budian pouted, but still obediently agreed. "Okay!"

Su Han rubbed her hair with satisfaction. "Now, can you go to sleep?"

Xiao Budian immediately lay down, pulled up the quilt, and closed her eyes, but a smile still lingered on the corners of her mouth.

Su Han tucked her in and was about to get up when Xiao Budian suddenly opened her eyes again and asked softly, "Great-grandfather, those big sisters... will they be very strong?"

Su Han thought for a moment and smiled. "It's hard to say right now, but Great-grandfather will select the strongest group."

Xiao Budian nodded seriously. "Then when they become strong, Xiao Budian wants to compete with them too!"

Su Han couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, when you grow up a bit more."

"Then Xiao Budian wants to join the army when she grows up too."

"Several older brothers and sisters from our clan have joined the army, just like Great-grandfather."

Su Han was taken aback. "A lot of them?"

Xiao Budian nodded. "Yeah. Great-grandfather, do you remember Sister Chengzi from the village entrance? She joined the army three years ago. When she came home last year, she even came to play with Xiao Budian."

Su Han used the original owner's body to search for this Sister Chengzi that Xiao Budian mentioned. Soon, a surge of memories about her surfaced in his mind.

This Sister Chengzi's original name was Su Qingcheng. She belonged to the Su Clan, but not to their specific branch.

Looking at the seniority, she was of the same generation as Xiao Budian.

If she met him, she would also have to respectfully call him Great-grandfather.

And her personal talent for martial arts was considered quite good within the entire Su Clan.

Su Han replied, "Of course I remember. She's even two years older than Great-grandfather."

Xiao Budian suddenly said expectantly, "Great-grandfather, will Sister Chengzi be among those big sisters you're training tomorrow?"

Upon hearing this, Su Han's expression froze. "It couldn't be such a coincidence, right?"

If she really was in there, it would be a bit awkward.

"Alright, hurry up and sleep. It's very late. Tomorrow, I'll have an uncle take you to ride in a plane!"

"Mhm, mhm, mhm!"

Only then did Xiao Budian close her eyes contentedly, and her breathing soon became even.

Su Han gently turned off the light and walked out of the room, standing in the corridor and looking at the training ground in the distance, where the lights were already on.

Tomorrow was the first day of the Women's Special Operations Team selection.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly as he whispered to himself, "I hope... they can give me some surprises."

...

Tonight's update should also be between twelve and two o'clock.

My wife gave birth to a daughter the night before last. My surname is Su; could everyone help think of a nice-sounding name? I'll take them into consideration; I've been having a headache trying to think of names these past few days.