70: Chapter 70: Nationwide Military Training! A Nightmare for Upperclassmen

The next day, 5:00 AM.

The sky was still just beginning to brighten, but the bugle call for wake-up had already sounded loudly throughout the Reconnaissance Company's barracks.

Qin Feng sprang from his bed almost reflexively, dressing and folding his quilt with swift, precise movements.

The entire process was fluid, without a single wasted motion.

When he had finished tidying up and walked out of the dormitory, Instructor Ma Zhe was leaning against the doorframe, yawning.

"Not bad, kid. You're quite disciplined."

Instructor Ma Zhe punched him on the shoulder.

"Come on, I'll take you to see what breakfast in the Seventh Company is like. I guarantee it's better than what you get at the New Recruit Training Camp."

The Seventh Company's Canteen certainly lived up to its reputation; the deep-fried dough sticks were golden and crispy, the soy milk was rich and piping hot, and the meat buns had thin skins and large fillings, leaving one's mouth full of savory juices with every bite.

Qin Feng wolfed down his food alongside the veterans, managing to become a familiar face.

After breakfast, the two jumped into a military off-road vehicle and sped off toward the New Recruit Training Camp.

Ten minutes later, as the vehicle drove into the training camp, Qin Feng was slightly stunned by the scene before him.

Was this still the place he was familiar with?

The scale of the entire training camp had expanded by more than ten times since he left!

The training grounds, which originally only held freshmen, were now completely packed with a dense crowd.

Countless phalanxes of people wearing camouflage uniforms of different colors stretched from the foot of the mountain to the end of his field of vision.

The sounds of slogans, footsteps, and the instructors' reprimands blended together, forming a deafening wave of noise.

"What's going on?"

Qin Feng was a bit bewildered.

"What's going on?"

Instructor Ma Zhe grinned, his eyes filled with a hint of schadenfreude.

"National military training, get it?"

"Before, it was only you freshmen, but now, the upperclassmen have all arrived."

"The higher-ups' policies are nothing to joke about!"

"I heard the policy for graduate students will come down soon, too; everyone has to participate in military training."

Qin Feng looked out and saw the newly arrived seniors standing at attention, swaying unsteadily with pained expressions, looking just like eggplants hit by frost.

And the most interesting scene unfolded.

Those freshmen who had gone through two months of devilish training had now become the "veterans."

Standing in their own phalanxes, their backs were straight, and their eyes held a sense of superiority as people who had already been through it.

Watching those seniors get scolded mercilessly by the instructors, they couldn't help but cover their mouths and snicker.

That look was exactly like watching a bunch of raw recruits.

"See that? Those kids have turned into smart alecks now."

Instructor Ma Zhe pointed at a nearby phalanx and said happily.

Qin Feng's gaze swept over, and he even saw quite a few familiar faces from the Seventh Company among the ranks of instructors.

They were keeping straight faces, using the harshest tones to correct the movements of the university students.

"Move! Who the hell told you to move!"

"Keep your hands level! Did you not eat?"

"Where are you looking? At the planes in the sky?"

The instructors' roars rose and fell one after another.

Immediately after, it was the five-kilometer cross-country run.

At the command, the force of tens of thousands moved like a long dragon, inching along the mountain road.

However, before they had even run a kilometer, the formation completely fell apart.

Some ran halfway and collapsed on the ground, vomiting.

Some got cramps and clutched their stomachs, wailing in pain.

More people were pale-faced, gasping for air, feeling like they had lost half their lives.

Of course, there were always arrogant troublemakers.

"Report, Instructor! I'm not running anymore! I demand a rest!"

A boy wearing glasses, who looked like he came from a well-off family, stopped and shouted at the instructor with an indignant look.

"Say that again?"

The instructor in charge of their phalanx walked over slowly, his eyes cold.

"I said I'm not running! Why are you torturing us like this? We're about to graduate from university, we didn't come here to be cannon fodder!"

The bespectacled boy stiffened his neck, looking righteous.

He thought this was still the school, and he was still the high-and-mighty vice president of the Student Union.

"Very well."

The instructor nodded, his face devoid of any expression.

He spoke coldly into his walkie-talkie: "Medical team, there's someone here who is physically exhausted. Send him to The Little Black Room for fifteen minutes to let him calm down."

"You dare! My dad is..."

The yellow-haired boy's words were cut off as two medical soldiers rushed up, grabbed him, stuffed a rag in his mouth, and dragged him away like a dead dog.

Everyone was so scared by this scene that they dared not make a sound.

But there were always even stupider ones.

In another phalanx, a burly man from the physical education department, confident in his physical fitness, openly provoked the instructor and even tried to attack him.

As a result, the seemingly slender instructor threw him with a clean and swift shoulder throw, knocking him down on the spot and dislocating his arm.

Screams echoed through the mountains.

However, this was not the most terrifying part.

At the very front of the line, Company Commander Zhou Hailong was personally overseeing things.

Three students who had some family background and were full of themselves actually banded together to incite everyone to go on strike.

They even publicly clamored to complain to the superiors at the Military Region, saying this was a "prisoner of war" camp.

Company Commander Zhou Hailong stepped down from the off-road vehicle.

He didn't say a word, just quietly watched the three troublemakers who were jumping around the most.

In front of tens of thousands of people, he drew the pistol from his waist.

"Click."

The crisp sound of cocking the weapon was exceptionally jarring in the silent air.

Everyone's heart jumped into their throat.

"What... what do you want to do?"

The leading boy, seeing the dark muzzle, finally felt fear and his voice began to tremble.

Company Commander Zhou Hailong's eyes were as cold as a Siberian cold front.

"In a state of war, inciting mutiny is treated as treason."

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

"I gave you a chance."

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Three gunshots, clean and swift.

The three students who were still clamoring instantly had bloody holes in their foreheads; their bodies collapsed softly, their faces still bearing expressions of unbelievable terror.

Blood stained the ground beneath their feet.

The whole world seemed to stand still at this moment.

Everyone was scared out of their wits by this bloody and cruel scene.

They finally understood.

This was not a joke.

People really could die here!

The sky over the entire training camp was shrouded in an invisible shadow of death.

No one dared to make noise or slack off ever again.

Everyone was trying their best, gritting their teeth, dragging their heavy legs forward.

Fear! It is the best spur.

...

The five-kilometer cross-country run ended.

At the finish line, a large group of people lay scattered about.

Shen Youchu and Murong Zhe were among them.

The two were almost at the very bottom of the pack.

At this moment, like two fish out of water, they lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for air, their lungs burning with pain.

"Is... is this something a human being would do..."

Murong Zhe cursed while gasping for breath.

"This bullshit system doesn't even treat people like human beings!"

Shen Youchu didn't even have the strength to curse; she felt like she was about to collapse from exhaustion.

Her face and body were covered in sweat and dirt, her hair matted against her forehead in a mess; she was in a sorry state.

All she wanted now was a shower!

Just then.

Qin Feng was preparing to go find the company commander and happened to pass by.

"Youchu! Look!"

Murong Zhe quickly nudged Shen Youchu beside him with his elbow.

"Look, it's Qin Feng!"

Shen Youchu was startled at these words; she lifted her head with great effort and looked in the direction Murong Zhe was pointing.

It really was Qin Feng!

He was wearing a clean and crisp training uniform, his posture upright, his gait calm; he formed a stark contrast to the half-dead students around him.

Shen Youchu couldn't help but be stunned.

Why was he here?

And why didn't he have to participate in military training?

Shouldn't all freshmen be in their own phalanxes?