Warrior Cultivation Plan

This time, death had finally descended upon the Third Exploration Team once again; two members were pierced by Jade Bamboo Leaves, one struck in the shoulder, while the other was hit in a vital spot—the head.

After the final sound of chopping faded, everyone witnessed the scene before them, and a surge of fury rose in their hearts.

"Xiao Meng, Xiao He, you two stay here and look after them. The rest of you, with me!" Lin Chenxing kept his eyes locked on the bamboo stalk that had just fired the leaves, shook the axe in his hand, and charged straight ahead.

The remaining sixteen members followed closely behind Lin Chenxing as they sprinted toward the bamboo.

"The four of you, hack at this bamboo with everything you've got! Leave all the defensive work to us." Lin Chenxing first delivered a fierce blow to the bamboo, leaving only a scratch, before pointing at four members and giving the order.

It took the exploration team nearly ten minutes to finally chop down this single stalk of bamboo.

However, ten minutes was already long enough for more changes to occur.

These bamboo stalks began their self-strengthening absorption once more; five of the remaining seven stalks withered, becoming nutrients for the final two.

One of these two was the stalk Lin Chenxing had previously observed—the one at the core that had already faintly turned into jade. By now, this stalk, including its newly sprouted leaves, had completely transformed into jade, save for its roots.

The other stalk possessed different characteristics; it had not turned into jade but appeared even more distinct. Its leaves were more lush, and at the tip of a drooping branch, another leaf had emerged—thin and sharp, just like a needle.

The attack method of these branches had changed; the original whipping motion had evolved into needle-like stabs, significantly increasing the threat level.

Under this round of attacks, three more people were wounded, some severely.

But hard work pays off, and the last stalk, excluding the core one, had been cleared.

As for this final and most difficult one, as long as they handled it with care, they could successfully chop it down.

Every member of the exploration team now had only one thought: to finish this mission as quickly as possible and return to the base for a good rest.

After some attempts, everyone was astonished to find that the jade-transformed bamboo could not be marked by their axes, let alone chopped down.

Consequently, one member suddenly shifted the direction of his axe, swinging it with force into the ground at the base of the bamboo, sinking it into the soil along the edge until it struck something solid.

Imitation was always swift; as all attacks focused on the roots, the bamboo's retaliation became increasingly frantic. The jade leaves seemed to be controlled by someone, drifting back and forth around the group, occasionally slicing through their clothes and skin.

The needle-like branches kept stabbing at everyone. Shields were no longer effective; the most useful tool remained the axe in their hands. They only needed to swat away the branches tipped with bamboo-leaf needles to buy themselves a moment of respite.

Finally, all the bamboo roots were severed, and the bamboo was dug out, beginning to tilt toward the ground.

Victory. All the bamboo had been eliminated, and this area was safe once again.

After the bamboo crashed to the ground, it stopped moving, as if it had died completely.

Lin Chenxing looked at the fallen bamboo, deeply curious about what made this central stalk so special and why this Bamboo Forest had become this way.

When Lin Chenxing leaned in closer, he noticed that near the roots, there was a shimmering light reflecting under the sunlight. He immediately raised his axe and struck at the spot where the light flowed.

Unexpectedly, it snapped at the first strike.

A flash of light spilled out, and an explosion occurred instantly.

All the nearby members were blown away by the blast, and Lin Chenxing, who was facing the explosion—and had even triggered it—was sent flying over ten meters, crashing hard onto the ground.

At this moment, only the few members who had stayed behind to tend to the wounded remained unscathed.

After the explosion, the members who had stayed back reacted immediately, rushing toward their colleagues who had been scattered by the blast.

Lin Chenxing was also helped up, but he had already lost consciousness and would not wake despite their calls.

Among the others, two suffered misfortune; after being thrown by the blast, their bodies collided with the jade bamboo leaves that had been scattered on the ground and not yet cleared. The leaves pierced their bodies in multiple places, but fortunately, no vital organs were hit. After treatment, they would likely only suffer from lingering ailments, which would affect their subsequent training plans.

After a hurried return to the base, all the wounded were immediately sent for a full-body examination by the base doctors.

This led back to the scene Gao Zheng had inquired about.

After learning everything, Gao Zheng looked at Lin Chenxing and sighed helplessly, "Chenxing, you should learn from Old He regarding these things. When you feel that you might be unable to complete a task alone or find it difficult, just tell us. If we had worked together, I believe we could have done it without any injuries, instead of ending up like this. You're lying in bed not knowing when you'll wake up, one of your team members is dead, and so many others are injured."

"When will your personality change, and when will you be able to let go of these things that you don't need to shoulder alone?"

"Forget it. As long as you wake up, even if you might not be able to keep up with our progress, rest assured that everyone in our group will protect you."

Gao Zheng looked at Doctor Mao again and said, "Doctor Mao, I'll leave the rest to you. Find someone careful, someone who knows how to take care of people, and look after Manager Lin well. If Manager Lin wakes up, notify me immediately."

After leaving these words, Gao Zheng took everyone except the doctors and nurses and left the room, returning to his office to begin discussing the next phase of the plan with the senior management.

It was here that the prototype of the Xingyan Group's Warrior Cultivation Plan was born.

1. All base members must participate in long-distance running twice daily, morning and evening.

2. All base members must choose a position to work in, excluding those under 10 and over 80 years old.

3. All members in combat positions must ensure an average of five hours of practice per day, excluding the morning and evening runs.

4. All members in non-combat positions must extend their daily working hours to twelve hours.

5. All members whose physical fitness reaches the Warrior standard will receive a cultivation method.

6. The Construction Team will begin building detached villas; all Warriors who successfully cultivate and all researchers who pass certain assessments will be entitled to villa residency.

7. The Exploration Teams will be composed of Warriors, with ten to twenty members per team, to be organized by the Warriors themselves and reported to the base; the original functions of the exploration teams are changed.

8. The original First Exploration Team is renamed the Rescue and Material Collection Team, responsible for exploring all surrounding population centers, rescuing survivors, and collecting materials needed by the base.

9. The original Second Exploration Team is renamed the Trade and Expansion Team, responsible for opening roads between major safe zones and conducting material exchange and information sharing.

10. The original Third Exploration Team is renamed the Law Enforcement Team, responsible for resolving conflicts between exploration teams, temporarily led by Guo Qichang.