Lin Lie stopped ahead, turned back, and asked, “Do you need me to keep you company for a meal?”
Lian Sheng replied, “No.”
Lin Lie nodded – she had only asked in passing anyway.
She lifted her hand to check the time. She did seem genuinely busy, but still asked one more question. “Has anyone been bullying you here?”
What happened this time was clearly just a misunderstanding. To be honest, she wasn’t very pleased about it.
“No,” said Lian Sheng. “Just a normal match.”
Lin Lie gave a quiet “Mm.”
Lian Sheng had never needed her to worry about her, and the two of them didn’t really have much in common to talk about.
“I’m leaving,” Lin Lie said.
Lian Sheng waved her off.
Lian Sheng slowly made her way out of the building. The sun outside was shining directly into her eyes, a bit dazzling. She raised a hand to shield the light, swung her jacket over her shoulder, and kept walking forward.
She didn’t expect that someone would actually be waiting for her outside.
A guy walked alongside her and asked, “How did you just do that? Took him down in one move? What did you use?”
Lian Sheng smiled. “A stun gun.”
“Haha, definitely not.” The guy gestured as he spoke. “A stun gun would’ve shown up on the scan, but the infirmary didn’t find anything, so it can’t be that.”
“Then it was my fists,” Lian Sheng said.
“Your fists… could beat someone up like that?” The guy rubbed his nose, unconvinced, but still pressed on. “Got any secret technique?”
Lian Sheng curled her fingers, made a small gesture, then feinted a strike forward.
“Oh…” The guy mimicked her move, half-believing, half-doubting. “Seriously?”
“You guess,” Lian Sheng said.
One fight, and she became famous – truly famous, in every sense.
Her mysterious finishing move turned into the academy’s biggest legend. In less than an hour, the story had already spread across all four year levels and every department.
A good part of that was thanks to the opposing instructor’s “like he’d seen a ghost” retelling.
He really felt like he had seen a ghost.
By the time Lian Sheng came out, the meal period had already passed – everyone else had gone to the cafeteria and returned.
Latecomers weren’t given any food there, and there wasn’t a supermarket or anything nearby. Waiting for her was nearly six hours of high-intensity training in the afternoon and evening.
You could say it was pretty miserable.
It was still break time. Everyone was sitting at the spot where they’d assembled that morning, waiting for the afternoon session to begin.
Lian Sheng flicked her cap back and forth, fanning herself. People nearby kept sneaking glances in her direction.
They seemed like they wanted to talk to her – but didn’t dare.
Lian Sheng lowered her head and smiled. Back then, when those rookies saw her, they’d been just like this.
Before long, Instructor Fu walked over.
Sensing a shadow fall over her, Lian Sheng looked up. With a stern face, Instructor Fu held out a bag. “Here. Have you eaten?”
Lian Sheng took it with both hands. “Thanks.”
Inside were two steamed buns and a cup of soy milk. She took them out and started eating, quite satisfied.
Instructor Fu coughed lightly and said, “About earlier… that was a misunderstanding. Sorry.”
With a bite of bun in her mouth, Lian Sheng replied, “Oh.”
Instructor Fu: “…”
A sincere apology, and all he got was an “oh”?
Well – getting an “oh” was already not bad. At least it wasn’t “get lost.” The look on Lian Sheng’s face this morning had been seriously grim.
After delivering the food, he glanced at her once more, then quietly walked away.
Half an hour later, the break ended, and the instructors began leading the students into formal training.
On the first day, it was cross-country running – an endurance test. The instructors took them across different mountain trails.
The Command Department always chose the flattest route available. But as long as it was a mountain path, the uneven ground disrupted one’s rhythm and drained stamina quickly. Their group had over forty people, only five of them girls. After weaving through mountains and forests for more than half an hour, they were completely spent.
Among them, Lian Sheng performed the “best” – she perfectly lived up to her role as the weakest link.
Instructor Fu noticed something was off and deliberately stayed behind her, blowing his whistle to urge her on.
The moment Lian Sheng slowed down, that sharp whistle rang right by her ear.
She silently glanced back at him, then kept running.
Physical stamina was her hard limit. Even as she adjusted her breathing and stride, she could clearly feel the ceiling of her endurance.
Her body was telling her to stop. So after forcing herself to complete one full lap and returning to the assembly point, she finally halted.
Instructor Fu’s eyes widened as he rushed up beside her, blowing his whistle like crazy.
Lian Sheng covered her ears, stepping in place as she began to recover.
The girl ahead took one look, and her willpower instantly collapsed – she stopped as well.
Instructor Fu lowered his whistle and pointed ahead, shouting, “Keep running! I didn’t tell you to stop!”
Several of the girls decided to watch what Lian Sheng would do.
Lian Sheng stood where she was, her face pale. Hearing him, she only cast him a light glance. “I can’t run anymore.”
Instructor Fu snapped, “If you keep your legs moving, you can run. How far have you even gone to say you can’t?”
Lian Sheng licked the metallic taste of blood from between her teeth. “I know my own body best.”
Instructor Fu shot back, “I know your training limits best.”
Lian Sheng tilted her head and let out a sigh, then stretched out her hand in front of him. “Check my pulse yourself. I’m at my limit.”
Instructor Fu planted his hands on his hips, frowning. “I’ve seen plenty of soldiers like you!”
Lian Sheng lowered her hand and moved around him, continuing to loosen up her legs. “Commanders like you… Instructor – I’ve seen plenty too.”
Instructor Fu narrowed his eyes. “Oh? And?”
Lian Sheng wiped the sweat from her forehead – it was coming out a bit too heavily. She said, “None of them ended well.”
Instructor Fu: “…”
For a split second, he thought she was cursing him. But Lian Sheng’s expression was simple and innocent, as if she were merely stating a fact.
She really was just stating a fact.
Instructor Fu took a deep breath and barked, “Run! Even if I don’t end well, that’s not a reason for you to stop!”
Lian Sheng said, “They’re my legs – I decide.”
Instructor Fu shot back, “This is a military exercise. Your legs are under my command!”
Lian Sheng pointed at her legs. “Then call out to them.”
Instructor Fu was so angry he laughed instead. “Did you swallow ‘military orders are absolute’?!”
Lian Sheng frowned. “A general in the field may refuse the emperor’s orders.” She paused, then added, “Did you swallow that?”
Instructor Fu choked on his words, too furious to respond.
He had never dealt with a soldier this stubborn. Not once.
A few of the girls in the distance wiped their foreheads and walked over. “Instructor, let us rest for a bit. We’ll definitely finish the run – okay?”
Instructor Fu stood motionless, staring at Lian Sheng, waiting for her to move.
Lian Sheng stared back at him, feeling annoyed.
Maybe the soldiers he’d trained before liked to slack off early, so by pushing harder he could bring out their potential. Or maybe he had never dealt with someone as weak as her. But she really had reached her limit.
Did she look like she had the energy to keep arguing with him?
If she kept running, things would go badly – so she wouldn’t run.
The two sides remained locked in a stalemate. Then the doctor, who had been watching the whole time with his hands in his pockets, walked over and said, “Hold on.”
He was quite young, wearing glasses, and even a head taller than Instructor Fu – around 1.9 meters.
In the military department, even the doctors were this tall.
“Some people misjudge their own potential – but some don’t,” the doctor said. “I’ll check her data. Don’t worry, our exercises are safe.”
He handed Lian Sheng a device – a small, round metal sphere – and had her place it in her mouth. Then he rolled up her sleeve and attached something to her wrist.
A few minutes later –
The doctor turned around and said to Instructor Fu, “Her heart rate, red blood cell levels, and muscle lactic acid have all exceeded safe limits. I don’t recommend she continue training. She needs rest.”
His tone was calm, almost emotionless, but Instructor Fu could still sense the hint of reproach in his gaze.
This was the second major mistake he’d made today – and both times, it had been with the same person.
Instructor Fu felt deeply embarrassed, even questioning his life choices.
Being scolded by a doctor would absolutely be a lifelong disgrace for him.
Standing off to the side, Lian Sheng spat out the metal ball and said kindly, “I forgive you.”
That “I forgive you” somehow sounded even more grating than a sarcastic “heh.” Right now, what he least needed was Lian Sheng’s forgiveness.
Instructor Fu shuffled his feet, feeling like he wanted the ground to swallow him up. Turning to the doctor, he asked, “Should you test them as well?”
The girls eagerly stepped forward.
The doctor tested them expressionlessly, then put away his equipment.
The girls looked at him expectantly. The doctor said slowly, “You can still run a few more kilometers. Very strong.”
The four girls: “…!”
Instructor Fu finally regained some footing, but now he just wanted to leave this place immediately. He barked, “Run! Move! Anyone who falls behind again will stand as punishment for an extra hour tonight!”
The girls wailed as they resumed running, and Instructor Fu ran off without looking back.
Lian Sheng rubbed her brow, then followed behind the doctor into the infirmary.
After entering, the two glanced at each other. Lian Sheng said nothing – she pounded her legs a couple of times, then walked straight over to a small bed and sat down.
The doctor returned to his desk, switched on his optical computer, and asked, “With stamina like yours, why come to a military academy?”
Lian Sheng took off her shoes and tapped them together. “Because I’m a born commander.”
These shoes really were great – not uncomfortable at all. She liked them a lot.
The doctor paused, then turned around. “I’ve never met someone as arrogant as you.”
Lian Sheng replied, “Let’s call it ambition, shall we? Thanks.”
The doctor said, “I don’t recommend lying down. I suggest you move around a bit more – stretch your muscles while you’re at it.”
Lian Sheng thought that made sense. The run shouldn’t go to waste – though at the moment, her limbs were barely under her control.
The entire infirmary was tightly arranged. After all, later in the exercise it would be packed, so the beds were placed close together with no extra space.
So Lian Sheng went to the doorway and started stretching.
When Zhao Zhuoluo pushed the door open, the first thing he saw was a magnified backside right in front of him. He was instantly startled.
Hearing the movement, Lian Sheng straightened up, stepped aside, and made a polite gesture. “After you.”
His face was slightly flushed from exercise, and he had a teammate slung over his back. He was tall as well. He laid the person down on a nearby bed and handed him over to the doctor.
Lian Sheng asked, “What happened to him?”
Zhao Zhuoluo replied, “Points match. He lost.”
Lian Sheng frowned. “Passed out from anger?”
Zhao Zhuoluo was taken aback by her train of thought and said speechlessly, “…I knocked him out.”
The person on the bed weakly protested, “I didn’t pass out.”
The doctor checked him over, nodded, and said, “He’s fine. Just a bit exhausted – he needs some rest.”
Translator’s Words:
I only just realized that there is already a fully translated version on Novel Updates. Therefore, I will drop this one, but if you are still interested in reading, you can search First Battlefield Commander on Novel Updates!
