The whole squadron crouched down. They heard incessant fire towards the five shields.
Slezzy despaired initially, but Clay controlled him in time.
— Hey! We need to take advantage of some loophole to defeat the supposed soldiers! — said Jean. — I think... they are holographic!
— Han?
— The FMA's technology is very advanced, so I don't doubt they put us first against that sort of thing. Even so, I believe that our weapons will work in a distance combat, otherwise it would not make sense to choose all of them before those screens go down.
— It makes sense, blondie, but how are our real weapons going to hit a holographic body of matter? — refuted Clay.
— This is not the time to discuss it! — said Slezzy. — They are approaching!
For a time, the shooting ceased. In the same interval, the sound of reloading each of those weapons became clear. Quickly, the soldiers returned to shoot.
The boys of the group struggled amid the noises of the shots that collided against the five shields that protected him.
— Eighteen seconds! — warned Kine.
— Right — confirmed Jean, facing the girl.
— What are you talking about? — asked Clay, confused.
— While you were arguing, I made it a point to count the exact time that all the soldiers would spend so that all the magazines on their weapons would be reset. Even though supposedly holographic, they were made to simulate a real situation. Although... they look pretty dumb — explained the girl.
— Maybe not, Kine. I don't think the captain would put up such a difficult test at first. But, just with this data, we can already create some solution! — said Jean, smiling.
After another sequence of eighteen seconds of gusts, the soldiers stopped firing to reload their weapons.
— It's a perfect sequence! — said Kine, excited.
— Now that we have the sequence, we just need to know the exact location of the soldiers.
— Listen to me! Do you remember where exactly each of those screens were!? — asked Slezzy.
All confirmed with the nod of their heads.
— There were only four sections of three columns in front of each screen. Two of them on each side of the room. Based on the amount of shots fired, I would easily bet that there are a total of six soldiers on each side, three of whom are already close by. At the first opportunity, we can take care of the closest ones while Jean, with the flamethrower, deals with those who are still in the columns, forcing them to leave the defensive position!
The group was surprised by the words of the young man who, a short time ago, let himself be carried away by agony.
At the very moment when the shots ceased once again, after a command shouting from Jean, the group stood up confidently, wielding their weapons.
The sound of the group's gunfire echoed throughout the room, among Slezzy and Clay's submachine guns, Jean's flamethrower, and Kine's Desert Eagle.
They realized that nothing had happened after they had exhausted all the ammunition from their weapons. Not even a single soldier had reacted.
To the surprise of the boys, the screens, broken due to his shots, repaired themselves and climbed back to the ceiling. The fire that Jean had set on the edge of each side of the room mysteriously dissipated before his eyes.
Soon, the main door of the room opened. Roy walked slowly towards the boys as he clapped his hands, speaking with a big smile:
— My congratulations!
— Wait... This is serious!? — asked Slezzy.
— It's very serious! Defeating the "holographic soldiers" was never the main goal of this test — replied the Captain, crossing his arms. — The real purpose of this first test has always been the individual decision of each of you. You know, it's good to be aware of when I'm dealing with cowards or not.
— Are you kidding me!? You risked our lives just for a trip like this? — The boy complained again.
— The ammunition from the weapons of those soldiers were not real. They never were — he answered with a laugh afterwards.
Slezzy was outraged by it.
— I still think I deserved double recognition, just for saving our "old man" from his fake death — said Clay, slapping the young man on the back next to him, copying Jean's attitude.
The other two candidates laughed at this situation.
— The whole performance of the group itself was completely satisfactory! From the moment you calmed down the boy who would mount the final plan to the time Jean proposed what should be done, taking advantage of the flaw that Kine found in the soldiers' algorithm.
Still surrounded by the shields, all faced each other.
— Do you notice how each factor connects to the other? This is called "teamwork"! It's so simple that it becomes cliché! Even so, it is something fundamental in any kind of squad, something that could apply in any real situation, where all their lives could really take some risk.
Roy turned to the door of the room, still speaking:
— Well... enough talk! It's time for my favorite part! Let's go to the training camp!
The candidates jumped on the shields, removed their vests and followed Roy to the stairwell door.
When they got there, the Captain stopped his steps and ordered them, stretching his arm forward, to pass him:
— This way!
When the squadron went through the door, it was closed abruptly.
— What? — contested Clay, confused.
Muffled, on the other side of the door, Roy shouted:
— Go down the stairs to the ground floor! If someone tries to cheat, everyone will be disqualified!
— That's a joke!? — Clay grumbled.
— Ah! Another little warning! If you arrive after me, you will have to perform twice as many physical exercises! — Roy didn't miss another second and then ran towards the elevator on that floor.
The group realized this and began to descend the stairs at rapid speed, bending over each other.
*
Upon reaching the ground floor, the candidates, after twenty floors of stairs traveled, were extremely tired.
Panting, they walked to the first floor reception.
There, Roy quietly drank a cup of coffee. He held a tanned briefcase with his other hand while talking to Laura.
The boys approached him with angry looks, breathing deeply.
— Hey! Just calm down! That was just a little exercise... compared to what they're about to face — said Roy, after finishing the cup of coffee, walking to the exit of the building then. — Come on, follow me!
When they left the place, the Captain guided them to said training camp.
The field was green and rectangular, with measures close to eighty per hundred meters long. Around, there were several huts occupied and surrounded by several soldiers.
There was also a target range, pretty close by. In addition, several soldiers ran around the place.
Roy and the squad walked to an empty cabin.
Inside the hut, the Captain supported the briefcase on a small table, opened it and from there removed four wristwatches.
— You will give twenty turns around the whole field — Roy said, handing them the clocks.
— Twenty? Look at the size of that field! — complained Slezzy.
— You missed the challenge. I said I would double the exercise! Look at the bright side! You'll be healed in no time! — concluded, smiling.
Jean equipped himself with the watch and set off quickly to the field, starting his first lap. Kine did the same.
— We have no other option, is not it? — commented Clay, leaving for the field, following the boys.
Slezzy stared at Roy for a few seconds, sighed, and ran towards the rest of the group in quick steps to catch up.
They ran non—stop, beneath the incessant sun rays of the ten o'clock in the morning.
After minutes, a strong man, a little old and in uniform with a heavy suit, who wore medals on his chest, approached the field.
He was walking towards Roy. His haircut was social, the most classic type possible, shiny and fully brushed back, so that none of the strands were out of place.
A sergeant near there noticed the presence of that man and instantly positioned his hand on his forehead, joined his legs and then shouted:
— SENSE!
Everyone in the camp did the same, including Roy and the soldiers running around, pausing their activities to perform the gesture.
— Why are we... doing this? — said Slezzy with a panting tone.
— What? You don't know him? — commented Jean, a little exhausted.
— DISMISSED! — cried the man who was greeted, with a deep voice.
After the command, everyone returned to their activities and the group ran again.
Jean replied Slezzy as he resumed the pace of his race:
— That's the FMA General. Everyone knows him as General Santos.
Clay smiled, but soon concentrated on the race along with the others.
The man in uniform continued to walk to Roy, who organized some things in the hut to which he occupied.
— Captain! How are you? — Santos greeted him.
— General! I'm fine! What are you doing here at this hour?
— I would like to look at the new candidates... And it seems that they have succeeded in their first test.
— Exactly, they were exceptional! It's a pity that we will only include two in the new corporation.
— No! Do not feel sorry! Surely, the reprobates will take all our teaching for the rest of their lives.
Roy felt comfortable continuing the conversation:
— On another matter, General, I have a question: since this is our last inclusive training, what will happen if crime goes up... to the point where our current number of available agents is not enough?
— It's a very complicated situation, Captain. Unfortunately, the press is pressing us more and more, every day, on the issue of military training for children, exclusively in the Blue Order. People do not seem to see that the orphans of this city have no purpose but the only two possible paths: alliance to crime or military recruitment.
The two began to observe the group that ran around the field.
— How many laps have they covered?
— They will complete the third one right now.
— So, let's spice things up a bit...
Suddenly, the General approached the edge of the field, shouting:
— HEY, SQUAD! IN CASE ANYONE GIVES UP THE RACE, ALL WILL BE ELIMINATED! WITHOUT EXCEPTION!
The defiant speech of Santos caused all the military around the camp to pay full attention to that race, also causing a small affliction in the candidates.