Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Xiao Jing was panting like a dog. Based on her physical strength and ability, fifty push-ups were already more than enough to shorten her life by half, much less a hundred!
She fought hard to restrain the urge to take a peek at the yard and see for herself if the volatile commander had left yet.
Unfortunately, the moment she raised her head, the sight that greeted her terrified her to the extent that she instinctively shrank her head back into her shoulders.
Not only had he not left, but he was also staring at her with eyes that were like shards of ice.
Shen Chengfeng circled Xiao Jing twice. The night wind suddenly rose, stirring up the dust in the yard, and Shen Changfeng’s military boots remained a single step away from her face.
Xiao Jing’s arms shivered as she continued with her push-ups.
Shen Chengfeng crouched down and stared intently at the young and tender little face. The offspring of the Xiao family were full of masculine energy and hard strength. The only exception was Xiao Jing, with his skinny limbs and delicate features. If it were not for the fact that his ID had identified him as a man, everyone would have assumed that he was a woman.
And he did, indeed, look like a woman. He had full brows and round eyes, red lips, and white teeth. Furthermore, his skin looked so supple that Shen Chengfeng suspected water droplets would appear if he so much as pinched it.
Xiao Jing’s guilty conscience began to rear its head quietly. Why was her commander looking at her with such a gentle look in his eyes? Was the Big Bad Wolf looking down in pity at the little lamb? Could he please just say something? Anything would have been better than having him stare at her with his terrifyingly unsettling eyes.
Shen Chengfeng stood up and looked up at the night sky. “You have 30 more to go,” he said.
Xiao Jing held her breath and finished the remaining 30 push-ups in one go. Whether or not the quality of the push-ups was up to standard was another matter.
Well, as long as she was happy with it, who was going to say otherwise?
Her body pushed past the limits of exhaustion, Xiao Jing lay on her bed, her back and limbs aching. She closed her eyes and began swearing and cussing out the Commander’s entire family tree, including his ancestors from eight generations ago!
Damn him to hell! She swore that a day would come when he would be under her begging for mercy!
The alarm pierced the silence once again.
Xiao Jing bolted out of bed. Her legs moved on their own accord as she ran out of the room.
It was five in the morning, and dawn was just breaking.
Everyone was in full military garb and ready to go. They lined up in a single file, prepared for their first day of training.
Mu Xichi was a veteran and was naturally qualified to serve as the Assistant Instructor. He cleared his throat and announced, “Run a three-klick cross-country!”
Everyone exchanged glances. Wasn’t that a little too easy?
Despite the doubt that surfaced in their minds, the soldiers got into action immediately.
They were on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by dense jungles and steep mountains. Hence, this particular cross-country wasn’t as easy as a simple three-kilometer run.
Xiao Jing leaped down from a huge rock and looked in disbelief at a river in front of her that probably measured 50 meters across. Were they supposed to swim to the other bank?
“Since it’s your first day, treat this as a warm-up. The person who finishes last will have to do 100 pull-ups and get five points deducted,” Mu Xichi’s voice rang out from behind them.
Upon hearing that, none of the men dared to wait, and they rushed to jump into the river.
The river current was strong, and the water level reached the upper chests of most of the soldiers.
Of course, considering that Xiao Jing was only 1.58 meters tall, the water covered her up to her neck.
“Are you still able to walk?” one of the men asked as he held on to Xiao Jing’s swaying body.
Xiao Jing looked at him and carefully recalled the introductions the day before. The individual was a Lieutenant Colonel, and if her memory served her right, his name was Lin Qi.
Lin Qi was 1.9 meters tall and hailed from the coast of S City. Hence, the torrential river posed no challenge to him, and he held on to Xiao Jing, pulling her along as he swam over.
Xiao Jing struggled up the steep bank, and gasping for breath, said in gratitude, “Thank you.”
“Right, we’ve fallen behind.” Lin Qi quickly climbed up the bank and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Xiao Jing laughed bitterly. Based on her ability, the last place was all that she could hope to achieve!
Mu Xichi stood at the finishing line and watched as the individuals reached his side. All of them looked like they were about to collapse from exhaustion. With a disdainful sneer, he said, “You were all the most outstanding and elite individuals in your units. But from what I see, you’re nothing more than a bunch of arrogant recruits that overestimated yourselves! Considering how you were all defeated by a mere three-klick cross-country, I guess I expected too much out of you.”
Xiao Jing looked at the figure standing in front of her and straightened her back.
“A hundred pull-ups for the person who came in last!”
Xiao Jing turned around. She was strangely starting to develop a phobia towards the horizontal bar.
Mu Xichi stood under the pull-up bar, and his lips lifted in a huge grin. “You should know the rules by now. Ten additional pull-ups for every fall and a hundred additional pull-ups for each that you skip.”
Xiao Jing climbed onto the bar. Thanks to her experience, she was a lot more proficient this time around, and her pull-ups felt considerably more effortless compared to a few days ago.
Mu Xichi took out a folder and wrote some comments inside it. “When you finish, bring this to the Commander’s room. As for everyone else, have your breakfast and fall in at the shooting range in half an hour.”
Xiao Jing released the bar and landed with her feet on the ground. She took the preliminary evaluation form that Mu Xichi had just written in, and one glance confirmed her suspicions. Mu Xichi had appointed her to do the task for the sole purpose of showing her that she had failed every aspect of the physical evaluation. She had failed in her physique, speed, and standard. She had utterly failed in everything!
Xiao Jing closed the folder and harrumphed to herself. It wasn’t like he could do anything about it. Even if he disliked her face, he was still going to have to stare at it all day. Har-de-harhar.
She suddenly felt her spirits rising.
Xiao Jing walked to the most heavily-guarded building in the camp. The guard at the entrance carefully inspected her documents and permitted her entry.
Knock knock knock. Xiao Jing rapped on the door. There was no answer.
Recalling her experience, Xiao Jing was pretty sure that the general was taking another shower.
Like her, he was probably particular about having to take a shower during the day.
Xiao Jing pushed the door open and craned her neck in to look. There was no sign or sound of anyone inside.
She took a step and walked in, leaving the folder on the desk and observing the layout of the table while she was at it. The desk was spotless. There wasn’t even a pen on it.
Xiao Jing rapped her knuckles on the table and turned to leave.
The moment she turned around, she was met with the hard wall of a body. “Oh my god! What the f*ck!” she exclaimed as she took a step back in horror.
Shen Chengfeng had just taken off his clothing and was about to head into the shower when he had heard a rustling noise coming through the door.
Xiao Jing stared at the vast expanse of his bare chest, and her eyes widened uncontrollably. Guiltily, she hastened to explain, “Major Mu sent me to deliver something.”
“I recall that this is his job,” Shen Chengfeng declared coldly.
“That’s what I thought too! I was puzzled that he would give me such an important task without any concern that I might divulge any confidential information. I am greatly distressed by this.”
“You might not be familiar with my rules. According to my rules, the entire unit will be punished due to the infraction of one individual.”
Xiao Jing straightened up immediately and responded with a loud voice, “I am a soldier, and will never betray any military secrets even on pain of death!”