Chapter 195: 36 Stratagems

Lyca only beamed. "No. I would definitely use nuclear material to propose. You know… something with devastating effects." Shen Qui laughed in response.

"Then… I will look forward to a very peculiar proposition." He held her waist and pulled her for a light kiss. "The sun will rise in a few more minutes. Do you want to watch the sunrise with me?"

"No. We should go down."

"You wanted to show off?" His light laughter echoed.

"Of course… " Lyca stood up and pulled her man up. "We should arrive there before they wake up."

"And you still wanted me to carry you?"

"Of course… this is what you should do." She giggled and waited for him to lower his body so she could hop on for a piggyback ride. The two immediately started descending down the mountain. With his long strides and a little familiarity with the area from his extensive research, it only took them about twenty minutes to arrive in the camp.

"Oh? The Boss is here?" Cleo lifted an eyebrow, smiling at the Shen Qui and Lyca.

"Call everyone. It's almost five… we should start as early as now." Lyca immediately donned on a serious expression. After all, Shen Qui was standing next to her. She maintained a cold expression as she waited for everyone to form lines in front of her. 

"Good Morning." She uttered. "I can see a few of you with cuts on their throats." She heard someone groan and she was already expecting it to be Ma Ping. "Do you have something to say?"

"No ma'am."

"Hmmm… If this was in the military… I would have asked you to do a hundred push-ups." She put her hands behind her back. "But I am not as harsh. So… I would only double the weights in your waist. Later." She gave him a harmless smile. "Now… everyone who got a cut on their necks. I will not give you any breakfast." She eyed the lovers who both have cuts on their necks. "That's the only rule."

Lyca had to emphasize this rule. SHE will not give them some breakfast. But … she didn't say they couldn't ask their co trainees to share their breakfast. Simple. 

This would make her see if Ma Ping and the one won yesterday were … liked by the group. After all, it was still important for a leader to gain their member's trust and sympathy.

"Any one of you familiar with a morse code?" This should be one of the basics during their training, right? As expected, most of them nodded their heads. "Good." Lyca nodded. "Are you familiar with… Thirty-Six Stratagem's of War?" When she saw that not many people nodded their heads, Lyca started walking, her back straight as she started explaining. "This is not only used in politics and war. This is also used in civil interaction and even business. I want everyone to learn it." She motioned Cleo to give everyone the gears for today's training.

"Today… I want you to read the first five stratagems. Understand it. I will give you fifteen minutes to familiarize yourself with the stratagems. Then… another fifteen minutes to make yourself comfortable with the weights. Ankle sandbag weight, five kilograms in each ankle. Five-kilogram sandbag for your waist and another five for each arm. Number one… will have ten in his waist." She gave Ma Ping a smirk before she continued. "The weights have trackers, and we will know once you take it off. You will have these weights will running towards the peak of the mountain and back here. I will give you another six hours to run."

An enchanting smile bloomed on her face as she roamed her gaze at everyone. First of all, these weights will make them stronger, faster, and lighter. Which are the exact people that Lyca needed. "Questions? Yes… Number one?"

"How about breakfast? I mean… I know I have not included but the others— "

"I will give you fifteen minutes to take your breakfast before you study the strategies. Any more questions?"

"What about our… baths?" A woman from the back said.

"Did you wash last night?"

"Yes, Maam."

"In the forest, you can't always find a place to clean yourself. So you have to innovate. After the exercises, you can explore the forest to find a lake or river so you can take bath." That's if they can still walk after running with so much weight. Heh… Lyca remembered being trained like this in her previous life. A ten-year-old with weights on her body just to make herself lighter. It was nothing but torture.

She couldn't remember how many times she fainted and how many times she cried. But at the end of the day, when the weights were lifted, Lyca remembered feeling so light, she felt confident that she could fly. The skills to be as light as the wind has saved her many— many times in the past.

"Alright… everything will start once it's already five in the morning." She looked at her watch and realized that it should take another two minutes before five in the morning. She immediately looked at Shen Qui and motioned him to follow her towards her tent.

"You're just gonna leave them like that?"

Lyca snorted. "If they can't follow the rules now… they will soon die while on a mission." She shrugged. "It's their life. Their choice."

"I haven't seen training like that." He watched as Lyca made herself comfortable on the chair, resting her legs on the table as she put her hands at the back of her neck, her posture extremely languid and lazy. "What are you going to do with the stratagems?"

"Hmm… I will let them tell me the five stratagems after their run. And tell me what they think about it." She said before she decided to pour him some coffee. "Not as good as your tea or me… but that should be enough to give warmth to your stomach before you leave for work."

"Who told you that I'm leaving?" He lifted an eyebrow.

"Eh?"

.....

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