Volume 1: The Starting Point Chapter 22: Instructor

  "Yan Du, you're talking about that one who was specially recruited by the battalion commander." said a lieutenant named 'Old Zhao' with a smile.

  "So it was him! How come he's still a student?"

  "I just graduated from high school."

  "Do you know where it came from?"

  "It's unclear, supposedly it was the former old comrade of the battalion commander who forced his way in." Old Zhao changed the subject and asked: "Have the students from other military regions arrived?"

  Everyone is here, just waiting for you.

  And then Xia Wenjie, followed the crowd of students into the factory. After entering, they found that there were more than a hundred people inside, dressed similarly to them, some in military uniforms and others in casual clothes, with both men and women, all carrying large and small packages.

  "Hey! Another batch has arrived." someone in the crowd said with a hint of a smile.

  Yao Jia whispered to the people around him, "Eight major military regions, each with a training quota of 15 people. Added together, that's 120 people. In the end, those who can stay might just be the last zero in 120."

  Tang Xian glanced at him and muttered: "You know a lot too."

  "I haven't eaten pork but I've seen pigs walking around, before coming here, I specially asked a lot of people." Yao Jia said with a self-satisfied smile.

  Tang Xian nodded and sneered with a mischievous smile: "You're right, people of the same kind shouldn't eat their own kind."

  "What do you mean by that?" Yao Jia asked with a puzzled face, and it wasn't until the low laughter spread around him that he suddenly realized, and he glared at Tang Xin with a mixture of anger and helplessness.

  At this time, four men in black clothes walked in together with Old Zhao. As they made their way through the crowd of students, the leader of the group constantly looked around.

  After stepping out of the crowd, he stopped, turned around, looked at everyone and asked: "Didn't anyone tell you before coming here that it's not necessary to bring anything?"

  "Report, sir, no one has informed us." a lieutenant standing in the front row said loudly.

  The man in black turned his head and looked at him, then strode forward to his side, the distance between them so close that their noses were almost touching.

  "May I have you speak?"

  "Director, didn't you just ask..."

  "Am I asking you, did I let you speak?"

  "Report to the superior officer, nothing." The lieutenant lowered his head with a guilty conscience.

  The man in black's gaze slowly moved down from his face and fell on the military backpack placed at his feet, asking: "What's inside?"

  "Are the clothes and books used every day..."

  "Throw it away." Before he could finish his words, the man in black kicked the military backpack hard and sent it flying far away.

  "Director, it's me..."

  "Either drop your backpack, or you can get out of here with it." The man in black took off his sunglasses, and his eyes shot out a sharp gaze that landed squarely on the lieutenant's face.

  The lieutenant clenched his fists tightly around the pant legs and finally endured it silently, saying nothing more.

  Seeing this, the man in black turned his gaze to others and shouted loudly: "Everyone is the same, throw away all your backpacks and everything on you."

  "Reporting to the leader, should we also throw away the girls' personal belongings..."

  "Are you deaf? Didn't you hear what I said?" The man in black, like a firecracker about to explode, took three steps forward and let out an ear-shattering roar.

  "There are some things that girls can't lose..."

  "On the battlefield, would your enemy care whether you're male or female? Here, you're all just pigs, no distinction between boars and sows, did you hear that?"

  The man in black's words had already reached the point of trampling human dignity, and the female soldier he scolded turned red-eyed, with tears almost falling on the spot.

  A major from the same military district as the female soldier stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Commander, your words are too excessive. I hope you can apologize to her and also to us."

  "Heh heh." The man in black laughed, but his laughter sent shivers down one's spine. "I don't apologize here, only this." As he spoke, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

  With a loud crack, hundreds of black-clad men suddenly poured in from the small doors on both sides of the factory, all dressed alike in black vests, black trousers and black leather shoes, with identical long clubs in their hands.

  The man in black slowly lowered his raised hand, pointing at the major's nose and said: "You, have been eliminated, get out."

  The major also refused to show weakness, and walked two steps in his direction, loudly questioning: "What mistake did I make? What right do you have to eliminate me?"

  "What right? Just because I'm the instructor here, just because I don't like the look of you, that's enough."

  As they spoke, he waved his hand and several people immediately walked out of the more than 100 black-clad men on both sides, striding to the major's side, grabbing his clothes without saying a word, and dragging him out.

  "Let me go, let me go..." He merely struggled slightly, trying to break free from their grasp, and didn't even fight back, yet still suffered a beating at the hands of a group of men in black clothes.

  A group of men in black clothes raised their clubs and rained down a flurry of wild blows.

  Of course, they also fought with great restraint, making people hurt but not injuring their tendons and bones. Under their chaotic sticks, the lieutenant colonel soon couldn't hold on, fell to the ground, covered his head with both arms, and curled up into a ball.

  Two men from the same military district could no longer stand by and suddenly rushed out, pushing away the black-clad crowd that was beating the lieutenant, and shielding him.

  As a result, the two of them were surrounded and attacked by more men in black, and soon they too were knocked to the ground and dragged away like dead dogs.

  The man in black who was leading the way had been standing with his hands behind his back, a sneer on his face, coldly observing from the side. After the lieutenant and the other two soldiers were dragged away, he slowly asked: "Is there anyone else who doesn't obey? Now you can stand out, you can choose to leave here by yourself, or you can let my people 'invite' you to leave."

  The scene was quiet, with no one making a sound. Everyone was shocked by this sudden change. Having just arrived at the Lei Feng training camp, three people were already eliminated. What kind of place is this?

  Seeing no one speaking, the man in black sneered and his gaze fell back on the female soldier. With a sarcastic smile, he said: "The whole thing started because of you, it was your meddling that caused three students to be eliminated. What face do you have to continue staying here? Why don't you take your things and get out like them?"

  The female soldier's eyes were red-rimmed, and a layer of mist also rose in her eyes. She gritted her teeth and said: "I won't leave, I will stick to the end." As she spoke, she took off the backpack on her body, using all her strength, and swung out of the crowd.

  The man in black looked at her deeply, hummed twice, ignored her, and retreated a few steps. He scanned the crowd and said, "From now on, for the next three months, I am your instructor. In these three months, you have only one task: to make me like you. Otherwise, no matter if you are a king of soldiers or a king of ghosts, no matter if you are a school officer, a lieutenant, or an enlisted officer, that will be your lesson." As he spoke, he pointed outside the factory building.

  "My task is not to train you into the top-notch national machine, but to think of all ways and means to torment you, to eliminate you. Each one of you is worth 100,000, eliminating one person will accumulate 100,000 funds for the training camp, the daily expenses of the training camp, the monthly salary of the staff, and the year-end bonuses are all derived from this. I'm saying this, you should understand, my mood to eliminate you is so urgent."

  "My surname is Yan, and my name is Yan Duo. My former students used to call me Yan Wang in private, and I don't mind if you do the same. You can even call me that to my face, but on one condition: don't make me dislike you. The consequences of being disliked by me have already been made very clear."

  "Now, if anyone doesn't want to endure three months of humiliation and suffering, step out immediately, give up voluntarily. Outside, there are special arrangements to send you back to where you came from. How about it? Just be proactive, this way it's easier for both you and me."

  More than 100 students did not say a word, nor did anyone volunteer to give up. The scene remained quiet.

  After waiting for five seconds, Yan suddenly burst out laughing and nodded his head: "Alright, you're all masters who don't shed tears until they see the coffin." He turned his head around and nodded to his three assistants behind him.

  One of them lifted his earpiece walkie-talkie and said briefly: "Open the door."

  As he spoke, a creaking sound suddenly came from the factory.

  The students turned their heads to look around, and saw that the entire wall on the right side of the factory building had inexplicably split open to both sides, revealing a vast metal space inside.

  The walls, floor and even the ceiling are all made of silvery white metal, reflecting a metallic luster under the bright light. The dimness, oldness and modernity of the factory building form an extremely sharp contrast with the brightness and modernity of the metal house.

  Yan Duole took the lead and walked away, saying without looking back: "Welcome, trainees, to the Lei Feng Training Camp."

  Who would have thought that in such a dilapidated factory, there was still a paradise. The students looked at each other in dismay and finally followed him without saying a word. This time, everyone had learned their lesson, no one dared to bring the backpacks they had brought with them, including Xia Wenjie.

  From start to finish, Xia Wenjie remained calm, after all, before he came, Liu Chuang had already revealed to him that the Lei Feng training camp was a place not much different from hell.

  He had been paying close attention and soon understood that there was only one ruler here, at least for now. The ruler was this instructor who called himself Yan Luo, who held the power of life and death over all the students.

  It has been confirmed that one thing is also proved that Yan Duo's words are not wrong, coming here, everything else is secondary, the only important point is to win his favor, this is also the only standard for not being eliminated.

  As of now, Yan Luo seems to like people who are strong-willed and never give up.

  This can be seen from that trouble-making female soldier, who should have been eliminated like the other three, but she was stubborn and refused to give up, and Yan Duo unexpectedly kept her.

  In Xia Wenjie's view, Yan Duo may not be as cold-blooded and ruthless as he appears to be.