During the following training sessions, Shi Jin was constantly pondering one question - why did his progress bar decrease?

After defeating Xu Jie, his progress bar had dropped to 100, but it had risen slightly after Xu Jie's successful surgery and recovery, reaching 300. However, when Lian Jun arranged for Xu Jie to be sent to a mental hospital overseas, his progress bar dropped to 200 on the day Xu Jie left B City. From that point on, his progress bar steadily decreased as Xu Jie encountered the nurses arranged by Lian Jun at the hospital.

By the time he arrived at school for registration, his progress bar had been stuck at 100 and had not moved since. This was probably the limit of Xu Jie's influence on his progress bar. Given Xu Jie's current state, he could be sure that the final 100 value of his progress bar had nothing to do with Xu Jie.

But if it had nothing to do with Xu Jie, then what could have caused the change in his progress bar?

There shouldn't be any deadly factors targeting him in this military camp. If there were, his progress bar would have increased as soon as he landed in the camp, rather than suddenly decreasing after a few days. He hadn't done anything to improve his safety either, just ordinary water carrying.

Eliminating these two possibilities, and considering that the progress bar only decreased and not increased... perhaps it wasn't a deadly factor, but a survival factor? His gaze couldn't help but fall on Xiang Aoting - was it because of Xiang Aoting? Did Xiang Aoting's presence increase his chances of survival? Or... he glanced at the closed and secure environment of the military camp, confused - was it because of the environment?

No, that's not it. If it was because of the environment, the progress bar should have immediately dropped when he first landed in the military camp... so it's not because of the environment.

Eliminating one possibility after another, his gaze returned to Xiang Aoting, lost in thought. The drop in the progress bar should still be related to Xiang Aoting.

At that time, he had just finished talking to Xiang Aoting, so there was an 80% chance that the progress bar was affected by Xiang Aoting. But it seemed like something didn't quite add up. Based on his previous speculations, there should be a limit to the survival factors he obtained from someone. The value of this limit would depend on the person's capability and the intensity of their desire to protect him.

During the time when his relationship with the five brothers of the Shi family was good, they had already provided him with all the necessary means for survival. His survival bar had reached its maximum capacity and could no longer accept any more.

Recently, he obtained the Ruihang from Shi Weichong, which provided him with a huge sense of security. As a result, his survival bar remained unchanged, indicating that his remaining progress bar was no longer affected by survival factors.

He didn't say anything special to Xiang Aoting just now, nor did he make any special promises, so why did his progress bar decrease?

"Afternoon training is over, disperse! Meet at the cafeteria at six for dinner, and at the playground at seven for evening training. Don't be late!" Suddenly, the voice of Xiang Aoting sounded very close. Shi Jin snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head towards the direction of the voice.

Xiang Aoting was standing at the side of the formation, and happened to be looking at him. When he saw Shi Jin looking over, he frowned and raised his hand to make a motion as if tapping his own hat. Shi Jin felt a pang of guilt, knowing that Xiang Aoting had caught him slacking off. He quickly smiled apologetically and patted his own hat.

......

The evening training was very relaxed. Everyone jogged around, sang some songs, and practiced the basic movements they had learned in the afternoon.

Time flew by in a flash. Until bedtime, Shi Jin's mind was still filled with questions about the progress bar. He really cared about it. Now that the plot had been completely revealed, he couldn't figure out where the last bit of progress bar value came from. Finally, a clue about this last bit of progress bar value appeared, and he had to seize it.

As he continued to think about it, he fell asleep in a daze, completely unaware that Xiao Si had not comforted him after reminding him that the progress bar was decreasing, only remaining silent.

Perhaps it was because he was thinking about it day and night, but that night, Shi Jin actually dreamed about Xiang Aoting. In his dream, he became the original owner, lying on the cold ground with blood all over his face, barely breathing. His face was disfigured, his fingers broken and it hurt. He was losing too much blood, feeling cold and his mind was foggy.

Was he going to die?

He tried to blink, but found that he had no strength in his body.

Why didn't his brother come to save him? Where was his brother... Ah, his brothers had already abandoned him, didn't want him anymore... He tried to move his arms, wanting to prop himself up... He couldn't die here, he had to get out, had to get out.

Bang!

The sound of the door being kicked open echoed in the dark and damp basement, finally letting in some light.

Were those people who tortured him coming again? He turned his head with difficulty towards the door where the light was coming from, his eyes filled with despair.

This was probably the end... A familiar tall figure rushed in.

"Xiao Jin!" followed by a familiar voice.

His eyes widened as he saw the man running towards him. His eyes turned red and he didn't know where he got the strength from, but he managed to crawl forward a bit with his injured arm and grabbed the hand that was reaching out to him when the man knelt down in front of him.

It was so warm, it was his brother's hand.

His fingers were already broken, and it hurt to grip the other person's hand so tightly, but he didn't want to let go.

Even if it hurt, he had to hold on tight and never let go.

"Fourth brother..." he fell back to the ground, wanting to see the other person's face, but his consciousness was gradually reaching its limit. He mumbled, "It hurts so much."

...

"Shi Jin!" A call rang in his ear and Shi Jin woke up with a start, staring blankly at the ceiling before frowning and getting out of bed, rubbing his forehead.

Luo Donghao patted his bed frame and said, "Hurry up, or you'll be late."

Shi Jin snapped out of his daze, replied with a grunt, and splashed water on his face to wake himself up before neatly folding his blanket and climbing down the ladder.

Luo Donghao waited for him and noticed that he looked a little off. He furrowed his brow and asked, "What's wrong? Are you tired?"

"No, I just had a weird dream and my head hurts a bit," Shi Jin replied half-truthfully, changing the subject as he got dressed and grabbing his toiletries to head to the communal bathroom.

On the way to the field, Shi Jin kept his head down and remained silent, looking like he had no energy. Last night's dream was too real, so real that even now he had a faint feeling of pain in his fingers.

He had never been so affected by the memories of the original owner before. In the past, when he thought of the original owner's memories, he always thought of them from a third-person perspective. When he looked at those memory scenes, he felt like he was watching a movie with a original owner who looked a bit like himself, unable to truly experience the original owner's emotions.

But last night, in that dream, he was the original owner. He empathized with all the pain the original owner had experienced.

What a terrible experience it was. He flexed his fingers and suppressed the dull ache in his heart as he asked Xiao Si, "Last night, I suddenly dreamt of the original owner's memories. It wasn't like before, where I dreamt from a third-person perspective. This time, I dreamt from the original owner's perspective. After waking up, I kept thinking about those scenes. Is this normal? Do I need to be careful?"

Xiao Si's rare and concise response was, "It's normal. You don't need to worry. Just let it be."

Shi Jin furrowed his brows and asked, "Why do you look so tired today? Is something wrong?"

"I..." Xiao Si began to speak, but then lowered his voice and said, "I miss Baby."

When he mentioned Lian Jun, Shi Jin paused for a moment, then couldn't help but let out a sigh and pushed aside the troubles that had been bothering him. "I miss him too... I wonder if Xiang Aoting passed on my message yesterday..."

......

Perhaps because he had been deeply affected by his dreams, when Shi Jin stepped onto the playground and saw Xiang Aoting, a jumble of emotions suddenly surged in his heart. He wanted to avoid him, to question him, to rush over and grab his hand...

These conflicting emotions came and went quickly. Shi Jin briefly stopped and rubbed his forehead before taking another step forward. He lowered his head and followed Luo Donghao and the others into the team, standing in his own position. After counting the number of students in the line, Xiang Aoting glanced at Shi Jin who had been looking down and seemed unenergetic.

He furrowed his brows and said, "As usual, we will start with warm-up exercises, run three laps, and then stand in military posture. The rules for additional training remain the same."

The students didn't react much to his words, unlike the first day when they gasped in shock, or like yesterday when the atmosphere was tense. They quietly and maturely began to warm up.

Xiang Aoting watched them pretend to be calm, as if they were hiding something mischievous. His gaze swept over Shi Jin, who was focused on warming up, and his fingers unconsciously traced the names in the roster.

The three laps were quickly completed, and everyone voluntarily gathered in formation to begin standing in military posture. On this day, it seemed like everyone had made an unspoken agreement to not give up. No matter how much they moved or how many times they moved, they all stood their ground. No matter what Xiang Aoting said or promised, they all pretended not to hear him.

Under this collective persistence, the extra training time was inevitably extended indefinitely, just as Luo Donghao had feared the day before. The total training time quickly exceeded that of the morning. After realizing that he couldn't fool any of the students, Xiang Aoting finally shut up and understood what they were up to. He was relieved and decided to change his strategy.

"I'm glad you all chose to persevere," he stopped in front of the team and softened his tone. "But we can't keep wasting time like this indefinitely. Now, everyone who has moved out of position, step forward and form a new team."

The crowd was shaken by the words. Although they didn't collectively survive the extra training, they felt a sense of victory over Xiang Aoting. Those who had been swaying quickly stepped out of the line, relieved that they no longer had to burden others.

With a clatter, the line of forty people suddenly became thirty-nine, leaving only Shi Jin standing in place. The students who had just breathed a sigh of relief were now frozen, looking at the lonely figure of Shi Jin with a shallow sense of despair. So in the end, only the young master remained...

Everyone looked at Luo Donghao with a mixture of pity and pain in their eyes - didn't he "survive" yesterday? Luo Donghao hung his head in shame and whispered, "Just now, a sudden gust of wind blew sand into my eyes, and I couldn't help but move..."

"..." The others thought his excuse was too weak.

"What are you all standing around for? Line up!" urged Xiang Aoting, frowning.

The group quickly complied and looked to Xiang Aoting, wondering what kind of trick he had up his sleeve.

Xiang Aoting walked up to them and said, "You can't endure because your stamina and endurance are not up to par. If you're not up to par, you have to practice and practice without giving up! Remember how many times you swayed, and do ten push-ups for each sway. If you sway twice, do twenty push-ups, and so on. Keep an eye on each other and don't be lazy."

Ah, so they were just doing push-ups. That's easy!

Some of the students who had only swayed once lit up, including Luo Donghao.

"Before doing push-ups, everyone run five laps around the track," added Xiang Aoting suddenly, then looked over at Shi Jin, who was alone on the other side, and said, "Shi Jin has been standing in military posture for three consecutive days, which proves that his endurance and physical strength are far beyond ordinary people. He doesn't need to run or do push-ups, he can learn martial arts with me."

What? Martial arts?!

The students who were struck by running were suddenly excited, all looking towards Xiang Aoting. Luo Donghao couldn't help but shout, "Instructor, I also want to learn martial arts!"

Martial arts are so cool, much more fun than running!

"Qualified talents have the right to make demands," said Xiang Aoting coldly, casting a glance at the group of restless little quails. "I'll let you learn something else when your standing at attention is qualified. Otherwise, just watch others learn on the side."

Hiss—how ruthless!

The quails gasped in shock.

Xiang Aoting narrowed his eyes and said, "Go run!"

The group trembled under his glare and dared not make any more demands. They looked enviously at Shi Jin and reluctantly made their way to the running track.

"Shi Jin, I'll come keep you company tomorrow," whispered Luo Donghao as he ran past Shi Jin, his eyes filled with jealousy and envy.

Shi Jin twitched his mouth and dryly replied, "Keep it up."

Oh, and congratulations on taking the bait from Xiang Aoting. After a group of little quails ran off into the distance, Xiang Aoting immediately walked up to Shi Jin and lifted a hand to touch his forehead. "Did you not sleep well last night? You look quite pale."

The warmth of Xiang Aoting's hand on his forehead made Shi Jin pause for a moment. He looked up at Xiang Aoting, who was showing concern in his eyes, and memories of last night's dream flashed through his mind.

He silently took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to knock Xiang Aoting's hand away. Stepping back, he took off his hat and put it aside, then beckoned towards Xiang Aoting and said, "Come on, let's practice. I didn't get a chance to beat you last year, but this year I'm definitely going to knock you down."

Seeing Shi Jin's renewed spirit, Xiang Aoting felt relieved and also took off his hat, along with the roster, and set them aside. He assumed a stance and said, "Alright, let's see how much you've grown in the past year."

As Shi Jin looked at him, his fighting spirit broke through the sky without any need for encouragement. He immediately tensed up and charged towards him.

......

On the track, after turning the corner, Luo Donghao instinctively looked towards the location of his own team. When he saw two figures exchanging blows, he was shocked and widened his eyes. He quickly rubbed his eyes and looked again, unable to believe what he was seeing.

He shouted in disbelief, "Oh my god, Shi Jin is actually fighting against the instructor! He can actually fight!"

The other students were also shocked and turned their heads to look. They all froze when they saw the fierce high kick from Shi Jin that forced Xiang Aoting to retreat.

"So fierce! Is that Shi Jin?"

"Oh my god, that kick was too ruthless. Such a smooth movement, Shi Jin must have trained in martial arts."

"Face shot! Face shot! Kick him! Yes! Kick him!"

"Mama, are you guys tricking me? Is he really a pampered young master?"

Luo Donghao was completely stunned as he watched Shi Jin's agile movements and ruthless attack techniques. He couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine - why did Shi Jin's martial arts seem so strange, like they were all lethal moves? Where did he learn all of this?

On the playground, during a break in their sparring, Xiang Aoting asked Shi Jin this very question.

Shi Jin responded with a sweeping leg attack aimed at Xiang Aoting's lower body and retorted, "Didn't you say last year that my attacks were too rigid and predictable? I've been working on that this past year."

When he was practicing, he had been beaten up by Number Two and Number One, who claimed they were trying to help him improve his stiff fighting techniques. In reality, they were just beating him up! They had been beating him up the whole time!

Upon hearing this, Xiang Aoting thought of the dangerous subordinates under Lian Jun's command and furrowed his brow. He couldn't help but feel like his own little brother had been corrupted by the other side.

He pressed down on Shi Jin's shoulder with a grappling hand and knocked his waist, saying, "Here, your weakness is too great. In addition to attacking, you must also focus on defense. Start over!"

Shi Jin's face turned black from the knock, and seeing Xiang Aoting so at ease, he quickly twisted his body to break free from his grasp and changed his attack route, punching straight towards his face.

Just as the running team passed by, the students saw this scene and immediately became excited. Someone, taking advantage of being in the crowd, shouted at the top of their lungs, "Hit him! Come on, Shi Jin! Take down the devil!"

Shi Jin was almost scared to the ground by the shout, and his attack lost its strength, allowing Xiang Aoting to directly grab his fist.

"It's too easy to get distracted, focus more." scolded Xiang Aoting, then looked towards the running team and said coldly, "Liu Yong, do fifty push-ups and concentrate!"

The students immediately shrunk their necks and obediently continued, while Liu Yong, who was called out, regretted speaking out of turn with a defeated expression.

......

Round after round, the students ran while watching Shi Jin and Xiang Aoting fight each other, enviously wishing they could be like Shi Jin and spar with the instructor for three hundred rounds!

"The content of military training is all predetermined. Whatever the instructor teaches now, we will eventually learn. The only condition is that we must complete all the previous training," suddenly spoke Luo Donghao. "It's like playing a game. You have to pass one level to move on to the next. Shi Jin has already had the ability to reach the next level, but we have been holding him back. Today, the instructor took him to where he should be, and if we don't catch up soon, we will be left far behind."

Hearing this, everyone remembered Shi Jin's outstanding performance in the past three days. Their overheated brains cooled down a bit, and they all focused on running seriously. If they wanted to pass the level, they had to work hard. They didn't have time to waste.

...Despite trying to remain calm, everyone couldn't help but feel envious and jealous as they watched Shi Jin and Xiang Aoting practicing martial arts and military boxing on their own while everyone else struggled with push-ups after their run. Is this what it means to be strong? They all wanted to be a part of it.

And who was it that lied to them about Shi Jin being a pampered little rich boy? Just look at the solid muscles bulging on his arms from fighting. Could that really be the result of being spoiled?

As they fumed with these thoughts, they suddenly saw the instructor from the next barracks running over, his eyes shining as he sized up Shi Jin. He eagerly asked for a few sparring rounds with Shi Jin.

Xiang Aoting agreed in Shi Jin's place and pulled him aside to say a few words before giving up their spot. Shi Jin and the neighboring drill instructor started fighting, and the soldiers from both sides began cheering for their own contestants. The lively atmosphere quickly attracted the attention of other platoons, and more and more people gathered to watch.

Three minutes later, Shi Jin executed a beautiful side throw and pinned the neighboring drill instructor to the ground.

The cheers abruptly stopped, and the field fell into a deathly silence. What did they just witness? A trainee pinning down an instructor?

At first, the soldiers from Shi Jin's platoon were confused, but then they erupted into thunderous cheers.

He won! Shi Jin actually won! A trainee defeated an instructor! The spoiled brat actually won against the instructor!

Shi Jin got up and released the instructor, then reached out to help him up and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Instructor."

"What kind of guidance is this? This kid is amazing, did he specialize in this?" The neighboring instructor followed his force and stood up, as if he had discovered a treasure, and began to look at him with shiny eyes. He turned his head to look at Xiang Aoting and asked, "What's his name?"

Xiang Aoting's eyes were filled with pride as he calmly replied, "His name is Shi Jin, he was the first in this year's police academy entrance exam and scored 600 points in the academic subjects."

"Oh, so he's the student who almost got recruited by XX military academy. I knew it," the neighboring instructor exclaimed in surprise. He looked Shi Jin up and down, happily patted his shoulder and said, "My brother also graduated from your school. We're all one big family. You have good taste, choosing such a great school."

As he was patted, Shi Jin winced in pain and forced a smile, "It's fate, it's fate. You're too kind."

Next door, the instructor became even more enthusiastic, "I heard you've been on missions. What kind of missions? Tell us about it."

"It's nothing, just a small mission..." Shi Jin couldn't take it anymore and silently moved closer to Xiang Aoting.

Xiang Aoting quickly reached out to save him from the situation and made an excuse to get rid of the instructor next door. Then he announced that the morning training was over, using the excuse that he hadn't finished explaining a combat move to Shi Jin.

As they walked away, everyone watched them in confusion - First place? Special recruit? Mission? Who are they talking about? Shi Jin? Wasn't he a rich kid who couldn't even fold his own sheets? Was the instructor talking about the same person they knew?

"Hey, Luo Donghao," Liu Yong couldn't help poking the seemingly petrified Luo Donghao next to him.

Luo Donghao stiffly turned his head to look at him.

"Who was the first to say that Shi Jin is the young master?" Liu Yong asked expressionlessly.

Luo Donghao dryly replied, "Who knows..."

......

Shi Jin became famous again, in a more positive way, but he didn't feel particularly happy because he had another dream.

It was the same dark basement, the same dying state, and the same moment of despair when Xiang Aoting rushed in. The same scene, the same pain, and the same throbbing fingers.

Shi Jin plunged his face into the basin of cold water, trying to wake himself up. He then stood up and looked at his trembling fingers in despair. He poked Xiao Si and said, "Even the weakest member of our team, He Qun, can stand at attention steadily for five days in a row. How come I still have this dreaming problem? Xiao Si, is this normal?"

Xiao Si remained silent.

"I understand, you can't say," Shi Jin covered his face with a towel and let out a long sigh. "Xiao Si, it's been over a year, and every time I ask you about your existence and why I was reborn into the original owner's body, you only choose to remain silent. This makes me start to have wild thoughts."

This time, Xiao Si didn't remain silent. It cautiously reminded, "Jin Jin, it's time for training, or we'll be late."

"You, you..." Shi Jin took off his towel and looked at himself in the mirror, then suddenly laughed. "Alright, what are you afraid of? You've already let out a crying sound. I didn't scare you, did I?"

Xiao Si remained silent, as if holding back tears. After a while, it said, "Jin Jin, don't be mad at me, and don't leave me."

"How could I ever leave you?" Shi Jin put away his towel and various toiletries, placing them one by one into the basin. He tightened his fingers, which were starting to ache, and let out a soft sigh. "Xiao Si, I miss Lian Jun."

He wanted to stay by Lian Jun's side, to sleep peacefully without any dreams.