Chapter 3: New Recruit Training

The shrill ring of Wang Qing’s phone cut through the air; it was Lu Yun from the police station. He instructed Wang Qing to put the call on speaker, ensuring each of us was present in the dorm. Clearly, he had looked into our backgrounds. As soon as the speaker was on, we all heard Lu Yun’s solemn voice: “For certain reasons, the national public security authorities have decided to assign the four of you to form a team to assist our police department in investigating cases.” His statement was neither too long nor too short, but I could clearly see the delight on Feng Danyan and Zhou Jie’s faces. Without a doubt, their expressions gave away their excitement.

Lu Yun continued, “Please come to the scenic area immediately to begin your new recruit training.” With these words, excitement swept through the room—at least for everyone except Wang Qing and me. Feng Danyan, in particular, was almost manic with enthusiasm; it was a bit much, but she made no attempt to hide it.

Just then, I received a WeChat message on my phone—it was from Lu Yun: “Sorry, Jiu. I used such a stern tone so your roommates could adapt; I apologize.” I didn’t think much of it and simply replied with a “No worries” emoji, then followed my three roommates out the door.

Laughter filled the air as we walked together, the bond between us obviously growing stronger. Together, we entered the police station and made our way to the training ground out back, where our instructor was, unsurprisingly, Lu Yun.

He told us to set aside our bags and put on our training uniforms. The three of them obeyed without complaint. By the time all four of us had lined up on the field, half an hour had passed. Lu Yun said, “Let’s warm up. Do fifty pull-ups.” “No way!” Feng Danyan’s enthusiasm vanished instantly. Born into a noble family and pampered all her life, she was hardly accustomed to exercises requiring such core and upper body strength. Meanwhile, Wang Qing and Zhou Jie had each casually knocked out more than twenty pull-ups already.

This only reinforced my suspicions: it seemed highly likely that the two of them really were the world’s second-best assassin and hacker, respectively.

Despite Lu Yun’s prodding, Feng Danyan could barely manage to grip the bar, struggling with all her might but unable to complete even half a pull-up. Her face turned crimson with the effort. Lu Yun rolled his eyes at her and told her to stop, then informed her that she’d be assigned more physical training according to his plan. Danyan’s heart sank; hearing she’d have to do even more, she tried to protest, but Lu Yun refused her outright.

Next, Lu Yun began to teach us survival skills for the wild. He brought out four mice and tossed each of us a knife, instructing us to skin and eat them raw. Feng Danyan recoiled in horror, eyes wide and body tense as she backed away. But Zhou Jie, without hesitation, grabbed a mouse, cut it open, took a piece of tender flesh, and popped it into her mouth.

The other two stared at her in shock, but Wang Qing managed to steady herself, shakily picking up her knife and cutting into the mouse, tasting a small morsel.

I remained silent, making no move toward the mouse, which left the other three puzzled.

Finally, after a fierce internal struggle, Feng Danyan squeezed her eyes shut, let out a shout, and stabbed the mouse. She kept her eyes closed almost the entire time as she extracted the meat. Even the usually stern Lu Yun pointed at her and laughed. In the end, the three of them completed the task, and as soon as Lu Yun called out, “Alright!” they rushed off to the cafeteria in unison.

I headed to the restroom. As I stepped out, Lu Yun suddenly dropped to his knees before me and said, “I’m sorry, sir! I was disrespectful.” I waved him off. “It’s nothing. Go eat.” My tone was cold, but Lu Yun seemed almost comforted by it, grinning broadly as he hurried off to the cafeteria. Despite his position, Lu Yun was not some high-ranking official—just a low-level soldier.

When I entered the cafeteria, the three others were still quietly standing in line. I picked up a tray and walked straight to a side window. The other soldiers glared at me for cutting in line, and the woman serving food was about to tell me off, but as soon as she recognized me, she lowered her head in silence and piled my tray high with meat and rice.

Without a word, I sat down and ate heartily. After this round of training, I could feel my relationship with my three roommates becoming much closer. When they finally made it through the line and sat beside me, ready to eat, they couldn’t help but notice my tray, heaped with meat, while they barely had enough in their own bowls to pick out even two pieces.

At last, the day came to an end. The four of us returned to the dorm, collapsed onto our beds, and quickly drifted into sleep.