Chapter 49: In the early morning hours, it was finally over!

Shen Biao was extremely displeased with Zhang Meng's attitude toward him.

However, this rule had after all been established by Regiment Commander Nie Feihong.

Besides, the old man was undoubtedly in the command room right now, watching the situation here.

Five recruits managing to shake off all the veterans and reach the summit in one hour and eighteen minutes—such results were already quite an exceptional achievement. It was impossible for Nie Feihong not to be satisfied.

Chances were that right at this moment, the old man was in the command room, clapping and cheering for these five recruits!

Thinking of this, Shen Biao had no choice but to act as if he had heard nothing.

He took five numbered slips from his pocket and dropped them into Zhang Meng's palm.

"Hold onto these tight. If you accidentally lose them, you'll still be getting kicked out on your way back!"

"We won't trouble you to worry about that, old man. Brothers, fall back!"

Zhang Meng tucked the slips away safely, following Qi Tian down a small path toward the foot of the mountain.

People always say that going up a mountain is easy while coming down is hard. That is a truth that only holds when scaling towering peaks.

Right now, the mountain Qi Tian and his group were climbing was merely a small hill with a total length of twelve kilometers.

On the way down, the group went all out with full firepower, sprinting in a mad dash. They reached the foot of the mountain in just over ten minutes.

By this time, quite a few veterans were still making their way toward the summit one after another.

Qi Tian raised a hand, signaling the four brothers behind him to halt, and said in a cold voice, "Let's not rush back just yet. We'll rest in place for a moment.

The regulated time is one hundred and fifty minutes, which is two and a half hours.

At most, we've only used an hour and a half so far. Running the remaining four kilometers back with the time we have left poses no difficulty for us at all.

If we show up right now, we'll very likely become targets of revenge for veterans who know their strength falls short and are planning to give up on the selection.

When Ma Zhe left earlier, I sensed at least twenty hostile gazes locking onto us. We must not act rashly right now!"

"Brother Tian's deployment has never been wrong. Brothers, we trust you!"

Song Wei pulled Jiang Chong down to sit squarely on the ground. The two leaned back-to-back and quietly began to rest.

Zhang Meng and Lin Mang did the same.

The four of them had long been accustomed to obeying Qi Tian's orders.

Now that Qi Tian was keeping an eye on those veterans, they naturally wouldn't stand on ceremony with him.

Calling him Brother Tian left and right—that title wasn't earned for nothing!

Only, the temperature difference between morning and evening in the coastal city of Jiangnan was truly rather drastic.

Shortly after the four sat down, they felt gusts of evening wind slipping into their sleeves, sharply shocking the four somewhat exhausted and drowsy men into complete awareness.

"Who knows what the dormitory conditions are like in this selection zone? Are there thick cotton quilts to sleep under? The sky is almost getting bright, and these amphibious troops are absolute lunatics. This is real torture!"

Lin Mang shivered all over, muttered a few complaints, and suddenly turned his head to look at Jiang Chong beside him:

"Brother Chong, aren't you quite familiar with this place? Tell us about it then—where are we sleeping tonight? Is there hot water and stuff?"

"I'm only somewhat familiar with the training here. As for the resting environment, I've never cared about it. I didn't come here for a vacation!"

Jiang Chong glanced irritably at Lin Mang and was just about to say something more when he saw Qi Tian, who was keeping watch at the intersection, suddenly wave his arm and shout to them: "The veterans are all heading up the mountain. Fall back, quick!"

"Understood!"

The four rose simultaneously, following Qi Tian as they rushed out of the path and sprinted at full speed along the boundless main road.

There were only the final four kilometers left before completing the all-terrain weighted cross-country.

And they still had nearly forty minutes of time remaining.

With time fully in their favor, even carrying heavy loads, completing this was an absolute breeze for the five of them!

"These five kids really have endless tricks up their sleeves!"

Inside the command room.

Nie Feihong watched Qi Tian and the other four on the surveillance screen and said to Deputy Regiment Commander Zhu Xiaotian with a hint of pleasant surprise:

"Especially the one leading them—after coming down the mountain, instead of rushing back to the finish line to rest, he actually laid low at the intersection. The Army Commander certainly has a sharp eye for talent!

Still, relying just on the five of them to complete the assessment under the veterans' targeted suppression remains too difficult.

They say this final obstacle can drain the stamina of every single candidate, making it an absolute nightmare for them.

Yet in my eyes, finishing this training and truly resting afterward is the ultimate test of individual capability.

Let's just see how these five kids perform when the time comes!

Wanting to comfortably complete the assessment in my Sharp Knife Regiment is nothing more than wishful thinking!"

"During the selection over the past couple of days, the beds were all monopolized by those brutes from the Fierce Tiger Regiment.

They stick together tightly; whoever dares to touch one of them, the others immediately rush over to gang up and drive the person out.

But tonight, this situation is bound to change.

Let's see whether the iron fists of these five kids are hard enough, or if the fangs of those tigers are sharper!"

Zhu Xiaotian chimed in with agreement, a look of mild pleasant surprise flashing across his face as well!

Only after this final assessment ended would the true highlights of the selection finally arrive!

Twenty minutes later!

Qi Tian and the four others, each bearing an eighty-jin load, outran all the veterans, sprinted back to the finish line, and reported to Qi Tian.

Zhang Meng took five slips from his pocket and handed them to Fu Wei.

"Very good. Carrying an extra twenty jin of weight yet matching the fastest training time set by the veterans over the past two days.

I must admit, you five fresh recruits are not as useless as I imagined!

Beyond two hundred meters, in the four o'clock direction, there is a tent where dinner and beds have been prepared for you. Get lost!"

"Damn it, it's finally fucking over!"

Hearing Fu Wei's command, Zhang Meng collapsed straight onto the ground, spreading his limbs into an "X" shape, wishing he could fall asleep right here on the spot.

Ever since yesterday morning, they had been traveling through dust and wind all the way, their bodies already teetering on the verge of exhaustion and fatigue.

Hardly had they arrived at the Sharp Knife Regiment when they were thrown directly into such a heart-pumping, full-night tactical march.

With the sky nearly bright, it was an absolute certainty that Zhang Meng and the others were on the verge of breakdown!

Yet even if they were collapsing, they couldn't sleep here.

Sleeping in front of a damp, watery mud pit in the early morning could easily lead to catching a chill if one wasn't careful.

Not only would their individual combat capability plummet, but it would also jeopardize the entire selection.

The five of them knew this logic inside out.

Zhang Meng only lay on the ground for a brief moment before hurriedly getting up to strip off his sandbags.

After organizing and stowing his gear, he sprinted at full speed toward the designated location Fu Wei had mentioned earlier!

Arriving at the designated area and stepping into the tent, Qi Tian saw two large iron vats placed on the left and right sides of the entrance.

The iron vat on the left held dozens of pitch-black steamed buns.

It was impossible to tell what they were made of, but one thing was certain: they had absolutely nothing to do with white flour.

The other iron vat contained something that had completely cooled down, topped with floating ice shards, looking neither quite like soup nor stew.

Qi Tian casually picked up a few buns and tossed them to the four people beside him:

"Without knowing when the next supply will arrive, eat as much as you can right now. Stuff yourselves fully, and don't stand on ceremony with them!"

"Brother Tian, it looks like the number of these buns is fixed. If we eat too much, won't the veterans coming behind us..."

"Lin Mang, has your head been kicked by a donkey?"

Before Lin Mang could even finish his sentence, Zhang Meng's large hand lightly rubbed the back of his neck.

*Thwack!*

"First of all, let's not talk about whether those veterans can complete the mission.

Even if they all complete it, we are currently in a relationship of opponents.

Mercy toward an opponent is cruelty to oneself, understand?

Besides, in the selection zone, the strong are respected. If they feel hungry, they can quit the selection at any time; we're not stopping them. Eat!"

With that, Zhang Meng picked up a black bun and shoved it entirely into his mouth, as if demonstrating for Lin Mang!

Yet the next second, the sound of teeth cracking echoed right beside the ears of the five men: "Crunch!"

"Ah, holy shit!!!"