Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups Chapter 1290 - 626
Previously on Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups...
Daybreak arrives, painting the sky with a gray-white hue as it gradually penetrates the dense mist that shrouds West Mountain. Deep within, Black Wind Gully serves as the ultimate destination for the Special Search Team's arduous endurance challenge. Several substantial tents, painted in army green, dot the mountainside, their interiors aglow with faint yellow light. A communication antenna stands tall at the camp's core, accompanied by the steady, low rumble of a diesel generator. The ground, scattered with gravel, is occupied by early arrivals, candidates lying about in disarray. Though the cross-country route spans a mere five kilometers, the perils and hidden obstacles are far from few. Most participants' camouflage uniforms are reduced to tattered rags, coated in mud, presenting a thoroughly disheveled appearance. Some writhe, clutching aching calves, their bodies marked with various injuries. Others are simply sprawled out, limbs akimbo, their chests heaving with intense exertion. The air is thick with the mingled scents of sweat, damp earth, and the sharp aroma of medical spray.
Near the camp's entrance, candidates intermittently cross the warning line. They largely support each other, limping forward like a vanquished army returning from battle. Fang Cheng, however, moves with measured steps through the throng, substantial, heavy bags clutched in each hand. Apart from a slightly tousled hairstyle and mud-splattered trouser legs, he appears vibrant and entirely unscathed. In stark contrast, Ma Donghe and Hou Peng, trailing behind him, present a far more wretched spectacle. Both sport blood-soaked bandages wrapped around their heads, and one leans on a crudely fashioned tree branch as a crutch. Staggering along, they resemble two grievously wounded prisoners escaping a POW camp. The trio falls into line at the enrollment area. By this time, a lengthy queue has formed before the registration tent, the line advancing at a glacial pace. The candidates ahead either slumber deeply or recount their experiences from the previous night to one another. A handful of medical personnel in white coats circulate among the waiting individuals, occasionally lifting severely injured or near-fainting candidates onto stretchers.
Fang Cheng calmly proceeds with the queue, his baggage in tow. Ma Donghe and Hou Peng emit pained gasps, interspersing their progress with complaints. After enduring a taxing half-hour, they finally reach the registration desk. The trio presents their mud-caked identification plates to the examiner stationed behind the counter. The examiner retrieves a scanner; with a beep, his gaze sweeps over Ma Donghe and Hou Peng's battered appearances before he casually inquires, "Encounter any danger last night?"
"Indeed, Sir, you wouldn't fathom the risks we faced!" Ma Donghe suddenly becomes animated. Leaning forward on his makeshift crutch, he spits out excitedly, "We lost our way in the woods and promptly stumbled upon a mutant boar. Good heavens, its tusks were easily half a meter long, and it was the size of a van!" He frees one hand, gesturing wildly, "That boar charged us in an instant! I reacted without hesitation, delivering a right whip kick, followed by a left front kick, and then a swift left jab directly into its eye socket, completely neutralizing its brute strength!"
"Precisely, exactly!" Hou Peng echoes, also propped by his branch. "If I hadn't evaded in the nick of time, that boar would have sent me flying; even so, I sustained numerous injuries." He continues, "Brother Ma was like a War God at that moment, going all out to cover me, wrestling the beast directly, fiercely determined..." The examiner doesn't even lift his eyelids. With a resounding thud, he stamps the qualification mark on the report and impatiently dismisses them: "Alright, alright, you've passed. Head to the medical area quickly to tend to your wounds; don't obstruct the passage."
"Hey, Sir, I haven't finished yet!" Ma Donghe reluctantly cranes his neck, eager to continue his tale. "I ended up choking that boar unconscious with a bare-handed choke..." "Hey, buddy up front, are you done spewing your hot air? My thigh is cramping, I can't stand any longer; that's not how you earn bonus points." A darkly complexioned candidate behind them interjects, his voice strained. "Exactly, listening to you, it sounds as if you were responsible for the explosions and alarming the examiners during last night's mountain search," another female candidate in the line remarks snappily, rolling her eyes. Upon hearing this, Ma Donghe can't help but cast a furtive glance at Fang Cheng beside him, retreating into silence with a crestfallen sigh. Then, accompanied by Hou Peng, they hobble and follow the others into the camp's interior.
Fang Cheng walks slightly ahead, adjusting his somewhat oversized training uniform. His movements are relaxed and natural, as if the creature that ravaged the entire forest last night wasn't him at all. His original camouflage uniform had already been reduced to tatters during his earlier confrontation with Lu Tianming. This current set of clothes and pants was stripped from the remains of a Black Market mercenary.
After parting ways with Lu Tianming last night, Fang Cheng managed to clear the battlefield before the Special Search Team’s main force encircled him. The mercenaries’ bodies, along with their leftover weaponry, he threw them all into the Golden Light Barrier at the ruins’ entrance, like tossing out trash. As for the turncoat, betrayer Grey Eagle. When Fang Cheng found him, he had already been crushed by boulders flung by the fight, his legs broken, face bloodied, wailing for help in the mud. Fang Cheng didn’t listen to a single word of his pleading explanation, snapped his neck to relieve his pain, then casually tossed him into the barrier, permanently eradicating all traces. He who kills, will be killed. Anyone daring to betray him, Fang Cheng would never give them a second chance. After completing all this, the Golden Light Barrier outside the ruins’ entrance had become very dim.