Chapter 402: Long-lost warmth

Upon hearing the two instructors suffer a setback, Tu Hongwei's anger immediately dissipated by half.

This meant that they, the participants in the selection, had finally won back a point.

Finally, amid the days of constant scolding, hardship, and criticism, they had regained a bit of human dignity.

"It seems someone in the team is hiding their strength?"

"Don't you think it's a coincidence? The ones who sneaked in yesterday just landed on the island, and this happened—clearly a protest against unfairness!"

"Where there is oppression, there is resistance; if I knew who did it, I'd thank them properly—even if I gave them my day's rations. Really, they let us vent our anger!"

Tu Hongwei's words made Jiang Dahai suddenly think of something; he turned back and glanced at those behind him.

Lu Yang happened to catch up from behind; seeing that guy looking at him, he returned a hearty smile.

Jiang Hai forced a perfunctory nod, then asked his two companions: "Do you think that was done by Number Twelve? This kid is that hidden expert, deliberately playing the pig to eat the tiger?"

Tu Hongwei rolled his eyes: "If he had that kind of guts and ability, I'd go eat shit right now!"

Xu Ce laughed and cried: "We've been starving for days, eating tree bark and wild fruit, can't even defecate—where would we find shit for you to eat? If you're hungry, just say so; don't make up excuses."

"Get lost..."

"Did I tell you to run with your mouths?"

Lao Mao's voice blasted from behind, untimely: "Third squad, sprint forward at full speed—get moving!"

Under Lao Mao's urging, Tu Hongwei and the others could only break formation, gritting their teeth as they strained to carry the logs forward.

Lao Mao turned his head, looking at the panting, lagging Lu Yang behind: "Number Twelve, can you keep up? If not, just quit—don't torture yourself."

"I can!"

Lu Yang shouted his response to show his determination.

Lao Mao, however, wouldn't let up, trailing beside him: "Kid, this isn't the place for you—you'd be better off at the Sea Training Base, swimming and paddling; three meals a day, weekend banquets, life would be so easy."

"Your abilities could make you a leader there, but here you're just a mouse's tail!"

Lu Yang: "Report, I will go back, but not now."

Lao Mao: "You just love suffering, don't you? You love being abused? You can't even keep up the pace at the start, and in the coming days you'll only feel worse."

Lu Yang: "Report, I like challenging difficulties; I can endure them."

Watching him pant as he lugged the timber forward, Lao Mao asked from behind:

"Kid, is instant noodles tasty?"

He had wanted to test him, but Lu Yang showed no reaction at all.

Lao Mao frowned dubiously, eyes showing thought: "Could it be that I really guessed wrong?"

He turned his head, looking upward; Bai Yuan stood up and walked toward the finish line, preparing to wait for the squad to arrive and then start the next training subject.

The next training subject is wading, which actually just means swimming.

It generally refers to swimming in rivers, lakes, and seas, and also carries the meaning of overcoming difficulties.

So-called armed wading means swimming across rivers, lakes, etc. while fully equipped.

But the island has huge waves and surge, even more turbulent than elsewhere, so the difficulty coefficient of wading is much greater than in calm coastal areas.

In other words, if one can complete wading training here, swimming in near-shore waters poses no problem.

Conversely, someone who can swim in near-shore waters may not necessarily be able to swim here.

Originally, everyone was waiting to see Lu Yang, this "land duck," make a fool of himself—even Bai Yuan and Lao Mao were no exception.

Unexpectedly, Lu Yang's water skills are not bad; he can not only exchange breath but also hold his breath and snorkel, which surprised Bai Yuan quite a bit.

Although Lu Yang's swimming ability is still far from that of these genuine naval elites, he isn't anxious at all, because the system will help him quickly close the gap and even surpass them.

At noon, the sun hung high overhead, scorching people until their heads felt dizzy and their eyes swollen.

Having just come ashore from the water, Lu Yang was soaked and sticky, his clothes clinging to him, making him very uncomfortable.

Bai Yuan gathered the squad before him: "Let me say two things simply—the morning training of squads one, two, and three was pretty poor, whereas the fourth squad's performance satisfied me quite a bit; at least, by the Marine Corps' regular standards, I think the performance was not bad."

On the island there were originally three squads; with Lu Yang's arrival, doesn't that make a fourth squad?

Seeming praise, but in fact it still serves to draw hatred toward him.

As for that, Lu Yang chose to ignore it.

"Alright, that's enough talk—let's eat."

Bai Yuan dismissed the squad, and everyone scattered off in small groups.

Seeing Lu Yang standing alone in place, not knowing where to go.

Bai Yuan gave him a heads-up: "The lunch break is only an hour and a half; if you don't promptly replenish fresh water and food sources, you'll quickly run out of stamina for the afternoon training."

"Of course, if you can't hold out, you can choose to withdraw voluntarily."

"Resources on the island are limited; lose one person, and the others get a larger share."

"Everyone would be glad to see you leave, including me. Don't misunderstand—I'm not targeting you; I'm treating everyone equally."

"Yes."

Lu Yang plunged into the woods, starting to look for food.

To be honest, he's not skilled at wilderness survival.

As for desert island survival, his only impression still comes from watching the "Wild Survival" show in his previous life.

The part that impressed him most was Bear Grylls' line: "Tastes like chicken, crunchy, with six times the protein of beef."

Soon, Lu Yang successfully found a patch of wild banana trees, recalling that they contain moisture and can quench thirst.

In the wild, one can survive seven days without food, but only three days without fresh water.

Therefore, ensuring sufficient fresh water intake is crucial.

But just then, a few veterans emerged from behind and blocked his path.

"Halt!"

"What's wrong?"

"This patch of wild banana trees is ours; if you want water, go find it elsewhere!"

Lu Yang then noticed that the banana trees already had cuts, obviously someone had tapped them for water.

"With so many banana trees, can I have just one? Later I'll catch fish and crabs and return them to you."

"No way!"

"Is there no room for negotiation at all?"

"Negotiate? Did you even consult us before showing up here?"

The lead soldier glared at him: "We each got here after layers of selection; what gives you the right to just say hello and show up? Resources on the island are limited—your presence will severely squeeze our living space!"

"Here you're just a burden; no one will accept or help you. I advise you to quit early, lest you bring trouble upon yourself."

Lu Yang curled his lip, too lazy to explain anything.

He turned and left, continuing to search for other water sources and food.

He couldn't believe that on such a large island, there wasn't a scrap of food or water to be found.

But after wandering around in vain and being turned away repeatedly, he only then realized how dire his situation was.

The island isn't lacking food or water; but the various groups have already staked out their territories and claimed them as their own.

The three groups maintain a cooperative-competitive relationship: they compete during training, but in daily life and privately they help each other out.

But Lu Yang's arrival shattered the existing balance, squeezing their living space; moreover, Bai Yuan kept stressing that he'd entered through backdoor connections, which prompted everyone to ostracize him and pressure him to quit voluntarily.

Under normal circumstances, if he couldn't get help from others to obtain enough water and food, he would collapse and quit within at most three days.

Anyone else would probably have given up by now, but the worse the situation, the more it stirs Lu Yang's competitive spirit.

The harder it gets, the more he feels that coming here wasn't for nothing!

"Hey, wait a minute!"

Lu Yang once again came up empty-handed before a few bushes bearing wild berries.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, a voice called out to him.

Xu Ce stepped forward and shoved a handful of purplish-red berries into his hand.

"We've been eating these berries for days; they're a bit sour, but high in vitamin C."

"Our food supplies aren't plentiful either; this is all I can spare. If you want to stay, you'll have to learn to find your own food and water."

Lu Yang looked at the handful of berries in his hand, then at the young major before him—cheeks hollowed yet still bearing an air of refined composure.

On this isolated, sea‑encircled, desolate island, he felt a faint warmth he hadn't felt in a long time.