Even though it was the long-awaited fourth day, the beginning was no different from other days.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I started with a run, deciding the order for breakfast amidst the panting pain that enveloped my whole body.
“Ah, refreshing.”
“Hmph.”
As expected, Park Jinsung finished first, and Kim Seyun was second after seven laps. Both displayed their exceptional agility with their almost inhuman sprinting.
However, the problem started from the third place onwards.
“What a sight, you trash.”
Byun Kiyoung stamped his third place. Though he was a lap and a half behind the first and second places, being third was still impressive.
“*Pant* *Pant* *Pant*”
“Lea, leader…”
The once outstanding zombie squad was struggling at the bottom of the rank, casting doubt on whether they could even finish.
The fierce look that seemed to devour anything was gone, only to be replaced by their flailing limbs and rough breathing that testified to their current state.
“Hmm. Today, don’t move straight to breakfast after the run. Wait in front because there’s something to announce.”
Ahn Sungho told the trainees after they had finished their morning run.
Crunch.
No one noticed as Ahn Sungho’s lower lip bled a bright red drop of blood.
After all zombie squad members finished their run, the not-so-short waiting time also came to an end.
In other words,
“*Huff* *Huff*”
“Damn it.”
It meant the zombie squad had arrived last at the finish line. It was a scene hard to imagine just until yesterday.
The school nurse, with dark circles down to her nose, secretly approached Park Jinsung.
“Jinsung…”
“School nurse, you’ve worked hard.”
“I’m sorry. Really sorry.”
“Why are you sorry, school nurse? You did your best.”
The giant bug that Park Jinsung had annihilated was the root of all these issues.
A deep wound and fracture on the right thigh,
Complete pulverization of the bone from the left wrist to the elbow, and necrosis of the skin.
The bug was annihilated so severely that it tied the hands and feet of the school nurse.
“Oh… I should have been stronger.”
The school nurse spent the entire dawn treating the terrified bug, leaving no time to care for the other trainees. The school nurse’s Edeya was invested entirely in treating just one bug throughout the dawn.
The school nurse, having exhausted all her strength, still managed to tend to the wounds of Squad 5. However, that was only treatment for the lynching, not recovery of their stamina.
“…Hmm.”
Ahn Sungho, pressing down his combat cap deeply, placed his hands on his waist. With just one imposing stance, he completely dominated the wide podium.
“Today is finally the last training day! Is it tough?!”
“Ah, ah, ah, ah, aaaaaah!!”
“Your throats have gotten a lot better since the first day. Excellent. We’ve had this waiting time to briefly communicate today’s schedule.”
“Ah, ah, ah, ah, aaaaaah!”
“Is Trainee number 367 present?”
“Ah, ah, ah, ah, aaaaaah!”
From the very back, the loudest and as if right beside, came the decibel.
“Trainee number 367… has been demoted to rank 367 as of 05:00 today.”
“Ack!”
Park Jinsung responded sharply and briefly, as if he already knew.
In a way, it was a foregone conclusion.
It would have been more suspicious if there had been no feedback after such a spirited performance.
In fact, it was an event that was sufficient for discharge.
‘Heheh. As expected of…’
The fact that rank 7 was destroyed by rank 367, and that rank 7 could no longer receive training.
Moreover, the audacity of a mere trainee to retire a top-class private?
Just a bit more exaggeration, and it would become a perfect example of insubordination.
That the punishment was only a demotion in rank was probably due to Ahn Sungho’s consideration.
‘Hmm. I dislike nepotism, but, well, this time it can’t be helped.’
There were officers who were curious about how rank 7 was defeated. Ahn Sungho managed to protect Park Jinsung by maximizing their curiosity.
However, apart from Park Jinsung, the feedback on the group lynching simply vanished. It seemed like the officers’ desire not to escalate the situation was transparent.
‘Regrettably… Well, this will do.’
Since it was the others who attacked first, the matter was ambiguously settled as a matter of adults’ circumstances.
Although Park Jinsung quietly accepted his fate, the fanatics, another party involved, did not.
“Why?! Why is only our leader demoted so drastically?!”
“Those bastards attacked us first… They attacked us first!”
“Instructor! The leader has done nothing but protect us!!”
The frenzied zombie squad went on a rampage, not listening to Ahn Sungho.
“Squad 5… Be quiet. Begin.”
“They hit us first! Why do we, the victims, have to be quiet?!”
“Is this what humans do?! Eh! Is this what humans are supposed to do?!”
“…All members of Squad 5 are demoted one level.”
Ahn Sungho quietly moved his lips.
“Whyyyyyy! Why do only our scores keep dropping?!”
“All members of Squad 5 are demoted another level.”
“I won’t do it! What’s the use of training like this! How can we learn anything from people who have thrown their morals to the ground…!”
“Ah, ah, ah, ah, aaaaaah, ah, ah, ah, aaaaaah!”
Park Jinsung’s tremendous lung capacity produced an enormous decibel. It was an overwhelming sound that could cause a ringing in the ears.
Slowly looking around the zombie squad, Park Jinsung slowly took the position of a push-up.
“Captain, Captain?! Why the captain again?”
“Be quiet. Just follow.”
“Ugh. Damn it!”
“Grgh…”
Engulfed in fury, the zombie squad had now immersed themselves in sorrow. They lay prostrate, following Park Jinsung, yet left their flowing tears unchecked.
It was infuriating!
They were a zombie squad unified by a single emotion. Their stamina had long been depleted, but their solidarity was only growing stronger.
In reality, as an instructor, there was no choice but to punish Squad 5. If not for Park Jinsung’s quick thinking, the situation could have escalated into a much larger disaster.
“…Squad 5 will be denied breakfast today. You will maintain that position until all the other trainees have finished their meals.”
“Aaaaaaaah!”
“Sob, sob, ah, aah…”
“Ah…!”
The sobbing zombie squad forcefully let out screams of agony.
“This morning, the officers will also participate in guerrilla training. Show them your progress.”
Ahn Sungho stepped down from the platform and entered among the trainees. He walked around, comforting the exhausted trainees. And then,
“This afternoon, there will be a trench combat exercise, which carries the highest score. Perhaps there could be a turnaround there.”
He specifically went over to where Squad 5’s men were and spoke softly.
Step, step, step.
Following Ahn Sungho’s instructions, the quiet move to meals began.
Because of the rain that had fallen the day before, there were squelching noises. Squad 5, already lying prone, had to endure the even more vivid sounds of the disgusting footsteps of the numbers in front of them.
“I’ll keep an eye on Squad 5. The teaching assistants should also go have their meal.”
The health teacher took it upon herself to supervise the zombie squad.
The faint-hearted health teacher fidgeted until the people were completely out of sight.
“Jinsung, is it hard? Guys! Is it hard?!”
“Heheh. No, it’s not.”
“Sob. Aah…”
“I can’t help you recover because I’m also tired, but I can at least give you a rest.”
That was why the health teacher had volunteered to supervise.
Despite the health teacher’s warm consideration, Squad 5 continued to lie steadfastly prone. It took the health teacher a full 10 minutes just to forcibly sit the zombie squad up.
The mud that clung to their entire bodies made the zombie squad feel miserable.
Though it was only a little mud, it felt as though iron weights were placed on them.
“……”
“……”
The zombie squad and the health teacher continued to breathe in silence for a while.
Perhaps because it was right after the rain, the weather was unnecessarily clear.
The ground was still not dry, yet the sky was predicting sultriness.
“Oh… the other kids are already returning… Guys, let’s slowly get up.”
“Thank you, health teacher.”
“I’ll be looking forward to the trench combat this afternoon.”
The health teacher hurried back to the medical office to recover her own energy.
For the trench combat that would take place in the afternoon, the health teacher’s presence was absolutely essential. Somehow, they had to bring out their abilities to proceed without any issues.
Splat!
The zombie squad once again lay prone, taking their position. Although they desperately wanted to rebel, seeing Park Jinsung lie down first, they followed suit.
Splash, splash, splash, splash…
The trainees, led by the officers, returned to the training field, splashing mud everywhere. The shadows of these bastards blocked the sunlight, bringing an unbearable sense of humiliation with them.
Still, while the trainees whispered quietly among themselves, the officers did not.
“Hey! Look at those guys from Squad 5! They’re really something!”
“Why are you guys lying down? Did Ahn Sungho tell you to?”
“You say you have good stamina, right? We’ll be counting on you later, then?”
Ha ha ha ha ha!
The officers passed by, laughing heartily in their own way.
Tremble, tremble, tremble.
The zombie squad couldn’t tell if their arms were trembling because they were tired or because they were furious.
Until last night, they had been happy to indulge in their victory over the big bug… They never imagined that victory would be laced with poison.
“Starting now, we’ll begin the morning PT exercises.”
At the command of Instructor Ahn Sungho, all the trainees, including the officers, lined up.
“Ah, I don’t want to do this.”
“Can’t we just not do it?”
In reality, while the officers were supposed to line up, they blatantly slacked off. The fact that not a single one of them wore their ballistic helmets was proof of this.
Nonetheless, while the PT exercises began, the officers’ participation showed no sign of starting. They stood at the very front, lazily leaning on one leg, barely making an effort.
“Hey, instructor. I made a mistake.”
Some officers deliberately made mistakes, hoping to be excluded from the formation.
“Huff, huff.”
The only officer who even attempted to resemble the exercise was the leader of the 10th Platoon.
The battalion commander, who was supposed to observe, did not even show up at the training ground.
“Aaaaaah!!”
In the end, only the trainees struggled hard, rolling in the mud field. No sooner had they spat out the mud in their mouths than they were eating the next mouthful.
“Huff huff.”
“Ugh.”
Especially the zombie squad was in the worst condition.
Their stamina was completely depleted, leading to frequent exclusions from activities.
The instructors had no choice but to exclude the zombie squad, but they still tried to accommodate them as much as possible.
With the medical officer resting for the afternoon’s schedule, any further strain would be detrimental to their performance. However,
“Trainees, stand up and stretch for a moment. Begin.”
“Hey! Instructor! Weren’t these guys excluded for making mistakes? Then they should be drilled even harder!”
The officers who were deliberately excluded did not leave the zombie squad alone. They pressured the instructors, trying to make the zombie squad undergo even more drills.
It was unthinkable, but it would be troublesome if the zombie squad made it into the top 50.
After all, for those with souls as tarnished as theirs, high scores wouldn’t mean much.
“Don’t give up!”
Park Jinsung, who had deliberately made a mistake in his movements, came to cheer on the members of the zombie squad.
“Oh! Isn’t that our F-grade Jinsung?! How fun it was back in the officers’ room, right?!”
“Did you also mess up your movements? As always, the bottom rankers.”
Park Jinsung didn’t care about the jeers from the officers. He mechanically moved his body while continuing to encourage the members of the zombie squad.
“Never… Never ever ever! Never! Give up! Somehow hang in there until lunchtimeeeee!!”
“Aaah, aaaah! Uwaaaaaaaah!!!”
The momentary spirit exuded by the zombie squad completely overwhelmed both the instructors and the officers.
‘No, guys. Put in more strength.’
But it was a fleeting dream.
A spring dream that ended all too quickly.
Those with ears to hear were momentarily silenced, but it was only for a moment.
“Aaaaaah!!”
Park Jinsung screamed loudly on purpose, trying to drag it out until lunchtime. He aimed to draw attention to himself to alleviate the burden on the zombie squad.
However, despite Park Jinsung’s strenuous efforts, the members of the zombie squad gradually lost their strength.
“Ugh. No more.”
“Huuuh!”
The number of members with glazed eyes surged. There were no longer any members shaking their bodies in full consciousness.
‘Ugh! This way, it’s a total annihilation!’
“Hmm.”
Ahn Sungho, realizing the severity of the situation, came down from the platform. He exuded a unique aura of intimidation as he pressured the trainees around him.
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