The person approaching was Lin Nan, a fellow member of the new recruits’ training camp and part of Wen Xin’s Team Seven.
Wen Xin exchanged a few words with him, and soon other members of Team Seven noticed them walking together.
“Good afternoon, Captain!” they greeted warmly.
Wen Xin returned their greeting with a smile, “Good afternoon.”
The team members then eagerly surrounded Wen Xin, chattering about the upcoming mutant observation, and passionately debating the topic.
Their excitement attracted attention from nearby trainees in other teams.
“Wow, it’s only their second day, and Team Seven is already so close?” someone remarked, impressed.
In most other teams, people barely remembered each other’s names at this point.
Another trainee observed that only the three or four people around Wen Xin seemed so engaged. The others kept to themselves, merely nodding politely at Wen Xin when passing by.
Someone else recognized Wen Xin’s face, watching him thoughtfully. “See that guy in the middle—the really pale one?”
“I heard he’s one of the few who completed the entire first-day training program.”
The others were shocked and admiring. “The whole program? Wow, no wonder.”
People had been arriving from all over to join the City A survivor base, so the recruits’ camp had been steadily expanding.
Among the 130 or so new recruits, most looked thin and exhausted. Wen Xin, with his neat appearance and healthy complexion, stood out immediately.
Some whispered behind his back, labeling him as a “soft pretty boy” or “rich kid.” However, Wen Xin would quickly dispel these assumptions himself.
On the first day, noticing the newcomers seemed unfocused, the instructor ordered them to run four kilometers around the camp as a “wake-up call.”
Initially, some recruits grumbled, thinking they’d already survived hundreds or thousands of kilometers on foot, so four kilometers sounded easy.
But they forgot that the high altitude of City A wasn’t like the plains. Without pacing, some would find themselves gasping for air.
The run began, and within just 800 meters, many were struggling, legs weak and falling behind. By the time they’d reached two kilometers, half of them were sprawled on the ground, gasping for air.
After three kilometers, only a few determined ones remained on the track. The rest collapsed on the grass, completely worn out.
A few others, seeing the lack of reprimand from the instructor, joined in the resting crowd, figuring it was safe to slack off.
This left Wen Xin, running at the front, particularly noticeable.
The instructor shook his head, holding up a loudspeaker, and called out, “You’re all recruits from the same batch! Why can’t you learn from him? It’s just a few steps, and you’re already panting like dogs!”
Someone angrily retorted, “It’s not the same! We just survived the hardest journey to get here and haven’t even had a proper meal! That guy probably had it easy, no wonder he’s doing fine!”
The instructor seemed to consider this, then nodded as Wen Xin approached, having completed his four kilometers.
With everyone watching, the instructor called out, “Hey, kid, have you trained before?”
Wen Xin blinked, unaware of the earlier complaints, but nodded. He had indeed trained before, and Xu Qiang had kept him in shape along the journey.
“Then how about running another four kilometers?”
This command, amplified by the loudspeaker, echoed across half the camp, drawing the attention of other teams.
The original complainer’s jaw dropped. “I was just talking! I didn’t mean for him to actually run again!”
“Okay,” Wen Xin replied, assessing his energy levels. Tired, but not exhausted, he set off again.
This time, everyone could see he was running slower than before. By the last kilometer, he was breathing hard and unsteady, but he pushed through.
When he crossed the finish line, Wen Xin staggered and bent over, catching his breath.
Unbeknownst to him, everyone’s perception of him had changed.
The instructor clapped his hands and boomed, “Alright, everyone! Ten-minute break, then we’ll run four kilometers again! And this time, no one is allowed to fall behind. Anyone who does can forget about lunch!”
The announcement was met with dismay, and the camp exploded with protests.
“You’ve got to be kidding me! Another run?”
“Is this guy trying to kill us? Nobody can handle that!”
“You’re just torturing us!”
The instructor lazily scratched his ear, responding with a cold chuckle, “Run again? You call what you did running?”
One of the trainees, momentarily speechless, tried to argue back, but the instructor cut him off with a scolding.
“I noticed you around lap three! Tired, huh? Tired enough to talk to your buddies, sneak glances my way, and slack off. Do you think a horde of zombies will let you stop for a break? That they’ll be charmed enough to give you a pass?”
He added sharply, “Do you think this world’s safe enough for you to waste the life you barely managed to keep? Or maybe you’re just that lucky?”
The instructor’s sudden seriousness left the group silent.
Some, recalling lost friends and family, felt tears welling in their eyes.
They understood they had to train harder, fight faster, and grow stronger to survive in this brutal world.
Resigned, they prepared to start running again, though many turned to Wen Xin, who was still gasping for air.
Wen Xin knew he was reaching his limits. Eight kilometers without rest was almost too much for him.
He was dizzy, his vision blurred, and his heart raced, pulsing heavily in his chest.
The instructor appeared beside him. “Can you still run, kid?”
The question filtered through the haze, and Wen Xin took a couple of seconds to process it.
He swallowed, took a breath, and, to the surprise of everyone, slowly nodded.
At that moment, all eyes on him shifted once more.
Wen Xin remembered that stopping abruptly after intense exercise wasn’t wise, so he prepared to walk a few steps.
Before he could take a step, the instructor took his arm, guiding him to cool down with a slow walk.
As Wen Xin’s breathing steadied, the instructor brought him over to stretch.
“See that?” the instructor asked, motioning toward the others, who were now watching Wen Xin with newfound respect.
Their looks held admiration.
The instructor massaged Wen Xin’s tight calves, smiling. “I heard from Officer Li that you wanted to be a leader, but didn’t know how to win people over. Do you see it now?”
Surrounded by their gazes, Wen Xin felt a hint of understanding.
The instructor continued, “Gaining people’s respect is simple—be stronger than everyone else. Strong enough that they’ll follow you without question.”
“The training camp is just the beginning. The formal military will be even tougher, and there’s an elite force beyond that. The road is long.”
Patting Wen Xin on the shoulder, he added, “Go on, let’s see how far you can go.”
The first day’s rigorous training included four kilometers of steady running, a five-kilometer weighted run in the afternoon, and two hours of endurance training. The schedule was brutal, with few able to complete it.
Yet, Wen Xin pushed through, becoming one of only five recruits to complete the program in the whole camp.
When the instructor named him Team Seven’s captain, there was unanimous respect.
The second day was brutal. Every muscle in Wen Xin’s body ached as he forced himself out of bed, feeling like he’d ascended to a higher state of being.
Thankfully, the instructor announced they’d spend the afternoon observing and studying mutants rather than physically training.
One teammate asked him in surprise, “Wait—you remember my name?”
Wen Xin double-checked, making sure he had the right person. Seeing the familiar face, he nodded.
The previous night, Wen Xin had asked the instructor for the recruits’ roster, wanting to match names with faces.
When he’d made this request, the instructor looked pleased. But when he realized Wen Xin meant everyone, he’d been stunned.
“Planning to remember everyone?”
Wen Xin hesitated before nodding. “It’s useful to remember faces.”
The instructor had given him a thumbs-up but added a critical point. “What if one of them dies? You’d have to remember their face, wouldn’t that be even more painful?”
Wen Xin had grown silent, then replied, “Isn’t that more reason to remember?”
The instructor was taken aback, speechless for a moment, before finally nodding in approval.
Supplies were limited, so Wen Xin spent that night memorizing all 132 faces, even those of the instructors. It took him four hours to learn the names and two more to review them.
Now, seeing Wen Xin call each person by name, the others couldn’t help feeling surprised and impressed.
As they joked, they neared the mutant containment facility.
The instructor called for everyone to form up, and Wen Xin led his team inside.
Just a few steps in, a jarring growl echoed through the facility, filling the air with a chilling roar.
A startled trainee asked, “Why don’t we just kill these things? Why go to all this trouble to contain them?”
Another chimed in, “We can’t just kill them. This way, we can study them and learn how to fight them.”
Leading the way, the instructor nodded. “Exactly. Mutants have speed and strength beyond humans. Use this chance to observe them up close so you’ll be better prepared in the field.”
They arrived at the observation room, a high vantage point above the mutants’ holding cells, like looking down on livestock pens.
Peering through reinforced glass, which supposedly could withstand the impact of a 200-pound sledgehammer, the trainees pressed forward to look. They saw nothing.
“What… there’s nothing there?” one asked, confused.
Another looked around, feeling uneasy. “Uh, Instructor, are you sure the walls here are strong enough? What if… what if the mutants got out?”
The air grew tense, and the instructor’s face turned grim.
Looking at the instructor’s face the trainee stammered, “Instructor, don’t scare us like that!”
Just then—
Bang!
Everyone jumped, spinning around.
From the shadows, a creature covered in spiky protrusions lunged from the corner, opening a massive, blood-soaked mouth, dripping with green slime, and charged at the trainee standing closest to Wen Xin!
