Last night's sandstorm directly caused half of the participants to be eliminated; there had never been such a high elimination rate in previous years!
Even the senior students of Qilin Military Academy posted on the school forum, calling this batch of freshmen the unluckiest one ever...
Those who were eliminated had already joined the army of viewers sending bullet comments today, while the remaining students received even more attention.
The sudden attack of the sandstorm even alarmed the military district stationed on Planet Shuomo. After a phone call, hearing that there were still students holding on, they asked the school for permission to watch the live broadcast on the campus network.
"Yi Shao, you also graduated from Qilin Military Academy, right?"
Raymond, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ninth Military District, asked the person next to him.
Yi Shao had just turned thirty this year but already had a distinguished military record. He currently held the rank of Major in the Ninth Military District.
"Yes, Commander."
Raymond nodded.
"Me too. I didn't expect Qilin's freshman trial to be preserved until today...
This sandstorm was not small; the wind speed reached seventy kilometers per hour, and it covered a wide area.
For the freshmen of Qilin Military Academy to still persevere under such conditions... the young people of this generation are quite something.
Today is the last day of their field training. I have to go to Planet Tianshu for a meeting. If you are free, watch the live broadcast and keep an eye out for some promising talents."
"Yes, sir."
Raymond waved his hand and left.
The situation with the Star Beasts and the Zerg was getting more and more troublesome. The last Star Beast war almost wiped out a whole generation of the Federation's core strength.
There were very few high-level Star Beasts left, but the Federation's most outstanding soldiers were either dead or injured... None of the military districts had recovered their vitality yet.
If there were any more unusual movements this time... they had to prepare early.
Yi Shao logged into Qilin Military Academy's internal network. Each live stream room displayed the student's ID number and name.
His gaze swept over the immature faces. The kids had just experienced a sandstorm yesterday, so everyone looked dazed today, and they were all in a more wretched state than the last.
Some who had crawled out of the sand themselves still looked like little dirt people even after a night had passed, as they had no water to wash with.
Yi Shao couldn't help but remember that he looked exactly like this when he participated in the freshman training back in the day. He curled his lips into a smile... Work hard, kids, and keep this up in the future.
Wang Tianwei woke up according to her biological clock.
She lifted her clothes to glance at her watch. It was time to get up, but she remained huddled in her sleeping bag, not wanting to move.
It was simply too cold last night... the sleeping bag still retained some warmth, but her exposed head and ears had frozen icy cold in the middle of the night!
Her mask also quickly became wet and cold... In the end, she had to wrap her head up again with her training uniform, leaving only a slit to breathe, which made it a bit better.
The air outside the tent was still visibly dirty, carrying a fishy smell of dirt with every breath.
Wang Tianwei changed into a new mask, pulled up a screen, and took care of her personal needs.
She came back, quickly drank a few mouthfuls of water, and started packing up the tent while chewing on the scorpions she had roasted the night before.
Today was the last day. If possible, she actually wanted to get out early.
After all, the desert environment was too harsh, and she didn't know if her remaining two and a half pouches of water would last until tomorrow noon...
By the time she packed everything up and started her journey, the sun hadn't risen yet.
The weight of her backpack was much lighter compared to yesterday.
She had lost her two walking sticks in yesterday's sandstorm, so she took every step with extra caution today.
Her hat was gone too, so she hadn't taken the short-sleeved shirt off her head. She was getting more and more skilled at wrapping it, making her look like a quirky native.
When she spotted a person stuck in the sand from afar, Wang Tianwei planned to detour around that area.
The desert was still windy, constantly blowing the clothes off her head... Just as she pulled the short-sleeved shirt back up to cover her head, she heard someone shouting at the top of their lungs over there,
"Wang Tianwei!! Wang! Tian! Wei!"
Her first reaction was: I've been spotted!? Looking closer, there was no one else around?
Wait, the person trapped in the sand looked a bit familiar...
Wang Tianwei carefully stepped over, stopping several yards away from the trapped person.
It really was Jian Jingyu... He was stuck in quicksand, with only his chest and above exposed, not daring to move an inch.
Wang Tianwei looked up, unsure if a rescue aircraft had flown over.
"You're like this and still haven't pressed the alarm?"
Jian Jingyu looked absolutely devoid of the will to live.
"The alarm has already been sucked under..."
Wang Tianwei's eyes widened as she remembered... the suction force of quicksand is huge!
"But I've stopped sinking. I want to try to climb out, but the sand around here is too soft to get any leverage. Hurry and help me think of a way."
Wang Tianwei pursed her lips and glanced at the sky again.
Since no one had come to rescue him, it meant he wouldn't die for the time being. The teachers probably wanted him to struggle a bit more, right?
"Lean back, lay your whole body on the sand to increase your surface area! Stop moving your legs for now!"
While instructing him, she took a wide detour to a higher spot behind him.
She opened her backpack. Fishing line? Too thin, right? It would cut his hands off...
After searching for a long time, Wang Tianwei pulled out the hammock she had slept in for the past two days, tied her few remaining ropes together, and finally took off her jacket to barely scrape together enough length.
She tightened the knots and threw it over.
"Grab it! Slowly! Don't struggle, use your legs to swim out like you're swimming!"
Jian Jingyu lay on the sand with nothing covering his front. His face quickly started to sting from the rising sun.
Wang Tianwei used all her strength but still couldn't pull him. She looked closely.
"Take off your backpack!"
Jian Jingyu hesitated for a long time.
At first, he had wanted to take off his backpack, but all his gear was inside. If he lost it, even if he got out, he wouldn't last much longer...
"Hurry up! Get out first and we'll figure it out later!"
Hearing Wang Tianwei's voice, Jian Jingyu gritted his teeth and undid the safety buckle. He slipped his hands out of the straps and instantly felt his body lighten.
Wang Tianwei pulled and dragged with all her might, and Jian Jingyu finally floated up.
"Don't stand up! Just lie down and swim out, keep your movements small! Right..."
After all the tossing and turning, the sun had completely risen.
By the time Jian Jingyu swam out of the quicksand, his entire face was roasted bright red.
"Phew! Thank you..."
Wang Tianwei sat on the sand, panting heavily. He really wasn't light!
She took out her thermos, took a sip of water, looked at the red-faced Jian Jingyu, and handed him the cup.
Jian Jingyu gave a bitter smile.
"Don't waste your water..."
He was now completely stripped of everything. His backpack had been sucked into the quicksand the moment he took it off.
He didn't even have shoes on his feet. There was no way he could keep going...
"It's a pity I don't have many supplies left on me either, otherwise I could help you along the way."
"Don't say that..."
"Yo! Wild little white mice!? Which class are you guys from?"
"Ran into quicksand?"
The voice sounded very familiar!
Wang Tianwei looked up. It was the guys from Class B who were chasing Huang Yan last time, but there were five of them back then, and now only three were left...
Hearing the familiar voice, Jian Jingyu's eyes instantly lit up.
"Thank you for the gift of nature..."
