# 809
Chapter 809: The Responsibility of "Nightfall"
Shangjing City.
Temporary quarters of the [Nightfall] squad.
A figure in military uniform stood outside the door, gently knocking.
Shen Qingzhu opened the door and, seeing the familiar face behind it, was slightly stunned.
"Instructor Hong?"
That face, Shen Qingzhu knew all too well. Back when they were still recruits in the training camp, Instructor Hong was the instructor who had the most contact with them, and also the one who left the deepest impression on him.
After all, back on Jinnan Mountain, Shen Qingzhu had risked his life to interrupt Instructor Hong's suicidal attack.
"Shen Qingzhu." Instructor Hong looked at him, a sense of emotion surfacing in his eyes. "Long time no see?"
The Shen Qingzhu now was very different from the one Instructor Hong remembered. He didn't know exactly what Shen Qingzhu had been through all these years, but he could imagine—it must have been through how many hardships and pains that a sharp-edged troublemaker could grow into his current self.
"Long time no see." A smile appeared at the corner of Shen Qingzhu's mouth. "Please, come in and sit."
Instructor Hong hummed in acknowledgment and walked into the room. Lin Qiye and the others also came over upon hearing the noise, and their faces lit up with surprise when they saw Instructor Hong.
"Instructor Hong, what brings you here?"
"I've come on behalf of Chief Instructor Yuan to meet our specially invited instructors for this session." Instructor Hong walked up to Lin Qiye and patted his shoulder. "Good lad, you've grown taller and more handsome."
Lin Qiye scratched his head somewhat bashfully.
Beside him, Jialan, An Qingyu, and Jiang Er didn't know Instructor Hong, but they knew he was one of the instructors who had been in close contact with Lin Qiye and the others back in their day, and also one of the instructors responsible for this training camp. After serving tea, everyone sat down in the living room.
"This time I've come to discuss with you the method for tomorrow's new recruit assessment..."
"You don't have to say more, we understand perfectly!" Baili Pangpang grinned. "Just like the old [Mask] squad, suppress your cultivation to match ours, then the five of you take on all the new recruits alone!"
"..." Instructor Hong gave him a strange look. "Are you sure? Can the five of you really fight over six hundred new recruits?"
"Simple as pie—" Baili Pangpang's smile suddenly froze.
"Wait! Over six hundred?! How did it get to be that many? Weren't there only two hundred-something of us back then?!"
"Night Watch has expanded recruitment again this year. There are 612 new recruits in total." Instructor Hong shrugged. "With that many people, us instructors simply can't suppress them. That's exactly why we invited you specially invited instructors, isn't it?"
"..."
Baili Pangpang was immediately silenced.
Back then, the [Mask] squad had suppressed their cultivation and faced all 239 recruits, and they almost flipped the script. Of course, that was because that cohort had produced four monsters: Lin Qiye, Cao Yuan, Shen Qingzhu, and Baili Pangpang.
But even if this year had no monsters, they would still face nearly three times the number... How were they supposed to fight that?
Moreover, could there really be no exceptional talents among these six hundred-plus people?
Lin Qiye and the others fell into contemplative frowns.
"This assessment is your first public appearance as specially invited instructors. It will determine your image among all the new recruits, so it's extremely important." Instructor Hong said seriously:
"After approval from the higher-ups, this year's new recruit training, whenever you don't have urgent missions, will be led primarily by the specially invited instructors, with us regular instructors providing support. In other words, you are the chief instructors for all six hundred-plus new recruits.
How to train them, how to assess them, what kind of attitude to present to the new recruits, whether the training pace should be loose or tight... all of this will be decided by you. We are only here to offer suggestions and assistance.
To put it plainly, this year's six hundred-plus new recruits have been entrusted entirely to your squad."
When Lin Qiye heard this, he was stunned.
"This... isn't this responsibility a bit too heavy? We have no experience teaching new recruits. We might not be qualified."
"This is the intention of Chief Instructor Yuan and Commander Zuo." Instructor Hong said seriously,
"As you know, the current situation in Great Xia is quite tense. We don't know when war will break out. In the worst-case scenario, these new recruits might not even have time to complete their one-year training before being sent to the battlefield.
Under these circumstances, no conventional training experience or methods are applicable. We don't have the time or opportunity to cultivate them step by step.
Special circumstances require special handling. We need to teach them the most useful things in the shortest time possible! Make these new recruits capable of surviving under extreme conditions, and allow them to grow at the fastest speed possible!
This is something ordinary instructors cannot teach.
But you can."
Instructor Hong's gaze swept across the seven of them. "Your [Nightfall] squad, from establishment to becoming a special squad, took the shortest time and grew the fastest. Every single one of you crawled your way to this point from despair and crisis.
No one understands better than you how to rise the fastest under high-pressure environments!
So... Great Xia has chosen to entrust these new recruits to you."
Lin Qiye and the others fell silent.
Instructor Hong was right. Among all the special squads, [Nightfall]'s rise had been the fastest. Each of their résumés was more than qualified to serve as a specially invited instructor.
But what followed was a heavy sense of responsibility and pressure.
They had originally thought that this time, being a specially invited instructor was just playing the role the old [Mask] squad had played—fighting one battle and being done with it. But only now did they understand the weight behind the four words "specially invited instructor."
They carried the futures of these six hundred-plus new recruits on their shoulders.
What they taught during this time, and how they taught it, would determine whether these young people would have the qualifications to survive on the future battlefield.
Even Baili Pangpang, who had been most looking forward to the stomping segment, couldn't smile anymore.
"We understand." After a long while, Lin Qiye took a deep breath and spoke seriously. "This is a matter of great importance. Please give us one night to consider our plans and approach."
"Alright." Instructor Hong stood up from his seat. "Tomorrow morning is just the normal intake time for new recruits, so there won't be any changes. But tomorrow afternoon, the formal assessment should begin. You need to be prepared before then."
"Mm."
After seeing Instructor Hong off, the seven members of the [Nightfall] squad sat in the living room, lost in thought.
"To grow in an extremely short time..." Cao Yuan furrowed his brow. "How should we do this?"
"Pressure is the most efficient fuel for growth." An Qingyu pushed up her glasses and said. "We must keep them in a high-pressure environment. Only then will they maximize their potential."
"High pressure?" Shen Qingzhu slightly furrowed his brow. "Simply increasing the training intensity isn't necessarily a good thing."
"I don't mean that kind of training pressure. I mean the pressure that comes from fear felt deep within the soul..."
"What do you mean by that?"
An Qingyu smiled faintly, her glasses reflecting a pale light. "I have an idea...