I started with a portal, then turned around and handed it over to the nation.

Zhao Zhenguo watched this unfold, slowly tightening the lid of the thermos. He admired Lin Mo.

As the saying goes: It's not the arrogant new recruits you should fear, it's the cowardly ones.

As long as this spirit remains, the rest will be easy.

"Alright, meeting adjourned."

Zhao Zhenguo stood up, picked up the documents on the table, and as he passed Lin Mo, he patted him hard on the shoulder twice.

"Don't save your energy, Captain Long. The base's medical wards are always ready to hold a bed for you."

After saying that, Zhao Zhenguo strode out of the conference room.

The moment the conference room door closed, Long Fei's smile vanished, replaced by a cold expression.

He raised his wrist and looked at the badly worn tactical watch.

"You have ten minutes."

Long Fei's voice was not loud, but it was undeniable.

"Go back to your dorm and pack your things, including your toothbrush and underwear."

Long Fei turned around and walked out, leaving without looking back, saying:

"Assemble at the weight training field in ten minutes. One second late, five kilometers."

……

Ten minutes later.

The sun in the northwest is scorching, hanging high in the sky and baking the cement ground until it turns white.

On the weight training field, the air seemed to distort, filled with the smells of rubber and engine oil.

Lin Mo ran over with his pack on his back, and before he could catch his breath, he was stunned by what he saw.

In the center of the venue, there were several black metal frames.

These aren't the gleaming mechs from movies, but rather several industrial-looking mechanical exoskeletons.

The hydraulic lines were all exposed, the armor plates were very thick, and there was obvious wear at the joints.

"What are you standing there for?"

Zhang Yi, sweating profusely, was adjusting the mechanical leg of one of the machines, holding an electric wrench.

He looked up at Lin Mo, then pointed to the machine next to him:

"That's yours, codename Xuanwu-II Modified. Put it on quickly."

Lin Mo dropped his bag, ran over, and reached out to lift the back armor of the exoskeleton.

As soon as he touched it, his arm suddenly felt heavy.

That's really heavy!

This thing weighs at least sixty kilograms.

"Don't use brute force."

Zhang Yi walked over and skillfully helped Lin Mo unfasten the buckles, then put the exoskeleton on him like a vest:

"This thing is just dead metal when it's not electrified; it only becomes your legs when it's electrified."

With a few crisp "click" sounds, Lin Mo was secured inside this steel shell.

"Power is on."

Zhang Yi pressed a button on his chest.

"Buzz—"

A buzzing sound from an electric motor traveled from his spine throughout his body, and Lin Mo felt his body suddenly become lighter, as if the weight of those tens of kilograms had disappeared.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

Long Fei walked over at some point, carrying a black rubber baton in his hand, which he tapped lightly in his palm.

"With this thing, you can run faster, jump higher, and even use a heavy machine gun as a rifle."

Long Fei circled around Lin Mo, then suddenly raised his baton and slammed it into Lin Mo's calf armor.

"when!"

With a sharp crack, Lin Mo was startled, but he didn't feel anything in his leg.

"but."

Long Fei stopped in front of Lin Mo, staring at him:

"If you rely on it too much, once the battery runs out or the hydraulic hose bursts, this 60-kilogram iron lump can kill you."

"The current training program is very simple."

Long Fei pointed to a muddy obstacle area in the distance, where there were barbed wire fences, high walls, and deep pits.

"Turn off the power."

Lin Mo was taken aback: "What?"

"I told you to turn off the power!"

Long Fei roared, spitting all over Lin Mo's face.

Lin Mo subconsciously pressed the button on his chest.

The buzzing sound disappeared.

The enormous weight pressed down instantly, and Lin Mo's knees buckled, almost causing him to kneel on the ground.

He gritted his teeth, desperately supporting his thighs, the veins on his neck bulging, and sweat instantly pouring down his face.

"Now."

Long Fei pointed to the obstacle course, a cold smile playing on his lips:

"Wear this and run the 400-meter obstacle course for me."

"Get moving! Stop trembling!"

"Snapped!"

The rubber baton slammed into Lin Mo's buttocks.

Lin Mo roared and dragged his heavy mechanical legs, moving step by step toward the mud pit.

……

In the days that followed, Lin Mo spent his time either training or studying.

During the day, he was trained to the point of exhaustion by Long Fei.

It's common for mud to get into your mouth, and you can't wipe away sweat that gets into your eyes; you can only let it sting your eyeballs.

He learned how to use the inertia of his exoskeleton to scale a two-meter-high wall while carrying an 80-kilogram load. He also learned how to use the locking function of his mechanical joints to turn himself into a stationary turret after the power was cut off.

None of the special forces members treated him like an outsider, much less like a young master.

When he was so tired that he had cramps, Li Na would scold him for his incorrect posture while ruthlessly massaging his muscles.

During breaks, Wang Hao would hand him a bunch of colorful data charts and tell him how to interpret the thermal images transmitted back by the drone.

In the evening, it was time for mental torture.

The tactical training room at the base was brightly lit.

Lin Mo's fingers were wrapped in tape, and blood was seeping from them.

On the table sat a disassembled Type 89 heavy machine gun, the table covered in oil stains and parts.

"This step was a mistake."

Zhang Yi sat opposite him, holding a stopwatch, his face expressionless.

"The recoil spring is installed backwards. If this were actual combat, your gun would have exploded by now."

Lin Mo didn't say anything, but silently disassembled the parts and reassembled them.

His hands were shaking from overtraining during the day.

But his eyes were bright as he stared at the metal parts, repeatedly replaying the structural diagrams taught by Zhang Yi in his mind.

"Click".

With a final, crisp click, the bolt returned to its original position.

Lin Mo pulled back the bolt, producing a crisp clanging sound.

"Forty-five seconds."

Zhang Yi glanced at the stopwatch, nodded, and pushed a cup of strong tea in front of Lin Mo:

"You passed. Take a five-minute break, then switch to blind disassembly."

Lin Mo picked up the teacup and gulped it down in one go. The hot tea flowed down his throat and into his stomach, bringing a sense of warmth.

He glanced at the clock on the wall.

Two o'clock in the morning.

These days will continue for a long time.

But he didn't feel bitter.

Every time he closed his eyes, the image of that swamp and those eyes hidden in the shadows would appear in his mind, and his hands would move a fraction faster.

……

Meanwhile, at the other end of the base.

The lights were also on in the integrated laboratory for biology and materials.

There was a faint smell of herbs mixed with ozone in the air.

Sun Dehai was wearing a white coat, his hair was a mess like a bird's nest, and his eyes were even more bloodshot than Lin Mo's.

He was hunched over a high-powered electron microscope, holding a notebook in his hand, muttering to himself.

"No...nothing's right..."

Sun Dehai suddenly straightened up and slammed the pen in his hand onto the table.

"The cell walls of this green moss are too thick; extracts from Earth simply can't break them down!"

He turned around and looked at the several researchers behind him who also had dark circles under their eyes:

"Change the solvent! Try that acidic swamp water we brought back last time!"

"But professor, there are less than two hundred milliliters of swamp water left in the sample."

A young researcher cautiously offered this reminder:

"If it fails..."

"There are no 'ifs'!"

Sun Dehai stared wide-eyed, looking even more frightening than Long Fei:

"This stuff can inhibit the spread of cancer cells. Even if there's only a sliver of hope, we have to try!"

"If they run out, let those soldiers get more! Our task now is to extract the active ingredients!"

"yes!"

The researcher didn't dare say anything more and ran away with the test tubes.

In another corner of the laboratory, several servers were running at high speed, and the cooling fans were making a loud noise.

On the screen, the data stream moved rapidly.

Those are language samples brought back from Fern Wall Village, which are being rearranged and combined by AI millions of times.

"professor."

The team leader in charge of the language project walked over, holding a report in his hand, his voice a little hoarse:

"The third logical restructuring is complete. The accuracy of the vocabulary model regarding transactions and adversarial relations has improved to 92%."

Sun Dehai took the report, glanced at it quickly, but his brows did not relax.

"Too slow."

He slammed the report on the table, his fingers tapping on the red number:

"There's still an 8% margin of error. On the battlefield, that 8% error could lead to misjudgment and death."

"We need more computing power and more manpower!"

Sun Dehai looked out at the darkness of the night, his gaze seemingly trying to penetrate the walls and reach towards Kyoto.

"This number of people is not enough... far from enough."

He muttered to himself, vigorously wiping his palm on his white coat:

"I have to find Zhao Zhenguo. Even if I have to throw a tantrum at the higher-ups, I'll get all the best minds in the country here."