2: Chapter 2 Execution! Hell Crossing Shocks the Entire Audience

Summer. The scorching sun baked the earth. The air was thick with the foul, hot scent of dust mixed with sweat.

Tens of thousands of freshmen, dressed in brand-new camouflage training uniforms, stood on the vast, boundless training field.

The excitement and curiosity on their faces were slowly solidifying and shattering under the cold, scanning gaze of the chief instructor.

"Everyone, attention!"

A thunderous roar blasted through the loudspeakers across the entire field, making eardrums buzz.

"Five-kilometer armed cross-country, start now!"

The moment the order was given, without a hint of hesitation, the instructors at the front of the line charged out first.

The freshmen were stunned for a moment, then, as if whipped by an invisible lash, they scrambled to follow in disarray.

"Run, you bastards! Didn't you eat?"

"The last ten percent will be eliminated immediately! No dinner for anyone tonight!"

The instructor's roar was like a death warrant, making these proud children, who had just left high school, feel the cruelty of the military camp for the first time.

The running began.

Heavy packs pressed down on everyone's shoulders, the counterweights inside striking their spines with every stride.

The training boots under their feet were incredibly hard; every step felt like treading on a red-hot iron plate.

"Damn it... how long have we been running? I feel like my lungs are about to explode!"

A boy wearing glasses turned pale, gasping heavily, sweat blurring his lenses.

"Is this pack filled with rocks? Damn it, I've never been this exhausted even during the college entrance exam!"

His companion nearby gritted his teeth and replied, his voice laced with a sob.

The gap became apparent after the first turn.

Those students with outstanding physical fitness or prior training could barely keep up with the first echelon.

Most of the pampered students had already fallen behind, and the formation was instantly scattered.

Wails rose one after another.

"I can't do it... I'm not running anymore..."

A girl's legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, sobbing loudly.

Immediately, two patrol members holding stun batons rushed over. Without a word, a blue arc of electricity flashed with a "crackle."

The girl let out a shrill scream, convulsing as she was dragged toward the elimination zone at the edge of the track.

This scene chilled everyone's hearts.

Is this military training? This is hell!

On the internet, the drone live stream had already ignited public opinion.

"Holy crap! Are they playing for real? Using stun batons directly?"

"This intensity is way too ridiculous; these kids just turned eighteen!"

"Get lost, you bleeding hearts! In times of war, soft-heartedness only gets more people killed! I think this intensity isn't high enough!"

"666, I declare this year's university freshman military training stream to be the most exciting reality show I've ever watched!"

The bullet comments scrolled crazily, while the cruelty on the training field was far more real than what was presented on screen.

People kept falling and were ruthlessly dragged away.

Sweat, tears, and even vomit stained this track leading to the unknown.

Qin Feng blended into the crowd, controlling his breathing.

His pace was neither fast nor slow, maintaining a position in the middle of the pack.

To him, the weight of the pack was merely a warm-up compared to the weighted cross-country runs of his past life.

He even had the leisure to observe everything around him.

Those faces that were once high-spirited were now filled with pain and despair.

Their bodies were wailing, their willpower teetering on the edge of collapse.

Just then, a commotion came from the front.

"Why! We are here for college, not to die!"

A tall boy with an arrogant buzz cut stopped and shouted with his arms raised.

"We protest! This inhumane training is nothing but abuse!"

His words were like a spark, instantly igniting the suppressed anger and grievance in many people's hearts.

"Right! Protest!"

"We aren't running anymore!"

A dozen students quickly gathered around the buzz-cut boy, forming a small group, openly stopping in the middle of the track, looking completely out of place with the running crowd.

An instructor wearing the rank of a Second Lieutenant walked over with a cold expression.

He was burly, exuding a murderous aura; just standing there made the surrounding air feel oppressive.

"Who started this?"

His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

Relying on the number of people, the buzz-cut boy stuck out his neck and stepped forward.

"It's me! Liu Chuang! I demand an end to this meaningless torture! We have the right to..."

"Bang!"

A crisp gunshot cut off all his words.

A bloody hole appeared in the center of Liu Chuang's forehead.

His eyes were wide open, filled with disbelief.

His body swayed, then fell straight backward.

Blood and brain matter splattered the faces of the students closest to him.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

Everyone stopped in their tracks, looking at this scene in horror.

The few students who had joined in the trouble had their legs go weak, collapsing directly to the ground, their pants quickly wetting through, and a foul, pungent smell permeated the air.

"Ah—!"

Screams finally erupted, and panic spread like a plague.

Dead?

They actually fired and killed someone?

In the online live stream room, the bullet comments vanished instantly, the screen blank, as if all the viewers had been choked by that single shot.

A few seconds later, there was an explosive outpouring.

"They killed someone! Holy crap! Live murder!"

"They're crazy! This world is completely insane!"

"Is this still university freshman military training? Why are they doing this for real?"

"Is this even allowed on a live stream!"

On the training field, the Second Lieutenant instructor slowly put away the smoking pistol, his cold gaze sweeping across the field.

"Anyone else have an opinion?"

Silence.

Dead silence.

No one dared to make a sound, even holding their breath.

Fear gripped everyone's hearts.

"Very good."

The Second Lieutenant instructor pulled his mouth into a cruel arc.

"Since military training has started, this is a battlefield!"

"Your status is no longer that of students, but reserve soldiers! On the battlefield, those who disobey military orders are executed on the spot!"

"Now, keep running!"

The last three words sounded like a thunderclap.

Everyone shuddered, as if jolted awake from a nightmare, and went crazy, using all their strength to charge forward.

No one dared to complain again, no one dared to stop.

That still-warm corpse was the most effective warning.

In the crowd, Qin Feng's expression did not change in the slightest.

His eyes were calm and waveless, as if the person who had just fallen was not a human life, but a kicked-away pebble.

The other freshmen had faces filled with unconcealable fear, shock, and confusion.

Their worldview was completely overturned at this moment.

The laws, rules, and human rights of the peaceful era were rendered completely ineffective by this single gunshot.

And Qin Feng simply sighed silently in his heart.

Too naive.

In his past life, the corpses he had seen were enough to fill the entire training field.

This kind of scene couldn't even cause a ripple in his heartbeat.

He began to adjust his state.

[Physical Optimization Primary Plan, activated.]

[Analyzing current physical load... muscle lactic acid accumulation threshold 45%... heart rate 135...]

[Optimizing breathing rhythm: inhale for three steps, exhale for three steps...]

[Adjusting muscle exertion pattern: quadriceps exertion ratio reduced by 5%, gluteus maximus exertion ratio increased by 8%...]

A faint warm current surged from the system panel, silently merging into his limbs and bones.

Qin Feng's breathing rhythm instantly became long and deep.

With every step he took, he felt the strength under his feet become more solid, and the pack on his shoulders seemed to become lighter.

He still chose not to overtake, simply following silently in the crowd, and when necessary, he even intentionally made his breathing sound heavy.