The sun hung high in the sky like a furnace, its intense heat causing discomfort to the multitude of soldiers. Only three hours had passed, yet nearly half of the robust members of God's Thorn were exhibiting mild signs of Mars reaction, even strong-bodied individuals like Elvis were drenched in sweat. He thought he was getting close to his limit and wondered if the elite God's Thorn soldiers were some kind of monsters.

During this period, some people were sent to the medical vehicle, some people had been sent there numerous times already, busying the medical staff to the point of exasperation...

Among the soldiers, some were dehydrated, and some were fainting, but none were giving up. No matter their physical state, their first reaction upon regaining consciousness was to rush back and continue the special training. This unwavering tradition of resilience is what God's Thorn always upheld.

Even though there were female soldiers among them, their tenacity was no less than that of the male soldiers. As the ace division, they all held a strong sense of honor. Moreover, half the women came from military families, which was a source of pride for a soldier.

Before they realized it, they had reached the first stage of their mission, Olympus Mons was within their sight. The next task was to cross the intervening distance and reach Olympus Mons, which was Feng Yi's final destination. What was different this time was that the marching troops would split into numerous pre-designated groups.

As the saying goes, competition brings improvement. In any case and under any circumstances besides, this thousand-man troop would be divided into several small groups with the path to complete the march quickly set beforehand by the team leader. Of course, they could arrange their teams themselves.

Because the crowd had varied capabilities, there was no reward for reaching the destination first. However, the last 100 people to arrive would lose their special training spots. Here, everyone was treated equally, whether you were a general or a soldier. Each person started from the same point, but the choices differed. No matter how strong your abilities were, if your team had any leg-draggers, you could also face the risk of being collectively eliminated. This was known as death elimination. It may seem somewhat unreasonable, but here, Feng Yi was the rule. The time for rest was only ten minutes.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaobo almost fainted. This was clearly a life-threatening rhythm.

Kura's usually bleak expression grew uglier. The moment Feng Yi finished speaking, her pretty face turned cold with hints of anger flashing across it. As his assistant, she was only supposed to assist Feng Yi in his work, and some details of special training were not even disclosed to her, "Instructor Feng, isn't this a bit too extreme?"

"Is it? I don't think so."

"You don't think so?" Kura was so angry that she laughed instead. Her role as an assistant was to assist in special training and offer personal opinions, not assist a half-baked individual in leading God's Thorn soldiers astray. "The environment on Mars is incredibly cruel – everyone clearly sees what state the soldiers are in. Do you believe that your 'I don't think so' is going to be enough?"

"What should I do according to Assistant Kura?"

"Soldiers aren't machines. It's clear to everyone that there should be a balance between work and rest. Surely, you understand this principle, right? Pushing the soldiers to their limits like this is akin to pushing them into a dead end."

"Are you also going to ask the enemy to rest on the battlefield?"

"Mars is not a battlefield, don't use that kind of talk with me."

Feng Yi shook his head. God's Thorn's uniqueness meant that any place could potentially be their battlefield. Training wouldn't kill people, at least not many. But the failure of a military campaign often meant the annihilation of the whole army. In the race against time, one decision could be crucial. Feng Yi didn't bother to explain much, "Your suggestion is invalid. Your kindness might be appreciated, but it could also harm them. If you're not satisfied with my decision, you can lodge a complaint. If you think you can handle the job better, you're welcome to take over."

Feng Yi's words effectively silenced all of Kura's arguments. She stomped her foot in anger and walked into the armored vehicle. No mater what, she could not possibly agree with Feng Yi's approach.

Xia Xinru opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. People tend to be irritable when they are upset. Knowing when to step forward and when to retreat, she chose to remain silent.

It wasn't a good start for Feng Yi today but he never doubted his decisions.

The soldiers were already staggering around in exhaustion, but the ten-minute break quickly finished. Once they received the order, God's Thorn soldiers would carry it out unconditionally. On the contrary, they only had one objective: to reach Olympus Mons. This demonstrated God's Thorn's execution capabilities.

To complete the mission, as soon as the command was given, eight teams instantly started rushing towards the target location from eight different directions. They each had stopwatch and positioning devices on them, to prevent any accidents from happening.

Although it was just a few dozen kilometers to cover, the harsh environmental factors were an overwhelming challenge. However, given the progressively increasing Martian temperature that would soon push human endurance to its limit, anyone might face the embarrassment of elimination soon. Their only food was a dead rat, skin and all.

Half an hour later, even though there were medical vehicles following them, some people were already showing moderate signs of Mars reaction. Despite this, the moment they opened their eyes, the members of God's Thorn would still choose to race towards their destination and not lie comfortably in the ambulance.

The fat guy was the first to quit. "Damn it, we still haven't reached the end?" He sat down on the ground, unable to continue running. Although he could carry on with the training, he was having a hard time handling the torment.

"Brother, let's go."

"Go on without me. I can't move and I don't want to."

To his surprise, his buddy wouldn't take no for an answer. "We eat together, and our futures lie in the same trench. We're a collective."

Ah? Same trench? Before he could finish speaking, someone pulled up the fat guy from the ground. He raised his head to see that out of the hundred people troop, it was just the two of them left. It was his squadmate who wouldn't leave him alone. In the end, the fat guy gave in and started to crawl. "Don't be silly. I will only slow you down. You go on, I will hold up here."

"What are you talking about? The first rule of God's Thorn is to never abandon a comrade. If we met, it's fate." Even though they weren't familiar, being in the same squad made them brothers in the same trench. There was no reason not to help each other.

"Bro, I'm not asking for your help. You're just making it harder for yourself."

The other guy didn't say anything else, he just increased his pace. The fat guy felt lighter, but the heat still made him feel incredibly uncomfortable. The distorted air rising from the surface challenged their endurance limits. The hot air they inhaled filled them up, they could even smell their own sweat.

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