Chapter 3: Are You Pretending?

At this moment, Qi Tian was calm and composed, neither flushed nor breathless. His expression showed no sign of fatigue. He followed behind Old Hei and the others with ease, neither falling behind nor speeding up, running at an extremely leisurely pace.

“To be able to effortlessly keep up with Old Hei’s pace, this kid’s endurance is really impressive!” Xu Guoqing was certain based on his observations. Qi Tian’s physical fitness, at least in terms of stamina, was definitely superior to those three athletes from the sports school.

Commander Li Yunfei had instructed Xu Guoqing to pay special attention to Qi Tian. At first, Xu Guoqing was a bit reluctant, suspecting Qi Tian might have some influential family background. But now, it was clear he had been overly worried.

Under Xu Guoqing’s watchful eye, the already loosely formed group ran another kilometer. At this point, the new recruits completely scattered near the training base’s entrance. Some collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air, with no intention to continue running. Others, familiar with each other, encouraged one another, pairing up to rely on sheer willpower to keep moving.

Zhang Meng, Jiang Chong, and Song Wei—whom Xu Guoqing had noticed earlier—took this opportunity to fully accelerate, sprinting the last kilometer. Previously, Old Hei had them hold back their pace to avoid disrupting the rhythm of the recruits behind. Now that the group had completely broken up, Old Hei had no reason to restrain their stride.

“Finally, we can let loose and run free!” Qi Tian shouted lightly as Old Hei stepped aside, and he too began to speed up.

After running four kilometers, Qi Tian showed no sign of exhaustion. Blending behind the three, he was simply waiting for the right moment to sprint at full speed. Now, the opportunity had arrived, and Qi Tian naturally held nothing back. Suddenly gathering a breath of energy, his speed instantly more than doubled.

Like a leopard locked onto its prey, he charged forward at full throttle.

In less than ten seconds, despite being over twenty meters behind the lead runner, Qi Tian closed the gap rapidly, about to overtake Song Wei.

But suddenly, Song Wei veered sharply to the right, precisely blocking Qi Tian’s path. If Qi Tian hadn’t reacted quickly and stepped back, he would have collided headlong into Song Wei.

Colliding at full sprint like this would have had disastrous consequences.

“Get back!” Song Wei snorted coldly and increased his speed again.

His intention was simple—to secure first place in this training and establish his reputation as a top athlete from the sports school.

Hearing this, Qi Tian realized Song Wei’s move was deliberate. His relaxed demeanor instantly shifted into one of intense seriousness.

If you want to play games, then I’ll play along!

Qi Tian burst forward like an arrow released from a bow, suddenly appearing in front of Song Wei. Taken off guard, Song Wei had to hastily slow down, then accelerate again to pass Qi Tian.

But in the next moment, as Song Wei’s speed decreased slightly, Qi Tian’s speed also slowed down, maintaining a gap of just thirty centimeters in front of Song Wei. No matter how Song Wei adjusted his pace, the distance remained almost unchanged.

After several slowdowns, Song Wei’s rhythm was nearly disrupted by Qi Tian’s interference.

“You damn—!” Song Wei couldn’t hold back a curse.

By now, he realized Qi Tian was deliberately provoking him. So he stopped holding back and sprinted at full speed, planning to pass Qi Tian on the right and chase after Zhang Meng and Jiang Chong ahead.

“Are those two crazy? Just arrived at the recruits and already jamming each other!”

“Who knows? I can barely stand up, and they’re sprinting and bickering like monsters of endurance!”

The new recruits watched this scene with wide eyes, astonished as if witnessing something unbelievable.

Meanwhile, Old Hei and Xu Guoqing exchanged meaningful looks.

Interesting!

To dare pull such a stunt right after joining the army, these must be two real hotheads. But hotheads are good—once you remove the thorns, what remains is strong steel.

In Xu Guoqing’s eyes, he didn’t fear competition; he feared complacency. The army was a place where the strong ruled. If you didn’t fight or compete, you might as well go home and raise children instead of becoming a soldier.

The two circled the base entrance, chasing each other for a full lap, their speeds nearly identical. But Qi Tian ran more and more effortlessly, even maintaining a breathing pattern of four steps per breath. In contrast, Song Wei struggled badly, his face flushed red, mouth wide open gasping for air.

He was barely holding that pace by sheer willpower.

Clearly, Song Wei’s rhythm had been completely disrupted by the earlier chase, and he could only perform at a third of his normal capability.

Hearing the heavy breathing behind him, Qi Tian slowed down again, running side by side with Song Wei.

“Hey, man, I thought you were strong just now? Now you’re messing with me and can’t even keep up?” Qi Tian taunted.

Song Wei didn’t reply; he was already at the edge of his physical limit, sustained only by his determination. Qi Tian’s mockery only fueled the fire in his chest, making it harder for him to breathe.

“You look tough, but you’re nothing but a tough-looking weakling. If you’re really that weak, go check out the military hospital—good treatment and it’s free!”

With that, Qi Tian shot forward again. This time, his target was Zhang Meng, the leader.

There was about a thirty-meter gap between them.

For others, that distance was a hellish challenge at this stage.

But for Qi Tian, it was effortless.

After a dozen breaths, Qi Tian flashed forward, overtaking Jiang Chong and Zhang Meng, standing alone at the front, leading the charge.

Song Wei, already battered and having witnessed Qi Tian surge ahead, couldn’t catch his breath and fainted on the spot.

With Song Wei down and Qi Tian’s lightning-fast lead, the once lethargic recruits suddenly became lively.

“Damn, this kid must be cheating, how can he be such a beast?”

“Even the donkeys from the production team wouldn’t run like this!”

“That guy who passed out? I know him—he’s a top student from our local sports school, even won awards. Didn’t expect to be outpaced like that on the first day!”

“The crazy thing is, that guy’s still charging ahead, getting faster and faster, leaving those two beasts half a lap behind. Oh my god!”

The recruits buzzed with amazement at Qi Tian’s unfathomable stamina.

The gazes of Xu Guoqing and the other instructors all fixed on Qi Tian, their eyes shining with admiration.