Chapter 7

After lining up, I sensed something was off.

Our class stood under the national flag for a long time. Other classes had already gone to practice marching, but we were still standing at attention.

Instructor Ethan stood in front of us with his arms folded, looking at us coldly for a long time.

"Other classes, nothing happens. But in our class, everything happens!"

We were speechless, afraid of angering the instructor again.

"How many times have I said that phones are not allowed during Freshman Orientation Week? Yet someone still brought one last night. I want you to know that you are a collective! When one person makes a mistake, the whole class is punished!"

"Today our class won't practice. We'll just stand at attention to let you know the taste of disobeying military orders!"

The back door my brother found for me, is this how it works?

I really shouldn't have trusted him.

Perhaps we had been standing for too long, arousing the curiosity of other classes.

A tall, slender man walked over. His military uniform fit him well and looked neat. His tanned skin made him look particularly healthy and handsome.

Unlike my brother's handsomeness, he had more of a wild and resolute air about him, as if he could wrestle with wild wolves for four or five rounds at any moment.

The shoulder badges of other instructors were ordinary ones issued by the school's "Military Enthusiasts Association." Most of these instructors were students trained by veterans, and some had no military experience at all.

But the shoulder badge of the man who walked over read: Special Forces Unit.

The morning sun was not kind either. Under the sunlight, I couldn't see very clearly, but I knew that these shoulder badges couldn't be faked. Once used, they were real.

Instructor Ethan glanced at the man and politely returned a smile.

Instructor Ethan glared at us again.

"What are you standing there for? Say hello to the Chief Instructor!"

"Hello, Chief Instructor!"

On the day of the Freshman Orientation Week opening ceremony, I was standing at the back and couldn't see clearly who was who.

I had thought the Chief Instructor would be a middle-aged person, but I didn't expect him to be so young.

The Chief Instructor laughed, showing his big white teeth, which were even more noticeable against his tanned skin.

"What's going on here, Instructor Ethan? Everyone's playing statues here, why didn't you invite me to join?"

I heard the warning tone in his voice. The Chief Instructor was implying that Instructor Ethan wasn't training us and was trying to slack off.

Instructor Ethan heard it too and hurriedly explained.

"Chief Instructor, someone in our class did something wrong last night. I'm giving them a small punishment today."

The Chief Instructor's smile faded. "Who made the mistake? Step forward."

"Reporting, it was me."

I stepped sideways out of the formation, looking at the Chief Instructor.

"What mistake did you make!"

"Bringing a phone during Freshman Orientation Week!"

"Ten squats!"

Ten squats weren't difficult, but we had been standing at attention for too long. Our legs had almost lost feeling. The sudden squats were something I couldn't adapt to at all.

I fainted on the seventh squat.