Lantern Sister is still very capable.

Chapter 103 Hostages

The external turmoil ultimately affected the senior high school students who were being tormented by the college entrance examination while also having to participate in physical training. However, for them, who were struggling with both intellectual and physical challenges, it was a relatively good time.

Firstly, after the first weekly test, a physical examination suddenly came. Except for a few students who were forced to stay at the base and take online classes, the rest of the students did not need to come to the Wenshan training base for three days of intensive training. Of course, they still had to go back to school to attend classes.

The training difficulty dropped sharply over the next two weeks, as if it had returned to the intensity of the first round of training. The training area was also reduced to Yingya Lake. After the training, they were not forced to stay overnight at the base, but could happily go home. There were special cars to take them home, and the training ended half an hour earlier as a result.

Secondly, the difficulty of the weekly tests was reduced. The second weekly test involved walking on a rope bridge at Yingya Lake and swimming. The third weekly test seemed to start a month earlier than the Dragon Boat Festival, with the test requiring them to form teams and row boats on the lake.

The physical test was completely different from the first weekly test where you could slack off. It knocked some students out, but for the instructors, combined with dietary reference data, they could see the latent superhumans more clearly.

Once the second round of training tests is over, we'll take these newbies away and let them grow stronger under the guidance of their seniors, then add them to the base where there's a shortage of personnel.

Since the base was directly attacked by the United States, many level one and two ability users have been lost, and quite a few have died from the heavy blows of level four ability users. Even the first captain, Zhao Junxing, was forced to recuperate for a month. Whether he can recover his strength before the national competition is another matter.

Wu Qingyun was first seriously injured, and then faced accountability and transfer, which also caused panic among the people at the base.

However, because many people have been extremely busy lately, they haven't had time to worry about the tense atmosphere at the base. Only the level one ability users at the bottom are constantly discussing, the level two are busy leading teams and training, and the level three squad leaders are busy with their own teams. Zhao Junxing from the first team is recovering from his injuries, Yang Guizhou from the second team is away for training and hasn't returned, and only Hua Zhongli from the third team has finally recovered from the fire incident on Xiong Yi Avenue and has decided not to participate in the national competition. She said she wants to focus on preparing for the Dragon Group selection, but she is usually busy managing things at the base and hasn't had time to train.

With a shortage of manpower, even the usually aloof Hanazawa Shiori couldn't help but start paying attention to the training camp selection.

She asked for a list during that firefighting, but didn't have time to look at it. By the time she finished her work, the director was being replaced. Hu Lan, the new director, was making a big splash in her new role. As the only level-three ability user still intact in the base, she was made to wish she could transform into a wind-type ability user.

When Hua Zhongli finally had some free time, Hu Lan also had some free time and invited her to watch the second round of training tests together.

Unfortunately, after Hua Zhongli agreed, Hu Lan was called to a Level 4 holographic meeting by her superiors because of the theft of base data and the follow-up to the wanted notice for Zheng Weiduo. The meeting coincided with the training test, so she couldn't come.

Hua Zhongli breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't good at dealing with leaders, and now that she was alone to watch the training test, she felt much more relaxed and at ease.

Bai Xinxin was acting as an invigilator during the training camp, and she was currently pouring tea for Hua Zhongli. The two of them had crossed paths since the last time they helped with the fire.

Bai Xinxin wasn't the type to fawn over her superiors, but she genuinely held a soft spot for Hua Zhongli, who had saved her at the Shangyuan Villa years ago, and couldn't help but want to get closer to her.

Fortunately, Hua Zhongli didn't dislike her and even considered having her join the third team. However, considering that some of the girls in the team disliked fire-type characters and were afraid of causing conflict, she eventually gave up on the idea.

"How are you doing at the Wenshan base?" Hua Zhongli wasn't pretentious at all. She grew up at the base and was always treated like a child by her older brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts. She also took care of the new recruits when they joined the base. Although she suffered from the ravages of flames, she overcame her fear of what she had experienced by facing it again and again. After saving that baby last time, she felt the kind of destiny of cause and effect, and her mindset became more peaceful.

Bai Xinxin stood at attention as if she had been called on, like a soldier facing inspection, and answered loudly, "Everything is fine."

Her overly nervous appearance amused Hua Zhongli. To avoid embarrassment, Hua Zhongli stopped looking at her and instead started flipping through the data in her personal terminal. Originally, she wanted to divert attention and relieve Bai Xinxin's pressure, but the first name at the beginning awakened memories from eight years ago, causing the corners of Hua Zhongli's mouth to involuntarily curve downwards.

A moment later, Hua Zhongli looked sharply at Bai Xinxin, "How much do you know about this Chu Deng?"

Bai Xinxin recalled her observation of Chu Deng after entering the base following the weekly exam and replied earnestly, "She was one of the few who were kept at the base for online classes after the weekly exam because she had direct contact with a host organism that had developed parasites at the base, and was kept for observation for a few days. In the subsequent daily training, she consistently ranked among the top students and is a promising talent."

“A promising talent…heh.” Hua Zhongli pondered these words for a moment, then let out a cryptic laugh.

She recalled the scene where Fire Butterfly looked at Chu Deng, who was just a little girl, after being rescued from the Shangyuan Villa. This scene had been appearing in her dreams ever since she learned of Fire Butterfly's death.

Chu Deng...

Hua Zhongli closed her eyes briefly. Fire Butterfly, Chu Deng… Fire Butterfly, Zheng Weiduo… Shangyuan Villa fire… Forest fire at Wenshan Training Base… Alpha Parasite… Ability Enhancement Potion…

Keywords swirled in her mind, but something crucial seemed to be missing, preventing Hua Zhongli from connecting them.

She opened her eyes and searched for Chu Deng's figure in the surveillance footage.

Bai Xinxin noticed Hua Zhongli's attention to Chu Deng and remained silent while she closed her eyes. Seeing that Hua Zhongli's gaze was on the monitor, she took the initiative to say, "She is currently on monitor number 32."

Hua Zhongli nodded. "Thank you." Actually, she had already found it, but she didn't mention it. Instead, she thanked Bai Xinxin for her kindness.

Bai Xinxin belatedly realized that the experienced Hua team leader was at the peak of level three, and her eyesight was much better than her own level two, so she didn't need to worry about him. However, she felt warmed by Hua team leader's thoughtfulness and shut her mouth to look at Chu Deng.

Wearing a blast helmet and wielding a laser gun, Chu Deng kicked open a door on the third floor. The room seemed empty, but Chu Deng could still sense the body temperature of the person inside.

After leveling up five times, even without activating his senses, Chu Deng still received endless information from the outside world as elements approached. It took him half a month to adapt, but he still couldn't get used to it.

Not only could she sense the body temperature of the person inside, but she could also hear the heartbeat that suddenly accelerated. The sound of the person she was playing hide-and-seek with swallowing was like a loudspeaker blasting into her ears.

Chu Deng closed her eyes in frustration, clicked her tongue, and tried to suppress her uncontrollable senses, managing to regain her composure.

But when she was unhappy, she didn't want others to be happy either. Although she intended to let the other party off the hook, the main reason was that the person hidden inside was none other than Meng Qiuhe, who couldn't help but show goodwill to her friend Jin Xiaoyue!

So she quickened her pace and walked to the cabinet where the other person was hiding.

Hidden in the closet as a hostage, Meng Qiuhe held her breath, her forehead sweating with tension. She could hear the sound of combat boots hitting the ground getting closer and closer, and her heart pounded.

Chu Deng, who was not releasing water but rather the sea, pretended to stand in front of the cabinet for more than ten seconds before slowly taking an apple from the cabinet, eating it as he walked out.

After the footsteps had been gone for a long time, Meng Qiuhe finally crawled out of the cabinet, his limbs trembling. Afraid that someone might be there, he quickly stood up and hid behind the door, silently sighing: "That was terrifying! Damn, it's so unlucky to have drawn a hostage!"