Stepping out the door, Lingyin and Shaxini somehow ended up pushing and shoving, engaged in a sudden argument. Upon seeing Ziye, Shaxini immediately dragged her over and asked, "Ziye, come here for a second. Bo* has his face covered in mosquito bites. Since he was quite nice to us—helping carry bags and pitching the tent—we thought we should give him some anti-inflammatory and swelling-reducing medicine. What do you think?"

Ziye praised the idea, "That’s a great thought." Bo* was so handsome; it would indeed be a shame if his face were ruined by bugs.

"But!" Lingyin complained, "Shaxini won't go herself, insisting I should be the one. Ziye, you be the judge."

Shaxini stood her ground indignantly, "Of course. Yesterday, you were the one who let him carry your bag; the thanks should come from you."

Lingyin let out a disdainful "Hmph" and turned away, "I absolutely refuse to see him with his face mottled like that now. It’s too disillusioning."

Ziye couldn't help but smile wryly; it was just a trivial matter. She then asked, "Shaxini, why won't you go?"

Shaxini tilted her head back, "I cultivate a noble and aloof persona. How could I possibly make overtures to a boy?"

Ziye was speechless.

Shaxini and Lingyin exchanged a look and instantly zeroed in on the perfect candidate, speaking in unison, "Ziye, this mission is tailor-made for you." With that, Shaxini thrust the items into Ziye’s hand, "It’s all yours."

Ziye glanced at the bottle in her hand. It looked high-end, imposing, and classy—clearly a major, well-known brand from the Interstellar era.

"We just saw Bo* head back to his tent. You’d better hurry," Lingyin gave her a shove. Ziye glared back at Lingyin, just in time to see Bo* emerging from his tent.

Ziye immediately waved, "Bo*—Hey!"

Bo*.Emanit turned his head, and Ziye casually tossed the item in her hand toward him.

They were about thirty meters apart at that moment. Seeing her reckless action, Shaxini couldn't help but cover her eyes. That bottle was expensive! If it shattered, her heart would break!

Ziye was even less reliable than Lingyin...

The expected sound of something falling and shattering did not ring out. She opened her hands in confusion, only to see, to her astonishment, that Bo* had caught the bottle mid-air without her knowing when!

Wow, he could catch something from that far away? Did Ziye use magic?

Shaxini looked at Ziye with undisguised awe. At the same time, Bo* was gazing at Ziye with surprise and wonder. The force and precision with which she threw the object were exquisite; he had only needed to stretch out his hand casually to intercept it. Furthermore, the item was anti-inflammatory medicine.

Ziye pointed toward Lingyin beside her, "She called for it. It has nothing to do with me." With that, she turned and walked away.

Seeing Bo*’s gaze shift toward her, Lingyin hurriedly clarified, "It’s not mine. Shaxini gave it." Having said that, she spun around and ran to catch up with Ziye.

Suddenly, Shaxini was left entirely alone. Seeing him look at her with a questioning gaze, she assumed her noble and aloof posture and then walked away too.

Bo* was still dazed when Alsfield walked up from behind and clapped him on the shoulder, teasing, "Bo*, checking out the beauties?" Bo* shot him a sideways glance and walked off.

Alsfield glanced toward Tent A01, pouting, "Why do all the beautiful women prefer pretty boys?"

After an hour's rest, changing into military uniforms, caps, boots, and fastening their web belts, the military training officially commenced. The 'Smiling Tiger' instructor gave a warm smile, "Students, don't be nervous. The training modules are quite simple: some jogging, some swimming, that’s all."

In practice, however, it was nothing of the sort!

The so-called 'jogging' turned out to be a fifty-li forced march while carrying a twenty-kilogram load. The previous ten-li run was merely a gauge of their baseline. As for the 'swimming,' it involved a fifty-kilometer upstream swim in a river infested with large aquatic life! Even though the instructors issued everyone a dagger, that detail was terrifying enough.

But none of this training could compare to the difficulty of standing at attention.

Standing at attention was the simplest element of military training globally, yet paradoxically, the most difficult. Simply put, it was: feet spread at a sixty-degree angle, legs perfectly straight, abdomen tucked, chest out, chin up, eyes fixed forward. Such a simple posture could be held by anyone from a sixty-year-old down to a three-year-old, but very few could hold it for long.

Humans are accustomed to movement. Holding one posture for too long resulted in fatigue, muscle cramps, and dizziness causing instability. Keeping the arms held in the same position for an extended time was more agonizing than hundreds of ants crawling over one's limbs.

At high noon, the sunlight baked the scalp until it felt numb. The ocean surface glared back the light, stinging the eyes painfully. The sand beneath their feet felt like it was being baked by fire, scorching the soles of their feet. The strong sea wind blew, bringing no coolness, only increasing the misery. In short, standing at attention by the seaside was more dreadful than being in deep water or a raging fire.

Sweat dripped relentlessly from Ziye's forehead down her neck, the moisture blurring her vision. Ziye felt both discomfort and profound boredom.

Boredom was the genesis of tragedy.

The more bored she felt, the more she wanted to move; the more she wanted to move, the more uncomfortable it became.

Not seeing Little Sprout for half a day made her miss the creature terribly. She kept calling out with her mind, "Xiao Dou? Little Sprout, are you asleep?" Wearing the uniform had one drawback: she couldn't clip Little Sprout onto her waist anymore.

Little Sprout resented her for being 'heartless' and was probably bouncing around somewhere by now.

Ziye could not bear it any longer. She secretly glanced at the instructors; they seemed not to be watching. Just as she was about to subtly shift her weight, a voice suddenly sounded right next to her ear: "What are you trying to do?"

The voice sounded rough at first, but the end note was drawn out slightly, carrying a hint of coquettish whining that revealed its true tone. Ziye immediately reacted, snapping back irritably, "You little rascal, you scared me!"

Little Sprout let out a cool laugh, "This great lord was just reminding you, yet you don't appreciate it, you fool."

Ziye was furious, "Say that again and I'll poke your backside."

Little Sprout happily flapped its wings, "Come on then, come on!"

Ziye couldn't tell where it was, and she dared not move wildly. As she was trying to subtly search for it with the corner of her eye, Little Sprout helpfully offered, "Above the Major's head."

Ziye looked up and saw that Little Sprout had turned completely transparent at some point and was now hovering above the Major's head, flapping its wings and spinning in circles.

Ziye instantly failed to suppress a burst of laughter, letting out a soft "Pfft."

The seaside was quiet save for the sound of waves lapping the shore. Her laugh was like a bomb dropped into a still lake; everyone heard it.

Every instructor’s face instantly darkened. The Major, with a stern face, roared, "Step out!"

Ziye knew she was finished. She didn't dare utter a word and obediently stepped forward.

The Major glared at her with eyes like bronze bells, "What’s so funny? Tell everyone so we can all have a laugh?"

Little Sprout chirped cheekily toward Ziye, "La la la, Ziye is a silly little idiot, Ziye is a silly little idiot."

Ziye, perhaps having lost her mind or something, shouted loudly, "Report, Instructor, I was not laughing."

The entire crowd was thunderstruck.

If that wasn't blatantly lying, nothing was. To possess such a thick skin to deny it so boldly made her a formidable character in her own right. In fact, the moment Ziye spoke, she regretted it. Soldiers hated those who denied their mistakes, yet she not only denied it but rebutted him righteously. What possessed her to suddenly act so foolishly? She couldn't figure it out.

She estimated the instructor would punish her until she nearly expired!