Chapter 1401
Spike: If I can't beat the boss, I can beat you guys?
The barbecue grill beside the training field was sizzling with oil.
Cui Ming squatted in front of the charcoal fire, flipping a handful of meat skewers in his hand. As the grease dripped down, the flames leaped high.
Daigo slumped in the folding chair, like a dried-out salted fish, too weak to even lift his arm.
Shinjo and Horii leaned against each other, their faces pale, sweat staining their combat uniforms with dark marks.
Lina waited in line with her plate for her meat, occasionally letting out a sly smile.
Kijima sat next to Choi Myung, holding a cup of barley tea and slowly blowing on it to warm it up.
"Dinner's ready." Cui Ming placed the first batch of meat skewers onto the iron plate. "Help yourself."
Daigo struggled twice, but couldn't get up.
"Instructor... could you send it over...?"
"No." Cui Ming didn't even look up. "Come and get it if you want to eat. If you can't even lift a plate, add another five kilograms to your training volume next time."
Daigo immediately launched himself into the air.
He rushed to the plate, grabbed three skewers of meat, and stuffed them into his mouth, refusing to let go even though they were scalding hot and he was panting for breath.
Seeing this, Shinjo and Horii also rushed over, tumbling and crawling.
The scene resembled refugees scrambling for food.
Megumi looked at Naoraki and nudged Choi Myung with her elbow: "Didn't you go a little too far?"
“Ruthless?” Cui Ming placed a skewer of crispy pork belly on her plate. “Being kind to them is ruthless. The more you train now, the fewer people will die later.”
Megumi didn't refute, she just smiled and accepted the meat skewers.
Just as the atmosphere was getting lively, the bushes at the edge of the training field suddenly rustled twice.
A huge figure slowly emerged.
It had gray fur, droopy ears, and an unlit cigar dangling from its mouth.
Spike.
The bulldog from Tom and Jerry that's known worldwide.
It walked over to the barbecue grill, plopped down, and the ground shook.
Then he spat the cigar out of his mouth and pawed at it a couple of times, as if looking for a lighter.
"..."
Daigo dropped the meat skewer from his mouth onto the ground.
"Spike?!" Shinjo's eyes widened. "That Spike?!"
"Otherwise what?" Cui Ming tossed a skewer of grilled chicken wings into Spike's special food bowl. "What other Spike could grow this big?"
Spike lowered his head and gnawed on a chicken wing, the bones crunching loudly.
The members of the Victory Team looked at each other in bewilderment.
They certainly knew Spike.
The unlucky guy in the cartoon who chases Tom all over the house and is used as a tool dog by Jerry.
But what's in front of me...
It was at least three times larger than in the animation, with clearly defined muscles, and its front paws were bigger than a human head. Its fangs gleamed coldly when it ate chicken wings.
This thing could probably smash concrete with a single slap, right?
"Instructor..." Horii swallowed hard, "What...is Spike here for?"
Cui Ming wiped his hands and stood up.
“Starting tomorrow, Spike will be in charge of your combat training.”
"..."
The air was silent for three seconds.
Then Shinjo let out a wail: "No way?! A dog is teaching us to fight?!"
Spike's ears twitched.
It slowly raised its head, with half a chicken wing bone still in its mouth, and its eyes swept towards the new city.
There was no anger in his eyes, only one thing...
how to say.
It's like an adult looking at a kindergarten child with indifference and saying, "I'm going to beat you."
Spike spat out the bone and pawed at the ground twice with his front paws.
Then it moved.
The gray figure charged toward the new city like a tank, moving at an absurd speed.
Xincheng had no time to react.
Spike stopped abruptly half a meter away from him, raising its front paws and creating wind pressure that sent Newtown's hair flying backward.
The claws hovered three centimeters in front of Xincheng's nose.
I didn't encounter it.
But Xincheng froze, his pupils dilated, and cold sweat slid from his forehead to his chin.
Spike retracted his paw, slowly walked back to the food bowl, and continued gnawing on the chicken wing.
The whole process took less than two seconds.
"..."
Daigo dropped the meat skewer from his hand again.
“It just now…” Lina’s voice trembled, “If it had really hit the ground…”
"Fragmented nose, mild concussion, and if he's unlucky, he'll be in the ICU." Cui Ming's tone was as calm as reciting a menu. "Spike is holding back."
While drinking tea nearby, Megumi added, "Spike used to be in EDF with Choi, specializing in close combat training. Its claws can tear through the alloy armor of a Star Guide, and its teeth can bite through a three-centimeter-thick steel plate. You guys..."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over the pale faces of the Victory Team members.
"Good luck to you."
“Captain…” Daigo turned to Megumi, his voice trembling with tears, “Please talk to the instructor on my behalf…”
“I’ve already said it,” Kijimae shrugged. “It’s no use. Once Choi has made up her mind, not even ten oxen could pull her back.”
She looked at Cui Ming with a mischievous smile in her eyes.
Cui Ming didn't reply, but simply added another steak to Spike's bowl. Spike ate with gusto, his mouth dripping with oil, his tail slapping loudly on the ground.
Its tail was thicker than a person's wrist, and the ground trembled slightly with each slap.
Horii stared at the tail, then suddenly thought of something.
"Instructor... when Spike trains us... does he use his tail?"
Cui Ming finally looked up at him.
That look sent a chill down Horii's spine.
“It depends on its mood,” Cui Ming said. “When it’s in a good mood, it only uses its paws. When it’s in a bad mood…”
He pointed to a corner of the training field.
There was a broken cement pile there, the break was jagged, as if it had been swept away by some enormous force.
"That stake is what Spike bumped into yesterday when he was swishing his tail."
"..."
Xincheng's legs went weak, and he sat back down on the ground.
"I...I suddenly remembered..." his voice trembled, "My grandma's birthday is tomorrow, I need to ask for leave..."
"Approved." Cui Ming nodded. "The supplementary training will be held the day after tomorrow, with double the amount."
"...Never mind what I said."
Daigo silently picked up the meat skewers from the ground, blew off the dust, and stuffed them into his mouth.
Eat up.
This might be the last good meal we have.
Spike finally finished his steak and let out a satisfied burp.
It wobbled to its feet, walked over to Cui Ming, and rubbed its big head against Cui Ming's waist.
Cui Ming casually rubbed its ears.
"Starting tomorrow," Cui Ming said to the Victory Team members, "5 a.m., the fighting arena. If you're even one minute late, Spike will give you an extra hour of training."
Spike grinned, revealing a row of fangs capable of biting through steel plates.
The smile looked particularly sinister in the setting sun.
Lina silently put the plate down.
"I...I'm suddenly not hungry anymore."
"Me too." Horii nodded.
Shinjoo looked at Spike, then at Choi Myung, and finally at Kijimae.
"Captain..." he tried one last time, "Is there really no room for maneuver?"
Megumi stood up and patted the dust off her skirt.
She walked to Cui Ming's side and naturally took his arm.
"Cui." She looked up at him, her voice soft, "Let them rest for an extra half hour tomorrow, shall we? They're really exhausted today."
Cui Ming looked down at her.
Megumi winked.
Cui Ming remained silent for two seconds.
"...Six o'clock," he said. "It can't be any later."
"Okay." Megumi smiled, then turned to the group and winked. "Aren't you going to thank the instructor?"
"Thank you, instructor!!"
"Thank you, Captain!!"
"Thank you for your mercy, Lord Spike!!"
Spike tilted his head, seemingly quite pleased with being called "sir".
It patted the ground with its tail again, this time much more gently.
Cui Ming transferred the last batch of meat skewers to a plate, and the charcoal fire gradually dimmed.
“Eat up,” he said. “Starting tomorrow, things won’t be so easy for you.”
Daigo grabbed a skewer of meat, tears welling up in his eyes.
It wasn't because I was moved.
It's because of fear.
He watched as Spike slowly walked to the center of the training field, lay down, and began to doze off.
The gray body looked like a small mountain in the setting sun.
A small mountain that will crush them all tomorrow.
"Daigo..." Shinjo leaned closer, his voice trembling, "Do you think... we can hold out for three days?"
Daigo stuffed the meat skewer into his mouth and chewed it hard twice.
"We have to hold on, even if we can't," he said. "Otherwise, if we can't even beat Spike's tail, how will we fight monsters in the future?"
"……you're right."
"And..." Daigo lowered his voice, "Haven't you noticed? The instructors are especially gentle with the captain. If we behave well, the captain might put in a good word for us..."
The two exchanged a glance and then looked at Megumi.
Kijimae was leaning on Choi Myung's shoulder, and the two were talking in hushed tones. Choi Myung even had a slight smile on his lips.
That smile was completely different from when he was scolding them.
“…I understand.” Shinjo nodded. “Starting tomorrow, we’ll do our best to perform well, and then go to the captain and cry.”
"Yes."
Spike rolled over in the distance and let out a low snort.
It's as if it's saying:
You can make any plans you like.
Anyway, we'll all be down tomorrow. (End of Chapter)