The Stage is Set

“See that slightly chubby boy with freckles?”

Jia Qianrou pointed into the crowd, covering her mouth with her hand as she whispered, “He’s in my group for testing. His ability seems related to explosions—high lethality. During breaks, he always chats me up online.”

She said “chat,” but everyone understood what she meant.

“Then why didn’t he come to Tiandu University or join the War Bureau?” Huang Xiu asked, a little puzzled.

If he wanted to pursue Jia Qianrou, Tiandu would be the first choice. Even if he didn’t want to study, joining the War Bureau would work. Explosion-related abilities are extremely destructive, perfect for the battlefield.

Jia Qianrou gave an unexpected reason. “His family works for the Administration Bureau.”

“Well, so he’s a second-generation.” Huang Xiu pursed her lips. “Since the Administration Bureau is here, the other agencies should be arriving soon.”

Sure enough, after just a moment, several more groups of people who clearly looked like trainees entered the cafeteria one after another.

These groups had obvious traits. Huang Xiu and her friends guessed which agency each group belonged to after a little speculation.

Because they had to handle the bottom line, the Administration Bureau people were the most numerous and scattered; the second most numerous were naturally the War Bureau people. They had probably received some basic training during the ten weeks. In the familiar environment of the military base, they had a distinct and prominent sense of relaxation, very well adapted. Moreover, their skin was a shade darker than others, and their style was more vigorous and decisive. If not for them gathering at this time, Huang Xiu and her friends might have mistaken them for local War Bureau employees.

As for the National College for Specials, their numbers were slightly larger than Huang Xiu’s group, and their traits weren’t as apparent.

In short, the numbers from each agency matched their post-interview assignments.

Huang Xiu sat near the cafeteria entrance, clearly seeing that the entire cafeteria had spontaneously divided into four major areas. There was almost no interaction between the agencies.

“Why does it feel like even before military training starts, everyone is already secretly competing?” Huang Xiu muttered while peeling open her yogurt lid.

“Probably because, like us before, everyone was warned that this training might involve team battles,” Chi Xue said, sipping her yogurt.

“Team battles… nothing is set in stone yet. We don’t even know how they’ll arrange things here,” Wen Zhan whispered. “I really hope it’s not team battles. I don’t like fighting.”

Huang Xiu didn’t reply. She was happily licking the yogurt lid. After finishing the lid, she slurped down the yogurt, then used the straw to scrape the residue off the cup wall and licked it clean. Only when it was spotless did she set down the cup with satisfaction.

Looking up, she saw the surprised expressions of those around her and asked in confusion, “What? Don’t you all drink it like this?”

Drinking yogurt this way wasted nothing—it was a habit she had developed back in the orphanage when she was a child.

“No…” Jiang Qing shook her head. “Since you’re done, let’s go wait outside.”

Although the lecture venue was near the dormitory and the female instructor had pointed out the location on the way, so they could go on their own, rules were rules. They had to gather with the female instructor, who would count everyone before heading over.

Huang Xiu and her friends were among the faster eaters. After watching and being watched for a while on the open ground outside the cafeteria, everyone finally arrived.

The lecture was held on a square-like open area with a temporary stage set up. As the lecture time approached, people were running back and forth on the stage. On the square, facing the stage, four areas were marked with white paint, corresponding to the four agencies. Small stools were neatly arranged in each area. Led by the female instructor, Huang Xiu and her group sat at the front of the left side of the two central areas.

Time ticked by. The orange sunset grew dimmer, and a bright moon accompanied by stars appeared in the sky. In this sparsely populated Gobi desert, the stars were extremely conspicuous. The searchlights around for illumination were already lit, and the hot, high-lumen beams were visible in the darkness.

Huang Xiu glanced around. The plastic stools in each area were nearly all occupied, and the instructors in charge stood in the aisles nearby. Heads as far as the eye could see—conservatively estimated at several thousand people.

“It seems everyone’s here. The lecture should start soon,” Huang Xiu murmured.

After waiting a little longer, a loud shout suddenly burst from the speakers: “Silence!”

The voice was already loud, and amplified by the speakers, it echoed throughout the square. Everyone who had been chatting fell silent, not daring to speak. Almost instantly, the noisy chatter vanished, leaving only the sound of military boots stepping on the ground.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud…

Dense footsteps sounded from the distant darkness. Everyone followed the sound to see a heavily armed unit emerge from the dark and stop on the right side of the stage. Assault rifles with absurdly large calibers, ballistic helmets equipped with four-eye night vision and thermal imaging gear. Their faces were painted with camouflage, expressions icy cold. Their vests were filled with various grenades and magazines, and pistols and knives hung at their waists.

Clearly, this was an exceptionally well-equipped unit of ordinary humans—specials rarely used modern equipment. Why was a unit here at the lecture? Isn’t this a void realm observation point? What need for a regular military unit? Almost everyone had these two questions.

“Is that… the Realm Defense Force?” Huang Xiu recognized their identity, and for that reason, was even more surprised. Why were they here?

The Realm Defense Force, enhanced through special surgeries, is an army capable of defensive combat at contact points. She and Yun Ning had once been saved by them. Five of them had suppressed the Gold-tier Tiger Principal, coordinating so seamlessly that he was forced to flee on the spot.

“Hey hey hey, can you hear me?” A slightly deep male voice suddenly came from the broadcast, followed by the thump of a tapped microphone. “Mm, I can hear it. Seems the equipment isn’t broken.”

A burly man in a black trench coat, his face full of thick flesh, walked out from beside the Realm Defense Force, grabbed the mic, and jumped onto the stage. “Hello, fellow colleagues. I’m Guang Hongfang.” The man in the trench coat smiled, his fleshy face squeezed together.

Guang Hongfang… So this is Guang Hongfang? Huang Xiu narrowed her eyes at the man on stage. Somehow, she felt he looked familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.

At the same time, Ying Zhiyu, sitting just in front of Huang Xiu, also felt a sense of déjà vu. Both of them pondered where they had seen him—or someone who looked like him.

“You all should know me from your teachers, superiors, or the internet.” Guang Hongfang stood on stage, his boots barely touching the ground. “So let me briefly introduce myself. I’m Guang Hongfang, your military training commander, the person in charge, and the one who will torment you for the next month. Mm, mark my words: torment you for a month.”

Everyone: …

They knew the training wouldn’t be easy, that they would suffer, but they didn’t expect him to say it so bluntly, without any buffer.

“You should all have noticed this unit!” Guang Hongfang pointed at the Realm Defense Force to the right below the stage. “Most of you probably don’t recognize them. They are the Realm Defense Force, the pinnacle of humanity, the strong ones who guard the contact points with mortal bodies.”

The crowd below immediately buzzed with excitement. For those learning about the Realm Defense Force for the first time, this unit was undoubtedly admirable and astonishing.

“Of course, you all will also become the strong ones who protect the present world in the future,” Guang Hongfang emphasized. “Mm, in the future. So right now, you are the weak. There’s no flaw in my logic, is there?”

It did seem to make sense. Huang Xiu heard Zhong Zimei, sitting to her right front, mutter this, and she was speechless. “Don’t be so honest, okay!”

“So, you weaklings—do you have the courage to challenge the strong?” Guang Hongfang shouted. “I mean, have a match with the Realm Defense Force! I’ve always wanted to know just how big the gap is between the strong of humanity and the weak of the specials!”

Everyone already knew this training would be extraordinary, but most were still stunned by Guang Hongfang’s idea. They were specials! They were supposed to fight a regular army? That would be bullying! How could the strong of humanity, mere flesh and blood, compare to abilities? Even with guns, so many people here with diverse abilities could combine to far surpass firearms.

Some were confident; others were afraid. Fear of guns and the military was almost ingrained in the bones of every citizen of the Great Xia nation. Huang Xiu could even hear teeth chattering. “What do I do? I don’t want to be shot… whimper.” Her voice carried a hint of tears.

“Of course, a simple competition is too boring. If we’re going to play, let’s have some stakes,” Guang Hongfang said. “The theme of this training is confrontation—against the void realm, against the present world, against institutions, against yourself. So our training program team has set up a rule: the old and cliché point system. Every week, we’ll determine your treatment based on rankings.”

Ranking determines treatment… Sounds good. Huang Xiu didn’t think Tiandu University’s rank would be low. After all, Tiandu University gathered the best special examinees from each province. If they ended up last, they might as well find a tofu block and smash themselves against it.

“Everyone’s dormitories today are comfortable, right?” Guang Hongfang suddenly changed the topic, but everyone connected the dots. He watched the changing expressions on the faces below, as if enjoying them. “That’s right! Today’s dormitories are a trial version, the treatment for first place. If you don’t want to live in a hundred-person room or a doghouse, then work hard!” Guang Hongfang laughed heartily.

The faces of the crowd darkened, especially those from the Administration Bureau. Even if they hated to admit it, the largest group was indeed the weakest.

“Alright, enough grand talk. Next, I’ll explain the rules of this competition.” Guang Hongfang pulled a card from his pocket and waved it. “This card contains the rules.”

He glanced at the card, then flipped it to show the crowd: it was blank. “This strength-vs-weakness competition has no rules. Or rather, whatever I say goes. I can fill in rules anytime.” He smiled broadly. “So if I change the rules at any time, don’t blame me. But I can reveal that this competition scores based on survival time and number of defeats. The results will directly determine your treatment next week.”

Matters concerning next week’s treatment made everyone serious.

“Oh, right, one more thing.” Guang Hongfang stuffed the blank card back into his pocket. “In this competition, the Realm Defense Force uses specialized anesthetic-drowsy bullets from Tiangong Group, non-lethal, but one shot can make an elephant sleep for a night. Even a Gold-tier can only withstand ten.”

Hearing that the Defense Force used non-lethal ammunition, many in the crowd visibly relaxed.

“But they will still use other weapons. This competition still carries risks,” Guang Hongfang continued. “So I specially applied for ten casualty slots from above. I hope you all work hard so you don’t use up all the slots tonight, making things difficult for me later.”

Ten casualty slots meant up to ten deaths could occur. Huang Xiu subconsciously held her breath. She knew how formidable the Defense Force was. If anyone was too careless in this competition, there might indeed be accidental casualties.

“To avoid complaints that I started training early, the competition will begin at midnight tonight. As for the location, it’s the entire Gobi desert.” Guang Hongfang checked his watch. “It’s 9:30 now. In half an hour, you can go back to your dorms to get your weapons and prepare. Now is Q&A time. If you have questions, raise your hand, and I’ll answer at my discretion.”

Location: the Gobi desert. Prep time: two hours… Huang Xiu immediately thought of the jungle on the distant cave mountain. If she could reach that place, she would have an unbeatable home-field advantage. Then even against a Gold-tier special, she would be able to—well, stall them.

“Any questions?” Guang Hongfang called on someone who raised their hand in the War Bureau area. “Yes, sir! Is there a limit on team size?” the male student shouted.

“No.” Guang Hongfang shook his head with a smile. “You can all go together if you want. But I wouldn’t recommend it.”