Chapter 46: Devil Training Camp Six

  Zi Yun panted heavily and shouted urgently at Chu Heng: "Hurry up! We're falling behind!"

  Zhan Peng dragged Chu Heng and shouted: "Hurry up, can't rest, the more you rest, the more tired you'll be!" He grasped Chu Heng's hand and pulled him forward, running wildly, while Qi Yunfei followed closely behind them with his gun.

  He ran out another six or seven kilometers, Chu Heng's face turned white as paper, and he spat out white foam. He hugged a tree and fell to the ground with a thud, tears streaming down his face as he shook his hand at his two companions: "You guys run... I... really can't take it anymore, if I keep running... I'll die!"

  "No. 17... still five kilometers to go, come on... just a bit more, we're almost there!" Similarly exhausted, Zhang Peng panted and pulled him along.

  However, Chu Heng refused to get up even in death. He wailed and said: "I'm so miserable I could die, I won't run away anymore, to hell with the special forces, to hell with the king of soldiers, I... I... I want to go home!"

  "Damn it! Are you a man or what? If you have the energy to cry, why don't you get up and run with us?"

  "I really can't run anymore! Don't bother about me, just go ahead and run yourselves! Whoever reaches the end is counted!"

  "Come on, we've been through so many difficulties and now it's just this last step. If you're a man, get up and run! I don't know where he got the strength from, but he grabbed Chu Heng's backpack and put it on his own back."

  Zi Yunfei hesitated for a moment, and in his heart, he knew that according to his and Zhan Peng's abilities, they could reach the finish line within the allotted time without any problem. However, if they insisted on pulling Chu Heng along, it was likely that all three of them would end up getting eliminated. He looked at Zhan Peng's resolute gaze, gritted his teeth, and muttered a curse under his breath as he strode forward to grab Chu Heng's gun and slung it over his own back. Then, he picked up Chu Heng from the ground and said through clenched teeth: "I've never interfered in other people's business before, but I'm making an exception today. Damn it, if we're going to die, then so be it! Who told you to follow me anyway?"

  Two people were carrying Chu Heng's arms, dragging and pulling him with great difficulty towards the finish line. From time to time, they overtook students who were so exhausted that they used their rifles as walking sticks and staggered from side to side.

  Three people stood shoulder to shoulder, no one willing to give up their companions. Finally, they saw the white-gray line that represented the finish line. Xu Mingliang and Ma Xiangdong stood expressionless on the line, shouting loudly: "There are still five minutes left!" Their voices were cold and ruthless, and no one could see the emotion hidden in their eyes.

  "Hurry! Hurry! We're almost there!" Zhang Peng shouted to his two companions, the three of them shouting "Ya ya" as they used all their might to sprint forward with their legs, finally crossing the finish line in the last minute.

  Three people fell to the ground, and Zhan Peng's vision blurred. The dizzying sensation made him retch continuously. Several military medics rushed over to help them remove their backpacks.

  A military doctor held onto Qi Yunfei, felt his neck and opened a bottle of saline solution to give him a small sip, asking: "How do you feel? Can you hold on?"

  He licked his lips, raised his head with difficulty and stared at the military doctor. The military doctor in front of him turned into five or six people, constantly swaying back and forth before his eyes. His head shook uncontrollably as he asked: "Commander, h-h-how many heads do you have?"

  The military doctor poured another mouthful of saline solution into his mouth, the icy liquid flowing down his esophagus and into his stomach. His consciousness cleared a bit, and he reached out to take the bottle himself, "Thank you, Commander, I can drink it myself."

  "Drink a little, you can't eat for half an hour, got it?" The military doctor gave each of them a bottle of saline solution and stood guard beside them, not leaving until he had confirmed that everything was okay before heading over to the other students.

  Three people lay on the ground for over ten minutes, and the dizzy feeling slowly disappeared. They heard Ma Xiangdong's shouting voice: "Now roll call, those whose names are called come to this truck beside me."

  Three people were named, Zhan Peng slowly got up from the ground, grasped the truck's side panel, and used his hands and feet to climb up but couldn't make it. The instructor on the truck reached out and pulled him up. In the carriage, several students were already lying down in a mess. Zhan Peng was so tired that he didn't even want to lift his hand again, casually found a gap to lie down and immediately started snoring loudly.

  Half an hour later, the truck drove away. The unselected students watched as the truck drove away, some crying and others shouting in anger: "Why were we eliminated? We reached the finish line within the allotted time." Having gone through such a difficult test, completing the task within the allotted time, only to be eliminated in the end, this cannot help but make people angry.

  Xu Mingliang silently watched them, waiting until their excitement had passed and the shouting had gradually subsided. He then turned his head to look at the vast mountains and said: "Some of you are indeed very unfortunate. You were abandoned by your comrades in the great mountains and therefore lost the qualification to become a special soldier. For these people, the Leopard Squad hopes that you will work hard on your skills and welcomes you to come back to the training camp next year!"

  The most violent students looked at each other in dismay, the angry expressions on their faces gradually replaced by shame.

  "There are still some people who think they have completed the task, but what is the task? Is it to complete 80 kilometers of mountainous terrain as a group! Where is your group? Where are your comrades? Abandoned in the deep mountains and old forests! Don't you feel guilty when you cross the finish line alone after abandoning your comrades? The Cheetah Team doesn't need such soldiers, we don't dare to turn our backs on such comrades!" Xu Mingliang said as he turned around and walked towards an off-road vehicle, closed the door and drove away.

  The eliminated trainees hung their heads in shame, and under the guidance of an instructor, they climbed onto a truck that would take them back to their respective old units.

  Zhan Peng and the others were sent back to the training camp. Ma Xiangdong lined them up, and said to the remaining 85 students: "Your current task is to take a bath, eat, and sleep. It's now 9 o'clock, until 7 pm tonight, you can move around freely, but you are not allowed to leave the camp. Dismissed!

  When Zhan Peng woke up from his sleep, it was already past five o'clock in the afternoon. He lay on his bed and looked around the dormitory, where only three people were left in their class. Qi Yunfei was still snoring loudly on his bed, while Chu Heng, who slept on the upper bunk above him, slowly sat up and looked down to see what was going on.

  Seeing him wake up, Chu Heng smiled at him apologetically and lowered his voice to say: "No. 15, thank you! If it weren't for you guys, I would have been sent back too."

  Zhan Peng smiled and pointed at Qi Yunfei, "You should thank him. If he hadn't held you back, both of us might have been eliminated."

  Chu Heng chuckled and jumped down from the top bunk, looking at Qi Yunfei who was sleeping soundly, and whispered: "Let's go out and get some exercise, don't wake him up."

  Two people tiptoed downstairs and stretched their waists and legs on the playground, where about twenty students were already gathered in twos and threes, taking a stroll and chatting.

  Chu Heng secretly observed the instructors scattered around the playground and dormitory buildings smoking, and poked Zhang Peng to ask: "What do you think they'll do next to torment us?"

  Zhan Peng also looked at the instructors, whose faces never had any expression, and it was impossible to tell anything from their expressions. He shook his head, "Who knows? We'll just have to defend ourselves as we go along. But I reckon there must be more assessment projects coming up."

  Chu Heng sighed and looked a bit dazed: "I don't know if I can pass the next level."

  Zhan Peng smiled and patted his shoulder, cheering him up: "Don't be so downhearted, whether we pass or not, we've come all the way here, and now we know what special forces are all about, it's worth it."

  Two people were chatting, a camouflage-painted off-road vehicle drove into the camp gate. Xu Mingliang and Ma Xiangdong led a group of instructors to quickly run towards the off-road vehicle, lining up in front of the car to salute.

  The car door opened, and a tall, imposing colonel with a beret on his head and wearing special combat uniform stepped out of the vehicle. He raised his hand in salute to the crowd. His appearance seemed to bring an aura of power, causing the entire parade ground and even the entire camp to fall silent. No one dared to whisper or exchange words. His sharp gaze swept across the field, and a stern light shot out from his deep black eyes. Several students who met his gaze trembled slightly.

  This officer simply stood there, upright and unassuming, without any particular pose or need to loudly proclaim his uniqueness, nor did he require anyone to flatter and prove his one-of-a-kind status. His expression carried an air of arrogant disdain for all others, as if he were the heavens themselves, everything, the sole emperor above and below!

  Zhan Peng looked at him and suddenly had a feeling of being on top of a high mountain, even he himself didn't understand where this feeling came from.

  Xu Mingliang took a step forward, muttering something in a low voice. The officer nodded slightly and walked towards the instructors' building with big strides under the escort of the instructors. It wasn't until his back disappeared into the shadow of the stairs that the atmosphere on the playground slowly returned to its previous calmness and relaxation. The cadets whispered to each other, everyone guessing the identity of this military officer.

  "Who is he? So majestic?" Chu Heng's eyes were fixed on the stairs of the teaching building, his eyes still filled with admiration and worship, and his mouth was making a "tsk tsk" sound: "Wow, even more majestic than our instructors!"

  Zhan Peng slowly shook his head, but in his mind, he thought of an ancient poem: "Born to be a hero among men, dead also a heroic ghost." Whoever this person was, he could fully affirm that this person must be a outstanding figure among people. Turning back, he saw Qi Yunfei leaning against the staircase, staring blankly in the direction of the instructor's building with his mouth agape.

  Xu Mingliang closed the office door, poured a cup of boiling water on the tea table and asked: "Jin Da, what are your instructions?"

  "I'm on a military district meeting, and I'll drop by to take a look. How's the assessment score? Is it still satisfactory?" Jin Huan asked casually while flipping through a stack of student files on his desk.

  "There are several students who are not bad, with good physical quality and military quality that can pass. Xu Mingliang made a detailed report on the assessment of the past 30 hours."

  Jin Hao listened very seriously. After Xu Mingliang finished speaking, he thought for a moment and put the trainee's information on the table. "Show me the video materials of mountain marching."

  "Yes." Xu Mingliang opened his laptop and played back the video footage.

  Jin Huang selected the important content and read it through, the sky was already dark, he frowned and thought for a while, then asked: "According to the plan, the next assessment content should be intelligence assessment, right?"

  "Yes, it has been announced that the gathering will be at 7 o'clock. Ma Xiangdong and others are preparing in the examination room. This is the last assessment to receive training qualifications." Xu Mingliang raised his wrist to look at his watch and said: "There are still 20 minutes before it starts, do you want to preside over it personally?"

  Jin Huang waved his hand and said, "I'll just be an onlooker then, I won't put any pressure on them."

  Xu Mingliang smiled and said, "I have installed cameras in the examination room. In the office, we can see the situation of the students taking the exam." He then opened the door and called a instructor, "Bring Jin Da's dinner over here."