While Cynthia was deeply engaged in her task, several tech experts gathered around, observing her progress. Ignoring their presence, Cynthia focused on the screen, her fingers dancing across the keyboard.Hours passed slowly.After two painstaking hours, Cynthia was still at it. Not well-versed in this field, Matthew turned to the nearby tech experts and asked, "How's she doing?""She's much more skilled than the previous kid who attempted this. If we were facing her one-on-one, we wouldn't stand a chance," one of them sincerely praised, feeling a little nervous.Matthew was taken aback. Was she really that good?"I can't break through it in a short time. Though there are minor flaws, it's practically impossible for the average person." Cynthia stopped her efforts after thoroughly assessing their security defense system and turned to address them."Can you do it?" Matthew inquired. Cynthia glanced at the people behind her before responding to Matthew, "It'll take time.""How l
"Thirty minutes," Cynthia admitted. It was challenging but quite comprehensive. However, if she took it seriously, it would not take long. After all, this was pure hacking without anyone intercepting or acting as an opponent. It would have been much more challenging if someone had tried to distract her during the process.Matthew seemed somewhat surprised. "So, what about the two hours you spent earlier?""I was taking it slow," Cynthia said. Although it was a security system meant for testing, it still represented their hard work. If it were breached immediately, it would not be appropriate. Of course, Cynthia had also studied their defense system. Since the test version was this robust, the official one would be no problem. Besides her, no one could break into it."Next time, we'll arrange for you to compete with them. You'll attack, and they'll defend. Let's see how long it takes," Matthew proposed.Cynthia agreed.As they continued talking, they reached the training ground. Ri
It turned out that Matthew, despite his occasional pranks, was a man of his word when it came to serious matters. He had Cynthia train for an extra hour to optimize the training's effectiveness. Then, he took her to the mess hall for lunch.Unbeknownst to the others, this was a privilege awarded to high-ranking members. When training or other commitments interfered with their lunchtime, they could dine separately.Cynthia was surprised as she stared at the food before her. "Let's eat," Matthew said. He valued Cynthia greatly as she was the first recruit to excel in training and possessed exceptional hacking skills.Cynthia nodded and began to eat. The two of them ate in silence. After finishing, Cynthia finally spoke, "Captain.""Hmm?" Matthew responded."The planned challenge you mentioned... It's scheduled for our rest day, right?" Cynthia asked, her voice tinged with unease.Matthew continued walking beside her, casually responding, "Afraid I'll make you do extra training af
Various types of insects..."Is this even edible?" Jimmy pursed his lips, looking skeptical."Of course! In wilderness missions or survival situations, we sometimes have to eat things worse than this. At least these are deep-fried and have some flavor," David chimed in.Jimmy tried to imagine himself eating one of those bugs... but decided it was best not to.Meanwhile, Cynthia and the others were still running at full tilt. As David had mentioned earlier, they were all from well-off families, accustomed to a life of luxury. Bugs were not something they had encountered at the dinner table, let alone thought of eating.Even Cynthia, who was generally not a picky eater, struggled to come to terms with it."Slow down, you guys," Alex gasped, thoroughly exhausted. He tried to negotiate with Linus, who was just ahead of him, "I'm allergic to protein, so I can't eat Meal Set 2. Can we switch places?"Linus, however, was not buying it and retorted, "Well, I'm allergic to the way those
"Are you sure you want to share?" Matthew walked over.The group was stunned, not replying to him.Matthew scanned their faces one by one and instructed Linus, "Divide your plate into six portions and give each of them one.""No need!" Alex was the first to refuse."We were just joking earlier. We weren't serious," Riley said, uneasy about the bugs.The rest nodded in agreement.Linus grumbled under his breath, cursing his less-than-loyal friends. Eventually, he accepted the task.In the end, Linus bore the burden himself. Unable to stomach the insects, he had not eaten much at lunch. When he left the cafeteria, he was starving."Want me to go with you to the convenience store to buy some snacks? The afternoon training is going to be tough, and you won't make it on an empty stomach," Alex whispered to him."Whose fault is it?" Linus glared at him."Mine," Alex admitted readily. He looked around, could not spot Matthew, and urged, "Come on, my treat."Linus hesitated for a mo
Matthew handed the bottle of water to Alex and said, "Take a sip and catch your breath.""Yes, Captain!" Alex eagerly responded. He took the water and drank it sip by sip, instantly feeling refreshed and less tired.After finishing the water, Matthew led him to sit down nearby, and they chatted for a while. During their conversation, Alex suddenly felt guilty for not living up to such a good captain.Determined to make amends, he resolved to train harder in the future.Seeing that Alex had rested enough, Matthew cleared his throat and asked, "Feeling better?""Yes," Alex nodded."Good, now let's continue the punishment. You have 45 minutes to complete a 10-kilometer weighted cross-country run. If you're not back by two thirty, tomorrow's training will be doubled," Matthew said, checking his watch.Alex's eyes widened in shock. They had just been casually chatting, and now he was suddenly tasked with another grueling run."You have 44 minutes and 50 seconds left," Matthew remind
Mitchell, who had also never seen Linus work so hard, calmly commented, "We'll find out when he takes a break later.""Where's Alex?" Riley scanned the area, slightly puzzled.The others on the training ground were also looking around, unable to spot Alex.It was not until more than half an hour later that they finally saw Alex approaching, looking utterly dejected."What happened? You were gone for so long," Riley, who had just finished a round of training, asked as he walked over. "Captain had me do a heavy-weight run," Alex replied, his breath still uneven. He had resolved never to trust Matthew so easily again.Riley was puzzled but refrained from further questioning, continuing the afternoon's training tasks.Throughout the entire afternoon, the group trained diligently without supervision, unaware that Matthew had been observing them from a distance.During a break, David approached Matthew and, observing the group's serious training, engaged in a casual conversation. "A
In the jungle, there were no desktop computers, and they would not have spare time either during the training."There is a computer in the Captain's office," Cynthia said. Her need for a computer was just a ruse. "After training tomorrow, I'll just let Captain know, and I can borrow it in the middle of the night.""Ahem!" Alex cleared his throat.Linus did not look quite right either.All eyes turned toward them. "What's going on with you two?""According to the organization's rules, you're not supposed to wander around after lights-out," Linus chimed in, lightly coughing. He was concerned about Cynthia getting punished. "If you sneak into the Captain's office for a surprise attack in the middle of the night, won't you get in trouble?""I'll just report it in advance," Cynthia shrugged. She was not too concerned. If she got punished, so be it. All those training exercises were pretty much the same—exhausting to the point where you could not even lift a finger.The two exchanged