Chapter 399: Just Isolated by the Group

"What's the specific training content from now on?"

"Three hundred push‑ups, two hundred frog jumps, two hundred sit‑ups, swimming, free‑hand rock climbing, and a lap around the island each morning and evening."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

"It doesn't sound hard, does it?"

"Heh!"

When Jiang Dahai heard Lu Yang say it wasn't hard, he gave him a side eye.

"It's indeed easy right after landing, but after a few days without food or water, when you can't even walk, then you'll see whether it's truly hard or not."

"A normal adult needs about 2,500 kilocalories a day; with high‑intensity physical training and no food or nutrients, in less than two days you'll look like us—skinny as a bag of bones, eating whatever you can catch!"

Lu Yang asked, "So this is a survival training?"

Jiang Dahai snatched the mint candy from his hand, tore open the wrapper as if it were treasure, and licked it twice.

The moment the sugar hit him, the faint glimmer in his weary eyes visibly brightened.

After his condition improved a bit, he finally answered Lu Yang's question.

"You could put it that way, but it's completely different from the Army's field survival you guys do."

"You've seen this island—its area is very limited, and survival resources are scarce."

"Before you arrived, we had seventeen people for a week, and six voluntarily gave up."

Lu Yang understood; the situation was much as he had guessed.

Here, a Navy elite unit is conducting a deserted‑island survival drill.

Unlike the Army's field survival, the area here is even more confined, and the searchable food and water are very limited.

Regrettably, Lu Yang on Iron Foot has never undergone such field survival; that's usually reserved for reconnaissance units, and he's only skimmed the subject in books.

Therefore, the upcoming training is indeed a considerable challenge for him; especially deserted‑island survival, which you can't encounter at the Sea Training Base.

The reason Bai Yuan publicly stressed that he got in through "connections" and "back doors" was to make the eleven soldiers on the island truly resent him, thereby eliminating any chance of assistance.

As for Lao Mao telling him the location of the mountaintop outpost and warning him not to approach.

It also hinted that if he can't hold on, he can leave anytime; this isn't a place he should be.

But Lu Yang is precisely the type who loves swimming against the current and tackling high difficulty; the greater the challenge, the bigger the reward and the faster the progress.

"What you're taking part in—is it a selection for a Navy elite unit, Special Forces, or some kind of frogman?"

"Any candy left?"

"None left."

"Then I can't answer you—one question per candy; I'm being fair."

After licking it a few times, Jiang Dahai, as if it were treasure, slipped the candy into his pocket and flicked his finger at Lu Yang.

"If you can bring any food or drink in the next few days for a trade, I might consider it."

Jiang Dahai gave his rear a slap and left, and Lu Yang, having no extra mint candy, went to buy intel from him.

Compared to that, he prefers the cough‑prone constitution of Wanbao Mountain; he isn't as stingy as this guy.

As for the mint candy, Lu Yang grabbed it off the bar after finishing hot pot; he should have stashed a few more in his pocket.

Under nightfall, Lu Yang stood alone on the beach, watching the tide rush onto the shallow sand and recede, and for a moment he didn't know what to do first.

The so‑called "natives" on the island will never accept him, so Lu Yang must figure out food, shelter, and transport on his own.

People consider food as heaven; even though he isn't hungry now, he still needs to secure something to eat to ensure he won't starve later.

Lu Yang rubbed his chin, thinking seriously: "In total darkness, where can I get food?"

Suddenly, his gaze fixed on the island's peak, where an abandoned lighthouse rose like a chimney.

Jiang Dahai huffed and trudged back to the shelter's location.

The so‑called shelter was merely a triangular canopy hastily built on a clearing with a few banana leaves.

Its underside formed a suspended frame, with the sleeping board about fifteen centimeters above ground, covered with a layer of dead leaves, enough for three people to lie side‑by‑side.

At that moment, two scruffy fellows were reinforcing the shelter with scavenged banana leaves and branches.

The sea climate changes quickly—rain falls as soon as it's announced; if a storm like the one two days ago hits, they'll have to rebuild the shelter again.

"What just happened?"

When Jiang Dahai returned, the junior officer with a scholarly air and modest tone asked.

Jiang Dahai smiled, "Nothing, just looking to chat with that kid?"

"Bored!"

Another thin‑lipped, dark‑skinned captain sneered.

"Jiang Dahai, you seem so bored you're hurting yourself, bored with nothing to do!"

"If you have the time, helping find food, fresh water, and reinforcing the shelter is all good!"

"I'm already here, and we're just chatting, what else..."

Jiang Dahai muttered a low‑voiced rebuttal, and junior officer Xu Ce added a couple of supportive remarks.

"Number 10, stay calm, stay calm—we're teammates, say a little less."

"I have a name; I'm Tu Hongwei, not Patrick Star Number 10!"

"......"

Seeing him act like a gun‑eater, the atmosphere instantly stiffened.

Xu Ce and Jiang Dahai stared at each other, neither speaking, neither picking up the thread.

Tu Hongwei's temper flared; he hurled the banana leaf he held onto the ground, his face full of displeasure as he demanded.

"On what grounds, you say, on what grounds?"

"What?"

Jiang Dahai interjected a sentence.

Tu Hongwei, resentful, pointed at the shallow beach where Lu Yang had landed earlier: "On what basis did we endure so much hardship, go through round after round of selection, and stand out from over a hundred navy elites to come to this broken island!"

"As a result, that kid doesn't have to do anything; just because he has connections and a background, he can skip all the preliminaries and end up here just like us!"

"I originally thought this place was absolutely fair, with no hidden agendas; now I just feel disgusted, I just want to vomit!"

Xu Ce comforted: "Maybe things aren't as we think? Maybe he also has some unique qualities, who knows?"

Tu Hongwei still indignant: "I feel it's not worth it, not just for myself but also for those brothers who were eliminated all along the way! Today I've seen what privilege is, what it means to be above the rules!"

Jiang Dahai chimed in: "I chatted with him a bit; he's pretty open-minded, his speech has a touch of humor, somewhat like Xu Ce? No, maybe he's some general's son, a military brat?"

"Again?"

Xu Ce frowned, turned his head and stared at him: "What do you mean by 'again'? I graduated from the military academy with a master's, came out as a lieutenant, the whole process relied solely on my own effort, with no one to rely on; please don't make veiled remarks!"

Jiang Dahai laughed: "Just joking, just joking; even if you're a military brat, we can accept it, after all your skill is real, this can't be faked."

Xu Ce rolled his eyes, ignored him.

Tu Hongwei grabbed a banana leaf on the ground, full of complaints: "I truly regret coming to this damned place. I gave up a perfectly good deputy company commander position just to take part in this lousy selection, suffering here!"

"If, I mean if, if I were given another chance, I definitely wouldn't submit that application, definitely wouldn't get on that vehicle!"

"Your 'if' doesn't hold, because you're already here." Xu Ce smiled slightly.

"Then let's talk about a valid 'if' that hasn't happened!" Tu Hongwei clenched his fists: "If HaidaiShierhao next doesn't have eyes, runs over to deliberately provoke, brings me bad luck, I'll definitely give him a taste of his own medicine!"

"Let him know why the sea is so blue, why the flowers are so red!"

"Actually...... I think it's unnecessary."

Xu Ce shook his head, advising him not to be so irritable, not so extreme: "Today Lao Mao and Bai Yuan's attitudes have made it clear: they want us all to isolate him, give him no help at all."

"Someone who just transferred from the army is completely unfamiliar with navy training; maybe he can't even swim."

"Under such extreme circumstances, within two or three days he will voluntarily give up, choose to quit."