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Chapter 145: No Big Deal at All

Translator: Double_L Editor: Tehrn

The special training program would be able to carry on if this time was a huge success. It would be specially designed for the aces and elites in the academies, and it would prevent from neglecting the talented ones.

Martyrus knew that Massa might have gone a little too far after leaving Wang Tong alone on the beach, but that was because he had witnessed too much life and death situations on the battlefield, and he had chosen to hide his feelings because of that; apparently, being strict was his way of caring. Soldiers or fighters should always be prepared for any crisis, even during peace; not to mention that the Earth Confederation wasn't peaceful at all. A crisis would always be lurking around, whether it was the endless streams of pirate smuggling cases or the threats caused by those horrible Zergs. Ordinary people might be able to enjoy their lives, but the soldiers had to be prepared for war at any time.

It might be a little harsh for the students; however, brilliant disciples were born under the supervision of a strict teacher, and furthermore, they were the successors of the future generation.

As a matter of fact, Massa was not a sadist, he did that because he wanted to find out the limits of every student. He would reduce the harshness once he noticed their limits and then gradually increased the difficulties in order to break their limits. As for Wang Tong, Massa was strict with him probably because the boy had caught his interest since it was rare to find a student with such capabilities.

Martyrus couldn't wait to see Wang Tong's performances as well, he was very excited for the upcoming surprises from Wang Tong.

It seemed like God was really trying to test Wang Tong's faith. Not only there was no moon that night because the night sky was overcast with dark clouds, but strong currents of wind also roared across the vast ocean, and within minutes, the island was hit by a ferocious squall.

The sea might have been gentle and peaceful during the day, but it had turned violent as the thunderstorm raged, and every corner of the beach was slammed by surges from the waves.

Instantly Wang Tong felt even lonelier. He would have to face the frightful darkness and the intimidating force of nature all by himself on this deserted island.

Rooarr...

Lightning jagged across the night sky followed by peals of thunder. The layers of dark clouds seemed to be getting heavier, turning into a pressuring aura above the stormy sea. It was definitely a power that should be feared and respected by mankind.

Yet Wang Tong remained still like a sculpture, he wasn't affected by the strong currents of the wind and the huge surges from the waves at all. There were times when Wang Tong was hit by the wave, but his feet never moved an inch.

Wang Tong was not giving up, he clenched his teeth and was determined to get through this; if he chose to retreat, all of his hard work would be wasted. How he wished he could initialize the Tactics of the Blade to counter the force of the wave, but he was told by Massa not to utilize his GN Force, and clearly this training was to improve the limit of his willpower.

He had to overcome all the struggles as this was his chance of self-discovery, he had to see himself clearly in order to transcend himself!

Another surge was slammed upon the beach as if mother nature was trying to intimidate the young man by showing off its dominance.

Wooosh…

A giant wave about ten meters tall came crashing down toward him, yet Wang Tong stared at it with his eyes wide open, no fear at all.

Rooarr…

Wang Tong stretched his arms wide open and stood firm like an iron pillar, then he unleashed a warcry to "welcome" its arrival.

Whammm…

"Sir, a category three typhoon is coming this way, and I'm afraid it's going to last for at least a day or two. Should we take him back?" one of the teaching staff asked.

Massa shook his head, he didn't sleep because the monitoring system was temporarily down due to the immense thunderstorm. However, the last image he saw was Wang Tong's "fight" against the huge surge, which explained why he wasn't too worried since Wang Tong was tough, and Massa knew he would not die easily.

Meanwhile, Ma Xiaoru was also having trouble sleeping because she couldn't help worrying about Wang Tong. Even though she was staying in the bunker, she was still able to hear the sound of the thunder roaring and the waves slamming on the beach, yet she could only hope that Wang Tong was alright under the heavy downpour.

The next day, Massa didn't wake them up in the middle of the night but at four in the morning instead; everyone was awakened by the annoying alarm. Nevertheless, they had learned their lesson and gathered up within five minutes.

"Not bad, you kids are lucky today, this is the best weather for outdoor training, so let's begin!"

Everyone carried their backpacks and started jogging. No one bothered to ask why there was no day-off since it was raining because they already knew that "Mold-face" Massa would only call a day-off if it were raining daggers outside. Anyhow, it seemed like all of them had regained their spirit after a good rest. Everyone was in good shape and was fully concentrated on the training. One would be at its best when their vital essence, energy, and spirit were fully combined.

Down at the training field, everyone was seen running in the rain even though the thunderstorm persisted, and since Massa was unable to use the magnetic weights under the heavy downpour, Wang Ben and the other guys were told to double-up the weight of their backpacks.

"Faster, move it, c'mon, even pigs are running faster than all of you! The sky ain't raining torpedoes, so speed up!" Massa waved his baton and yelled like a mad man in the middle of the field. In fact, even the heavy storm was unable to cover up his loud voice.

While Wang Ben and the rest of the team was busy training, Wang Tong was also busy "fighting" against himself and mother nature. He had been spending the whole night getting hit by waves for more than tens of times, yet he still managed to remain still.

Wang Tong's level of determination was completely off the chart, he would never give up unless he was dead, but to be honest, he still would never give up even if he died!

Unnoticed by the others, Wang Tong held on tight to himself no matter how many times he was hit by the waves. Fear was born within one's weakness; however, once one overcame the weakness, one would become fearless!

He clenched his teeth and stared at the ocean with his fiery eyes as if he was taunting the ocean.

Day two came to an end, yet everyone still couldn't get used to the training even though they had experienced the difficult tasks on day one. Aside from Massa's sadistic methods, the bad weather and challenging environment were also the reason they were terribly exhausted. However, all of them were seen initializing their tactics spontaneously when there was time, in order to maintain the conditions of their bodies.

Everyone was so tired that they had almost forgotten about Wang Tong.

The gale persisted at night even though the heavy rain had started to turn into drizzle, and all of them were sleeping soundly as they needed to recharge for tomorrow's training. However, the boy was still standing by the sea…

The typhoon finally died down on the third day, the blazing sun had shined upon Paradise Island once again. The water on the ground had already evaporated as they finished their morning jog. After the tiring exercise, everyone got into the chopper and head to the beach once again. Due to yesterday's typhoon, they had been unable to train on the beach; however, the weather was fine again, and obviously, there was no way they could escape from the round-island marathon.

Nevertheless, everyone was worried about Wang Tong; they wondered if he was okay since he was left alone by the sea for a couple of days, but when they asked Massa, he only told them to mind their own business and threaten to increase their tasks if they carried on asking.

"Hey look, it's Wang Tong! He is still standing there!" Hu Yangxuan yelled out as he saw the familiar figure through a window of the chopper, the others leaned toward the window when they heard that and were all amazed to see that Wang Tong still standing by the sea.

Everyone wanted to rush toward Wang Tong when the chopper landed on the beach, but they were instantly stopped by Massa and his baton.

"You are not here on vacation! If you wanna catch up, do it after the training. Now go get yourselves ready. I know some of you were hiding food in the room last time, so this time I've notified the kitchen staff not to give anyone a single piece of bone if the person can't finish the training before the time limit!"

Everyone stood still and gazed across as Massa walked toward Wang Tong by himself. He wondered if the kid was still conscious.

"Hey Wang Tong, squeak if you're still alive!" Massa said. He appreciated Wang Tong's bravery, but obviously, the kid wasn't smart enough; those magnetic weights were specially designed as the training gear for the elites in the special force, and the user had to infuse a little amount of GN Force in order to move. In the beginning, Massa wondered if he had gone too far, yet he couldn't resist to use it on Wang Tong ever since he witnessed his amazing performance.

Wang Tong turned toward Masa and smiled, "Sir, can I join the training?" Wang Tong asked as he waved his hands, his movements were slower than usual, but he was already able to move.

Massa was stunned and absolutely amazed by what he saw; however, he remained calm, "Hmph, not bad, c'mon, the training will begin in a minute."

"Yes, Sir!" Wang Tong saluted and then ran toward the team, his paces and movements were way slower than before.

Massa almost fainted when he saw Wang Tong's movements, he couldn't believe he was still able to run!

Yet Wang Tong expected that anyone who accepted this training was able to do so, and somehow he thought his performance was bad since he had used a long period of time to adapt, not to mention that the coach had no comment on his training. However, he felt great about "defeating" the ocean, his spirit was uplifted as the sea returned to its calmness and the sun shined bright again; he was filled with the will to prevail against anything. It was indeed an indescribable feeling of the satisfaction of being victorious.

Although Massa remained emotionless, he was actually deeply impressed by Wang Tong's outstanding performances.

Everyone cheered as Wang Tong returned to the team; however, they were forced to put their catch up aside since it was time for Massa's brutal training. Apparently, all of them had realized the importance of food as their training required a lot of physical strength and energy. Massa would never reduce his training if they didn't eat, so they really needed to bring out every inch of their effort for the sake of getting food.

Wang Tong was starving. He had never felt so exhausted before, and the past two days had been extremely torturing.

"Everyone, listen up, I'm adding a new rule into our next training: instead of taking care of your teammates, I'd like all of you to run on your own."

"Sir, shouldn't we be focusing on teamwork since we are a part of the military?" Carl asked.

"Hmph, you wouldn't be asking this silly question if you knew the meaning of teamwork. Well, let's do it this way instead, all of you will be granted dinner if half of the team is able to make it back before the time limit, but if you fail, no one's getting food tonight. How's that for teamwork?"

"Bring it on!" Wang Ben said, obviously he was kind of pissed off.

"I'm fine with it, I'm on a diet anyway." Apache squinted his eyes and leered at Massa.

It seemed like Massa had become the "public enemy". They were tired of their coach acting like he knew everything and were all keen to prove to the "Mold-face" devil that he had underestimated everyone. It was time to show him what real teamwork looked like!

Chapter 146: The Last Moment

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Massa didn't care to explain himself to the students and said, "Start, now!"

The students started running unwillingly along the shoreline. Wang Tong had quickly fallen behind, as he felt that it was hard to move with the four electromagnetic bracelets on him at the same time.

A few minutes later, Wang Tong fell face down into the sea water.

"Are you OK, Wang Tong?" Karl asked.

"Move on! If you want to have breakfast today, you better look after yourself first!" Karl heard Mr. Horse Face's angry voice behind him. He shook his head helplessly and started running again.

"Hey kiddo, how do you like the training now? Do you want me to remove your weight bag before you beg me to? "

Although Massa asked in a stoic voice, he had grown concerned about Wang Tong's safety. He was afraid that he had pushed Wang Tong to his limits and any more stress might break him at any moment.

Wang Tong stood up, cleared the water on his face, then smiled at Massa and said, "Sir, I am fine. I can do it!"

Wang Tong turned around and started to tread the sand and water. He had no time to waste as he had already fallen behind. Massa paused for a second, shook his head and muttered, "Little fool."

Massa felt that Wang Tong was not only a powerful fighter, but he was also mature and intelligent. He had a hunch that Wang Tong had already gained a certain measure of his concern, and was impressed by his unprecedented talents in both physical and mental faculties. Massa believed that one day, this boy might just become the prize of the Confederation.

Massa also lamented over how different this training session had turned out. He had initially wanted to focus on Wang Ben. Wang Ben's father, General Hu Ben, had helped Massa many times during his career, so he had thought to repay the general with a little bit of tough love for his son. However, Wang Tong seemingly came out of nowhere and had somehow stolen the limelight and became the primary focus of his training program.

"Well, looks like tougher times are ahead of Capth." Massa thought to himself.

Although the training routines were the same as last time, Massa had made it almost impossible for the students to pass as a group, since they needed eight more of them to reach the finishing line in time in addition to the two that had passed the test last time. Despite the almost non-existence odds of succeeding their task, everyone tried their best because they didn't want to be looked down upon by Mr. Horse Face.

Wang Ben and Apache led the group as the rest of the students struggled to catch up. They had forgotten about all their doubts as they focused entirely on the task at hand.

Apache was the first one to reach the finishing line. Speed always had been his strong suit even without using the GN force, thanks to his daily jogging exercise. Jogging was the habit that he had kept even during the stressful days he spent with the Special Unit. Most of his teammates were in their 30's, and had served the Unit for many years. During years of service, they had witnessed so many heart-wrenching tragedies that eventually drove them to rely on various kinds of chemicals to numb the pain inside of them. However, Apache was practically still a student who had not yet been tainted by the dark side of his profession, and therefore, he was more upbeat and kept a more positive attitude than his older teammates.

Following Apache and Wang Ben, Hu Yangxuan and Cao Yi soon arrived at the finishing line as well. As Martyrus watched Hu Yangxuan celebrate his success, he concluded that Hu Yangxuan was a student of tremendous potential since he would always do better when under pressure. Martyrus was not surprised by Cao Yi's results either, since he knew that based on Cao Yi's previous test results, passing this test was well within his capability. Cao Yi's performance was always steady and reliable, so if he had done it before, there was no surprise that he could do it again.

So far, there were only four students that had made the cut, and the team was still quite a way from the target of 10 students. Everyone had predicted the four best students to pass the test, but no one could predict what was going to happen from there on. Luckily, time was still on the students' side.

Soon, Ma Xiaoru emerged and became the fifth student who passed the finishing line. Exhaustion was written all over her face when she stopped. It was evident that she had given all she had for this test. Massa glanced at his watch and waited for other students placidly.

After a long while, the sixth student arrived, and to everyone's surprise, it was Karl. Although Karl had never appeared to stand out among his peers, he was willing to risk his own life when the situation called for it. He knew that he was neither as smart as most of his peers nor was he observant and diligent like Cao Yi. Therefore, he was aware that it would be his only time to shine during the task of running, a task that could not be any simpler and more straightforward. Then and there, he was ready to give up his life if that was what it would take. He gritted his teeth and swallowed the pain as he ran, and before he knew it, he was already standing at the finishing line.

Karl collapsed onto the ground as soon as he passed the finishing line. Both Wang Ben and Hu Yangxuan pick him up, and then Hu Yangxuan patted excitedly on his shoulder, congratulating him on his success.

Karl was burnt out. When he passed the finishing line, he finally let go of the last breath and lost control of his limbs as he plopped down on the ground. After he finally gathered himself, he found his body was in excruciating pain. He tried his best not to wear it on his face, but couldn't hold it when Hu Yangxuan patted him on his shoulder.

Half an hour later, both Deng Jia and Scarlet arrived. They were among the best of Bernabeu, and their success spoke loudly of the coaching skills of Martytrus.

Eight had passed, and there were still two more to go. Both Bernabeu and Ayrlarng had then been pushed to their limits. Thanks to Mr. Horse Face, the two schools had forgotten about any old feuds, uniting together under the same banner to fight against the cruel and inhuman officer.

No one had expected it when they saw the sexy looking girl reach the final line. It was none other than Bernabeu's Luo Manman. Her cultivation focused not only on the psychological ability, but also her body's flexibility and balance, obviously for increasing her sexuality, thereby enhancing the seductive power of her tactics. She eventually found out a way to remain balanced while trudging in the sand and water, and used it to finally finish the test in time.

There was one more to go. Only one.

Had Wang Tong not been hindered by his constraints, the student's victory should have been already in his bag. However, Wang Tong was at this point stuck knee deep in trouble, finding it hard to come up with a solution. The four magnetic rings interfered with every move of his; it was difficult enough for him to stand still, let alone running against the time in the water. Despite the difficulties, Wang Tong remained steadfast. Massa couldn't believe that Wang Tong was able to remain in the game for such a long time. He started to wonder if Wang Tong would be able to surprise him and actually finish the test.

"Who is behind you?" Apache asked Luo Manman, no longer able to remain silent.

"I think it was Kearo and Shi Liang. but I am not too sure though."

A few moments passed, and soon there was only half an hour left before the time ran out. The students gazed into the distance, trying to search for any sign of their teammates. To their dismay, they had seen nobody so far.

Wang Ben waited patiently. The importance of the test had gone beyond the matter of lunch, and he only wanted to prove to Massa that their so-called "Team Spirit" did exist. Although Wang Ben knew that it was unrealistic to expect others to die for their teammates, the sense of being in a team was not entirely useless as Massa had purported.

Being an officer did not amount to being right.

Wang Ben wasn't alone in that thought, and the other students wanted to prove to Massa that team spirit was something worth fighting for.

"That idiot Shi Liang, he should have eaten more food to have more endurance, instead of being on a diet all the time."

Everyone had their obsession, and Shi Liang's obsession happened to be himself. He cared for his skin and body more than a girl. He knew much more about cosmetics than his tactics, and no wonder he would fall behind in the test.

Regarding the remaining contestants in Ayrlarng, despite their effort to pass the test, they were simply not up to snuff. The only exception was Karl, who was a unique case in himself.

"Ten minutes left." People heard Massa's cold voices. However, they still didn't see anyone at the other end of the finishing line.

"Hey look! There's someone!" Cao Yi yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Who is that?" Karl managed to pick himself up and watch, as a frail figure approached the finishing line.

It wasn't Wang Tong; it was Zhou Sisi.

The turn of event had caught everyone off guard, as they were actually expecting Shi Liang or Keyaro. Zhou Sisi did not stand out among her peers, and she was also a girl; naturally, people thought that she would be weaker than her male counterparts.

Zhou Sisi ran as fast as she could. To her surprise, she didn't collapse due to exhaustion, and she found things were quite the opposite, as she felt her soul power movements became more fluid as she went on.

Ever since the accident in Wang Tong's bedroom, her soul energy had become more active. However, the improved soul energy alone won't be enough to make the cut, as her strong feeling for Wang Tong also played an important part. She felt motivated to overcome her exhaustion every time she thought about the image of Wang Tong suffering alone by the shore. Wang Tong didn't eat anything for two days, and it could be life-threatening for him if he still couldn't have anything on the third day.

Towards the end, Zhou Sisi had already forgotten the reason why she was running. She only remembered that she could not stop no matter what.

Wang Ben led the other students who already passed the test to cheer for Zhou Sisi. Massa glanced his watch from time to time, as if he was hoping Zhou Sisi to fail.

"Sisi, you are almost there."

"You can do it!"

"Run! RUN!"

The students screamed hysterically. Neither hunger nor fatigue mattered anymore, as they only wanted to win.

Zhou Sisi's mind turned blank. She was no longer able to use her tactics, since she had lost the control of her body. Her will alone pushed her forward, despite the heavy feeling in her legs. She had almost reached her limit.

Her vision had become a blur a few minutes before she was even close to the finishing line. But after she heard her friend's cheers, she regained some of her consciousness and then realized that she was almost at the finishing line.

"Thirty seconds left."

She heard the stoic voice of Massa. The voice was cold like ice, and the chilling effect somehow brought Zhou Sisi even closer to reality as she started to realize that she had to speed up.

A few seconds later, the students beside the finishing line were spattered with sea water as Zhou Sisi fell to the ground.

Chapter 147: The Legend

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

The shoreline suddenly became quiet for a moment, before a wave of deafening cheers and applause erupted. Zhou Sisi's classmates carried her over their head and tossed her into the air in celebrating her success.

Massa turned his head and looked the other way, allowing the corner of his lips to lift slightly. He noticed that Zhou Sisi had used GN force at the last moment. Although it was forbidden, Massa decided to let it ride since he knew that Zhou Sisi didn't do it intentionally. Although his students might not agree with him, he thought his goal was not to torture the kids but to train them into a stronger fighter. He was satisfied with their results even if Zhou Sisi had failed, and therefore, decided to be lenient for once.

The sky was quickly taking on a dark gray tone. It was almost eight when Rumi appeared at the finishing line, and Wang Tong was still somewhere behind her. Starved and exhausted, Wang Tong finally conceded that it was a tough task than he had initially thought. He remembered that Old Fart had told him to always leave some energy just in case, and regretted that he didn't follow through his lesson.

Everyone waited patiently. When Wang Tong figure first appeared at the other end of the finishing line, Massa's face turned black. It was five to Eight.

"If Wang Tong can't finish the test in five minutes, you guys can join him in his 'diet' tonight."

"We had a deal! That's not fair." Karl leaped to his feet and shouted indignantly.

"Yes, we did have a deal, but now, I am adding another term to our agreement, that is to have everyone pass the finish line before eight should you want to have dinner. You were talking about team spirit, isn't Wang Tong part of your team? "

"You despicable..." Karl was about to throw himself at Mr. Horse Face but was stopped by Wang Ben and Hu Yangxuan.

"Calm down, we still have time."

"Wang Tong! Hurry up. You got 4 minutes left!"

All the students yelled at Wang Tong, trying to remind him of the time limit. However, Wang Tong could not hear anything since he was already half conscious. Assailed by extreme hunger and exhaustion, Wang Tong felt he was in a test that would never end.

The student noticed a smug smile had crept onto Massa's face. They gritted their teeth, fighting their urge to give Mr. Horse Face a lesson.

A few moments had passed, but Wang Tong didn't seem to have noticed that his classmates were calling out to him.

While half leaning on Ma Xiaoru, Zhou Sisi had a light bulb moment as she shouted at the top of her lungs," Wang Tong! Hurry, roast duck is almost ready!"

Surprise flashed across Wang Tong's face, and he seemed to be recovering his consciousness by the second. "Roast Duck! Roast Duck? Where is the roast duck!"

"Wang Ben has it! Hurry up! He is going to have it all!"

"NO! Leave some for me!"

Wang Tong looked like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on as he sprung towards the finishing line. He could no longer feel any hunger. The only thing he was thinking about was the tender, juicy duck meat.

He quickly reached the finishing line with the speed that terrified everyone.

"Duck! Where is the duck? You didn't even leave some bones for me? Urghh!" Having failed to find the promised duck, Wang Tong ran around in circles hysterically, as his teammates stared at him like watching a freak.

Wang Ben didn't know what to make of what he had just seen. 'What does it have anything to do with me?' He screamed in his mind.

Zhou Sisi posed a V with her index and middle fingers, celebrating her success. She had deployed the ultimate tactic against Wang Tong, the Tactic of the Roast Duck!

A few moments later, Wang Tong finally recovered his memory and conceded that roast duck was simply a ruse.

Massa sneered at the students as he tried to come to terms with what had just happened. A few words finally escaped his mouth:" Get to the Chapa. Enjoy your dinner."

The crowd boiled over as they danced and cheered on seeing the disappointed look of Mr. Horse Face. They had finally proven themselves and what they believed to the patronizing officer. They even requested roast duck to be one of their dinner dishes.

All the students were elated after their first victory over Mr. Horse Face. However, everyone knew that it was not the end of their battle, and they could not let their guard down just yet. Wang Tong's return was a weight off a few students' mind, and therefore, everyone slept well that night. The joy of victory made the students place greater trust in each other, and thus, they felt the even greater joy of being trusted.

Wang Tong fell asleep almost as soon as he sank his body into the soft bed. Despite the tortuous training, he was happy that he had learned to cope with the four "bracelets" on his body.

Four o clock in the morning, the ear-splitting alarm set off as scheduled. Massa looked at his watch as he waited for the students to arrive. He was relieved to find out that the students had finally learned to be on time as all the students had arrived within only five minutes, and appeared to be well rested.

Perhaps Mr. Horse Face wanted to 'reward' everyone's success yesterday, and he had increased the intensity of everyone's training yet again. His method was more personal this time, as he had given Karl a much greater increase in intensity than anyone else. Massa didn't like the fact that Karl had talked back to him a few times and therefore, had decided to let him pay the price of being a hero.

However, Karl was unruffled by the almost impossible training intensity. The more Massa challenged him, the more stubborn he became. As a result, Karl passed out twice during his training, and even Rumi felt sorry for him.

Wang Tong's "reward," was unsurprisingly even more severe than Karl's. Not only he needed to struggle with the four "bracelets", but Massa also ordered him to carry weight bags. No one knew how heavy those weight bags were, but from Wang Tong's expression, it was easy to conclude that they were not light.

The magnetic rings were special ordered form the Military. Therefore, it was hard to find anything like it in the domestic market. Even in the Military, these rings were used only on those gifted soldiers. Massa had intended to use these rings on Wang Ben, but then quickly realized it would be too much for him.

Ever since those rings immobilized Wang Tong, he became even more serious about his training. The existence of these rings meant that there were people in this world who could not be stopped unless the rings were used against them, just like him. At the thought of a potentially more powerful fighter as his opponent, he felt pressured to push himself to the limits.

The intensive training went on for a few days, during which, students got used to getting up at four o'clock. Although the first couple mornings were torturous, the training seemed to have reinvigorated them, and eventually, they could spring out of bed a few minutes before the alarm went off.

Physical training not only increased the students' endurance, but also improved their overall strength, including soul energy and GN force utilization. Although it had minimal effect on increasing the amount of soul energy, they all felt the flow of soul energy became more fluid, and therefore, it was a huge improvement overall.

On the tenth day, something happened that everyone found to be incredulous; Massa didn't show up in the morning assembly. Although none of the students liked Mr. Horse Face, his absence somehow made them felt uncomfortable.

Ten minutes after four, and Massa was still nowhere to be seen. Instead, Principal Martyrus appeared.

"Everyone, you have successfully finished your first phase of the boot camp training: physical conditioning session. I wish everyone to continually improve your body and endurance even after the session is over."

Martyrus could sense the difference these ten days had made on the students, even though he wagered that the student themselves hadn't noticed it yet. They had been green and childish, but now, they projected themselves as a professional soldier.

As soon as the students heard the announcement, they felt hollow on the inside. Over the ten days, the only thing they wanted was to defeat Mr. Horse Face. However, when they eventually passed Mr. Horse Face's training session, they missed him like an old friend. Perhaps, that was what's called a "Frienemy."

"How could he just leave us hanging here? I was still going to prove myself to him."

Martyrus regarded Karl with his observant eyes, "You guys have passed this session. I'd like to point out that Officer Massa had taken a vacation leave from his work to come to train you guys. For that, all of us should be very appreciative of him. Therefore, I hope you practice what you had learned from him and don't let him down. "

"Principal, who exactly is this Massa?" Luo Manman asked curiously. She had noticed that not only Massa's training method was right on the spot, but he had also hit the mark regarding student's characters. He applied his ever-increasing expectation on only those who he saw fit for it. For some relatively weak and less confident students such as Rumi, he offered constant encouragement to make them feel stronger. As for students who were lazy, such as Karl, Massa had pushed them the hardest. As that was the only effective way to make them move. Wang Tong was the most special case of all students, because Massa deemed him as a genius. Massa had simply given him the hardest challenge and kept verbal stimulation at minimal, regardless of encouragement or scolding.

"I wasn't going to reveal his identity to you guys, but I do hope one day you would meet him again in a different setting. Massa is the captain of the strongest special force in the Military: Unit G."

Karl's was astounded by the revelation, "For real? Him? The Special Force?"

"Ha ha. You guys are still babies in the woods. Once you have entered the Military, you will understand what their training is like. Truth be told, officer Massa had been very gentle towards you guys for the last ten days." Martyrus smiled, and then he shifted his gaze at Wang Tong," Wang Tong, Officer Massa left a message for you."

Wang Tong was perplexed as to why Massa had left a message only for him, but everyone else guessed that the message perhaps was Massa's acknowledgment of Wang Tong as the strongest fighter of the group.

"Officer Massa said this: Army would be your heaven."

Wang Tong cracked a smile and replied, "Thanks, that's very kind of him to say that."

When Martyrus heard it from Massa the first time, he almost couldn't believe his ears. Massa was never generous in his praise, much less outright telling someone that he was the perfect soldier. Wang Tong never wanted to join the army, since his dream was to get rich as soon as possible. However, after having trained by Massa, he found that the idea of being a soldier had started to grow on him.

"What about these things?" Wang Tong asked Martyrus as he pointed at his bracelets.

"Officer Massa said that those were your gift."

"Karl, Officer Massa also left a message for you." The announcement caught Karl off guard, and made him wonder what kind of message would an officer with high expectations give to a bottom ranked trainee.

Chapter 148: Curiosity

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

"He didn't think that I am up to snuff?" Karl said in a low voice. Martyrus shook his head," He told me you shouldn't be a METAL fighter..."

"I knew it! He never liked me, but do you have to announce it in front of everyone?"

"Easy now! I am not finished yet. We think that you shouldn't be a METAL fighter, BUT, you are very talented in space battle. If you want, I can team you up with best. "

"Talented? Me?" Karl scratched his head as the words start to sink in.

Martyrus regraded everyone briefly and announced, "Today is your day off. You are allowed to walk wherever you like within District B. You can take a rest or keep on training, it is up to you. Should anyone want to visit the beach, a helicopter will be waiting for you out in the field. Just remember one thing: tomorrow, we will start the second round of the boot-camp training. Now dismiss!"

Everyone was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected day-off, and felt equally apprehensive fearing that it was another trap. None of the students returned to their bed. Instead, they started their daily jogging. The ten days of gruesome training was effective in transforming them from children to soldiers

By then, Wang Tong had completely gotten used to the four bracelets. He knew that Massa had wanted him to keep on using them with good intentions.

The bracket itself was not a heavy burden, but the tremendous electromagnetic force that it imposed on the wearer could bend the will of even the strongest soldiers. Any ordinary fighter would have to use GN force to fight against the restraint, but Wang Tong was able to overcome the electromagnetic force without using GN force. Amazed by Wang Tong's power and his potential, Massa had crafted his last message to encourage him to join the army to take his training to the next level.

Perhaps Wang Tong was still inexperienced compared to a veteran, but his young age would give him enough time to become a more seasoned fighter. Massa believed that as long as Wang Tong followed the correct training, he would become one of the best fighters in the entire Confederation.

Unknown to Massa, Wang Tong had never wanted to join the Army, as he believed that he could seek out other easier ways to be successful. This was a firm belief that took hold in Wang Tong's mind ever since he was a child, thanks to Old Fart's pragmatic influence.

After the morning jogging, the students returned to their quarters to rest. Although Martyrus didn't mention the type of training in store for them in the second session, the students already knew that it would not consist of resting and entertainment. Therefore, they decided to relax while they still could.

After the breakfast, most students chose to surf the internet. The intense training had actually disconnected them from the world, so they eagerly read news about the outside world.

"It's only one day, every minute counts. What are you planning to do?" Ma Xiaoru asked Hu Yangxuan.

Hu Yangxuan had ultimately given up his competition with Wang Tong. Wang Tong had impressed everyone, especially Ma Xiaoru, in the last ten days. Even Wang Tong's meager background had somehow complimented his achievements. Hu Yangxuan often lamented over the fact that his prestigious family name seemed to be more of a hindrance than a help.

Everyone had registered the apparent intimacy between Wang Tong, Ma Xiaoru, and Zhou Sisi, but no one had spoken out about it. Luckily for Hu Yangxuan, he was the type of guy who knew when to pursue and when to stop. After he had come to terms with his non-existing chance of winning Ma Xiaoru's heart—which happened very quickly and painlessly— he had diverted his attention to Luo Manman, the so-called "Seductress."

"Me? Nothing, I guess."

"Would you care to spar with me, Wang Tong? I don't want to train by myself, and it gets boring." Wang Ben asked Wang Tong.

"Lame. You know that we likely won't have the day off for another couple weeks!" Zhou Sisi chided at Wang Ben.

"I am not sure, and we will see how I feel like in the afternoon. I want to spend the rest of the morning training. It feels weird if I don't have my fair share of physical training every day, you know, as if something is not right."

"OCD! Ha ha!" The girls laughed.

"What's the latest breaking news?" The students browsed through the major events that had happened in the past ten days, trying to spot out the ones that were related to the war with the Zergs. Now and then, these sneaky creatures would surprise the Confederation, and therefore, the military had to be always cautious about suspicious maneuvers of the Zergs army.

"The news was bloated with propaganda and entertainment; it's so hard to learn any truth from garbage programs like these. And what is this pile of shit, 'Keep Up with the Zhao-Da-Xians?' Don't even mention the fake news!" Someone commented loudly, frustrated by the lack of quality journalism in the Confederation News.

Wang Tong looked through the section on PA fights. He had been away from the PA system for over a week, and therefore, he was quite happy when he finally had the time to turn on a PA system terminal. Compared to virtual fighting, training was just too boring.

As soon as Wang Tong signed into the online forum, he was greeted with a slew of discussions that displayed the audience's unease and impatience due to Einherjar Wannabe's disappearance.

Einherjar Wannabe had appeared regularly once every week, and therefore, when he suddenly disappeared for over a week, the IPA players—who had been regarding Einherjar Wannabe as their number one idol — had become restless. However, the TPA players weren't surprised since every fighter needed time to recuperate. He had already defeated a fighter that had been one tier above him, which had made him a target for a challenge for other much stronger opponents. The TPA players conceded that it was wise of him to stay put for a couple of weeks to avoid any further attention.

After all, Einherjar Wannabe's overall power was determined by his soul tier, including his GN force. He might have won one battle against an opponent that was one tier higher than him using his techniques, but it did not amount to being invincible, especially considering that high tier fighters with even better techniques were not unheard of.

It was no longer the era of Blade Warriors, when techniques were the decisive factor in a fight. In the current era, soul power trumped over everything else.

As the IPA players poured out their frustration and impatience in the online forum, other players simply waited. They knew that it was only a matter of time before Einherjar Wannabe took up another challenge again. Einherjar Wannabe's challenges came from both IPA and TPA league, but DREAM approved only 20 of them based on their unique abilities.

The prolonged waiting had also instigated many doubts regarding Einherjar Wannabe's real strength, as some believed that the reason behind Einherjar Wannabe's disappearance was his fear of defeat.

Afterward, one hurtful speculation came another. Some spread the rumors out of jealousy while some were simply haters, and they did what haters did best. Einherjar Wannabe's absence only added more fuel to these hurtful and mostly unfounded speculations, since he couldn't defend himself.

The two sides played the war of words for many days without any sign of giving up. The supporters of Einherjar Wannabe believed that his absence was only because he was busy, while the haters had insisted that he had fled out of fear and cowardice. The haters' main argument was that if he were really busy, he would have said so instead of disappearing and leaving everyone hanging.

As Wang Tong scrolled through the fierce discussions, he found the debate becoming increasingly funny and ridiculous. Therefore, regardless of how malicious some of the comments were, Wang Tong didn't let them bother him. However, Wang Tong's friends had gotten fired up about the hateful remarks.

"These guys are ridiculous! What is there to argue about? They are just jealous!"

"No kidding. This guy for example, what a jerk! He thinks he knows everything, and look how much he talks! Gosh, he must love his own voice."

"Well, haters gonna hate. Wang Tong, you remained my first choice as an opponent. Once I have improved my Fist of the Racing Tiger, I promise I will give you a nice challenge!" Wang Ben announced with his usual seriousness in his voice. Einherjar Wannabe had somehow reminded Wang Ben of Wang Tong.

"Come on! This is the day-off, no talk of fighting please." Ma Xiaoru smiled and said.

"I agree! We are still just students, so be a good student Wang Ben. Try to get along with your classmate peacefully." Zhou Sisi nodded.

Girls' competition had always been more discreet, but no less destructive and rampant.

Wang Tong had become speechless at the pages after pages of comments. "Do they get paid to do this? Their internet bill must be enormous!"

Wang Tong didn't let any of the comments—good or bad—affect him, and maintained his inner peace. It was a state of mind that only a handful of people could achieve. He had realized that these comments were merely noises until Einherjar Wannabe joined the fight again. Wang Tong conceded that it was better to stay put for the time being, because not only did he need to focus on his training, but partaking in PA fights right then would also risk exposing his disguise among his peers.

Truth be told, many comments from the opposing side were not entirely unfounded, such as their statement of someone much stronger than Einherjar Wannabe existing in the PA system. There were many strong fighters whose power had remained a mystery to the world, largely because that no one had dared to challenge them in the real world. Wang Tong then realized that if these fighters did exist in the PA system, the PA system would be his best shot at fighting an opponent who was stronger than him. Wang Tong decided to spend more time on managing the brand of Einherjar Wannabe to attract more powerful fighters. As for the fame and popularity that came with it, Wang Tong considered them merely unnecessary by-products. Wang Tong didn't want to be famous, nor did he want any grand adventures. He only wanted to become a captain of mediocre skills who carried little responsibility but no fewer privileges.

Wang Tong's mind drifted away as he dreamed of his life as a captain, surrounded by attractive looking female officers. He didn't even notice that he had started to drool.

"What the heck are you watching! Is it porn..." Zhou Sisi noticed Wang Tong's silly smile on his face.

"What you talking about? No! I was simply enjoying the feeling of making so much progress over the past ten days. It had been such a great opportunity for us." Wang Tong pulled himself back to the reality and put on a smile.

"Indeed! I never expected to have learned so much in an Academy. The boot camp was also unique in its training methods" Wang Ben nodded in agreement.

Ma Xiaoru and Zhou Sisi looked at each other in dismay, and both held the expression that said, 'All the boys think the same, especially these two.'

"Us girls just wanna have some fun! Let's ditch these two, don't let them get in the way of our day off." The two girls finally decided to give up persuading the two to enjoy their holiday.

"Wang Tong, would you like to explore the island with me? I am getting bored." Wang Ben asked. He cared about those online comments even less than Wang Tong, so he had quickly got bored after reading the news.

"Good call! I had wanted to do that for a while now, but had never gotten the time!"

The two were both fearless teenagers who had a strong sense of curiosity about everything. Ever since their arrival, they were intrigued by the world out on the other side of the fence surrounding District B. Those fences were made of tall steel poles connected with electrically charged meshes. The danger and challenge didn't deter the two boys' interest in the slightest.

When the two arrived at the training field, they saw Apache walking about, inspecting the fence as if he was also trying to find a way out.

Chapter 149: Adventure

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Apache saw Wang Tong and Wang Ben walking towards him. He nodded at them and said, "I knew that you two would be here too."

"Did you find any way out?"

"No, not that easy… Look." Apache picked up a rock and threw it at the fence. Before the rock had even hit the fence, it was blown into dust. They didn't even have to identify the direction from where the blast came from.

"How do we get out of here then?"

"There are no gates around here, but I believe there must be a central control room that can shut off the security system. There ought to be a way out of here!"

"Ah right! We can ask help from the Zhang brothers." Apache called out aloud. The three of them found the Zhang brothers in their dorm playing virtual games. It wasn't any game one could buy in the store, since it was custom designed by the brothers themselves.

"Hey captain, what's up? " Zhang Kui and Zhang Yan dropped their controller as soon as they saw Apache walk into their room."

"I'm wondering if you two would be able to hack the security system on this island so that we can go out and explore." The brothers were a pair of rebellious teenagers, so they immediately became excited after hearing their plan. They were further emboldened with Apache's support, since he would protect them even if shit hit the fan.

"Awesome! We were tempted to try that anyways." The two of them took out their personal computers from their space crystals and connected it to the local security net as they became increasingly excited by the second. As the elite students in the faculty of Information Warfare, their favorite activity was hacking other defense or security systems.

After a brief second of waiting for the perfect moment to start their strike, Apache gave the order: "Now!"

The Zhang brothers quickly went into action. They were infamous troublemakers ever since they were kids. They had created some serious disturbance on the internet and made their name as two of the most notorious hackers. Fortunately for them, their talent was discovered by Martyrus, and the latter took the brothers into his school. Their schooling focused primarily on information warfare, as they had already given up the rest of the subjects.

Martyrus was a great teacher, because he knew when to develop a student in all areas and when to focus on only a few subjects. That being said, Martyrus's patience and devotion were the keys in delivering a solid training program while being swamped by administrative matters.

A Thousand miles down the ocean, inside an enormous control room, the siren suddenly went off. However, the workers did not seem to be surprised by it, as they went on with their work as usual.

Both Martyrus and Samantha were inside the room, and an old man accompanied them.

"Dr. Maggis, what do you think about the abilities of these two boys?" The old man stared at the threat level on the display as he cracked a smile and said, "Not bad. But we can make it more exciting for them."

Dr. Maggis dialed up the defense level through a hologram on the control board. The defense level the security system cranked up instantly. On another CCTV screen, people saw the Zhang brothers furrow their brows.

"Captain, the security setting here is harder to hack than those of the trust funds companies," Zhang said as he operated his computer, prying at the security system for weak spots.

"Can you do it?"

"Of course captain! Since when have we let you down?" Zhang Kui smiled casually. Wang Tong and Wang Ben knew they wouldn't be too much of help, so they stood aside and watched quietly.

"Doc, let those three pass for now, and we will teach the two insolent boys a lesson later." Martyrus cracked a smile. He felt fortunate that Dr. Maggis was here, so finally, he could show the two brothers Mountain Tai.

"Are you sure you want them out? There are ... Zergs everywhere out there."

"No worries. That tall one is Apache; he has been a member of the Special Unit for over a year now. Wang Ben, the one on the left, is the son of General Hu Ben. The one in the middle is the strongest of the three. He has even impressed Principal Martyrus."

"One of the goals of this boot camp was to challenge the students to push themselves to their limits, to help them prepare for the merciless battles in real-life. Unfortunately for these three, our regular training wasn't challenging enough." Samantha smiled as she explained to Dr. Maggis.

Samantha had to leave the Paradise Island for a while and had returned right after Massa had left. She had heard about Massa's comments regarding Wang Tong, and found it hard to believe. She couldn't remember ever hearing Massa compliment anyone. Massa's comments also reassured her of Wang Tong's immense potential.

Both principals understood that as a teacher and coach, their duty was to help the students find the balance between overconfidence and the complete lack of it. They both felt that the Wang Tong was on the side of overconfidence, and therefore, they decided to correct the course by giving him even tougher challenges.

The day-off was only a ruse deployed by the two cunning principals. The trap had been carefully set for everyone, and Wang Tong was the first to rise to the bait.

"Ha ha! Done! " Zhang Kui and Zhang Yan high-fived each other after they had successfully breached the security network. Suddenly, a door-sized hole appeared on the electrically charged fence.

"Well done!" Apache patted on the two brothers' shoulder; he knew this two computer geniuses wouldn't let him down.

The Zhang brothers pounded their chest while holding an expression that said, 'Yea bro, you can count on us!'

"Sh*t! The system is coming back on!" Zhang Yan suddenly shouted out. The two brothers fumbled to regain control of the system. The security system was not supposed to recognize their hacking codes, since they had been carefully embedded into the main codes. The brothers were impressed by FFC's security system's ability to detect hackers; this had never happened to them before.

"Let's move ahead, leave these to the experts." Apache gestured Wang Tong and Wang Ben to follow him before he darted past the hole on the fence. Wang Tong and Wang Ben followed Apache to the other side of the fence, and the hole was shut immediately. The two brothers also fell into disarray as they found out that the FFC system was trying to breach their computer's mainframe.

If the FFC controlled their system, it would be the greatest humiliation to the brothers. The boldness of FFC's action was on the same level as a METAL's fighter who tried to disarm his opponent.

After a brief moment of disorientation, the hackers quickly gathered themselves and focused on defending against FFC's invasion.

"They had fended off the B-level threat that I had injected into their system. Not bad at all, considering their very limited resources."

"Tell me about it. I was practically speechless after accidentally discovering their hacking ability on a business trip to the juvenile detention center where they had been held at. I 'liberated' them and sent them to my school. Well, I never regretted it ever since, although, they do need some training."

"Training your student at our expense? You are indeed cheap like they had told me." Dr. Maggis chided jokingly.

"It's an excellent opportunity for the kids to learn from the best." Unable to hide his pride in his students, Martyrus let a smirk creep onto his cheeks. Although Martyrus was confident about his student's skills, he reckoned that the two brothers lacked resources to aid their talents, especially compared to their opponent: the FFC corporation.

The insistent sound of network alarms broke Martyrus's train of thoughts.

"Ha! The two punks seem to have sniffed out our ruse. They are attacking the system now. Interesting! Well, they asked for it!"

On the main monitor that spanned the entire length of the room was a mosaic of dozen different CCTV screens, one of which showed that Zhou Sisi and Ma Xiaoru had 'accidentally' triggered a space battle mission and were forced to complete the mission before they could exit the room.

These traps were not random, but were planned carefully by Samantha and Martyrus.

Meanwhile, Wang Tong, Wang Ben, and Apache had finally entered the real Paradise Island. Many exotic plants surrounded them, and some were not even native to Earth. It occurred to the three boys that this island seemed to be an enormous eco-lab, leaving them in awe of the incredible financial power of the FFC corp.

The boys' spidery senses were tingling: eighty percent of FFC's profit came from weaponry deals. So there would be more than just plants on this island.

Wang Tong paused and inhaled the air with a gulp, tasting it carefully in his mouth, and then said, "It's like a Zoo here, for Zergs."

"I suppose so. I can only think of one reason for FFC to establish such a large eco-lab. But why? Isn't studying Zergs the responsibility of the confederation?" Wang Ben agreed. Although he could not sense any Zergs around him, common sense had told him that danger was out there. Nevertheless, he was impressed by Wang Tong's incredible sense of smell.

"Who cares about 'why'? If there were any Zergs here, I wouldn't mind being the gardener of FFC's eco-lab." Apache was excited at the promise of killing Zergs.

"I hope there are enough bugs for all of us." Wang Ben joined Apache and flexed his fingers.

As the three of them walked carefully towards the center of the forest, they could hear a deep, raspy growl from the deep and dark end of the woods.

As they went further into the woods, they noticed how different it looked from the ground than it did from up above in the air. The island appeared to be covered with normal vegetation of tropical climate, but down here, the trees grew as tall as a skyscraper. It was evident then that the whole island was under some kind of visual distortion field, another fine example of FFC's unequivocal wealth.

Thinking of the 'treasures' hidden in the forest, the boys became increasingly excited.

After ten minutes of walking, Wang Tong signaled the team to stop as he bent down to a strange looking plant, touched it and then said with dismay: "This island might not be what we had expected."

Wang Tong's concern worried the other two boys as they knew that Wang Tong had a fair share of experience dealing with the Zergs. They asked cautiously, "What's wrong?"

Chapter 150: Zergs' Revolt

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

"The Zergs on this island are more organized than those on Norton. I can only tell that much from the scent they left behind. They could be more powerful too, but I am not sure until I see them. If my guess is right, it bids the question as to how FFC was able to capture these powerful creatures. I know that Zergs show self-destructive behavior under human captivity."

Wang Tong heaved a sigh. He was jealous of the FFC's ability to tame these wild Zergs. While on Norton, Wang Tong had tried many times to pacify Zergs, but all attempts were to no avail. Apache struggled to grasp the method that Wang Tong had used to arrive at his conclusion, and deep down, he believed that Wang Tong was merely bluffing.

"How did you know? We haven't seen a single Zerg yet."

"Yea, but they can see us. We have already stepped into their territory, and they are everywhere." Wang Tong straightened his back and looked around him. His eyes flashed with excitement instead of fear.

"Awesome! I can't wait!" Apache shouted out. He appeared even more excited than Wang Tong. The three of them kept on moving further into the woods and not far away from them, a surveillance camera watched them silently and coldly.

"These are bold little punks! Release the Zergs in the first zone of control. Let's see how they react to surprise attacks." Dr. Maggis announced to his workers with an ugly grin.

The entire island, down to a single grass blade, was under the control of FFC. The island might appear to be benign form the outside, and it was full of deadly traps and secret passages. The FFC had exercised extra caution and had absolute control while handling the most dangerous weapon on the island, the Zergs. Therefore, no one at the control room was concerned for the safety of the students. After all, the Zergs that the students were about to face was relatively weak anyways.

The method of 'releasing' Zergs involved shutting down the isolation devices. These devices created illusions and emitted disturbance signals to prevent the Zergs in proximity to communicate with each other. Stronger disturbance signals were to be used in the case of more powerful Zergs. The interference signals had been proven to be effective despite the fact that there was no consensus on how the Zergs communicated with one another. Some believed that they communicated by scent, like an ant, while others insisted that they communicated through electromagnetic waves. The more imaginative scientists even purported that the Zergs' communication method was multi-dimensional, that it was a "gene-level control of information flow via the astral space" as they put it in one of their thesis. Zergs' communication method was also one of the research subjects at the Paradise Island.

In addition to the isolation devices, FFC had also implanted a construct in the Zergs'body. FFC could remotely initiate these constructs to inject a dose of poison into Zergs bloodstream, which would immediately render the Zergs immobile and dead within a few seconds. Since this poison was needed to be placed deep into Zergs' biological system, it was not suitable for the battlefield, but extremely effective in a controlled environment.

The FFC was also interested in the progression of Zerg's mutations, but those research subjects were locked deep down inside the third zone of control, due to their dangerous and unpredictable nature.

Suddenly, the three boys heard raspy noises among the thickets around them, as the bushes and the trees were disturbed by many unseen showdowns hidden in the darkness. The boys could almost see the fans and claws around them. There were hundreds of them, seemingly coming out of nowhere, encircling the three boys. The three of them readied themselves for a battle, and somehow, they seemed even more excited than the Zergs.

Suddenly, Wang Tong paused and furrowed his eyebrows. He sensed a greater danger lurking deep in the woods; it was far more sinister than the immediate threat they were facing. Worried that he would deter his team's courage, he decided to keep it to himself for now.

When the Zergs initiated their attack, the ground trembled, and the noise of exoskeletons rubbing against each other was so loud that the boys couldn't even hear their own voices. Hundreds of Zergs rushed toward their prey simultaneously like a giant tsunami wave that was about to engulf a stranded boat.

They boys didn't expect this many Zergs, and the scene had shocked them. The two of them had only encountered such scenario in a battle simulator. Unlike the battle simulator, every bit of threat to their life at this moment was as real as the Zergs rushing toward them.

Not only the boys, but also the ones in the control room were surprised by what they saw. Dr. Maggis jumped right back to his seat to reevaluate his calculations. He had only intended to release a couple of dozen Zergs, but by then, there were at least a couple hundred jumping around on the screen.

Siren suddenly went off; its sound was even louder than when the Zhang Brothers attacked the security system. The sound indicated the presence of the highest level of threat on the island.

"ALARM! ALARM! SYSTEM BREACHED. DEFENCE SYSTEM WILL SHUT OFF IN...SIX ZERO SECONDS. REPEAT..." A countdown appeared on the screen as red lights started to flash about. The whole island entered top level of emergency.

The workers inside the control room started to hustle to get ready for evacuation, but when they glanced at the main screen, they paused to watch in disbelief.

The cameras showed that the Zergs had swamped the island. They had revolted against the humans. There were approximately 350 Zergs on the island according to estimates, but the reality suggested that there were thousands of them. There were so many of them that it was impossible to come up with an accurate number. The Zergs popped out from the ground underneath one after another like resurrected nightmares.

"How is it… possible?" One worker gasped. All Zergs on the island were sterile. Therefore, they had no means of reproduction.

There was no time for the FFC workers to ponder on the cause, as the Zerg army would arrive at the central control room in about twenty minutes. Although the control room was buried underneath, it would not escape Zergs death clutches since many breeds of Zergs were capable of boring into the earth to this depth.

Samantha and Martyrus's face turned pale, but Dr. Maggis was still calm: "Everyone, get into the S-11 emergency tunnel ASAP. This is not a drill. Move, NOW!" After the announcement, Dr. Maggis turned to the two principles and said, "Looks like the training will have to be interrupted." His grave face suggested the magnitude of the crisis. The tell-tale sign lay bare in front of them: the strong defense system had been breached, and the sterile Zergs had been somehow reproducing hatchlings all this while. Dr. Maggis could come up with only one explanation: someone was after the FFC, someone who was very powerful.

The guard captain had gathered all the students and led them to the control room, including the Zhang Brothers. The two brothers had initially put up some resistance against the captain since they had taken the guard captain's command to leave the area as FFC's method of cheating during their standoff in the cyberspace.

"Captain Colleen, dispatch the F-14 unit to extract the three students who are still outside the wall. The rest of us will evacuate this island right now. Principals, after you please." Dr. Maggis was not only the chief researcher, but also the one who could really call the shots on this island.

"Unit number 5, escort our lady!"

"Roger!"

The FFC would make sure the safety of Ma Xiaoru under any circumstances, even at the expense of this entire island that they had poured so many resources into.

The students were still wondering about what had just happened, second guessing if this was another one of their teacher's treacherous plot to "test" them. As they evacuated the island under the escort of heavily armed soldiers, the situation perplexed them even more.

"Is it another petty show staged by our principals?" Karl touched his chin as he mumbled to himself. The 'show' started to become a little bit too real when he noticed that the workers were also among the evacuees. Ma Xiaoru was surrounded by guards as they made their way to the muster point.

"My lady, we need to get out of here."

"What happened?"

"My Lady, my name is Dr. Maggis, I oversee this island for your family. There is a ...an emergency... and I need you to evacuate this island for your safety. Help is on their way."

"Dr. Maggis, please make sure that everyone's safety is your priority." Ma Xiaoru announced calmly. She had gone through many drills like this ever since childhood. Her safety had always been at the forefront of her families' concerns.

Luckily, the Paradise island was well prepared for a crisis like this. The guards led the evacuees to the emergency tunnel, through which, they landed into a submarine and set off to the sea. Fifty miles away, the private mercenaries hired by FFC were on their way to the danger zone.

Maggis was very clear of what he should do: first, he had to ensure the safety of Ma Xiaoru. Second, he had to make sure that no Zergs would escape the island. After all, if they did, they would quickly reproduce to massive numbers and wreak havoc on earth.

"Captain Rino, fetch that son of b*tch Lanes!"

"Doc! Lanes and his cohorts have committed suicide!"

Maggis's face turned black. He couldn't fathom as to who he was dealing with, who would dare butt head with the FFC?

"Doc, This is Colleen. The Zergs have controlled the area outside the wall; we can't go any further. We are standing by and request to abort the mission."

The extraction unit intended to kill their way into the thicket, but somehow, their action instigated retaliation more intense than what they were capable of handling. The sheer number of Zergs shocked the guard captain.

Maggis's enemy was not only able to bribe personals from his inner circle, but also knew the fact that the Zergs were capable of concealing the part of the horde that was still fertile. Dr. Maggis concluded that he was dealing with someone as powerful as the FFC. But what worried him the most was the sinister undertone reflected in the timing of the attack: it happened during Ma Xiaoru's visit.

Chapter 151: Intervention from the Military

Translator: Double_L Editor: Tehrn

Being an expert on Zergs, Dr. Gimmers was certain that there was already a leader or even an Encephalon Zerg among the Zergs on Paradise Island. The Encephalon Zergs were the most mysterious creatures of all. Although mankind was well-aware that these Encephalon Zergs were the real commanders and masterminds of the Zergs, they had never caught one before, which was why no one had any idea of how it looked like or how it was created. In fact, the other Zergs would even devour the Encephalon Zergs in order not to let them be captured by mankind.

Nevertheless, the three students were his biggest concern; however, there was really nothing he could do for the time being. He hoped the three poor lads were able to hang in there while waiting to be rescued by the FFC's troops.

"Dr. Gimmers, the Zergs have found the entrance on the ground, and they're trying to escape."

"Lockdown the base, we're getting out from here as well."

"Copy that!"

Dr. Gimmers remained calm since those creatures were still struggling to break free, and he wouldn't mind destroying the whole of Paradise Island as long as he could hunt down and capture the Encephalon Zerg. Dr. Gimmers then initiated the full lockdown protocol, and a giant steel wall began to rise from the sandy beach while countless pole-shaped iron barricades were immediately connected by a strong energy stream, forming a cage around Paradise Island. Even though the island was practically messed up, the Zergs would never be able to escape that easily.

Nobody except Dr. Gimmers had the authorization codes for every protocol, the codes were too important to be obtained by anyone else because even if there were really no Encephalon Zerg, there seemed to be still quite a lot of highly intelligent Zergs that existed on Paradise Island! Yet somehow the traitor was capable of sabotaging the controlling system on this island.

Everyone managed to get on a watercraft docked beside the island within ten minutes while waiting for the FFC's troops; Paradise Island had become a quarantined fortress, and nothing would be able to escape as it has been completely locked down.

Ma Xiaoru, Samantha, Martyrus, and Dr. Gimmers then headed toward the command room immediately. However, Ma Xiaoru's impatience kicked-in the moment she learned that Wang Tong was currently trapped inside Paradise Island.

"Dr. Gimmers, didn't I tell you to put everyone's safety as the first priority? Send in your men to look for them at once!" Ma Xiaoru looked solemn and instantly turned into another person.

Samantha and Martyrus didn't say anything because they were not in the position to do so. Obviously, Ma Xiaoru was giving commands as the major shareholder of the FFC instead of a student of an academy.

"I am following your orders miss, but those three students have traveled into the deeper region of Paradise Island, and my rescue team is not able to infiltrate deeper. Right now it's useless, even if we send every security personnel to join the rescue, it will only cause more casualties. Right now, all we can do is to pray for their safety while waiting for our troops!" Dr. Gimmers kept his cool and explained clearly to Ma Xiaoru. Judging from her temper, Dr. Gimmers knew that someone she cared about had to be amongst the trapped trio.

"That's it, I'm going in!"

"Calm down, Xiaoru. You're still unable to handle those creatures since you haven't completely mastered your Tactics of the Enchantress. Right now, you have to trust Wang Tong and the others; moreover, this doesn't look like an accident, which is why you have to keep your cool!" Samantha stopped Ma Xiaoru and said in a serious tone.

"Please remain calm, miss. This incident isn't as simple as it looks like, and I believe we were set up by some other powerful party," Dr. Gimmers explained. As the person in charge of Paradise Island, obviously, he was also one of FFC's core members.

Times had changed, the House of Ma had become one of the Five Greatest Houses, and the FFC too had changed after all these years, silently influencing the lives of mankind and especially the development of Earth. Gradually, the influence became bigger and bigger, and in the end, the FFC had gained control of seventy percent of the METAL Suits manufacturing industry and also forty percent of mankind's Space Crystal production; which later on, triggered a lot of hatred from the emerging forces. However, the House of Ma was able to form a concrete alliance with the House of Li, which enabled both houses to stay out of numerous troubles.

Nevertheless, something would happen in each era, and the FFC were used to those "surprises", but things had gone a little too far this time.

"Dr. Gimmers, something's happening, it seems like a military troop is heading this way!"

Gimmers was startled as he swiped his finger onto the monitor. Apparently, an unknown military troop was advancing toward Paradise Island at a high-speed, outracing their private mercenaries. Those troop had the emblem of the Confederation Army.

"Attention to the incoming party, stop immediately, this is a private property of the FFC Corporation!" Dr. Gimmers made the announcement through his monitor, he was curious as to why the Confederation Army was able to come out of nowhere at such a "perfect" timing. Ma Xiaoru and Samantha both looked at each other, knowing that the Confederation Army would only make things worse. Somehow, something more troublesome had appeared before they were able to find Wang Tong and the other two.

Ma Xiaoru took a deep breath and calmed down, she needed to remain patient for everyone's sake. As one of the shareholders of the FFC, she knew how she had to behave during a crisis.

"This is Colonel Zhao Yongzhuo of the Eighth Confederation Army speaking, according to our source, there was an outbreak of Zergs in Paradise Island, and the situation has threatened the safety of planet Earth. Based on Act Thirty-Six of Article X under the Confederal Constitution, military forces have the right to take over Paradise Island and annihilate all threats!" A military officer in his thirties appeared on the monitor, and immediately everyone in the command room knew he was from the Golden Hawk Union when they saw the golden hawk emblem on his chest.

The Golden Hawk Union was a non-political party formed by military personnel. The golden eagle emblem was a sign of courage, motivation, and anti old-forces; they claimed to be mankind's real alliance and were well-received by the younger generations in the military, especially those who had no family background and had to work their way up the ranking ladders. Eventually, the spirit of the golden hawk had even influenced the political circles of mankind.

When people mentioned "old-forces", they were actually talking about the Five Great Houses. Although the Five Great Houses were crucial to the development of mankind hundreds of years ago, they had gradually begun to interfere with the freedom and democracy of mankind, and they were known for their corrupted images ever since scandals about them manipulating elections and having connections with pirates were spread out.

However, the battle between the old forces and the emerging forces was never made public since the Five Great Houses were still deeply rooted in the community.

Nevertheless, a colonel like Zhao Yongzhuo would never operate on his own if there was no order from a higher-up.

"Colonel Zhao, this is Dr. Gimmers speaking. I'm the person in charge of this island. As you can see, the FFC has everything under control. Our private mercenaries will be here at any minute, and they will take care of everything, so don't worry!" Gimmers stood strong.

"Dr. Gimmers, my job is to protect the safety of Earth and its people. Obviously, you've lost control of the island, and if any Zerg escapes, you'll be held responsible!" Zhao Yongzhuo replied, thirty warships of the Confederation Army had reached Paradise Island as they spoke, which didn't sound like a coincidence at all.

Yet Gimmers didn't compromise, he would do his best to protect the classified data of Paradise Island, not to mention he still had to find the Encephalon Zerg hidden on this island for the sake of his future experiments.

"Colonel Zhao, the FFC has enough firepower to protect the safety of Paradise Island, and I guarantee that not a single Zerg will be able to escape from this island. According to the Confederation Constitution, you have no rights to trespass a private property. I'll call for military backup if the situation is really bad; however, I have everything under control, so I'm asking you to stay out of this!" Gimmers said in a demanding tone. He would never let the FFC fell into the hands of the military.

"Dr. Gimmers, both you and I know that we would never be able to suffer the consequences on our own. According to the law, the experiments on Zergs are only approved if their numbers are below three hundred and if all of the creatures have been sterilized, but clearly, the number of Zergs on Paradise Island has exceeded the amount stated; hence the military has the rights to interfere. You're welcome to file a complaint to the Confederation Court if you want to, but right now, we will be taking over!" Zhao Yongzhuo didn't back down, he knew the FFC would never pick a fight with him, and his superior would handle the pressure from the FFC, so all he had to do was to proceed as ordered.

Dr. Gimmers didn't expect the person would be this bold. Mankind had already gone head to head with each other before handling the outbreak of Zergs. However, since the FFC's private mercenaries had arrived, Gimmers would not give in, and the FFC Corporation would never surrender to a tiny colonel of the military, even if they had to open fire.

Ma Xiaoru ordered Dr. Gimmers to stand back and took over the monitor. "Colonel Zhao Yongzhuo, this is Ma Xiaoru speaking. The FFC will agree to let your troops enter only if you agree to work with our troops. Three students are currently trapped in the deeper regions of the island; hence the priority tasks are to control the situation and also to search and rescue. I'll leave Dr.Gimmers to make the arrangements for the search and rescue since he is the one who's the most familiar with the island!"

Zhao Yongzhuo didn't expect that Ma Xiaoru, the princess of the FFC, was here. He remembered that the order from his superior was only to surround and seize Paradise Island and didn't mention anything about retrieving anything. Since he wasn't planning to look for any trouble, he nodded in agreement, "I'm not in the position to reject if this is Miss Ma's decision since this is an emergency. Please open the entrance of Paradise Island for our troops."

"Miss… I'm afraid this is a bad idea," Dr. Gimmers did not agree with letting the Confederation Army interfering.

"I'll take responsibility for any consequences, but right now, please arrange your search and rescue party as soon as possible!" Ma Xiaoru was trying her best to suppress her anxiousness while maintaining her Tactics of the Enchantress. Right now Ma Xiaoru was no longer the charming, pretty girl in class, she had become a charismatic leader of the FFC.

Dr. Gimmers hesitated but agreed to her decision in the end since it would only worsen the situation if he chose to reject Ma Xiaoru's order.

"Attention to all units of the FFC, proceed to C-2 Entrance at once! Annihilate every Zergs in the area and rescue the three students who are currently trapped inside!"

Dr. Gimmers also ordered another five squadrons to enter Paradise Island; however, their task was to infiltrate the designated area to capture the Encephalon Zerg alive. Whether it was the Encephalon Zerg or not, the Zergs had to have a leader among them, and as the commander of Paradise Island, Dr. Gimmers was certain that the leader would only hide in a special area, and he would do whatever it took to capture it.

Of course, he would never tell this to the Confederation Army.

Chapter 152: Besieged

Translator: Double_L Editor: Tehrn

The Confederation Army had proceeded to N-2 Entrance, and the troops from both sides were seen fully prepared to infiltrate the island. It would not be easy for the Zergs on the island to withstand the attacks from both sides since they were on human territory.

Under Ma Xiaoru's supervision, Dr. Gimmers turned on Sky-net and accessed FFC's surveillance system, then he entered a three-dimensional passcode in order to open two of their emergency gateways; however, nothing happened after waiting for about ten seconds.

"What on earth is that, Dr. Gimmers?" Ma Xiaoru's sounded unpleasant, she had been controlling her anxiousness, but she was about to reach her limits.

Dr. Gimmers became nervous as he remembered that all of those who practiced the Tactics of the Enchantress had strange tempers, and he would never want to piss her off since there was practically nothing that the princess of the FFC couldn't and wouldn't do.

"Miss, it looks like our system has been sabotaged by someone else, probably the traitor, and right now, I'm unable to open the emergency gateways," Dr. Gimmers explained as he tried to activate the protocol again.

"I'm not interested in hearing your explanations, Dr. Gimmers. Fix it and save my friends now!"

Dr. Gimmers knew he would definitely be held responsible for this; however, he didn't expect that the traitor would be so detailed and almost sabotaged everything they had. Nevertheless, he really would like to know why that person would go through all the troubles just to do this. Fortunately, he was the one who handled the overall defense mechanism, or else it would certainly cause a mayhem and eventually develop into a catastrophic incident if the Zergs escaped; not to mention that the Zergs were extremely hard to exterminate, just like cockroaches.

Which was why the Zergs that were brought back to Earth for experimental purposes had to be sterilized in the first place, but clearly there were a few missed outs on this island. Dr. Gimmers didn't want the military forces to enter Paradise Island in the first place because he was trying to hide this from them. He knew that the FFC's image would be affected once this was made public, or even worse... this would become the perfect chance for the ones behind this to uncover all of the secrets that belonged to the FFC!

Meanwhile, the Confederation Army had begun to launch their attacking protocol; meanwhile, everyone else was suspecting their "spontaneity".

"Why don't we let Zhang Kui and Zhang Yan give it a shot?" Martyrus said as he saw the frustration on Dr. Gimmers' face. Dr. Gimmers might have his scientific knowledge and contributions in experiments, yet obviously, he was not a good crisis handler.

A cunning old fox like Martyrus clearly knew this wasn't a simple accident but a set-up from some other party, and based on Samantha's calm expression, she seemed to have figured it out as well. The principals of military academies were just like politicians as they were also able to access classified information that wasn't made public. Moreover, some principals of S-Ranked academies were even powerful enough to influence both military and political circles.

"I'm afraid we will have to give them a try!" Dr. Gimmers agreed after a small hesitation since he wasn't familiar with this category. Things had begun to fall apart and what happened was way out of his expertise.

As the rest were seen worrying about Wang Tong and the other two who were still trapped on Paradise Island, the Zhang brothers showed great enthusiasm when they knew they were wanted for their expertise. Virtual system attacks normally required all sorts of equipment, but all thanks to Principal Martyrus, both Zhang Brothers were already given a laptop which contained state-of-the-art software and resources that would get the job done. Martyrus didn't set any boundary for the two of them as long as they promised not to do anything crazy, this was his method of cultivating talents. He knew that the Zhang Brothers would have to unleash their capabilities in order to improve, which was why he decided to let them handle the virtual system attack. Martyrus had never expected that their expertise would be needed in such occasion.

The Zhang Brothers asked no questions and began to do their "thing"; however, they seemed to look puzzled as they accessed the system.

"What's wrong with the two of you? Why the long faces?" Martyrus asked.

"Sir, someone planted an intelligent, five-dimensional randomizing program into the system, we have never seen something like this before."

"Cut the crap, will both of you be able to handle it?"

"Yea, but we won't be responsible if the whole system falls apart!" Zhang Yan said.

Martyrus looked at both of them and ordered, "Fix it!"

"Haha, leave it to us then!" The two of them immediately began their attack. On the other hand, the Intel Programming personnel of the military had also begun to attack Paradise Island's system in their warships.

Dr. Gimmers was certain that Paradise Island's ultimate defense system would never be subdued that easily. The five-dimensional randomizing program was the most expensive program for the time being, and it seemed that the traitor's target was not to destroy everything but to plant a digital virus by using its position in this company as a cover. Somehow, the randomizing program had triggered the self-defense mechanism of the main system which wouldn't let anything go in or out. How Dr. Gimmers wished Allens, who was the expert in this category, was here to help, but right now, he had no choice but to leave it to the kids.

The enthusiastic brothers began to exercise their expertise; however, they were still struggling to break through the island's defense mechanism; meanwhile, everyone else could only wait patiently since they were not able to do anything else.

Judging from all aspects, Ma Xiaoru knew that this was definitely not a coincidence. It looked more like a set-up from the Golden Hawk Union in order to break down the FFC, but Ma Xiaoru seemed to be more worried about Wang Tong and the other guys instead of the island itself, and she felt bad for involving the boys into this matter.

Obviously, the Confederation Army was trying to trample FFC's concession on experimenting the Zergs. They knew that their special rights to conduct experiments on Zergs would be withdrawn as the high-risk activities had turned into complete chaos, and even if the FFC was able to continue, they would have to go through a lot of trouble for the settlement. Not to mention that this was the perfect opportunity to sucker punch the glory of the FFC.

Ma Xiaoru was quite familiar with these sort of battles since she was born and raised in this family, and she had been learning on how to cope with this sort of pressure since a young age, which one of her tasks included the practice on the Tactics of the Enchantress.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yongzhuo was seen urging his tech personnel to speed up as they needed to seize every single opportunity; nevertheless, they had underestimated the system itself. Gaining control of the system was not as easy as they had expected.

After a while, the Zhang Brothers seemed to look troubled. Apparently, the two of them were unable to handle everything at once.

Finally, Rumi stepped up and asked, "How can I help?"

"Can you do it?" Samantha asked.

"I think I'll be able to help by working on the inscribed figure group of Hill's Angle. It should be able to shrink down the probabilities of the code," Rumi seemed shy when she was questioned by Samantha.

"Hop in, what are you waiting for?" Zhang Yan said. The two of them were troubled by the massive intelligent program, and they realized that it was hard to keep up as the main system would refresh immediately as soon as they destroyed one of its sequences. Unfortunately, no one else was able to help, and it seemed like both parties were racing against each other in order to finish their businesses and get out as soon as possible, yet right now they had no choice but to wait patiently even though it was really hard to remain calm.

Originally, Wang Tong's party was only planning on killing a few Zergs to warm up; however, they had never expected that things would get nasty. Wang Ben and Apache seemed to have gotten ready to fight, but instead of fighting, Wang Tong unleashed a yell then grabbed the two of them and ran off. They wouldn't stand a chance against that number of Zergs since they were not wearing METAL Suits. Their only choice was to FLEE!

However, the Zergs also knew how to terrorize their enemies, especially when there was a leader in command; apparently, those creatures were not planning anything fancy since they were only up against the three of them. Wang Tong sensed that the situation was about to go south; hence instead of playing the hero, their best strategy was to escape.

Wang Ben and Apache followed Wang Tong as he ran, and immediately the three of them knew that something went wrong when they noticed that the walls on the field were gone, the ground was locked down, giant walls were pulled up on around the beach, and the sky was shielded by an energy barrier.

Of course, the three of them would never stand quietly while waiting to be rescued, the trio realized that they were not the target of those creatures, but they were attacking the base frenziedly instead in order to get under. The trio decided to hide in the wild for the time being to avoid unnecessary contact. Nevertheless, they would engage the Zergs if there were only a small amount of them.

The three of them hid on top of the trees using the leaves as their cover, then they chose to cover their tracks by withdrawing their Soul Energy in order not to be discovered by the Zergs.

As soon as Wang Tong finished his surveillance on top of the tree, Apache asked immediately, "What the hell happened?"

"I have no idea, everywhere seemed to be filled with Zergs. I guess that Paradise Island is actually an experimental base for Zergs, and for some reason, the Zergs on this island had gone berserk. Based on the incredible amount of Zergs, I believe the base had been completely locked down, now all we can do is to wait for the troops."

Yet Wang Tong knew that the METAL fighters on this island would never be able to handle this number of Zergs, so in conclusion, their luck was terrible. For some reason, Wang Tong noticed his peculiar "fate" with the Zergs as he would always get surrounded by these creatures whenever he was in the wild; hence he would have to be more careful next time.

Apache and Wang Ben were confident; however, unlike Wang Tong, who was looking like a disappointed tourist, the two of them looked solemn.

"Instead of waiting, why don't we fight our way out?" Wang Ben said in a deep voice.

"Yea, since they are all just a bunch of weaklings, I'm sure the three of us will be able to handle them!" Apache nodded in agreement.

"Forget about it guys. Based on what I saw just now, those were just the usual recon units that also serve as expendable cannon fodders. The stronger ones stayed hidden on this island, not to mention that they are more familiar with the terrain than the three of us," Wang Tong explained since he was very familiar with these creatures.

Wang Tong wouldn't need to worry so much if he were on his own, there would be plenty of places for him to hide since Paradise Island was a huge island, and it would buy him a lot of time until the arrival of the military troops. He was certain that the Confederation Army would arrive in no time since this was happening on Earth.

However, Apache and Wang Ben seemed to believe more in their judgments, and both of them didn't like the idea of staying still and waiting to be rescued because to them, right now was their best chance to head toward the beach, and it would be too late if they were surrounded here by Zergs.