Satan, watching the screen, was finally not leaning back in his chair with his legs draped over the desk this time.

He sat up straight, placing his feet back on the floor, and reached for the pager on the desk. With a few quick taps on the keys, he disabled the pagers belonging to Pufferfish and Eel, saying, "Everyone, there are two anomalies on the hunting ground outside the predicted calculations. A woman, and two men. They've split into two groups and have already taken out three of your own. Judging by their movements, they intend to press the attack..."

"Really? Captain, where are those two located?"

Eight veterans responded simultaneously through the comms.

Satan kept his eyes fixed on the screen. "That woman, though she is only one person, I feel she is the more dangerous element."

"Captain, leave that woman to the eight of us."

The other eight veterans transmitted their eagerness to engage.

Satan snapped his fingers crisply. He was genuinely pleased that his soldiers were not underestimating the opposition just because they were recruits, demanding to pursue them alone.

"Very well. Now, I will relay their coordinates and the specific skill sets they’ve displayed up to this point." Satan began rubbing his own shining scalp again. "It’s been a long time since I encountered trainees this interesting... I truly wonder who their instructor could be." He moved quickly and cautiously through the rainforest. The weight of the bullets combined with the M134 exceeded fifty kilograms; even using the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill to maintain speed, he still felt immensely weary. He seriously wanted to drop everything and just lie down for a long sleep.

But the thought of being captured by the veterans and beaten into a pulp spurred him to believe his stamina could hold just a little longer.

Du Peng stuck closely behind Qin Fen. His initial composure had completely vanished. The combined force of those eight veterans was simply too powerful. They didn't even need to fire a single shot; relying purely on their practiced coordination and positioning, they unleashed a pressure that forced Qin Fen and Du Peng to turn tail and flee.

Du Peng was even more astonished by Qin Fen's performance—managing to detect the encirclement by the eight veterans ahead of them, decisively choosing retreat, and successfully evading their combined assault.

However, just as Qin Fen was planning to utilize a piece of advantageous terrain to spring an ambush the eight veterans would never anticipate, the terrifying Satan himself entered the fray!

The chief instructor of this training exercise strode forward with imposing momentum, brandishing an M16 fitted with a miniature grenade launcher. \Xiaoshuo520.***\

The eight veterans, lacking a true core leader, were something Qin Fen thought he could exploit by leveraging his status as a recruit and their lack of genuine command structure.

But the moment Satan appeared, Qin Fen knew that even if this devolved into a genuine life-or-death struggle, his and Du Peng’s probability of winning wouldn't exceed one in ten thousand.

In terms of martial ability, jungle combat experience, or even numerical advantage, Qin Fen and Du Peng held zero edge.

Completely disadvantaged? So what to do? Run!

Qin Fen and Du Peng finally tasted the same desperation felt by the other recruits.

"Captain, we've mostly completed the net sweep here. The prey has been forced into the designated area. How is your side progressing?"

The message came through Satan's earpiece from the other eight-man team. He gave a subtle signal to his eight subordinates behind him, then murmured into his own mic, "I've also cornered the prey toward the designated zone."

"So, we can close the net then." Satan glanced up at the sunlight filtering through the canopy. "While eliminating the three of them didn't require this many personnel for a true kill-or-be-killed scenario, spending this much time and manpower on this exercise, and nearly getting counter-attacked by them... How should we handle such a humiliating occurrence happening to us?"

"Captain, after this training exercise concludes, we will undergo double the usual intensity of reflective training!"

The determined tone crackling from the other end of the comms immensely satisfied Satan. The fact that his team still possessed robust fighting spirit was the best news of all.

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

Qin Fen and Du Peng pounded across the leaf-strewn ground in a desperate sprint.

Qin Fen, leading the charge, suddenly halted. At the exact same moment, a figure not far ahead of him also stopped running.

"It's you?"

Qin Fen saw the female soldier named Lin Ling. Her hair was now somewhat disheveled, and her uniform bore several gashes from the jungle flora, clearly indicating she was also in a state of panicked flight.

As Qin Fen sized her up, she was doing the same to him.

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

Another burst of hurried footsteps sounded. The Snake Head, Mute, and Big Stone trio arrived from another direction. Seeing Qin Fen and Lin Ling facing each other, they too froze momentarily. \Xiaoshuo520.***\

"You guys..."

It was Snake Head who finally broke the silence.

Qin Fen pointed toward the direction behind him: "Satan is leading eight veterans to encircle the two of us."

The Snake Head trio then turned their gaze toward Lin Ling.

"Behind me, eight veterans."

Unlike Qin Fen, Lin Ling showed not a single bead of sweat on her brow—whether this was due to superior stamina or simply because she was only carrying a P308, remained unclear.

Snake Head's eyes widened as he looked at the three before him. "The three of you have managed to draw all the attention?"

Qin Fen couldn't help but re-evaluate Lin Ling. He had assumed she was merely being pursued by a few veterans, not that nearly half the veteran force was after her.

Snake Head also took a closer look at Lin Ling. To escape pursuit under those conditions was remarkable enough. This woman, by herself, had momentarily shrugged off eight veterans? And she looked even calmer than Qin Fen. What was this woman’s background? The intelligence files held absolutely no information on her.

"I see. Well, you carry on then..." Snake Head hooked his two companions and turned to leave. "I suddenly remembered we boiled a pot of water; it must be boiling over by now. \Xiaoshuo520.***\"

Qin Fen smiled, impressed that Snake Head could still manage a touch of dark humor at a time like this.

"They're coming soon. Even with the three of you joining us, our chances of winning are still slim."

Qin Fen’s voice reached the others. Lin Ling remained expressionless, though this time she gave a slight nod, acknowledging Qin Fen's assessment.

Snake Head turned back around. "The three of us combined couldn't even handle that one veteran who chased us before. Now we have seventeen coming at once; our contribution won't be significant."

"Then you wish to fight?" Qin Fen slowly took a step forward. "Regardless of what you think, I will fight. Even if it means facing the instructor, even if the final outcome is certain defeat, I will fight! I didn't come here for this training just to surrender."

"I will fight too." Du Peng stepped forward almost in perfect synchronization with Qin Fen. "I hate losing, and I hate surrendering without a fight even more."

"Fight," the word reminded Qin Fen of Inzaghi.

This woman now seemed like a female reincarnation of Inzaghi.

"Actually..." Snake Head scratched his head. "I don't like the tasteless act of surrendering and admitting defeat. Besides, my two companions are bursting with fighting spirit."

Big Stone smiled sheepishly. His weapon was also a P308 carbine, its safety already off.

Though Mute remained silent, his eyes were blazing with the desire to engage.

"Good!" Qin Fen’s dormant fighting blood began to surge back to life. "Since that's the case, let's put on a beautiful counter-attack for these veterans right here! Since they believe they have us completely boxed in, as long as one of us breaks through the siege, we’ve actually won this battle."

The others nodded in agreement. With inferior equipment, numbers, and skill compared to the enemy, trying to annihilate the opposition was utterly unrealistic.

Qin Fen squatted down, using small twigs on the ground to quickly sketch a rudimentary terrain map. "I have a specialty in commanding small-team coordinated combat. If anyone else has such a specialty, please speak up. If not, then I must lead this engagement."

Everyone respectfully stepped back half a pace. Qin Fen nodded and continued drawing his map.

Satan’s squad was closing the encirclement inch by inch. Once sealed, there would be no need to worry about the prey sprouting wings and escaping. Now, the concern was those bizarre, improvised traps.

Along the way, Satan had nearly captured Qin Fen several times. But at the last second, he would be thrown into chaos by those imaginative yet immature traps. By the time he extricated himself, Qin Fen would be brushing off his backside and long gone.

In one instance, a veteran who had Qin Fen’s black mud smeared across his face ended up having his entire head blown clean off by a booby trap. That subordinate wasn't just dirty; he was annihilated.

The pocket of the encirclement shrank steadily. Satan hid in a mud puddle and began shouting loudly. "Slippery bastard, you must have linked up with that little girl by now, right? How does it feel? Aren't you surprised that I’ve managed to herd you all together without you even realizing it?" He could sense the presence of people; if he couldn't sense Qin Fen’s presence, it only meant the kid’s camouflage skills were excellent, not that he wasn't there.

"Slippery bastard, you aren't an idiot. You should be able to see the situation clearly now?" Satan shouted smugly. "You have nowhere left to retreat. To use your own Chinese military strategy—you've entered a desperate pass! Frankly, your performance proves that the trash you’ve been recycling is ready to be discarded. Dropping your weapons and coming out obediently now is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate your cleverness..."