After a round of combat, everyone's strengths and weaknesses were completely exposed, and Captain Zhang gave a direct critique to each person. Faced with their own shortcomings, many people felt embarrassed. Expressions of displeasure and resentment were obvious on their faces.
Lan Jin, however, was fine. She had started with nothing, so every new technique she learned was already progress for her.
…
The previous combat session had clearly strengthened bonds between those who already knew each other. Some had planned to eat together afterwards, but their plans were interrupted by a small, childish voice.
"Mama."
Lan Jin quickly looked toward the voice. A little toddler was running toward her with short, rapid steps. Lan Jin scooped her up immediately and held her in her arms, asking with concern, "Our Qiao Qiao is out of school. Came to see Mama. Did you eat dinner?"
"Eat already. At kindergarten."
Just as the words were said, Lan Qiaoqiao turned and saw Zhou Zhiye behind her. She quickly shifted toward him. "Uncle Zhou, Uncle Zhou."
Zhou Zhiye had been standing at the back of the line. Hearing Lan Qiaoqiao, he could only squeeze forward and greet her. "Hello, Qiao Qiao."
Shen Zhiyan glanced at Lan Jin in surprise. "Sister Lan, you're married? This is your daughter?"
"Yes. Qiao Qiao, this is Aunt Shen. This is Uncle Shen."
Lan Qiaoqiao looked at the Shen siblings, giving a polite greeting, but her gaze quickly returned to Zhou Zhiye.
Such attention could make anyone feel pressured, but Zhou Zhiye smiled warmly and responded to every question from the little toddler.
…
The special training days were dull and exhausting. For the following week, Lan Jin moved like a machine. Hit, hit, hit. The only progress was that she could now resist one or two moves from Shen Zhiyu, but she still had no real strength to strike back.
Lan Jin was beaten every day like a dog. The only thing keeping her alive was occasional spiritual spring water, or she would have collapsed long ago.
Ling Jiang and the others were not much better. Everyone was in the same condition. Luckily, they had spiritual spring water, or their lives would have been in serious danger.
Even so, no matter how exhausted Lan Jin was, her ranking remained firmly in last place. No improvement.
Looking at the ranking, Lan Jin asked with some doubt, "Did I not improve? Why am I still last?"
Shen Zhiyan comforted her, "It's not that you didn't improve. Everyone else is just too strong."
And that strength was natural. There was no external intervention. It came from themselves, innate and extraordinary.
But when had these people trained to become so strong? It could not have been only after the apocalypse. Even accounting for the harshness of that period, only a little over a year had passed. No matter how much they trained, they could not have become this powerful.
If it was before the apocalypse—
No, she could not think about it. Thinking like that would only lead to conspiracy theories.
Besides Shen Zhiyu, who firmly held first place, Zhou Zhiye also remained second without moving.
…
Because some people's basic skills were too weak, this entire week's training consisted mostly of running and combat. Captain Zhang forced the weaker members to improve their combat skills before adding shooting lessons for everyone.
Compared to something she could compete in with raw strength, shooting was hopeless for Lan Jin.
The bow, even single-target practice, was minor. Hitting other targets—
Captain Zhang could not bear to watch her fail again. He finally gave her individual guidance, allowing her to barely catch up to the others.
Of course, once she caught up in one course, she could not fall behind in the others. Lan Jin had to work twice as hard. Yet her ranking remained fixed at the bottom, especially in shooting, which dragged her further behind.
Captain Zhang scolded, "You still need practice, especially shooting. It's dragging your ranking."
"I know, but it doesn't seem to work no matter how much I practice."
"That just means you haven't practiced enough."
Lan Jin felt exasperated. She truly had practiced enough. Her school hours were limited. She did not even return home for lunch, kept training after eating, and her hands shook by the afternoon. Without spiritual spring water, she could not have continued the next day.
Yet Captain Zhang kept criticizing, "You dare to say that? How hard can shooting be? You can't even beat Pei Xin. How dare you complain?"
"I've never used a gun before," Lan Jin said.
"That's nonsense. When we went to Maolin, I gave guns to all of you. You used it before," Captain Zhang said seriously.
Lan Jin recalled. She had used a gun, but whether she had hit her target—
That was unknown.
But she knew she lacked experience. "Wait. I will catch up for sure."
The following days consisted entirely of relentless training.
Lan Jin was so exhausted she could not even cry.
…
This went on for two months. Finally, the special training ended. Though she still sat at the bottom of the rankings, Lan Jin's progress was evident. When Captain Zhang handed out the final ranking plaques, from first down to Lan Jin, he felt deeply moved.
"This concludes two months of special training. Almost everyone in this team has made great progress. Special training ending means the mission is about to start. Take a few days to rest. Before departure, I will send the mission details and schedule to your phones. Don't worry about missing it. For those without phones, I will contact you personally. Alright, dismissed."
The team cheered and left the training hall.
Looking up at the scorching sun, everyone finally sensed a taste of freedom.
At that moment, Lan Jin realized she had not paid attention to conditions outside the base for two months. She hurriedly asked, "Has the water level dropped outside? How hot is it now?"
Inside the base, air conditioning was everywhere. She had been too exhausted to care about the weather she did not need to feel.
Lan Jin went to the main hall and looked at the LED screen. She was shocked. "73 degrees. Is that 73 degrees today, or has it been 73 degrees for two months?"
Shen Zhiyan sighed. "You really haven't been paying attention. Since the extreme heat started, the temperature rose above 70 and never dropped."
So it had been this hot all this time. What about the water level outside?