The next few days blurred together into a pattern of exhaustion and pressure that never fully released. Training started before sunrise and ended after dark, and every drill felt designed to push them just past what they thought they could handle. Squad 4 stayed together, but the cracks were starting to show, not in loyalty, but in limits. Zhao Wei's ankle was not healing fast enough. Han Rui was burning through stamina too quickly. Lin Chen could feel the weight of both of them settling onto his shoulders, even though neither would admit it.
During one drill, Zhao Wei missed a jump and landed awkwardly again. He didn't fall, but his face went pale for a second before he forced himself to straighten. Han Rui noticed immediately. "You alright?" Zhao Wei waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, just didn't stick it clean." Lin Chen looked at him closely and said quietly, "Don't lie to us." Zhao Wei avoided his eyes. "I said I'm fine."
They kept moving, but the rhythm was off. Han Rui started compensating by pushing harder, cutting corners, trying to make up for lost speed. Lin Chen pulled him back more than once. "Stop rushing," he told him. Han Rui snapped, "If we slow down, we fail." Lin Chen answered, steady but firm, "If we fall apart, we fail faster." Zhao Wei said nothing, jaw tight, forcing himself to keep up.
After the drill, they sat against the wall, catching their breath. Han Rui broke the silence first. "You're hurt and you're pretending you're not. That helps no one." Zhao Wei finally looked at him. "And what do you want me to do, tell them I can't keep up? You think they'll wait for me?" Lin Chen said, "They won't. But we will." Zhao Wei laughed quietly, not amused. "That's not how this place works."
Before either of them could answer, an instructor called Zhao Wei's name and ordered him for medical reassessment. His shoulders stiffened. "See?" he muttered. "This is it." Han Rui stood up immediately. "It's not it. It's just a check." Zhao Wei looked at Lin Chen. "If they pull me out, don't slow yourselves down because of me." Lin Chen replied, "We don't make decisions like that alone." Zhao Wei hesitated, then nodded and walked toward the medical unit.
While he was gone, Han Rui paced back and forth, clearly restless. "I don't like this," he said. "They're watching us. You can feel it, right?" Lin Chen nodded. "They're testing what breaks first." Han Rui stopped walking. "And what if it's him?" Lin Chen answered without hesitation. "Then we adjust. But we don't discard him."
Zhao Wei came back with his ankle rewrapped and a new brace. His expression was hard to read. Han Rui moved toward him immediately. "So?" Zhao Wei shrugged. "They said I can train, but if it gets worse, I'm out." Han Rui opened his mouth, then closed it, clearly holding back what he really wanted to say. Lin Chen spoke instead. "Then we train smarter." Zhao Wei gave a small smile. "You always say that like it's easy."
That afternoon, squads were paired against each other in competitive drills. Not officially called combat, but everyone treated it that way. Squad 2 was placed against Squad 4 again. This time, they did not hide their intent. They moved aggressively, cutting off angles, forcing close engagements. Han Rui bristled immediately. "They're targeting Wei," he said sharply. Zhao Wei said, trying to sound calm, "I noticed."
When Squad 2 pushed hard from the right, Han Rui almost broke formation to counter. Lin Chen caught his arm and said, "Hold." Han Rui looked at him, frustrated. "They're trying to isolate him." Lin Chen replied, "Then we stay tight." Zhao Wei added quietly, "I'm not breaking, don't worry."
They shifted formation, closing gaps, turning themselves into a tighter unit. It cost them mobility, but it protected Zhao Wei. Squad 2 pressed harder. Han Rui took multiple hits but stayed upright. Zhao Wei slipped once, but Lin Chen was there immediately, steadying him, keeping him moving.
After the drill ended, Squad 2 walked past them, one of their members smirking. Han Rui stared after them, fists clenched. "They think we're weak." Zhao Wei said, breathing hard, "Right now, we kind of are." Lin Chen shook his head. "We're strained. That's not the same thing."
That night, Squad 4 sat together longer than usual, not talking much. Finally, Zhao Wei spoke. "I'm not scared of the pain," he said. "I'm scared of being the reason you two get cut." Han Rui turned to him immediately. "Don't say that." Zhao Wei continued anyway. "I see how they look at me. I know I'm slowing us down." Lin Chen met his eyes. "You're part of the squad. That's not a weakness. That's the condition."
Han Rui leaned forward, voice intense. "If you go down, we carry you. If I lose control, you pull me back. If Chen freezes, we push him forward. That's how this works." Zhao Wei swallowed. "And if they split us?" Lin Chen answered quietly, "Then they split us. But until that happens, we act like we belong together. Because we do."
Zhao Wei nodded slowly. "Alright," he said. "Then I won't quit on you." Han Rui gave a short, serious smile. "Good. Because we are not done yet."
They didn't know what the academy would throw at them next. They only knew one thing clearly now. The pressure was no longer just physical. It was trying to force them to choose between survival and loyalty. And none of them were ready to make that choice.
The next day began with an announcement that made the entire training field go silent. The instructor's voice carried across the grounds, calm and sharp at the same time, saying that from now on, squad evaluations would include endurance under sleep deprivation and decision-making under cognitive stress. Han Rui muttered under his breath that they were already tired enough, and Zhao Wei let out a slow breath that sounded more like he was preparing himself than complaining. Lin Chen said nothing, but his jaw tightened because he knew what this really meant. They were about to be tested not just on how they moved, but on how they thought when they were worn down.
By the second night drill, Zhao Wei was limping more noticeably, even though he tried to hide it. Han Rui noticed, of course, because Han Rui always noticed when something was wrong, even if he pretended not to care. "You are putting more weight on your left side," he said quietly while they waited for the next exercise. Zhao Wei tried to joke it off and said, "Congratulations, you have eyes," but his voice was weaker than usual. Lin Chen stepped closer and said, "You don't need to prove anything to us." Zhao Wei looked at him and replied, "That's the problem. I feel like I do."
When the drill started, it was a navigation test through low-visibility terrain with limited communication. They were supposed to move as a unit and reach extraction within a time limit. At first, they did fine, keeping formation and moving carefully, but then an unexpected obstacle forced them to split briefly to get around collapsed structures. That was when things went wrong. Zhao Wei slipped again, just for a moment, but it was enough to slow him, and Han Rui immediately turned back. "Stay with us," he said sharply, grabbing Zhao Wei's arm. Zhao Wei pulled free, not angry but stubborn, and said, "Go, I'll catch up." Lin Chen cut in instantly, "No, we move together, that's the rule."
They lost time because of it, and when they finally reached the extraction point, the signal had already turned red. They failed the objective. The instructor did not shout. He simply looked at them and said, "Your mission failed because your unit could not maintain operational tempo. Fix it." That was all. No lecture, no explanation, just those words.
Afterward, Han Rui finally snapped, not in anger but in frustration that had been building for days. "Do you think we can just pretend this is not happening," he said, looking directly at Zhao Wei. "You are hurt, and you are getting worse, and we keep paying for it as a team." Zhao Wei's face tightened. "So what are you saying, that I should step back and let you two move ahead without me?" Lin Chen stepped between them, his voice low but steady. "No one is saying that. We are saying we need to adapt, not ignore it."
Zhao Wei looked away, eyes fixed on the ground. "Adapt how," he asked quietly. "Slow you both down even more?" Han Rui shook his head. "We change how we move, how we cover, how we rotate. You are strong in straight pushes and holding ground. Let me handle the fast flanks, and let Chen control timing. You don't need to chase speed." Zhao Wei looked up at him, surprised, and said, "You would actually slow yourself down for me?" Han Rui answered without hesitation, "I would rather finish together than finish first alone."
That hit Zhao Wei harder than any drill had. He swallowed and said, "I do not want to be carried." Lin Chen replied, "You are not being carried. You are part of the structure. Structures do not work if you remove a support just because it is under strain." Zhao Wei let out a long breath and finally nodded. "Alright," he said. "Then tell me what you need me to do, and I will do it."
The next drills went differently. Zhao Wei focused on anchoring positions and blocking advances instead of chasing targets. Han Rui adjusted his routes, staying closer instead of sprinting ahead. Lin Chen called timing more often, keeping their movement synchronized. They were not faster, but they were more stable, and for the first time in days, they completed a run without any of them being marked out early.
That evening, when they were dismissed, Zhao Wei sat down heavily and said, "I hate that I cannot push like before." Han Rui answered, softer now, "And I hate that I cannot protect everyone at once. We all hate something about this. That does not mean we stop." Lin Chen added, "This is not permanent. You heal, we adjust back. But right now, we work with what we have."
Zhao Wei gave a small, tired smile. "You talk like this is already decided, like we are staying together no matter what." Lin Chen looked at him and said, "That is decided." Han Rui nodded and said, "Yeah, you are stuck with us whether you like it or not." Zhao Wei let out a short laugh and said, "Then I guess I better not waste that."
Late that night, Lin Chen returned home quietly. His mother was still awake, sitting with a cup of tea, and she looked at him with concern the moment he entered. "You look more tired than usual," she said. Lin Chen sat down slowly and replied, "Training is getting harder." She studied his face and asked, "Are you carrying more than you should?" He hesitated, then said honestly, "I am not the only one who is struggling. My squad is too." She nodded slowly and said, "Then remember that strength is not only about standing. It is also about staying." Lin Chen understood exactly what she meant, and that thought stayed with him when he went to bed.
The next day brought an unexpected announcement that changed the atmosphere completely. Squads would be deployed in a long-duration field exercise starting that night, with limited rest and rotating objectives. When Han Rui heard that, his eyes lit up in a way that was half excitement and half challenge. "So they finally want to see what we are made of when we are exhausted," he said. Zhao Wei forced a grin and replied, "I was hoping for something easier, but I guess that was not realistic." Lin Chen said quietly, "This will push every weak point we have. We need to stay sharp."
As they prepared their gear, Zhao Wei looked at both of them and said, "If I slow you down out there, you tell me. Not after, not later. Right away." Han Rui answered immediately, "And if you try to run on an injury again, I will grab you myself." Lin Chen added, "And if either of you stops talking, I will assume something is wrong." Zhao Wei nodded, serious now. "Deal."
They did not say it out loud, but all three of them knew this field exercise could decide whether they stayed as a squad or not. The academy was not just testing skill anymore. It was testing whether bonds would hold when exhaustion, fear, and pressure all hit at once. And as they walked toward the staging area under the dim lights, Lin Chen felt something shift inside him. This was no longer just about getting stronger for his family. It was about not letting the people beside him fall, even when the ground under all of them started to crack.