How beautiful it would be to have a Coke at this moment, as time ticks away, the gradually retreating figures disappearing off the horizon...

The thirst and dryness made the two forget their fatigue and the passage of time, leaving them with nothing but the 10-second memory brought by their breaths and the touch of their skin. The pair seemed to be completely forgotten by their group, left alone on the desolate Mars. The ensuing loneliness and desolation were as unbearable as hell.

Perhaps out of sheer boredom, the chubby one began to search for a topic, "Bro, you're not a fool, are you? Why did you drag me into this? The only result of this is that you get yourself in trouble too."

"Heh, I didn't want to either, but do you know the tradition that God's Thorn always adheres to? We never abandon our comrades in the trench. If I lose the essence of being a soldier, I wouldn't be fit to stay in this group anymore."

The comrade half-joked, then began to tell Chubby Tiger his own story...

His childhood dream was to become a warrior of God's Thorn, fighting on the frontlines. After hard work, he ultimately became a top-quality federal soldier. But after getting accustomed to handling weapons, he gradually developed a different idea - it didn't really matter whether or not he remained a soldier.

Until one day, after being honored with the second-class merit in a military competition, he received a call from the upper ranks that would change his life.

On a foggy morning, he, being extraordinarily skilled, was selected into the elite list of God's Thorn Corps. When he wore the special military uniform and became the center of public discourse on the street, when his family was exultant to his becoming a warrior of God's Thorn, when the military gave him their only precious nomination opportunity, he realized what the uniform he wore signified.

He was a soldier of God's Thorn, carrying the long-standing desire. Wasn't joining the military for this very reason? Five years later, he found that his youthful ideals had not faded away, they were just buried in the corner of his heart.

The present him was no longer young, he had dedicated his youth entirely to the military, but he had no regrets, and the principle he adhered to had never changed.

Because…

"Hey, stop talking, you don't look so good."

Because he had made a promise to her that he would return to his hometown in the spring decked out in his God's Thorn elite uniform, and greet his beautiful bride in the most extravagant way. Before that, he wouldn't compromise his principles, and he wouldn't forget the mission of being a soldier.

A gust of wind sand blurred his vision. In the end, his dry mouth and tongue could no longer allow him to speak coherently. With a loud thud, the dust raised by the ground painted the body of the fallen soldier into a dusty white.

"Brother, wake up, don't play dead, don't scare me. I didn't have as much ambition as you. I was forced by my family to join the army. I'm afraid of troubles, I'm..." As Zhang Xiaobo spoke, tears suddenly came, rolling down his cheeks. He felt a great sense of grievance. Who had he offended? What rotten luck to have had a hot potato forced upon him after such a tiring day.

But, it wasn't like he could just leave him here.

Chubby's eyes turned red as he grabbed the automatic rifle hung on his comrade's body and swung the rifle onto his back. "Damn, I swear this is the last time, absolutely the last time. Whoever drags me into this again, I'll kick his ass." Somehow he found the strength to lift his comrade onto his shoulder. He was almost out of breath and crying, but he did not stop. He strode forward towards the finish line like a runaway horse…

Don't underestimate him because of his size; Chubby wasn't slow at all when he started running. The advantage of having fat was particularly apparent in long-distance running. Poor Chubby cried and ran at the same time. His focus was on saving people. He had already built up an impressive physique with his training at the military base. The harsh environment didn't hinder his speed too much. He wasn't fast, but he was stable. Not too long afterwards, he saw the finish line.

By this time, there were already many soldiers gathered at the finish line. No one had expected Chubby, infamous for his laziness, to carry the Sergeant Major on his back and cry his way back, repeatedly pleading for help.

Feng Yi, of course, did not help, firstly because this was a special training and, most importantly, each soldier was equipped with a life signal sensor. Any accident would appear on Feng Yi's watch at any time.

Unfortunately, he was the last to return. Feng Yi gave a 13-character evaluation, 'His endurance is okay, but his speed needs to improve.'

The soldiers in the return transporter looked extremely uneasy. The slightly slower hundred or so soldiers were extremely nervous, and nobody was sure whether they were selected.

The light screen suddenly popped up with a stern face. The picture was connected to the Special Intelligence System of the Capital Military Region: "Look at you, you all look so lackluster. You don't look like soldiers of God's Thorn at all."

Hearing General Greedy Wolf's voice, training assistant Kula was the first to express his dissatisfaction. He reported the whole process of Feng Yi's training to the upper ranks through a separate channel. However, the effort was pretty much fruitless, and the Greedy Wolf did not dwell on it.

When it came to roll call and summarizing, Feng Yi simply glanced at the ranks and announced loudly, "This special training test is successfully concluded. Dismissed."

Oddly, the last hundred soldiers were not singled out. Even Kula was confused. This fellow had been claiming that a hundred people would be ruthlessly eliminated. So why hadn't he mentioned a single word about it?

"Report." A female soldier, clearly dissatisfied, had something to say - and she wasn't the only one.

Feng Yi, who was about to walk away, gestured her to step out and speak.

"Instructor, you once threatened to eliminate a hundred elite soldiers. Although I don't wish for any comrade to be eliminated, you made a serious pledge. Do you even remember what you said? What does it mean when you say the test was successfully concluded? We all want a final answer."

"The answer? Oh... Everyone passed."

"Ah, w-h-y?" The female soldier obviously did not expect such an answer. Even Kula was slightly taken aback.

Feng Yi casually put his book away. Just before he turned around, his gloomy side profile turned into a warm smile. "Though lacking in execution abilities may not make one a qualified soldier, in my eyes, those who abandon their comrades are not worthy to be called soldiers. So, congratulations to all of you for passing my test."

The once noisy lineup was now silent. Everyone was shocked by Feng Yi's answer. Now they realized that they had been completely fooled. The instructor certainly set significant meanings in apparent trivialities.

The woman soldier asked again: "What if we didn't choose to work as a team?"

"Babe, you've just asked me a really tough question, well... at least I wouldn't have let a grain of sand stay in my team." Even though Feng Yi was smiling, his words still made everyone gasp. However, the instructor's concealed, black-hearted demeanor did look a bit cute.

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