Chapter 187: The Real Goal

Silence descended as Lyca looked at everyone. The smile on her face was enchanting, but it had a tinge of something… sinister. It was as if she was hiding something beyond that beautiful smile.

"Questions?" Lyca looked at her watch.

"Miss Xi… how are we going to keep the paper from getting wet? If we keep it in our water bottle, the bottle will create some moisture too, because of the cold," someone from the back said.

"Number?"

"Twenty-nine ma'am!"

"Two nine," Lyca uttered. "You figure it out." She beamed.

"We will camp here and wait for you. Six hours. That's all you have. If you arrive here after six hours, you will sleep outside of your tents. I will see you later ladies, and gentlemen May The Force be with Us All!" She said, referencing the famous star wars quote before she walked back on her chair.

"Wait... Miss Xi… does this mean… you are not coming with us?" Hu Lan's question made everyone paused. Since Hu Lan was not with them the other day, she didn't hear what Lyca said about being extremely lazy. Would a lazy person really go with them to the mountains?

"No."

"But…"

"What?" Cleo asked, her tone raised. Just like Rue, she was really irritated with this Hu Lan. However, unlike Lyca and Rue, Cleo has the tendency to show her real emotions on the outside. "You think she should have another race with you? Hu Lan… I don't understand why you are here. I remember you had a sprain because you lost from Miss Xi, right?"

"What? What are you talking about?" Hu Lan's face reddened. Sprain because she lost? Did everyone think that she had a sprain because she…

"Aish… this woman really thought that we are stupid." Cleo rolled her eyes. "It's already five forty-five. I suggest you start running, or you won't be back in six hours."

"Hmph!" Hu Lan snorted before she walked away from Lyca. The mountain is not really big, and she was confident that she would be able to come back here in four hours! She had been running marathons! The farthest that she was able to run was thirty-two kilometers and this made Hu Lan very proud of herself. Confidence rolled inside her as she started sprinting towards the peak of the mountain. Sadly, Hu Lan was not an expert when it comes to mountain climbing and she had forgotten to think about the high altitudes in the mountain.

Anyone who isn't an expert in climbing would surely surrender halfway because of the change in altitude.

"You know coming back in six hours is impossible, right?" Hogan said, his voice was solemn as he stood next to Lyca. He, along with the other members who already past the age of thirty, were not included in the exercise. Which was actually a very good thing. Hogan wasn't even sure if he would be able to finish the exercise in six hours. How embarrassing would that be if he fails?

"Of course, it's impossible," Lyca uttered as she threw another nut in her mouth.

"Then… why give them an impossible task?"

"Hm?" Lyca lifted her head and looked at him. "The task was to keep the paper dry. Was that impossible?"

This made him silent. All this time he had been thinking about running up and down in the mountain in six hours while the task was actually to keep the paper dry. He had actually forgotten about this!

"I was clear with everyone. The task was to keep the paper dry. The six hours was nothing but bullshit."

"…"

"So you— "

"I can, of course, do that. If I ride some chopper." She started smiling. "Ah… Cleo... Get me the laptop. I need some TV drama. Oh. Mr. Hogan… please asked everyone else to help set up the tent for tonight."

Hogan pursed his lips as he looked at Lyca's nonchalant expression. "The training that you said you will give them is— "

"Not in the body." Lyca finished her sentence. "It's in the mind. A strong body is useless as long as the mind is weak." Which was very true. The aim of the training was actually very simple. Lyca only wanted to know who had the right focus to finish the task. This would be very useful for security personnel.

Determination, presence of mind, and initiative.

She wanted people to develop those instead of some muscles. Lyca already made it clear that running was not the mission. The mission was to keep the paper dry. She doesn't need robots that blindly follow instructions. She needed people that could think and use their damn brains to survive.

"But how are they going to keep the paper dry?" Cleo asked as she gave the laptop to Lyca. "I mean… even if they wrapped it in plastic that they could find along the way, it would still create moisture. The higher they go, the bigger chances it would be that the paper will get wet. Unless they won't go at the peak, which is impossible since we have trackers on them. They can't also leave the paper somewhere as the moisture would… Aish… Xi… you are making my heard hurt."

"If they are smart they will figure it out." Lyca shrugged. "Think about it… we are building a security team capable of doing special tasks, guarding houses, people, documents, and special types of equipment. They needed the mind to innovate."

Hogan, Cleo, and Rue just eyed each other wondering how are they going to keep a paper like that dry. Then they shook their heads. That sounded impossible. 

" If they arrive after six hours, they will sleep outside of their tents but the mission is actually about the paper? Xi, I think you are making everyone confuse, no?" Cleo said wryly. It was really an impossible task, but Lyca's way of telling them about the punishment was making everyone think that it was about the running and not the paper. It would make anyone forget that the real task was actually the paper. Some people might even prioritize running! She couldn't help but wonder what was Lyca's goal all along.

"One or two will get it," Lyca said as she put on her headphones and started watching the TV drama that she was watching lately. Lyca was already assuming that everyone will try to use their water bottles for the paper, then they could use leaves or their hands to drink some water once they found a stream. Of course, this would be useless unless they add something inside the bottle that would absorb the moisture. For instance… they could use their knives to produce sawdust and use it to absorb the moisture then they would be able to keep the paper dry.

Lyca only wanted to see who had the mind to finish the real task. That's all. Isn't that too simple?

Lyca sighed inwardly. Before the real training begins, she needed to find people that could lead the team. After all, she wasn't planning to micromanage everything. Lyca's plan was to issue an order then laze around.

Because of this, she needed responsible leaders that would make sure the task is completed no matter what happens.