Chapter 181 Good Days

"Can I still drop out now?"

Yu Shunzhou had both hands clutching a horizontal bar, sweat having already formed a small puddle beneath his feet, while Nie Erlong on the bar next to him, also with a puddle of sweat beneath, was still grinding his teeth and persisting.

Xiang Weiguo smiled and said, "What do you think?"

Yu Shunzhou tried forcefully to lift himself up once more, but he simply couldn't manage to go up anymore, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Can't do it, I'm done..."

"Hmm, no problem, it's okay if you can't go up, just hang there."

Yu Shunzhou's face was a picture of despair. His hands hurt, his arms hurt, but he really didn't dare to let go and come down from the horizontal bar. Xiang Weiguo's rule was simple: a hundred pull-ups for everyone, and if you can't manage that, then just hang on the bar.

Yu Shunzhou had done forty-seven pull-ups, and the disdainful Nie Erlong had managed seven, but even so, Nie Erlong had been hanging on the bar for twenty minutes and was still holding on.

"Er Long, you're not going to make it, just come down, don't your hands hurt? Come down."

Yu Shunzhou started to tempt Nie Erlong, because the first to let go and fall would be punished. Would the second one to fall be okay, then?

No, that wasn't the case. Anyone who fell from the bar would suffer terribly, but Yu Shunzhou was the type to harm others without benefiting himself, hoping to see Nie Erlong in a miserable state to cheer himself up.

Nie Erlong didn't utter a word but instead gripped the bar even tighter, afraid of falling down.

Yu Shunzhou exhaled and grabbing the bar, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Damn Gao Yuan! I've fallen for your tricks!"

Xiang Weiguo didn't get angry and was still smiling, "You've got quite the spirit."

Yu Shunzhou, looking completely disheartened, said, "Uncle Xiang, you should be more generous. Gao Yuan only asked us to join Da Hong Third Company. I agreed to give him face, right? You can't repay kindness with malice. He never said to train us like a special forces unit. Can't I just be a regular soldier? If you keep this up, I'm not going to be a soldier anymore, okay?"

"No way. Do you think this is a hotel? Come and go as you please."

"Uncle Xiang, you can't do this..."

"Call me instructor."

"Instructor, we're so familiar with each other, why do you have to torture us like this? Isn't it enough? What good does it do to fight Aliens with great physical strength?"

Xiang Weiguo smiled slightly, "Well, I don't know what good it does, but better physical strength definitely beats worse."

"Instructor, can't you show a bit of sympathy? Given our relationship, can't you treat us a little better, gradually increase the difficulty?"

Xiang Weiguo smiled kindly, "Our relationship is indeed not ordinary, very special in fact. So, I have to teach you well. Your basics are too weak. I'll be a bit nicer to you, give you a bit more to do. Let's add another twenty minutes."

Yu Shunzhou wanted to say more, but Nie Erlong interjected with extreme frustration, "You idiot! Can't you shut up for once! The more you talk, the worse it gets. You just don't stop blabbering, I'm screwed because of you!"

Yu Shunzhou also knew that the more he talked, the worse his situation was.

But he couldn't help it. Yu Shunzhou just couldn't keep his mouth shut; he wanted to find some balance in his speech.

"I don't accept this! Call Gao Yuan over and let him hang with us, damn it! I'm here suffering and struggling while he's off meeting his girlfriend. Where's the justice in that!"

Xiang Weiguo smiled, "Have him hang here? He could probably break the bar. You, think about how to properly train, and don't hold Gao Yuan back."

Yu Shunzhou felt utterly hopeless, but he still wanted to say something. However, just then, Gao Yuan finally showed up.

"Well well, you're training, huh? Uncle Xiang, give it to them hard. If they don't drop dead, train them until they're about to. Especially this fatso, you gotta look after him real good."

Yu Shunzhou wanted to look at Gao Yuan, but he couldn't turn his head, so he yelled in anger, "Bitch Gao! You shameless bastard, I'm through with you!"

Xiang Weiguo's face turned stern as he said, "Insulting the squad leader is a serious breach of discipline. You just earned yourself one hundred more pull-ups."

Yu Shunzhou went pale as Gao Yuan laughed gleefully, in a mean-spirited way. Standing in front of Yu Shunzhou, he made faces and taunted, "Come on down and hit me if you dare. Hahahaha..."

After laughing to his heart's content, Gao Yuan turned to Nie Erlong and shouted, "Good job, Er Long! Hang in there! Strive to outlast that bastard Yu Shunzhou and drop first, you can do it!"

After provoking them both, Gao Yuan spoke to Xiang Weiguo, "Uncle Xiang, I start training with Doctor Sun today."

Xiang Weiguo nodded and said, "Study hard and train well. Have you seen Xiaoyu?"

"I have. Xiaoyu is doing great, but she's been insisting on joining your training, which I refused."

"Why not let her? These days, being well-trained is better than anything."

Gao Yuan spoke in a low voice, "Her dad wants her to continue with her studies. Xiaoyu is making up for high school courses right now, and she doesn't even need to take exams. She'll soon start college courses; she wants to study science, and there's no shortage of good teachers nowadays."

After pondering for a moment, Xiang Weiguo nodded and said in a low voice, "Alright, she should focus on her studies, but some training wouldn't hurt. Tell her not to neglect it; a good physique is more important than anything."

Just then, Yu Shunzhou's hands involuntarily let go of the horizontal bar, and his feet silently landed on the ground.

While talking to Gao Yuan, Xiang Weiguo suddenly stepped forward, a thin stick in his hand whipping out soundlessly and striking the inner side of Yu Shunzhou's thigh.

"Shit!"

Yu Shunzhou reacted as if stung by a scorpion, but he didn't run or dodge. Instead, he started frantically shaking his hands, trying to relax them quickly, but Xiang Weiguo's second strike followed swiftly.

"Ah!"

It wasn't just any pain; it was a deep, bone-chilling kind of pain. Yu Shunzhou immediately jumped up, grabbed the horizontal bar, and with tears in his eyes, he said, "Physical punishment isn't allowed..."

Xiang Weiguo replied indifferently, "Really? I didn't see anything. Who is being punished?"

Gao Yuan, feeling a bit of pity, turned away and said, "Uncle Xiang, is this all they're doing for training? Shouldn't we add some other activities? Like I always say, as long as it doesn't kill them, just train till they're close to death."

Xiang Weiguo chuckled and said, "Take it slow. They have a weak foundation; let's work on their upper body strength for now. Gradually and step by step, their good days are limited."

Nie Erlong finally couldn't take it anymore and said, "You call these good days?"

Gao Yuan spoke with a touch of emotion, "Yeah, you'll soon understand what 'living is worse than dying' means, oh no, I mean 'pain with joy'."

Just at this moment, Shi Lei came running over hurriedly, and then he spoke in a low voice, "Gao Yuan, the superior officer is looking for you. Come with me quickly. I have good news; your application has been approved!"

Xiang Weiguo didn't ask what Gao Yuan had applied for, but Gao Yuan was thrilled. Then he said to Xiang Weiguo, "Uncle Xiang, I'm off. I have to make a trip. When I come back, I'll bring you some booze."