At the base gates.
When Lan Jin and the others arrived, all the mutated creatures had already been dealt with.
After all, those who came for this special training were elites from several nearby bases. Even if their powers were not especially strong, the sheer numbers made up for it. Unlike Lan Jin and her group, they did not need to escort elderly or children home. After finishing lunch, they had stayed in the hall chatting and resting. So the moment the alarm at the gates rang out, these people rushed over. With so many gathered, it took almost no effort for them to finish off the creatures.
By the time Lan Jin's group got there, the others were already busy cleaning up the aftermath. Seeing there was no danger, the four quietly withdrew from the crowd.
But the four of them were simply too eye-catching, especially with exaggerated rumors about them spreading everywhere. Clearly they were base ability users, and even people others looked up to as strong, yet they had not contributed at the crucial moment. Naturally, this stirred discontent.
"Weren't they supposed to be powerful? When those creatures came, where were they?"
"Exactly. Seems like they are nothing special."
"Rumors are just rumors. Things get twisted the more they spread. In truth, they probably are not what people claim."
At those words, Lao Gao faltered for a moment. He turned and glanced at the gossips, but said nothing, then continued forward. However, that very silence only made others think they were guilty. Watching the four leave, sneers followed them.
"Hmph, so that's all they amount to."
Though they left without a fuss, Lan Jin still asked curiously about Lao Gao and Ling Jiang's reactions. "What was with the two of you just now? I thought you were about to explode. I even had my words ready to calm things down."
Lao Gao replied helplessly, "Explode at what? I thought Ling Jiang was about to lose it. I was already ready to hold her back."
Ling Jiang snorted coldly and glared at the two. "I cannot be bothered with such small fry. These weaklings, we could already clear them all out back when we first learned to use powers. Once something bigger shows up, we can slap their faces then. Wouldn't that be more satisfying? Why waste time arguing?"
Lan Jin nodded in agreement. "You are right. Still, I think during training lessons, these people will definitely target us."
Lao Gao dismissed it. "Let them. Do they really think they can beat us with just their fists and no powers?"
Even in pure hand-to-hand, Lao Gao and Ling Jiang excelled. Lan Jin and Huang Jinghe might not be as exceptional, but they had strength to spare.
At that, Ling Jiang grumbled, "Why is it only me whose strength hasn't increased?"
Lan Jin answered, "You can still win with speed. Your so-called teleport is not true teleportation, but your steps are faster than normal people. That's skill, not an ability. If you cannot overpower them with strength, you can use speed instead. But honestly, I think you're overthinking. Their strength is still just ordinary human strength. No matter how good they are, it's still ordinary. How could they win?"
That did reassure Ling Jiang. "You are right. Then there's nothing to worry about."
After this back and forth, time had slipped away. They barely had time for a sip of water at home before heading again to the underground training room.
…
Before the instructors arrived, the trainees had already lined themselves up in rows.
This time there was little quarreling. Even those who came late slipped into formation quickly, eager to avoid punishment.
So when the instructors came in and saw the neat rows, there was nothing to criticize. They went straight into self-introductions.
"Hello everyone, I am the Chief Commander of the H City base. I will also be your lead instructor for this special training. My surname is Zhang. You may call me Captain Zhang."
His introduction was so brief that Lan Jin felt stunned.
Next, the man to his left stepped up. "Hello, I am Captain of Squad One of the H City base. I am also an instructor for this training. My surname is Li. You may call me Captain Li."
Then the man on Captain Zhang's right introduced himself. "Hello everyone, I am the Chief Commander of the Medical Corps of R City base. My surname is Wang. You may call me Captain Wang. Though I come from the Medical Corps, I will be serving as a deputy instructor here."
So it was like this. The simplicity must have been agreed upon beforehand.
Well, it did not matter much. Lan Jin let it go.
After the introductions, the three instructors stood silently watching them, as if the group had already made a mistake.
At last, Captain Zhang barked, "Count off."
"One, two, three…"
As expected, the counting was a mess. And as expected, they were punished with laps again. Ten laps, ten thousand meters.
Discontent rippled immediately.
"Why? I didn't mess up the count. Why should I be punished?"
"You may be instructors, but you can't punish us at will."
"Exactly. I already ran ten thousand meters this morning. If I run again, I'll die."
The noise rose until Captain Li stepped forward and snapped, "Anyone who does not want to run, get out. This is a training squad, not your family courtyard. You will not bargain with us. From now on, anyone who questions an instructor's command will have their training doubled."
Which meant what had been ten thousand meters instantly became twenty thousand.
So, were these people fools? Did they think a few complaints could make the instructors soften? Or did they truly believe they had the right to defy orders?
This was only the first day of training, the time for instructors to establish authority. To oppose them now was sheer stupidity.
The whistle blew. Those who were supposed to run immediately started. Anyone who hesitated for even a few seconds was thrown out.
Ten laps might still have been barely manageable. But twenty laps? That was far beyond most. One by one, some collapsed at ten laps, others at fifteen. Almost no one endured all twenty. When it was over, those who managed to return to formation numbered only about thirty.
At the beginning, there had been over two hundred. Some had been dismissed, others collapsed mid-run, and some were still staggering behind.
In the end, only thirty remained standing in line, and this was what satisfied Captain Zhang.