Five times!
The three of them nearly knelt on the spot.
The female guests' training volume was already their limit.
For them, as special forces soldiers, it was nothing.
But five times the amount—that would definitely make them shed a layer of skin!
"Captain, we were wrong!" Zhou Chenguang was the first to wail.
"Captain, we won't dare again!" Wang Yanbing was also close to tears.
"We were just curious... just asking..."
Wu Tianlong's voice was trembling.
Lu Mingyu was completely unmoved.
"The order has been given."
After speaking, he ignored the wailing trio and turned to leave.
Zhou Chenguang, Wang Yanbing, and Wu Tianlong could only pull long faces.
They uniformly turned their heads, staring intently at the innocent-looking Li Xiaoniu with extremely resentful eyes.
After Lu Mingyu left the dormitory, he did not go far, only turning to a window at the end of the corridor.
The cool night breeze dispelled some of the heat from his body.
He lowered his head and glanced at his phone screen; a new message had been sent after the familiar name "Naza."
"Mingyu, are you asleep? Are you tired today?"
Lu Mingyu's fingertips glided across the cold screen, typing slowly but steadily.
"Not yet, just finished dealing with things."
The message was almost an instant reply.
"Then you should rest quickly."
Followed by a cute "hug" emoji.
The corners of Lu Mingyu's mouth unconsciously curved upwards, that cold, hard line instantly melted by tenderness.
He thought for a moment and replied, "Not tired, I'm used to it."
"You should also go to bed early; there's training tomorrow."
Gu Lina Zha seemed to imagine him lecturing with a poker face and sent a tongue-out emoji.
"Got it, Instructor Lu! I just wanted to talk to you."
"From now on, can we always chat like this on our phones?"
This question made Lu Mingyu silent for a moment.
He knew the military discipline, but he didn't want to let her down.
"Yes, you can."
He replied with just two simple words, yet it seemed to give the other party a solemn promise.
"That's great! Then I'm going to sleep feeling satisfied!"
"You should also go to bed quickly, good night!"
"Good night."
After sending these two words, Lu Mingyu stood quietly for a while before putting his phone back in his pocket.
The softness in his heart was reserved for one person only.
Meanwhile, Gu Lina Zha in the dormitory hugged her phone and happily rolled around on the bed.
Being able to whisper with Lu Mingyu like this made her feel sweeter and more at ease than seeing him at any other time during the day.
She closed her eyes contentedly, looking forward to the arrival of tomorrow.
Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking.
The female guests, dragging their sore bodies, once again arrived at the training ground.
However, the scene at the training ground today was somewhat different.
At the very front of the team were the three instructors, Zhou Chenguang, Wang Yanbing, and Wu Tianlong.
They were standing ramrod straight, lined up like new recruits.
Their faces were all grim, looking like eggplants hit by frost.
The female guests were all stunned and began to whisper among themselves.
Bai Lu, being a bit bolder, couldn't help but raise her hand and ask Li Xiaoniu, who was standing at the front of the team:
"Instructor Li, are Instructor Zhou and the others... also going to train with us?"
Li Xiaoniu glanced at the three dejected fellows.
He cleared his throat and said in a businesslike tone:
"They made a mistake, and Captain Lu punished them to participate in the training together."
"Furthermore, for all training items, their training volume will be five times yours."
Five times!
The female guests gasped.
Their training volume was already almost breaking them apart; what did five times even mean?
Everyone's gaze towards the three instructors instantly changed from curiosity to sympathy.
Soon, the training officially began.
Today's first item was basic physical fitness.
"All present, push-ups, half an hour!"
At Li Xiaoniu's command, the female guests all lay on the ground and gritted their teeth, starting their push-ups.
After only a few, many people's arms began to tremble, and sweat streamed down their faces.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Zhou Chenguang, Wang Yanbing, and Wu Tianlong were like wound-up machines.
Their movements were textbook-perfect, fast and steady, showing no signs of strain.
But they had to do five times the amount of the female guests, which meant they could barely have any rest.
After half an hour of push-ups, the female guests were all so exhausted they lay on the ground, unable to get up.
"Two minutes rest, next item, sit-ups, also half an hour!"
The female guests let out a collective groan, but still struggled to begin the new torment.
They looked at the three instructors next to them, who were still intensely working out.
Besides marveling at the terrifying physical fitness of special forces soldiers, they were more curious.
"Oh my god, what on earth did they do to be punished like this?"
"I don't know, but didn't Captain Lu seem to be in a pretty good mood yesterday?"
"The strength gap is too big; we're almost dying in half an hour, and they have to do two and a half hours..."
The female guests' discussions were very quiet, but loud enough for the three instructors to hear clearly.
Their faces grew even darker; they wished they could find a hole to crawl into.
After the basic physical training ended, everyone felt like they had lost half their lives.
Lu Mingyu's figure appeared at the edge of the training ground; he just watched coldly, not saying a word.
But his icy gaze made Zhou Chenguang and the other two feel as if a huge mountain was pressing on their backs.
"All assemble!"
Li Xiaoniu blew his whistle.
He glanced at Lu Mingyu, then announced to everyone:
"Next, a ten-kilometer armed cross-country run! After completion, proceed directly to the shooting range to assemble!"
Ten kilometers?
Li Xiaoniu's heart sank.
He clearly remembered that, according to the plan, the female guests' armed cross-country was supposed to gradually increase from five kilometers.
Why was it suddenly increased to ten kilometers today?
He immediately understood that this was another "special treatment" from Captain Lu for those three unlucky guys.
But this meant the female guests would also have to suffer along with them.
Especially Gu Lina Zha, could she endure it?
Li Xiaoniu secretly glanced at Lu Mingyu, secretly worrying for him.
Oh, Captain Lu, to punish three soldiers, you've dragged your girlfriend along too.
When you go home later, you might have to kneel on the washboard.
Zhou Chenguang, Wang Yanbing, and Wu Tianlong's faces had already turned pale when they heard "ten kilometers."
When they went to pick up their weighted packs, their faces completely changed the moment their hands touched them.
"Damn, this weight isn't right!"
Zhou Chenguang exclaimed in a low voice.
Wang Yanbing also lifted one and nearly threw out his back:
"This... this is definitely more than fifty catties!"
The female guests' load was ten kilograms, so according to five times the amount, theirs should be fifty kilograms.
Wu Tianlong gritted his teeth and hoisted the pack onto his back; the heavy weight made him stumble.
"This is a sixty-jin pack; Captain Lu added extra for us."
He squeezed out the words through gritted teeth.
The three of them exchanged glances, seeing despair and resignation in each other's eyes.
What else could they do?
They could only swallow their bitterness.
The three of them said nothing, silently shouldering their heavy marching packs.
They followed at the very end of the female guest team.
Following behind the slowly moving jeep, they began their hellish ten-kilometer journey.