[Class E Grouping Results:]
Assault Squad (8 people):
Heavy Support Squad (8 people):
Scout Squad (4 people):
Reconnaissance Squad (2 people):
Logistics Support Squad (12 people):
The chart on the holographic projection was completely filled.
The students stared at this codename-only chart, trying to guess who their teammates were.
“Then we’ll keep the teams like this for now.”
Gongsun Shen clapped his hands and shut down the projection.
He looked at the students of Class E and said, “Each squad will have its own different courses. These courses will be uploaded to your devices in three days. Make sure to check your schedule and don’t miss class.”
“However, all of you will still share one course, and that is military training.”
Gongsun Shen raised his voice.
Even without any amplification device, his voice was deafening.
“This is a military academy, so physical training will be the top priority.”
“If you can’t keep up, then no matter how good you are in other subjects, expulsion will still be your fate.”
No one thought Gongsun Shen was joking.
Ye Lan was no exception.
Because what Gongsun Shen said was true—every year, students were expelled from the Soul-Slaying Military Academy for failing to meet the standards.
And such cases were most common in Class E.
“Everyone stand! Form up!”
At his sharp command, Class E scrambled to their feet and lined up at the classroom door.
“Class monitor!” shouted Gongsun Shen.
A boy in the line responded, “Here.”
“Can’t hear you!”
“Here!”
“Louder!”
“HERE!!!”
The boy shouting until his face turned red was named Shi Jiansheng, the current class monitor of Class E.
But Ye Lan didn’t know much about him.
Because Shi Jiansheng later withdrew from school due to family reasons, staying only one year at the academy.
Although he had no supernatural powers, his performance in all subjects was excellent, and he was a kind person too.
So his withdrawal was truly a pity.
After all, even someone as bad as Ye Lan hadn’t been expelled.
“Good! Very spirited! Take Class E to the training field—run 20 laps first!”
A devilish smile appeared on Gongsun Shen’s face as he said, “Given your couch-potato physiques, I won’t set a time limit this time.”
“Twenty laps? Oh my god! One lap is five hundred meters.”
“Isn’t this corporal punishment?”
Grumbles rose from within Class E’s ranks.
Gongsun Shen clearly heard them, but pretended not to.
Instead, he shouted, “What? Someone thinks 20 laps isn’t enough? Then make it 30!”
The moment he said that, all complaints instantly vanished.
……
For the whole day, on Class E’s training field, under the blazing sun and the shrill whistle, the freshmen of Class E—these out-of-shape rookies—were pushed to their limits by Gongsun Shen’s training.
In just one day, Gongsun Shen perfectly taught every student in Class E the true meaning of body-aching exhaustion.
And even then, this training volume wasn’t even one percent of what the regular army endured.
“I’m dying… I’m dying…”
As soon as Raymond entered the dorm, he collapsed on his bed and refused to move.
His legs didn’t even feel like his own anymore—just like two useless sacks of sand.
“At least take a shower before lying on the bed!”
Ye Lan followed Raymond into the dorm and frowned at the sight of him soaking his bedsheet with sweat.
Ye Lan wasn’t a clean freak who needed spotless perfection, but his tolerance for foul smells was absolutely zero.
“Fine, fine, I get it.”
Raymond reluctantly got up, found some clothes from the closet, and dragged himself to the bathroom.
Ye Lan sat down on a stool and pressed his sore leg muscles with both hands.
He was exhausted too, but to prepare for the next round of training, he had to recover as quickly as possible.
While Raymond was in the shower, Ye Lan opened the communication on his badge.
He thought it would take a while to connect, but to his surprise, the call was picked up almost instantly.
“Wow! Lan, why did you take so long to contact me?”
Su Lixiao’s face appeared on the holographic screen.
From her puffed cheeks, it was obvious she was unhappy that Ye Lan had only just reached out.
Ye Lan gave a bitter smile.
“It’s been less than a day…”
“Hmph! I don’t care. You were just planning to ignore me. How are the girls in your class? Are they prettier than me? And what’s with your half-dead look? Like you’ve been drained dry.”
Her barrage of questions left Ye Lan momentarily speechless.
He could only answer them one by one.
“The girls in class are all plain as potatoes. None of them come close to you.”
That was a white lie, since no one really looked ugly these days.
But Ye Lan said it just to flatter Su Lixiao.
“Oh? So you were checking them out after all. I’m ignoring you.”
Su Lixiao still got angry.
“???”
Ye Lan was baffled.
He had no idea how his words had offended her.
Maybe this was just how girls were?
As Ye Lan was racking his brain for what to say next, Su Lixiao spoke first.
“By the way, I went to the gravity room today.”
Ye Lan said, “The gravity room is a good place.”
Su Lixiao said, “But it seemed like the homeroom teacher deliberately set the gravity too high. Most people collapsed after just a few steps. Only a handful managed to hold out.”
Ye Lan asked, “And you? Were you one of the ones who held out?”
“Nope! I didn’t even feel it. That level of intensity was nothing for me.”
Su Lixiao sounded like she was bragging about an achievement.
“Well? Impressive, right?”
Ye Lan played along and praised her.
“Impressive, impressive.”
“Hehe~”
Su Lixiao laughed happily.
Ye Lan seemed to realize how to talk to his girlfriend now.
Just praise her and it would be fine.
Then Su Lixiao seemed to think of something and asked, “Oh right, Ye Lan, did your class finish grouping? Which squad are you in?”
“Yes, we grouped. I’m in logistics—”
Ye Lan hadn’t even finished speaking before Su Lixiao cut in excitedly.
“Logistics? Like, cooking?”
“Yes.”
“Pfft—what can you even cook?”
Su Lixiao laughed so hard she nearly bent over, pointing at Ye Lan.
“With your cooking skills, it’d be a miracle if the kitchen doesn’t explode. If they send you behind enemy lines as logistics, the enemy would be gone in no time.”
Ye Lan said helplessly, “That’s way too mean.”
Su Lixiao argued, “It’s the truth!”
“Yeah, yeah, sure.”
Just brush it off.
It wasn’t worth arguing.
Ye Lan hadn’t cooked in ages, but… surely… probably… hopefully he wouldn’t blow up a kitchen?
Uh oh.
On second thought, maybe Su Lixiao was right.
Right now, the only dish he remembered how to make was scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
Since the topic was dying off, Ye Lan quickly found something else to say.
“Anyway, seeing you so full of energy puts me at ease.”
Ye Lan had thought Su Lixiao might not handle the academy’s training well.
But to his surprise, he was the one struggling instead.
“Hmph! You think just by suddenly saying something sweet I’ll be happy?”
“Lixiao, don’t you realize? The tsundere act really doesn’t suit you.”
“I…”
Su Lixiao’s face turned red.
“I’m just copying my roommate.”
“Your roommate? Come on, let me take a look…”
Ye Lan tilted his projection screen as if that could give him a better view.
“In your dreams. Always trying to take advantage.”
Su Lixiao swiped at him with an air-slap.
Then she said seriously, “They’re all tired, so they’ve already gone to bed.”
Ye Lan said, “You should rest early too. It’s already late.”
Su Lixiao muttered, “That’s your fault, you know? Anyway, if I don’t sleep now, it’ll be bad for my skin. Bye-bye~”
Ye Lan said, “Good night.”
“Good night!”
But after the call ended, on the text channel, Su Lixiao sent an emoji:
“ヾ|≧_≦|〃”
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂