Chapter 25 Torment
Now that everyone was present, Qiong ignored the pale faces of the few and spoke bluntly, "Everyone, you may think I'm being unkind, but I must be honest. Our team's situation is not optimistic..."
"Therefore, I will be doubly strict with you and will do my best to teach you." Qiong's expression was serious and she did not seem to be pretending.
Upon hearing this, Kris and the others also took it seriously, no longer complaining. What Joan said was indeed true. Even with a top tactical talent like her on the team, if the others couldn't keep up, all efforts would be in vain.
Improving combat capabilities has always been one of the goals that Chris set for himself. After listening to Joan's words, he immediately adjusted his mentality.
Chris cleared his throat and continued, "Yes, if we all work together, we can at least pass the next assessment..."
Lauren and Ian also nodded in agreement. Margaret did not express her opinion, which was considered as tacit approval. Everyone reached a consensus on this.
Qiong was quite satisfied with everyone's performance, a smile spreading across her face. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of you."
Margaret looked helpless and couldn't help but complain: "It's because you said that that we are afraid..."
Joan shrugged. "I always tell the truth and keep my word."
She paused and continued, "Today's training will begin with the most basic physical fitness, with standard tactical movements as auxiliary training subjects."
"I've already set the parameters for the intelligent system based on your previous physical fitness scores," Joan said, pointing to the virtual training machines in front of her. "Please."
Ian's mouth twitched, his expression a mixture of fear and worry. He subconsciously took a step back and met Chris's gentle yet encouraging eyes. He gritted his teeth, walked to the machine closest to him first, and put on the equipment resignedly.
Chris smiled and calmly walked to another machine. Lauren and Margaret followed suit. Joan personally checked each machine, confirming it was correct, then operated the master control system and started the program.
"Swish--" A burst of white light flashed before the eyes of several people. When the picture became clear again, an empty forest appeared in front of them.
Qiong's voice rang out, "This simulation is of the primeval forest of planet R10765 in the Resource Galaxy. You must keep running to avoid occasional minor disasters and attacks from wild beasts."
"Ah?" Ian was completely dumbfounded, but Joan did not explain further. She just left the communication after leaving with the last sentence "I wish you a long journey".
As soon as she finished speaking, Corris heard a dangerous animal growl behind him.
He stopped where he was and slowly turned his head. A four-legged creature that looked like both a dinosaur and a crocodile was staring at him closely - Corris had become a delicious prey in the eyes of the beast!
Kris's calves went weak, but as the beast lunged at him, his instinct for survival forced him to run. The virtual training machine sprang to life, and the ground beneath Kris's feet transformed into a treadmill, matching Kris's movements.
Corris kept running forward. The trees in front of him became denser and more luxuriant, with branches and leaves growing thicker. The ground was covered with the roots of plants and slippery moss. If Corris was not careful, he would fall to the ground.
In order to overcome the tree branches on the ground, Kris had to jump from time to time; when passing the moss-covered stones, he had to slow down and step carefully on the bad mossy ground.
He didn't know how long he'd been running. His mind was blank, and all he could hear was his own heavy breathing... and the monster behind him was still relentless in pursuit. The longer he ran, the more sore and numb his muscles became. He even had the illusion that he was floating, not running on his legs.
There was a muddy ground in front of him. As soon as Corris put his foot into it, he sank into it and could not pull it out. He was already exhausted, and now he encountered this situation, which was even more dangerous.
Corris desperately allowed himself to be swallowed by the swamp. He turned around and saw that the monster that had been chasing him had also arrived at the muddy swamp.
The monster tilted its head, looking puzzledly at Corris as he slowly sank into the swamp. It seemed to understand something. It searched the edge of the swamp and kicked a large rock into the swamp.
With a "plop" sound, the stone hit the mud without creating the expected splash. The monster had already realized the danger here. Its prey in the swamp was doomed, but it was a pity that it hadn't succeeded...
The four-legged monster slowly retreated, then quickened its pace, running away without looking back. Corris, on the other hand, was much more sober now, standing calmly in place, allowing his body to be buried in the mud...
When his head was completely submerged by the swamp and everything before his eyes was pitch black, the process ended.
"Three, two, one... it has popped up automatically." The mechanical voice of the intelligent system sounded, and when Corris opened his eyes again, the primeval forest in front of him was no longer the same one at the beginning.
He was already exhausted, and his trembling arm muscles couldn't even lift them freely... The next moment, several pairs of hands quickly undid all his equipment.
Without the support of the equipment he was wearing, Chris could no longer stand and was about to fall to the ground. Fortunately, Ian and Lauren reacted quickly, one of them holding one shoulder and picked up Chris, whose knees were weak.
"Chris, you're trying too hard!" Ian's tone was filled with undisguised shock, and he looked at Lauren who was hesitant to speak.
Chris didn't see the shocked and confused looks his companions exchanged among each other. He just felt his eyes go dark and he was about to faint.
Joan stood in front of the main control system, her expression more serious than ever before. She was carefully and meticulously checking the data of the device where Chris was.
Ian and Lauren carefully helped Chris sit down on the chair in the training room. Margaret looked worried and took out some muscle relief patches and other sports supplies she had prepared in advance from her bag.
With Lauren's help, both of Chris's arms and the muscles that had been overworked were covered with ointments. Chris was too weak to move and just let them do what they wanted.
Joan finally finished checking all the data. There was nothing wrong with the parameters set for the training machine, and the scene simulation was also calculated and presented based on Koris's real-time situation... If this was the case, it meant that Koris had indeed been running on the machine alone for a long time, far exceeding the expectations of the intelligent system and Joan, even to a somewhat outrageous degree.
On the other side, Ian exclaimed to Chris, "My God, do you know how long you ran? You ran at full speed for nearly two hours!"
Chris was just recovering from his initial shock. When he heard Ian's words, he was half a beat late in reacting. He asked in a hoarse voice, "...Did I run for that long?"
"Yes, we tried to wake you up, but because your brain is in a highly excited state and deeply connected to the training system...we can only try to slow down the system's operation." Although Lauren looked worried, he still explained the situation clearly to Chris.
"How is this possible?" Chris was also surprised by his own performance and was a little unconvinced.
"It's true. We have all exited the virtual training system, but you haven't finished it yet." Margaret, still frightened, agreed with Lauren.
Chris didn't know what was going on. A fleeting thought flashed through his mind, but he couldn't put it into words. Right now, he could only shake his head at his concerned teammates and say, "This... I don't know either." Why?
Joan came to Chris from the main control system settings, looking calm. She analyzed, "Perhaps your adrenaline surge is causing your athletic ability to improve in a short period of time."
Chris nodded hesitantly and said, "Maybe..." Just as Qiong expressed his guess, Chris also remembered an important thing: he once accidentally took a drug called Relexicon, which would affect physical fitness in a short period of time.
However, Renexavar is a banned drug, and most people are currently unaware of its existence. On the other hand, Chris has no way of confirming whether his abnormal behavior is truly caused by Renexavar...
Lauren knew he was unwell and seemed to be at his limit, so she was even more worried. "Chris, are you okay?"
Chris still looked listless, but his responses were relatively fluent. Seeing that the others looked unhappy, he forced a smile and said comfortingly, "I'm fine. Just go back to the dorm and rest for a while..."
The other four exchanged glances, and Margaret asked with concern, "Really, we don't need to go to the school hospital?"
Chris didn't dare rush to the hospital. If the examination showed that his strange symptoms were caused by rifaximin, there would be no way to recover.
Kris slowly and firmly rejected his teammates' good intentions, insisting on returning to the dormitory. Seeing that persuasion was ineffective, they had no choice but to agree.
"I will pay more attention to his physical condition." As a roommate, Lauren took the initiative to assume the responsibility of taking care of Chris, and Joan instructed Lauren on some special matters.
Ian stood beside Kris, patted his shoulder gently, and said, "If you have anything, contact me. I'll come to the dormitory to help you."
Corris smiled at Ian and said softly, "Thank you."
Ian scratched his head a little embarrassedly and said, "It's okay, this is what I should do..."
Chris suddenly remembered Tim who came with him, and asked with all his strength, "Where's the sophomore who came with me?"
"When we finished training, he had already left quietly." Margaret frowned.
Corris was stunned, but he didn't say much. He sighed and let the matter go. "Forget it... I'll try to pay more attention to him from now on."
"Oh! By the way, Chris, your terminal ring just rang..." Lauren took Chris's backpack and reminded him.
Chris carefully took his bag, took out the terminal, clicked on the screen and saw a missed call with the word "Father" written on it.
Old Nar again? Kris frowned, silently locking his terminal screen and deciding to return to the dorm before making any plans.
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The author has something to say: Here it comes, the next update will be in 7.7, currently it is still updated every other day [star eyes]
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