Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 63: Chapter 61: Involvement

After lunch break, as the military whistle blew, a scattered group of new recruits slowly made their way to the parade ground.

At 2:30 in the afternoon the sun was scorching, turning the parade ground into a sauna, which naturally led to sluggish movements. Despite countless whistle blows, they finally assembled.

Looking at the dozens of instructors standing in front of the parade ground, each one already had an iron-blue complexion.

Chen Deping checked the time and said sternly, “A ten-minute assembly hasn’t been achieved, such discipline is truly unbelievable.”

There was silence across the parade ground, and everyone sensed that the instructor’s tone was a bit off.

Seeing Chen Deping’s dark face, Huo Sining had a feeling that something was not quite right.

As expected, the intimidation soon followed, “Seeing how slothful you all are, let’s start with some appetizer exercises to loosen up your muscles. Now, by class units, take your positions and run two laps around the track.”

Two laps?! You’ve got to be joking?

This wasn’t the kind of playground you find at schools. The training camp’s track was a thousand meters long, meaning two laps would amount to two kilometers. And this was just an appetizer?!

There even came gasps from within the ranks; everyone realized that the days ahead in military training were likely to be more bad than good.

With the chief instructor leading the way, the recruits, though reluctant, didn’t openly revolt, and started a slow jog in groups as instructed.

Two kilometers was not a small distance. Huo Sining was doing alright. Ever since she got the Water-Repelling Pearl, she had been using the Spiritual Energy to massage her body whenever she could.

Moreover, she occasionally went to the river to catch fish, so her physical strength gradually improved. She had seen a significant enhancement in her fitness, making such a jog no challenge for her.

But the other recruits were different. Those who usually lacked exercise found it hard to finish the run, and by the time everyone returned to the starting point, there were all states of distress – people panting heavily, sitting collapsed on the ground, bodies bent with legs trembling.

Xue Jingjing and Du Yanlin were already too exhausted to walk. Huo Sining’s gaze shifted to Luo Jinzhi, who was flushed but did not seem too out of breath.

“Back in Mindong, I used to deliver goods for my dad every morning. Sometimes if I was in a hurry, I had to run while carrying the load. This little distance is nothing.”

Perhaps sensing the curiosity in Huo Sining’s eyes, Luo Jinzhi gave a shy smile, offered an explanation, then suddenly thought of something and looked at Huo Sining, asking,

“It’s strange, where did our instructor go? It seems like the other instructors are also missing. Why is it just the chief instructor commanding on the parade ground? Where have they all gone?”

Instructor Wu was in charge of Huo Sining’s class, Mathematics Class 2, a handsome young man who didn’t look like he was even twenty years old, tall and thin with a pale face and tiger teeth that showed when he smiled. He seemed a bit introverted, but once he spoke, he had a loud and commanding voice.

Huo Sining had already noticed that Instructor Wu was not on the parade ground and was initially puzzled, but then she inadvertently saw a cunning smile on Chen Deping’s face and instantly understood what the instructors were up to.

With all the earlier preambles, the instructors must be collecting their spoils of war!

Sure enough, less than three minutes later, the line of instructors who had been missing from the parade ground suddenly emerged from the dormitory building across the way.

Approaching Huo Sining’s class formation, Instructor Wu was carrying several plastic bags.

Xue Jingjing immediately noticed that one of the bags contained the snacks she had secretly stuffed under her bedding, and her face instantly turned pale!

Du Yanlin’s face also turned pale when she saw a mobile phone in the other hand of the instructor, clearly recognizing it as her own.

She had brought two mobile phones to the training camp. So when the instructor asked everyone to hand them in, she gave up her old phone and hid the new one inside her shoe. She didn’t expect it to be found by the instructors!

Huo Sining noticed the changing expressions of Xue Jingjing and Du Yanlin and, looking at the items in the instructor’s hands, thought to herself: Here it comes.

After the formation, Chen Deping began to challenge them,

“I warned you before coming to the training camp that hiding contraband would lead to punishment. It seems that some of you have not taken my words to heart, deceiving in secret. Now, since you’re willing to take the risk, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

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Xue Jingjing and Du Yanlin were both tense, while the others in the team appeared indifferent.

Huo Sining and Luo Jinzhi exchanged glances and shrugged their shoulders, only for Chen Deping’s next words to make their shoulders slump simultaneously.

“Classes with contraband, all step out!”

Huo Sining was stunned, and Luo Jinzhi was dumbfounded, “Why is it our entire class stepping out?”

Huo Sining stepped forward calmly, her lips parting slightly, “If I’m not mistaken, this instructor is preparing to implement collective punishment, and none of us will be spared.”

Luo Jinzhi’s complexion changed as well, frustration rising, “How could this be? If I had known, I would have persuaded Xue Jingjing to hand over the snacks!”

“Persuading one wouldn’t have been of any use, Du Yanlin still had things hidden, we couldn’t control all of it.”

Huo Sining, however, gave a bitter smile. She regretted it too, but she didn’t want to meddle, yet who could have expected the instructor to be this harsh?

There were forty people in Huo Sining’s class, and in an instant, all of them stood out.

The students implicated were naturally not happy, some glaring at Xue Jingjing and Du Yanlin with unfriendly eyes. The two of them turned their heads away, somewhat guilty, and dared not meet everyone’s gaze.

More than half the students on the field were implicated by the collective punishment.

Looking at the vast crowd in front of him, Chen Deping stood in his neat military uniform at the front of the training field, his piercing gaze sweeping over everyone. His resonant voice echoed throughout the field, “Very well! Those who stepped out, pay attention: turn left and run three laps around the track field!”

As soon as these words were uttered, there was an uproar. If the previous two kilometers were just an appetizer, then these three kilometers were nothing short of an unwarranted disaster.

The students dragged into this protested immediately. Some voiced their objections loudly, “Report!”

“Speak!”

“We didn’t hide the items, why should we be punished along with them!? Each person responsible for their own actions, whoever hid the items should be punished, why should others be implicated? We disagree!”

Chen Deping let out a cold laugh, “You disagree? Can you firmly say that you knew nothing when they hid the contraband? If this were on the battlefield, concealing prohibited items is to disregard the safety of comrades near you, and you who knew, commit the crime of concealment! It’s precisely because you didn’t report when you knew that a mission could fail, or even cause the entire class, the entire company to be annihilated! I’m punishing you for your failure to report!”

“Remember this, once you’ve entered my training camp, you’re my soldiers! I warned you before you came in, with me, you must adhere to one rule, and that is absolute obedience to orders and commands! Is there anyone who still objects?!”

No one made a sound, and Chen Deping pulled at his face, raising his voice to yell:

“Good, everyone present, three kilometers, turn left, run at your fastest pace—Go!”

The less than orderly group quickly started running along the track at Chen Dekun’s command.

“This instructor is just a stern demon, why is he so harsh? He’s going to work us to death?!” Xue Jingjing was on the verge of tears.

The faces of the others in the class were even uglier than Xue Jingjing’s. Hearing her complaints, some of the boys couldn’t hold back anymore, “Isn’t this mess caused by you? We’re the ones suffering. Why did we have to end up in the same class with you!”

“Why is it all my fault, I’m not the only one who hid stuff!”

Xue Jingjing argued back indignantly. As she said this, she subconsciously glanced at Du Yanlin beside her, her betrayal of her teammate seeming all too natural.

Du Yanlin had been keeping her head down and staying silent, trying to make herself inconspicuous ever since she knew she caused trouble. Unfortunately, she chose a teammate as oblivious as a pig.

As Xue Jingjing’s glance shifted towards her, it instantly diverted the disaster. Everyone suddenly remembered that the causes of this unwarranted disaster were not just one person—an accusatory gaze turned towards Du Yanlin, as if shooting fire.

That damned bitch, she definitely did it on purpose! Du Yanlin was so angry she wanted to curse, she glared at Xue Jingjing resentfully.

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