Start with push-ups to gain experience

Chapter 605 Physical Fitness Test, Guiding Light

In early summer, the Western Hills are filled with a sultry, humid atmosphere.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was already hanging obliquely on the continuous mountain ridge line on the west side.

The orange-red fireball was slowly sinking behind the mountains.

Sunlight shone on the outer rings of barbed wire, casting long and short, distorted shadows.

Although the sun was setting, the heat accumulated from the afternoon sun still lingered on the uneven concrete training ground of the B3 garrison area.

Several rows of dark green military trucks were parked at the edge of the playground.

Fang Cheng bent his legs and sat on the cement block next to the car.

He was wearing camouflage clothing, with a 20-kilogram field pack leaning against his back, and his hands casually resting on his knees.

My gaze passed over the throng of people ahead and looked toward the distant mountains sealed off by the Iron Curtain.

The canopies of the towering ancient trees intertwined in the dim light, forming a deep, dark green wave.

Like a giant beast lurking in the twilight, it silently opens its massive jaws, waiting for its prey to come to it.

The nearby dense forest was filled with the incessant chirping of cicadas, a noise that was quite unsettling.

"Pah! Is the exam even going to happen or not?"

A loud complaint suddenly came from the side.

Ma Donghe pulled open the collar of his field combat uniform and fanned himself vigorously twice.

His huge head was covered in sweat, and his face was flushed from the sweltering heat.

He reached out and grabbed the military water bottle on the ground, unscrewed the cap, and gulped down half of it.

He then raised his arm, hastily wiped the water from his chin, and muttered under his breath:
"At 2 p.m., we were herded to this dilapidated playground like ducks. Just checking equipment, verifying identities, and signing waivers took a full three hours."

"It's almost five o'clock, and the examiner hasn't said a word. Are they just going to leave us here waiting to be mosquito bites?"

He glanced down at the several red welts on his body from the poisonous mosquitoes on the mountain, and scratched them irritably.

"What's the rush?"

Fang Cheng withdrew his gaze from the distance and turned to look at Ma Donghe:
"Since the equipment provided includes tactical flashlights and signal flares, it is enough to show that the special search team originally planned to schedule the exam for the evening."

"Brother Fang's explanation is spot on!"

A gaunt figure emerged from Ma Donghe's blind spot and squatted down in an open space between the two.

It was Hou Peng, the man with the prominent ears I met during yesterday's interview.

Ever since they met, this guy has become completely attached to Fang Cheng and Ma Donghe.

With his sociable nature, he became sworn brothers with the two men in less than half a day.

Hou Peng rubbed his sweaty hands together and looked around.

After confirming that the heavily armed guards were far enough away, he lowered his voice and approached mysteriously:

"Brothers, while I was using the temporary public restroom, I handed a cigarette to the examiner in charge of counting the number of people and managed to get some inside information out of him."

"Guess what? The route these examiners set for us ends at Heifenggou in the heart of Xishan. The whole route is only a little over five kilometers long."

Five kilometers?

Ma Dong-hyuk paused for a moment, then chuckled.

A large, fan-like hand slammed down on his thigh, producing a dull thud.
"What do you think this is, some kind of dragon's den or tiger's lair? Five kilometers of cross-country running, even with a 20-kilogram pack on my back, and on mountain roads, I could finish it in an hour with my eyes closed."

"The special search team went through all that trouble to lure us to a military restricted area, and they're just going to try and fool us with this childish trick?"

"Brother Ma, don't jump to conclusions."

Hou Peng waved his hands repeatedly, his prominent ears twitching twice, then lowered his voice and emphasized:
"The journey isn't long, but do you know how long the examiners have set for us to pass?"

"It's six o'clock tomorrow morning! As long as you can reach the finish line before dawn, you'll pass!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Donghe's disdain froze instantly.

Although he usually appears rough around the edges, he comes from the underworld and has spent years in the midst of violence, so his sensitivity to danger is quite high.

It's 5 p.m. now, and there are still thirteen hours until 6 a.m. tomorrow!
Thirteen hours to walk five kilometers?

At this speed, even an old man strolling on the street with a cane could crawl there.

For these physically strong and highly skilled fighters, as well as retired veterans and police academy students.

The sheer amount of time available felt almost eerie.

"This time span..."

Ma Donghe's brows furrowed, but his irritation vanished instantly.

He then adopted a serious expression and turned to look at Fang Cheng:
"Acheng, what do you think?"

Fang Cheng did not reply immediately.

His gaze calmly swept over the candidates on the playground, who were also whispering to each other and looking puzzled.

He then reached for the pack beside him, skillfully unfastened the Velcro closure, and flipped open the waterproof flap at the top.

Besides high-calorie compressed biscuits, water purification tablets, tactical flashlights, signal flares, and first-aid kits, there was also a sharpened, standard-issue short knife.

Fang Cheng drew the short knife, slowly scraping his thumb across the back of the blade, feeling the unique cold texture of the metal.

"The focus is not on 'trail running' at all, but on 'wilderness survival'."

He raised his eyes, his gaze once again falling on the distant, deep forest where miasma gradually rose with the setting sun.

"Thirteen hours, a journey of five kilometers."

"The examiner is making it clear to everyone that once it gets dark, there will definitely be something that will slow us down on this five-kilometer road."

"It might even make us lose our bearings, unable to move an inch, and just go around in circles."

This is in conjunction with the mysterious explosion that occurred in Xishan earlier, and the rumored military's research into ancient civilization relics.

Fang Cheng's vigilance had reached its peak.

This test is definitely more dangerous than the previous illusion test.

There's a possibility that there could be casualties.

Hou Peng swallowed hard, his thin cheeks twitching slightly.
"Brother Fang, don't scare me. This is a military restricted area. Not even a fly can get in from the outside. Surely there aren't a few man-eating bears hiding in the woods, right?"

Ma Donghe, on the contrary, perked up, grabbed the military pack from the ground, and his eyes gleamed with excitement:
"Hey! Who cares? If two bears really show up, we'll have an extra meal tonight and make some roasted bear paws to nourish ourselves!"

Fang Cheng shook his head and sheathed the dagger.

His gaze swept across the playground and finally landed on a watchtower that towered above the treetops.

In this somber military camp, the atmosphere over there seemed somewhat unusual.

The top of the watchtower offers a wide view.

The mountain breeze at dusk carried away some of the daytime heat.

A black folding table was placed in the very center.

Qin Wenxuan leaned against the cold iron railing, his body slightly forward.

He was holding a high-powered tactical telescope, looking down at the examinees on the playground.

The camera slowly pans across the room, then suddenly freezes on the young figure sitting on a concrete block, looking down at a standard-issue short knife.

Qin Wenxuan pursed his lips slightly, pondering to himself.

This is Fang Cheng, the guy the old leader forced into the job.

Although this kid's performance in the Black Rain world was indeed outstanding, earning him an excellent score.

But ultimately, an interview tests one's mental fortitude.

Under the protection of the Soul-Suppressing Bell, the harm that those strange phenomena could cause to the examinees was actually quite limited.

Now that they have arrived at the real Xishan Forbidden Zone, they are facing mutated monsters and unknown dangers.

Getting a high score isn't that easy.

All I can do is help him pass the background check smoothly.

Whether he can actually join the Special Investigations Unit and become a colleague depends entirely on his own fate.

"Hey Lao Qin, you've been staring at those greenhorns down there for ages, what can you possibly see?"

Beside the folding table, a man with a thick beard and a towering physique pulled out a chair and sat down with an air of authority.

The man's name was Lei Zhen, and he was the director of the investigation department of the intelligence division of the special search team.

His face was full of fleshy muscles, and there was a hideous scar running from the corner of his left eye to his chin, like a medal showing off his achievements.

At that moment, he picked up an enamel teacup and blew hard on the tea leaves floating on the surface.

Beside Lei Zhen stood a cold and aloof woman wearing a white suit and gold-rimmed glasses.

She is Shen Zhiwei, the chief researcher of the special search team's research department.

"Director Qin, can you tell us the truth now?"

Shen Zhiwei held a military-grade tablet in her hands, scrolling through the data models on the screen, and coldly said:

"There are thirteen minutes left before the scheduled start time of the exam. The sun is about to set, and the yin energy and spatial fluctuations of the western mountains are about to reach their peak."

"Why did Chief Ling specifically change the physical fitness test, which was originally scheduled to take place at headquarters, to this dangerous West Mountain B3 section?"

Qin Wenxuan put down the binoculars in his hand, slowly turned around, and his expression became more serious.

He walked to the folding table, placed his hands on the tabletop, and glanced at Lei Zhen and Shen Zhiwei.

"Since you two are the joint proctors for this exam and have signed a confidentiality agreement, I will speak frankly."

Qin Wenxuan's voice sounded exceptionally deep and serious:

"You two must have heard about the ancient civilization ruins hidden deep in the Western Hills, right?"

Lei Zhen paused in his tea-drinking motion, slammed the teacup heavily on the table, and let out a cold snort, his rough voice filled with resentment:

"How come I haven't heard? Those bastards in the military have sealed off Xishan like an iron barrel. They're taking advantage of their control over the existing passage to the underground palace of the Yu Dynasty from a thousand years ago, hoarding everything for themselves and not even leaving a drop of soup for our special search team."

"Our men have been guarding this restricted area for months, enduring wind and rain, but they haven't even touched the roots of the ruins."

"I get so angry just thinking about it now. It's like I'm working for them for free!"

"Director Lei is right, that's the crux of the problem."

Qin Wenxuan nodded, his tone solemn:

"Chief of Staff Ling is absolutely unwilling to see the military dominate. If we cannot find a new passage into the ruins that belongs to the Special Search Team, we will be subject to others in the allocation of extraordinary resources in the future, which will be very detrimental to our future development."

Shen Zhiwei pushed up her glasses, a cold glint flashing across the lenses:
"So, what does this have to do with the group of candidates below who haven't awakened any abilities and are mostly just ordinary people?"

"Are you expecting them to tread a new path through the mountains with their bare feet?"

Lei Zhen echoed with a cold laugh, clearly thinking the plan was a pipe dream.

Qin Wenxuan remained calm, his gaze resolute:

“You may find it absurd, but that’s precisely where the Chief of Staff’s brilliance lies.”

"Researcher Shen, you are an expert on the theory of exclusion between the other world and the dimension of reality, so you must be very clear about it."

"The military was able to enter and exit the Yu Dynasty underground palace reliably because of the remaining formations and broken spells in the ancient tomb, which offset the repulsive force."

"We want to find a new entrance outside the blockade, so we have to find another way!"

He paused for a moment, walked to the folding table, and operated Shen Zhiwei's tablet for a couple of seconds, bringing up a holographic topographic map of Xishan.

A series of light blue ripples lit up at a certain coordinate on the map.

This is the cross-country running destination for the group of test takers below—Heifenggou.

Qin Wenxuan crossed his arms and continued explaining:
"Based on the data obtained by Chief Ling during his two previous clandestine explorations, this new entrance spatial rift is located within the wilderness survival area."

"However, due to the existence of the repulsion phenomenon in higher dimensions, that rift is like a mirage, always appearing and disappearing, seemingly close at hand, yet far away."

“We want to send a large force to force our way in, but that will definitely not work. We will only end up being torn apart by the spatial turbulence.”

Qin Wenxuan looked at Shen Zhiwei's thoughtful expression and continued:

"Haven't the research department been testing various instruments for capturing spatial frequencies? You've already discovered that this repulsion phenomenon actually has a great deal of randomness."

“A very small number of people seem to be born with a kind of ‘high-dimensional affinity’. When faced with spatial rifts, they are not only not repelled, but can also see them clearly and even approach them safely, as if they are being summoned by the unseen.”

Shen Zhiwei nodded, a fervent glint in her eyes.

As a researcher, she naturally knew how rare this kind of affinity was.

"so……"

Qin Wenxuan spread his hands, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes:
"Since we are currently unable to fully grasp the underlying principles of spatial repulsion using technological means, let's simply take advantage of this large-scale physical fitness test to scatter these eight hundred-plus energetic candidates into the Western Hills."

He pointed to the densely packed crowd below:
"There will always be someone whose mental fluctuations resonate with that faint, elusive crack."

“As long as they act as ‘guiding lights’ and trigger the appearance of the entrance, our goal will be achieved.”

Qin Wenxuan picked up the teacup on the table to moisten his throat, a meaningful smile curving his lips:

"At the same time, this operation is also justified. Even if the military's satellites detect the large-scale troop movement and come to question us, we have a good reason to deflect the question."

"After all, the special search team is conducting normal special recruitment selections. What's wrong with using the mutated beasts in this restricted area to give the new recruits some courage?"

(End of this chapter)