Targeted Training

Just as Wei Zitong was about to start running, Jace grabbed at thin air and pulled out a thumb-sized electronic device, then stuck it directly onto Wei Zitong.

"What's this?" Wei Zitong asked in confusion.

"A little gadget." For the first time ever, a smile appeared on Jace's face, but Wei Zitong could clearly see that A Jie-like sleazy grin on it.

Sure enough, Jace's next words confirmed Wei Zitong's thoughts. "It can measure your weight and calculate the distance you've run. Most importantly, if you fail to return within the allotted time, it'll self-destruct and release no less than ten thousand volts of electricity as punishment!"

"Hiss..." Wei Zitong sucked in a breath. How could he dare linger any longer? Carrying four hundred and fifty jin, he sprinted forward wildly!

The three girls' stamina had probably truly reached its limit. Wei Zitong did not catch up to them until around the 4.5-kilometer mark. After all, they had set off nearly half an hour before him.

The three of them froze when they saw Wei Zitong, because they heard his heavy footsteps, even heavier than Zhao Xin's. The faint resentment they had held toward Wei Zitong instantly vanished, replaced by...

Gloating...

Even though their faces had gone pale from exhaustion, they still could not help laughing out loud.

Wei Zitong rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to say something, but the moment the three saw that he was about to speak, they immediately ran far away as if avoiding the plague!

"Senior, whatever you want to say, wait until training is over!" Rui Mengmeng quickly explained. "I'm worried Instructor Jace will punish you even more!"

The other two girls nodded repeatedly. Mengmeng had a point. They were thinking of Wei Zitong's sake, not disgusted by him!

Speechless, Wei Zitong could only pass by the three of them.

When he reached the five-kilometer marker, he saw Zhao Xin doing his final shuttle run.

"Hey, hey, hey, Zi Tong, why are you running back?" Zhao Xin shouted from afar. His face was red and he was drenched in sweat, but his voice remained strong, with little sign of fatigue.

Seeing how effortlessly the guy was handling it, Wei Zitong sincerely mourned for his training tomorrow.

"I got punished with extra running..." When Zhao Xin caught up with him in a sprint, Wei Zitong answered weakly.

"Hey, it's fine. Look at Xin Ye—I ran a hundred thousand meters and still made it through, didn't I?" Zhao Xin said as he ran, patting Wei Zitong on the shoulder in comfort.

But he quickly noticed something strange about Wei Zitong's footsteps. His heart skipped a beat, and he asked repeatedly, "Why do you look even heavier than me?"

"I already weigh more than you, and I'm carrying a hundred jin more than you too. Of course I'm heavier!" Wei Zitong replied, rolling his eyes.

"Fuck, that's brutal!" Zhao Xin felt bitterness fill his mouth. "Doesn't that mean Xin Ye is screwed tomorrow? No, I need to pretend to be more tired!"

Hmph, wishful thinking. Wei Zitong glanced at the thumb-sized gadget stuck to his body. If he was not mistaken, it probably had a listening function too. Jace was likely monitoring their conversation right now. Zhao Xin was in for some hard days tomorrow!

Sure enough, Wei Zitong had guessed right...

During training the next day, Zhao Xin's load jumped directly from two hundred jin to five hundred, while his training distance changed from a hundred thousand meters to two hundred thousand. Jace also stuck that same thumb-sized gadget onto Zhao Xin.

Zhao Xin immediately considered dropping out.

It was not just Zhao Xin. Everyone else's training load increased drastically as well. Even Jace had Wei Zitong add the same amount of weight as Zhao Xin.

The first day had merely been adaptation training—or rather, an assessment—to see where everyone's physical potential lay. Targeted training began on the second day.

As part of the first tier, Zhao Xin naturally had it the worst. Next came Lena in the second tier. Liu Chuang and Ge Xiaolun both had another two hundred jin added to their load. Since Lena had a Divine Body, adding weight to her once completely drained Wei Zitong's energy, forcing him to replenish it from Lena again.

Cheng Yaowen, Wuji Yi, and Rui Mengmeng also had a hundred jin added. Only Qilin and Du Qiangwei did not receive additional weight, because their main abilities were not suited for close combat. There was no need to excessively strengthen their physiques, and their Gene Models could not withstand high-intensity training over a short period.

As for Wei Zitong himself, he carried three hundred jin, just as he had during his punishment run yesterday.

This terrifying weight-training regimen lasted an entire week, and some people's loads kept increasing during that time.

For example, by the seventh day, Ge Xiaolun and Liu Chuang had reached a terrifying load of one thousand jin. Jace himself also carried one thousand jin.

Rui Mengmeng improved the fastest. By the seventh day, she could already carry six hundred jin while completing a hundred-thousand-meter run.

Zhao Xin's load did not increase. It remained at five hundred jin, the same as on the second day. However, Jace changed the focus of his training to—speed!

Zhao Xin's training distance increased by a hundred thousand meters every day. Jace's requirement was for him to finish before everyone else did.

By the seventh day, Zhao Xin was as fast as lightning. Thus, he earned the nickname "Lightning Zhao"!

After all, not just anyone could run seven hundred thousand meters—seven hundred kilometers—in under five hours while carrying five hundred jin!

Wei Zitong knew this was not Zhao Xin's limit. Zhao Xin's Gene Model meant he could reach supersonic speed. This had merely tapped into a tiny fraction of Zhao Xin's potential.

Compared to those with powerful genes like Zhao Xin, Qilin's training was much easier. Her Gene Model dictated that running a hundred thousand meters within five hours without carrying any weight was already her limit. What she excelled at was beyond-visual-range sniping.

Du Qiangwei was much the same. What she excelled at was Space Control, and she was not particularly strong in close-quarters combat. The main reason she could endure the training was that her genes had been activated earlier than everyone else's and had been developed to a higher degree.

After these few days of harsh physical training, the growth rate of Zhao Xin, Ge Xiaolun, and Liu Chuang made Du Qiangwei's performance seem somewhat lackluster.

As for Lena, she was a Divine Body to begin with—a Divine Body with the vast majority of its power sealed away. No matter how intense the training was, it would not affect her much. Of course, she had no need for excessively intense physical training either, since close-range combat was not her main specialty.

Compared with everyone else's varying performances, Wei Zitong's own performance had no particular distinction. He was neither outstanding nor poor. Without using his abilities, he simply could not compete with Liu Chuang, Ge Xiaolun, and the others in close-combat strength. His physical condition was about the same as Cheng Yaowen's.

Jace saw this clearly. As long as Wei Zitong did not use his abilities to pull anything strange, Jace would not excessively demand that he increase his training load.

"How long are we going to keep running every day?" Liu Chuang complained over dinner.

"Who cares? We made it through anyway!" Cheng Yaowen said, shaking his head.

"Yeah!" Ge Xiaolun nodded in agreement. "I never thought I could run a hundred kilometers carrying a thousand jin and be totally fine!"

"If we're talking about the best performer these past few days, it has to be Xin Ye. That speed..." Wei Zitong cut in.

"Yeah!" Cheng Yaowen nodded, then looked at Zhao Xin and asked, "Xin Ye, just how fast can you run?"

"Not that fast, just a little faster than an ordinary car!" Zhao Xin was actually delighted inside, but he had to put on a humble expression as he said, "If I ran into a supercar like Zi Tong, though, I'd be helpless!"

"That's already pretty impressive!" Wei Zitong said. "Your gene development is only the tip of the iceberg. The reason Super Soldiers can surpass ordinary mechanical creations is that their potential is absolutely far greater than this!"

"Right, keep it up, Xin Ye!" Cheng Yaowen said with a wicked grin. "Tomorrow, Xin Ye should be running eight hundred thousand meters, right? Have Zi Tong increase your load to a thousand jin and squeeze out all that genetic potential!"

Zhao Xin had been thrilled to hear that his potential was only the tip of the iceberg, but when Cheng Yaowen mentioned increasing his load to a thousand jin, his face turned white with a swish. He waved his hands repeatedly. "N-No, no need..."

Cheng Yaowen was about to say something else when he suddenly heard the assembly whistle. He hurriedly wolfed down the food on his plate and ran toward the field with everyone else.