"Take ten minutes to rest, then stand at attention for half an hour," Jason ordered.

Cynthia sank to her knees, her face as pale as a ghost. She'd never been the athletic type, and now, on an empty stomach, she was dangerously close to passing out. "I'm so hungry, I think I'm gonna die right here," Cynthia whispered weakly, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You had your chance to eat!" Eilies snapped.

Flora glanced at Cynthia, her brow furrowing. She stood and walked over to Jason.

"Got any chocolate?" she asked quietly.

Since arriving at the camp, all their snacks had been confiscated. Even the candy Cynthia had hidden in her pants pocket had been found and tossed by the drill instructor.

"Huh?"

Jason scratched his head. As a grown man, he didn't carry that sort of thing.

"Miss Flora, give me a moment," he said in a low voice before running off.

He returned with a few chocolate bars stuffed in his pocket. Making sure no one was looking, he discreetly handed them to Flora.

Everyone was too exhausted to notice.

Flora went over to Cynthia and slipped the chocolate into her pocket.

"Flora, where did you get chocolate?" Cynthia's eyes lit up. Flora was amazing at hiding things!

"Just eat it," Flora said softly, then walked away to sit down.

Jillian observed the exchange, her eyes narrowing. She sidled up to Jason and whispered, "Instructor, it looks like Miss Flora has hidden some chocolate." Hoarding snacks was a big no-no at camp, and getting caught would surely mean a deduction of points.

Jason frowned, glancing at Jillian. Despite her delicate appearance, she seemed to love tattling.

"Mind your own business. Don't worry about the rest."

He remembered that she was Ms. Flora's roommate, yet here she was, sneakily snitching. She was trouble.

"But instructor..."

"Run five laps!"

"Instructor..."

"Make it six!"

Anyone who messed with Ms. Flora was an enemy of Empire Base!

Jillian's face froze. She hadn't expected Jason to be so protective of Flora. She looked at his stern profile, then quietly started running laps.

Everyone watched Jillian in curiosity, wondering what she'd done to get punished.

After eating the chocolate, Cynthia regained some strength, enough to get through the half-hour of standing at attention.

But this was just the warm-up. The real training was about to start.

"This is an M4 carbine. It holds ten rounds, and a perfect score is ten hits. I don't ask for much, just hit the target six times to pass."

Jason demonstrated how to use it, then asked, "Who wants to try?"

"Reporting, instructor! I'd like to try!"

Jason nodded.

Jillian stepped out from the ranks and sat on the ground. The recoil of a carbine can be strong, and it's often best for recruits, especially girls, to shoot while lying down to avoid being knocked back. Jason, fulfilling his duty as an instructor, reminded her, but Jillian just smiled at him, then confidently aimed at the target and fired.

Eight point nine!

Such a score wouldn't impress the regular members of the base. But considering Jillian was a girl and a student, achieving such a good result was truly commendable.

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