“Pfft—”

After carefully checking the names on the list, Zhang Deyong felt so depressed he almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

The scene he imagined, where he could pick any elite soldier from the entire army, did not appear.

Instead, there were quite a few troublemakers and cowards among them.

What about the promised importance from the Military Region? What about the cooperation?

If Zhang Deyong were to train the Special Forces with these soldiers, forget about achieving results in a month; it would be questionable if he could even get them to meet the standards of regular soldiers in a month.

“What’s wrong, Commander? You don’t look so good.”

The soldier in front of Zhang Deyong saw his grim expression and couldn’t help but ask.

Zhang Deyong shook his head, then took a deep breath to calm his frustrated mood.

He felt a bit helpless.

But at this point, he knew he had to find another way to recruit soldiers.

‘Looks like I’ll have to trouble the Regimental Commander again.’

Zhang Deyong thought of his old Regimental Commander once more.

At the same time, Zhang Deyong couldn't help but think of Zhao Yi:

‘It’s so hard for me to establish the Special Forces, every step is a hurdle. That guy who only talks big on paper must be doing even worse.’

‘Hmph, maybe he doesn’t even have a Special Forces training base yet and is still waiting for the Logistics Department’s approval.’

Thinking this, Zhang Deyong felt much better.

He encountered many troubles and made slow progress, but Zhao Yi’s progress must be even slower than his!

…

At the same time, Zhao Yi, sitting in the car, felt his nose tickle and wanted to sneeze, but he held it back.

‘Is someone talking bad about me behind my back? That shouldn’t be, my popularity in the Military Region isn’t bad.’

Zhao Yi rubbed his nose, then looked at the document in his hand.

It was a personal resume of a Military Region soldier:

Li Daniu, male, twenty-six years old, a squad leader in the 7th Company of the 369th Regiment.

Last year, in the Military Region competition, he won first place in the five-kilometer armed cross-country with a time of 17 minutes, 53 seconds, and 39 milliseconds.

And in the 43rd Army Group competition, he consecutively won the five-kilometer armed cross-country championship for three sessions, even breaking the historical record for his brigade in this event.

Li Daniu’s achievements certainly earned him the title of a Soldier King.

Not only that, Zhao Yi also found out that Li Daniu enlisted at eighteen, and this year marked his eighth year.

In the military, eight years of service is a turning point; soldiers reaching this point either submit an application and, if approved, become a third-rank non-commissioned officer to continue serving, or they retire to the local area.

For most eight-year soldiers, they want to stay.

But for the Military Region, they cannot keep all the soldiers.

Moreover, it was still an era of military reform and a massive reduction of a million troops, making it even rarer for soldiers to remain in the military.

Such capable soldiers, who might not be able to stay in the military, were Zhao Yi’s best targets.

Soon, Zhao Yi, accompanied by Ma Ping'an, inquired along the way and found Li Daniu.

Zhao Yi looked closely, and the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curl upwards:

He was indeed a burly man!

At this moment, Li Daniu was wearing a red vest and military-green engineer pants, single-handedly practicing pull-ups on the horizontal bar.

Li Daniu’s vest was already soaked with sweat, revealing his burly and robust physique.

“Instructor, this Li Daniu is not just strong; I feel like he could take on two of me.”

Ma Ping'an, the clerk beside Zhao Yi, couldn't help but whisper.

Although the administrative personnel in the military also had physical training and quotas, Ma Ping'an’s physique compared to Li Daniu’s was not just a little bit different.

“You are…”

On the other side, Li Daniu, who was exercising, also noticed two people observing him. He let go of the horizontal bar, jumped down, and landed steadily with bent knees.

Zhao Yi could also see Li Daniu’s appearance more directly and clearly:

Thick eyebrows, a flat nose, thick lips, and dark skin, giving him a simple and honest impression, but paired with his muscular physique, his aura was completely different.

However, compared to Li Daniu’s physique and appearance, Zhao Yi was more concerned about his abilities.

Insightful Eyes automatically activated, presenting his panel to Zhao Yi beside Li Daniu:

【Name: Li Daniu】

【Age: 26 years old】

【Virtue: 61】

【Intelligence: 19】

【Physique: 88】

【Charm: 24】

【Labor: 66】

【Potential Value: 7.1】

【Talent: Strong Physique】

Zhao Yi examined Li Daniu’s panel. He had a much higher physique panel than Wang Bin, which was within Zhao Yi’s expectation. After all, he was the champion of the armed cross-country in the entire army; without good physical fitness, he couldn't have won first place among all the elite soldiers.

His cultural and artistic literacy were relatively low, which was also normal, as compulsory education in that era was not as fully widespread as in later generations.

Zhao Yi had read Li Daniu’s file; the other party only had an elementary school diploma before joining the army.

Of course, Zhao Yi looked more at strengths than weaknesses when judging people. If Li Daniu could eventually become a Special Forces soldier under him, Zhao Yi would certainly find someone to tutor him in academics, not to make him excellent, but at least not too bad.

A potential value of 7.1 was also good. After Zhao Yi gained the Insightful Eyes ability, he checked the data of many people around him, and a value of 7.1 was definitely considered excellent. The potential of Wang Bin, Ma Ping'an, and others was not as high as Li Daniu’s.

Moreover…

Zhao Yi looked at the last item on Li Daniu’s panel.

‘He actually has a talent?’

Zhao Yi was also very surprised; he hadn't seen this item on anyone else's panel.

Evidently, talent was something only a few people possessed, an extra gift from heaven.

Zhao Yi focused his gaze on Li Daniu’s talent.

The Insightful Eyes ability immediately expanded to a second panel, introducing Li Daniu’s talent in detail to Zhao Yi:

【Strong Physique: Li Daniu is naturally stronger than ordinary people, possessing better physical strength and endurance; after scientific training, he will gain more strength than ordinary people; he can recover quickly after injury, leaving no sequelae or hidden injuries; he has strong resistance and is not prone to illness】

After reading about his talent, Zhao Yi was even more satisfied with Li Daniu.

His Special Forces needed such a talent!

“This superior… do you have something you need?”

Zhao Yi was very satisfied, but Li Daniu, standing opposite him, felt a bit uncomfortable.

In his eyes, Zhao Yi just stood there, silently looking at him with a slight smile, which would make anyone feel uneasy.

Hearing Li Daniu’s voice, Zhao Yi finally came back to his senses.

Ma Ping'an, the clerk beside Zhao Yi, spoke at the opportune moment:

“Squad Leader Li, this is our Instructor Zhao Yi.”

“Zhao Yi?”

Li Daniu scratched his head, then his eyes widened:

“Oh, oh, I remember!”

“I heard the Platoon Leader talk about this matter in our Military Region a couple of days ago. You’re the… the superior in charge of the Special Forces, right? Hello, superior!”

Saying that, Li Daniu even saluted Zhao Yi.

“Yes, that’s me.” Zhao Yi nodded slightly. Li Daniu knew something about the Special Forces, which would make his explanation much easier.

“Li Daniu, I’m here this time to select soldiers suitable for joining the Special Forces.”

“I remember that too. A couple of days ago, the higher-ups asked for a list, and I even helped with the statistics.”

“Hehe, superior, who are you looking for? I’ll take you there.”

Li Daniu asked with a smile.

Zhao Yi looked at the somewhat simple-minded Li Daniu in front of him, a curve forming at the corner of his mouth:

“You.”