More rigorous, devilish training
Only after his family's car disappeared at the end of the road did Lu Chen turn his gaze away. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on him, warm and comforting, but he knew in his heart that after this brief warmth, an even more biting cold would follow.
His dad's "extra practice tomorrow" wasn't just a casual remark.
Sure enough, at four o'clock the next morning, while the entire dormitory building was still shrouded in silence, there was a knock on Lu Chen's door. It wasn't a polite knock, but three rapid and forceful knocks, like some kind of military code.
Lu Chen opened his eyes instantly and sprang up from the bed without the slightest hesitation.
"Five minutes, playground."
The voice outside the door was Lu Zhanting's, cold and devoid of any warmth, completely different from the silent father he had been at the dinner table yesterday.
Lu Chen quickly dressed, folded his blanket, and finished washing up in two minutes. When he rushed out of the dormitory building, the sky was still turning light at dawn, and the cold wind felt like knives on his face.
The playground was deserted except for Lu Zhanting, who stood tall and straight in the center.
"Reporting, recruit Lu Chen, reporting for duty!"
Lu Zhanting raised his hand and looked at his watch: "Four minutes and twenty seconds, too slow."
Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat. He had already used his fastest speed, even faster than usual for emergency drills, but he was still too slow?
"From today onwards, your standard is three minutes." Lu Zhanting's voice was devoid of emotion. "If you can't do it, there will be additional penalties. Do you understand?"
"Yes!" Lu Chen answered loudly.
"Very good." Lu Zhanting turned around and pointed to a pile of things next to the playground. "See that?"
Lu Chen looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a huge military backpack with disassembled rifle parts next to it.
"Pack all the parts into your backpack, carry 30 kilograms, and do a 10-kilometer armed cross-country run. Finish within an hour." Lu Zhanting's tone was as if he were announcing something perfectly ordinary.
Lu Chen's pupils contracted slightly.
Carrying 30 kilograms of weight? That's almost half his body weight. And it's a 10-kilometer mountain trail cross-country run in an hour? This is not the training intensity of a normal recruit. Even special forces selection wouldn't be this intense.
His dad is really going to ruin him.
"Is there a problem?" Lu Zhanting asked when he saw that he hadn't moved.
"No!" Lu Chen gritted his teeth and ran to the backpack.
He opened his backpack, stuffed the cold metal parts inside one by one, took a deep breath, and slung the backpack over his shoulder.
A tremendous weight suddenly pressed down on him, causing his knees to bend. It was too heavy. It definitely weighed more than thirty kilograms.
Lu Chen didn't say anything, but silently adjusted the shoulder straps to distribute the weight evenly on his back.
"Start the timer." Lu Zhanting's cold voice rang out.
Lu Chen strode forward and rushed into the dark path leading to the back mountain.
For the first kilometer, he could barely maintain a steady pace. But soon, the weight on his back felt like a mountain, pressing down on him, making every step incredibly difficult. Sweat quickly soaked through his training uniform, clinging tightly to his body, making him feel both wet and cold.
His lungs felt like they were on fire, each breath a burning pain. His legs felt like they were made of lead, moving forward mechanically.
"Adjust your breathing and don't lose your rhythm."
Lu Zhanting's voice suddenly came from behind.
Lu Chen was startled. He turned around and saw that his father had followed him at some point, less than ten meters behind him, running at a steady pace, without even disturbing his breathing.
Why did he run after him too?
Lu Chen didn't have time to think further and quickly followed his father's advice, adjusting his breathing. Three steps in, one inhale; three steps out, one exhale. The situation indeed improved somewhat.
When they reached the fifth kilometer mark, there was a long uphill section. Lu Chen's pace slowed noticeably; he felt as if the straps of his backpack were about to break his shoulders.
"Can't hold on any longer?" Lu Zhanting's voice rang out again.
"Yes!" Lu Chen squeezed out the word through gritted teeth.
"Then speed it up."
"That line again." Lu Chen cursed inwardly, but his body betrayed him and he began to exert force. He couldn't back down in front of his father.
The uphill section exhausted most of his strength. By the time he reached flat ground, his vision was starting to blur, his steps were unsteady, and he nearly fell several times.
At the seventh kilometer, he felt a sharp pain in his right knee, as if he had been pricked with a needle.
Oh no, it's an old wound.
The muscle strain I sustained during a previous high-intensity training session, although I rested for a few days, hasn't fully recovered. Now, after all this exertion, it's flared up again.
Lu Chen gritted his teeth, forcing himself to ignore the pain.
But the pain became more and more intense, and every step he took felt like stepping on a knife's edge.
Finally, on a downhill slope, his right leg buckled, and he fell forward to the ground.
The backpack slammed heavily onto the ground with a dull thud.
Lu Chen lay on the ground, panting heavily. The pungent smell of mud and grass made him cough. He tried to get up, but his right leg wouldn't give way.
Lu Zhanting walked to his side, looked down at him, and did not reach out to help him up.
"stand up."
“…Yes.” Lu Chen braced himself with his arms and tried to stand up, but the sharp pain in his knees made him fall back down.
"Can't you stand up?" Lu Zhanting's tone remained icy.
Lu Chen lay on the ground, his face covered in sweat and dirt. He couldn't see his father's expression, but he could feel the oppressive pressure emanating from him.
“I said I would give up if I couldn’t hold on,” Lu Zhanting said. “If I quit now, I can still go back to my dorm and take a nap.”
give up?
These two words were like a needle, piercing deeply into Lu Chen's heart.
He recalled the reluctance in his younger sister Lu Xi's eyes when his family left yesterday, the encouragement from his older brother Lu Nian'an, and the unconcealed worry from his mother Su Wanqing.
He remembered what he had said to them.
"I'm fine, I can adapt."
"Don't worry, I'm strong now."
If he gives up now, what is he? A coward who only talks big?
No.
He cannot give up.
Lu Chen suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, staring intently at Lu Zhanting.
“I never thought of giving up!” he roared.
He used his left leg and arms to support his body, slowly lifting himself off the ground. Throughout the entire process, his right leg remained suspended in the air, afraid to touch the ground.
He stood on one leg, his body trembling slightly from the pain and exhaustion, but his back remained straight.
"I can do it."
Lu Zhanting looked at his son's stubborn expression and remained silent for a good ten seconds.
"Then let's continue."
He left those words behind, turned around, and continued running forward.
Lu Chen looked at his father's back, took a deep breath, and began to hop forward on one foot.
With each jump, all his weight pressed down on his left leg, and the swaying of his backpack aggravated the injury on his right leg, causing him to grimace in pain.
But he didn't stop.
One step, two steps, like a clumsy kangaroo, stubbornly moving forward on the dark mountain road.
Lu Chen didn't know how he finished the last three kilometers. His consciousness was blurred, and only one thought remained in his mind: the finish line, he had to reach the finish line.
When he finally jumped back onto the playground and crossed that invisible finish line, he could no longer support himself and fell straight backward.
This time, he didn't fall on the cold ground.
A pair of strong hands caught him.
Lu Chen struggled to open his eyes and saw Lu Zhanting's sharply defined face.
"One hour and eight minutes." Lu Zhanting glanced at his watch, his voice devoid of emotion. "You've exceeded the time limit."
Lu Chen forced a smile, but he didn't even have the strength to do so.
"This morning, just watch them eat," Lu Zhanting said, picking him up in his arms and striding toward the infirmary.
Held in his father's arms, feeling his steady and powerful heartbeat, and smelling the familiar scent of tobacco mixed with sweat, Lu Chen's nerves, which had been tense for a full hour, finally relaxed.
He closed his eyes and completely lost consciousness.
In the last second before losing consciousness, he seemed to hear his father sigh softly.
"You brat, you're just like your dad back in the day."
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