99: Chapter 99: The Real Combat Mission is Here?

"What are you waiting for?" Su Han's voice suddenly rose. "Prepare for weight-bearing!"

The female soldiers immediately rushed to the Equipment Area, frantically stuffing sandbags into their tactical vests.

Su Han looked at their receding figures and revealed a meaningful smile.

"What bad idea are you cooking up now?" Zhou Mo asked in a low voice.

Su Han chuckled. "Guess how many of them remembered to check their equipment?"

Sure enough, in less than five minutes, a female soldier exclaimed, "My canteen is leaking!"

"My strap is about to break!"

Su Han shook his head and noted down several numbers in his notebook. "Careless equipment inspection. 2 points deducted per person."

The female soldiers wanted to cry but had no tears—the training hadn't even started yet, and points were already being deducted.

"Move out!" At Su Han's command, the 27 female soldiers charged out.

Under the scorching sun, the female soldiers trudged through the Obstacle Course carrying 35 kilograms of equipment.

"No. 5... I can't go on..." No. 12 Lin Yu panted heavily, sweat soaking her camouflage uniform.

Su Qingcheng glanced back and slowed her pace. "Hold on! Think about those 10 points!"

No. 18 Zhang Meng caught up from behind and grabbed Lin Yu's backpack strap. "I'll pull you for a while! Don't fall behind!"

The three of them barely maintained a middle position, but their physical exhaustion made every step feel like walking on cotton.

"If I'd known, I wouldn't have eaten that half-piece of candy..." a female soldier said with a sob while running. "I hadn't eaten anything to begin with, and now I have even less strength..."

"Shh—" Su Qingcheng looked around alertly. "Be careful the instructor doesn't hear."

Sure enough, under the shade of a tree not far away, Su Han was observing their every move with binoculars.

"No. 5, No. 12, No. 18," he said into his headset. "They're slowing down. Give them some 'encouragement'."

As soon as he finished speaking, several members of the War Eagle Squad suddenly rushed out from both sides of the Obstacle Course, holding high-pressure water guns and blasting the lagging female soldiers!

"Ah!" Lin Yu stumbled from the impact of the cold water jet and almost fell.

"Run!" Su Qingcheng pulled her and Zhang Meng to speed up.

The female soldiers sprinted with all their might, but the limits of their physical endurance made their movements increasingly sluggish.

Ultimately, the last three were determined—No. 7, No. 15, and No. 23.

"Deduct 10 points." Su Han wrote the numbers in his notebook. "Now, rest for five minutes where you are."

The female soldiers collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.

No. 7 pounded the ground while crying. "I only have 88 points left... If this continues..."

No. 15 hugged her knees, her voice trembling. "I want to quit... I really can't hold on anymore..."

Su Qingcheng walked over and crouched in front of them. "Don't give up. Think about the bugs we've eaten and the crocodiles we've fought. We survived all that; what is this little hardship?"

"But..." No. 23 looked up, her face covered in a mixture of tears and sweat. "We don't even have anything to eat..."

Su Qingcheng pursed her lips and carefully fished out half a piece of candy from her pocket—one she had secretly hidden.

She hadn't even been willing to eat it this morning.

"Here, share it." She broke the candy into three pieces and handed them to the three laggards.

"No. 5! You..." Lin Yu looked at her in shock.

Su Qingcheng shook her head. "Keep it quiet. I've already eaten, I'm not hungry."

The three laggards gratefully took the tiny crumbs of candy and held them in their mouths; the sweetness seemed to give them new strength.

However, Su Han saw this entire scene from a distance.

"No. 5 violated the rules," he said into his headset. "Deduct another 10 points."

The three female soldiers: "..."

"No. 5, I'm sorry..." No. 7 lowered her head guiltily. "It's all because of us that your points were deducted..."

Su Qingcheng waved her hand. "It's fine, I still have 80 points."

She forced a relaxed smile, but in her heart, she knew—at this rate of deduction, she wouldn't last long.

An atmosphere of despair filled the scene.

"How about..." a female soldier said timidly, "we quit? We'll die if this continues..."

"No way!" Zhang Meng slapped the table and stood up abruptly. "I've suffered so much; quit now? Not a chance!"

"Right! Let's go all out!"

"It's just being hungry for three days, right? It won't kill anyone!"

"Isn't it said that the human limit is seven days? It's only been three days; just grit your teeth and get through it!"

...

The morning mist enveloped the training ground. After half a month of high-intensity elimination, only fifteen people remained in the female soldier squad. They were performing their routine morning run, their faces filled with exhaustion and determination.

"Beep beep beep—"

A piercing alarm suddenly shattered the silence of the base.

A Signalman rushed over with an anxious expression and whispered a few words into Zhou Mo's ear.

Zhou Mo's expression instantly became solemn.

"War Eagle Squad, emergency assembly!" Zhou Mo shouted sharply, then turned to Su Han. "An Armed Smuggling Gang has been discovered at the border. There are casualties among the Border Armed Police, and they've requested our support."

Su Han narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the female soldiers training nearby. "Let's go together. Let them see some blood ahead of time."

"Isn't it too early?" Zhou Mo frowned. "They've been training for less than a month..."

"It's exactly the right time," Su Han interrupted him. "Let them realize the cruelty of the battlefield early on, so they'll know if they're cut out for this."

The piercing alarm suddenly shattered the morning silence. The female soldiers were performing tactical crawling drills on the muddy training ground. Upon hearing the alarm, everyone reflexively scrambled up and stood in formation.

"All assemble!" Su Han's voice came through the loudspeaker, cold and urgent.

The female soldiers quickly formed up, but their eyes were full of confusion—this wasn't a routine training whistle, but an emergency action alarm.

Zhou Mo walked over quickly, his expression grave. "Everyone, pack your gear within five minutes. Fully armed, assemble at the Helipad!"

The female soldiers looked at each other.

"Reporting!" No. 12 Lin Yu couldn't help but raise her hand. "Instructor Zhou, are we...?"

"Real combat mission." Su Han's voice came from behind. He approached slowly, a faint smile playing on his lips. "An Armed Smuggling Gang has been discovered at the border. There are casualties among the Armed Police, and we need to provide immediate support."

In an instant, the entire squad fell silent.

The female soldiers' expressions froze—real combat? A real battlefield? The kind where bullets actually kill people?

No. 5 Su Qingcheng's breathing quickened slightly, her fingers unconsciously tightening on the straps of her tactical vest.

No. 18 Zhang Meng swallowed hard, her Adam's apple bobbing.

Li Xue's face turned pale instantly, her lips trembling slightly.

"What? Scared?" Su Han scanned them, his tone as relaxed as if he were discussing today's training subjects. "It's not too late to quit. After all, you've been training for less than a month; no one will laugh at you."

He paused, his gaze suddenly turning sharp. "But once you're on the battlefield, if anyone cowers or retreats, that's desertion—you'll be dealt with according to military law and sent to a Military Tribunal."

The female soldiers' breathing hitched.