EM Chapter 25. New Recruits

Bai Xuyao stumbled and collapsed across the finish line. The next moment, he could no longer hold it in. He opened his mouth and vomited, as if he were about to puke up his very bile. His legs had not felt like his own for the entire run. All he could manage was to move them forward one after the other in mechanical succession. The sound behind him had never ceased. From time to time, he could even feel the faint contact of a plastic bag brushing the back of his neck, along with the squirming thing inside. It sent chills through him, and he could only keep running forward.

Song Feng stood at the finish line, catching his breath. He glanced around and estimated that they had landed somewhere in the middle of the pack. They would probably qualify. He walked over to Bai Xuyao with a cheerful smile, crouched down, and said,

“Human potential is infinite, you know? Look at you, you made it. And we even caught the sunrise. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Bai Xuyao had long since run out of anything left to vomit. He dry heaved for a while, then sat on the ground, gasping for air. His lungs felt like they were going to explode. His gaze was unfocused. He turned to look, and the moment he recognized who it was, something in his head snapped with an audible crack.

“Fuck your entire family!”

Song Feng easily sidestepped the kick he aimed at him and gave the bag in his hand a shake.

Bai Xuyao froze. The images from earlier replayed in his mind, and his face twisted. He, a grown man, was afraid of mice—and worse, had been chased across half the course by two so-called students. His face flushed red. He wanted nothing more than to pull a military shovel from his bag, dig a hole, and bury himself on the spot.

Song Feng tossed the bag to Wei Xiaoyan, then grabbed Bai Xuyao by the collar and hauled him upright, dragging him along as they walked.

“Keep moving. Don’t just sit there.”

Bai Xuyao knew they meant well, but it was humiliating. He turned to glance sideways and saw that this man didn’t look the least bit winded. That hit him even harder.

“Are you guys really students?”

“We are.”

Bai Xuyao did not believe it.

“What are you studying?”

“Philosophy,” Song Feng replied.

“Say something philosophical then. Let’s hear it.”

Song Feng paused for a moment, then answered seriously, “When you look for girls, look for the pretty ones.”

“……”

The soldiers who had arrived earlier had already rested and were standing nearby. They had witnessed everything from the three of them charging in, to the vomiting, to the ridiculous conversation that followed. One of them finally walked over, struggling to keep a straight face.

“Hey, don’t mice chew through plastic bags and escape?”

Wei Xiaoyan opened the bag and held it out.
“Look carefully.”

The man peered inside and burst out laughing. It turned out the two of them had tied the mouse’s mouth and paws with fine thread. No wonder it had stayed put the whole time. He looked them over more closely. Their breathing was heavy but steady, their posture still upright. Clearly, they still had strength left. These two really did not seem like ordinary students.

More trainees arrived from the back. Some bent over, gasping for breath, while others collapsed directly onto the ground. When they saw Song Feng and Wei Xiaoyan still bouncing around the field, they felt a deep sense of defeat. It was hard to believe what they were seeing.

Once the entire group had assembled, Song Feng looked around. The instructor remained standing beside the vehicle, his expression unmoved. No matter how disheveled or exhausted the soldiers looked, he showed no visible reaction. Occasionally, he glanced at his watch, as if waiting for their rest period to end. Soon after, he blew his whistle to signal assembly. The driver stepped out and began handing out sheets of paper, one to each person. The moment they saw what was written, a wave of shocked exclamations erupted through the crowd.

Song Feng waited patiently. When his turn came, he took the sheet and gave it a glance. It was filled from top to bottom with physical training tasks. Everything looked standard. He had gone through worse before. Wei Xiaoyan, who had been trained by Song Feng himself, remained just as calm.

But Bai Xuyao stared at the paper wide-eyed. “How is this even possible?”

Song Feng offered a casual reassurance.
“It becomes possible once you start training.”

“You make it sound easy.”

Song Feng gave him an innocent look.
“Then what do you want to do? Pack up and go home?”

Bai Xuyao choked on his words. That was clearly not an option. No one would ever accept being a deserter.

Once the last sheet had been handed out, the instructor slowly walked to the front of the formation. His gaze was calm as he looked at them. The group was still murmuring and exchanging thoughts, but gradually fell silent when they noticed that he had yet to speak.

“You spent twenty-three minutes reacting to a single sheet of paper. Impressive,” the instructor said flatly. Then he asked, almost offhandedly, “I heard all of you were top of your units. Is that right?”

That final “is that right” carried just the right amount of disdain and challenge to cut deep. No one dared respond. They stood straight, necks tight, but said nothing.

“That is the upcoming training schedule,” the instructor continued. “The duration and intensity are clearly listed. There will be observers stationed outside the field, but no one will interfere. Whether you complete the training or not is entirely up to your own discipline.”

His tone remained quiet, without the slightest hint of aggression.

Song Feng looked at him and immediately understood. This sheet was meant to eliminate part of the group, but even this did not count as the real selection. The instructor had done nothing except track the time and state the facts. That meant, in his eyes, they were not yet qualified to be considered his men. He did not treat himself as their instructor, nor did he use his standards to evaluate them. In other words, they were still not good enough.

The instructor asked, “Any questions?”

“Reporting,” someone called out from the group.

“Speak.”

“Is this the final assessment?”

“No. There are too many of you. Half must be eliminated before the real training begins.” The instructor’s voice remained calm. “This round started early. According to the chief instructor, those who are eliminated still have a chance to join other battalions for selection.”

He paused, then added, “But do not go out and claim you were eliminated from our unit. You have not yet reached the threshold. At best, this is just a few days of sightseeing.”

Everyone stood straighter. Their faces were filled with determination. The smarter ones had already realized this training was anything but ordinary. The others had been provoked by his words and were burning with fighting spirit. All of them had been elite soldiers in their own units. None of them were willing to admit defeat.

The instructor climbed into the off-road vehicle and signaled the driver to start the engine. He turned and said,

“Training begins on the hour. Those who return early will still make it to breakfast. The ones who come late will have to go hungry. And just so you know, the time loss is entirely your own doing. Keep up.”

With that, he took off down the road. Curses exploded behind him.

Song Feng and Wei Xiaoyan immediately bolted ahead. The instructor’s calm expression finally cracked.

“Both of you, stay at the back of the group!”

“You lied to us again!” Song Feng shouted, full of righteous indignation.

The instructor’s mouth twitched. The man driving beside him laughed as he steered.

“Are those two the ones the vice-captain brought in from outside? What’s their background?”

“No idea. The vice-captain didn’t say anything.”

“Did you notice the way they climbed up earlier? That technique… damn, it was clean.”

The instructor gave a quiet hum of agreement as he watched the two figures grow smaller in the distance.

“I hope they make it through.”

The rest of the group returned to the run with grim determination. This time, Bai Xuyao was no longer being chased by a mouse. The other two had said they refused to miss breakfast and had taken off immediately. He watched their shrinking figures and gritted his teeth, picking up speed. He could not keep losing face like this.

Heavy training came one round after another. Song Feng worked through his push-ups with focus. His body was perfectly aligned, lean muscles drawn tight, each movement crisp and powerful. Sweat soaked his forehead and slid down his chin in drops. He looked unusually seductive.

Xiao Mingxuan, tired from reviewing files, stepped over to the window with a pair of binoculars. He scanned the field almost instinctively, searching for that figure. At this distance, he could even make out the expression on Song Feng’s face. There was a faint smile at the corner of his lips. It was rare to see that man so serious. Truly rare. In reality, both he and Wei Xiaoyan had the physical ability to skip this round entirely, but the camp still had other new recruits. He had no intention of giving anyone the impression of unfairness.

Two others were in the office with him, the same men who had led the group that morning. They were flipping through personnel files when one of them suddenly called out.

“Shit, this guy’s a prodigy.”

Xiao Mingxuan looked up.

“Bai Xuyao? The central command said to keep him if possible, but the physical fitness of technical staff is a major concern. How was his performance this morning?”

“Let me check… upper-middle tier. Oh, that’s him.” The man laughed. “He was the one dragged through the course by those two you personally recruited. If he had done it alone, he never would’ve hit that score.”

Xiao Mingxuan paused.

“Song Feng?”

“That’s right. They seem to be getting along. That Song Feng even took him on a post-run walk.”

Xiao Mingxuan was surprised. That man offering kindness without getting paid for it? That made no sense. He narrowed his eyes.

“Do we have a photo of him?”

“Let me see… yeah, here.”

He handed it over. The man in the picture looked clean. Not handsome, but his features stood out, especially by military standards, where a face like that would definitely count as above average. Considering Song Feng’s shameless personality, there was a good chance he was trying to hit on him. After all, that man was not picky.

Xiao Mingxuan stared at the photo. The more he looked, the more convinced he became. His expression turned grim. He wanted to drag that bastard over immediately and tell him to behave himself.

Song Feng was under his command now. As long as he didn’t get hurt, that would be enough. Xiao Mingxuan tried to reassure himself with that thought, but something still felt off. He could not clearly explain what kind of feeling it was.

At that moment, Song Feng was obediently climbing over an obstacle. When there were no missions, they trained. Training was dull and exhausting, but there was no other option. If you did not train enough now, then what waited for you on the battlefield might be a bullet. The phrase “sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime” was not just a slogan. It had been proven true again and again.

He cleared the obstacle quickly, pulled out his training sheet for a glance, then moved on to the next task. Wei Xiaoyan followed close behind. They might not have been the fastest in each individual group. Every elite had their specialty, and in some areas, they had to fall back. But in total completion time, they were consistently ahead. After all, they had years of training under their belts. This kind of routine was nothing new.

The instructor could only watch as the two of them charged through the course. Their speed was beyond belief. Song Feng checked the sheet again, then jogged over with a grin and grabbed his wrist to check the time.

“Looks like I’ve still got time to take a shower before lunch. What a lucky day.”

He turned and walked off, cheerful as ever. Wei Xiaoyan ran over right after him, grabbed the instructor’s wrist and looked for himself.

“It’s true. Amazing!” Then he sprinted away.

The instructor stood frozen. He thought back to how the trainees last year had been half-dead by this point. He looked again at these two and could not snap out of it. What kind of recruits were they sending in this time?

The other trainees were also shouting in disbelief. There was no way those two were just students. Were they supernatural?

Bai Xuyao was crawling under barbed wire, panting hard. He threw a glance forward, his throat dry. Gritting his teeth, he pushed through. How could he have fallen behind new recruits who couldn’t even fold a proper blanket? There was no justice in the world.

By the end of the morning, his legs were shaking so hard they nearly gave out. But he had no time to rest. He cleaned up briefly and made his way to the cafeteria. The hall was already full. Some people had finished and left. He scanned the room, spotted Wei Xiaoyan waving, and went over.

“Here. Eat. I got it for you.”

“Thanks…” Bai Xuyao had no appetite left, but training would resume in the afternoon. He had no choice but to eat.

“Your hand is shaking. If you try to use chopsticks, the food might fall before it reaches your mouth. Want me to grab you a spoon?”

Bai Xuyao stiffened. “No need.”

“Alright then.”

Bai Xuyao reached out with his chopsticks and casually asked, “Where’s Song Feng?”

“He went to find the officer.”

Bai Xuyao was startled. “What for?”

“He said he wanted to request a transparent cage to raise the mouse in.”

Bai Xuyao flinched, and the piece of food he had picked up dropped onto the table.

“Told you it would fall.”

“……”

Song Feng strolled up to the main building with a smile, pushed open the door to the office, and the first thing he saw was the greenish bruise at the corner of Xiao Mingxuan’s eye. He immediately burst into laughter.

“Good afternoon, sir~”

Xiao Mingxuan looked up. Those bright, lively eyes were shining. He set down the file in his hand.

“How did you get in here?”

Song Feng threw himself across the desk.
“I told the guards you wanted to see me.”

Xiao Mingxuan nodded. “What do you want?”

“I need a small transparent cage. A plastic bottle will work if nothing else is available.”

“What for?”

Song Feng reached into his pocket, pulled out two plastic bags, and held them up. Inside were the two tied-up mice, staring out through the plastic. Song Feng looked at him with the same bright expression. “I’m raising them.”

“……”