The students started running unwillingly along the shoreline. Wang Tong had quickly fallen behind, as he felt that it was hard to move with the four electromagnetic bracelets on him at the same time.
A few minutes later, Wang Tong fell face down into the sea water.
"Are you OK, Wang Tong?" Karl asked.
"Move on! If you want to have breakfast today, you better look after yourself first!" Karl heard Mr. Horse Face's angry voice behind him. He shook his head helplessly and started running again.
"Hey kiddo, how do you like the training now? Do you want me to remove your weight bag before you beg me to? "
Although Massa asked in a stoic voice, he had grown concerned about Wang Tong's safety. He was afraid that he had pushed Wang Tong to his limits and any more stress might break him at any moment.
Wang Tong stood up, cleared the water on his face, then smiled at Massa and said, "Sir, I am fine. I can do it!"
Wang Tong turned around and started to tread the sand and water. He had no time to waste as he had already fallen behind. Massa paused for a second, shook his head and muttered, "Little fool."
Massa felt that Wang Tong was not only a powerful fighter, but he was also mature and intelligent. He had a hunch that Wang Tong had already gained a certain measure of his concern, and was impressed by his unprecedented talents in both physical and mental faculties. Massa believed that one day, this boy might just become the prize of the Confederation.
Massa also lamented over how different this training session had turned out. He had initially wanted to focus on Wang Ben. Wang Ben's father, General Hu Ben, had helped Massa many times during his career, so he had thought to repay the general with a little bit of tough love for his son. However, Wang Tong seemingly came out of nowhere and had somehow stolen the limelight and became the primary focus of his training program.
"Well, looks like tougher times are ahead of Capth." Massa thought to himself.
Although the training routines were the same as last time, Massa had made it almost impossible for the students to pass as a group, since they needed eight more of them to reach the finishing line in time in addition to the two that had passed the test last time. Despite the almost non-existence odds of succeeding their task, everyone tried their best because they didn't want to be looked down upon by Mr. Horse Face.
Wang Ben and Apache led the group as the rest of the students struggled to catch up. They had forgotten about all their doubts as they focused entirely on the task at hand.
Apache was the first one to reach the finishing line. Speed always had been his strong suit even without using the GN force, thanks to his daily jogging exercise. Jogging was the habit that he had kept even during the stressful days he spent with the Special Unit. Most of his teammates were in their 30's, and had served the Unit for many years. During years of service, they had witnessed so many heart-wrenching tragedies that eventually drove them to rely on various kinds of chemicals to numb the pain inside of them. However, Apache was practically still a student who had not yet been tainted by the dark side of his profession, and therefore, he was more upbeat and kept a more positive attitude than his older teammates.
Following Apache and Wang Ben, Hu Yangxuan and Cao Yi soon arrived at the finishing line as well. As Martyrus watched Hu Yangxuan celebrate his success, he concluded that Hu Yangxuan was a student of tremendous potential since he would always do better when under pressure. Martyrus was not surprised by Cao Yi's results either, since he knew that based on Cao Yi's previous test results, passing this test was well within his capability. Cao Yi's performance was always steady and reliable, so if he had done it before, there was no surprise that he could do it again.
So far, there were only four students that had made the cut, and the team was still quite a way from the target of 10 students. Everyone had predicted the four best students to pass the test, but no one could predict what was going to happen from there on. Luckily, time was still on the students' side.
Soon, Ma Xiaoru emerged and became the fifth student who passed the finishing line. Exhaustion was written all over her face when she stopped. It was evident that she had given all she had for this test. Massa glanced at his watch and waited for other students placidly.
After a long while, the sixth student arrived, and to everyone's surprise, it was Karl. Although Karl had never appeared to stand out among his peers, he was willing to risk his own life when the situation called for it. He knew that he was neither as smart as most of his peers nor was he observant and diligent like Cao Yi. Therefore, he was aware that it would be his only time to shine during the task of running, a task that could not be any simpler and more straightforward. Then and there, he was ready to give up his life if that was what it would take. He gritted his teeth and swallowed the pain as he ran, and before he knew it, he was already standing at the finishing line.
Karl collapsed onto the ground as soon as he passed the finishing line. Both Wang Ben and Hu Yangxuan pick him up, and then Hu Yangxuan patted excitedly on his shoulder, congratulating him on his success.
Karl was burnt out. When he passed the finishing line, he finally let go of the last breath and lost control of his limbs as he plopped down on the ground. After he finally gathered himself, he found his body was in excruciating pain. He tried his best not to wear it on his face, but couldn't hold it when Hu Yangxuan patted him on his shoulder.
Half an hour later, both Deng Jia and Scarlet arrived. They were among the best of Bernabeu, and their success spoke loudly of the coaching skills of Martytrus.
Eight had passed, and there were still two more to go. Both Bernabeu and Ayrlarng had then been pushed to their limits. Thanks to Mr. Horse Face, the two schools had forgotten about any old feuds, uniting together under the same banner to fight against the cruel and inhuman officer.
No one had expected it when they saw the sexy looking girl reach the final line. It was none other than Bernabeu's Luo Manman. Her cultivation focused not only on the psychological ability, but also her body's flexibility and balance, obviously for increasing her sexuality, thereby enhancing the seductive power of her tactics. She eventually found out a way to remain balanced while trudging in the sand and water, and used it to finally finish the test in time.
There was one more to go. Only one.
Had Wang Tong not been hindered by his constraints, the student's victory should have been already in his bag. However, Wang Tong was at this point stuck knee deep in trouble, finding it hard to come up with a solution. The four magnetic rings interfered with every move of his; it was difficult enough for him to stand still, let alone running against the time in the water. Despite the difficulties, Wang Tong remained steadfast. Massa couldn't believe that Wang Tong was able to remain in the game for such a long time. He started to wonder if Wang Tong would be able to surprise him and actually finish the test.
"Who is behind you?" Apache asked Luo Manman, no longer able to remain silent.
"I think it was Kearo and Shi Liang. but I am not too sure though."
A few moments passed, and soon there was only half an hour left before the time ran out. The students gazed into the distance, trying to search for any sign of their teammates. To their dismay, they had seen nobody so far.
Wang Ben waited patiently. The importance of the test had gone beyond the matter of lunch, and he only wanted to prove to Massa that their so-called "Team Spirit" did exist. Although Wang Ben knew that it was unrealistic to expect others to die for their teammates, the sense of being in a team was not entirely useless as Massa had purported.
Being an officer did not amount to being right.
Wang Ben wasn't alone in that thought, and the other students wanted to prove to Massa that team spirit was something worth fighting for.
"That idiot Shi Liang, he should have eaten more food to have more endurance, instead of being on a diet all the time."
Everyone had their obsession, and Shi Liang's obsession happened to be himself. He cared for his skin and body more than a girl. He knew much more about cosmetics than his tactics, and no wonder he would fall behind in the test.
Regarding the remaining contestants in Ayrlarng, despite their effort to pass the test, they were simply not up to snuff. The only exception was Karl, who was a unique case in himself.
"Ten minutes left." People heard Massa's cold voices. However, they still didn't see anyone at the other end of the finishing line.
"Hey look! There's someone!" Cao Yi yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Who is that?" Karl managed to pick himself up and watch, as a frail figure approached the finishing line.
It wasn't Wang Tong; it was Zhou Sisi.
The turn of event had caught everyone off guard, as they were actually expecting Shi Liang or Keyaro. Zhou Sisi did not stand out among her peers, and she was also a girl; naturally, people thought that she would be weaker than her male counterparts.
Zhou Sisi ran as fast as she could. To her surprise, she didn't collapse due to exhaustion, and she found things were quite the opposite, as she felt her soul power movements became more fluid as she went on.
Ever since the accident in Wang Tong's bedroom, her soul energy had become more active. However, the improved soul energy alone won't be enough to make the cut, as her strong feeling for Wang Tong also played an important part. She felt motivated to overcome her exhaustion every time she thought about the image of Wang Tong suffering alone by the shore. Wang Tong didn't eat anything for two days, and it could be life-threatening for him if he still couldn't have anything on the third day.
Towards the end, Zhou Sisi had already forgotten the reason why she was running. She only remembered that she could not stop no matter what.
Wang Ben led the other students who already passed the test to cheer for Zhou Sisi. Massa glanced his watch from time to time, as if he was hoping Zhou Sisi to fail.
"Sisi, you are almost there."
"You can do it!"
"Run! RUN!"
The students screamed hysterically. Neither hunger nor fatigue mattered anymore, as they only wanted to win.
Zhou Sisi's mind turned blank. She was no longer able to use her tactics, since she had lost the control of her body. Her will alone pushed her forward, despite the heavy feeling in her legs. She had almost reached her limit.
Her vision had become a blur a few minutes before she was even close to the finishing line. But after she heard her friend's cheers, she regained some of her consciousness and then realized that she was almost at the finishing line.
"Thirty seconds left."
She heard the stoic voice of Massa. The voice was cold like ice, and the chilling effect somehow brought Zhou Sisi even closer to reality as she started to realize that she had to speed up.
A few seconds later, the students beside the finishing line were spattered with sea water as Zhou Sisi fell to the ground.