Chapter 22 - Cross-country Race

Translator: Li_Voon_Loke

“There’s no need to stand. Just sit down and rest.”

The instructor felt a little heartache when he saw how exhausted his boys were.

“Do you know the difference between cross-country training and training on the field?” The instructor looked at the exhausted recruits and asked.

Of course, the recruits knew that cross-country training consumed several times more energy and time than training on flat ground.

“Instructor, please don’t torture us anymore in the future. Running is fine on the field, but running on the mountain is exhausting.”

A recruit mustered up the courage to suggest to the instructor.

“Only let you practice running on the field? Hahaha.”

He Yingbo seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He asked, “When you go to war, can you still choose the terrain of the battlefield? The enemies will climb over the mountains and launch an attack on the command center. You won’t go to the mountains to intercept them?”

“All the training in the Military Academy is to prepare for war. If you can’t even take this little bit of hardship, can you stay alive when you go to the battlefield?!”

Instantly, there was complete silence. No one dared to raise any objections to the instructor.

“This cross-country training will end here for now. A week later, we will arrange a cross-country race of 5,000 meters. I want to see who is the hero and who is the coward. Everyone must run the entire distance of 5,000 meters.”

After He Yingbo finished speaking, the recruits let out a series of wails. 3,000 meters was already tiring enough. How could they run the entire 5,000-meter race?

“There’s no need to rush. The cross-country race will take place in a week’s time. During this period of time, your bodies would have recovered. Moreover, if you feel that you are not strong enough, there’s no need to fight for first place. However, I hope that my soldiers will have a sense of honor.”

As he said this, He Yingbo might have intentionally glanced at Zhao Rui.

Zhao Rui knew what the instructor meant. Since he had been appointed as the team leader, he had to set an example for his comrades in the sixth team no matter what.

The other comrades only had to complete the 5000-meter cross-country race, but Zhao Rui had to fight for first place.

However, even if Zhao Rui did not become the team leader, he would still work hard to complete the mission.

On the first day of his arrival at the Military Academy, Zhao Rui was determined to become the King of Soldiers and the most outstanding graduate in the history of the Military Academy. Of course, he would not give up any chance to prove his strength. No matter what kind of competition it was, Zhao Rui would give it his all.

Probably because the recruits were very tired, the instructor did not make the training intensity very high for the rest of the day. In the afternoon, he dismissed the recruits early to let them rest.

Zhao Rui returned to the dormitory and took a shower before going to bed immediately.

“Why does the class monitor sleep so early every day?”

Looking at Zhao Rui who was already snoring under the blanket, Bai Xiaofei asked the remaining two brothers in the dormitory.

“Yeah, he always sleeps so early. He doesn’t even have time to participate in the night talk,” Chi Heng said in surprise.

Originally, Chi Heng felt that Zhao Rui was the easiest person to get along with in the dormitory. He also wanted to build a good relationship with Zhao Rui, but Zhao Rui always slept very early. He did not even participate in the night talk, which was an activity that could help them bond.

They were already good brothers, but it was always a pity that good brothers didn’t brag and talk about girls together after lights out.

Zhao Rui didn’t know that his dormitory brothers were talking about him. He was doing cross-country training in the King of Soldier’s training space.

This time, the space created by the system was a rainforest that was much more complicated than the environment on the mountain behind the Military Academy. There were bushes and even quite a number of ferocious animals.

Zhao Rui seemed to be tireless in the King of Solder’s training space. He kept running until the next morning when the wake-up signal was sounded.

However, they could not get out of bed.Their whole body ached when they moved.

Yesterday’s cross-country training was more intense than any training before. The strain caused by the high-intensity training in a short period of time could be felt yesterday. Today, it was as if a nail had been nailed to their thigh muscles. As long as they moved a little, they would feel an intense pain.

“F * ck, why does my leg hurt so much? I don’t even have the slightest strength in my body,” Bai Xiaofei said with a sad face.

“Hurry up and get up. If you continue to stay in bed and delay the morning exercise, the instructor will scold you.”

Zhao Rui endured the pain and rolled down from the bed. When Zhang Cheng saw Zhao Rui get off the bed, he also did.

Chi Heng looked at Zhao Rui pitifully, “Brother Zhao, can I ask you a favor? I really can’t go to the morning exercise this morning. Can you help me apply for leave?”

“Apply for leave? With what reason?”

“Just say that I have a cold. How about that?”

Zhao Rui immediately rejected Chi Heng’s request and berated, “No, there’s no need to say these useless things. If the instructor finds out that we’re lying, the consequences will be even worse.”

“I just don’t want to go. My leg hurts so badly and I still have to go out for morning exercises. When have I ever suffered like this since I was young?”

After saying that, Chi Heng actually hid under the quilt, putting on an expression which said he would not go no matter what.

Zhao Rui had no choice but to go forward and snatch Chi Heng’s quilt. “If you don’t want to go, then I’ll pull you along so that everyone can see how you look when you’re naked. Hurry up and get dressed!”

Under Zhao Rui’s supervision, the dormitory brothers collectively went out for the morning exercise.

When they arrived at the gathering point, they were all rejoicing.

It turned out that on this morning, the instructor personally came to supervise the morning exercise. Anyone who did not participate in the morning exercise had to run 5,000 meters and 200 frog jumps as punishment.

In the following days, the recruits in the sixth team went through their training as usual. Unknowingly, the soreness on their legs gradually disappeared with the daily training. During this period, Zhao Rui naturally went to train in the King of Solder’s training space every night.

A week later, the day for the sixth team to have the 5,000-meter cross-country race finally arrived.

Instructor He brought the recruits to the same open space that they were in a week ago.

“I think you guys are already very familiar with the running route since a week ago. I don’t have the need to explain it to you again.”

“But, instructor?”

Zhao Rui asked in confusion, “Instructor, you said 5,000 meters this time. The previous route was only 3,000 meters.”

“I did plan to let you run 5,000 meters, but I am considering the cowards who could barely finish the 3,000-meter run and also those who skipped morning exercises.”

“This time, we’ll run 3,000 meters first,” Instructor He said after a pause.

Although he was strict with the recruits, as an instructor, He Yingbo was also very concerned about the physical condition of the recruits. He just wouldn’t tell the recruits about it.

Last week, on the second day of the 3,000-meter cross-country training, some recruits were so tired that they couldn’t get out of bed. Only then did He Yingbo decide to change the 5,000-meter test to 3,000 meters.

“That’s great! I thought I was going to die today!”

“Wooo. You’re so kind to deduct the 2,000 meters, instructor.” The recruits all praised him and said he’s a good instructor.

This made He Yingbo very uncomfortable. He immediately put on a stern face and warned,

“Let’s get one thing straight. If anyone dares to miss morning exercises again tomorrow, don’t blame me for showing no mercy..”