Chapter 28: Training

That afternoon, someone came to deliver a message to Shenchi and Xia Yi, informing them to gather at the West Gate Square for training the next morning.

The next day, early in the morning, Cao Kun rode his newly bought electric tricycle to the training site with Shenchi and Xia Yi following closely behind.

When the three arrived at the West Gate Square at seven-thirty, it was already crowded. Apart from the neatly lined up soldiers around the perimeter, there were roughly ten thousand people participating in the Self-defense Corps. Everywhere one looked, there was exposed skin, and the noise was incessant.

The West Gate Square had been divided into several large areas. A muscular soldier with rolled-up sleeves stood on the filled-in fountain. He tapped the loudspeaker, and an ear-piercing "whine... whine..." echoed around, momentarily quieting the crowd below.

Standing in front, his combat uniform tight against his body, he tested the loudspeaker but then decided not to use it, instead shouting loudly, "Hello everyone, my name is Deng Hu, from Qindong City, Qinyao Province. Starting today, I am your chief instructor!"

"I have only four requirements for you: First, obey orders, follow commands, and act promptly! Second, maintain proper posture, neat appearance, high morale, and seriousness! Third, perform actions swiftly, accurately, and in coordination! Fourth, keep the formation orderly; report and get permission when leaving or joining the ranks! Do you understand?"

Crowd: "We understand!"

Their response was weak.

Deng Hu raised his eyebrows and bellowed, "Did none of you eat breakfast?!"

Crowd: "We understand!!"

"Huang Jinyan, step forward!" Deng Hu: "Now, those who received an A rating in the evaluation room stay here; the rest follow Instructor Huang!"

Over the past two days and that morning, 10,023 people had enlisted in the Self-defense Corps, including 1,328 women.

Most of the ten thousand people left, leaving only a few dozen, including a woman wearing a tank top and long pants with her hair cut short. The evaluation room's tests were straightforward and brutal, and everyone had seen the combat abilities of those rated A, so no one questioned their strength, even if they were women.

Everyone in the group stood in various postures, loosely scattered, without any discipline.

Deng Hu's gaze swept over everyone, "Since you chose the Self-defense Corps, you must be prepared to be loyal to the party, adhere strictly to discipline, fear neither hardship nor fatigue, and always be ready to fight and sacrifice your life for the cause! Now, tell me, do you fear death?!"

Crowd: "No!"

Deng Hu kindly advised, "It's okay; if anyone is afraid of hardship and fatigue, I'll give you a chance to switch to other jobs, like farming or sewing!"

No one moved.

Deng Hu's face darkened, "Very well! Everyone, listen to my commands! Attention! Right—align!"

Some people moved closer to others, while some straightened their backs and stood still.

"What are you standing there for? Don't you know how to adjust?! Line up from left to right, the first person stays put, the rest turn their heads to the right, looking at the cheek of the person next to you, and the back row aligns first before turning to the right." Deng Hu demonstrated as he spoke, "Do it again! Everyone, right—align!"

People immediately moved, and Deng Hu said, "Eyes front! Now we will start with physical fitness testing. First, sit-ups."

Two soldiers standing behind Deng Hu stepped forward and lay down flat.

Deng Hu: "Standard: knees bent and feet together, using abdominal muscles to pull yourself up, arms moving forward, quickly sitting up, elbows touching knees counts as one rep. One... Two... Three..."

The two soldiers demonstrated according to Deng Hu's commands. Deng Hu had the group spread out and lie down flat, holding a stopwatch, "Two minutes limit, count out loud. Start!"

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

...

The sight of over eighty people lying on the grass was impressive. Most were burly men, and the two-minute sit-ups were done effortlessly, each surpassing the new recruit standards.

The second test was push-ups, also timed for two minutes, with someone recording the number of repetitions. They again met the new recruit standards.

The third test was pull-ups on the horizontal bar. Under the scorching heat, everyone was drenched in sweat and panting heavily.

No one provided water, and there was no break. Next came double-arm push-ups, single-leg squats, 25-meter shuttle runs (four times), and finally, a 3-kilometer run.

Hearing this, many were stunned, and some sat down, panting heavily.

Deng Hu sneered at their disheveled appearance, "What, can't handle it? Want me to transfer some of you to other units?"

"Damn it, stop looking down on us!"

Deng Hu narrowed his eyes, and the next moment, the nearest soldier kicked out!

A fight broke out quickly but ended just as fast.

Deng Hu looked at the few people being held down by the soldiers, "Still think you're capable? Alright! Qiu Luoming, Dong Jun, step forward!"

The two soldiers demonstrating the exercises stepped forward and stood in front of everyone.

"Start!"

At Deng Hu's command, they began sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, and more, performing each exercise flawlessly and maintaining excellent results throughout.

For the final 3-kilometer run, when Deng Hu gave the order, Cao Kun took the lead, followed by the exhausted men. After thirteen minutes, only seven remained standing, including Cao Kun, Shenchi, and the short-haired woman, who was panting but still standing.

Next, they began practicing individual drills. During breaks, the instructors continued to give political lessons. In the afternoon, they practiced standing at attention and singing military songs. As the temperature rose, even after taking heat-relief medication, everyone was dizzy under the 47-degree heat, nearly dehydrated.

Due to curfew, the Self-defense Corps ended training after dinner.

After a brief rest, Shenchi and the others resumed their own training. Shenchi needed to practice his second ability, ice manipulation, so he went back to his room alone.

Ice and fire don't mix. In his previous life, he cultivated fire abilities, and now suddenly switching to ice felt very peculiar. He needed time to adapt.

The next day, everyone started running, and Deng Hu began assigning classes to those whose names were called, with twelve people per class. He also determined who would go to Shufu Town, followed by applied shooting training and basic squad tactical formations.

August 30th, 4:00 AM. The sky was gray and still, with no wind and a temperature of 43 degrees Celsius.

Chen Jinglin was absent. Cao Kun, Shenchi, and Xia Yi were escorted by Captain Deng Hu to Shufu Town in Shujiang Province. They were joined by eight other individuals with special abilities, two platoons of soldiers, and representatives from Classes 1, 2, and 3 of Team A from the Self-defense Corps. Together, they embarked in four armored vehicles, three military trucks, and eight green Jiefang trucks, as well as a medical vehicle, exiting through the West Gate.

On the road, Cao Kun and the other eight ability users rode in one armored vehicle, including the short-haired woman. Shenchi sat with the Self-defense Corps members, while Xia Yi from Team D, due to his role as a doctor, was chosen to ride in the medical vehicle.

In Shenchi's vehicle, upon Captain Deng Hu's order, everyone immediately lifted out the boxes from under their seats, opened them, and began checking and putting on the equipment inside.

Jiu Zhou City

Huang Guangtao slammed his fist on the table: "I do not agree with the approach of accepting survivors!"

"I am a soldier of the people, and it is my duty to protect every citizen!" Chen Jinglin said firmly. "I am not asking for your permission; I am informing you."

Huang Guangtao angrily retorted: "You..."

"Knock knock!" The door was knocked on.

Huang Guangtao, with a grim face: "Come in!"

The secretary stood at the door and cautiously spoke: "Mayor, there are five survivors outside the West Gate."

Huang Guangtao fumed: "Didn't I tell you—"

Chen Jinglin reminded him: "Mayor Huang, please watch your words."

The secretary, seeing this, nervously added: "They are all ability users."

Huang Guangtao's angry expression froze momentarily, then turned to joy after confirming that these were ability users. He glanced at Chen Jinglin, said nothing more, and instructed the secretary to lead him to meet the ability users.

The convoy left the West Gate and headed directly onto the provincial road, driving towards the national highway. Along the way, they encountered checkpoints and met several teams on missions, as well as a few private cars passing by.

Throughout the journey, the dozen or so members of the Self-defense Corps chattered incessantly with those around them. The two soldiers and the officer in front did not stop them, so some turned their attention to Shenchi. One of them had seen Shenchi and his group fighting another group a few days ago and recounted the story to others, ensuring that no one openly mocked Shenchi this time.

Shenchi paid no heed to their discussions but finally opened his eyes when he noticed their constant gazes: "Keep staring, and I'll gouge out your eyeballs."

The noisy vehicle fell silent instantly.

One hot-tempered individual immediately stood up to teach Shenchi a lesson, but the officer would not tolerate any fighting.

Deng Hu was still in the vehicle and swiftly drew his gun: "Who wants to try again?"

The men looked at each other.

Deng Hu pointed his gun at those who had stood up, and no one moved. In the next second, he cocked the gun, and in a fluid motion, fired "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" aiming between their legs.

Several of them recoiled in terror: "!!!!!!!"

Deng Hu: "Sit down!"

A man with a tiger's back and bear's waist, sporting a tattooed arm, pressed his hand against his waist, staring in shock at the bullet hole in the box, unable to believe his movements were so slow.

He protested, "Who do you think you are?!"

"I told you, you can give it a try." Deng Hu repositioned his gun. "I'll repeat one last time: sit down!"

Deng Hu's final command was like a roar from a lioness, causing someone to reflexively go limp and fall into a chair. Consequently, those who still wanted to resist also sat down one after another, temporarily subduing them.

"Very good." Deng Hu's sharp gaze swept over Shenchi, who didn't even blink during the process, and he said with an unclear meaning, "I hope you can face the infected as calmly as you do now."