Chapter 173 Free Labor

Only after leaving the canteen did Lin Xiao realize that it was his first day at the military camp and he still had nowhere to rest.

Where was he supposed to go now?

Just as Lin Xiao was fretting over it, Zi Shu’s voice drifted over.

“Brother Hai Zhu, wait up!”

Lin Xiao: ?(??????)?

“Big Brother Zi Shu, you’re still here?”

Zi Shu: (*?????)

I’ve been here the whole time! You were busy discussing cooking with Old Wei, then went off to chow down with First Platoon. You completely forgot I was even here.

I didn’t want to interrupt you, so I kept quiet.

Then, after you finished eating, you took off at a run. If I hadn’t hurried after you, I might not have caught up.

“Uh, I’ve been here all along. By the way, you gave those raw recruits Level Five spirit-beast meat straight away. Aren’t you worried they won’t be able to handle it?”

“What’s there to worry about? I’m only Level Two and I can eat it. Why can’t these Level Three and Four guys?”

Zi Shu was left speechless, unable to come up with a counterargument.

“Relax. I’m not going to break them. I know what I’m doing. As long as they follow my training methods, they’ll burn off the excess energy. At worst, they’ll have to sweat a little and work a little harder.”

“As long as you know what you’re doing.”

Zi Shu finally understood how Lin Xiao had gotten so strong.

He had always thought the special spirit-warrior unit’s training was grueling enough. But after hearing Lin Xiao talk, it somehow seemed a little lacking.

Zi Shu had made up his mind. He was supposed to be off duty today, but he’d give up his rest and watch Lin Xiao train the recruits that afternoon.

If there was anything worth learning, he could pick it up. It might even help improve their own strength.

“Enough about that. It’s rest time now. Set me up with somewhere to sleep.”

“I already arranged a room for you. I’ll take you there. But are you sure you don’t want to check on those raw recruits?”

“What’s there to see? Come on, take me to my room. I need a nap.”

Zi Shu led Lin Xiao to the room he’d arranged. Once they arrived, Lin Xiao promptly shooed him out.

It was rest time, and Lin Xiao didn’t want to be disturbed.

After a short rest, Lin Xiao felt refreshed.

He checked the time. Afternoon training was almost due to begin.

Time to get to work. Otherwise, he wouldn’t deserve that million-a-month salary.

When Lin Xiao reached the training ground, he found that many members of First Platoon were still training.

The veteran soldiers watched them in stunned silence.

Were recruits this driven nowadays?

Not even the blazing sun could stop them from training?

The veterans realized they’d better work harder, or these youngsters might outclass them before long.

Chu Xing spotted Lin Xiao as soon as he arrived.

Chu Xing was Level Four. He’d managed to endure the Level Five spirit-beast meat, and after running a few laps around the training ground, he’d absorbed most of its energy.

He hadn’t gone back to rest. As First Platoon’s acting leader, he couldn’t be as carefree as Lin Xiao.

“Chu Xing, get everyone assembled. Afternoon training is about to begin.”

Chu Xing immediately carried out Lin Xiao’s order, and First Platoon quickly formed up.

Many still had sweat as large as beans beading on their faces. More than an hour of high-intensity training at noon had finally calmed the energy raging inside them.

“Good. Next time, add some weight. That’ll help you burn through the energy faster.”

Everyone: (?? ? ?)

Listen to him. Is that any way for a human being to talk?

“This is for your own good. Sweat more now, bleed less on the battlefield. And let me make this clear: since you’ve become my soldiers, you’ll follow my rules. You still have a chance to leave. I won’t stop anyone.”

Lin Xiao finished speaking and silently regarded them.

First Platoon was the elite of the recruit company. Being selected meant they were all promising candidates. Who would be foolish enough to volunteer to quit?

“Since nobody’s leaving, that makes things easier. Your training from here on out will be different from everyone else’s. You’ll follow the program I’ve designed to the letter. Let me give you a brief overview first.”

Lin Xiao pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and began explaining.

His curriculum covered a wide range of subjects: hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship, camouflage, reconnaissance, and more.

They were all skills Lin Xiao considered best suited to the military.

The men of First Platoon felt as if their heads were about to split in two.

Anyone who made it into the special spirit-warrior unit had a strong ability. Many could have chosen any spirit-warrior university they wanted.

They’d joined the military out of patriotic conviction—and because plenty of them didn’t want to sit through classes.

Yet here they were, still stuck in class.

At least they weren’t studying math, Chinese, and English. Otherwise, someone might really have started cursing.

Since they’d already done physical training during their lunch break, Lin Xiao had no intention of working them to death.

He decided to start them off with a hand-to-hand combat lesson.

Before class even began, he spotted members of the War Wolf Mercenary Corps.

Zi Shu had planned to come observe on his own, but once the others heard Lin Xiao had designed a new training program, they all wanted to come and see it for themselves.

When Lin Xiao saw the War Wolf Mercenary Corps—or, more precisely, Mao Tu, the healer—his eyes lit up.

“Sister Mao Tu, I’m so glad you’re here. I may need your help with a few things.”

“Of course! If I can help, I’m happy to.”

As a healer, Mao Tu could guess that some of the recruits were about to have a rough time.

With Mao Tu’s agreement, Lin Xiao decided to cut loose. He’d been worried about hitting too hard and injuring someone. But with her there, what was there to worry about?

Lin Xiao’s hand-to-hand combat class didn’t involve teaching techniques.

Instead, he had every person fight him one-on-one.

As Sun Zhiyuan had put it, real combat was the only shortcut to improving one’s fighting skills.

During each match, Lin Xiao pointed out his opponent’s weaknesses.

Without using their special abilities, none of them stood a chance against Lin Xiao. Everyone except Chu Xing was beaten until they looked like bruised pigs.

Chu Xing’s defenses were simply too strong. Even without using a spirit technique, his skin was tough as leather.

Fortunately, Lin Xiao was teaching technique, and that was more than enough to handle Chu Xing.

The one-on-one matches proved highly effective. Lin Xiao took them all apart, and everyone felt their fighting skills had improved considerably.

At the very least, they now knew where their weaknesses lay. Knowing them was the first step toward correcting them.

They were all deeply impressed by Lin Xiao. Just being able to pinpoint each person’s weaknesses with such precision was enough to earn their respect.

Then there were his fighting techniques. They were unorthodox—some of them downright dirty.

A lot of his moves targeted the most vulnerable parts of the body.

Still, they had to admit those moves were practical.

Mao Tu had the toughest time of all. She was beginning to regret agreeing to help Lin Xiao.

She’d come to learn from him, not to serve as free labor!

By the end, Zi Shu and the others couldn’t resist challenging Lin Xiao themselves.

It turned out that without spirit techniques, even Zi Shu and the others were no match for him.

They were beaten even worse than the recruits.

Mao Tu’s workload: plus ten!