Day four of the devil's week, 00:30.
Jiang Ye walked to the tent, assault rifle in hand, and raised an eyebrow in surprise to find ten officers already standing at attention.
Every day, they were woken by gunfire around midnight. The officers had grown accustomed to it. Rather than scrambling out of their tents in a panic at the sound of gunshots, they decided it was better to be ready beforehand.
If they performed well and pleased the Commander, perhaps their training would be less grueling.
"You're all performing very well today. Training has been tough, but there are only three days left. I'll let you have a good night's sleep." Jiang Ye slung his assault rifle onto his back and waved his hand. "Dismissed!"
The officers were overjoyed. They were actually allowed to go back and sleep in!
With crisp salutes, they quickly retreated into their tents.
Jiang Ye turned and walked away, gradually disappearing into the distance.
Inside the tent, the officers hadn't slept yet. They peeked out through the tent seams, and only when they saw Jiang Ye enter the main building did they finally heave a sigh of relief and collapse into a deep sleep.
For the past few days, they had been living a life that was dark and chaotic, worse than death.
Jiang Ye's image in their minds could no longer be described as a devil; he was simply a pervert!
They ran incessantly through the snow, as if trying to reach the other side of the planet. The area around the military base was marked by their footprints. The officers felt like human snow plows. Everyone vomited, but they dared not stop to do so, instead vomiting as they ran, because falling behind meant extra laps.
Combat training: ten people, equipped with protective gear, fought fiercely. Only those who remained standing at the end received food. Everyone was bruised and swollen, and you could hear the fluid sloshing inside their skulls.
The food was abnormal. Raw beef and raw fish were considered good. For several meals, they ate live chickens – live, flapping roosters. Each person was given one, their necks twisted, and eaten raw. At first, they felt like vomiting after eating, but after a few meals, they actually got used to the taste of raw chicken.
There was also endless shooting practice. Various weapons were lined up, and they fired rapidly at targets until the targets were completely destroyed. Piles of shell casings lay at everyone's feet.
Climbing training: a rope hung from the roof. Without any safety equipment, they had to climb to the top within thirty seconds. If they exceeded the time, they had to start over.
Vehicle-grabbing training: Jiang Ye drove a flying car, making the officers hang onto the door frame to support themselves. The car accelerated wildly, moving in straight lines like cannonballs, or making sharp turns like agile fish across the snowfield, trying to throw the officers off.
The anti-nausea training was the most terrifying. Jiang Ye ordered soldiers to dig a small swimming pool overnight. First, it was filled with half a pool of hot water. Then, the entire unit was ordered to relieve themselves by the pool, both urine and feces. Finally, the entire pool was filled with floating black and yellow unidentified objects, and the overwhelming stench could be smelled from a mile away. Secretary Liu Jizi, pinching his nose, poured forty pebbles into the murky pool.
The officers were each given a pair of goggles. With only one pair, they jumped into the pool like dumplings, diving to the bottom to find the pebbles. Once they found a pebble, they would come ashore and place it by the edge. They were not allowed to leave the pool to wash until forty pebbles were collected on the shore.
There were too many chaotic and perverted training exercises, and the officers were completely subdued by Jiang Ye's tyranny. In their minds, Jiang Ye had become a mixture of commander, pervert, madman, and king of hell – more terrifying than the devil. The devil's methods were, at most, cannibalism, but Jiang Ye's methods were unpredictable.
Che Zhen privately remarked that once the entire army had undergone this training, Commander Jiang's name would probably be enough to scare children into stopping their nighttime crying.
Amidst fear and apprehension, heavy snores echoed from the tents as the officers slept huddled together.
At the same time, Jiang Ye returned to his office.
Liu Jizi had been waiting for a long time. Yawning, he took Jiang Ye's assault rifle. "Commander, since we're not training now, what time should I wake you up?"
"1:55," Jiang Ye replied. "I'll take them for intensive training at 2:00."
Liu Jizi's eyes widened. "Didn't you say you were letting them sleep soundly?"
"Yes, they slept until 2:00. They slept very soundly. Are you suggesting I should let them sleep until five or six?" Jiang Ye smiled.
Liu Jizi silently called him a pervert in his heart. He took the assault rifle and went out, closing the office door behind him.
Jiang Ye took off his snow camouflage uniform and lay down on the bed. He didn't fall asleep immediately but habitually took out his phone to check it.
Li Nannan: "I took a look at the satellite analysis. It seems there are other forces on your planet."
Jiang Ye: "Oh! Commander, you've returned triumphantly! How was the battle on the front lines?"
Li Nannan: "Triumphant my foot. I'm back to recover from injuries. I was almost blown to smithereens. The battle is still ongoing, and it's fierce. The Miers were well-prepared this time, but the current situation is still under control."
Jiang Ye: "What did you mean by 'other forces' just now? Are they the Miers?"
Li Nannan: "No. Besides your territory, over a dozen human settlements of varying sizes have been observed across the entire planet. Perhaps it hadn't snowed before, so the satellites couldn't detect them. Now that it's snowing, the areas without snow are very obvious. Like spots appearing on a slightly rotten orange, they've all popped out."
Li Nannan sent an electronic file. Jiang Ye immediately opened it. It was a holographic projection of the planet, with several red circles marked in various locations worldwide. Clicking to enlarge them revealed aerial photographs.
In the snowy night, some simple small houses appeared, along with scattered bonfires. They resembled Eskimo settlements.
Jiang Ye looked at each of the settlement areas marked by red circles and breathed a sigh of relief.
These settlements were all very small in scale.
The smallest had only a dozen or so small houses.
The largest seemed to house only a few hundred people.
Li Nannan: "Have you finished looking? These settlements have been numbered according to their size. Your territory is Number A, currently the largest. But B and C are very close to you, on the adjacent continent, just across the sea."
Jiang Ye: "I've noticed. B has about four to five hundred people, and C should have two to three hundred."
Li Nannan: "I recall you've lifted immigration restrictions, and colonial officials from the entire planet can reside in your territory. These separate settlements are those unwilling to be ruled by you. Do you have any thoughts on this?"
Jiang Ye: "I've already thought about it. I plan to send troops to expand onto the adjacent continent. I'll soon encounter settlements B and C. First, I'll negotiate and ask them to accept my administration. If they refuse, I'll slaughter them all. I'm already training my troops and preparing for war."
Li Nannan: "If actual combat breaks out, do you have confidence?"
Jiang Ye: "I have immense confidence. Commander, please rest assured. If I can't handle these enemies, I'll hang myself and die, so as not to disgrace you. I estimate that if things go smoothly, a few rounds of air force bombing will kill most of these people. Then, with armored vehicles, a single push will be enough, no tactics needed."
Li Nannan: "Good, then I'll await your good news. Once your territory expands further, I'll apply to the higher-ups to see if I can send you more colonial officials to help you expand your population."
Jiang Ye: "Thank you, Commander!"
Verbal thanks weren't sincere enough. Jiang Ye quickly transferred two hundred million yuan in cash to Li Nannan. In the past, he transferred tens of thousands, but now that he was financially well-off, the amount naturally increased.
Jiang Ye felt no pain in offering tribute to Li Nannan. He wanted to convey a signal: when I make money, I'll definitely give you a portion. The more I earn, the more I'll give you. Who else would help me if not you?
Li Nannan didn't say anything. She was accustomed to receiving money from Jiang Ye.