92: Chapter 92 Iron Man, the Devil Instructor: Burn, Youth!

Three minutes.

The sports field was packed.

The sun was downright malicious. The plastic track was baked sticky, and the air smelled of warmed rubber.

Thousands of freshmen stood ramrod straight, sweat dripping from their chins. No one dared move a muscle.

Because a monster stood on the rostrum.

A burly man with red hair, easily over seven feet tall, was bare-chested, his muscles bulging like embedded granite. He wore no shoes either, standing barefoot on the scorching platform, leaving a black footprint with each step.

A large rock was chained to his back, bearing two red characters: [Gēn Xìng].

This was the academy's Devil Instructor, Iron Man.

A man who etched the word 'passion' into his bones, ate 'effort' for breakfast, and considered sleep a sin.

"Too slow! Too slow!!"

Iron Man pointed at the crowd below, spittle flying far. "Look at you lot, all wilted and droopy! What's this? A bunch of unweaned chicks!!"

"What is Youth? It's burning! It's sweating! It's wringing yourself dry!!"

"You dare stand here breathing? If it were me, I'd have run three laps around the Earth in shame to atone!!"

His voice, as if amplified by a built-in loudspeaker, made the girls in the front row turn pale.

Right then.

Something strange happened at the field's entrance.

Everyone's eyes swiveled over, including the passionately lecturing Iron Man.

Xiao Fan and Xiao Hei were walking in one behind the other, carrying a large, gleaming golden sofa.

On the sofa.

Gu Fan, wearing sunglasses and a spongebob pajama set, cradled an ice-cold watermelon. He was scooping out the sweetest heart of the fruit with a spoon.

A lion followed beside him, a portable fan hanging from its neck, blowing a steady stream of air at Gu Fan.

The vibe had taken a sharp left turn.

A very sharp left turn.

On one side, hellish military training; on the other, a tropical island vacation.

"Hmm? We're here?"

Gu Fan handed the watermelon rind to the side (Xiao Hei woodenly took it and stuffed it into a trash bag), lowered his sunglasses, and glanced at the redhead on the stage.

"Who's this guy? Why isn't he wearing a shirt? This is a school, not a bathhouse. It's indecent."

Gu Fan's voice wasn't loud, but in the deathly quiet field, it was crystal clear.

Iron Man froze.

His saucer-like eyes blinked twice, his brain clearly struggling to keep up.

He'd trained soldiers for ten years. He'd seen all kinds of troublemakers.

Arrogant ones, proud ones, sneaky ones.

But who the hell shows up to muster being carried on a sofa?!

And eating watermelon?!

"You..."

Veins throbbed on Iron Man's forehead, and a red aura exploded from his body with a *boom*. "That one lying down! Are you crippled?!"

"Huh? No."

Gu Fan lazily rolled over, adopting an even more slumped posture. "It's mainly that the doctor said my Physique isn't suited for strenuous exercise. I might disturb the... oh, not that, disturb my Origin Qi."

"Bullshit!!"

With a roar, Iron Man leaped down from the three-meter-high rostrum.

*Thud!*

A crater formed on the ground, sendinggravel flying.

He charged towards Gu Fan in a wave of heat, his large face coming extremely close, the breath from his nostrils scalding hot.

"I think you just need some training!!"

Iron Man pointed at Gu Fan's nose. "In Iron Man's dictionary, there's no such thing as 'can't'! Only 'won't'! I could make a dead man get up and run a marathon!"

"I see you have uncommonly good bone structure (not really), a fine seedling for martial arts! From now on, you are my special project!"

"I declare! First lesson of the Passion Special Training! Extreme Physical Conditioning!"

Iron Man spun around abruptly, pointing at the seemingly endless track.

"Everyone, fifty laps! The one in pajamas, one hundred laps! No one eats or drinks until they finish!"

"Move it! All of you, burn!!"

After his bellow, the freshmen, cursing internally, still began shuffling under the pressure.

Only Gu Fan remained motionless.

He looked at the still-smoldering Iron Man and sighed.

"A hundred laps... How many brain cells would that kill."

Gu Fan, looking utterly displeased, slowly moved his legs off the sofa and slipped on his Hello Kitty slippers.

"Instructor, can we negotiate? Can I cash out? I'll give you a hundred bucks, you run for me?"

Iron Man was so angry he laughed.

He actually laughed out loud.

"Bribe me? With money?!"

Iron Man grabbed Gu Fan by the collar (Gu Fan promptly went limp like a rag doll, hanging from his hand). "In the face of sacred sweat, money is waste paper! Now! Immediately! Get your ass running! Or I'll dismantle this damn sofa of yours for firewood!!"

[Ding! Detected S-level 'Forced Passion' malice from 'Iron Man'.]

[Malice Judgment: Excessive hormone secretion in this individual, forcing a lazy fish to flip, severely disrupting biological clock.]

[Retaliation Activated: Karma Law · Fully Automatic Navigation Conveyor Belt (Sleepwalking Edition).]

Gu Fan's eyes went vacant.

It was a look of worldly detachment, a stupor.

"Fine."

Gu Fan's voice became flat. "If you insist on seeing me run, then... I'll run for you."

He slipped from Iron Man's grip and took his first step.

That step landed, but his body remained stiff.

Yet something strange happened.

His foot didn't move after landing, but his entire body slid forward as if on a conveyor belt, *whooshing* ahead.

At tremendous speed.

Leaving an afterimage.

"Huh?"

Iron Man was about to curse, but his jaw dropped.

He watched, dumbfounded, as the previously bonelessly lazy kid was now tearing down the track in a completely unreasonable manner.