Start with push-ups to gain experience

Dawn breaks.

The pale sunlight gradually tore through the thick fog that enveloped the entire Western Hills.

Heifenggou, located in the heart of Xishan, was the final stop for the special search team's physical fitness test.

Several huge military green tents were erected along the mountainside, with dim yellow lights shining from inside.

A communication antenna stood tall in the center of the camp, and a diesel generator emitted a deep roar.

The open ground, covered with gravel, was littered with candidates who had arrived earlier.

Although the entire trail running route is only five kilometers long, there are quite a few hidden obstacles and dangers along the way.

The camouflage uniforms worn by most of them had been reduced to strips of cloth, and they were covered in mud and looked utterly disheveled.

Some were clutching their cramped thighs, grimacing in pain, with multiple bruises on their bodies.

Some simply lay sprawled on the ground, their chests still heaving violently.

The air was filled with the smell of sweat and the pungent odor of medical spray.

At the entrance to the camp.

Scattered candidates crossed the cordon line, mostly supporting each other, limping like a group of defeated soldiers.

Fang Cheng walked steadily through the crowd, carrying a bulging package in each hand.

Apart from his slightly messy hair and some mud on his trousers, he looked energetic and perfectly normal.

In contrast, Ma Donghe and Hou Peng, who followed behind him, were in a much worse state.

Both of them had blood-soaked bandages wrapped around their heads, and each of them was using a hastily cut, thick tree branch as a crutch.

They walked with unsteady steps, looking like two seriously wounded soldiers who had just escaped from a prisoner-of-war camp.

The three of them walked to the registration area at the finish line and lined up.

At this point, a long queue had formed in front of the registration tents, and the line was moving extremely slowly.

The candidates in front of them were either dozing off or recounting their bizarre experiences from the previous night.

Several medical personnel in white coats moved around the group, occasionally lifting several seriously injured patients who were on the verge of fainting directly onto stretchers and taking them away.

Fang Cheng carried the package and quietly moved forward with the group.

Ma Donghe and Hou Peng were in so much pain that they gasped for breath and complained from time to time.

After enduring nearly half an hour, I finally managed to get to the registration table.

The three handed the mud-covered number plates to the examiner sitting behind the table.

The examiner picked up the scanner, made a "beep" sound, and glanced at Ma Donghe and Hou Peng's miserable appearance before casually asking:
"Did you encounter danger last night?"

"Yes, sir, you have no idea how close it was last night!"

Ma Donghe instantly perked up, leaning forward on his cane, and said, spitting as he spoke:

"When we got lost in the woods, we encountered a mutated wild boar. Good heavens, its tusks were at least half a meter long, and it was as big as a minivan!"

He freed one hand and gestured excitedly:

"The wild boar charged at me with a 'whoosh,' so fast! I remained calm and immediately followed up with a right roundhouse kick, then a left front kick, and finally a left jab, hitting it right in the eye socket and dissipating all its brute force!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Hou Peng, leaning on a tree branch, also provided the comedic relief:

"If I hadn't dodged in time, I probably would have been knocked away by that wild boar on the spot, and I would have suffered a lot of injuries."

"Brother Ma seemed to be possessed by a god of war at that time. To cover me, he went all out, grabbing that beast and wrestling with him to the death..."

The examiner didn't even lift his eyelids, slapped the pass stamp on the score sheet with a "smack," and waved his hand impatiently.
"Alright, alright, you've passed. Hurry up and go to the medical area to treat your wound. Don't block the entrance."

"Hey, sir, I haven't finished speaking yet!"

Ma Dong-hyuk, unwilling to give up, craned his neck, wanting to continue:
"I finally managed to strangle that wild boar with a rear-naked choke..."

"Hey buddy in front, can you move aside after you've finished bragging? My thigh is cramping and I can barely stand. This isn't how you give extra points."

A dark-faced candidate in the queue behind interrupted him with a pained expression.

"Exactly, look at how you're bragging, as if you're the ruthless person who caused a huge explosion last night and alerted the examiners to search the mountain."

Another female candidate in the line rolled her eyes and retorted irritably.

Upon hearing this, Ma Donghe couldn't help but glance at Fang Cheng beside him, and then reluctantly shut his mouth.

Then, he and Hou Peng limped along with the other examinees into the camp.

Fang Cheng walked ahead, tugging at his slightly oversized training uniform, his movements casual and natural.

It was as if the monster who plowed the entire forest into ruins last night was not him at all.

His original camouflage uniform had long been torn to shreds in his fight with Lu Tianming.

He had taken the clothes and pants from the corpse of a black market mercenary.

After parting ways with Lu Tianming last night, Fang Cheng quickly cleared the battlefield before the main force of the special search team could surround him.

He threw the mercenaries' corpses, along with their weapons and equipment, into the golden barrier at the entrance of the ruins, like throwing away trash.

As for that opportunist, the traitorous Gray Eagle...

When Fang Cheng found him, his legs had been broken by boulders thrown up during the battle, and he was lying on the muddy ground, his face covered in blood, howling for help.

Fang Cheng didn't listen to a single word of his explanation. He snapped the man's neck to relieve his pain, then casually threw him into the barrier to completely destroy the evidence.

He who kills will be killed by others.

Fang Cheng would never give a second chance to anyone who dared to betray him.

After all this was done, the golden barrier surrounding the entrance to the ruins had become very dim.

Within minutes, the spatial passage collapsed completely, and the barrier between the two worlds closed again.

Fang Cheng was certain that even if the special search team turned that piece of land upside down, they wouldn't find any clues.

He then dug out Ma Donghe and Hou Peng, who had been buried alive by the aftermath of the battle, from the mudslide.

Fang Cheng grabbed the two dazed individuals and quickly evacuated the crime scene, which resembled ruins.

The fog in the heart of Xishan has a strong hallucinogenic effect and can easily interfere with the senses.

Many test takers got lost in the woods, wandering around aimlessly like headless flies.

Although Fang Cheng was completely unaffected, in order not to appear too abrupt, and given that Ma Donghe and Hou Peng were indeed injured, he specifically found a secluded cave to stay in.

He first quickly and efficiently straightened the two men's misaligned bones, and then started a fire in the cave, setting up a picnic.

As for the mutated wild boar that Ma Donghe just mentioned, it sizzled and dripped oil on the fire, becoming the most delicious roast meat in their mouths.

The three of them enjoyed the delicious food and rested peacefully in the cave for several hours.

As dawn approached, they leisurely arrived at the finish line, just barely making it past the passing mark.

Along the way, they encountered many candidates who looked disheveled and tired.

From their discussions, we learned that last night, the special search team stationed there saw multiple distress flares fired in the examination area. Fearing a serious safety hazard in Xishan, they launched that massive, carpet-style search.

Fang Cheng had already prepared for the worst and mentally prepared his response.

If he were to be questioned after entering the camp, he had already rehearsed his lines flawlessly with Ma Donghe and Hou Peng.

The result was surprisingly calm.

Fang Cheng shifted his gaze slightly, his eyes landing on the east side of the camp.

Several heavy off-road vehicles were parked in the open space, their bodies covered in mud, and their exhaust pipes were still spewing white smoke.

Several examiners were having a heated discussion around the map on the hood of the car.

Fang Cheng spotted the two special search team officers who led the search of the mountain last night at a glance.

The burly male examiner, and the woman in the white uniform and high heels.

The two men, looking exhausted, were flipping through a thick investigation report and didn't even glance at the group of examinees.

There was no special treatment or questioning. In the eyes of the authorities, Fang Cheng and his two companions were merely one of the hundreds of lucky ones who had slipped through the cracks that night.

"Hey, based on our exam scores, which department do you think we'll be assigned to after the official recruitment?"

Sitting atop a pile of military supply crates, Ma Dong-hyuk seemed to have forgotten the pain of his injuries and was already dreaming about the future:
"I think the equipment department is pretty good. They just clean guns every day, don't have to risk their lives on the front lines, and can live a comfortable life."

"The Equipment Department is good, but it requires excellent academic performance. With our level, I'm afraid it's quite difficult."

Hou Peng winced in pain, but his eyes gleamed with excitement as he joined the discussion:
"I think it would be best to go to the intelligence department. You can sit in the office, enjoy the air conditioning, type on the keyboard, and analyze and summarize various intelligence data."

"Occasionally, I can go on business trips and do fieldwork, which can be considered as a paid vacation."

As he spoke, he turned to look at Fang Cheng, his tone now carrying a hint of genuine reverence:

"Anyway, no matter where we go, I'll follow Brother Fang's orders. If Brother Fang hadn't saved me last night, I probably would have died in the woods long ago."

"Yes, yes, from now on, the three of us will look after each other in the Special Investigation Team and work together to make it bigger and stronger!"

Ma Dong-hyuk slapped his thigh hard and shouted excitedly.

As a result, the wound was aggravated, causing him to gasp in pain and his face to contort in pain.

Fang Cheng smiled faintly at the two of them acting like clowns, not wanting to spoil their fun.

At that moment, a red sun finally leaped over the distant mountain ridge.

Golden rays of dawn pierced through the pine forest, dispelling the lingering mist.

The uniquely moist morning air, mixed with the fragrance of pine and cypress trees, finally allowed the examinees' nerves, which had been tense all night, to completely relax.

According to the announcement broadcast from the examination center, the physical fitness test has officially ended, and the results will be calculated in about a week.

After the chief examiner finishes his speech, everyone can take the troop transport vehicles outside the camp back to the East City.

"Gurgle—"

Ma Dong-hyuk's stomach roared in protest.

"Let's go, let's go eat. I haven't slept all night, I'm so hungry I could eat a whole cow."

Following the signs, the three arrived at the catering tent at the back of the camp.

The special search team's logistical support was indeed very humane.

A long metal table was covered with steaming food.

Although they are all ordinary breakfast items that don't require fancy plating, they are generous in portion and filling, and completely self-service.

Thin-skinned, generously filled meat buns, thick seafood and shredded meat porridge, baskets of boiled eggs, and large plates of sizzling, oily steaks.

Ma Donghe's eyes lit up. He grabbed a plate and piled the meat buns and steaks into a rickety little mountain, swallowing hard as he did so.

Hou Peng also couldn't wait to reach out and grab the food from the table.

Fang Cheng's hunger was actually greater than theirs.

Last night's series of bursts and flights depleted most of his energy reserves.

Although we just had a meal of roasted wild boar in the cave, the portion was far too small.

Even if he gnawed on most of a pig's leg by himself, it still wouldn't be enough to fill his teeth.

However, Fang Cheng remained restrained in public.

He carried a tray with only nine large meat buns, six steaks, and a bowl of seafood and shredded pork porridge.

He then went to a corner and sat down, chewing and swallowing slowly to avoid revealing his terrifyingly large appetite.

Just as Fang Cheng finished drinking half a bowl of hot porridge.

Three figures in tattered camouflage uniforms walked straight towards us from ahead.

The person leading the group was Yan Rui, a police academy student.

His buzz cut was covered in dirt, and he had a band-aid on his face. His gaze pierced through the crowded people and landed precisely on Fang Cheng.

Ma Donghe was engrossed in eating a steamed bun, his mouth stuffed full, and he didn't even bother to look up.

Hou Peng was unusually vigilant. He immediately put down the boiled egg in his hand, straightened up, and stared intently at the person who had come.

Yan Rui walked to the table and stood still, extending his right hand:
"Let's get to know each other again. Yan Rui, a graduate of the National Special Police Academy."

Fang Cheng put down the bowl of porridge in his hand, took out a tissue to wipe the grease off his knuckles, and calmly extended his hand to shake his:

"Fang Cheng".

Yan Rui released his grip, leaned forward slightly, and whispered in Fang Cheng's ear.

Then, he said softly in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Thank you for last night."

He paused, his tone very sincere:
"Don't worry, the three of us didn't mention a word to the examiners about our encounter with you in the woods."

After speaking, Yan Rui forced a smile onto his usually stern face.

He nodded to Fang Cheng, then turned around and led his two henchmen toward another food pickup lane.

Fang Cheng sat there, picked up the remaining half bowl of shredded pork porridge, and followed Yan Rui's back with his gaze.

interesting.

Last night, Yan Rui and the others did see him and Gray Eagle deviate from their route to search for the entrance to the ruins.

Fang Cheng had already prepared his explanation, intending to pin everything on the mysterious masked man should an official investigation occur.

Unexpectedly, this police academy student actually took the initiative to cover up this flaw for himself.

Is this an attempt to blackmail? Or is it simply a gesture of goodwill?

Fang Cheng replayed Yan Rui's gaze and tone of voice in his mind.

There was no bluster, which made it seem straightforward and frank.

It seems more like pure goodwill.

A faint smile appeared on Fang Cheng's lips.

Then, he tilted his head back and drank the bowl of meat porridge clean in a few gulps.

It seems the special search team gained quite a bit from this test.

Not only did they unexpectedly uncover the secrets of the ancient civilization ruins in Xishan, but they also personally stepped into the other world.

More importantly, during last night's fierce battle, several of my fighting skills were greatly improved.

They even managed to unlock the incredible ability of "flight," which can be described as a divine skill.

Fang Cheng stared at the information displayed on the control panel, which was visible only to him:

[Qigong Experience +50]

[Qigong lv3 (143/1000)]

Boxing Experience +50

Boxing Lv3 (556/1000)

[Sanda Experience +30]

【Sanda Lv3 (226/1000)】

[Jiu-Jitsu Experience +25]

【Jiu-Jitsu Lv2 (482/500)】

[Muay Thai Experience +20]

Muay Thai Level 2 (471/500)

Fang Cheng's eyes narrowed slightly as he thought to himself.

Next, we will continue to hone our skills in a safe environment provided by the special search team.

We strive to further upgrade our "Jiu-Jitsu" and "Muay Thai" skills as soon as possible to solidify our strength. (End of Chapter)