Training base

That was all well and good.

But after finishing the second day's endurance march, Jiang Nian was already barely breathing.

Unlike the first day, when they had spent half their time on the bus, the second day's march meant actually walking for an entire day.

By the time she had pitched her tent at the new campsite, she was utterly exhausted.

She ate dinner and showered in a daze, then crawled into the tent and closed her eyes in the same daze, barely saying a word.

Half asleep, she had already begun considering the possibility of killing Fu Zhenzhen and Liu Fan right away, then skipping straight to the ending.

88 ignored the dangerous ideas popping up in Jiang Nian's mind and merely smoothed the edge of her blanket. Watching her sleeping face, 88 said softly:

"Good night, Niannian."

On the third day of the endurance march, Jiang Nian was once again jolted awake by the whistle. She slowly sat up like a zombie, waiting bleary-eyed for her mind to come back online.

Tong Chuhe woke up faster than she did. She simply sat beside her, quietly waiting for Jiang Nian to come around, idly studying her face in the meantime.

Although Jiang Nian often raved inwardly about her beauty and called her the campus goddess, Tong Chuhe thought Jiang Nian's own face was the prettiest and most pleasant to look at.

Jiang Nian's smile was always as refreshing as a spring breeze, filling people with warmth like sunshine, as though everything beautiful in the world had gathered in that smile.

Her big eyes, in particular, were like two sparkling stars, always drawing Tong Chuhe in despite herself.

And she was not the only one.

Slowly, Jiang Nian finally woke up properly. When she suddenly noticed Tong Chuhe staring at her, she instinctively froze for a moment before breaking into a huge grin.

"Good morning, Chu He."

Tong Chuhe replied gently as well.

"Good morning."

It was another beautiful day of brilliant sunshine.

The two quickly washed up and packed their things, then took their places in their formation to wait for the instructor's assignments for the day.

Chen Shen swiftly organized his forty-fourth company, ready to begin that day's endurance march.

"Today is the last day of our endurance march."

"Our destination today is the University Military Training Base, where we'll spend the next four days on military training. Now, keep pace with the main group and head for the base!"

Once again, they climbed the mountain road beneath the sun. Perhaps the previous two days of exercise had given her a little more stamina, because Jiang Nian's eyes lit up with excitement as she gazed at the base that seemed almost within reach.

Finally! Finally!

She was finally going to be free of these endurance marches!

If she kept walking any longer, she could kiss her legs goodbye!

After another lunch of compressed biscuits along the way, Pluto Academy's student contingent finally passed through the gates of the University Military Training Base before sunset.

Military training bases were important sites for training troops. Their environments and functions had a significant impact on the effectiveness and quality of training, and they were usually located in remote areas, far from cities and residential neighborhoods, to ensure training proceeded smoothly and safely.

Through rigorous training and professional guidance, soldiers could better adapt to wartime conditions and improve their combat abilities, safeguarding their country and its people.

City A's University Military Training Base, meanwhile, was modeled after a regular training base and generally opened its grounds to students from universities and military academies for military training.

Once all the Pluto Academy students had entered the base, they kept exclaiming over the sheer variety of facilities it offered.

The interior had also been designed and built to match a regular training base, with facilities such as shooting ranges, tactical training grounds, fitness training grounds, and simulated battlefields.

These facilities offered students a comprehensive training experience, helping them improve their combat skills and ability to respond to different situations.

As Chen Shen led the group onward, he explained the functions and features of the various training grounds they passed.

"Military training bases generally cover a wide range of training, including basic skills, simulated combat, tactics, wilderness survival, and physiological adaptation."

"Our training this time will mainly focus on basic skills, such as shooting, tactics, and physical fitness. Through guidance from the instructors and hands-on training, you'll be able to master these basic skills."

"But those more advanced forms of training aren't something you need to consider at this stage."

After all, they were only high school students at the moment.

Once everyone had taken a leisurely look around most of the base's buildings, Chen Shen gave the class monitors their assignments.

All the class monitors were to lead their classmates to the trainee dormitories and assign beds according to the rooming lists. Once everyone had settled in, they could go to the base cafeteria for dinner.

After a collective sigh of relief that they finally no longer had to sleep in tents, the students all headed for the dormitory area.

As luck would have it, Jiang Nian and Tong Chuhe had been assigned to the same room again, but they were no longer sharing with Gao Wen and Nie Xuzhi.

The four reluctantly parted ways and headed to their respective rooms.

Jiang Nian entered the room assigned to her and Tong Chuhe and looked around. It was a traditional eight-person room with bunk beds, a small shower room, and a toilet. Although basic, at least they would not have to wait in long lines like they had outdoors.

After briefly greeting their other roommates, Jiang Nian picked a random bed as her temporary little nest for the next four days, then collapsed onto it and lay motionless.

She had no energy left.

She! Jiang Nian! Hereby swore! No one could drag her out of this bed!

"Jiang Nian, come on. Let's get dinner."

"You got it!"

Jiang Nian sprang upright with a kip-up.

What a joke. Nothing could stand between her and food.

Brimming with excitement, Jiang Nian grabbed Tong Chuhe and made straight for the base cafeteria. It was the dinner rush, and the place was already packed.

The two picked a serving window at random to get their food. It was almost a shame they did not get to witness the cafeteria ladies' age-old trick of shaking food off the serving spoon.

When they had their food and were ready to find seats, they spotted Gao Wen waving frantically at them through the crowd. They exchanged a smile and headed together toward the empty seats opposite Gao Wen and Nie Xuzhi.

They pulled out their chairs and sat down. After exchanging greetings, all four dug in.

Jiang Nian listened to their chatter as she ate a mouthful of tofu with minced meat. The taste was nothing special, but at least she had not had to cook it herself. What more could she ask for?

Across from her, Nie Xuzhi let out a regretful sigh as she ate.

"It's a shame we aren't all in the same room this time. It'll be hard to have late-night chats."

Beside her, Gao Wen nodded too. Although she had gotten to know quite a few people during the endurance march, she was still closer to Jiang Nian and the others.

"There are some familiar faces in our room, but it's still a little awkward."

Jiang Nian, however, was unbothered. "It's fine. I doubt we'll even have the energy to talk after training anyway."

With that, she elegantly took a sip of hot soup and narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.

"Everyone will be so exhausted that they'll fall asleep the second they hit the bed. By the time these four days are over, you might not even remember what the girl in the bunk above you looks like."

The other three: ...

Sound reasoning. Impossible to refute.