"Pain! Hmph... hmph..."
Gu Ya was awakened by the cramping sensation in his legs.
He quickly tensed his legs, gripped his toes, and pulled them back forcefully to stretch his calf muscles.
The cramping lasted for nearly five minutes before slowly subsiding.
"Hoo!"
This was the first time he had experienced cramping since his transmigration and gaining consciousness.
He was familiar with this type of pain from his original world.
That's right, I'm growing.
Gu Ya rejoiced internally, as he truly did not want to continue living with a baby face and a height of 1.7 meters.
It seemed heaven had not yet abandoned him.
"It's only three o'clock, I should sleep a bit longer."
The next morning, all the A-grade class students gathered punctually in the hangar.
Shi Heping rushed over, holding the back of his head and smiling apologetically, "Haha, I'm late again today, sorry, sorry."
"Alright, choose your mechs, and let's go!"
Today, they were heading to the primal forest training grounds, located southeast of the airfield, near the beach.
This forest was planted by Wuhe City to defend against deserts and tsunamis.
Due to genetic modification technology, the trees in the forest were dense and incredibly thick; the thickest trees required three heavy mechs to embrace.
However, for reasons unknown, this forest could only grow in this coastal region and could not survive in desert or Gobi conditions.
Biologists and geneticists had studied this for years without finding a cause.
The students drove their mechs to a temporary camp outside the jungle, exited their mechs, and gathered in an open space.
Shi Heping stood before them and announced, "Starting today, we will conduct a three-day jungle wilderness training."
"In principle, it will be in groups of three, but considering we have 16 students in our class, the remaining student can choose to join any team."
Shi Heping paused and continued, "The training rules are simple, with only one objective: survival!"
"Each group must achieve 100 points to pass!"
"If even one student's mech in a group is destroyed, the entire group will be considered to have failed."
Shi Heping's words immediately dispelled any thoughts of recruiting a fourth member.
Under this rule, an extra person was not an added security but an added burden.
"The jungle contains giant creatures beyond your imagination and various traps. But! The truly more dangerous element is the other groups."
"Your communication wristbands contain detailed scoring rules, but I still need to remind you of one thing."
"Destroying other groups' mechs is the fastest way to score points."
Shi Heping finished speaking with a thought-provoking smile, and all the students instantly understood that this was essentially a game disguised as training, where they were to form teams and fight each other.
"Alright, study the specific scoring rules yourselves. Now, form your groups. Once groups are formed, the team leaders should come to me to draw their entry points."
"Then, we will rest for the morning, prepare the necessary freshwater and food, and at 1 PM, we depart!"
Shi Heping concluded, looking at everyone, and said, "Begin."
Gu Ya stood in the second to last position in the queue. He was confident, his performance was the best, and everyone had seen his abilities during yesterday's flight training.
Many groups would surely be eager to have Gu Ya.
Especially Xuan Lang, with his steady and strategic personality, would definitely choose Gu Ya.
Thinking this, Gu Ya unconsciously straightened his posture.
As expected, Xuan Lang walked towards Gu Ya.
Gu Ya looked at Xuan Lang with eager anticipation.
But to Gu Ya's surprise, Xuan Lang completely ignored him and chose the student next to Gu Ya.
What?
Gu Ya looked at Xuan Lang in disbelief. The other party didn't even turn his head and walked away with his team members.
Another student approached, also not glancing at Gu Ya, and took away another student standing beside Gu Ya.
Ten minutes passed, and five groups were formed. Even the student with the worst assessment results found a team, but Gu Ya remained unclaimed.
Gu Ya stood there awkwardly, watching the students who had already formed groups begin to discuss the scoring rules.
What's going on? Why doesn't anyone want me?
Shi Heping walked over, smiled at Gu Ya, and said, "Gu Ya, you can choose to join any group you want."
As soon as Shi Heping finished speaking, the five group leaders immediately responded.
"Our group doesn't need anyone."
"Our group is full."
"No, we are good friends, and we don't want outsiders interfering."
Even Xuan Lang coldly stated, "The three of us are sufficient."
Their expressions were as cold as if they were discarding a toy they were tired of playing with.
Gu Ya felt his pride being trampled underfoot by these fifteen people and then brutally crushed.
His gaze drifted, and he lowered his head, feeling a pang of sadness. He recalled Xuan Lang's words from yesterday, that in the A-grade class, those from humble backgrounds would be looked down upon by everyone.
Shi Heping quickly asked, "Gu Ya, what are your thoughts?"
"Do you want to forfeit the training and be deemed as failed, or do you want to persist and participate?"
Shi Heping had thrown the dilemma back to Gu Ya.
Gu Ya felt his heart bleeding. Even the students with the worst performance looked at him with their heads held high.
These so-called classmates had never truly looked at Gu Ya as an equal.
Heh, human nature.
But so what?
Gu Ya thought about his journey so far; hadn't he always faced adversity and found strength in shame?
Retreat was not in Gu Ya's nature, and giving up was even less likely!
Gu Ya solidified his resolve, raised his head, looked at Shi Heping, and said, "I can do it alone. I don't need any other teammates."
As Gu Ya spoke, all the students turned to look at him. The barely concealed, disdainful expressions on their faces were as if they were looking at an idiot.
Look all you want. I will prove myself with my strength.
Shi Heping nodded and said, "For fairness, your passing score will be 50 points."
Gu Ya immediately stopped Shi Heping and said, "I want 100 points!"
As Gu Ya spoke, many students couldn't suppress their laughter.
Their words were piercing, but Gu Ya listened and remembered, secretly vowing that he would eventually make them all shut up.
Shi Heping's gaze towards Gu Ya also changed, and he said gravely, "Since you've made up your mind, I have nothing more to say."
At precisely one o'clock in the afternoon, each group arrived at their respective entry points.
Each entry point was about ten kilometers apart, spread across the edges of the jungle.
Gu Ya's entry point was near the camp, so he had more time to prepare his supplies.
After finishing, Gu Ya glanced at his [Void Pack] again.
Inside was an intact "Qilin Dragon 003" medium-sized general-purpose mech.
Over the past few days, Gu Ya had been studying the mech's components and loadouts at night, and he was now very familiar with it.
There were also two sets of mech equipment gifted by the system.
The [Void Pack] had an unstated function, which was to summon and retrieve equipment.
This saved Gu Ya the trouble of recovering armor.
Next was a complete set of military-grade exoskeleton armor, which Gu Ya had quietly fully charged.
Finally, there was a damaged robotic snake and a low-profile flying motorcycle.
Gu Ya planned to repair these two items when he went home this weekend.
Looking at his equipment, Gu Ya felt a bit worried. If a student's mech was damaged and he summoned his exclusive mech, it would surely arouse suspicion among his classmates, and he would definitely be accused of cheating.
They already had reservations about him; they would surely report him to the academy, and with the academy's investigation, he would be in serious trouble.
It was even possible he would be expelled.
Therefore, he absolutely couldn't use the "Qilin Dragon."
There was also some bad news: Gu Ya's system currency was running low.
If he encountered danger, he wouldn't be able to purchase powerful equipment to overcome it.
This meant that this training would be fraught with difficulties, and his path ahead was uncertain.
Gu Ya smiled lightly and indifferently, thinking, When did I start being afraid?
Just then, Shi Heping walked over and reminded him, "Gu Ya, you've exceeded the entry time by fifteen minutes. If you're any slower, you'll be judged as failed."
Gu Ya stood up, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and gave Shi Heping a calm smile, saying, "Alright, Teacher, I'm going now."
Shi Heping watched Gu Ya climb into the mech, saw the exhaust flames erupt, and the mech charged into the jungle without hesitation. He shook his head and thought, Sigh, good luck, young man.