Remembering that they had to gather early the next morning, Cheng Feng slept very restlessly. Even though her body felt heavy, she still woke up before the alarm went off.
She sat up and leaned against the headboard. The winter sky was still a murky gray; the heating was turned up so high that it left a faint dampness of sweat on Cheng Feng’s forehead.
Before long, her roommates got up one after another, yawning as they headed to the bathroom to wash up.
Cheng Feng tidied up her bedding and was tasked with going to the canteen first to get food for everyone. Just before she left, unable to contain her curiosity, she asked, “Does our university have a grudge against Tao Rui?”
The senior student, seeing Cheng Feng staring straight at her, hesitated for a moment before replying cautiously, “Not really? As long as we don’t run into them in the league matches, it’s not deep-seated hatred.”
She held back one more comment: If we do meet in the league matches, then it’s a grudge worthy of dancing on each other’s graves!
“Oh.” Cheng Feng nodded thoughtfully, then said, “But you called out his name yesterday.”
“I dreamed about Tao Rui?!” The senior student’s face darkened as she shook her head vigorously. “No way!”
Cheng Feng asked, “Is he really that hateful? What did he do?”
“Just running into him brings terrible luck!” The senior student lowered her voice to a conspiratorial murmur, speaking with dramatic seriousness. “Haven’t you ever experienced something like that? A complete clash of auras. It’s like you’ve stepped in dogshit for eight generations, and the moment you meet him, all that karma comes crashing down on you.”
Cheng Feng couldn’t help but think of Yan Shen. Instantly feeling a deep sense of recognition, she nodded and said, “I get it!”
Seeing the flicker of fear that flashed across Cheng Feng’s face, the senior student quickly comforted her, “You’re still young. You can outlast him. No need to be afraid. Our uni will always be the strongest!”
Shen Dan walked out with her toothbrush still in her mouth. Seeing the two of them bonding in a surge of shared passion and hot-blooded camaraderie, she was nearly blinded by the gleaming fellowship and almost swallowed the foam in her mouth. Frowning tightly, she shuffled back into the bathroom, muttering indistinctly, “First thing in the morning, and we’re already jumping straight into this?”
She’d sit this one out. Otherwise, there’d be nothing left to do in the afternoon.
…
At 5:50, the students who had finished breakfast began gathering at the entrance of the training building.
Two instructors walked over, twirling their caps in their hands. They checked everyone’s attire and, during roll call, noted that seven male students were still absent – five of whom were from First Military.
Just as everyone was breaking into a cold sweat on their behalf, those few students came running in right at the last moment.
Mr. Zhou glanced at his smart device. Seeing that they hadn’t been clocked past the second mark, he said with a hint of regret, “With all that rushing and scrambling, you still made it on time. Not bad, huh?”
The few students hurriedly swallowed whatever they had been eating, their faces turning red from choking, yet they still had to shout, “Sorry, Sir!”
Mr. Zhou stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his posture relaxed. Although the time had already arrived, he wasn’t in a hurry to line everyone up. Instead, he said with a troubled look, “Yesterday we gave you all a little warm-up. Today, I’m not sure what to do. So we had a discussion among ourselves and decided that maybe we should just go on a spring outing.”
No one responded from the crowd, but judging by the tight muscles in their faces, their inner thoughts were probably quite rich.
“We didn’t discuss how to torture you – you’re all overthinking it,” Mr. Zhou said with the utmost sincerity. “The main thing is that we can’t give you training that’s too strenuous. If your feet get messed up, that’s fine – you can still take up a job. But if your hands get messed up, the leaders of your uni will curse us to death.”
The crowd: “??” Your standards are that low?
Mr. Xue stood off to the side, smiling meaningfully.
Seeing that he couldn’t win everyone’s trust, Mr. Zhou raised his hand and pointed behind himself. “Go on out now. Your equipment has already been laid out in the open square ahead. Each of you take one set. Don’t go looking inside the bag – it’ll only disappoint you. Now go.”
The students filed out through the gate and saw that a pile of black equipment had somehow appeared in the square.
Each set of equipment consisted of a fully packed military backpack, a large canteen, and a replica firearm.
Cheng Feng hefted one and found it weighed about 20 kilograms. She strapped the load onto her back and guessed that today would likely be a test of endurance.
Because Mr. Zhou had emphasized it, no one opened their backpacks, though they were a bit lackadaisical while picking out their sets, and a few muttered conversations broke out among them.
Mr. Xue shouted from the back, “Hurry up! Stop dawdling – what do you think this is, choosing concubines? We tried to be nice to you first thing in the morning, but you just don’t know when to take a hint!”
With him leading the charge, Mr. Zhou was milder-tempered today. He jutted his chin toward the crowd and said, “Today, it’s just the two of us leading you 150 people. For the sake of equal treatment and ease of management, everyone spread out. Each squad, now count off from one to four!”
The two instructors broke up the students from all the military universities and reassembled them into five small teams.
Cheng Feng stood in the middle of the fourth column, flanked by students from other academies.
The sun had still not risen. Only a few dim streetlights nearby cast their glow over the concrete ground. The chilly morning wind suddenly began to gust in waves, making Cheng Feng’s nose itch.
Her nostrils fluttered as she fought back a sneeze, rubbing her irritated nose. Just then, the person to her left shouted out, with great annoyance, “I took a shower!”
Cheng Feng looked over in surprise and realized that the person standing next to her was none other than Tao Rui.
There was a flash of anger in his eyes as he glared at Cheng Feng, clearly displeased with her reaction just now.
“Oh…”
Cheng Feng almost said, So it’s you, but then felt that saying that in this context would be far too sarcastic. The words circled in her mind before she swallowed them back down and simply gave a bland, “Oh.”
Tao Rui’s eyelid twitched. He looked thoroughly aggravated. The surrounding students quickly turned their attention toward the commotion and simultaneously sniffed the air.
The thing about this kind of situation was that it wasn’t a big deal until someone brought it up. But now that it had been mentioned, everyone felt there was a faint, elusive smell coming from the First Military student. Very subtle. So they lowered their heads and stifled their laughter as best they could.
Mr. Zhou made a full circle from the back of the formation and walked to the front row, then announced loudly, “All right, we’re about to set off. See that mountain range in front of the base? That mountain is a symbol of our base. It’s filled with fond memories of your seniors. We also hope it will leave a deep impression on you during your training, so you’ll come back often to visit.”
He spoke gently, but everyone felt a chill run through their bones.
The early spring wind cut like a sharp blade. Even after a thread of golden light broke through the dim sky, the wind remained bitingly cold, swirling around the students. The seemingly warm sunlight did nothing to dispel the bone-chilling coldness.
As the white mist gradually dispersed, the team trudged through the damp mud, winding their way through the dense forest.
It took over half an hour of slow walking for their bodies to finally warm up. Mr. Zhou did not restrict the students from chatting freely among themselves. Instead, he walked ahead with his hands clasped behind his back, looking utterly at ease, occasionally even turning around to join in the conversation.
Even with the 20-kilogram load and the steep, rugged mountain path, the gentle pace and leisurely demeanor seemed far too out of place for the second day of training.
Unless this was a grueling long-distance march in disguise.
But even a march had speed requirements – nothing like this carefree spring outing.
The more the students walked, the more they felt something was off. Even if they hadn’t yet fully grasped the instructors’ viciousness, they knew these people wouldn’t be so kind-hearted.
Especially the smile Mr. Zhou had been wearing all along – it was particularly enticing. The kind of enticement a Grim Reaper might offer.
An hour and a half later, the sun had risen to its peak in the sky, yet the group still hadn’t received any second set of instructions.
The students in the front rows couldn’t hold back any longer and asked uneasily, “Sir, where is our destination? Is this pace going to work? Shouldn’t we go a bit faster?”
Mr. Zhou took out his smart device, opened the map, and considerately zoomed in on the details to show the students a small green dot. He used two fingers to measure the distance between two points and replied with a beaming smile, “Don’t worry. We’re heading right here – just over a few ridges. Based on my experience, since we set out early, we’ll definitely make it back before dark. Should be back at the base by afternoon, I think?”
The group found this even more unnerving.
The young man’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he tentatively asked, “There aren’t any other requirements, are there?”
“None at all,” Mr. Zhou said innocently. “Just enjoy the scenery. Training should balance work and rest, right? Don’t be afraid – it’s not like we are that fierce.”
Cheng Feng craned her neck to look ahead and muttered under her breath, “He’s giving me the creeps – like a chill wind from the grave.”
The senior student behind her chimed in, “Don’t say things like that. Have a little hope for the world. Maybe there aren’t any traps – we just haven’t run into them yet. Besides, we ran ourselves ragged yesterday. Walking all day today is already plenty of training.”
Tao Rui, who had been silent the whole way, suddenly paused mid-step and asked, “If we don’t make it by noon, we’re not going to have to sleep in a pigpen, are we?”
Up ahead, Mr. Zhou whipped his head around at these words, a look of surprise in his eyes. Then he slowly curled the corners of his mouth into a smile – not exactly approving, but certainly deeply meaningful.
Everyone’s scalps tingled.
“Hey…” Cheng Feng raised a hand to grab the person beside her, but grasped nothing but air. She turned to look and found that Tao Rui, casting all martial honor aside, had already slipped away. Spurred on by the shadow of yesterday’s trauma, he had dashed to the very front of the line in the blink of an eye.
The students in the back shouted in alarm:
“Damn!”
“Quick, the First Military guys are charging! There’s no way we’re sweeping pigpen again today!”
“So sneaky! Guys, don’t lose!”
By the time the message reached the rear of the column, it had morphed into:
“They’re too cunning! The last team to reach the destination sleeps in the pigpen tonight!”
“There’s a time limit, everyone! The instructors hid the time limit!”
“Anyone who doesn’t make it to the site by noon is eating lunch in the pigpen! Charge!”
In an instant, the crowd was off and running, thundering chaotically through the mountains and leaving the two instructors far behind.
Mr. Xue walked over, looking puzzled, and asked, “What’s gotten into them?”
Mr. Zhou burst out laughing. “These kids are brilliant! They’ve started competing all on their own!”
Mr. Xue asked, “What did you tell them?”
Mr. Zhou said, “Don’t blame me! I didn’t say a thing. They figured it out themselves.”
