After the medical examination, Xiao Luo and the rest of the trainees were transferred to the training base of the Guangming District branch station. The base was located at a remote location at the foot of the mountain in the Guangming district. Although it was a training ground for the auxiliary police trainees to improve their physical condition, it looked more like a military camp.
“Wow, this is awesome! Look, there’s a shooting range over there!”
“Yeah, there’s also an obstacle course. OMG, this place is lit!”
“I think this training ground costs tens of millions to build.”
When these auxiliary policemen trainees who were participating in the special training program entered the training camp, they were naturally inquisitive about everything there. The mud pools, sandpits, running fields… everything there got their hearts racing. Scenes of special forces training like those on television appeared in their minds. Thrilling and invigorating, everything was just so exciting for them.
“I think we’ll shed a layer of skin here.”
Liu Tieguo murmured quietly. He was the only person who wasn’t too enthusiastic about the camp.
…
…
After changing into their uniforms at the training camp’s dormitory, they regathered at the training grounds.
When they arrived at the ground, there were already two men in black singlets, camouflage trousers, and black boots standing inside the training grounds. The two were tall and buffed. Both were over 1.8 meters tall, tanned, had eyes that looked like a torch, and one of them was even wearing sunglasses. They seemed extremely grim by appearance.
The one wearing sunglasses had a toothpick in his mouth. He was standing upright with his arms firmly behind his back. He stepped forward and introduced to the crowd, “Let me first introduce myself. Surname, Yan; name, Wang. I am your instructor from today onward, in charge of your special training across a fifteen-day duration.”
Yan Wang? The king of hell?
The crowd gossiped among each other as they were curious about their instructor’s name.
“Silence!”
Yan Wang shouted, “Shout ‘Report’ before you say anything, and you may only speak when I allow you to do so, do you hear me?”
“We heard you!”
The crowd responded in unison.
“In the future, answer me with only ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ I don’t wish to hear any other answers.” There was an air of strength and manliness in Yan Wang’s voice.
“Yes, sir!” the crowd answered in concert.
“Good. I believe we will have a great time together.”
Yan Wang looked at everyone with his glistening eyes. He was stern, ruthless, and distant, “Deputy?”
“Yes, sir!”
The other man stepped forward and shouted with his chest out and head high.
“Let them move their muscles and bones,” said Yan Wang.
“Yes, sir.”
The deputy instructor turned to the crowd, “Everyone, turn right and start running. Go along the perimeter of the training ground. Do not stop until I give you the order to do so!”
Everyone abided by his orders and began jogging.
When they left, Yan Wang shook his head, “The requirements for auxiliary police trainees are really getting lower these days. Just look at them, they are as unrefined as homemade soup. None of them have a military background, and none of them are trained with that iron discipline. They are just some regular townsfolks. Making them competent for maintaining public security with just half a month of hasty training? If this isn’t a joke, what is?!”
Deputy instructor Feng Zixiao offered his opinion, “Now, all stations are in short of active policemen. Besides, with Jiangcheng’s continuous development and construction, our urban area is getting larger, so naturally, the demand for policemen is constantly rising. The higher-ups are also forced to recruit regular civilians because of that.”
“Even if that’s the case, this isn’t the proper way to recruit candidates. The requirements are too low. It will drag down the overall quality of the auxiliary policemen, and proper law enforcement cannot be carried out. Have they not learned from the lessons of the past few years?” Yan Wang was very dissatisfied with the higher-ups.
Feng Zixiao sighed, “You’re right. However…” He took out a girl’s information sheet from his file and handed it to Yan Wang, “I don’t know about the others, but this girl is definitely qualified in all aspects!”
“Gu Qianxue?” Yan Wang looked at the name on the resume.
Feng Zixiao nodded and explained, “She is the sister of Gu Qianlin, head of the Primary Taskforce of Jiangcheng District. Influenced by her sister, she vowed to become a police officer. What makes her different from her sister is that she became the disciple of the Lone Greybeard at Mount Tianshan when she was only ten years of age and has honed a good set of skills. After she left the mountain, she often followed Gu Qianlin to the large training grounds. Her marksmanship is top-notch, and her accuracy with rifles and guns cannot be questioned.”
“Listening to what you said, I do feel that we have ourselves a treasure.”
“Indeed, Gu Qianxue’s achievements will definitely be greater than her sister’s in the future.”
Yan Wang flashed a toothy smile as his eyes settled on the well-limbed and elegant girl running at the front of the group.
Her expression was solemn. She had a pretty face, though she seemed somewhat aloof. Along with her attractive and confident demeanor, she had fair skin, her body was slender, her countenance was cold yet delicate, and her eyes were deep and gorgeous. Although she was dressed in a camouflage uniform just like the others, her appealing disposition made her stand out from the crowd, just like a white swam amidst a flock of ordinary ducks.
…
…
“Just when can we stop? My legs are falling off!”
“I know, right. We’ve just started, and these instructors are already making it so hard, I think they want us to die.”
“That’s true, what we see on television is all fake. There is no thrill or excitement here. If it goes on like this, I’ll collapse for sure.”
After running for five laps, the trainees were beginning to lose their intensity and presence of minds from the fatigue. Everyone was absolutely drained and struggling to carry on. They all had their eyes fixed on Feng Zixiao. At this point, they were earnestly longing for him to shout the word ‘stop.’
Xiao Luo, on the other hand, wasn’t feeling any discomfort. But to be less conspicuous, he had been running unhurriedly beside Liu Tieguo. Liu Tieguo was struggling and was unable to speak. He was totally exhausted and was panting like a dog, lolling his tongue out and desperately gasping for air.
“Run, speed up! Just look at yourselves, even a girl is ahead of you, don’t you guys feel ashamed? Go faster, and do not stop! Whoever stops will get points docked off immediately!” Yang Wang yelled and press on.
It was only after hearing him that the crowd realized the person running at the front was a girl. Many male trainees, with masculine pride at stake, were gritting their teeth as they motivated themselves by shouting aloud that they would surpass her.
But each time when they were just about to overtake her, she would always hasten up and keep the lead. After several attempts, everyone was discouraged and gave up. At the same time, they all wondered, “Just who is this girl? Why does she have such great stamina?”
Xiao Luo was quite surprised as well. After carefully observing her, he discovered that her breathing was very stable. After running for five to six laps, she was hardly breaking a sweat, unlike the other trainees who already had their uniforms soaked to the skin.
“It looks like she had trained at this level before, and definitely not just casually,” Xiao Luo evaluated in his heart.
“I-I can’t… I can’t go on…”
Liu Tieguo’s lips were trembling and turning pale as he gradually slowed down to almost a halt. These were the signs of exhaustion.
Without saying a word, Xiao Luo supported him with his arms, “Brother Tieguo, you better don’t stay up late so frequently. It’s not good for your health.”
When Xiao Luo first saw Liu Tieguo, he could already tell that his body was frail and that his old appearance was probably caused by him frequently staying up late. His frailness would not usually show, but all would be exposed during grueling and intensive activities. Even the other girls were still holding on, but Liu Tieguo, on the other hand, could no longer persist.