Chapter 9

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Ron nodded and waved his hand forward, and the boys started running. Those who occasionally ran slowly would receive a lash from the instructor. This long run continued until six in the morning when the first light of dawn appeared, and Ron announced the end. Then came breakfast, which was quite abundant, with each person receiving enough food to fill their stomachs. Not only was it sufficient, but it was also well-balanced, including some drugs that could stimulate human growth, so some of the food tasted strange.

Many of the boys wolfed down their food, and Allen was equally ravenous. He had good stamina, otherwise, how could he have survived in the harsh wilderness for five years. But Ron's long run almost drained all his energy. The lieutenant indeed treated him "differently." Whenever Allen took the lead and then slowed down to conserve his strength, the sneering lieutenant would personally lash him, forcing him to run at full speed.

In this way, Allen led the group of boys by three full laps!

Now even his fingers trembled as he picked up the bread. Allen took a deep breath and suppressed his hunger, forcing himself to eat the food bit by bit. He did not eat hurriedly. Some of the boys who ate too quickly were already rolling on the ground, clutching their stomachs. Ron had the instructors carry them away and walked among the boys, saying, "Remember, when you have expended a lot of energy, avoid eating large amounts of food quickly. It could be fatal, especially if you have been hungry for two or three days in the wild. At first, you should only drink water and strictly control the amount!"

Hearing the lieutenant say this, the boys realized that eating was also a science.

"After eating, you have 15 minutes of rest, followed by strength training!"

Ron's words made the boys' faces turn bitter.

The next two months passed in physical, strength, and various other training sessions. The instructors would also attack the boys at random times and places, sometimes with whips, sometimes with soft sticks, sometimes with daggers, and even with bare-handed combat. The attacks never happened at night to ensure the boys had enough sleep.

Otherwise, it would not be training but torture.

The two months passed quickly, and Allen gradually adapted to this life. Some of the techniques taught by Ron were very similar to what he had learned from the Snow Wolf. However, there were also many things the Snow Wolf could not teach him. After all, humans have a complete knowledge inheritance, while the Snow Wolf relies more on its own experience. The gap between the two is as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.

On the first day of the third month, after breakfast, Ron unexpectedly did not have the boys do strength training but gathered them on the square. After two months of training, six more boys were eliminated, leaving 29.

Staring at the remaining boys, Ron smiled his trademark smile, "Your performance has truly surprised me. I thought at least half of you would be eliminated after two months, but there are still so many left. Congratulations, kids, because next, you will have the opportunity to touch the true power of this world!"

"Listen, if you were in Babylon's war academies, those verbose academicians would probably start explaining from the principles. But this is a training camp, and in a few months, one of you lucky ones will have to participate in the survival game. So I don't have much time to explain. You just need to know that the true power of the world, and even the entire universe, is called Origin Power!"

"As for what Origin Power is, I will give you a direct impression." Lieutenant Ron looked up at the sky, "But before that, I need to tell you that Origin Power is divided into two major categories: Cosmic Origin Power and Life Origin Power. For more detailed explanations, the instructors will give you a manual to read during your free time. Cosmic Origin Power is not something you kids can even touch, let alone the top-tier strong ones today. It is not a power that can be mastered through effort; it requires talent. What I need you to touch and master is Life Origin Power!"

Allen's body trembled slightly. He began to understand what the glow he saw on Bai Fang and others like Ron was. If there was no mistake, it should be the Life Origin Power the lieutenant mentioned.

The thoughtful look on the boy's face caught Ron's attention, and the lieutenant smiled slightly, continuing, "What is life? The most superficial explanation is the result of male and female mating. But is it really that simple? No, competition exists everywhere in the universe. The birth of every life requires going through fierce competition. When your father releases the essence of life into your mother's body, you only have a one in several million, or even a one in a hundred million, chance of being born!"

"Among millions of sperm, only the strongest and fastest one can get the opportunity to combine with the egg, thus starting the journey of life. From another perspective, those of you who were lucky enough to be born actually carry the best parts of your parents' genes." Lieutenant Ron paused here to give the boys time to digest, then continued, "Life Origin Power is about triggering the potential energy hidden in your genes. Extracting, absorbing, and strengthening it, thus distinguishing you from ordinary people. Those who master Origin Power will have the opportunity to obtain wealth and power that ordinary people can never achieve in their lifetime. Origin Power is strength, and with strength, the universe is your paradise! Without strength, you are just pigs and sheep to be slaughtered!"

The lieutenant's voice, like the first meeting, boomed like thunder, forcefully cramming each word into the boys' heads.

"Then let me show you, kids, what Origin Power can do for a person..." Ron raised his right hand, which was as thick as a woman's thigh, with bulging muscles and veins like worms. At this moment, streams of light like fireflies appeared on his arm. They were very faint but could be seen by the naked eye, and many of the boys let out light exclamations.

These streams of light swept across the lieutenant's arm, forming patterns like electronic circuits. Finally, they converged on the back of his hand, forming a pattern like a blade of light.

Ron shook the pattern on the back of his hand, "Listen, triggering the potential of your genes is just the first step. In the entire Origin Power system, we call it the Spark. Igniting the Spark of Origin Power is just getting a pass to this vast world. Igniting the Spark and forming an Origin Power vortex, at this stage, such people are called Origin Power Users."

"But don't think that's all that great. Origin Power Users are just the bottom of the hierarchy. In real wars, they are just cannon fodder. To be truly useful, you need to form nine Origin Power vortices and then condense the first genetic circuit, like me. This will be the most important moment of your life. The formation of the genetic circuit will result in something like what I have on the back of my hand. We call it a Mark."

"The Mark is your talent, and what kind of Mark you form depends on your genetic potential. When you form a Mark, you will unlock your first ability. Then, you need to train your Origin Power, continuously increasing its strength, forming more genetic circuits to fill your Mark, thus unlocking more and stronger abilities. This cycle will help you gradually climb to the top of the Origin Power system pyramid." Ron waved his hand and added, "Each Mark is unique, just like each of you is unique. The Mark on my hand is called Steel Blade, and its first ability makes my arm as hard as steel and as sharp as a blade!"

Listening to Ron's explanation, the boys' faces showed a look of fascination. Ron had opened the door to a new world for them, and what lies behind the door is something they need to explore themselves. Of course, that is only after they have Origin Power.

At least, they need to ignite the Spark of Origin Power.

Looking at the boys below, Ron said, like a vicious wolf that had been continuously throwing bait and finally revealed its fangs, "You lucky guys, if you weren't in this training camp, you might never have this opportunity in your lifetime. In seven days, the first batch of启蒙药剂 (enlightenment agents) will arrive. They will help you trigger your hidden Origin Power as quickly as possible. Note that these enlightenment agents are extremely harmful to your nervous system. Ordinary people can only use them two to three times. If you exceed this limit, your neural network will die, and you will become a fool!"

The boys gasped, and what Ron said next made their previously excited mood plummet to the bottom.

"Furthermore, in the next two months, you must ignite the Spark for me. Before the dawn of the 60th day, those who cannot ignite the Spark will be eliminated!"

During these two months, the boys already knew that elimination meant death. They now had only two months and a maximum of three uses of the agents to trigger and ignite the Spark of Origin Power. The short time and the great difficulty were unprecedented. Of the 29 boys standing here, it was unknown how many would remain after two months.

It can be foreseen that this number will not be many. After all, Origin Power Users are far from being widespread.

Next was strength training. From today, Ron increased the intensity of all kinds of training. The standards he set were always the limits that the boys could reach. The lieutenant's grasp was so precise that he even increased the load for some special individuals. For example, Allen's current training volume was almost twice that of the other boys!