Buzz—
In the vast blue sky, several heavily armed transport helicopters slowly descended, their spinning blades whipping up a storm of sand and dust on the ground.
On the other side of the helipad, a group of soldiers in uniform stood firm against the fierce wind, unmoving like statues.
The helicopter doors slowly opened, and Yuan Gang, dressed in military uniform and carrying a black box on his back, stepped down from the aircraft.
*Thud—!*
The waiting soldiers snapped to attention, shouting in unison with full force, "Good day, Commander!"
Yuan Gang strode forward, his expression stern, his uniform fluttering in the wind kicked up by the helicopter's rotor.
"Is the training camp ready?" he asked.
"Reporting! The training camp is fully prepared!" came the reply.
"Hm." Yuan Gang nodded, "By the way, give me the list of recruits for this training session."
"Yes, sir!"
Yuan Gang, carrying the black box, turned and headed towards the training camp that had sprung up overnight.
The camp was located in a remote suburban area, within the boundaries of Cangnan City. It covered a vast area, surrounded by ten miles of military checkpoints set up with the highest security level. Except for the recruits, no one could get near.
"Commander, here's this year's list of recruits." As Yuan Gang and the instructors toured the camp, a soldier hurried over and handed him the list.
Yuan Gang took the list and glanced at it, freezing in place.
The instructors behind him also stopped.
Yuan Gang rubbed his eyes, looking at the list again, muttering to himself, "What the hell... What is this lineup this year?"
"What's wrong, Commander?" One of the instructors, curious, leaned over.
"The young master of the Guangshen Baili Group? Is... is that the Baili Group?" The instructor caught sight of the first line and was stunned.
"The largest family conglomerate in Daxia, the second biggest sponsor of the Nightwatchers after the government, known as the Museum of Forbidden Items... The Baili family?" Another instructor couldn't help but speak up. "Is... is this the young master of our Nightwatchers' sponsor?"
"Why would a rich young master come to the Nightwatchers? Is he here to experience life?"
"Maybe, who knows what goes on in the minds of the rich."
"What if we go too hard during training and piss him off... Will he take revenge on us?"
"Do they dare?" Yuan Gang's eyes narrowed slightly. "The Nightwatchers are a national organization. Yes, the Baili family sponsors us heavily, but this isn't their backyard! As long as they're here, every recruit is equal. Train them hard, if anything happens, I'll take responsibility!"
"Yes, sir!"
The instructors nodded in unison.
Yuan Gang's gaze returned to the list in his hand. "This year, there's even a divine agent."
"A divine agent? Which god?" one of the instructors asked.
Yuan Gang looked up at the sky, narrowing his eyes. "Codename 003, the Seraphim Michael."
"Seraphim?!"
"When did Seraphim get an agent?"
"At least it's one of ours in the Nightwatchers..."
"It's been years since a divine agent appeared. This kid has a bright future!"
"The last divine agent who came out of recruit training... Wasn't he the one from the special squad, [Mask]?"
"Yeah."
Yuan Gang scanned the list, circling several names with a red pen, letting out a helpless sigh.
"A young master from the Baili Group, a divine agent... That's already enough of a headache... And now, there are three high-risk Forbidden Zone holders, one of them ranked in the top 50!"
"Besides that, there are heirs from the Beijing Bagua Palm, heirs of the Hebei Mo Family Spear, and active-duty special forces..."
Looking at the list of names filled with red circles, the instructors behind Yuan Gang felt uneasy.
"Commander... These are tough ones. Can we handle them?"
Yuan Gang fell silent for a long time before calmly replying, "Contact the [Mask] squad. Have them come help us maintain control... Only geniuses can control geniuses."
---
Outside the training camp.
At a military checkpoint, a special forces soldier with binoculars furrowed his brow, staring into the distance for a while before slowly lowering the binoculars and pulling out a walkie-talkie.
"Report, someone is approaching."
"Report their details."
"Young male, looks like a high school student, dragging a pink Hello Kitty suitcase and a Peppa Pig suitcase. Can't visually confirm if he's carrying weapons."
"A high school student?" The voice on the other end of the walkie-talkie paused. "Is he a new recruit? The notice just went out this morning, and he's here by noon? What kind of speed is this?"
"He's still coming closer. What's the order?"
"Stand by, I'll go meet him."
Soon, a military jeep sped out from behind the checkpoint, heading toward the approaching young man.
Under the scorching sun, Lin QiYe, dragging two suitcases, trudged along the rugged, muddy road, beads of sweat sliding down his face.
"This place... really has a training camp?" Lin QiYe muttered as he glanced around. "Could the captain be messing with me for not returning the stuff...?"
He had only received the exact address for the training camp this morning. Chen Muye had urged him to go, and after the awkward send-off the day before, there was less fanfare today. Wen Qimo had driven him nearby and let him walk the rest of the way on his own.
Now that everyone knew Lin QiYe was at the Cangnan training camp, they seemed to be at ease. Perhaps, as Chen Muye had said, if something happened to him, they could rush over with knives in hand. It wasn't like in Beijing where they were constantly on edge.
After all, Cangnan City was their own 136th Squad's turf.
Buzz—!
As Lin QiYe dragged his suitcases forward, the roar of an approaching vehicle filled the air. He squinted, stopping in his tracks.
A camouflage military jeep screeched to a halt next to him, kicking up dust.
A military officer poked his head out, sizing Lin QiYe up. "What's your business?"
"Training."
"A recruit?"
"Yeah."
"Here already?!"
"I'm local to Cangnan."
"...Let me see your ID."
Lin QiYe handed over the ID Chen Muye had prepared for him. The officer examined it for a long time before handing it back and gesturing to the jeep.
"Get in."
Lin QiYe placed his luggage in the trunk and climbed into the jeep. The officer drove straight past all the checkpoints and stopped at the entrance to the training camp.
"We're here. Go on in." He pointed toward the large gate ahead.
Lin QiYe got out of the jeep, dragging his two pink suitcases, standing before the massive iron gate. He looked up.
—039 New Recruit Training Base.
This was the place where he would spend the next year.
He was the first new recruit here.