Chapter 91-2: Utterly Shameless (2) |
They had fought for three days and starved for three days, yet no one had given in.
Until victory was decided or Chief Instructor Mad Sand ordered a stop to the cafeteria brawls, the battle would continue.
Precisely because the fights were inevitable, the trainees cherished the brief pre-battle calm, breathing heavily as if trying to absorb the food’s aroma from the air.
“Hey! Poro kid, get over here and scratch your grandpa’s itch!”
At that moment, Li Zheng stepped forward.
His shout was like the starting gun at a sports meet, shattering the pre-meal calm as the cafeteria battle ignited instantly.
Within minutes, the place, once orderly, was swept into chaos like a raging storm.
Tables were mercilessly overturned, trays became weapons, spiritual food mixed with sauces was scattered all over the floor… The air was filled with the smell of food and the muffled sounds of fists landing on flesh.
The chaotic scene lasted fifteen minutes before it ended.
There were no winners in this fight. All the trainees were left battered.
Bruises on their faces, footprints on their clothes, disheveled hair… The worst off was a trainee from the Iron-Faced race of the Water Valley Training Camp, who had been pinned to the ground and beaten by both the players and the Four-Eyed race trainees. His eyes were swollen, his jaw dislocated, and he lay on the ground gasping for breath.
The battle was over, but the training was not.
Mad Sand arrived shortly after, set the dislocated joints, and led them to the training field to introduce a new training module.
The first phase of the training camp had no real combat training nor any lessons in fighting techniques. Every training module was designed to build willpower as its core goal.
The purpose was for them to endure suffering and overcome inner struggles through sheer will.
This process was already tormenting enough, and the additional hunger resistance training stripped away even the last bit of comfort from their training.
The pain finally ended at 10 p.m.
Back in their rooms, Li Zheng and the others closed the doors and opened the Trading House to search for food.
“Wow, there’s a piece of insect meat for sale in the shop. This stuff is tasty.”
“Insect meat looks kinda disgusting though. The brain-like folds on it are creepy, and the taste isn’t nearly as good as spiritual fish. But fish meat is so hard to buy. Every time it goes up, it’s instantly sold out. I don’t know if it’s because there aren’t enough Demonic Fishermen, or they just keep failing to catch fish.”
“Did you contact the Demonic Fishermen? Their spiritual fish output is pretty decent.”
“Yeah, but their fish have already been reserved by several guilds. No chance for us.”
“Stop complaining. Insect meat tastes way better than canned food. We should be thankful for the appearance of the Battle Swarm, giving us another option besides chewing on cans.”
“Let’s eat, let’s eat. I’m about to faint from hunger. When will this end? I want to eat the cafeteria feast.”
—
After dividing up the insect meat, Li Zheng and the others started devouring canned food.
But the taste was horrible.
After having eaten spiritual food, both their taste buds and bodies had changed, making cheap canned food hard to swallow.
The more they ate, the more sick of it they felt.
But to maintain their strength for the next day’s training, they still forced themselves to eat.
Half an hour later, after finishing their meal, the Grind Kings players started chatting about their daily training camp life.
Murderous Intent Rising: I wonder what those livestock are doing tonight?
Dirt Poor: What else can they do? Lying in bed, tossing and turning on empty stomachs, unable to sleep. Their heads filled with thoughts of the cafeteria’s spiritual food. The more they think, the hungrier they get. The hungrier they get, the more they think. Then they show up exhausted for training the next day.
Family-Sharing Stepdad: At least we’ve got something to eat. They’re really tough, though. Especially the Poro race. Their hunger resistance is way stronger than the Four-Eyed race.
Game Gold-Farmer: I think the Four-Eyed race endures hunger better. They’re weak right now because we drained them dry earlier, and they haven’t recovered yet. I don’t believe the Poro race could tough it out for seven days with no food like the Four-Eyed race.
At that moment, Leopard-Headed F2P, rubbing his belly, chimed in.
Leopard-Headed F2P: Hey, is night fighting banned in the training camp?
Dirt Poor: Night fighting? What night fighting?
Just as he finished speaking, he froze. Everyone turned their heads toward Leopard-Headed F2P, instantly realizing what was on his mind.
Game Gold-Farmer: What are you getting at?
Leopard-Headed F2P: We just ate and have plenty of energy, while they’re up all night enduring hunger. We have a huge advantage right now. Since the advantage is ours, why not sneak over under cover of night and give them a good thrashing?
Dirt Poor: You… are brilliant. Mad Sand never said we couldn’t beat people up during sleep time. If we sneak over and pummel them, wouldn’t that be awesome?
Game Gold-Farmer: I fully support it! Let’s increase the pressure, don’t let them eat or sleep!
Family-Sharing Stepdad: Damn, Leopard head, you usually act dumb, but I didn’t expect you to be so devious. You actually thought up this nasty trick.
Fun Without Spending: Hahaha, totally doable. Any mental exhaustion we get can be fixed by buying mental recovery potions from the shop. But they’ll have to suffer for real.
—
With the plan in place, Li Zheng and the others immediately bought mental recovery potions from the shop and drank them.
It felt like a gentle warm breeze sweeping through their hearts, quickly restoring their mental energy.
They then opened the door and headed toward the rooms where the Four-Eyed race stayed.
Before even getting close, strange sounds reached their ears.
Murderous Intent Rising frowned. “There are a lot of frogs croaking. You guys hear that?”
Dirt Poor said. “What frogs, you idiot? That’s the sound of their stomachs protesting.”
As they spoke, Li Zheng approached the Four-Eyed race’s door and lightly knocked.
“Eyeball, you asleep?”
There was a rustling sound inside. The door opened, and a weary-looking Ghost Eye peered out at Li Zheng in confusion.
“Li Zheng, what’re you doing here so late?”
Li Zheng glanced back at his brothers, then pointed inside.
“Let’s talk inside.”
“Alright.” Ghost Eye stepped aside, and Li Zheng and the others entered the room.
Under the confused gazes of the Four-Eyed race trainees, Li Zheng explained the reason for their late-night visit.
After hearing him out, Ghost Eye twitched the corner of his mouth.
“If they can’t sleep, won’t that mean we can’t sleep either?”
“Exactly. We’ll endure it right alongside them. Add another all-nighter course until they break down,” Li Zheng nodded righteously.
Hearing this, Ghost Eye and his racial kin wore complicated expressions.
The player race livestock were clearly pulling off another crazy stunt, willing to sacrifice their own sleep while dragging others down with them.
In the eyes of the Four-Eyed race, this was pure beastly behavior, not even sparing the last bit of rest in the training camp.
But they couldn’t easily refuse.
Because the players had the courage to propose it. If they didn’t have the courage to follow, it would be shameful.
Two thoughts fiercely battled in their minds. As the representative of the Four-Eyed race, Ghost Eye took a deep breath and spoke firmly.
“We’re in.”
“Ghosty, I knew you were reliable.”
“Don’t pat my shoulder. We’re only temporarily allied to deal with the Poro race. Once they’re gone, we’ll settle the score with you.”
“Oh, I’m so scared, hahaha.”
“You really need a beating. I feel like hitting you right now.”
Having reached an agreement, Li Zheng and the others split up and went to the other racial groups in Snow Valley Training Camp to pitch their extra-curricular activity plan.
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