199: Fourth Army Corps Commander

The night in Skydome City was very quiet.

However, Goudan got up early and went to the Training Ground.

The sandy ground was hard, and the sun had just risen.

A row of sandbags hung on the wall.

Goudan stood at the very front, panting heavily.

His pants had two holes in the knees, revealing scabbed wounds.

He wiped away sweat; his fingers were cracked, stained with mud and blood.

Shen Yan leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and looked at the tester in his hand: "Three more minutes."

Goudan took a deep breath and stared ahead: "I know."

Ling Feng sat on the steps chewing on dry rations and laughed when he heard this: "You've been saying that for half a month. Every time you say 'I know,' and then you get beaten to the ground."

Yang Lie walked over from the Military Affairs Hall, holding a metal badge, number L-04, which flashed in the sunlight: "The System is connected, and the authentication card is usable. It all depends on this match today."

Goudan nodded, his eyes very firm.

He walked to the corner to drink water.

The water was cold, and his stomach hurt a little after drinking it.

He stood with his eyes closed for a few seconds, and when he opened them again, his gaze had changed.

"Come on," he said.

Shen Yan straightened up, took off his jacket and threw it aside, then loosened his shoulders.

After a couple of cracking sounds, he walked into the arena with steady steps, leaving footprints in the sand with every step.

The two stood facing each other.

The whistle blew.

Goudan made the first move, rushing forward to throw a punch.

Shen Yan dodged by tilting his head and backhanded him in the ribs. The force wasn't great, but it made his breathing tighten.

Then, a kick swept his knee, causing Goudan to kneel on one leg, but he immediately stood up and lunged again.

This time he used a low sweep combined with an uppercut, faster than before.

Shen Yan blocked it, his arm vibrating, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Some improvement," he said.

Goudan didn't speak, gritting his teeth to keep fighting.

If his punch missed, he used his elbow; if he was pushed away, he rammed with his shoulder, refusing to back down even while taking hits.

The numbers on the tester jumped: 789, 791, 793... almost at 800.

Ling Feng finished the last bite of his biscuit, stood up, and brushed off the dust: "His rhythm is much steadier today."

Yang Lie watched the data: "Cell activity is still rising; that piece of Red-Scaled Tiger meat from last night is working."

"Seventeen days of sparring, getting knocked down at least five times a day; anyone else would have quit long ago," Ling Feng shook his head. "This guy is truly stubborn."

On the field, Goudan suddenly used a feint to trick Shen Yan, turning and kicking him in the chest.

Shen Yan stepped back half a step and let out a muffled grunt.

"Good!" Ling Feng shouted.

Goudan didn't stop, jumping up to smash down with both fists.

Shen Yan raised his arms to block, the sand under his feet sinking in a circle.

The two stalemated for a few seconds; Goudan's whole body was taut, veins bulging, and the blood vessels in his forehead throbbing violently.

The tester's numbers surged—796, 798, 800!

"He did it!" Yang Lie shouted.

But the next second, the number dropped to 797.

"It's not over yet," Shen Yan said with a breathless laugh. "The peak doesn't count; you have to hold it for ten seconds to count as a Breakthrough."

Goudan bit his lip, the taste of blood in his mouth.

He suddenly withdrew his hands and retreated, bending over to support his knees while panting heavily.

Sweat flowed into his eyes, stinging painfully.

Shen Yan recovered and closed in again.

"You can't hold on anymore," he said. "Your reactions are slow, your footing is unsteady; if you keep fighting, you'll only lose."

Goudan looked up, blood at the corner of his mouth: "Then let's try."

As the words fell, he had already rushed out.

This time he didn't attack fiercely but probed instead.

Shifting left and right, he forced Shen Yan to defend.

In the third round, he suddenly circled to the side and punched the other's side waist.

Shen Yan frowned and backhanded him, striking his shoulder blade.

Goudan staggered two steps, rolled with the momentum, and swept his leg to knock the other's feet out from under him.

Both fell to the ground simultaneously, fighting while rolling.

Dust flew, and it was unclear who had the upper hand.

Finally, Goudan pressed down, straddling Shen Yan's chest, and struck repeatedly with both fists.

As the final blow landed, the tester emitted a long beep—

[combat power Breakthrough 800 points!]

The whole place was silent for a moment.

Ling Feng was the first to jump up and applaud: "Damn! He actually did it!"

Yang Lie looked at the screen, the value steady at 802, and nodded: "He met the standard."

Shen Yan lay on the ground without moving, looking up at Goudan.

Goudan sat slumped, his chest heaving, his face indistinguishable between sweat and tears.

"Well fought," Shen Yan said. "Better than I was back then."

Goudan opened his mouth, but in the end, he only said one thing: "Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for? I didn't go easy on you." Shen Yan sat up and patted his shoulder, "Continue tomorrow."

Everyone laughed.

Yang Lie stepped forward and handed over the metal badge: "This is the Legion Commander identification card, number L-04. The Black Tortoise Legion is officially established. The establishment is 120 people; you can pick people from the reserve team."

Goudan took the badge, the cold metal pressing against his hand.

He looked down at the characters on it, his fingers tracing over them again and again.

"I... won't let everyone down," he said.

"Don't say things like that," Ling Feng came over and put his arm around his neck. "If you want to say something, say something practical, like treating us to a meal."

"Divine Kingdom regulations state that active-duty officers cannot drink alcohol," Yang Lie reminded him.

"Then how about a meal?" Ling Feng insisted. "The cafeteria just got stewed beef; I heard it's perfect grade exotic beast meat."

Goudan looked up at the three: "Once I get the team up and running, the first thing I'll do is pay you a sparring allowance, doubled."

"That's more like it!" Ling Feng laughed, turning to Shen Yan. "Hear that? From now on, we'll fight every day, and he'll have to pay us."

Shen Yan also laughed: "Sure, I'm ready anytime."

The four stood in the middle of the Training Ground, sunlight shining on them, their shadows long.

On the other side, the lights in the Forging Workshop were on early.

Lolia sat in front of the workbench with an old physics book spread out before her, the corners of the pages curled and filled with notes.

She was calculating the number of coil turns against a projection.

"U equals B times L times V..." she whispered. "Magnetic induction intensity 0.8 Tesla, conductor length 0.2 meters, speed 5 meters per second... Electromotive force 0.8 volts? No, that's too low."

She erased and recalculated, sweat on her forehead.

The sky outside had brightened, but she hadn't noticed, staring intently at the numbers.

A colleague walked over: "Still haven't left? Didn't you work the night shift?"

"Almost done," she didn't look up. "This batch of modules needs to be handed in this afternoon; the charging array is waiting for them."

"Do you really have to calculate it yourself? The System has automatic verification."

"The last verification was wrong; it wound twelve fewer turns of copper wire, and the efficiency was off by 7%." She capped her pen, "I don't want to make any more mistakes."

The colleague shook his head and left.

Lolia opened the textbook, found the chapter on electromagnetic induction, and read it sentence by sentence.

She stopped when she saw the diagram, took a ruler to measure the coil diameter, and compared it with the sample.

"So the area was wrong." She changed the parameters and entered them into the terminal.

The machine started, and the new program ran.

Twenty minutes later, the test passed, and the green light came on.

She breathed a sigh of relief, took off her goggles, and rubbed her eyes.

She looked up at the time: 11:40 AM.

"I can still make it to the tutoring class," she said, getting up to pack her tools.

At this moment, the broadcast sounded: "Today's evening physics tutoring class will proceed as scheduled; please attend on time."

She smiled and stuffed the textbook into her bag.

At the same time, the Hospital corridor was crowded.

Anna wore a white coat, a mask covering her face, revealing only a pair of calm eyes.

She had just finished her third frostbite surgery, and her fingertips were blue when she took off her gloves.

A nurse handed over the record sheet: "There are still forty-three mild cases that need hot compresses and rewarming, and eight severe cases in line."

"Which heat therapy chamber is free now?" she asked.

"Number six just cleared up."

"Arrange for two children to go in; treat them first. The elderly are second, and the rest should be ranked by body temperature."

"But... Dr. Zhang said there's a soldier on his side who is also unstable..."

"I know," Anna interrupted. "But children and the elderly can't hold on as long; they must be treated first. Notify Dr. Zhang to wait for the next round."

The nurse nodded and went to make arrangements.

Anna walked into the ward to check on the teenager in the bed.

The boy was twelve years old, his toes black, with tissue necrosis already present.

She crouched down and gently touched the skin to judge the blood flow.

"Prepare the operating room, amputate the third and fourth toes, but keep the metatarsals," she said to her assistant. "Use low-temperature anesthesia to reduce stress."

"You just finished two; do you want to rest?"

"We'll see after he's on the table," she stood up. "I'm going to wash my hands."

Six hours later, the final surgery ended.

Anna walked out of the surgical area, took off her mask, and there were two red marks on her face.

She didn't return to her office but went straight to the inpatient department for rounds.

She stopped at every bed, adjusted the infusion speed, and asked how they felt.

A Little Girl pulled her sleeve and whispered: "Auntie, my hand doesn't hurt anymore."

She stroked the child's hair: "You'll be able to go home very soon."

Back in her office, the desk was piled with epidemic reports.

She sat down, unscrewed her pen, and wrote:

"The first day after the blizzard saw 117 frostbite patients, 49 severe cases, 12 surgeries completed, zero deaths. It is expected that new cases will decrease tomorrow; it is recommended to continue maintaining heat source supply and round frequency..."

Halfway through writing, her phone vibrated.

System notification: Today's medical task completion 100%, no overtime violations for all staff.

She finished reading, put down the phone, and continued writing.

It was dark outside, and the city lights were on.

The power grid was normal, patrol teams walked the streets, the aroma of food drifted from the cafeteria, and children were chasing a ball in the square.

In the Military Affairs Hall, Goudan stood in front of the list, circling the first batch of team members with a red pen.

The names of Shen Yan, Ling Feng, and Yang Lie were all on it, serving as instructors.

He circled the last name, closed the booklet, and looked out the window.

The sky turned from orange to purple, white smoke rose from the distant Industrial Zone, and the lights in the Forging Workshop were still on.

The emergency lights on the top floor of the Hospital flickered, like falling stars.

He touched the Legion Commander badge on his chest and turned to walk towards the Training Ground.

Tonight, the first collective training would begin.

Lolia walked out of the tutoring class with her bag on her back, clutching her test paper in her hand—ninety-four points.

She didn't go home but went to the Forging Workshop.

"I want to make a batch of improved coils," she said to the duty officer. "I just learned a new algorithm in class, and efficiency can be increased by three percentage points."

The duty officer smiled bitterly: "You really don't care about your life."

"The Divine Kingdom is becoming stronger, and I must become stronger too," she said. "Otherwise, how can I deserve to stay here."

The duty officer shook his head and turned on the equipment power.

Anna finished checking the last ward and took off her white coat to hang it up.

There was a cup of cold tea on the table; she took a sip, and it was very bitter.

An assistant came in: "Someone outside sent a banner that says 'The Second Greatest Person of Skydome'."

"Don't accept it," she said. "I'm just a doctor."

"But everyone says so."

She didn't respond, opened the new shift schedule, and filled her name into the column for the early morning rounds.

"I'll take the night shift," she said.

The city quieted down, and streetlights illuminated those returning home.

The cafeteria was closed, but the kitchen lights were still on, and the chef was cooking porridge for tomorrow's breakfast.

On the Training Ground, Goudan was leading the new recruits on their fifth lap.

Some were panting heavily, some were unsteady on their feet, but he didn't call for a stop.

"One more lap," he said. "I can hold on, and so can you."

Shen Yan stood on the side watching, lit a cigarette, then stubbed it out.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Ling Feng: "Want to do extra training tonight?"

Ling Feng replied quickly: "Sure, might as well, since I'm free anyway."

Yang Lie received a notification on his way home saying there was a fight in the reserve team.

He sighed, turned around, and walked towards the Military Affairs Hall.

Nothing major happened in Skydome City, only many people persisting and working hard at their own posts.

The lights did not go out.