Chapter 13
Ye Xuan knew what he had to give in order to stay in the base, but whether he could awaken an ability was not up to him. After all, abilities themselves were abstract, ridiculous things.
“Thanks for your kind reminder. I understand.”
“As long as you understand. After recording your fingerprint, rest early. Breakfast is in the storage box in the kitchen. Choose whatever you want.”
“I can’t pay you rent for now.” Ye Xuan awkwardly shifted his gaze away. His family was not exactly rich, but his parents had never let him suffer either. These past few days, he had deeply experienced what it meant to be unable to take a single step without difficulty.
Even his virtual funds were negative.
“Rent?” As if Xia Chenxi had thought of something, he smiled faintly. “No need. You’ve already paid.”
Ye Xuan was completely confused. When had he ever paid Xia Chenxi rent? Could it have been deducted from his virtual funds before?
“Enough. Your brain can’t think through that many things. Go record your fingerprint.”
After Ye Xuan recorded his fingerprint, washed up, and lay down on the guest room bed, he found that the sheets and quilt cover were new, giving off a faint clean fragrance.
He had never given Xia Chenxi anything, yet Xia Chenxi had been helping him all along. So it turned out he was the kind of person who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. In short, thank you.
Next, he would begin his new life at Revival Base.
Ye Xuan did not sleep soundly. He woke up several times in a daze, and when the alarm rang, he still thought he was dreaming.
[Warning. Fifteen minutes until reporting time at Training Field 3.]
[Warning. Fifteen minutes until reporting time at Training Field 3.]
[Warning. Fifteen minutes until reporting time at Training Field 3.]
The cold mechanical voice completely woke Ye Xuan up. He suddenly shot up from the bed. Right, today was his first day reporting to the training field.
He could not be late on his first day!
Within five minutes, Ye Xuan washed up, changed clothes, and rushed out. When he left, Xia Chenxi’s bedroom door was still tightly shut.
Official team members really had it good!
Ye Xuan rushed desperately toward Training Field 3. By the time he arrived, he was already so exhausted he could barely catch his breath.
The team leader was a big, burly man. With his hands behind his back, he walked up to Ye Xuan and asked in a deep, powerful voice, “New here?”
Ye Xuan was too tired to speak, so he could only nod slightly.
“Get down. Ten push-ups.”
?
Ye Xuan glanced at his wristband. There was still one minute left. He was not late.
The team leader did not look like someone easy to mess with, so Ye Xuan gritted his teeth and chose to swallow the unfair treatment.
“Kid, after training, go to the combat readiness office and collect your combat uniform. Even if you’re in the reserve team, you still need to look like you belong to the official team. You never know whether the next one going onto the battlefield will be you. Same goes for the rest of you. Anyone who doesn’t wear a combat uniform again gets twenty push-ups!”
“Yes!”
Why had that registrar not told him he needed to collect a combat uniform?
Ye Xuan shakily finished ten push-ups and shouted, “Report, Team Leader! Finished!”
“Thin arms and thin legs. Ten push-ups already tired you out like this. Join the line!” The team leader’s look of disdain landed on Ye Xuan without the slightest concealment. In his eyes, Ye Xuan was just a weak little chicken.
Ye Xuan automatically stood at the end of the line.
“Report!”
Someone arrived late. He had curly hair, a sunny and cheerful face, but was very tall. According to Ye Xuan’s estimate, he was at least over 190 centimeters.
Seeing who had arrived, the team leader furrowed his brows. His already unpleasant-looking square, dark face became even uglier.
“Nan Yunzhou, late three times in one week. Do you not want to stay here anymore? Do you want to go mine ore, huh?” the team leader roared at him.
The man named Nan Yunzhou scratched his head with a playful grin. “I was wrong.”
There was not the slightest attitude of admitting fault.
The team leader rubbed his brow, unable to do anything about him.
“Fifty push-ups.”
“Yes.”
Nan Yunzhou dropped to the ground and easily finished fifty push-ups.
An invisible arrow pierced Ye Xuan’s heart. Why did doing fifty push-ups look as easy as drinking water for this person? Why was the gap between people so huge?
“Join the line!”
“Yes!”
Nan Yunzhou jogged over and stood beside Ye Xuan.
The moment he stood still, he started chattering beside Ye Xuan.
“Are you new here? How come I’ve never seen you before?”
“Are you a university student? Me too.”
“How old are you? What do you like to do? Where do you live? Why aren’t you talking?”
Nan Yunzhou kept talking nonstop beside Ye Xuan’s ear. Ye Xuan did not reply to a single sentence. He did not want to be punished with more push-ups! Could this person shut up or not?
Naturally, the team leader noticed them.
“Nan Yunzhou! And you, the new one! Step out!”
Ye Xuan’s heart turned to ashes. He glared at Nan Yunzhou. “This is all your fault.”
Nan Yunzhou grinned sheepishly. “Sorry!”
“You’re still smiling over there? The two of you, run ten laps around the training field.”
Ten laps!
Like thunder exploding on flat ground, Ye Xuan was blasted crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. He had run all the way here from the dormitory building and done ten push-ups. That was already his limit. Now he had to run ten laps?
Ye Xuan could not help speaking up. “Report, it was Nan Yunzhou’s one-man show. I didn’t reply to him.”
“It takes two hands to clap. If you hadn’t paid attention to him, would he have paid attention to you?” The team leader glared fiercely, his voice so loud it seemed to shake the sky.
“Team Leader, it really was me who talked to the new teammate first,” Nan Yunzhou waved his hands and explained.
“Keep talking and I’ll make it fifteen laps!”
Ye Xuan stopped arguing. He turned and ran toward the edge of the training field. In his heart, the team leader already had a title: “Big Black Barking Dog.” He could not understand human words.
Seeing Ye Xuan run off, Nan Yunzhou quickly followed his pace.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“How about I beg the team leader again?”
“Enough. Can you be quiet for a while? I ended up like this entirely thanks to you.” Ye Xuan ran forward while panting heavily. He was so tired. His fragile, glass-like constitution was about to give out.
“Oh.” Nan Yunzhou answered in an aggrieved voice.
Finally, things quieted down.
By the fifth lap, Ye Xuan was already drained of strength. It felt as if he were floating on clouds, and his vision was starting to blur.
“Are you about to give out?” Nan Yunzhou did not look tired at all. He had not even broken a single drop of sweat. “You’re way too weak.”
Ye Xuan wanted to say, What does that have to do with you? But when he opened his mouth, he found that he did not even have the strength to speak.
“Aiya, seriously. Future training will be much more tiring than this.”
Nan Yunzhou placed one of Ye Xuan’s arms over his own shoulder, supported Ye Xuan’s waist with one hand, and helped him run forward.
“Wow, you’re this skinny? How did you survive from a pile of zombies? Or did the zombies see you were too skinny and not even bother biting you?”
“Your arm is only half as thick as mine. Do you not eat and only drink water?”
How was he supposed to compare with this man covered in muscle? He would never be able to train himself to that level in his entire life.
“You’re so noisy. Are you a chatterbox?” Ye Xuan turned his head and asked Nan Yunzhou.
Nan Yunzhou raised the corners of his mouth and smiled at Ye Xuan. If he had a tail behind him, it would probably already be wagging like a propeller.
“Yeah, I’m a chatterbox. Can you talk to me?”
Crazy. What kind of extraordinary people had he met today? Ye Xuan let out a deep sigh.
