SCOM - Chapter 95
Chapter 95
The skeletal mechs themselves were smooth, with special treatment only on the soles of the feet and palms. But now doused in oil, the slightest misstep would cause them to slip.
“Three kilometers ahead, Instructor Jiao is waiting for you all,” an instructor announced. Behind him was a tanker truck, and it was obvious what it contained: oil.
Zuo Luohuan raised her arm and sniffed. It wasn't gasoline, probably just ordinary lubricating oil.
Led by their respective captains, the cadets began to run forward. Several instructors sat atop the tanker truck, each holding a hose, spraying the cadets below from time to time.
The force of the spray was strong, and any cadet who wasn't steady on their feet was knocked to the ground. As the instructors sprayed them all the way, the once orderly formations completely broke apart, and many of the fallen cadets were left behind.
The teams' progress slowed. Many people slipped on the lubricating oil and fell even on flat ground.
“At this rate, the three-kilometer run will take half an hour,” Jiang Hong said, wiping his face, his hand coming away covered in lubricating oil.
The skeletal mechs were fully enclosed, covering the body from head to toe in a thin, form-fitting layer of armor. However, special provisions were made for the eyes, nose, and mouth, allowing the wearer to breathe and communicate normally.
“Let’s reform the line. Everyone, link arms and advance. If someone falls, the person next to them should pull them up,” Ji Yuezhi said, looking back. The instructors were dousing them in oil, naturally for the subsequent training, but for now, they had to protect their own teams.
Ji Yuezhi’s team quickly began to adapt. Seeing this, the other teams followed suit, quickly helping each other forward.
However, everyone was covered in oil. It was difficult to pull someone up, and it was easy to be pulled down yourself, taking a whole row with you. But to avoid dragging others down, everyone gritted their teeth and endured. If they fell, they quickly got back up. Even if they fell again after getting up, they would still climb to their feet.
Seeing this, the instructors on top of the tanker truck raised their eyebrows. Their reaction was decent, not too slow.
Thinking was one thing, but the action of spraying the lubricating oil with high-pressure guns never stopped, continuing until they reached the training location, supporting one another.
“You’re here.” Jiao Ji raised her hand to check the time and asked everyone, “Do you want to rest for a bit?”
“No need!” Luo Shaoyuan shouted. The instructor’s words clearly held ill intent.
The training location was a cliff, or more accurately, a hundred-meter-wide chasm. Five ropes were fixed across it. On the other side was a similar flat area, and further in the distance stood a tall building, also with five ropes hanging from it, swaying in the wind.
“Seeing as you’ve just arrived, we instructors can’t be too harsh.” Jiao Ji wore a benevolent expression as she pointed at the hundred-meter chasm. “The instructors were worried you wouldn’t be able to cross, so we’ve specially fixed a rope for each team. In a moment, you will walk across on these ropes.”
Everyone: “…”
“Oh, right, one thing, two uses,” Jiao Ji added. “You can also use these ropes to climb the building.”
Guan Xue approached the edge of the chasm and glanced down. Loose pebbles at her feet cascaded down, and she heard no sound for a long time.
“Instructor, how deep is this?” Cha Lili asked.
“Not too high, probably…” Jiao Ji thought for a moment. “Only about a thousand meters or so.”
Cha Lili: “…”
No matter how powerful the skeletal mechs were, if they fell from such a height, a person would be shattered by the impact.
“Since you have chosen this path, you must understand that death is your constant companion,” Jiao Ji said. “It’s just a matter of where you die. Alright, prepare to move out now.”
One rope per team, and the rope's diameter was only about five centimeters. Their feet were also covered in lubricating oil, making the crossing even more difficult.
“A reminder first, don’t even think about wiping the oil from your palms and soles,” Jiao Ji warned before they began.
Stepping on the rope would cause them to slip, and gripping it with their hands would also be slippery. It would be very troublesome for them to cross.
“Captain, I’ll go first,” Yan Yan stepped forward and said.
Ji Yuezhi glanced at him and nodded in agreement.
Yan Yan tentatively stepped onto it with one foot. He could feel a distinct slipping sensation, but after planting his foot firmly, he was able to hold his ground.
He looked up at the other side, quickly placed his other foot on the rope, and moved forward rapidly.
But halfway across, his foot slipped, and Yan Yan looked as if he was about to fall. He shot out his hand to grab the rope, but the lubricating oil on his palm was still there, causing it to slip as well. Just as it seemed his hand would lose its grip and he would fall into the chasm again.
Some of the onlookers had already cried out in alarm.
Yan Yan was also nervous, but his survival instinct made him struggle. The moment his hand slipped from the rope, he tensed his legs, hooked the rope with the back of his knees, then lifted his upper body and used the crooks of his arms to hang onto the rope.
He didn't dare to delay any longer and, using this posture, quickly scrambled to the other side.
When he finally flipped himself up, the people on the other side couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Next was Guan Xue. She was much smaller and more slender than Yan Yan, and her movements were much more agile. She simply walked across the rope smoothly.
No matter how difficult, they had to cross. The members of each team began to cross one after another, each finding a method that suited them. The people who went first contributed many techniques.
“Damn!”
As the teams were struggling to cross, someone from Luo Shaoyuan’s team finally couldn't hold on and fell.
This fall disturbed the calm of the teams. It was like a trigger, and soon, people from every team began to fall, while the spectating instructors remained indifferent.
“I forgot to mention, this training is timed. If you keep standing there stunned, you'll all be eliminated,” Jiao Ji said, looking at the motionless cadets on this side.
“Go.”
The people on this side who hadn't crossed yet gritted their teeth and set off.
Zuo Luohuan glanced at Ji Yuezhi standing beside her. “You go first. I'll be last and untie the rope.”
“Alright,” Ji Yuezhi agreed. He stepped onto the rope and quickly crossed the chasm.
With their feet covered in lubricating oil, everyone's abilities were greatly diminished, and crossing now required an extremely high sense of balance.
Most people resorted to using both hands and feet halfway through, slowly crawling across.
After someone fell, those who had yet to cross slowly changed their strategy, using their hands and feet from the very beginning to crawl over.
Ji Yuezhi’s speed was too fast. His feet tapped the rope, and before his body could fully sink, his other foot had already landed ahead. Others struggled on the hundred-meter rope, but he was like a dragonfly skipping across water, crossing in no time.
“That was way too easy,” Luo Shaoyuan watched from the other side, inevitably clicking her tongue.
“Are you always blinded by Zuo Luohuan?” An Yingjing sneered. “Ji Yuezhi can be her rival. How could his skill be lacking?”
Luo Shaoyuan turned to look at An Yingjing. “I was just saying. Your team has dozens more people who haven't crossed than mine does.”
An Yingjing shot her a glare and ignored her, stepping onto the rope herself. Although she couldn't compare to Ji Yuezhi, she was still a standout among the cadets who were using both hands and feet.
After more than two hours, most of them had crossed, leaving only a few scattered people on this side.
In Ji Yuezhi’s team, only Zuo Luohuan remained. She had to untie the rope fixed on this end.
The last person from Cha Lili’s team, for instance, untied the rope, wrapped it around his body several times, and was then pulled across by the people on the other side.
After Zuo Luohuan untied the rope, she wrapped it around her wrist a few times to secure it, then took a few steps back and leaped straight across.
Across the hundred-meter distance, Zuo Luohuan took several strides in mid-air, finally managing to grab the edge of the opposite cliff with one hand before quickly vaulting up.
Even so, it drew a collective gasp from the other side. That was too fierce. There was no height difference between the two sides; her explosive power was just too monstrous.
“I heard that when she wears a skeletal mech, it's as if she's not wearing one at all,” Jiao Ji said to the instructor beside her upon seeing this scene. “It’s true after all.”
Even though these people were now much better at wearing skeletal mechs than at the beginning, it still had some effect.
Zuo Luohuan collected the rope and followed her team to the front of the building.
Five ropes were already hanging there, obviously used by the Winter Army soldiers before. The wall was perfectly smooth, with no handholds, clearly requiring ropes to climb.
It took the five teams some time just to throw their ropes up.
“Guan Xue, you go up and scout first,” Ji Yuezhi said.
“Alright.” Guan Xue grabbed the rope. Although her palms were oily, the rope was coarse, and since it was an upward climb, it was much less dangerous than before.
She slipped midway but quickly got back up.
Once she reached the top, Guan Xue gave a hand signal, indicating that there were no problems.
The rope was contaminated with lubricating oil and would become more slippery over time, so Ji Yuezhi had already assigned people. During the chasm crossing, he had noted that those he had observed as being slightly weaker would go first, while the stronger ones would stay behind.
On the rooftop was a large platform with five stairwells in the middle. Guan Xue didn't go down but stood on the roof waiting for the team to arrive.
Once the team was nearly assembled, Ji Yuezhi led them down.
The stairs had no railings and the steps were very slippery. Everyone was extremely cautious as they walked.
“The instructors won’t even say what they’re up to,” Jiang Hong, who had been holding it in all this time, finally couldn't resist. “We have no idea what we’re doing next.”
But they soon found out.
Because halfway down, the stairs suddenly retracted, and everyone fell from mid-air.
Those with quick reflexes knew to use their surroundings to land steadily. Some who didn't react in time crashed to the ground with a series of thuds, unable to get up for a long while.
At this moment, a captain who was observant could quickly sort the strong from the weak in their team.
Of course, not everyone had a photographic memory like Ji Yuezhi, and besides, he had Zuo Luohuan by his side.
When these people recovered from the sudden fall, they found that the team led by the Winter Army, which had arrived first, was already standing opposite them.
“Each staircase corresponds to an arena and a team,” Ji Yuezhi’s gaze fell on the opposing team. “We chose this one.”
“Captain Ji guessed correctly,” an instructor’s voice came from above. “Beside you are back tags representing your teams. Your mission is to tear off the opposing team's tags. The time limit is one hour.”
Everyone thought this was just a simple fighting competition, but they soon underestimated the instructors' wickedness.
Because the entire space suddenly began to fill with water, quickly submerging the ground. In less than a minute, it had reached everyone’s calves.
“So we’re competing in the water,” Ji Yuezhi said, turning to look at everyone. “Does anyone not know how to swim?”
As it turned out, some people actually raised their hands, saying they couldn't. Guan Xue and Yan Yan were among them, and then, one after another, fifty or sixty people raised their hands.
Ji Yuezhi assigned two hundred people to form a barrier in front of them. “You'll learn on the spot right behind them.”
The water rose too quickly, soon submerging everyone’s heads. Those who couldn't swim were guided to learn on the spot, with their teammates forming a protective circle around them.
With that, Ji Yuezhi’s team was down by several hundred people.
In the water, their bodies felt heavier, and fighting required more stamina. No one was willing to admit defeat unless they lost the ability to resist.
Zuo Luohuan was fighting an opponent in the water. Too lazy to exert herself, she simply dragged her opponent underwater with her. At first, the opponent could still counter, but soon they needed to breathe and struggled to surface. This struggle was the perfect opportunity for Zuo Luohuan to rip off their name tag.
The water was in chaos. The opposing captain took the opportunity to lead several people to surround Ji Yuezhi. Zuo Luohuan had just torn the tags off two people in the distance when she turned around and saw Ji Yuezhi being cornered.
She was a bit far away. The person closest to Ji Yuezhi was Jiang Hong, but he was also tied up with someone.
Ji Yuezhi sank into the water, met Zuo Luohuan’s gaze, and gave her a hand signal, telling her to continue and not to worry about him.
Zuo Luohuan paused, then turned without hesitation and continued to deal with others. This time, she didn't slack off, attacking on sight. Almost no one could last more than two moves against her.
In a lull in the fighting, she glanced back towards Ji Yuezhi. He was already being held underwater, struggling with his limbs, unable to surface.
“Do you think she'll go save him?” Jiao Ji asked the other instructors, watching the surveillance screen of the underwater scene.
“It's too late to save him now,” one instructor said. “If she hadn't turned and left at the beginning, she might have had a chance to save Ji Yuezhi.”
“If it were me, I would have gone to save him from the start,” another instructor said. “Regardless of whether Ji Yuezhi is someone she likes, he is ultimately the captain, the core of the team. He must be protected at all costs.”
Jiao Ji chuckled and pointed to the back of the underwater scene. “Keep watching.”
The people who had claimed they couldn't swim had gradually made their way to the edge, now contracting their formation. Their agile movements didn't look like those of recent learners at all. The opponents who had let their guard down and tried to take advantage of the situation to tear off tags were instead the ones who lost their own.
With the addition of these several hundred people, Ji Yuezhi's side gained a significant number of hands.
Guan Xue swam over fiercely from the side, kicking away two people who were about to tear off the tag on Ji Yuezhi's back. Yan Yan blocked the opposing captain, while Ding Wuming, who came up from behind, supported Ji Yuezhi and brought him to the surface.
Floating on the surface, Ji Yuezhi was finally able to breathe.
“Captain, are you alright?”
“…I’m fine.” Ji Yuezhi had been held underwater for too long and was a bit dazed.
By this time, Zuo Luohuan had already torn off the tags of over a hundred people. While others surfaced several times to breathe, she only came up once. However, after seeing the people who had surfaced, she quickly rose to the water's surface and looked at Ji Yuezhi in the distance.
Although his face was covered by the skeletal mech, Zuo Luohuan felt as if she could see him, and her heart felt as if it had been squeezed tightly.
Through the churning water, Ji Yuezhi shook his head at Zuo Luohuan, signaling that he was fine.
A moment later, Zuo Luohuan submerged and continued to fight.
“When did these people coordinate this?” The instructors next to her were stunned. They had been watching on the screen the whole time and hadn't seen Ji Yuezhi make any hand signals.
Jiao Ji shook her head and smiled. “Some things don't need to be said.”
Earlier, when Ji Yuezhi had asked who couldn't swim, his eyes had been on Guan Xue and Yan Yan, a few people he was familiar with, but he clearly knew they could swim.
Guan Xue and the others understood instantly. They weren't at the front anyway, so they quickly signaled to the people nearby, which led to the scene of dozens of people raising their hands and saying they couldn't swim.
The key was that the opposing team didn't know Guan Xue and the others.
“Ha, that captain from the Winter Army has been cornered,” an instructor said, enjoying the drama. “Now he’s digging his own grave.”
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