“Understand?” shouted Principal Chen sternly. His voice sounded like it came from an emotionless metal.
“Yes, sir!” answered Ye Jian immediately in a loud and steady voice, holding her head high.
To start a new chapter of her life, Ye Jian had experienced the most difficult day of her life thus far. She had to receive training from hell, conducted by a world-class sniper. After ten minutes of warm-up, she was told to stand still.
Moreover, while she was standing, she must read out the numbers randomly flashing on the board in the training field.
And she must not move while giving her answers. If she moved, even just a little bit, an ant would be placed on her neck…
“34, 27, 870, 994…” controlled by computers, the numbers would appear on the screen for only three seconds. Usually, four or five numbers would occur at the same time. At most, seven different numbers would be displayed simultaneously.
The numbers ranged from one-digit to three-digits. And Ye Jian was required to state them correctly in the blink of an eye.
This training was designed to help Ye Jian enhance her ability to concentrate, as well as her observation and reaction to her surroundings!
“Usually, it takes 0.022 seconds to fire a bullet from a sniper rifle. After 0.022 seconds, either your bullet has put a hole between the eyes of your enemy, or his bullet is about to take away your soul. If you want to survive, receiving basic training is your first step.”
Considering that Ye Jian was still a child, Principal Chen withheld some of his extremely tough training from her on her first day. Putting ants on Ye Jian’s neck was a piece of cake because soldiers would encounter ants when they were hiding in certain places during battles.
Ye Jian had been standing still for one hour. As time went by, she became increasingly concentrated.
“Left, 187; … Right, 591. Over!” Ye Jian was so focused that she could say the numbers correctly the moment they appeared on the board.
Not only was she highly concentrated, but her reaction speed had also reached an excellent level.
Starting from a certain moment, Principal Chen had been holding a folder and recording the training performance of Ye Jian on her first day.
The basic training and sniper training would be held simultaneously. And after two months of reinforced basic training, he would let Ye Jian touch authentic rifles, which would be loaded!
From Tuesday to Friday, Ye Jian was an ordinary student during the day.
But at night, she would turn into a sniper trainee, who have been receiving instructions to improve herself continuously.
In only a few days, her transformation had been apparent from the inside. The innocent and fragile features had been washed away from her face. She was no longer a budding flower. She had turned into a pine on the edge of a cliff that could withstand all kinds of adversities.
Such changes were subtle and gradual. People would have gotten used to the new Ye Jian by the time they realized she was different.
On the weekend, Ye Jian swiftly ran down from the mountain and back to her village. She slowed her pace gradually and walked step by step until she arrived before Grandpa Gen.
“Three minutes faster than last week. Not bad,” said Grandpa Gen while smoking from a water pipe. He placed his stopwatch into his chest pocket and looked at this hard-working girl who could bear hardships. He said in a hoarse and amiable voice,” Take your time. You will make progress gradually.”
After her exercise, her black eyes, which seemed like black obsidians that had been washed by water, were more resplendent than stars. Wiping away her sweat, Ye Jian said, “I’m patient, Grandpa. I will try my best to learn everything you and Principal Chen have been teaching me.”