Chapter 1400
Daigo: Special Training? It's Over!
The Victory Team's training ground.
At 6:15 a.m., the sky was just beginning to lighten.
Daigo squatted at the starting line of the track, his hands on the ground, his knees shaking like a leaf.
Standing opposite him was Cui Ming, dressed in camouflage combat gear, holding a timer in his hand, his expression as hard as a granite block.
“Three kilometers, carrying 15 kilograms of weight.” Cui Ming kicked the sandbag beside his feet. “Last time you ran it in 14 minutes and 32 seconds, this time the goal is 13 minutes and 50 seconds.”
Daigo raised his head, his face saying, "Instructor, just kill me."
"Instructor, I just finished fighting Gazort yesterday..."
"So?" Cui Ming tilted his head, "The enemy will let you sleep an extra half hour today just because you fought yesterday?"
"Won't……"
"Then run."
Daigo gritted his teeth and tied the sandbags to his legs. Just as he straightened up, he heard a familiar sound of footsteps behind him.
Shinjo and Horii strolled over arm in arm, their faces still showing signs of sleepiness.
"Hey, Daigo! So early!" Shinjo yawned. "We came to pick up the report we forgot to leave last night..."
Cui Ming slowly turned his head.
Those eyes were like two icicles, piercing Xincheng so much that he swallowed the rest of his words.
“Perfect.” Cui Ming tossed the other timer in his hand over. “You two, together.”
"what?"
“Ten kilograms of weight, three kilometers.” Cui Ming pointed to the sandbags piled up in the corner. “If Da Gu doesn’t finish, you guys train with him. If Da Gu finishes, you guys will reward him with two extra kilometers of training.”
Horii's face turned green: "Instructor! We're researchers! We're conducting an investigation!"
"Investigations don't require physical exertion?" Cui Ming pulled an energy bar from his pocket and slowly tore it open. "Who was chased by aliens for three blocks last time and ended up hiding in a trash can waiting for rescue?"
Shinjo and Horii exchanged a glance before simultaneously looking away.
“That was me!” Shinjo raised his hand, his voice filled with grief and indignation. “But Horii wasn’t much better off! He was stuck in the ventilation duct for twenty minutes!”
“So you guys need to train even more.” Cui Ming took a bite of his energy bar and waved his hand vaguely. “Tie on the sandbags, start running. I’ll count to three.”
Daigo looked at his two teammates with pity, as if he were looking at two scapegoats about to be taken to the execution ground.
"one."
The three of them hurriedly tied sandbags together.
"two."
The sandbags weren't tied tightly enough, and Xincheng almost tripped over them.
"three!"
Cui Ming's voice was like a thunderclap.
Daigo was the first to dart out.
Shinjo and Horii followed, grumbling and cursing.
At the other end of the track, Lina, holding a cup of hot coffee, leaned against the railing, watching with great interest.
"Not together?" Megumi's voice came from behind.
Lina turned around and smiled: "Captain, the instructor said I don't need extra training."
"Oh?"
“He said I had the best shooting score in the team and my physical fitness was up to standard, so I should just keep it up.” Lina took a sip of coffee, her eyes drifting to the three crooked figures on the track. “And… he said girls don’t have to suffer with these rough guys.”
Megumi raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly.
She knew perfectly well why she was excluded as well.
When Choi Myung first reported to the GUTS team, Megumi Kijima personally showed him around the base. As they passed the wall in the command room covered with mission photos, Choi Myung stared at one of them for a long time.
That was a photograph of Megumi Kijima facing the mental projection of the Kirieloid alone.
“Captain,” Cui Ming said at the time, “you are standing very straight.”
"Ok?"
“In that situation, an ordinary person would have already given up.” Cui Ming withdrew his gaze, his tone calm. “You don’t need me to lecture you. You are strong enough already.”
Megumi Kijima didn't reply, she just smiled.
Looking at the chaotic scene on the training field, she suddenly felt that it wasn't so bad to be an observer occasionally.
On the track, Daigo was panting like a dehydrated fish.
Shinjo was on his left, his face pale, muttering, "Mr. Obik, I was wrong. I'll eat your buckwheat noodles every day from now on."
Horii was on the right, his chubby face flushed red, and his flesh trembled with every step he took.
"One last lap!" Cui Ming's voice drifted over from the finish line. "Daigo, you've lost your speed! Give it your all!"
Daigo felt like his lungs were about to explode.
He glanced furtively at his chest; the glow stick pressed against his skin through his clothes, feeling like a burning ember.
Shall we transform?
No, the instructor said we're not allowed to think of any underhanded tricks during training.
"Daigo!" Choi Myung suddenly raised his voice, "When you looked at your chest just now, were you trying to transform?"
Daigo slipped and almost fell to the ground.
"N-no!"
"An extra kilometer as punishment!" Cui Ming said expressionlessly. "If I find out you're relying on that thing again, your training volume will double!"
Shinjo and Horii wailed simultaneously. "Why?! It's him who wants to transform, not us!"
“Collective punishment,” Cui Ming said matter-of-factly. “You’re all on the same team, so you should all learn from his mistakes. Next time he tries to slack off, remember to stop him.”
"Can we stop them?!"
"If we can't stop you, we'll run together." Cui Ming glanced down at the timer. "Daigo, your lap just now took four minutes and eighteen seconds. Even a snail is faster than you."
Daigo wanted to cry but had no tears.
He suddenly felt a little envious of Lina.
I envy the captain even more.
Why do I have to suffer like this all by myself...?
At the edge of the training field, Cui Ming finished chewing the last bite of the energy bar and patted the crumbs off his hands.
Of course he knew that Daigo was Ultraman Tiga.
Because we know this, we must train even harder.
If the human form is too weak, the fighting power will also be reduced after transformation. Last time when fighting Gazort, Daigo lost his balance when he landed and was almost whipped into the sea by a tail.
In Cui Ming's eyes, that kind of mistake was tantamount to courting death.
"Run faster, all of you!" Cui Ming roared. "Those who don't finish will have extra combat training at noon! I'll be their sparring partner!"
The three figures on the track shuddered simultaneously.
Then, miraculously, the speed actually increased.
Cui Ming nodded in satisfaction.
That makes sense.
Megumi walked over with a thermos in her hand and stood next to him.
"Instructor, that's enough. We have another mission this afternoon."
“I understand.” Cui Ming glanced at the timer. “Let them catch their breath for two more minutes, then we’ll begin combat training.”
Kijima shook her head helplessly, but didn't try to persuade her any further.
She knew Choi Myung's ways all too well.
Sweating more in peacetime means bleeding less in wartime.
This phrase was always on Cui Ming's lips, and it was etched into the bones of everyone he had reprimanded.
"By the way," Megumi suddenly spoke up, "has there been any reply from Redel?"
Cui Ming's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes deepened for a moment.
"Tomorrow. It said it would ask its superiors."
Do you think it can work?
"Whether it works or not doesn't matter." Cui Ming stuffed the timer back into his pocket, his voice flat. "If it works, we'll have another training ground. If it doesn't..."
He paused, a cold smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Those Sun Races will have to face the Night Races' revenge themselves. In that case, Earth will have one less problem, so it's not a loss."
Looking at his profile, Jujian Hui suddenly realized that this instructor was much more hard-hearted than she had imagined.
But it's also much softer than I imagined.
We must confront the enemy head-on.
Being soft means being friendly to your own people.
She didn't say anything more, but simply raised her thermos and gently touched the empty energy bar packaging in Cui Ming's hand.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Cui Ming was stunned for a moment.
Then he crumpled the wrapping paper into a ball and threw it precisely into the trash can three meters away.
“It’s not hard work,” he said. “It’s quite satisfying to see them get stronger.”
On the track, Daigo finally crossed the finish line and collapsed like a salted fish.
Shinjo and Horii followed closely behind, the two embracing each other like two lumps of mud supporting each other.
"Instructor..." Daigo raised his hand weakly, "Can...can I rest now...?"
Cui Ming looked down at his watch.
"Thirty seconds."
"what?"
"Thirty seconds later, combat training begins." Cui Ming cracked his knuckles. "I'll do it myself. Whoever lasts three minutes, I'll treat everyone to barbecue tonight."
Daigo, Shinjo, and Horii—the three of them, with their six eyes, all lit up at the same time.
Then Cui Ming added a sentence.
"If you can't hold on, just watch me eat."
"..."
The fighting spirit that had just been ignited was instantly extinguished by half.
Lina laughed so hard behind the railing that she spilled her coffee.
Kijima shook her head and turned to walk towards the command room.
This day.
It's still growing. (End of Chapter)