What a Hunk

"Squad Leader, I'm done."

Ji Baichang rubbed his arms.

For someone like him, who had a fitness background, three sets of a hundred were no big deal. The intensity was moderate. Sit-ups might be a little difficult, since he didn't usually pay much attention to his abs.

"Good. Go wash up."

"Then come back and supervise the others."

Chen Ting nodded, giving Ji Baichang permission to rest.

"Yes, Squad Leader."

Ji Baichang replied, picked up his little yellow washbasin with his toiletries inside, and ambled out of the barracks.

When he reached the washroom, he was stunned.

Everywhere he looked, it was packed with people, all of them shirtless and pressed together.

It was practically

a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix!

"This can't be right! When I went to the Squad Office to drop off my phone, there wasn't anyone here!"

"How did the washroom get so packed in less than ten minutes?"

Ji Baichang was completely baffled. The sight of so many shirtless men, all packed together, was already more than he could handle.

"Baichang!"

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from inside the washroom. Ji Baichang instinctively looked up.

Whoa! Those muscles!

What a hunk!

Then he looked more closely. Wasn't that Lü Qinglong?

He seemed to radiate an imposing presence from head to toe.

Every muscle on his body looked full and evenly developed, as if it had been tempered through countless trials.

His chest was broad and solid, his eight-pack abs like the world's finest sculpture. The serratus muscles along his sides made him look even more ferocious.

His arms were thick and powerful, like they could lift a thousand pounds with ease. His hands were covered in thick calluses.

His legs were like two iron pillars supporting his tall frame, with veins faintly visible beneath his skin.

"Come over here. I'm almost done!"

Lü Qinglong called out. Ji Baichang immediately pushed his way through the new recruits and finally squeezed in beside him.

Strangely enough, even though the washroom was crowded, it felt spacious right next to Lü Qinglong.

"What's going on? When I dropped off my phone, the washroom was empty. I blinked, and suddenly it was full of people."

As he rinsed himself under the shower, Ji Baichang asked, puzzled.

"Maybe it's because this is the only washroom on the first floor of the whole company. There are more than a hundred of us, including the veterans, and only five showerheads. Since everyone's here at the same time, it gets crowded."

Lü Qinglong explained as he lathered himself with body wash.

"I see."

"Qinglong, why do you have scars on your body?"

"Wait—why do they look so much like knife wounds?"

Ji Baichang squinted and pointed at the scars around Lü Qinglong's waist, stomach, and chest, looking surprised.

He hadn't been able to make them out from a distance, but up close he could see the countless scars. Their color had faded, but they still looked like knife wounds.

"Oh, it's nothing."

"I got those when I was eight, fighting off twelve knife-wielding thugs."

"Too bad I only took down eleven and let one get away. Luckily, the police caught the one who ran off later."

As Lü Qinglong spoke, a trace of regret and reminiscence crossed his face.

If his body hadn't given out back then, he could've caught that guy too.

???

Ji Baichang froze, convinced for a moment that his ears had stopped working.

What? He took on a dozen knife-wielding thugs at eight years old?

Is that regretful look on your face for real?

You regret not catching the guy so you could beat him up some more?

"Ahem! Qinglong, you're amazing as it is! You're such a righteous young man."

Ji Baichang gave an awkward smile.

This guy was so fierce he was practically a monster.

What is he, an Astartes?

"If I ran into those knife-wielding thugs now, I could put them to sleep by force in under a minute without getting a scratch."

"Knives really don't do much to me."

Lü Qinglong said it as if it were nothing.

"All right, I'm done. Go ahead and wash up."

Lü Qinglong patted Ji Baichang on the shoulder, dried himself with his towel, and headed out. The new recruits packed nearby immediately made way for him, watching him leave the washroom.

"That's ridiculous."

"Huh? Xu Gou, you got a showerhead? I'll wash with you."

"Down-to-earth Daoist? Why are you taking so long with your three sets of a hundred?"

"Phew! A hard bed is still the best."

Lü Qinglong lay down on the bed made by pushing two beds together and contentedly pulled two blankets over himself.

He had only just cleared his mind when sleepiness swept over him.

It was only a little past eight thirty. The duty officer hadn't even sounded the lights-out whistle yet.

The other new recruits in the squad were having a much rougher time.

They were still struggling through their three sets of a hundred.

Some of them kept going until the duty officer outside called lights-out and the lights went off throughout the barracks, and they still hadn't finished.

When Ji Baichang returned from his shower, he kept a strict eye on the new recruits. They weren't allowed to wash up until they had all finished.

By the time the last recruit finished his three sets of a hundred and collapsed into bed, it was already ten at night.

The recruits had been exhausted all day. They'd barely been in bed for two minutes before snores filled the room.

It had been a long day.

Physically and mentally, it had been a test for them all.

But they didn't know that this was only the beginning. Ahead of them lay at least seven hundred more days and nights just like this one.

Faint lights flickered in the distant sky, which was still steeped in deep blue-black.

The entire camp was quiet, broken only by the occasional chirping of insects mingling with the wind.

"Bzz, bzz~"

A phone vibrated. Squad Leader Chen Ting opened his eyes and reached behind his pillow to turn off his alarm.

He had just put on his camouflage uniform and gotten up when he noticed that Lü Qinglong had somehow gotten up too. He was already dressed in his camouflage uniform, standing in the squad room.

"You're up?"

Chen Ting was a little surprised. He hadn't even called out, and Lü Qinglong was already awake. He seemed far more disciplined than Chen Ting had expected.

"Squad Leader, I get up at this time at home too. I keep a healthy schedule. I can't sleep in."

Lü Qinglong explained.

"Good. Nice."

Chen Ting reached back and switched on the squad room's lights. A blinding beam tore through the darkness of the barracks.

The sudden brightness was too much for the recruits to handle, and many of them jolted awake.

The harsh light made their eyes sting. Some rubbed their eyes, some shielded them with their hands, and others grumbled in protest:

"Who's that? Who turned on the lights? What time is it?"