Chapter 68 of 100
Chapter 68
10 min read2,611 words
Everyone opened their backpacks and placed them at their feet. The school’s several instructors and Captain Colin inspected the food in each backpack. On the surface, everyone had brought enough for five kilograms, but some had hidden extra supplies. For example, Zhang Tie’s mother had prepared some fried rice in the inner layer of his backpack. As long as it wasn’t excessive, the instructors or teachers generally wouldn’t be too strict. Of course, if someone really brought too much, the excess would be required to be handed over, and the instructors and teachers would then show a stern side, making it truly not worth it.
After countless predecessors’ blood and tears, all the students in the school understood where the unspoken bottom line was—privately carried food should not exceed one kilogram, which is no more than one day’s rations. Anything exceeding this amount would be frowned upon.
The students’ backpacks were quickly inspected. Then, at Captain Colin’s command to “set off,” everyone put their backpacks back on and, in class units, marched out of the school, heading towards the west gate of Black Flame City.
As the students left the school, some of the younger students who had arrived early stood on both sides of the school gate, watching with complex expressions as their seniors, wearing helmets and carrying various weapons, left the school!
For all the children from ordinary families in Black Flame City, this was an inevitable fate, a fate that no one in this era could avoid. The living space for humans was built up year by year by the blood and bones of these young people who left the school.
“Freshmen, work hard! It will be your turn next year and the year after!” Some shouted from the front, but there were few responses. The atmosphere of this departure was indeed somewhat unsettling.
Zhang Tie walked silently in the formation. Compared to when he arrived in the morning, his backpack was heavier, most noticeably by the addition of a large black pot. Everyone in the Airplane Brotherhood had something extra in their backpacks, all brought by the fat guy Bari. His reason for bringing the pot was simple: according to Bari, if they could drink soup, their food choices would increase by one-third, their dry rations would last a quarter longer, and they would recover their strength faster each day. This reason was powerful and convincing, so Zhang Tie, pinching his nose, attached the ridiculous black pot to his backpack.
Carrying a black pot from the start, Zhang Tie felt a sense of foreboding, perhaps due to the superstitious thinking of Easterners. The act of carrying a black pot made him feel that he might encounter some trouble during this survival training. Just before they left, Zhang Tie saw Gries’ lackey Shalon glance at him and smile sinisterly. Gries’ group had been unusually low-profile recently, which made Zhang Tie uneasy.
Actually, they didn’t need to bring a pot; they could use their helmets or the food boxes they carried to make soup, which was what most people chose to do. Zhang Tie had protested, but the fat guy Bari smiled mysteriously and said that once they reached their destination, Zhang Tie would understand the benefits of having a pot.
So, Zhang Tie set off with the black pot, which was very noticeable, even drawing a few extra glances from Captain Colin.
However, compared to Zhang Tie’s black pot, the most eye-catching person in the Airplane Brotherhood was Doug. The large weapon he carried made everyone’s eyes widen. The item in Doug’s hands was a “Iron Gate T21” lightweight compound crossbow. The term “lightweight” was relative; to Zhang Tie, this crossbow had nothing to do with being “light.” It was nearly a meter long and weighed over thirty kilograms without the arrow magazine, and all its key parts were made of special alloys. Carrying it was like carrying a large steel kite, impossible to go unnoticed.
Doug, carrying the “Iron Gate T21,” was in high spirits, not at all bothered by the weight, making Baghdad envious to the point of green eyes.
The “Iron Gate T21” was also brought by the fat guy Bari. Compared to Shao Wen’s misfortune, Bari’s father had spared no expense this time. According to Zhang Tie, the price of a “Iron Gate T21” was at least 15 gold coins, and it was made of special high-performance alloys that even Black Flame City couldn’t produce. Only the Machine City Karul in the Andaman Alliance could manufacture all the “Iron Gate” series of long-range weapons.
Doug carried the “Iron Gate T21,” and the two arrow magazines for the “Iron Gate T21” were carried by Shao Wen and Li Te, each containing 80 standard steel armor-piercing arrows and two arrow magazines, also brought by the fat guy Bari. In addition, Baghdad carried a disassembled steel long spear for the fat guy, and Xista had an extra professional wilderness survival pack. With the heavy black pot on his back, Zhang Tie was speechless about the fat guy Bari’s preparations. Even so, the fat guy Bari still carried a large amount of equipment, no less than anyone else. This time, Zhang Tie had a new understanding of the fat guy’s fear of death.
As the group left the school, Black Flame City was just waking up from the first rays of morning sunlight. The整齐的 footsteps of the group echoed on the streets, causing all passersby to stop and watch curiously. Seeing these young people about to leave the city, some kind-hearted aunts stopped on the street, hands clasped in prayer for them. There were also priests and fathers from the Church of the Radiant God who sprinkled holy water on each passing student.
“Children, may the gods bless you. Use your weapons to give those beasts outside the city a lesson they won’t forget. Spread the glory of humanity to the places far from the city. Those who believe in our Lord will return safely!”
The portly priest shouted hoarsely, and a few drops of holy water were sprinkled on Zhang Tie’s body and face. The Sun Empire worshipped the Radiant God, a theocratic state where the influence of the Radiant God’s church covered every inch of the land. It was said that all officials in the Sun Empire were also clergy, and their power was boundless, but they did not call themselves officials, nor did they allow others to call them officials. Instead, they were called the most devout servants. As Bari put it, they were a bunch of hypocrites who wanted to have their cake and eat it too.
“That priest is clearly overindulged in wine and women, and the young nuns by his side are no longer virgins!” After passing the priest who sprinkled holy water, Xista, the pervert of the Airplane Brotherhood, whispered to Zhang Tie, “I can tell from the features in their eyes and eyebrows that just an hour ago, those two nuns were still having sex. The signs of spring are still on their faces, and they come out to pretend to be holy. Damn, are they trying to take advantage of us being virgins?”
“Can you really tell that?” Zhang Tie was truly amazed.
“Of course. If you, like me, specialize in women, it’s very easy to tell if a woman has just had sex. You can judge from four aspects: sight, taste, smell, and touch. I can even tell with my tongue...” Xista said proudly.
“How can you tell with your tongue?” Zhang Tie asked, not believing it.
“If you kiss them, a woman who has just had sex usually has a cool tongue...” Xista answered confidently.
Hearing this, Zhang Tie immediately felt inferior. Compared to Xista, he was on a completely different level.
...
Zhang Tie’s school group crossed half the city, meeting several other school groups along the way. They all headed towards their respective destinations to begin their survival training. This year, over ten thousand students from Black Flame City were graduating, and they were scattered across a 50 to 80-kilometer radius around the city. These training sites were all carefully examined, and their difficulty levels were similar. Each year, the schools participating in the training randomly drew their training sites. This year, the Seventh Middle School drew the Wild Wolf Valley, which was neither particularly good nor particularly bad. Generally, the closer to Black Flame City, the less dangerous and easier the survival training. The Wild Wolf Valley, 70 kilometers from Black Flame City, was a middle-of-the-road choice.
Zhang Tie’s group also passed through the city center square. As they passed the square, Zhang Tie took one last look at the mailbox and then completely forgot about it. After leaving the square and walking for another twenty minutes, by 8:00 AM, the school group reached the west gate of Black Flame City and left the city without any hindrance.
As they emerged from the nearly 50-meter-long, dimly lit city gate, Zhang Tie really felt like a rat emerging from a hole. Once they left Black Flame City, without even looking up, the distant, majestic Black Flame Mountains unfolded before them, overwhelming and breathtaking. The snow lines on the mountain peaks, which averaged over 10,000 meters in altitude, stretched endlessly. Several large black dots circled in the distant sky, and a vast, desolate atmosphere enveloped them...
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