In fact, during the morning training, Instructor Hack let off not just Henry Brooks alone. Two other clever guys also chatted away during the instructor’s teaching, thinking they already knew everything, and were given a fierce glare by Instructor Hack, but, miraculously, were not punished. Among them was Brian Carter, another well-known figure on the list.

While everyone was discussing this, a smug voice chimed in from the side: “I know why!” Everyone recognized this voice—it was David Brooks, the famous gossip king of Squad Three, known as the new era’s all-knowing informant, hailing from Asia. It was said he was the son of a regional administrative official, but he didn’t like dabbling in politics and was especially fond of the military, so he enlisted this year to make a name for himself in the armed forces.

His information was indeed timely: “During the last round of new recruit confinement punishments, a guy from Squad Nine got so scared that he developed severe psychological trauma and couldn’t continue training, being forced to retire in the second month of recruit training. Apparently, this guy’s family had some connections, and it caused quite a stir outside, so now the military has temporarily banned that kind of space confinement punishment!”

Pointing at Henry Brooks and Brian Carter, David Brooks loudly declared, “You two are already on the list, and the instructor is afraid that punishing you again might cause harm, so he went easy on you.”

Chapter 5: Challenging the Limits (Part 2)

Harm? Everyone looked at each other. Without space confinement, just running laps was indeed useless for Henry Brooks—this guy really was a camel.

Brian Carter had just undergone space confinement; if he were subjected to more physical punishment, who knows what might happen. It seemed the instructor really was showing mercy. Brian Carter had only spent three hours in there before others started to go crazy or even faint, but he actually stayed clear-headed for six hours. He really had nerves of steel and a big build—put those together, and he could be compared to a dinosaur.

The second officially nicknamed member of Squad Three was born. Camel, Dinosaur—who knows how the other squads would feel hearing these names. Of course, the third didn’t escape either: David Brooks was honorably given two nicknames, “Gossip King” and “All-Knowing Informant,” a two-in-one, shining through the ages.

While everyone was happily horsing around, a sharp assembly broadcast sounded on the training field. No one dared delay; they quickly straightened their uniforms and rushed to the field. The huge field was instantly packed with recruits.

As each squad lined up, everyone realized that, apart from the mass assemblies when recruits first entered the camp and after completing basic training, this was the third official assembly.

Each instructor temporarily acted as squad leader, leading everyone to gather in front of the main instructor standing on the podium.

“Military training, and yet there are people who can’t even endure a little confinement. Failing the psychological test and being forced to retire, and then blaming the military! We’ve used this kind of confinement for decades without any problems! If you can’t overcome even this small difficulty, how will you fight on a starship in the future?” The main instructor’s words were full of anger, though it was unclear what kind of pressure he was facing from outside.

“My order!” Everyone below snapped to attention: “From now on, any soldier who does not train seriously will be sent to the confinement room! No time limit—whenever you lose consciousness, that’s when you come out! Each squad, strictly enforce this! Dismissed!”

After the assembly was dismissed, the main instructor actually came straight to Squad Three: “Who is Brian Carter? Step forward!”

Brian Carter shouted, “It’s me, sir!” and quickly stepped out. The main instructor looked him up and down, nodded, and said, “Good kid, train hard—I have high hopes for you!” Clearly, he was very pleased with Brian Carter’s perseverance in completing the space confinement.

“Henry Brooks, step forward!” At the main instructor’s call, Henry Brooks hurriedly stepped forward.

The main instructor looked him up and down: “You’re the one who got punished the most during basic training?”

Henry Brooks couldn’t tell if the main instructor was angry or pleased, so he could only brace himself and answer, “Yes, sir!”

“We don’t want disobedient people in the army! If you don’t train carefully, I’ll personally supervise your confinement!” This time, anyone could tell the main instructor was very displeased. Henry Brooks felt even more wronged—why was the main instructor happy when the dinosaur made mistakes, but displeased when he did?

Wronged or not, training had to continue. This time, Henry Brooks forced himself to focus and actually managed to go more than a day without making any mistakes. Whether it was the main instructor’s threat that worked or the space confinement that was truly terrifying, in any case, throughout the entire Thirty-Second Battalion, not a single person made a mistake that day.

Of course, mistakes are inevitable—everyone makes mistakes! Poor Henry Brooks, at this point, no one knew what to say about him anymore. Anyway, the nickname “Camel” definitely needed a prefix: “Unlucky Camel.”

He had just secretly breathed a sigh of relief when his mind unconsciously drifted off into some memory. Instructor Hack had seen this state too many times and shouted loudly, snapping the wandering Henry Brooks back to attention. As luck would have it, the main instructor was making a personal inspection and happened to walk by Squad Three. Once again, it was Henry Brooks, the one who made the most mistakes, and the main instructor’s expression immediately changed. He personally came over and escorted Henry Brooks to the military discipline office.