"Time is up, the battle is over."
Instructor Yuan Gang's voice came from the loudspeakers inside the base, clearly echoing in every corner.
The members of the Masked Squad, who had been sitting on the sidelines with bated breath, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Scared the hell out of me. I almost thought the Captain was going to lose," Vortex said, patting his chest with lingering fear.
Moon Ghost was silent for a moment. "Why do I feel... like something is off?"
"I have that feeling too." Rose's expression was a bit strange. "It feels like it was by the Captain's time..."
"Ahem! Ahem!"
Libra coughed violently a few times and gave the others a look.
The members of the Masked Squad shut their mouths in unison, seemingly understanding something, their expressions somewhat awkward.
Baili Pangpang scratched his head. "What? Didn't Lin Qiye win?"
"No, time was up, and he didn't manage to cut off Wang Mian's Mask." Mo Li shook her head.
Baili Pangpang blinked blankly, pointing at the monocle on the bridge of his nose, and said, "But I clearly saw Lin Qiye slash..." *Mmph mmph mmph.*
Lin Qiye, who had appeared from nowhere, clamped his hand tightly over Baili Pangpang's mouth and expressionlessly dragged him into a corner. Baili Pangpang was like a young maiden kidnapped by a villain, wanting to say something but unable to utter a sound.
"You saw it all?" In the corner, Lin Qiye looked at Baili Pangpang helplessly.
"Yeah."
"Just pretend you didn't."
Baili Pangpang was stunned. "But..."
"Baili Pangpang, what do you think of these new recruits?"
Baili Pangpang thought for a moment. "Except for those few, the others are pretty trash."
"Then do you think it would be a good thing if this training were canceled right now, and they were sent off to various places to face those Mysteries directly?"
"Probably not..."
"Exactly." Lin Qiye patted his shoulder, looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, his gaze deep and filled with compassion. "Even if I won, I have to pretend I didn't. It's not for myself; I'm doing this for the future of these two hundred-plus people... This is what you call vision!"
"Or rather this is what you called getting bribed..." Lin Xi Chen smirked and nudged Lin Qiye in the waist with her elbow as she teased him. Lin Qiye could only offer an indulgent smile, ruffle Lin Xi Chen's hair, and finally let out a sigh.
Baili Pangpang's tiger-like body shuddered. He stared blankly at Lin Qiye, only recovering after a long while.
"So that's it! Qi Ye! I didn't expect you to not only be smart and good at fighting, but your ideological Realm is also this high! I... my vision was too narrow!"
Lin Qiye nodded slightly. "This matter cannot be spoken of.""Don't worry, I understand!" Baili Pangpang patted his chest heavily twice, his eyes filled with determination.
"Let's go. The battle is over, it's time to assemble..."
Half an hour later.
On the martial arts stage, over twenty instructors stood straight, and beside them were all the members of the Masked Squad.
Yuan Gang stood at the very front, looking down at the silent new recruits below, a smile flashing across his lips and disappearing.
"I am very disappointed in you all..." He spoke slowly, his deep voice echoing under the night sky.
Hearing this, the members of the Masked Squad standing to the side trembled slightly and silently lowered their heads...
"240 people against 5 people, and apart from a mere few, the vast majority of you didn't even touch the corner of the Masked Squad's clothes! Your actions were sluggish! Your thoughts were chaotic! There was no order at all!! I was completely right before! You are all trash! Like this, you will only get your teammates killed!!"
Yuan Gang yelled at the top of his lungs for a long time, and seemingly feeling a bit guilty, he added, "Of course, a small number of you are the exception..."
"...Since you lost, then follow what I said before! Abandon all your self-esteem and pride, forget your past, and devote yourselves entirely to the training! This training lasts for one year and is divided into two parts. The first part is the purest physical training! During these six months, we will use a Forbidden Item to suppress the Forbidden Ruin within you. You will lose the special powers you are so proud of and become completely ordinary people! During this period, we will use all sorts of methods to torture you, to make you physically and mentally exhausted, and to keep you on the brink of collapse at all times! You will be desperate, you will be in pain, and you might even want to seek death... But unfortunately, here, you won't even be able to do that! As for the second part, it will be the practice of Forbidden Ruin and tactical theory. Once you survive these six months, I will explain it to you slowly..."
Yuan Gang's gaze swept over the new recruits below one by one, and after a moment, he turned and left. "Enjoy this last bit of peaceful time, rookies. Starting tomorrow... it will be your nightmare."
The instructors followed behind Yuan Gang and turned to leave, and the members of the Masked Squad also struck a cool, aloof pose before disappearing into the night.
The new recruits immediately began whispering to each other.
"Physical training... I think I kind of regret coming here." Baili Pangpang rubbed his belly and said with a mournful face.
"Compared to that, I think you should be concerned about another issue..." Lin Qiye said slowly.
"What?"
"The dormitory building was just blown down. Where are we sleeping tonight?"
"?!!!"
It wasn't just Lin Qiye; the other new recruits soon realized this problem too. They sprinted back to the dormitory area, and then stood there dumbfounded...
The dormitory building, which had just been reduced to rubble, had already been restored to its original state. There wasn't a single crack on the walls, not even a fragment of debris on the ground, and everyone's luggage and bed sheets were perfectly intact. There was absolutely no trace that a great battle had ever taken place.
"This... how is this possible?" Seeing this scene, the new recruits were completely stunned. From the time they left here to their return, it had only been half an hour. How was this done?
To the side, Lin Qiye stroked his chin thoughtfully and turned to look into the distant night.
"Ahem, ahem... help me up..." Wang Mian had already taken off his Mask. As he walked, he stumbled and almost fell to the ground.
Vortex and Libra were supporting him on the left and right, sighing heavily.
"Captain, why go through all this trouble? You could have just let the logistics team fix the dormitory building. Why did you have to use time regression to piece the building back together?" Vortex frowned and said.
"You can't say that. I was the one who cut down Building Three; one must take responsibility for their own actions." The handsome-faced Wang Mian shook his head, his lips somewhat pale.
"Even though there were no living things inside, to regress time by more than half an hour in one go... the burden on your Mental Energy is too great." Libra also had his brows tightly knit.
"It's fine. I'll just have Cai Cai boil me a bowl of soup when we get back."
"Oh right, Captain... did we lose today?" Rose couldn't help but ask.
Libra gave Rose a look, signaling her not to bring up this topic right now.
Wang Mian's body paused. After a long while, he slowly straightened up, turned to look at the noisy dormitory building behind him, and a smile appeared on his lips. "Yeah, we lost... and we even owe a favor. The next generation is truly formidable."