When everyone finally finished their laps, there was not much time left. After thinking for a moment, Captain Zhang decided to use the remaining time for combat training.
Lan Jin, who had been exhausted like a dog just moments before, immediately perked up at the word "combat." After drinking a few mouthfuls of spiritual spring water to restore her strength, Lan Jin stood tall and full of energy among the team.
Almost everyone present shared her excitement, except for one person: Pei Xin.
Even though everyone else had finished their extra penalty laps, Pei Xin had only managed three laps in total. Not only did the trainees ignore her, but even Captain Zhang himself clearly had no patience left for her. When Pei Xin heard the others were moving on to another form of training without her, she squatted on the ground and started crying.
It was… awkward.
If she could not endure the training, then she simply could not. Everyone knew she had squeezed in through connections, so what was the point of crying now? She was making it look as if Captain Zhang was bullying her.
Captain Zhang's face darkened as he roared, "What are you crying for? If you want to stay in this special training team, then get up and keep running!"
Pei Xin sobbed, "Why do they get to practice something else, but I have to stay here and keep running the obstacle course?"
"Because they finished already. What, should everyone stop their training progress just to wait for you?"
Pei Xin wanted to argue further, but in the end, she just wiped her tears, clenched her teeth, and dragged herself back to running. Without any real foundation, and with no extra help, once her stamina was spent her speed only grew slower and slower.
…
Since no one wanted to deal with this parachuted-in burden, everyone's focus quickly shifted to combat.
From the beginning, when they had entered the training hall, each trainee's ID card had been fitted with a small black device. It was a timer, highly intelligent. It recorded time automatically during training, and if you slacked off, it stopped on its own. Every number it logged was extremely precise.
Their times from the penalty runs had already been recorded. By combining results from every session, a ranking was automatically generated.
The rankings were further divided into two teams: the 34+1 squad, and the squad under Brother Li and Doctor Wang.
As soon as Captain Zhang announced combat training, the LED screen above their heads lit up, showing the rankings in bold.
Lan Jin was not at all surprised to see herself at the very bottom. What did surprise her was that the first place belonged to Shen Zhiyu.
Even more unexpected, second place was Zhou Zhiye, while their other acquaintance, Lao Shi, sat at tenth. The gap between them was clear. If Lan Jin had not yet understood the purpose of these rankings, Captain Zhang's next move left her utterly speechless.
Because his purpose was to make the first-ranked fight against the last-ranked.
What was this if not a complete mismatch?
Even if Lan Jin had confidence in herself, this was still obviously going to be a crushing defeat.
Was this really necessary?
Lan Jin looked at Captain Zhang helplessly. "Do we really need to do this? I'll definitely lose."
Captain Zhang barked, "You admit defeat before even starting? No guts at all."
Without hesitation, Lan Jin replied, "None."
Captain Zhang choked on his words, then snapped, "This is special training, not a place for jokes. Shen Zhiyu, Lan Jin, the two of you go first."
Lan Jin stood up, raised her hand, and asked, "Captain Zhang, I have a question."
"You always have so much nonsense," Captain Zhang grumbled impatiently. "What is it?"
"I don't know how to fight. How am I supposed to?"
Captain Zhang froze, and the thirty-some people standing nearby all burst out laughing.
"Then just stand there and take the hits," Captain Zhang said dryly.
"Oh."
Lan Jin and Shen Zhiyu stepped forward into everyone's view. The two exchanged polite greetings, and at the sound of Captain Zhang's whistle, they began.
Everyone assumed Shen Zhiyu would end the match in a single move. To their surprise, Lan Jin lifted her hand and blocked his strike.
It was not that she had seen through his technique, or that she had countered with refined skill. She had no such ability. She simply had overwhelming strength, and by brute force alone suppressed the move he had used.
If she could not outfight him, then she could simply overpower him.
Shen Zhiyu was surprised for a moment, but quickly understood. To be admitted into the special training group and remain in this squad, Lan Jin had to have some kind of exceptional trait.
Originally holding back a little, Shen Zhiyu now used his full strength against her.
But Lan Jin was not entirely untrained. During the insect disaster period, she had spent contribution points to learn fighting skills from Lao Gao and Ling Jiang.
Granted, their fighting style was rough and unorthodox, hardly proper martial arts, but every move was brutal and aimed to kill.
With those few lethal tricks paired with her raw strength, Lan Jin was able to exchange several moves with Shen Zhiyu.
From the sidelines someone shouted, "Captain Shen, this all counts for records, don't go easy on her!"
Shen Zhiyu gritted his teeth. "I'm not going easy."
In the end—
There was no miracle reversal. Raw strength alone could not overturn the gap. Lan Jin was defeated, and Shen Zhiyu won.
The fight lasted two minutes, but for Lan Jin, those two minutes were immensely satisfying.
After losing, Lan Jin did not feel bad at all. On the contrary, she began to say, "Captain Zhang, I think—"
"Don't think. Back in line."
Cut off, Lan Jin said no more, returning awkwardly to her spot and watching the next match between second place and second-to-last.
Those two were none other than Huang Jinghe and Zhou Zhiye.
Huang Jinghe did not last much longer than Lan Jin. Two minutes sharp, and he lost.
Ling Jiang and Lao Gao both fared better than them, managing to secure mid-tier rankings. By coincidence, Ling Jiang was paired up against Lao Shi.
Lan Jin and the others sucked in a sharp breath from the sidelines. How would these two fight? How could they fight?
But as soon as Ling Jiang struck, Lao Shi did not even move. He simply took her punch head-on.
Anyone could see Lao Shi had held back on purpose.
Captain Zhang exploded. "Lao Shi, what are you doing? If you're going to throw a match, then get out! This is a special training hall, not a place for you to win someone's favor!"
Shen Zhiyan leaned close to Lan Jin and whispered, "What's going on between those two?"
Lan Jin answered calmly, "Other people's private matters are not mine to say."
Shen Zhiyan was not discouraged. "Then I'll ask Ling Jiang later."
"You'd better not," Lan Jin warned. "Don't rub salt in someone's wound."
Lan Jin had said nothing directly, yet it was as though she had said everything.
Thinking carefully, Shen Zhiyan recalled, "I seem to remember Lao Shi has a girlfriend back at J city base, doesn't he?"
Lan Jin chuckled without comment.
That only made Shen Zhiyan more excited. "Oh no, I smell gossip. I really, really want to know now!"