Of course, before classes officially begin, freshmen have to undergo about a month of military training, which is a unique feature of China. So after the opening ceremony, each class went to their respective departments to collect their uniforms and other training supplies, and then dispersed to go back and rest, preparing for the rigorous test the next day.
This test naturally refers to the weather. Even in September, the weather in Beijing is still extremely hot. Most of the freshmen are delicate greenhouse flowers. Although they are at the peak of their energy and physical strength, the lack of outdoor activities for a long time makes most of them unable to withstand the high-intensity, high-temperature training. After a few days of military training that is not even that strict, countless freshmen are already complaining.
Ling Yun, dressed in a grass-green camouflage military uniform, marched in step without moving. Out of the corner of his eye, he occasionally saw medical personnel in white coats rushing into the somewhat disorganized student ranks, then slowly carrying out stretchers those who had fainted from the sun or suffered heatstroke. He wondered if any of them were freshmen feigning unconsciousness to avoid military training.
Training under the scorching sun was exceptionally tedious and boring. Ling Yun was somewhat bored, so he casually looked around. Suddenly, a thought struck him. His mental energy field sensed an unusual aura. This aura was so incongruous with the summer heat; it was cold, icy, and even carried a negative sense of despair.
Ling Yun remained impassive, lowering his head slightly, a strange glint flashing in his eyes. When he raised his head again, the world he saw was completely different. This was the extraordinary technique he had just practiced the night before, the Spirit Eye, a pupil technique of a higher level than the Clear Spirit Eye, capable of seeing all the invisible things in the vast world.
Looking in the direction of the unusual aura, Ling Yun was immediately shocked. He saw a hideous and terrifying gray ghost slowly attaching itself to a girl. Its cloud-like, transparent lower body had already sunk into most of the girl's head.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Military Training Disturbance
Since gaining his superpowers, Ling Yun has been constantly surrounded by extraordinary people and events beyond the mundane world. He has not only witnessed strange spiritual entities such as Yin Spirits, which are naturally nurtured, but also nightmare-like zombies such as Corpse Puppets. As the saying goes, nothing is strange anymore; after seeing so many, one naturally gets used to it.
However, upon first seeing that hideous ghost, Ling Yun still felt a chill run down his spine and was filled with horror. In fact, he didn't know if this gray, demon-like figure was a ghost in the usual sense; it was just that the word naturally flashed through his mind when he saw it, so he called it that.
The surrounding students obviously didn't notice anything amiss, and continued to do the monotonous military training exercises in a drowsy state. Even the girl who was possessed by the evil spirit was completely unaware of the impending disaster, and was raising her straight and long legs to make a straight kicking motion.
From Lingyun's perspective, separated by several rows of students, he could only see the girl's profile. Although it was just a fleeting glimpse, it was stunningly beautiful. Wearing the same grass-green camouflage uniform, it couldn't conceal the girl's slender figure, her rounded, smooth shoulders, her full, peach-like breasts, her delicate waist, and the shiny black military belt cinched at her waist, further emphasizing her curvaceous figure and voluptuous breasts. Her two straight, long legs were tightly encased in camouflage trousers; no matter the pose, she looked naturally alluring.
Her profile revealed a near-perfect face, with flawless, porcelain-like skin that remained smooth and radiant even under direct sunlight. Long, glossy black hair cascaded neatly from behind her military cap, and even in the same attire, the girl's stunning beauty was undeniable.
Unfortunately, Ling Yun completely ignored this breathtaking beauty. His attention was entirely focused on the ghost that was possessing the girl's body. The gray ghost seemed to have realized that Ling Yun could see him, and its hideous face opened a disproportionately large mouth, revealing a mouthful of sharp fangs, as if it was laughing coldly at Ling Yun.
Unbeknownst to them, Ling Yun's actions attracted the attention of the surrounding students. He stared intently in one direction, his expression tense and focused. Everyone was puzzled, but naturally, they followed his gaze. A group of people looked in one direction, which in turn drew even more attention. In just a moment, hundreds of eyes on the beautiful girl were fixed on the military training field.
The girl hadn't realized she'd become the center of attention on the playground. She was slightly furrowed, trying to straighten her posture, when she inadvertently turned her head and saw a sea of dark eyes staring at her. Startled, her first reaction was to reach out her delicate hand to touch her face and say, "Why are you all looking at me?"
Most of her students were also puzzled, but the boys' eyes lit up, thinking how pretty she was and wondering what her name was and which department she was in. Many had already started thinking about how to get to know her after military training. The girls, on the other hand, mostly scoffed, a strong sense of jealousy rising from the comparison, while many others turned away to avoid feeling ashamed.
Only the students around Ling Yun seemed to suddenly realize what was going on. The better ones covered their mouths and chuckled, assuming Ling Yun was so infatuated with the girl that he was lost in thought. The rest of the students curled their lip in disdain. They'd seen infatuated people before, but never one this infatuated. He was so engrossed in looking at a pretty girl that he forgot about military training—truly embarrassing. Several boys even frowned, their gazes towards Ling Yun filled with deep contempt. The meaning was clear: "Look at yourself! Do you even deserve such a top-tier beauty?"
The students' unusual commotion finally caught the attention of the military training instructors. The students, lined up in squares, were supposed to practice marching with their feet upright for fifteen minutes. Then the instructors could take a short break. However, before they could even exchange a few words or take a sip of their water bottles, the students lost control, their once neat formation disintegrating. They didn't know what had happened.
Several military training instructors, their faces grim, came to the front of their respective classes and loudly ordered them to form ranks. The students stirred and quickly regained their composure, regrouping.
The military training instructor for Lingyun's squad was a veteran with a somewhat bandit-like air. His shaved chin was often held up, making his already sunken face appear imposing.
"What's going on? Didn't I tell you to stand in formation and not move? Who moved first? Step forward!" the veteran asked, his face ashen. In the army, he was just an ordinary soldier who could only obey orders. But training these college students, who were hailed as the pride of heaven, gave him a secret thrill of being a commander, indulging in a brief but exciting experience of being a leader.
Of course, the old soldier also felt a sense of satisfaction from time to time, picking fights and punishing these students, watching them wail in his hands. Deep down, everyone harbors a tyrannical and wicked side, which will be triggered given the right circumstances and conditions.
No one dared to move, and no one dared to speak. The students remained silent. Even Ling Yun withdrew his gaze and his spiritual eye, only extending a sliver of his senses to investigate the ghost possession. After all, they were in the midst of military training, and he couldn't possibly tell the training instructors about the ghost possession. It seemed he could only wait until after training ended to find that girl.
"Hehe, very good." The veteran showed no anger. He had expected no one to come forward and admit it. He sneered, "Since no one admits to starting it, then we'll all be punished. Everyone, lie on the ground and do five hundred push-ups until you finish. No food until you finish."
A collective gasp rippled through the ranks. Five hundred push-ups? How long would that take? And for most people, let alone five hundred, they couldn't even manage fifty. This military training instructor is really ruthless!
The students' eyes immediately focused on Ling Yun, their meaning clear: you should take responsibility for the trouble you caused, don't drag everyone else down with you.
A boy who had long disliked Ling Yun shouted, "Sir, he was the one who changed his stance first to look at a girl over there, which is why he messed up the formation!" He then pointed angrily at Ling Yun.
The boy's voice was very loud, and could be heard clearly throughout the entire playground. Instantly, countless eyes focused on Ling Yun, including the extremely beautiful girl, who opened her stunning eyes wide and curiously looked at this ordinary boy, wondering why he was looking at her.
The veteran, expressionless, pointed at Ling Yun and said, "You, what's your name? Step forward right now!"
"Yes, sir." Ling Yun replied with a wry smile, knowing he had gotten himself into trouble. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and run to the front of the formation with standard running posture. He saluted the veteran and said, "Sir, my name is Ling Yun, and I am a student in Class 2 of the Department of Bioengineering."
The veteran put his hands behind his back, squinted, and asked slowly, "Soldier Lingyun, please explain why you didn't follow military training discipline and instead stared at others in formation? Did they have flowers on their faces?"
The playground was completely silent. Not only were all the students listening intently, but even the other instructors took a few steps closer, their faces filled with curiosity, eager to hear how this ordinary little boy would explain himself. Such a good opportunity to gossip in public wasn't something that could be come around every day.
"I..." Ling Yun was a little dumbfounded. He had never encountered such a question before. He never expected that the military training instructor would ask it in public. How was he supposed to answer? Should he say that a ghost was possessing him and that he was trying to save her? That would indeed be the truth, but unfortunately, not only would others not believe him, but even he himself found it hard to believe.
Should he admit that she's pretty and that he's just a lovesick fool secretly admiring her? Although Ling Yun doesn't care what others think of him, he still cares about his reputation. If the whole school finds out, how will he ever face anyone again? Xia Zhen would laugh herself to death if she knew.
Caught in a dilemma, Ling Yun and the others, along with the veteran, stared at each other blankly for a long time. Suddenly, his eyes lit up: "Sir, why should I look at that girl?"
The veteran was taken aback, then said sternly, "I'm asking you, not the other way around!"
Ling Yun snapped to attention and said in a serious voice, "Sir, because you weren't here just now, I noticed that many people's marching posture was incorrect during practice, including that girl. Her posture was incorrect, and I was worried that it would affect the neatness of the formation, so I looked at it more closely. I know I was wrong, and I will definitely correct it next time. Report complete."
"Tch..." A chorus of disdainful boos erupted from the entire room. The students looked at the boy with utter contempt, wondering how he could have come up with such a clumsy excuse. Observing other people's posture? Who did he think he was? An instructor?
The veteran laughed in exasperation: "So, you're correcting everyone's marching posture for me? Shouldn't I thank you properly, Lingyun soldier?"
"Sir, no need for thanks. I request to return to the ranks and ask you to demonstrate the standard marching posture for us again," Ling Yun immediately said loudly.
"Shut up!" the veteran shouted, almost roaring. He strode up to Ling Yun and yelled at him, almost face to face, "Soldier Ling Yun, you've broken the rules. Do five hundred push-ups in front of everyone right now! You're not allowed to stop training or eat until you finish them. Even your instructors can't stop you. You're soldiers now, not students."
"None of you are idle either. Get into marching position and watch him do push-ups. You can disperse when he finishes!" Just as the other students were secretly relieved and gloating, the veteran roared at the student formation again.
Countless hearts sank to the bottom. Everyone stared at Ling Yun with heavy hearts, their intense gazes seeming to want to devour him alive. If this kid hadn't caused trouble, he wouldn't have provoked this old soldier, this jinx. Most people thought sadly, "That's it, we're destined to go to bed hungry tonight. You infatuated fool, it's not just that you're suffering, you've dragged us all down with you."
Ling Yun pondered for a moment and said, "Sir, if I do five hundred push-ups, can today's military training end?"
A sarcastic smile appeared on the veteran's face: "Yes, Lingyun soldier, not just today, but if you can do five hundred push-ups every day, then your military training can end early every day."
Ling Yun smiled slightly, walked to a spot a dozen meters in front of the formation, lay down on the ground to steady himself, and began to do push-ups with ease. His posture was perfect, flawless, and the frequency of his push-ups was very consistent, almost one per second, without any slowness or distortion of his movements.
1, 2, 3, 4... 10, 11, 12, 13... 28, 29... 51, 52, 53... 142, 143... 210, 211...
The veteran's sarcastic smile froze, the other military training instructors also showed expressions of disbelief, and the students, in their surprise, gradually turned to excitement, as if they had witnessed an incredible miracle.
"My God, four minutes, two hundred and forty seconds, three hundred and twelve push-ups," a student muttered to himself, looking at the stopwatch on his phone.
Ling Yun's speed only increased, as if he were a tireless machine. Every time his body rose and fell, it was as if it were cast from the same mold, and his movements were as precise as the human anatomy drawings in a textbook. It gave people the feeling that he could keep going until the end of the world.