Chapter Twenty: Completely Shattered

Tan Hai’s words were like a lit fuse, detonating the simmering grievances the new recruits had endured all afternoon.

They were being cursed to their faces, humiliated beyond endurance—if they didn’t act now, were they planning to be cowards for life?

With a thunderous crash, hundreds of new recruits upturned tables and kicked over chairs, swinging their mess tins as they howled like a pack of wolves. The air roared with their fury as they surged toward the nearest group of veteran soldiers.

The veterans were utterly stunned.

In their own time, they’d suffered the same treatment—mocked and bullied by their own predecessors. Over the years, this had become an “old tradition” at the Army Martial Academy.

Who would have thought that today, these greenhorn recruits would find the nerve to fight back?

“Damn it!”

“What are you waiting for? The recruits are rebelling!”

A veteran soldier’s roar cut through the chaos.

In an instant, the entire mess hall descended into utter disorder. Hundreds upon hundreds of male soldiers brawled with fists and boots, their curses and bellows echoing from every corner. Insults flew about ancestors, parents, and every body part imaginable, leaving more than a few female soldiers pale with fright.

“Are those men gone insane?”

“They can’t possibly win against the veterans—someone’s going to get hurt!”

“Who says they can’t win? The ones who started it are pretty fierce...”

As a short-haired female soldier pointed to several men from Squad Eight, a dark object crashed down before her with a clang, splattering food all over her face from the mess tin.

It was a military boot.

“Damn it! Who dares to ruin my meal? Sisters, let’s get them!!”

With a smack, the short-haired girl sprinted after the veteran who’d thrown the shoe.

Elsewhere, the female soldiers weren’t spared either, all dragged into the melee.

At the heart of it all—Squad Eight.

“Shit!” Du Huaishan slammed his mess tin into a buzz-cut veteran’s face, pouncing like a starving tiger. Twisting his waist, he landed a savage hook to the man’s left jaw, sending him reeling backward as blood and grains of rice sprayed from his mouth.

“Stone!” a veteran with thick lips stared in disbelief. How could a recruit have felled a veteran with a single punch?

Without hesitation, he sprang onto a bench, launching a flying kick.

Hearing the rush of wind, Du Huaishan raised his knee, sweeping his leg with a steely snap that landed squarely on the man’s backside. The force exploded through his body, sending the “eagle” crashing to the ground, blood streaming from his nose.

The other members of Squad Eight weren’t faring badly either.

Wu Ming, descended from a line of hunters, was tall and strong. Tan Hai, though small and thin, had trained with Du Huaishan for five days, mastering agility and cunning. The young master Guo Tingyu, protected by his guardian spirit and a dedicated mentor, was skilled in hand-to-hand combat. As for Yang Anfu, the heavyset one—there was little need to worry about him. He could take three punches and only blush.

But the remaining three, and other recruits, weren’t so fortunate. The gap between those who’d trained and those who hadn’t quickly became evident, with many new recruits knocked to the ground, clutching bloody noses and howling.

The freed-up veterans quickly turned their attention to the noisiest group—Squad Eight—rolling up their sleeves as they surrounded them.

“Ah!!” Suddenly, a burly veteran seized Du Huaishan from behind, locking his arms around his waist.

Another veteran took advantage, swinging a heavy fist at him.

Without thinking, Du Huaishan dropped his weight, ducking his head as the punch whistled over his hair. With a slap of his feet against the ground, he used the burly veteran for leverage and struck out with both legs, kicking the veteran in front of him.

As the man staggered back, Du Huaishan pivoted, ramming his elbow backward into the burly veteran’s face. In the same instant, his left hand twisted the man’s fingers outward, locking his wrist as he wrenched his waist, lifted his hips, and executed an over-the-shoulder throw.

With a crash, the burly veteran was slammed onto a bench, the force shattering it.

But then—ripples shimmered in the air, and black mist engulfed the veteran. A two-meter-tall black-furred ape, with a human face, a beast’s body, and wild boar tusks, stormed out of the darkness, roaring as it plunged into the man’s chest.

A blinding black light flashed. With a howl, the veteran leaped to his feet, muscles swelling, veins bulging across his face—possessed by a demonic spirit.

Demonic transformation!

As the crowd looked on in horror, another ripple spread. An azure, sharp-beaked bird appeared, diving into Guo Tingyu’s chest. Blue light swirled around him, his arms rippling with muscle, fingernails hardening into blades as he too transformed.

Du Huaishan slipped back, palming a chopstick as he and the rest of Squad Eight stood back to back, forming a wedge, facing the encircling veterans.

…

The old-fashioned rotary phone’s bell clanged in the 173rd Winter Intake’s Drill Instructors’ Office.

The slick-haired, bespectacled instructor swallowed his food, walked over, and picked up the receiver: “Yes, Drill Instructors’ Office. What!? ”

The final word came out as a shout, drawing the attention of every instructor in the room.

“What is it, Zhaoshu?” asked the bald head instructor—Lai Yanlong.

“They say… there’s a massive fight in the mess hall. The recruits and veterans are out of control—people are summoning their guardian spirits. Someone’s going to get killed!”

With a clatter, every instructor pushed back their chairs and stood.

Chang Suian drew a deep breath, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

Lai Yanlong’s face darkened as he grabbed his greatcoat and strode quickly out of the office. The others—Chang Suian, Zhou Zhongai, and the rest—followed at his heels.

Inside the mess hall, the line between new recruits and veterans—or rather, between Squad Eight and the veterans—had become a suffocating shroud of violence and death.

Brutality, savagery, blood—a scene to make one’s blood run cold.

At the very moment the transformed, demonic veteran advanced, someone shouted, “The instructors are here!!”

Hearing this, Du Huaishan discreetly let the chopstick fall from his hand.

“Guo, quickly end your transformation! Now!” Tan Hai hissed, pinching his own cheek hard.

Heavy military boots thundered to the entrance as the soldiers instinctively parted to make a path.

The team of instructors, clad in khaki woolen greatcoats, strode through the chaos with thunderous authority, faces grim, making their way straight to the heart of the standoff between Squad Eight and the veterans.