"Completely correct!" The Assistant Discipline Teacher nodded. "To reward your thorough knowledge of school rules and punishments, I'll give you a hint: 'A long spear is a gun, a fire gun is also a gun. A long spear cannot attack from a distance, a fire gun cannot fire bullets at close range.'
After reciting this like a poem, the Assistant Discipline Teacher walked away elsewhere.
"How did you know the answer?" Zi Qian asked, looking at me incredulously.
"Isn't this our school's regulation? It's listed in the student handbook," I replied, looking at him, equally puzzled.
Since we took the shortcut, we arrived at the marching practice location faster than the Ming Juin trio.
In this game, if two or more teams are simultaneously challenging the same quest, the game decides the order for teams to undertake the quest on a first-come, first-served basis. This means that at this point, there is a competition to grab the quest or the stage boss. Therefore, every team strives to reach the designated location in the shortest possible time to take the lead.
"Team, fall in!"
The other NPCs quickly went to the positions in front of the NPC who gave the command to line up. The last row had three empty spots. We naturally understood the implication and automatically filled the vacancies.
"Listen up, everyone! Although we are five-time consecutive champions, we must not be arrogant, nor can we skip marching practice. This year, we are the last team to take the field. We must show the entire school the strength of the five-time champions!" the NPC commander said.
"Yes!" the team NPCs responded in unison.
"The competition is approaching, we must make the most of our practice time. Next, I will teach everyone the basic theory and knowledge of marching."
It was at this moment that Ming Juin and the others finally arrived, quite late.
"Ming Juin, look, they got ahead of us," Zu Sheng, standing not far away, pointed at us and said unwillingly.
"How did they get here before us?" Jie Rong asked, looking confused.
"Did they take a shortcut? But wouldn't they encounter the Assistant Discipline Teacher on that path?" Ming Juin speculated calmly.
Just as Ming Juin and the others were puzzled, the commander was explaining in detail the functions, purposes, commands, basic formations, steps, and techniques of marching. He patiently explained each command and demonstrated the correct movements, but none of us were listening; instead, we were listening to the drama.
"Aren't those the classmates from next door behind us? Didn't they leave earlier than us? Why are they only arriving now?" I deliberately raised my voice.
"Because they don't fear god-like opponents, only teammates who walk slowly," Zi Qian, very uncharacteristically, played along with me.
"Let's go!" Ming Juin turned around.
"Ming Juin, are we just going to let them complete the preliminary quest first?" Zu Sheng asked loudly, unwilling.
"Do you want to stand here and watch them clear the stage?" Ming Juin turned his head and looked in our direction for a few seconds. Although his eyes were filled with anger, he still said stiffly, "We'll meet again."
"You will have a red circle under your feet. As long as your step, pace, and movements are completely correct, the circle will turn green. A slight error will show yellow, too many errors will show an 'X'. Does anyone have any questions?" the commander asked.
Even though I hadn't listened carefully to what the commander said earlier, I still replied, "No."
"We have to participate in the marching competition? I'm not good at marching at all!" Xin Hui, standing to my right, looked at me. "Zi Qian and I both learn Taekwondo; we never learned marching. I remember you were in the KRS at Beichuan, so you must know marching. Teach us later."
I shook my head vigorously. "I rarely participated in KRS activities. I don't—"
Before I could finish, the commander in front continued, "Alright, let's start with a simple command. Team, attention!"
...