Episode Summary
The Chief of Staff reprimands Ling Zhengrong and Qiu Tian for their conduct during the war games. Ling Zhengrong realizes the Cheetahs need new members and sets up a selection trial to recruit from the Support Branch. Chen Hansheng's group, encouraged by Qiu Tian, signs up at the last minute to annoy Ling Zhengrong. During the trials, Chen Hansheng performs poorly, failing the bomb disposal and shooting tests due to critical errors.
Spoiler Alert
The Aftermath
The Chief is Not Happy
So, the war games are over. The Chief of Staff is furious. You can’t really blame him. His elite Cheetah unit got taken out. They were "decapitated" in the exercise. That's a terrible look for them. He is also angry about Qiu Tian’s methods. She put a sleeping aid in the Cheetahs' drinks. He sees it as a dirty, dishonorable tactic.
He makes both Ling Zhengrong and Qiu Tian write formal self-criticism reports. It’s basically a military version of getting sent to the principal's office.
Ling Zhengrong's Non-Apology
Ling Zhengrong is not feeling sorry at all. He writes his report, but it’s a joke. He mostly uses it to brag about his own high scores during the exercise. He also makes it very clear that he looks down on Qiu Tian’s strategy. He thinks it was cheap.
But the exercise did teach him something important. Ling Zhengrong realizes the Cheetah unit has a real problem. They are stuck in their old ways. They rely too much on traditional tactics. He knows they need to bring in some new people with fresh ideas.
After the reports, the Cheetahs and the Support Branch get together for a debrief. It’s supposed to be a professional discussion. It does not stay professional for long. It turns into a huge argument. At first, the Cheetahs follow Ling Zhengrong’s lead. They voice their complaints about the Support Branch’s tactics. But then things get personal. The whole thing just becomes a bunch of childish yelling.
The Recruitment Game Begins
A Plan to Poach Talent
Ling Zhengrong is now obsessed with one thing. He wants to recruit Chen Hansheng and his three friends. He also wants to finally get Zhang Lan to join the Cheetahs. He goes to the Chief of Staff and tries to sweet-talk him into it.
The Chief agrees that they are all talented soldiers. He thinks they would be great additions to the Cheetah unit. But he tells Ling Zhengrong he can't just go around poaching people. He needs to do it by the book. There has to be an official process. So, Ling Zhengrong comes up with a solution. He will hold a special selection trial just for members of the Support Branch.
Playing Hard to Get
The other Cheetah members have their doubts. They worry that the very people Ling Zhengrong wants won’t even bother to sign up.
Their worries are completely justified. Chen Hansheng and his crew don't sign up for the trial. Instead, they make a point of going to the library to study. Ling Zhengrong gets the list of applicants and sees their names are missing. Zhang Lan’s name is missing, too. He starts to panic. He has been trying to recruit Zhang Lan for ages with no luck. He just doesn’t understand why Chen Hansheng’s group would pass up this chance. He goes looking for them and finds all four of them in the library.
There are only three hours left before the sign-up deadline. Just as Ling Zhengrong starts talking to them, Qiu Tian arrives. We learn that Chen Hansheng’s group actually called her there. With Ling Zhengrong watching, they don't say much.
After he leaves, they ask Qiu Tian for her advice. Should they participate in the selection? She is surprisingly objective about it. She knows they are a good fit for the Cheetahs. She tells them they should definitely do it. But she also wants to make Ling Zhengrong squirm a little. She tells them to wait until 6 PM, right at the deadline, to submit their applications.
Qiu Tian also asks Zhang Lan why he never joins the Cheetahs. He's clearly skilled enough. Zhang Lan explains his reasoning. He says the Cheetah unit can manage without him. But his current repair squad can't. He has found the perfect person to take over his job. The only problem is that his chosen successor is Chen Hansheng.
The Selection Trials Go Wrong
Chen Hansheng's Bomb Blunder
The selection trials begin. In the first test, Chen Hansheng’s performance is decent. But things fall apart in the second round. The task is to defuse a bomb.
He actually succeeds. He finds the bomb and defuses it well within the time limit. But then he hesitates. He remembers a recent incident and gets paranoid. He decides to go back into the room to search for a possible second bomb. Because he wasted time searching, he fails to exit the test area before the clock runs out. His score is completely canceled for that round.
A Total Meltdown at the Range
Next up is the shooting competition. Here, he makes another huge mistake. As he draws his weapon, the magazine just falls out of the gun and clatters to the ground. Everyone is stunned. It’s a rookie error.
His confidence is totally shot. His score for the shooting round is also canceled. The Chief of Staff, however, tells him to complete the course anyway. He wants to see what his actual shooting skill is like under pressure. The results are not good. Chen Hansheng’s aim is all over the place. Throughout all of this, Qiu Tian is right there, trying her best to make excuses for his terrible performance.
