Xiao Jing did not refute Mu Xichi's accusations and merely stared at him unblinkingly. And after listening to his righteous words, she suddenly recalled what Xiao Ye told her.
Shen Chengfeng was tall and handsome. Even though he had a problem, he was still considered a member of the elite and naturally had his fair share of admirers, including the comrades who had gone through thick and thin with him.
Besides, in military camps such as this, it was not often that one would see women who were delicate and feminine, so it would not be unusual if some of the men started developing an interest in the same sex.
Mu Xichi narrowed his eyes. Having picked up a trace of disdain in the other party's eyes, he asked angrily, "Why are you staring at me like that?"
Xiao Jing coughed lightly and inched closer, deliberately dropping her voice to a whisper. "Don't worry, Major Mu. There are some things that I won't say, and some people I won't covet. The commander is yours. You don't have to worry that I'll steal him from you."
It took Mu Xichi a while to understand what Xiao Jing had just said. He had to replay the words in his mind repeatedly to understand them. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with what she had just said, but something just didn't seem quite right. However, he couldn't put his finger on it.
Carrying the backpack, Xiao Jing headed toward the bar. As half of her body hung over it, her freshly healed wound started throbbing in pain again. She gritted her teeth and held her breath as she continued climbing forward.
The sun was as hot as an overturned stove, and large droplets of sweat dripped down from her temples. Xiao Jing had just made it up the high wall when she lost her balance and fell on her butt.
There was a loud noise, then a flurry of dust.
"Is this the quality of your recruits?" Qi Yue glanced coldly at Mu Xichi.
"Even if that individual had thirteen minutes to himself, he might still not be able to complete the course. Forget thirteen minutes for the entire team. Disappointing, how disappointing."
Mu Xichi couldn't help but shrug. "It might seem ridiculous, but he is one of our candidates."
"Where is he from?" Qi Yue flipped open his file to look at Xiao Jing's details and suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Regiment 525?!"
Mu Xichi threw him a knowing glance, and a small smile crept onto his face. "The higher-ups intend for us to give 525 a chance to prove themselves, given that their reputation over the years hasn't been excellent."
"Well, that is unfortunate. Too bad for this batch of rookies then." Qi Yue rested his chin in his hand, not bothering to conceal the fact that he was staring at the clumsy Xiao Jing. No matter how he looked at her, she seemed to be entirely inexperienced, like she had just joined the military and not gone through much training.
Xiao Jing finally finished the whole course and was still trying to catch her breath when she took her spot at the end of the line. She knew that they had failed.
"Do you guys have any idea how long you took?" Qi Yue walked past everyone, stopped in front of Xiao Jing, and sized up the petite person before him, who was at least ten centimeters shorter than him.
Looking at the timer, Mu Xichi said, "Twenty-four minutes and thirty-five seconds. How impressive."
"Based on this result, I think we should disband so that we won't be a disgrace on the real battlefield," mocked Qi Yue.
"Instructor, please let us try again," suggested Qin Yi as he stepped forward.
"Alright, I will give all of you another chance. If you exceed even by one second, you will have to do ten pull-ups each."
Lin Qi did not waste any time dragging his feet and completed it even faster than before. It only took him one minute and three seconds to complete 100 meters.
He was followed by Qi Pei, who made a mistake and fell off the bar but still managed to finish the task within two minutes.
Xiao Jing mustered as much strength as she could. Under the torment of the hot sun, she could feel every bit of oxygen being squeezed out of her lungs. Her throat was dry and hurting, and every drop of sweat she lost was leading to dehydration.
Taking a deep breath, she crawled out from the mud. Her shoulders were chafed from carrying the backpack, and her knees had suffered abrasions from the sand and dirt. There were multiple cuts all over her face, as well as blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
The seven of them stood in a row, shoulder to shoulder. They knew that they must have failed again.
"Twenty-five minutes and fifty-six seconds. You have exceeded the time I set for you by almost eight minutes. Don't you know how to count?" Qi Yue walked past the seven of them with his head bowed, his fingers gently clasping the files containing their personal information. With a shake of his head, he said, "Four hundred and eighty seconds. Do a pull-up for each second exceeded. I will leave you to split them among yourselves."
The seven of them stared at each other. They couldn't possibly be trying to tire everyone out on the first day, could they?
"You better start now. We will continue with the hundred-meter relay in an hour. If you fail again, the punishments will be doubled or tripled in accordance with the results," said Qi Yue as he put on his sunglasses with vigor. "I don't like the weather in the northwest. It's too dry, way too dry."
Putting down the backpack, Li Jing could feel the people around her staring daggers at her. When she turned around, she saw Jiang Si hiding his look of resentment in a hurry.
"Don't take it to heart. Training is like that." Lin Qi placed an open bottle of water in front of Xiao Jing.
After gulping down large mouthfuls of water and rehydrating, Xiao Jing said, "If I can't, I have to. If I have to, I will."
"That's right. We'll make it." Lin Qi picked up his bottle of water and poured it over himself. The ice-cold water stimulated his body. Throwing the container to the ground, he then sprang up and leaped onto the horizontal bar.
Not too far away in a building nearby, in front of a window on the second floor, there was a strange flash of light.
Shen Chengfeng drew the curtains when he heard footsteps approaching. He sat back into his chair and placed his hands casually on the armrests, staring expressionlessly at the man who had just come in uninvited.
Qi Yue closed the door and strode purposefully into the room. Placing both hands on the desk and leaning forward, with a stern expression on his face, he said, "Those are the candidates you selected?"
"Are you very disappointed?" Shen Chenfeng asked him in return.
Plopping himself into a chair, Qi Yue answered, "Not to that extent. There are still one or two who are outstanding. But what's up with that Xiao Jing? Since when did you, Shen Chengfeng, have to stoop to the level of currying favor with the Xiao family?"
"You don't think he'll make the cut?" Shen Chengfeng questioned.
Qi Yue chuckled. "It's not that I think he can't. The problem lies with him. His existence is only going to drag down his teammates."
"Since when have the Xiao family ever produced a loser?"
"Exactly. I never knew that there was someone like Xiao Jing in the Xiao family. Today was the first time I've heard of him. And the fact that he's from 525? Well, no matter how hard you train someone from Regiment 525, they are bound to remain flawed."