Chapter 605: Gabi the Special Child
Just as Gabi expected, most people were not able to sustain the exercise. The lack of sleep, the lack of water, the humidity, the altitude, and their sweats that only worsen the condition of their wounds almost made everyone give up halfway.
Most girls collapsed and the rest just stopped running and laid on the desert.
It was torture for everyone except Gabi who didn't have any injuries on the first test. Dressed in black tank tops and equally black pants, Gabi was the first one who finished running this time. However, unlike the first test, this one didn't have any rewards. It was simply because this is considered an exercise and not a test.
"Eight am sharp!" Ma Ping shouted. "Everyone is here… good. Good!" He smiled. But to everyone else, his smile looked really infuriating, as it looked like he was mocking their state. "After the run… you will crawl."
Seeing everyone start to pale, Ma Ping added. "But first… we need breakfast. Assemble here by ten in the morning for the next set of exercises. And you can also check the leaderboards right there for the current ranking of points. The challenges are going to start tonight. So… the people who didn't have sleep. Just hoped that no one would challenge you."
With that, Ma Ping gestured them to leave and have breakfast at the canteen. Obviously, everyone turned towards the opposite direction to look at the leader boards instead. It is their chance to challenge the top spot and everyone was actually pretty excited to know who topped the entrance exam.
Leona?
"Leona? Who is Leona?" someone called out. Sadly for them, Gabi or Leona just arrived at the canteen. She already knew that she was the top one, so she wasn't so interested in the leader board. What she wanted to have right now was food.
She was starving!
She woke up really early and ran in a steep desert. She needed more energy if she wanted to survive in this place.
"Hey… are you Leona?"
It was the woman with full breasts and cropped military haircut! Gabi examined the woman's appearance and realized that she had a bandage on her left and right arm. Just like Gabi, she was wearing a tank top, too. "Yes." She knew that this woman didn't check the leaderboards as she just followed Gabi towards the canteen. But how did she know her name if she didn't check the leaderboards?
"May I sit here?"
"You may," Gabi said.
"I'm called Miles. Can I call you Leo?"
"Alright." Gabi started eating. This time, she chose a lot of meat and she was determined to eat a lot. The woman sat opposite her and started eating her own food. Gabi expected her to ask more questions, but surprisingly, the woman stayed quiet. Just like Gabi, the woman would occasionally look at her, then lower her gaze to concentrate on the food.
"If you were wondering how I knew your name, it was because I heard the other teachers talk about you."
"Oh?"
"Last night. I couldn't sleep so I took a bath and heard a teacher mention your name."
Gabi nodded. It must be the teachers that she met, right?
"Is it true that you didn't receive any injuries?"
"True."
"Oh…" Sensing Gabi's awkwardness. The woman stopped asking any more questions. After a few seconds, the other trainees also started arriving. This time, most of them already noticed that Gabi and Miles weren't there earlier. Obviously, they immediately knew that one of them was Leona. And since someone already knew Miles from her dorm, the answer to their questions was pretty obvious.
It was a good thing that they were not allowed to fight in public areas like the canteen or the bathroom, or the hallway.
"Hey… " Suddenly, a woman with short hair sat next to Miles. "You are Leona, right? My name is Mara."
"Hey." Gabi nodded. Soon, another woman sat next to Gabi. This time, she introduced herself as Delia.
"I didn't think that a woman would top this year's entrance exam. And to think that you didn't sustain any injuries. It was indeed very surprising." Just like Miles, Mara and Delia had bandages too. "You already have an advantage because you didn't have an injury."
"Are you going to challenge anyone soon?"
"Are you going to challenge someone with injuries?" Delia asked. "Isn't that too… you know it's like kicking someone while they were down."
Gabi nodded. Indeed. It was just like kicking someone when they were down.
"So you won't challenge anyone?" Mara asked again.
"Hmmm… if I got injured." Gabi said. She then look at the two of them and smiled. "Are you not going to challenge me because you are scared to kick someone while they were down?"
"That— "
"Cough… cough… we were just curious."
"She's right. Just curious. Hehe…"
"We are girls. We should stick together, right?"
"Stick together…" Gabi looked at the two people. She didn't know why they were suddenly acting so friendly, but she didn't like it. "So if someone would challenge me… are you going to fight with me?"
The two stared at her, speechless. It looked like they couldn't understand what she was talking about. The rules clearly say that they needed to fight each other to survive.
When Delia understood her sarcasm, she let out a gasp. So, Gabi was telling them to read the manual. After all, sticking together would be impossible in this type of place. Again, the atmosphere turned awkward.
The two didn't know what to say. So they chose to finish their food as fast as possible and immediately used the excuse to brush their teeth so they could leave.
"Are you sure? You want me to accompany you? Like you know… sticking together." Gabi gave the two a friendly smile — it was too friendly, it had to be fake.
"…"
"…"
When Mara and Delia were already out of the canteen, they immediately went to Fred's dorm. "How was it? Do you think she is special?" Fred asked.
"Special?" Mara snorted. "More like a special child."