"First up, Strength Assessment!"
An instructor stood on a high platform, roaring sternly, "Everyone, line up in five columns! We've specifically brought in five strength testing machines from the Marine Headquarters Science Division for simultaneous testing!"
All the new recruits subconsciously looked to the right of the platform.
There, five instructors stood with their hands behind their backs, and behind them, five enormous, pitch-black machines were lined up side-by-side.
They were all familiar with these machines; they were an indispensable part of every monthly assessment.
When they were still new recruits, hitting a number above 500 was already quite good. Now, with time passed and graduation approaching, they could, on average, achieve at least 1,000 or more.
The few top performers among them could even hit over 1,500, but that was still far from the machine's maximum measurable limit.
Mainly, a few months ago, the Headquarters Science Division, for some unknown reason, specially allocated personnel and went to great lengths to upgrade and maintain these machines, increasing their original measurement limit from over 2,000 to around 4,000.
It had doubled.
This left many of the soon-to-be graduates puzzled.
Why waste such effort for no reason? Are they worried that new recruits who haven't even graduated yet will break the machines?What groundless fears, a complete waste of time.
At the very front of the five lines, standing in the middle, was a young man with long crimson hair and half a mask, his physique robust and muscles bulging.
"I'll go first."
He confidently bumped his fists together, grinning, "Early in the morning, let's start things off well for everyone and get our spirits up!"
"Haha, go Bastille!"
"You're the best among us in this batch, that's the spirit!"
"Show them some first-place swagger!"
The Elite Marines behind him cheered, hoping Bastille could put in extra effort and perform exceptionally.
—Surpassing that monster named Nao is out of the question, but we can't let him suppress us too badly and make our entire batch lose face, right?
"Heh heh, don't worry!"
Bastille, looking like a crimson-haired demon, stared at the machine. After taking a deep breath, he suddenly poured all his strength into a punch, unleashing it at the machine!
Dong! The massive black machine trembled slightly. Amidst a dull thud, the display above the scale showed a remarkably splendid number.
"2021! Bastille, S+ rank, Strength Category, Perfect Evaluation!"
The instructor in front of this machine glanced at the screen, then, while writing in his record, said in a deep voice, "Very good! Bastille, you've improved even more than previous times!"
"You must continue to maintain this performance throughout the rest of the assessment. Keep up the excellent work!"
"No problem, Instructor!"
Bastille laughed heartily, clearly very satisfied with his performance. Under everyone's envious and awestruck gazes, he turned and walked back.
As he brushed past Nao, he slowed his steps, casting a glance at him from the corner of his eye—whether intentional or not.
My performance this time was top-tier—easily monster-level compared to recent graduates. How much better could he possibly be?
Nao sensed his gaze, turned his face, and gave him a friendly smile.
"..."
Bastille suddenly froze, feeling his heart rate rapidly accelerate. He quickly lowered his head, silently sped up, and returned to the back of the line.
No way…
This guy looks quite rugged, but why is he suddenly acting shy like a little girl?
Nao helplessly withdrew his gaze. He hadn't even used his "Radiance Smile" skill. Who could have expected such a strong reaction from this guy? He couldn't be blamed for it, could he?
At the front of the lines, the strength assessment continued.
With Bastille setting a good precedent, the Marines who came after seemed to have been given a boost. Their overall performance was quite good, exceeding their usual levels.
Many hit over 1,500, and several even approached 2,000. The instructors responsible for teaching this batch of graduates frequently nodded in satisfaction, their hearts practically blooming with joy…
Soon, it was Nao's turn.
He was in the rightmost line, a bit out of the way.
But when he stepped up to the machine, even though their view was obstructed, all the Marines temporarily stopped what they were doing, craning their necks to look.
They wanted to see with their own eyes what kind of terrifying number this new recruit, who could be called the number one monster in the Elite Camp's history, could hit.
However.
Unfortunately, someone wasn't going to give them that chance.
Because the instructor responsible for the rightmost machine happened to be an acquaintance of Nao's.
"..."
Brandon, with his grass-green mohawk, squinted down at Nao standing before him.
Watching Nao rubbing his fists, clearly raring to go, Brandon's eye twitched. He finally couldn't hold it in—and just as Nao was about to throw a punch, he suddenly stepped forward and barked:
"Stop!"
Crack.
Nao, who was charged up and ready, stumbled forward, almost falling to the ground. He rubbed his twisted waist and looked up, displeased:
"What the hell, Mr. Brandon? Can't you not suddenly yell 'stop' at a time like this? Twisting my waist really hurts, you know!"
The other instructors also stopped recording and cast confused glances at Brandon.
Why are you looking at me?
Aren't I protecting the machine and reducing losses?
Do you know why the Headquarters Science Division suddenly maintained and upgraded the testing machines a few months ago?!
"That…"
Brandon felt a painful feeling in his gut, but he tried his best to maintain his composure. He cleared his throat and said in a deep voice:
"You don't need to be tested. I'll just mark you down for the highest evaluation directly."
As soon as these words came out, the open ground below instantly erupted in an uproar.
"Huh? Is that even allowed?"
"Mr. Brandon, how can you do this? This is blatant favoritism… Oh, not exactly favoritism, but it's against the assessment rules!"
"Yeah, even if that guy can indeed hit the highest evaluation, you still have to let us see the exact number, right?"
"That's right! Everyone's been looking forward to this for ages. My neck's aching from waiting. How can you just let him skip it?!"
Listening to the voices from behind him, Nao looked up at Brandon, shrugging helplessly. "You see, everyone's waiting for me to go. What do you say now, Instructor?"
"I still think it's unnecessary!"
Brandon completely ignored the discontent and protests from below. He stood in front of the machine, not budging an inch. "If you question the fairness, you can certainly complain to Mr. Zephyr. I believe he'll agree with me…"
"Don't say that, Mr. Brandon."
A voice suddenly came from the high platform behind. It was the two Rear Admirals sent by Headquarters to supervise.
Rear Admiral Dalmatian, wearing a black and white spotted dog-head hat, lit a cigar and said with a smile: "No one's questioning your character, they just want to witness the terrifying extent of Nao's strength…"
"Yeah, you should move aside," Rear Admiral Doberman also said faintly. "This is what everyone wants. Why spoil their excitement?"
"Easy for you to say. I borrowed these machines from the Headquarters Science Division," Brandon snorted, crossing his arms. "You two are just enjoying the show and don't care about the consequences. If the machines break, will you two pay for them?"
"What's the big deal?" Dalmatian first paused slightly, then agreed without hesitation. "We'll pay if they break, no problem!"
"..."
Doberman glanced at Nao, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to trust the quality of the Headquarters Science Division's machines. He nodded slightly. "I have no objections either."
Naive young officers, indeed.
Brandon let out a wistful sigh, like someone with more experience. He himself was once so naive—speaking of which, it seems these upgraded testing machines are even more ridiculously expensive. Each one costs nearly 100 million Berries, right?
"In that case…"
He looked sympathetically at the two Rear Admirals, stepped back to clear the space in front of the machine, and leaned in slightly, lowering his voice to Nao:
"Alright... I won't stop you. But just hold back a little, okay?"