"Next group!"
Abram Phillips' rough and powerful voice echoed across the empty shooting range, naturally drawing the new recruits' attention.
The shooting training continued smoothly, with each group shooting without hitting the wrong target. Among the continuous reports, only a few were failing grades.
*
After shooting practice, it was already lunchtime, and Abram Phillips led them all to the dining hall.
"Unity is strength… ready, sing!"
In the well-organized ranks, Flossie Wright was considerably embarrassed watching squad leader Drake Easton lead the singing of the pre-meal anthem from the front. The next moment, the deafening singing of "Unity is strength" resounded through Flossie Wright's eardrums.
Pausing for a moment, Flossie Wright struggled internally and then, catching Drake Easton's scrutinizing gaze, she opened her mouth just before he looked away, ensuring her lip-syncing matched everyone else's.
The passionate song ended with a final "glow." Flossie Wright felt a buzzing in her ears, but before she could recover, she heard the resounding voice, "Flossie Wright, Janice Wood, step forward!"
"Yes!"
The voices rang out simultaneously outside the dining hall, abruptly halting other squads' singing sessions.
Flossie Wright resignedly followed the only other female soldier in her squad who had failed the shooting practice. Under everyone's watchful eyes, the two of them stood side-by-side before Drake Easton.
That was the rule in 3rd Squad, 2nd Platoon; any female soldier who failed the shooting test had to run laps before eating. By the time they finished running, lunchtime was usually over, so every time after shooting practice, Flossie Wright and some other unlucky female soldiers would end up missing a meal.
But today was different than usual. Before, they knew they needed to eat more on shooting practice days, but today they had to run extra laps, also missed breakfast. The female soldiers in the squad were all famished.
"Attention! Turn left, start running, target the parade ground, ten laps!"
Drake Easton's devil-like voice echoed in their ears. Other squads' female soldiers breathed sighs of relief, feeling incredibly lucky.
Flossie Wright wisely decided to obey Drake Easton's orders. Mercenary life did not have so many rules, but that didn't mean she was unaware of the forces' regulations.
Unconditional obedience was a soldier's tenet.
The running track was 400 meters long, ten laps equaled 4,000 meters, which was a moderate challenge for Flossie, who still struggled with running 5,000 meters, especially given that she had missed breakfast.
"Flossie, was squad leader Easton this nasty when you used to run before?"
Janice Wood's questioning voice broke into Flossie Wright's focus as she calculated the best way to endure the ten laps.
Flossie paused slightly, her gaze swept from Janice towards Drake Easton, who was shamelessly enjoying his meal while they ran. Various memories of Easton's ruthless acts flashed in her mind, causing her lips to twitch involuntarily.
"Yes." Flossie Wright replied simply, recalling that she had never run into Janice at these times before.
Despite her pretty and charming appearance, Janice was quite introverted and usually went unnoticed. Her overall performance was above average but not outstanding, so not many people paid attention to her. This was likely an off-day, which was why she ended up as Flossie's running partner.
"Pick up the pace!" Drake Easton bellowed while savoring his meal, the contrast between his leisurely demeanor and their exertion pronounced.
What was even more vexing was that every time Flossie and Janice ran past him, he would deliberately chew his food slowly, holding up a piece of delicious meat with his chopsticks, flaunting it within their field of vision, clearly trying to provoke them.
Even the introverted Janice couldn't help but complain to Flossie, "Is the squad leader some sort of sadist? He knows we haven't eaten and still teases us like this."
At that moment, Flossie only glanced at her, feeling sympathetic for the girl who had been in Drake Easton's squad for over two months but had yet to discover his malicious character.
Flossie took nearly half an hour to complete the 4,000 meters. By the time she reached the finish line, Janice had already been resting for a while and hurried over to support her.
"Squad leader's gone somewhere, I'll walk with you for a bit." Despite the blazing sun, Janice had a shy smile on her flushed face.
Flossie's eyes flickered as her gaze swept over the parade ground. Indeed, there was no sign of Drake Easton. She looked down at Janice, intending to say that she wasn't that tired, but reconsidered. She did not mind getting along with someone who wanted to be closer.
"Finished running?"
They didn't have much time to rest before Drake Easton's voice came from behind them.
They twisted around instinctively and saw Drake Easton holding a small basin of Steamed Buns. Janice swallowed subconsciously, her eyes gleaming as she gazed at the white Steamed Buns.
"Want some?" Drake Easton purposely tilted the basin towards them, displaying the Steamed Buns clearly.
"Yes." Janice nodded seriously.
Flossie remained cool, not falling for Drake Easton's bait.
"There are plenty of Steamed Buns," Drake Easton raised an eyebrow, his tone shifting, "I won't make it hard for you. But I've prepared a game for you two, whoever wins gets all these Steamed Buns."