3: Chapter 3: Mini-weight cross-country running, a breeze!

Sweat had long since soaked through the freshman training uniforms, clinging tightly to their skin and creating a maddeningly sticky sensation.

"I can't do it anymore… I can't do it anymore…"

A slightly chubby boy's legs gave out, and he collapsed directly onto the ground, his chest heaving violently, a sound like a broken bellows wheezing from his throat.

His face was flushed crimson, his lips pale, and his eyes unfocused; he had clearly reached his physiological limit.

"Trash! This is only five kilometers! Get up!"

A patrol instructor nearby roared, his voice so loud and resonant that it made people's eardrums ache.

However, the boy only struggled futilely for a moment before he was completely spent.

Soon, two medics ran over with a stretcher and efficiently carried him away.

This scene played out repeatedly throughout the long line of runners.

Qin Feng's breathing remained steady and long, and the stride and frequency of every step maintained an astonishing consistency, as if he were a precision-running machine.

Sweat slid down his sharp, angular jawline, yet he showed not a hint of distress.

His body had undergone the system's primary optimization, so his endurance, strength, and recovery speed far exceeded that of an ordinary person.

This intensity of cross-country running was, to him, nothing more than a warm-up.

He even had the leisure to observe his fellow "sufferers" around him.

Most people were no longer in formation, dragging their feet in twos and threes, each step feeling as if it were filled with lead.

Some bent over with their hands on their knees, gasping for breath;

Some had deathly pale faces, staring blankly at the unreachable distance ahead;

Others simply dry-heaved while running, their faces smeared with tears and snot.

This was unpolished jade, fragile and vulnerable.

Qin Feng's gaze swept over each painfully distorted face, his heart remaining completely calm.

In his past life, he had experienced a purgatory a hundred times crueler than this.

Suddenly, a tenacious figure caught his eye.

It was a sturdily built boy with dark skin and clearly defined muscle lines.

Although he was sweating profusely and breathing heavily, his eyes were exceptionally fierce, revealing an unyielding tenacity.

Zhao Hu.

Qin Feng remembered the name.

When signing up for military training, this guy had been temporarily appointed as their class's military training squad leader because of his outstanding physique.

At this moment.

Zhao Hu was gritting his teeth hard, a low roar emitting from his throat like an enraged young beast.

His family background was very average; his parents were hardworking laborers who had told him from a young age that if he wanted to get ahead, he had to be able to endure more hardship than others.

Getting into university was his whole family's hope!

Even if it was just freshman military training, he would absolutely not be a coward!

He saw Qin Feng.

That guy who looked somewhat thin and weak, the same trash who had even been mocked by other students at the start of the semester for having repeated a year of school twice.

Was currently running past him with an attitude so relaxed it was infuriating.

No heavy panting, no stumbling steps, and even… not a trace of pain on his face.

How is this possible?!

A nameless anger suddenly flared up from the bottom of Zhao Hu's heart.

He could not accept that his physical fitness, which he was so proud of, was being so easily crushed by a guy who looked weak and fragile.

Qin Feng, this guy, he must be faking it.

"Hmph!"

Zhao Hu let out a muffled roar, forcibly squeezing every ounce of strength from deep within his muscles; his legs exerted sudden force, his speed increased instantly, and he followed tightly behind Qin Feng.

He wanted to see just how long this guy could keep up the act!

Qin Feng felt the pursuit behind him, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, but he couldn't even be bothered to turn his head.

He slightly quickened his pace, effortlessly widening the distance once again.

This feeling was like a fierce tiger toying with a wildcat that was giving its all.

...

In front of the finish line, several military training instructors stood side by side, their expressions not particularly pleasant.

"Old Zhou, look at this bunch of soldiers you're leading; they're all like eggplants hit by frost. It's only been a few kilometers, and they've all collapsed."

A young instructor with the rank of Second Lieutenant on his shoulders said, his tone full of mockery.

The one called Old Zhou was none other than Company Commander Zhou Hailong, who was also the company commander of Qin Feng and the others' freshman military training camp.

He was a Lieutenant in his thirties, with dark skin and sharp eyes.

He curled his lip and replied testily, "You make it sound so easy, aren't the soldiers you're leading the same? Young people these days have been pampered since childhood, one and all delicate and tender; how could they have ever endured such hardship? Let alone the fact that they are just college freshmen."

"Exactly, flowers in a greenhouse—without experiencing some wind and rain, they will never grow into towering trees."

Another instructor chimed in.

"Back in our recruit company, a twenty-kilogram load for a ten-kilometer cross-country run was just an appetizer."

"Don't even mention it. Look at that one; he's running like an old grandpa taking a stroll. You expect them to go to the battlefield? I'm afraid they'd just be delivering their heads to the enemy, and VIP express delivery at that."

The instructors spoke one after another, their words filled with disdain and mockery for this group of "favored sons of heaven."

In their view, these student soldiers were just a group of coddled individuals, and there was simply no comparison between them and the true iron-blooded warriors they had trained.

Suddenly, Old Zhou narrowed his eyes, his gaze locking onto a corner in the distance of the track.

A figure appeared.

The speed was fast!

Very fast!

The figure drew closer and closer, their stride steady and rhythm distinct—they looked nothing like someone who had just finished running five kilometers.

"Hm? Who is this kid?"

The instructor beside him also noticed, his tone carrying a hint of surprise.

"It seems… he is from our company."

Old Zhou said, sounding somewhat uncertain.

As the distance closed, that handsome and calm face finally became clear.

It was Qin Feng!

Old Zhou's pupils constricted slightly.

He remembered this soldier; his file at the start of the semester stated that he had repeated a year of school twice before getting into university, making him seem unremarkable, but he hadn't expected his physical fitness to be decent.

Under the gaze of all the instructors, Qin Feng's figure drew closer and closer.

Dozens of meters behind him, Zhao Hu was chasing desperately.

Zhao Hu's face had flushed the color of a pig's liver, his eyes were bloodshot, and all the muscles in his body were trembling slightly from overexertion.

He felt like his lungs were about to explode; every breath he took carried a metallic, bloody taste.

He could only stare fixedly at the relaxed figure ahead, with only one thought remaining in his mind.

Catch up to him!

However, that figure was like an insurmountable mountain.

Qin Feng sensed the approach of the finish line, and he also sensed the stubborn pursuit behind him.

The corners of his mouth hooked into a playful arc.

It was time.

The next second!

His entire aura suddenly changed.

The power that had been suppressed the whole time exploded instantly; the muscles in his legs exerted sudden force, his entire body leaned forward, and his speed increased abruptly!

If he had been an off-road vehicle traveling at a constant speed before, then at this moment, he was a supercar with the accelerator floored, its engine roaring!

"Holy shit!"

A young instructor couldn't help but curse, his eyes wide as saucers.

This… this is the speed a college freshman can run at?

And this is still the latter half of a five-kilometer cross-country run?!

Under the shocked gazes of all the instructors, Qin Feng crossed the finish line with a visually stunning posture.

Then, he slowly stopped, his breathing only slightly hurried, and not a trace of exhaustion could be seen on his face.

He even did a few simple stretches to loosen up his muscles, as if the five kilometers just now had really just been a stroll for him.

Dozens of seconds later, Zhao Hu finally roared as he crossed the finish line, then his legs went soft, and he knelt directly on the ground, supporting himself with his hands, vomiting sour water in large gulps, his tears and sweat mixed together in a wretched state.

The whole scene was deathly silent.

Old Zhou was shocked!

The other company commanders were shocked!

The instructors were collectively shocked!

Everyone looked at Qin Feng with the eyes one would use to look at a monster.

This kid… is he even human?

Old Zhou's Adam's apple bobbed up and down; he had led soldiers for so many years, what kind of troublemakers or geniuses hadn't he seen?

But someone like Qin Feng was unheard of!

What on earth is this kid's background?

A tempest raged in Old Zhou's heart.

He realized that he might have struck gold.

As for Qin Feng, he just stood there calmly, feeling the endless flow of power within his body.

Just then, a string of notifications popped up on the system panel.