Contention in the Canteen

Du Peng opened his eyes after performing one cycle of cultivation. He found Qin Fen drenched in sweat with steaming vapor surrounding his body. Clearly, he was cultivating extremely arduously.

Du Peng moved his shoulders a bit to warm them up before drawing in a deep breath. He ignored just how weary his body was, and entered into a meditative state once more.

The other recruits awoke from their meditative state. They saw that Qin Fen's and Du Peng's military uniforms were drenched with sweat, yet the two still continued to cultivate. The recruits shoook their heads one by one as they entered meditative states once more....

Second Squad, First Platoon, Third Company, Second Battalion's actions soon attracted the shocked gazes of everyone else in the living quarters. This squad was dead tired, yet they're dragging their weary bodies for cultivating? Did they lose their minds?

One hour....

The other five people were unable to withstand the fatigue in their bodies. They lay down one by one on their beds, resting once more. At the same time, they were curious to see how long Du Peng and Qin Fen would be in their meditative states for.

Ten minutes passed... Du Peng opened his eyes and saw that Qin Fen was still in his meditative state. Du Peng closssed his eyes once more.

Thirty minutes... Fifty minutes... One hours....

Du Peng opened his eyes once more and just so happen to see Qin Fen breathe out a long breath, recovering from his meditative state.

The bugle mess call played outside the lliving quarters, and Jin Kui hopped off his bed, "It seems that it's mealtime, everyone. Let's all go together."

The forced march had depleted practically everyone of all their strength, yet it imperceptibly caused the distance to close between the members of Second Squad. Even Du Peng looked much friendlier than in the past.

Though they didn't talk, everyone had a tacit understanding of each other as they walked out of the living quarters together. Deng Biao arrived by Qin Fen's side with two steps, his gaze revealing constant respect, "You are really strong. You ran with Jinster on your back for so long, yet you were still able to enter a meditative state for two hours!"

At this time, there were also people who followed by Du Peng's side and said words with similar intentions to Deng Biao.

There were tens of thousands of people in the recruit boot camp. The foot print of this military camp exceeded the imagination. It was impossible to gather everyone inside a single canteen.

Everyone arrived a relatively close canteen. Jin Kui was the only one out of their squad who hadn't cultivated. He had recovered much more of his strength compared to the others, so he was able to quickly walk toward an empty table.

"Out of the way! This is the Autonomous State of Korea's dining table!"

Jin Kui's butt hadn't even touched the chair when he felt someone grab him by the collar from behind. He was pulled hard to be flung to the ground.

Qin Fen's group, who had been heading over, suddenly stopped their footsteps. Their foreheads wrinkled with surprise. People actually acted this directly in camp?

"The military doesn't necessarily prohibit personal fights. As long as nobody dies or is seriously injured, there typically aren't any problems." Du Peng's eyes returned to being ice-cold, just as in the past. He explained, neither urgently nor slowly, "Fights in camp are typically viewed as spars appropriate for pushing and increasing one's strength."

"Dang! A guy from Treasure Island actually knows military conventions?" The man who had threw Jin Kui was even taller and more muscular than Deng Biao. He laughed with his seven comrades and said, "What's wrong? Do y'all want to spar? Then you'll need to be prepared to get hurt. The quality of us recruits from Korea aren't something that you Treasure Island guys can match. The ones who will qualify out of the East Asia region for the Military Recruit Tournament will certainly be us of the Autonomous State of Korea."

Though the earth had become the Federation, different regions still possessed different ideologies, and nations had changed forms to be states. The Autonomous State of Korea was South Korea in the past.

Qin Fen looked at Du Peng, not quite understanding. This expert in military knowledge opened his mouth once more, "It's a sort of tournament the Federation has in order to increase the quality of the military as a whole. First they allow self-selection from the major military regions. Every one of them goes through a round of selections, and all feats by the competitors will be recorded. In the future, the competitor may receive greater rewards when they retire or separate from the military. If the competitor qualifies by winning in a military region, then it will be recorded as a major feat. Their military rank will be increased, and their rewards upon retirement will increase progressively as well. If the competitor places well in the Federation's major tournament...." 

Du Peng suddenly stopped his explanation, for he clearly felt a change in the Qin Fen beside him. Qin Fen had just been furious, but he suddenly and inexplicably became excited, and within that excitement was a hint of greed.

Monetary rewards, plus the reward of promotion.... Qin Fen's goal upon joing the military was to obtain as many rewards as possible. That way he would have that many more resources in the future to search all about for his brother's whereabouts. 

Practically everyone from Third Company, Second Battalion had entered the canteen by now. They heard quite a bit of Du Peng's explanation, and they instantly realized that these recruits from the Autonomous State of Korea were giving the recruits from Treasure Island a show of strength. They wanted to stand on the rise when it came to momentum in the future tournament selections.

Jin Kui had already gotten up with Deng Biao's help, and Qin Fen recovered from his excitement as well. Their just established silent friendship increased in considerably in strength in an instant, thanks to the help of the recruits from the Autonomous State of Korea.

Subconsciously, everyone from Third Company, Second Battalion stood behind him. All of them were recruits from Treasure Island. Naturally, they joined in opposition against a common enemy. Recruits from a different autonomous state were looking down on them.

The recruits from the Autonomous State of Korea all had twitching eylids. Each one of them revealed a disdainful smile, "What? You Treasure Island guys want to get into a scuffle? Us men from the Autonomous State of Korea will keep you company!"

Boom! A group of people, who had been eating, suddenly stood up. They weren't that different in number compared to Third Company, Second Battalion.

"You want a fight? You get a fight! Like I'm scared of you!"

Someone from Third Company, Second Battalion charged out. The muscles beneath his uniform sprung out, and his feat created a thud with the ground in malicious intent. The man was just like a pellet shot by a rubber band, seizing the space before the closest recruit from the Autonomous State of Korea in the blink of an eye and raising a leg for a kick!

A sneak attack was different from a fight. The simpler and more direct the attack, the more likely it was to succeed. Clearly, the recruits from the Autonomous State of Korea never expected someone would actually fight. Someone who wasn't paying attention was kicked directly in the chest. He flew and collided into a dining table.

The recruits of the dining hall were of the age when they were hot-blooded and impulsive. Someone had made a move. There was no time to consider anything else. And so, bodies came flying and pouncing over.

Wooden stools and dining tables immediately became the first casualties.

These were the sources for the best weapons in a group fight. The youngsters on both sides all knew this. In an instant, the legs of the wooden stools and tables flew and danced within the crowd.

Two Korean recruits saw how tired Qin Fen looked. They immediately surrounded him on two sides. It would be truly idiotic not to take every advantage one can get in a group fight.