Glory of Special Forces Episode 9 Recap
> Glory of Special Forces Recap
Li Xiang informed the Regiment Commander of his decision to demobilize, explaining that despite being only in his thirties, he felt he was getting old as a company commander. He stated that new talents emerge with each generation and expressed gratification at witnessing a new generation of soldiers, like Yan Poyue, develop into resolute guardians of the Republic, which allowed him to leave with a smile.
The Regiment Commander admitted he didn't want to let Li Xiang go, acknowledging Li Xiang's contributions to the Special Service Company and hoping he would live up to his years of hard work. When asked about Yan Poyue, Li Xiang described him as tough, needing only a few days to recover.
Li Xiang confessed that he had underestimated Yan Poyue's faith and dreams, recognizing Yan Poyue's youth and persistence in striving for higher goals, a path Li Xiang himself once desired. The Regiment Commander linked Li Xiang's change of heart to Yan Poyue saving his mother, which Li Xiang confirmed, adding that Yan Poyue's contributions deserved a reward. Later, Li Xiang personally picked Yan Poyue up from the hospital after his discharge.
Yan Poyue noticed they weren't heading back to the regiment, to which Li Xiang cryptically responded, "Who said we're going back to the regiment?" Li Xiang drove Yan Poyue to a remote border marker, a place he used to patrol daily as a border defense officer, to show him.
He then shared his personal story, explaining that his fiancée, Xiao Ting, a high school classmate whom he reconnected with ten years later, had been waiting for him to marry her for six years. He confessed his reluctance to have her endure the typical life of an army wife, and his desire to give her a proper wedding and a happy family after his demobilization. However, each time he returned to the army, he couldn't bring himself to leave.
His mother and Xiao Ting had finally come, risking their lives in the rainy season, with the sole purpose of taking him home, especially since applying for cadre demobilization after the year-end would mean another year's delay. Li Xiang expressed profound gratitude to Yan Poyue, stating that he created a miracle, allowing him to see his mother again after she was found injured in the tunnel. He was fortunate to have such a soldier in his company.
Li Xiang recounted how he recognized Yan Poyue's exceptional training and ambition to join a specific unit from his first day as a recruit. Yan Poyue explained that it was his father's former unit, and he had considered himself a soldier since he was eight. Li Xiang acknowledged Yan Poyue's habit of fighting alone but warned him that on a real battlefield, the more one tries to display their own strength, the more they might neglect their comrades.
When Yan Poyue insisted on becoming stronger to go further, Li Xiang conceded that "time will tell" and instructed him to report to Squad One after the upcoming Chinese New Year. Li Xiang shared his mixed feelings about leaving, revealing that many of his comrades who joined with him had left for various reasons—family, lack of prospects, demobilization, or injuries. Now, he was the last one, and he too was departing.
He made Yan Poyue promise to always stand tall, defend China's land from any invasion, and pass on the glory and dignity of soldiers, and the spirit of the Special Service Company, through generations. Yan Poyue firmly promised he could. Ai Qianxue treated Yan Poyue to a meal, fulfilling her promise and congratulating him on his impending transfer to a combat squad.
She mentioned that the entire regiment knew about his transfer and that the Special Service Company was gaining another "tiger." Yan Poyue clarified that he would officially join after finishing his current duties. As Chinese New Year approached, the Special Service Company was put on operational readiness. The company commander emphasized vigilance during the holiday, stating that the company was responsible for guarding the regimental gate, command post, and armory, and urged everyone to remain alert against emergencies.
For New Year's Eve dinner, a dumpling-making and eating competition was organized. Squads One, Two, and Three, along with the kitchen squad, would participate, with squads judging each other on presentation, taste, and speed. Squad Leader Fan Jin jokingly asked Yan Poyue which squad he would prefer to help. Yan Poyue responded that he would follow orders, and Fan Jin assigned him to peel garlic for Squad One, quipping that "a grown child doesn't obey his parents anymore."
During the dumpling preparation, soldiers from Squad Two secretly added excessive salt to their dumplings. In retaliation, Xiao Yun Jie, Yan Poyue, and Lu Xiao Tian mixed various seasonings like salt, pepper, and mustard into their own batch of dumplings, deliberately leaving out any actual filling. When it was time to eat, the soldiers were reluctant to try the bizarre creations.
Xiao Yun Jie was forced to take the first bite of the super-salty dumplings, which he could barely swallow, claiming it reminded him of his mother. A high-ranking officer, the Regiment Commander, arrived to observe. He ate one dumpling, praised its taste, but his facial expression was telling, and he quickly excused himself, then drank water profusely outside, muttering about the dumplings being "half salt."
Li Xiang and Chen Min Tao, unaware of the prank, enthusiastically ate two dumplings each and immediately needed water. Seeing the chaos, Li Xiang, now acting as a judge, decided to mix all the remaining dumplings together, declaring a new rule: no one was allowed to spit out any dumpling, and the first squad to finish the entire mixed batch would be the winner.
The soldiers, though struggling with the strange flavors, gamely ate the bizarre dumplings, making for a memorable and lively New Year celebration. After the New Year celebrations, Fan Jin, with visible reluctance, took Yan Poyue into a forest to impart his most valuable skill: minelaying and demining. Fan Jin explained that he had planted various types of mines and booby traps in the forest that morning, challenging Yan Poyue to navigate through it to master the skill.
He emphasized that learning demining and understanding a minelayer's mindset were crucial, especially since expert minelayers often used "anti-patterns" to deceive. He urged Yan Poyue to protect his hands and imprint every subtle sensation onto his nerves. Yan Poyue emerged from the minefield two hours earlier than expected. Fan Jin then handed Yan Poyue a bottle of medicinal wine, a homemade remedy for injuries made by Lu Xiao Tian, who was too emotional to bid farewell himself.
Fan Jin shared his own past, recalling his nickname "Mad Dog" as a reckless recruit who always strove for first place, until a booby trap in a drug bust injured his back, leading to his three-year stint in the kitchen squad, where he then encountered "a coyote" like Yan Poyue.
He advised Yan Poyue to only use minelaying in dire circumstances, warning that those who lay mines often eventually step on their own, and urged him to "run for his life" and "never look back." Yan Poyue officially transferred to Squad One. Xiao Yun Jie enthusiastically helped him arrange his new bed, which surprisingly was the Squad Leader's bed, given up to Yan Poyue as a gesture to the new recruit.
However, the Vice Squad Leader, Zhou Zijian, expressed his displeasure, questioning why Yan Poyue should get the Squad Leader's bed immediately. He provocatively accused Yan Poyue of risking his life during the landslide rescue just to get into Squad One and feared Yan Poyue's ambitious and competitive nature would cause problems for the squad, especially if he made complaints. Xiao Fei, another squad member, also seemed to view Yan Poyue as a rival.
Soon after, the Special Service Company held an all-member skills competition, which required teams of three. Yan Poyue and Xiao Yun Jie struggled to find a third teammate, as no one wanted to join them. However, Zhang Tian Yang stepped in, offering to team up with them. The first event was fixed-target rifle marksmanship.
Xiao Yun Jie encountered an issue where his rifle's "sight is deviated" and requested a replacement, but was denied by Company Commander Li Xiang, who asserted that soldiers must adapt to imperfect equipment in real combat, revealing this was a deliberate test. Yan Poyue, after observing others, chose a rifle grenade launcher, stating he had only used it once but felt a connection to it.
When it was his turn, Yan Poyue demonstrated exceptional skill by hitting all targets using a kneeling position, which was noted as advantageous for moving targets, earning widespread applause. Their team secured the first place in the morning session, with the competition set to continue in the afternoon.
