Under the sunlight, the imposing gates gleamed with a metallic sheen. Seven people in gray cloaks, each carrying a black case on their back, stood outside the Training Camp.
"Captain, you have to stop Quan when he gets here. He really goes for the kill when he hits people!" The man in the vortex mask spoke through chattering teeth, his bright eyes brimming with the will to survive. His right arm was still wrapped in bandages.
"It's fine!" the man wearing a mask marked with the character for "king" said calmly. "He can heal you afterward!"
At those words, Vortex's world came crashing down. Beneath his mask was the despair of a man with nothing left to live for.
Just then, a streak of silver light appeared on the horizon, looking like a comet from afar.
A moment later, Wang Quan came to a steady stop in front of Wang Mian. They exchanged a glance and reached out to clasp each other's hands, speaking almost in unison:
"Long time no see!"
"Quan!" The man wearing a scales mask stepped forward and greeted him warmly.
"Hey, Quan! Hehe!" Vortex approached with a grin. "Since we haven't seen each other in so long, how about you skip beating me up?"
"You're exactly the one I'm going to beat!" Wang Quan glared at him and snapped.
"Quan, Quan, what does your girlfriend look like?"
"Is she pretty?"
"How did you two meet?"
"How old is she?"
"..."
The girl wearing a rose mask had gossip written all over her eyes. She looked ready to ask a hundred questions.
"Exactly, exactly. We're not gossiping, just curious!" The man in the scales mask coughed lightly, putting on a serious face as he waited for the juicy details.
"I bet she was the one who pursued Quan. With how thickheaded he is, he'd stay single for life otherwise!" The man in the crescent mask adjusted a nonexistent pair of glasses and offered his earnest analysis.
"Ahem, ahem!"
"Honestly, I'm pretty curious too!" Wang Mian, their captain, joined his teammates.
Seven pairs of eagerly expectant eyes made Wang Quan's scalp prickle. "She's my friend!" he explained.
Then he told them the whole story.
"No way!"
"That girl named Hongying is definitely into you. Don't let this chance slip away-you won't get another one!" As a fellow girl, Rose hit the nail on the head.
Wang Quan nodded and said calmly, "I know, but I don't..."
"Forget it. Let's leave that for now!"
"Let's talk about the Training Camp. That's why I called you here!"
"Oh! I'd completely forgotten you were some honorary chief instructor."
"Let's go. We'll discuss it in the conference room. Yuan Gang's waiting." Wang Mian nodded.
As Wang Quan passed Vortex, he casually used Reverse Cursed Technique to heal his arm.
By the time they finished discussing business, it was already noon. Wang Quan and Wang Mian walked through the Training Camp, reminiscing.
"Isn't it a little too early for me to meet him?" Wang Mian asked.
"You're both God's Agents. Why not get acquainted?" Wang Quan strolled ahead leisurely, his hands behind his head.
"You're still the same. You act on whatever pops into your head!"
"You don't understand. That's called..."
Before Wang Quan could finish, Wang Mian smoothly picked up where he left off. "Freedom!"
"Hahahaha!"
"That's my buddy who hunted down the Ancient God Church with me!"
Wang Quan laughed and strode ahead.
Soon, the two arrived outside Lin Qiye's dorm room.
"Little Ye, you in there?"
Wang Mian's mouth twitched at the nickname, though he wasn't surprised.
"What do you want?"
"Aren't you an instructor?"
"How do you have so much free time every day?"
The complaints came before the door opened.
The instant the door opened, Lin Qiye's gaze locked onto Wang Mian.
He didn't know this masked man, yet he felt an unexpected sense of familiarity. Divine might didn't lie.
They were both God's Agents.
Wang Mian studied Lin Qiye as well, then introduced himself. "Hello, Michael's Proxy. You can call me Wang Mian!"
"I'm a friend of your master's!"
"Huh?"
"Who's my master?" Lin Qiye frowned and glanced at Wang Quan.
"Ahem, ahem!"
"I taught you for a month. How does that not count?" Having already made his boast, Wang Quan hurriedly gave Lin Qiye a meaningful look.
"That makes you a teacher at most. That's not the same as a master!" Lin Qiye ignored him completely and corrected him.
"Not bad!"
"I like anyone who can put this bastard in his place!" Wang Mian's voice grew much warmer. He and Wang Quan had been through life and death together, but their everyday interactions were more like those of friends who constantly roasted each other.
"If there's anything you don't understand about being a Proxy, feel free to ask me!"
"Thank you!" Lin Qiye nodded.
After a brief chat, Wang Quan and Wang Mian left the dorm.
That afternoon.
Lin Qiye changed into his uniform and looked at Baili Pangpang, who was sleeping soundly in the neighboring bed. "Wake up. It's time to assemble," he called.
"Baili Pangpang!"
"Fatty!"
"You damn fatty!"
Baili Pangpang kept snoring thunderously, as though someone had installed a signal jammer on him.
Lin Qiye let out a long sigh and smacked him. "It's time to assemble!" he said irritably.
"Ah!"
"Time to eat?"
Baili Pangpang sat up, bleary-eyed, and mumbled.
"Eat, my ass. It's time to assemble!"
"Get dressed!"
After glaring at Baili Pangpang, Lin Qiye headed straight for the training ground.
The two were among the last to arrive at the training ground, so they had to stand in the back.
The recruits stood loosely scattered about. They weren't exactly swaying all over the place, but there was no order whatsoever. Some were even chatting, laughing, or horsing around.
Anyone who didn't know this was a training camp might have mistaken it for a market.
On the distant platform, more than twenty instructors stood ramrod straight, each as upright as a pine tree, their presence imposing.
Wang Quan and Yuan Gang stood at the very front. One looked calm and approachable, the other fierce.
Yuan Gang watched the disorderly recruits with a stern expression. He exchanged a glance with Wang Quan, who nodded and stepped forward.
"Shut up!"
The instant Wang Quan spoke, an invisible pressure spread across the entire training ground. Caught completely off guard, the recruits cried out in pain. The vast majority ended up face-to-face with Mother Earth.
The world fell silent.
A handful remained standing amid the fallen crowd, gritting their teeth as they looked toward the platform.
His silver hair stirred in the wind as Wang Quan stared unwaveringly at them. His voice wasn't loud, but it reached every ear with perfect clarity, domineering and arrogant:
"Rookies, my name is Wang Quan. I'm the honorary chief instructor for this recruit training camp!"
"Of course, you probably haven't heard that name before. I also have a codename: [Daybreak]!"
At those words, some of the recruits who had nearly been pressed into the dirt desperately raised their heads, wanting to see what Wang Quan looked like.
Every Night Watcher admired the Special Squads, all the more so [Daybreak], a squad consisting of just one man.
"Is looking up at me all you're good for?"
"You're a bunch of useless dirt-eaters. Stop looking up and get the hell on your feet!"
"As chief instructor of the Training Camp, I'm issuing your first training task!"
Wang Quan paused, then raised his voice and shouted, "Stand up!"
"Don't act like cowards!"
"Of course, if you're useless trash, stay right where you are!"
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