Chapter 496: Modern Era (If-Things) (24)
"Today, all students will be carrying five kilograms of weight for cross-country running."
After having breakfast, Anuo and the other freshmen went to the playground to assemble early in the morning. They heard the instructor say that they would have to carry weights, and they all wilted like eggplants after a frost.
Despite their wailing, the mission had to be carried out. The freshmen, carrying their loads, ran towards the designated cross-country crossing point under the guidance of their instructors.
Their goal this time was to climb a mountain, a small hill in the suburbs. It wasn't very high and was usually a tourist attraction with a temple on top.
They only need to go to the temple to check in before they can go down the mountain, and they can even rest and have a drink of water at the temple.
The idea was wonderful, but when they actually got up, they all said they wished they had wings and could fly away immediately.
Before they had climbed halfway, many students were already too tired to continue and stopped to rest, panting heavily.
Anuo jogged along at a leisurely pace. At first, everyone in her class could barely keep up the pace, but later, as the classes dispersed, those who could continue climbing the mountain were the students with good stamina and who usually exercised well.
"I...I can't go on." Xia Meng took off the weights from her back and collapsed by the roadside.
Anno initially kept up with her roommates' pace and didn't run very fast, but when she saw that they all couldn't keep going and had to rest by the roadside, she stopped waiting for them.
However, a few people managed to keep running alongside her: Baroque, Huo Xuan, and Lin Xu.
The instructors followed behind, catching all the students who were lying paralyzed on the roadside like they were catching chicks.
"Little...Little Seven, I'm about to die."
Baroque waved to Anno, his face flushed and covered in sweat.
"It's alright, you can rest by the roadside for a while." Anuo paused slightly and looked back. All she could see were students who couldn't run anymore and were sitting on the side resting.
"Brother, take a break. You won't be last." The number of students behind them was so great that they seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.
"But I want to reach the destination with you."
Baroque wanted to hold on a little longer, but Huo Xuan laughed and said, "Are you sure you can manage? If not, you should rest. I won't laugh at you."
"Who says I can't!"
Baroque was very unconvinced. Provoked by Huo Xuan, he stubbornly continued to run with them for a while.
In the end, Anno was afraid that he might get into trouble, so he forced him to stop and rest by the roadside.
“My brother isn’t like you. His hobbies are gardening and playing the piano. Don’t upset him,” she said to Huo Xuan.
"Okay, okay."
As Huo Xuan spoke, his breathing became somewhat unsteady.
They had already climbed two-thirds of the way, and there weren't many students left who could keep going. Apart from the leading instructor, there were less than twenty students left in the first batch who were leading the way.
"Keep going, you're almost there! Just a little more effort!"
The instructors shouted encouragement to the children who were still persevering.
All Anno could hear were the students panting heavily; very few of them were actually in good condition.
Her physical strength wasn't actually the best, but the energy in her body constantly replenished her strength, allowing her to keep running without feeling too tired.
She calculated that unless she could expend a lot of energy in a short period of time and run out of energy, she could sustain this level of physical exertion for a long time.
She heard the panting beside her, turned her head and saw Lin Xu, who had been running with his head down beside her.
Compared to the others who were barely holding on and looked like they were about to collapse at any moment, she seemed to be in much better condition.
"Your stamina is quite good," she said, somewhat surprised.
She seemed to have much better stamina than many boys, while Huo Xuan, who was standing next to her, looked like he was about to die.
Lin Xu glanced up at her, then buried his head and continued jogging forward.
Amidst a chorus of wails, Anno reached their destination.
There were seven or eight of them who were in the first group to reach the finish line, and now they were all exhausted and collapsed on the steps at the entrance of the temple.
The instructor reminded them, "Stand still for a bit, don't gulp down water, take a break, and don't go buy ice water later."
This is a tourist attraction with several shops around it. The temple is specifically for praying for blessings, and there is a very tall prayer tree at the entrance of the temple.
There are still many students who haven't come up yet. Those who climb up first will have more time to rest.
The instructors told them not to wander too far and to gather under the prayer tree at the temple entrance.
Anuo drank a few sips of water and sat down to rest on the cement platform under the wishing tree. Lin Xu sat down silently beside her.
"Your stamina is good. Have you trained?" she asked Lin Xu.
Lin Xu lowered her eyes, looking as quiet as usual.
Hearing her question, Lin Xu slowly turned to look at her. She was always like this, seemingly unhurried in everything she did, giving people a sense of calm. However, she always kept her time very full. Apart from eating, sleeping, and some necessary tasks, she spent the rest of her time studying, revealing an eagerness hidden beneath her composed personality.
Anuo felt that Lin Xu was different from others. This difference came from a kind of resilience that was not obvious but had been engraved in her flesh and blood.
"I've been helping with farm work since I was little," she said softly, explaining why she was physically strong.
Upon hearing this, Anuo recalled the few clothes she had seen when she accidentally opened Anuo's wardrobe last time. Those few clothes were already faded from washing, along with a pair of ill-fitting shoes.
She could guess that her family was not well-off.
In the few days she had known her, she noticed the thick calluses on her hands and her frugality in daily life.
Anuo didn't ask any more questions, afraid that some of them might make Lin Xu feel bad.
She won't ask any more questions unless she's willing to tell you herself.
It was still nine o'clock in the morning, and there weren't many people at the temple, only a few tourists.
The students, dressed in camouflage uniforms, looked over curiously, and some even took out their cameras to take pictures.
Anno glanced at the time, thinking that it would take at least an hour for the last student to come up, so he sat down on the ground and leaned against the wall of the round platform.
She wasn't particularly tired to begin with, but now that she's sat down, she feels a bit sleepy.
The morning sun shone through the treetops, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Just as Anuo was about to close her eyes, she saw a tall, slender figure walking towards her.
For some reason, she felt that the figure was somewhat familiar.
Approaching us was a boy who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. He was handsome and aloof, and he was holding a prayer plaque in his hand. He walked over and hung the plaque under the tree.
After hanging up the sign, the boy seemed to sense Anuo's gaze and turned to look at her.
The two stared at each other for a while, and Anno was the first to look away.
I don't recognize it, so I won't look at it much.
"elder brother?!"
A surprised voice rang in Anuo's ears. She looked in the direction of the voice and saw Huo Xuan jump up from the ground and walk to the boy that Anuo had just seen.
"Brother, what brings you here!"
Huo Yin glanced indifferently at his loud and boisterous younger brother, "Come and pray for blessings."
Huo Xuan chuckled and whispered in his ear, "I thought you came here specifically to see..."
He didn't say it explicitly, but just gave Anno a look.
Huo Yin ignored him and turned away from his sight.
Anuo couldn't help but look at his back again. Was this Huo Xuan's brother?
I feel like I've seen it somewhere before.
After entering the temple, Huo Yin turned his head slightly to look back.
Then, he went around to the back hall of the temple, where a man was lying on the ground with his hands and feet tied. He had a pair of animal ears on his head and his fingertips were shaped like animal claws. His face was swollen and bruised like a pig's head.
Seeing him come in, the man struggled to his feet, roaring as he tried to pounce on him. Huo Yin kicked him to the ground and stepped on his chest. "Tell your boss that if he dares to send anyone near her again, I will kill him."
After saying that, he took out a military knife from his pocket and cut off the restraints on his hands and feet, and then kicked him to the ground, where he rolled several times.
The man felt as if his internal organs had been shattered. Terrified, he scrambled to his feet and quickly disappeared from Huo Yin's sight.
At 10 a.m., the remaining students finally all climbed up.
For the last stretch, they literally climbed up using both their hands and feet.
The way down was much easier and faster than the way up, and by the time we got back to the training base, we were just in time for lunch.
The afternoon was another routine training session. The instructors taught the students some self-defense techniques and told them that after a few more days of training, they would have a combat exercise, and starting tomorrow, everyone would be able to experience handling a gun.
This is the most exciting moment for the students participating in military training, and it is also the motivation for them to persevere: to touch a real gun.
Of course, the gun was a real gun, but the bullets were just blanks.
Each person can only fire five blank rounds, and that's it.
The instructors taught each student how to hold and fire a gun. Most students were only excited for a moment. Learning to shoot was still difficult. Few people could hit the target when they were lying on the ground and shooting.
Except for Anno.
Anno had handled a gun, but that was a long time ago, before Hicks took her home and adopted her. Back then, she was wandering in the South Ska desert and encountered many armed groups.
Many of them had kidnapped her, intending to hand her over to their superiors, but she always managed to escape.
She had also shot and killed people.
Five blank rounds, all hit the target, but they weren't very accurate.
"sure."
Instructor Zhang Cheng couldn't help but praise her for holding the gun properly, saying that even disregarding accuracy, her posture was much more respectable than that of the other students.
"Have you practiced?" He finally had the chance to ask the question he wanted to ask.
During the past few days of military training, he had been paying close attention to Anuo. She was not the most outstanding. There were many boys in the training who were military enthusiasts and wanted to perform well. Anuo's performance was just average among them.
But she was the most stable one; she handled any project with ease and always completed it perfectly.
Anuo said to Zhang Cheng, "I practice Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) regularly."
Zhang Cheng understood; it turned out he had practiced Sanda (Chinese kickboxing), no wonder his body was so agile during training.
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