# 88
**Chapter 88: The Young Are to Be Feared**
"Time's up. The battle is over."
Instructor Yuan Gang’s voice echoed from the base’s loudspeakers, resounding clearly in every corner.
The Mask Squad members sitting nearby finally exhaled in relief.
"You scared me to death—I really thought the captain was going to lose," Whirlpool said, patting his chest in lingering fear.
Moon Ghost was silent for a moment. “Why do I feel… something’s off?”
“I get that feeling too,” Rose said with a strange expression. “It’s like the captain’s time was…”
“A-hem! A-hem!”
Tianping coughed violently and shot them a look.
The entire Mask Squad shut up in unison, suddenly realizing something; awkwardness crept across their faces.
Baili Pangpang scratched his head. “Huh? Didn’t Qiye win?”
“No, time ran out—he never broke Wang Mian’s mask,” Molly said, shaking her head.
Baili Pangpang blinked blankly, pointed at the monocle on his nose and said, “But I clearly saw Qiye’s blade—mmph!”
Lin Qiye appeared from nowhere, clapped a hand over Baili Pangpang’s mouth, and expressionlessly dragged him into a corner. Baili Pangpang looked like a maiden abducted by villains—wanting to speak yet unable to utter a word.
“You saw everything?” Lin Qiye asked helplessly in the corner.
“Yup.”
“Pretend you didn’t.”
Baili Pangpang froze. “But…”
“Baili Pangpang, what do you think of these recruits?”
He thought for a moment. “Aside from a few, the rest are pretty lousy.”
“Then do you think it’d be good to cancel this training right now and send them straight into the field to face those mysteries?”
“Probably not…”
“Exactly.” Lin Qiye patted his shoulder, tilted his head forty-five degrees toward the sky, eyes deep and full of compassion. “Even if I won, I have to pretend I didn’t. It’s not for myself—it’s for the futures of these two-hundred-plus people… That, my friend, is vision.”
Baili Pangpang’s burly frame trembled. He stared at Lin Qiye in a daze, only snapping out of it after a long while.
“So that’s it! Brother Qiye! I never imagined you were not only smart and strong, but your ideological realm is this lofty! I… my vision was too small!”
Lin Qiye nodded slightly. “This can’t be spoken of.”
“Relax, I understand!” Baili Pangpang thumped his chest twice, eyes firm. “Come on, the fight’s over—time to assemble.”
…
Half an hour later.
On the drill ground, over twenty instructors stood ramrod straight; beside them stood the full Mask Squad.
Yuan Gang stood at the front, looking down at the silent recruits, a fleeting smile at the corner of his mouth.
“I’m disappointed in you…” he began, his low voice rolling through the night.
The Mask Squad members beside him flinched and lowered their heads.
“Two-hundred-thirty-nine of you against five—and apart from a handful, most of you never even touched the Mask Squad’s sleeves! Sluggish moves! Chaotic thoughts! No coordination whatsoever! Everything I said before was spot-on—you’re trash! You’ll only get your teammates killed!!”
Yuan Gang roared for a good while, then—perhaps feeling a twinge of conscience—added, “Of course, a small number are excepted…”
“…Since you lost, do as I said: cast away all pride and ego, forget your past, and throw yourselves into this training! The program lasts one year and has two parts.
“Part one: pure physical training. For six months we’ll use a forbidden artifact to suppress your Forbidden Ruins; you’ll lose your prized powers and be reduced to ordinary people. We’ll torment you in every way—body and soul—pushing you to the edge of collapse. You’ll despair, suffer, even want to die—but sorry, here you won’t be able to!
“Part two: practical application of Forbidden Ruins and tactical theory. Survive the first six months and I’ll explain later…”
He swept his gaze over the recruits, then turned and left.
“Enjoy this last bit of comfort, rookies. Starting tomorrow… your nightmare begins.”
The instructors followed; the Mask Squad struck cool poses and vanished into the night.
The recruits immediately buzzed among themselves.
“Physical training… I kinda regret coming,” Baili Pangpang moaned, rubbing his belly.
“More urgent than that,” Lin Qiye said slowly, “is another problem.”
“What?”
“The dorm building was blasted to rubble. Where do we sleep tonight?”
“?!!”
Soon every recruit realized the same thing. They sprinted back to the dorm area and stood dumbstruck…
The shattered dormitory stood intact once more. Not a crack on the walls, not a speck of debris on the ground; luggage and bedding were untouched, as if no battle had ever happened.
“H-how is this possible?” They were stunned; barely half an hour had passed since they left.
Lin Qiye rubbed his chin thoughtfully and glanced toward the distant darkness.
“C-cough… help me…” Wang Mian had removed his mask; he staggered and nearly fell.
Whirlpool and Tianping supported him on either side, sighing.
“Captain, why bother? Let the logistics team fix the dorms. Why use time-reversal to rebuild it?” Whirlpool frowned.
“I brought Building Three down—I clean up my own mess,” the delicate-looking Wang Mian said, lips pale.
“No living things inside, but rewinding more than thirty minutes at once is a huge mental strain,” Tianping added, also frowning.
“It’s fine. Let Cai Cai stew me some soup when we’re back.”
“Oh, Captain… did we lose today?” Rose couldn’t help asking.
Tianping shot her a warning look.
Wang Mian paused, then straightened slowly, turned toward the noisy dorm behind him, and smiled.
“Yeah, we lost… and we owe someone a favor.
The young are to be feared.”