The Training Ground - Ten Years Later
The morning sun bathed the earth in its gentle light, casting long shadows across the stone square.
The smog of a decade ago had lessened, replaced by the sounds of a nation finding its feet.
In the nearby square, a group of highly skilled teenagers engaged in intense martial arts training.
Their shouts and battle cries filled the air, a rhythmic chant of discipline and power.
Ha! Hu!
Under the guidance of Ernst, these young martial artists had honed their Kung Fu skills to an exceptional level.
A seventeen-year-old boy, the leader of the group, launched a side kick at a wooden stake as thick as a man's thigh.
CRACK.
The stake splintered, the wood exploding outward.
Another student, a girl with intense eyes, punched a concrete block.
The stone crumbled, turning to dust under the impact of her Fist.
These were feats that would leave ordinary individuals with broken bones.
However, these dedicated youths had spent nearly a decade perfecting their martial arts under Ernst's tutelage.
Out of the initial 100 students, only 56 remained.
The training process had been brutal.
Some had given up due to the rigorous training, the midnight runs, the bitter medicinal baths, the mental strain.
Others found issues with Ernst's teaching methods, which were a strange blend of Taoist philosophy and Western biomechanics.
But the ones who persisted were not only skilled but also highly disciplined.
They were "Human Weapons."
With the addition of military tactics taught by Zhao Guohua, they could easily outperform a hundred elite soldiers on the battlefield.
Ernst stood on the steps of the main hall, watching them.
He hadn't aged a day.
Thanks to the Reality Stone's energy and the cellular optimization of his brain, he looked exactly as he had when he stepped off the plane ten years ago.
Perhaps his eyes were a little colder, a little deeper blue, but the face was eternal.
Ernst had been in China for almost a decade.
During this time, he returned to Skull Island for research only one or two months a year.
The rest of his time was devoted to teaching these children and assisting domestic scientific research.
It had been a productive decade.
During this period, Ernst made significant discoveries that would change the course of his own war.
He solved the problem of summoning the soul in the Cradle of Rebirth.
By combining the Maoshan rituals with the Tesseract's dimensional frequency, he created a "Soul-Summoning Magic Circle."
He no longer needed Azazel to physically steal souls; the machine could now act as a magnet, pulling the specific frequency of the deceased mutant back to the cloned body.
He also found a way to control the Vampire virus.
By isolating the fungal spore responsible for the reanimation and tweaking it, he created a biological agent he named the "T-Virus", a nod to the Resident Evil franchise.
It could reanimate dead tissue, creating loyal, mindless drones perfect for labor or cannon fodder.
Additionally, he stumbled upon a mysterious Gu worm, the Myriad Form Gu. It had highly malleable genes that could take on various biological forms.
In theory, it made it possible to transfer a soul into a completely different body species, acting as a universal adapter for consciousness.
Despite his successes, Ernst faced challenges when trying to replicate the Gu worm.
Only three out of nearly 1,000 attempts were successful.
He learned that this particular Gu worm was a rarity, a biological anomaly with only a few successful cases in more than a thousand years.
The "King" he had received was likely a legacy from past generations, passed to him by a grateful tribal elder to help with a research problem Ernst had solved.
Realizing the difficulty of reproducing the Gu worm, Ernst stored the three he had successfully refined and the original King in a cryo-stasis unit.
These were his "Extra Lives."
They could be valuable assets in the future, especially for those who were not mutants and needed a way to extend their lives or switch bodies.
While watching the youths train, Ernst turned to Azazel.
The demon was leaning against a pillar, reading a newspaper.
He looked bored, but his tail was twitching.
"Any news on the 'Cuban Situation'?" Ernst asked.
"Your father is busy," Azazel replied, folding the paper.
"The reports say he is manipulating the Americans and the Russians. He wants to put missiles in Cuba. He thinks nuclear war will accelerate mutant awakenings."
Ernst frowned.
"He is playing with fire," Ernst murmured.
"Radioactive fire."
"He believes he can control the outcome," Azazel said.
"With the Hellfire Club's current influence and power, the plan is likely to succeed. Mutants will rise from the ashes."
"Or they will die in the blast," Ernst countered.
"Success isn't solely determined by his strength. It involves cosmic consciousness. The balance of nature."
He looked up at the sky.
"Sacrificing innocent lives on that scale... it invites opposition from greater forces. It goes against the natural order. And when you fight the order, the order sends a correction."
Azazel looked at him, confused. "Dr. Ernst, is there any problem with this? We want mutants to rise, don't we?"
"Forget it," Ernst waved his hand.
"There are some things that I can't explain to you, which will only make you distressed. Go and pack up your things first. We've been here long enough. We're leaving."
Azazel blinked.
"Leaving?"
He was surprised. He didn't expect Ernst to suddenly ask to leave.
They had built a life here. Azazel had even grown fond of the dumplings at the local market.
Speaking of which, Azazel had followed Ernst for a long time, but this was the first time he had seen Ernst stay in one place for such a long duration.
Ten years in Beijing. It felt like home.
"Then Dr. Ernst, are we going directly back to Skull Island?"
"No," Ernst said, turning his gaze to the west.
"Before we go home, I have to go to a special place. A remote mountain village in the Himalayas. Near the border."
"Why there?"
"It is surrounded by mountains and is almost isolated from the world," Ernst explained.
"But there is a legend. A 'Dragon Temple' dedicated to a mythical creature. It is said that the nearby villagers use a kind of water from the temple to cure diseases. The effect is... miraculous."
Ernst pulled a small vial from his pocket. It contained clear water.
"Some people sent water samples in the past two years. I analyzed it. I found that it is a kind of naturally active water, rich in an energy signature I have never seen before. It is similar to the Lazarus Pit, but... purer."
He put the vial away.
"I need to see if there is a legendary dragon. If the source is biological, it could be the final key for my son."
"So when do we leave?" Azazel asked.
"Now," Ernst said.
"Go and pack your things. I already told Captain Zhao two days ago that I would leave. You happened to go to Kerry's side to help with the supply run, so I didn't have time to inform you."
Seeing that things were so urgent, Azazel didn't ask anymore.
went straight into the guest house and got busy.
He didn't have much to take care of. There was a box with an Expansion Spell beside Ernst's bed.
Most of the heavy equipment was already in it.
It was easy to pack up with just some simple clothing.
With a creak of heavy wooden hinges, the main door of the hall opened.
The sound cut through the training square.
The group of teenagers practicing there immediately stopped moving.
Almost instinctively, they quickly gathered together.
They didn't run; they marched.
They stood in a row, chests heaving, sweat dripping, and shouted in unison.
"Hello, Teacher!"
The sound echoed off the courtyard walls.
Looking at the smooth movements of the group of teenagers and the respectful, almost adoring gaze in their eyes, Ernst showed a satisfied, albeit melancholic, smile on his face.
He stood on the steps, the morning sun framing him in a halo of light.
He glanced at each child. He remembered them as starving, frightened orphans.
Now, they were warriors.
"It's been almost ten years," Ernst sighed, his voice amplified by the acoustics of the courtyard.
"And the little guys have grown up."
He walked down one step.
"I have seen your efforts over the years. I have seen you bleed. I have seen you cry. But I have also seen you rise. You have reaped the corresponding rewards. You are strong. You are capable."
He paused.
"And I also got what I wanted."
"I was very happy during this time with you," Ernst continued, his voice softening.
"But there is no such thing as a banquet that never ends. This time, I am here to say goodbye to you."
A ripple of shock went through the line of students.
"I want to go home," Ernst said simply.
"I'm afraid it will be difficult to see each other again in the future."
As soon as Ernst's words were finished, the discipline broke.
The group of sixteen and seventeen-year-old children burst into noise.
They chatted one after another, panic setting in.
One of the leading children, a boy named Li who had mastered the Iron Shirt technique, couldn't help but step forward.
"Teacher, why are you leaving? Are we doing something wrong? Are you angry with our progress?"
Ernst smiled and shook his head.
"It has nothing to do with you," Ernst reassured them.
"It's my reason. Although I have had a good time here, after all, I also have my own home. I have a son waiting for me. I miss my relatives. I can't stay outside all the time, right?"
He looked at Li.
"I have already reported this to the government. I will leave today. Although it will take a few days before I leave China completely, I will not come back to this compound again. So I will say goodbye to you in advance."
The eyes of the group of teenagers turned red. Some of the girls started to sob quietly.
They all begged Ernst to stay.
"Teacher, please! We haven't learned the final form yet!"
"Teacher, don't go!"
But Ernst had already made up his mind.
How could they be able to persuade a man who had already calculated the outcome?
In the end, it was Li who calmed the others down.
He raised his hand for silence. He looked at Ernst, tears streaming down his face, and knelt suddenly on the stone pavement.
THUD.
He slammed his head against the ground. Once. Twice. Three times. The sound of the Kowtow was heavy.
"Teacher," Li choked out.
"We will always keep your teachings in our hearts. I hope we can meet again in the future. If there is a chance, we must repay your kindness. Teacher, thank you for everything you have done for us."
"Teacher, thank you!"
At this time, the other children also reacted.
Fifty-five knees hit the ground at the same time.
Fifty-five heads bowed in unison.
This time, Ernst did not refuse. He stood there and accepted their thanks.
To be honest, he still had some feelings for these children.
They weren't just test subjects; they were his legacy in this land. They were the proof that his science worked.
But Ernst did not show the emotion bubbling in his chest. He kept his face calm, stoic.
To be honest, Ernst didn't like this. A parting scene was messy. It was inefficient.
"Stand up," Ernst commanded gently.
They stood.
"Goodbye, my dragons."
Under the gaze of a group of half-old children, Ernst walked out of the main gate.
He walked fast, his coat billowing behind him.
But he stopped as soon as he walked a hundred meters out.
He could hear footsteps.
He turned around.
Those children had been closely following him.
They were standing at the gate, watching him leave, refusing to let him go out of their sight until he vanished.
Ernst felt a lump in his throat. He crushed it down.
He came back to his senses and shouted sharply, his voice regaining the stern tone of the drill instructor.
"What are you all looking at? Have you forgotten the rules I set for you?"
He pointed a finger at them.
"It's time to practice! Do you want to be lazy? What's the first rule?"
A group of teenagers straightened up.
They replied almost instinctively, their voices cracking with emotion but loud and clear.
"Practice in winter and in summer! Keep practicing the exercises whenever and wherever! And keep practicing until the body breaks or the enemy does!"
"Since you know what you're doing, stop staring at me!" Ernst barked.
"Go back and practice!"
All the young people looked at him, then at each other.
Finally, Li turned around.
"Back to formation!" Li shouted.
They turned around and returned to the square.
Within seconds, the sounds of punches and kicks resumed.
Ha! Hu!
They were re-entering the arduous practice, channeling their sadness into strength.
The shouts kept coming, louder than before.
Ernst glanced at them one last time. He etched the image of the training square into his memory.
-------------
Author's Note:
Do you want to read 25+ Chapters ahead right now?
Stop waiting. Come over to the dark side. We have cookies, advanced chapters, and very, very detailed 'plot.'
patreon.com/
Dark_sym