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Everyone quickly returned to their dorms to shower and change clothes.

Half an hour later, with their bags on their backs and weapons in hand, they assembled on the training field.

The extreme armed cross-country was the training exercise that best tested a soldier’s endurance.

Shao Changfeng stood among the troops, looking at the group of soldiers. Even though they were already exhausted, each of them still seemed arrogant and defiant.

Centered around Gu Xiaoxi and Zhang Jingyue, both factions appeared very irritable.

Shao Changfeng felt a headache coming on. If they continued to be this undisciplined and disorganized, they would be unsuited for frontline units.

In particular, Zhang Jingyue always attracted a group of admirers who sought to please her. Far from benefiting her, this indirectly harmed her by fostering a self-centered sense of superiority.

Meanwhile, Gu Xiaoxi possessed an unyielding spirit. She did not actively seek to please anyone or oppose someone for the sake of it. However, Zhang Jingyue’s admirers naturally saw the formidable Gu Xiaoxi as a thorn in their side.

Perhaps, they needed to be separated! Shao Changfeng thought to himself.

Seeing that the troops were in formation, Shao Changfeng stepped forward and announced loudly, "Extreme mountain cross-country is an obstacle that every recon soldier must clear. How far you can run when you’re most exhausted determines your chances of survival on the battlefield.

Starting now, a five-kilometer run there and back between points A and B.

Keep running until every one of you drops. "

As Shao Changfeng finished speaking, no one uttered a word. Although many were exhausted, they thoroughly despised this punishment. However, they had no choice. Joining the Vanguard Troops always required paying an extraordinary price.

"What are you waiting for? Run!"

Several squad leaders led the group running.

Chen Zhigang watched the new recruits disappearing into the distance, came up to Shao Changfeng, and patted his shoulder, "I didn’t expect so little from the male soldiers in this batch, but the two female soldiers have really stood out.

I heard Gu Xiaoxi even defeated Wu Gui?"

"What I’m most worried about right now are Gu Xiaoxi and Zhang Jingyue. These two clash every time they meet. They are not united, lacking a sense of the collective. Old classmate, give me some advice, how should I train them?"

Chen Zhigang could hear the helplessness in Shao Changfeng’s voice.

He looked at the receding figures of the troops and shook his head, "It looks tough. It’s not just a matter of being united or not, there are inherent issues between them.

Zhang Jingyue’s problem is her excessive self-centeredness, which admittedly is linked to her background.

And then, there’s the old gentleman’s doting on her, which has shaped her character.

As for Gu Xiaoxi, she has a natural aura of a leader, which isn’t a problem itself, but it becomes one when she meets Zhang Jingyue.

A single mountain cannot harbor two tigers.

.. I think if it doesn’t work out, we’ll have to reshuffle the squads after three months.

After the new recruits pass their training, we’ll mix them with the older soldiers.

Separate them and observe. If they still lack a collective spirit, we’ll have no choice but to transfer them to the logistics department. "

Shao Changfeng’s expression deepened, "Let’s leave it at that for now! I’m going to watch their training."

Extreme mountain cross-country—can’t stop until you reach your limit.

All along the way, to avoid trouble, Shao Changfeng kept a close watch on everyone.

He noticed that Gu Xiaoxi’s pace had slowed considerably, especially since her face was becoming increasingly pale and her spirit seemed quite low. Yet, she was still gritting her teeth, maintaining a steady pace with the team.

In contrast, Zhang Jingyue and the others, though also exhausted, seemed to have more stamina.

Song Jingyi could feel Gu Xiaoxi’s unusual weakness and reached out to support her, asking with concern, "What’s wrong with you? You’re not usually this tired after running dozens of kilometers."

Gu Xiaoxi wiped the sweat from her forehead. This was the aftermath of depleting her Inner Strength. She was two to three times weaker than normal, both physically and mentally affected.

If she could rest for three hours, she would recover, but clearly, there was no time for that now. All she could do was keep pushing on, surpassing herself and her limits.

This was, in fact, another form of training. If she succeeded, it would be another breakthrough.

Three hours later, Song Jingyi could no longer run and protested, "We haven’t had lunch yet, and it’s afternoon already!"

"Hang in there! After today’s run, we can probably rest, just keep going." Qin Chu had already collapsed from exhaustion but was persistently moving forward at walking speed.

Li Chun could only keep up with the help of Song Jingyi and Qin Chu’s support.

Gu Xiaoxi felt the pack on her back as heavy as a mountain. She desperately wanted to take it off and lie down for a sleep. Tired! A tiredness she had never felt before.

This was the essence of the extreme cross-country, to keep running until you can no longer run.

Zhang Jingyue was also too weary to run and could only move forward by walking. However, the three or four people centered around her were at the very front of the group.

Shao Changfeng sat in the vehicle, observing each person, ready to send anyone who collapsed to the infirmary.

In the Z Division! Men and women are trained together, and on the battlefield, women are also treated as equals to men. Therefore, as long as women are capable, they have the opportunity to be put to use.

And in the highest command center, there had once been a true Goddess of War. Her heroic deeds were in no way inferior to those of men. Thus, the Z Division has always adhered to the principle of men and women training together.

From among tens of millions, the weak were eliminated, letting the aces emerge. Regardless of gender, this is the pyramid of the War God of the Z Department.

Gu Xiaoxi gritted her teeth. She would not fall, she would use up her last breath. In her heart, she was too far behind Quan Shaoqing, far too far behind her relatives as well. If she wanted to be a hero, she needed endurance beyond that of ordinary people.

The midday sun shone brilliantly, its scorching heat causing everyone to sweat profusely.

Gu Xiaoxi clenched her fists, teeth gritted, as she jogged slowly together with Song Jingyi and the other two.

Suddenly, Song Jingyi felt her foot caught by something.

All four of them, supporting each other, ended up falling to the ground together.

Gu Xiaoxi hit her head on a rock, but she didn’t even have the time to tend to it. She lay on the ground, too exhausted to move. Initially, she had thought it was just a simple fall, but a moment later, she heard the mocking voice of Chen Xuan beside her ear.

"Look how pitiful you are falling down. If you can’t take it, just roll back home and drink milk." Chen Xuan lay sprawled by the roadside, a blade of foxtail grass in his mouth, his face pale, breaths chaotic, obviously too exhausted to continue.

He had deliberately waited for Gu Xiaoxi to arrive.

Song Jingyi immediately helped Li Chun, who had the least physical strength, up and angrily said to Chen Xuan, "Why did you deliberately trip me?"

"I just wanted to tell you, all’s fair in war. On the battlefield, if you cannot even spot these little tricks, you’d probably be killed by the enemy early on." Chen Xuan said shamelessly.

Gu Xiaoxi wiped the sweat from her forehead. She was hungry and tired, but more than that, she felt that this idiot in front of her needed to be dealt with even more.

She turned her head, looking casually at Chen Xuan, and chuckled lightly, "You’re right. All’s fair in war."

Gu Xiaoxi glanced around; at this moment, Shao Changfeng was probably still behind because there were stragglers that required more of his attention. Thus, at this place within sight, there were only the four of them and Chen Xuan.

"Gu Xiaoxi, you get it. I was only trying to do you a favor a moment ago."

Gu Xiaoxi patted Song Jingyi’s shoulder, signaling her to calm down, then she smiled at Chen Xuan, "Chen Xuan, today I’ll teach you what ’all’s fair in war’ really means. Song Jingyi, grab his neck. Qin Chu, hold his left leg. Li Chun, grab the right one."

As Gu Xiaoxi finished speaking, the three women charged toward Chen Xuan.

Song Jingyi wrapped one hand around Chen Xuan’s neck, and Qin Chu and Li Chun each took a leg, quickly pinning Chen Xuan to the ground like a frog.

Gu Xiaoxi stood up from the ground, teeth gritted, she took off the 20-kilogram pack from her back and laid it on Chen Xuan’s belly.

She sat directly on the pack, straddling his stomach, and then extended a foot, pressing down on his squirming shoulder.

Looking at his face turn instantly ghastly, she chuckled with glee, "Do you know how to treat the enemy on the battlefield? "

"Gu Xiaoxi! You dare!" Chen Xuan yelled furiously.

"Huh!" Gu Xiaoxi scoffed, looking down at Chen Xuan with indifferent eyes, "What wouldn’t I dare? Just now you taught us ’all’s fair in war,’ now I’ll teach you the killing moves.

Listen well, the first move, very simple, panda eyes.

The second move, knocking out front teeth. The third move, castrating."

"Ah!" Chen Xuan immediately screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

Gu Xiaoxi snorted coldly, gestured to Song Jingyi and the others to quickly move back and away from Chen Xuan.

No sooner had everyone let go of Chen Xuan than they heard the sound of a car approaching from behind.

When Shao Changfeng arrived, he saw Gu Xiaoxi and Song Jingyi and the others sitting on the roadside, gasping for air.

Chen Xuan, with dark circles around his eyes and a missing front tooth, doubled over, clutching his crotch, wailing in pain.

Shao Changfeng immediately looked toward Gu Xiaoxi.

The four of them quickly shook their heads, feigning innocence, "He just tripped. Knocked out a front tooth, and then accidentally... strained something." Gu Xiaoxi skipped over the sensitive word, thinking Shao Changfeng would understand.

As Gu Xiaoxi finished speaking, Song Jingyi and the others all nodded vigorously.

Their innocent expressions seemed to suggest that was exactly what had happened.

Shao Changfeng looked skeptically at Chen Xuan, who indeed had blood on a rock beside him and was missing a front tooth.

At that moment, with Chen Xuan wailing in pain, he didn’t have the time to explain. It wasn’t until Shao Changfeng had the medics carry him away that he managed to say a word.

Song Jingyi covertly gave Gu Xiaoxi a thumbs up; they had truly witnessed what ’all’s fair in war’ meant. Now, even if Chen Xuan wanted to say something, he couldn’t say a word. If he brought it up later, it would be clear he was trying to blame them, to falsely accuse his squadmates.