Chapter 5

Upon hearing these words, Class 1, originally sprawled lazily on the ground, swiftly rose as if struck by lightning. They quickly got up, straightened their clothes and hats, and then lined up in formation.

The speed was so fast that it could be described as swift as lightning.

After they all lined up, the entire class had a big question mark over their heads.

?????

Weren’t they supposed to be resting? The instructor hadn’t even called them to assemble, so why were they getting up?

Well, one could only say that it had become a reflexive habit. The whole class was at a loss.

From this incident, it was clear how profound Zhang Jiuling’s influence was on them.

Back then, because they assembled slowly, their class’s instructor made them run several laps around the field with increased intensity and then practice assembling.

If they were off by a second from the standard, they had to run another lap, and this went on repeatedly. It was difficult for their class to assemble quickly.

From their class assembled to standing in formation, the commotion was not small, and instructors from nearby Class 2 and Class 13 were observing. Seeing their class finally standing neatly, they couldn’t help but sigh.

Class 2 Instructor: The leader is still amazing. When can our class be like that?

Class 13 Instructor: It seems I’ve been too kind to the little rabbits in my class. Look at the class trained by Yama; even reflexes have kicked in.

Thinking of this, the instructors of both classes turned around.

“Hurry up, everyone! Stand in formation!”

“Move, move, what are you moving for! Report if you’ve moved!”

“Hurry up and stand still. If anyone moves again, the whole class will have an extra five minutes!”

“Move, still moving?!”

The Class 2 instructor was impassioned and determined to transform his class into something like Class 1.

The chubby instructor from Class 13 wasn’t as “cruel.”

He chuckled and said,

“Everyone, arm swinging exercises, fifty times!”

“One, two!”

“I’m telling you, I’ve been good enough to you all. Look at Class 1; they’ve developed reflexes through training.”

“………”

Class 1 students: Do you think we wanted this? It’s just that the instructor is too ruthless.

Zhang Jiuling walked over, but he came back alone. Hey, what about those two male classmates from before?

However, no one dared to ask him.

Zhang Jiuling, dressed in camouflage, still had that indifferent demeanor.

His eyes, tinged with coldness, had pupils as dark and shiny as those of a wild beast. Even if he didn’t make eye contact, feeling that gaze on oneself would induce a shiver.

The entire Class 1 was even more nervous; their bodies tensed up like a bunch of wooden stakes.

In fact, this gaze held no “malicious” intent, as those familiar with special forces would know. This gaze was a presence they carried with them after enduring battlefields and fighting with blood.

Dominant, with a hint of killing intent, it was something they couldn’t easily shake off.

Zhang Jiuling scanned the class and issued orders directly.

“All present!”

“At ease, attention!”

“Next, practice synchronized marching!”

“All present, march—forward!”

“One, two, one, two!”

“One, two, one, two!”

“Last row, formation in disarray.”

“The others stand still; the last row, turn back!”

“March in unison!”

“One, two, one, two!”

“One… two… three… four!”

“One, two, three, four!”

“One, two, three, four!!”

“The chants aren’t loud enough. Practice them on your own twenty times!”

The last row collectively expressed their frustration, “Yes!!”

Then they were left in place, practicing the slogans over and over again.

“One, two, three, four!”

“One, two, three, four!”

“One, two…”

The last row was none other than the one Su Linlin belonged to.

Li Jiao looked at her yelling chants there, silently sympathizing with her.

Now, you wouldn’t wish for the instructor to come back early, would you?

Before she could ponder on this for too long, Zhang Jiuling came over again, walked to the front of the formation, and said,

“All present, turn back!”

“One, two!”

“The footstep sounds aren’t uniform; let’s do it again.”

“All present, turn back!”

“One, two!”

The footstep sounds still weren’t synchronized, with almost every row having some individuals out of step.

Zhang Jiuling was evidently not satisfied; his brow was slightly furrowed.

“Last row, all present, turn back!”

“One, two!”

Separately, this was much better. Zhang Jiuling continued inspecting the people in the back.

“Second to last row, all present, turn back!”

“One, two!”

“Third row, all present,turn back!”

“One, two!”

“Last row, all present, turn back!”

“One, two!”

The last row, which is the first row where Li Jiao is located, is still not in order. Two or three people were rushing the rhythm, and a few others were a bit slower, resulting in chaotic and disorderly footstep sounds.

After standing still, the people in Li Jiao’s row felt nervously guilty. Oh no, they were going to be punished.

Sure enough, the next moment, they heard Zhang Jiuling’s cold voice.

“Last row, footstep sounds are not uniform. Run two laps around the field and then come back.”

“Yes.”

In Li Jiao’s row, all eight were girls. After hearing the command, they responded with a weak

“yes.”

Oh, no, it’s running again. They were in trouble.

Zhang Jiuling: “The first girl, lead the way to the running track.”

“Yes.”

The girl at the front responded and immediately led the first row out of the central area of the military training ground onto the rubber track.

The remaining people continued their practice, while Li Jiao’s row got onto the running track. The eight girls lined up and started running.

Li Jiao had already developed blisters on both feet inside her shoes in the morning due to punishment for turning exercises. When she popped the blisters during the noon break, the pain brought tears to her eyes.

Now, with another round of running, she wasn’t sure if the wounds covered by those few adhesive bandages would hold up.

Li Jiao looked down at her feet and thought she could manage it.

She lifted her head and followed the person in front of her, running along.

It was already past four in the afternoon, but the sun was still scorching, with the intense rays, over 40 degrees Celsius, hitting them like a pot of boiling water, making them steam.

Sweat from Li Jiao’s forehead kept dripping down, running along her hairline to her chin, then falling onto the ground. Due to the sun’s exposure, both sides of her cheeks were flushed red.

After one lap, the wounds inside her shoes had started to throb again; they must have swollen up.

Ignoring the pain in her feet, her legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead, and she was running purely on willpower.

The reason she studied art since childhood was because her physical fitness wasn’t great. Throughout her years of physical education, she barely passed, and even then, it was mostly out of sympathy from the teachers.

Running, as a form of exercise, had been limited to her physical education classes for more than ten years of her life until now.

At other times, she was essentially a homebody—either attending classes or staying at home to paint.

To put it bluntly, she was physically inept.

For this military training, her family initially wanted to apply for an exemption. In her mother’s words, she already had poor health, and she didn’t want her to collapse embarrassingly on the field, bringing shame to the family.

However, despite Li Jiao’s poor physical fitness, she had a stubborn streak. If her parents didn’t want her to come, she was determined to prove herself.

Of course, at this moment, Li Jiao could only think that listening to her mother was the right choice.

Mom, I really want to go home～

In the final lap, Li Jiao couldn’t recall how she managed to persevere.

All she remembered was that when she stopped, her feet were so weak that she almost knelt down.

After the eight girls finished running, they lined up, panting heavily, and returned to the central training ground.

In the class, they were doing arm-swing exercises. Su Linlin and Zhang Yue in the formation noticed that Li Jiao’s lips had turned white and looked at her with concern.

“Report!”

The girl at the front reported requesting permission to join the formation.

Zhang Jiuling turned around, looked at them, and said,

“First row, all present.”

“At ease!”

The eight girls immediately stood in formation.

“At ease, attention!”

“All present,turn back!”

“One, two!”

The footstep sounds were still not uniform because they had just finished running, and the eight girls’ feet were tired and soft. Despite their efforts to follow the command, their feet were unresponsive, making it seem like a feeble attempt.

Without much talk, Zhang Jiuling said directly,

“Run two more laps, then come back.”

“Why?”

A girl expressed her dissatisfaction, saying,

“Why?”

Zhang Jiuling replied, “You didn’t report. Add one more lap.”

“Why should we?”

Hearing this, the girl became impatient. They had just finished running two laps with great difficulty. Now, within a minute, they were being told to run again. Why?

Zhang Jiuling glanced at her indifferently and said, “Footstep sounds are not uniform. Two laps since you didn’t report; one lap if you had.”

“Three laps in total. Run them, then come back.”

“Why…”

The girl wanted to argue, but someone beside her pulled her away and whispered,

“Let it go; let it go, Lulu; don’t say anything.”

The girl named Lulu was led away. Despite the reluctance of the other girls, they had no choice but to follow.

Li Jiao was the same. Silently, she followed the group back onto the running track.

As they left, Zhang Yue and Su Linlin looked at her with concern. She smiled, shook her head, and mouthed, “It’s okay.”

Unexpectedly, as soon as the few girls got off the track, they were sent back on again.

This time was different; several of them were visibly frustrated, especially Lulu. She sprinted fast as soon as she got on the track, but after running one lap, she couldn’t continue.

She stood in place, panting heavily, and two girls beside her also stopped.

“Lulu, are you okay?”

“No, I’m not. I’m done.” She waved her hand weakly and said, “I’m not running anymore.”

Someone tried to persuade her, “Lulu, there are two more laps. Just endure a bit.”

“No, I can’t. I’m done. Whatever happens, happens.”

Lulu sat down on the ground directly and said, “Even if Yama comes, I won’t run anymore.”

“I’m telling you, none of us should run. Even if we don’t run, what can the instructor do to us?”

A worried girl said, “But it’s not good. If we don’t run, and the instructor reports it to the counselor, what will happen?”

“Just report it; at most, we’ll face some criticism. It won’t be a big deal.”

Lulu said, “I don’t want to risk my life just because of a run.”

Hearing her say this, the other two girls also wavered. They couldn’t bear to run two laps earlier.

Now, being forced to run a second time, to be honest, who wanted to run?

It was only because they feared the instructor. Now, with Lulu stirring things up, the two girls simply sat on the ground and refused to run. Whoever wanted to run could run.

The three of them sat down by the flowerbed next to the track, watching the five people running towards them, encouraging them.

“Don’t run anymore. Let’s sit here for a while and go back later.”

“That’s right, don’t run. Let’s all sit here and go back later.”

Two girls couldn’t help but persuade, nodding. They walked over and sat with them, dragging their tired steps.

Li Jiao and the other two girls stood still. One was Tang Yuran from her dorm, and the other was unfamiliar, but she seemed like a quite honest girl with twisted braids.

Li Jiao glanced at the five people hiding from the sun by the flowerbed, then looked towards the military training ground. Their class was still in training, with the instructor correcting their movements.

Although the military training ground was large, if they didn’t run, the instructor would definitely know. Moreover, the central area was quite open, and with just a turn of the head, the instructor would easily spot them slacking off.

Considering this, Li Jiao said to them,

“Let’s still run; the instructor can see us.”

Lulu, the bold girl, said defiantly, “Let him see. What can he do to me? I won’t run anyway.”

Apart from her, the other four were hesitant but made no move. It seemed like they didn’t want to run either.

Li Jiao didn’t say anything more. She glanced at her feet, estimating that blisters had formed again, causing a painful abrasion.

Her eyebrows furrowed and her teeth clenched, but she continued running.

Two more laps, she could do it.

Tang Yuran glanced at the others, let down her hair, and neatly tied it into a high ponytail, securing her military training cap. Along the track, she began to run gracefully.

With a proud silhouette, she looked like a swan.

The girl with the twisted braids hesitated for a moment, then followed suit after they left.

“Lulu, what should we do?”

Beside the flowerbed, a girl asked.

Lulu sneered, “Idiot!”

“We’ll just stay here. When they’re about to finish the last half lap, we’ll catch up.”

She just didn’t believe that the instructor could do anything to her.

When Li Jiao reached the second lap, it was already her limit. The scorching sun beat down on her, seemingly evaporating the moisture from her body.

Her legs felt as if they were tied to two large stones, dragging her steps slower and slower. Leaning on her waist, her chest felt stifled. With every breath she took, it felt burning hot and painful.

In the last lap, she slowed down even more. Eventually, she could only stroll, walking slowly.