Death Progress Bar

Chapter 100

Having made a name for himself by “standing”, Shi Jin firmly secured the top spot on the unofficial list of “celebrities” of the police academy freshman class of 1x. His image in everyone’s eyes changed from a pampered young master to an expert in standing at attention with super-human physical strength and endurance. His overall reputation also changed, from “a public enemy of the whole nation” to a… “national entertainer”.

“Look, it’s him, that guy over there. I’ve heard that he couldn’t endure standing at attention yesterday and almost fainted. Finally, the instructor had to carry him out of the training field.”

“Are you serious? No one in the girls’ group fainted but he, a man, did?”

“It’s not his fault. He had to stand for several hours, and he’d also been punished with standing earlier in the day. He’s really unlucky.”

“Not only unlucky but also kind of dumb. I’ve heard that he doesn’t even know how to make a bed. But apparently, he’s quite humble—he asked someone to teach him out of his own initiative. He doesn’t seem to be as proud and arrogant as rumors suggest.”

“That aside, how can he not know how to make a bed at his age?”

“Someone said his family owns a mine or something, and the bedding at his home is changed every day, so I guess he never needed to make it?”

Shi Jin, eavesdropping with the help of the hearing enhancing buff: “……”

Seeing the expression on his face, Xiao Si hurriedly comforted, < At, at least they don’t look down on you any longer, and when they gossip, they aren’t bad-mouthing you… So, JinJin, cheer up, okay? >

“I’m not sad.” Shi Jin wiped his face with his hand. “I can’t control what outsiders think of me,” he continued helplessly. “And whether they like me or hate me, it can’t really affect my life. I just think these kids have a lot of imagination. A mine, really? Come on, as if anyone in real life…”

< In fact, there are several mines under your name, > Xiao Si interrupted him. < And Darling is yours, and Ruixing is also yours—JinJin, you’re worth a lot now. >

Shi Jin: “……”

Luo Donghao, who approached at some unknown moment, bumped Shi Jin with his shoulder. “Shi Jin, everyone has agreed that if the instructor still makes us stand at attention today, we’ll do our best to hold on as long as possible,” he said. “If you get tired, just sit down and rest—the rest of us will do the additional training in your place.”

Huh? Everyone?

Shi Jin returned to himself and glanced around, only to find that all the members of his squad looked everywhere but at him, their expressions awkward and embarrassed to varying degrees. He couldn’t help but smile. He gave them a little wave of his hand, then looked back at the slightly nervous Luo Donghao next to him and said, raising his voice, “Alright, let’s tough it out together and try not to let the devil instructor punish us with additional training!”

“Yeah! Let’s stick it out, everyone!” Luo Donghao immediately echoed, high-spirited.

When the team members heard Shi Jin’s words, the guilt that piled up in their hearts through the night lightened a little. One after another, they picked up the rallying cry, some of the more hot-blooded ones even shouting that they would defeat the devil instructor and win their squad a great victory!

“Who are you calling a devil?”

Suddenly, a voice which had deeply engraved itself in the cadets’ hearts over the course of just one day cut through the enthusiastic atmosphere. A shudder racking through their bodies, everyone fell silent and looked straight ahead, acting as if nothing had just happened.

Xiang Aoting looked at them as though he were watching a group of quail chicks who wanted to spread their wings and leave the nest before they’d grown feathers. His gaze found the most fluffy-haired one and the corner of his mouth hooked up for a second before he looked back at the front of the line, and said, “That’s quite a bold tone for a bunch of little brats. You’ve only just gathered for the morning assembly and you’re already yapping away—it seems you’re quite bored, huh? Go run three laps around the training field, then stand at attention for one hour! The old rules—one person moves and the whole squad gets additional training!”

So fierce! But they were not afraid!

Shi Jin was the first to stand up and answer in a loud voice, “Yes, sir!”

The others also stood up one after another, shouting “Yes, sir!” following Shi Jin’s lead. Unlike yesterday, they didn’t look at all withered but seemed to have high morale.

Xiang Aoting glanced at them, expressionless. “What are you yelling for? Line up and warm up, then get on the track!”

The cadets immediately quieted. They exchanged tacit glances and winks and hurriedly lined up, good-naturedly jostling and shoving. The team seemed much more united than yesterday.

Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations. Read on the original translator’s site to get the fastest updates!

There were always people who usually neglected exercise. When running now, they fell behind after only one lap. When Shi Jin was about to pass a person like that, he took the young man’s arm and ran while supporting him, also teaching him how to adjust his breathing. All the people around him saw this, and when they noticed any of their teammates was about to fall behind, they also took the initiative to help.

Xiang Aoting ran at the side of the squad. Seeing Shi Jin’s actions and the other cadets emulating them, a pleased expression appeared in his eyes—the atmosphere in the team became like this in just one day, very good.

After running, there came standing at attention. Readying up for the “battle” to come, everyone lined up without waiting for the instructor’s command.

Xiang Aoting adjusted their posture one by one as he had done the previous day. When he got to Shi Jin, he deliberately stopped.

Shi Jin glowered at him—if he dared to pull him to the front to be publicly executed again, Shi Jin was totally going to complain to the rest of his brothers!

Probably seeing the threat in his eyes, Xiang Aoting flashed him a smirk and patted him on the shoulder as if correcting his stance, then walked over to the next cadet.

After checking the cadets’ posture, Xiang Aoting stood behind the squad, as usual, exerting a kind of pressure on them and making everyone inwardly scold him as despicable. Anyway, they were going to wash away yesterday’s shame and prove themselves to the devil instructor!

Twenty minutes, half an hour… About the fortieth minute, one of the students couldn’t help moving. His face full of chagrin, he immediately adjusted his posture and stood still again.

In the next twenty minutes, several more people moved as they were approaching the limit of their physical strength. But overall, the situation today was much better than yesterday.

Finally, an hour later, Xiang Aoting walked to the front of the team and said, “The rest is all the extra training time, a total of 15 minutes. Those who have moved can sit down and have a rest.”

Everyone felt apprehensive, knowing that the real test was beginning right now.

A few seconds passed, and no one sat down. All who had moved gritted their teeth and stood still—it was only fifteen minutes, they could do it!

Seeing this, Xiang Aoting put the roster in his hand under his arm and said mildly, “I know you’re determined to persevere but despite this, you still couldn’t help moving. It means your physical strength and endurance are all below the team’s average. If you keep going, you’ll most likely not be able to stop yourselves from moving again, thus putting greater pressure on the team and forming a vicious circle. Sometimes, giving up at the right moment is also a way to protect your teammates.”

This sounded quite reasonable. With Xiang Aoting guiding them with such a gentle attitude, some cadets who were not confident in their physical strength couldn’t help but waver.

Shi Jin’s eyes rolled so hard that he could almost see the back of his skull. He hadn’t expected Xiang Aoting to resort to this underhanded trick.

In the end, a student was persuaded by Xiang Aoting’s words and sat down.

Xiang Aoting immediately changed his tune and barked, “Just now, one of your companions chose ‘death’ in order not to drag you down. However, when I, the ‘enemy’, was tricking him into ‘dying’, none of you spoke out to warn or dissuade him. Seeing someone in danger and refusing to help is equal to becoming an accomplice. You failed to get a pass—ten minutes of additional training for the squad.”

“What?!” The student who chose to sit down stood up again, wanting to argue.

“The ‘dead’ have no right to speak, sit down,” Xiang Aoting interrupted him. Then he called out a few names and said, “These people have just been affected and moved, the team gets more extra training!”

Devil!

At this moment, all the team members had only one thought in their hearts: Xiang Aoting is a devil! I really want to punch him!

Shi Jin forcefully closed his eyes. He wanted to look up to the sky and sigh—he knew it would be like this! What “giving up is to protect your teammates”—how could someone who wanted to be a policeman choose to give up? Brothers, it was obvious it was a trap! Xiang Aoting, ah, Xiang Aoting, I thought you were different from those devious veteran instructors and would not mess with rookies, but it turns out you’re even more ruthless than those crafty old fellows!

But… He glanced at the students in front of him, whose backs were now much straighter, his eyes nostalgic as he recalled himself going through the same thing in his past life. But, this method was actually very effective. The naive students who didn’t understand the cruelty of the battlefield and everyday society really needed a lesson like this.

If you’re seeing this notice, you’re reading this chapter on pirate site – the original translator of Death Progress Bar is Betwixted Translations.

The mood of the team became tense. Xiang Aoting stopped talking and wandered to the back of the squad, reminding them before leaving, “The people who move can sit down and rest at any time. It won’t cause you to get any additional training except for the usual.”

The cadets clenched their jaws so hard their teeth almost cracked. “Additional training”, “additional training”—now their guts hurt when they heard those words!

Another few minutes passed. After a struggle, the cadet who had moved before and was not confident in his physical strength apologized to everyone and sat down. He hung his head, blaming himself for being useless and dragging everyone down.

Where there was one, there soon were others. In order not to continue prolonging the squad’s additional training time, some students chose to give up and sit down. However, those who had not moved yet were all gritting their teeth and insisting.

Unfortunately, the additional time they already got was too long and more cadets continued to move, so the extra training time continued to increase, seeming as if it would never end. There were some people who moved yet still tried to hang on, but willpower couldn’t always overcome the body’s limitations. Once they’d reached the end of their physical strength, despite their determination, they couldn’t help but move again, making the team’s situation even worse. This being the case, if someone moved, they’d take the initiative to sit down even if they found it hard to bear.

Because of the students who wanted to gut it out but failed more than once, the time of additional training today was expected to exceed that of yesterday despite many more people remaining standing.

Time seemed to stretch out infinitely. The atmosphere of the team had sunken from the resolute, high-spirited morale of the morning to one even lower than after the previous day’s training.

In the end, only Luo Donghao and Shi Jin remained standing.

Finally, when the morning training session was about to end, Xiang Aoting walked back to the front of the team and said, “The additional training is over. The situation is a bit better than yesterday, there is one more person ‘alive’. Now, get up and get ready for the next exercise.”

The moment Xiang Aoting announced the end of the training, both Shi Jin and Luo Donghao’s bodies relaxed and they nearly collapsed to the ground. Before they could say anything in response to the second part of his orders, the teammate next to them protested, “Sir, please let them have a rest first!”

Unmoved, Xiang Aoting refused directly: “Our training speed is already behind the other teams and we must catch up. Their resting time has been used to pay for your mistakes—if you want them to be able to have a break, try to do better tomorrow. Now, line up and number off!”

Hearing his answer, everyone’s expression darkened, and they stood up reluctantly. Shi Jin and Luo Donghao also got to their feet with the help of nearby team members.

Fortunately, the morning training session wasn’t too long, and the rest of the training was just practicing marching and turning motions, which wasn’t very tiring. Shi Jin and Luo Donghao took this opportunity to stretch out their stiff bodies, and they actually felt much better.

Lunch was followed by an hour-long lunch break. The residents of room 103 all collapsed on their bunks without a word, making an excellent impression of corpses.

“Next time, should the people who move choose to give up immediately?” After a long silence, one of the teenagers finally asked, his voice full of grievance. “I don’t want to drag everyone down anymore. Why the hell is the instructor doing this? Does he just feel it’s fun to bully us?”

No one answered. Everyone seemed to have fallen asleep.

“I just want to hang on with everyone…” the young man continued, his voice growing nasal as if he was about to cry. It was incredibly stressful to watch your teammates suffer because of your own mistakes.

Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations. Read on the original translator’s site to get the fastest updates!

Shi Jin lay with his hands on the back of his head. Hearing the anguish in his roommate’s voice, he said, stifling a sigh, “Then do. Even if you move, it’s fine—as long as we train enough, we will improve. And the instructor won’t let us stand indefinitely, we also have to do other training.”

“But, if I keep moving again and again, the squad will get a lot of additional training time because of one person…”

“Not really—if it hadn’t been for the instructor to cheat us in the morning, it would’ve been only fifteen minutes. Everyone would’ve managed to hold on for that long. The whole team completing the training together is actually not that hard a task,” Shi Jin replied, then joked, “Besides, isn’t there still me? I don’t think anyone can snatch my title of ‘the young master who’s an expert in standing at attention’. I’ll be able to stand for as long as is needed, even if you move many times. I’m sure you’ll gradually improve as long as you stick to it. You’re just not used to the intensity of military training.”

Luo Donghao suddenly sat up on his bed. “The hell are you saying?” he asked, scowling. “If the whole team keeps moving, you’ll have to stand for hours! You want to become a cripple?”

Shi Jin poked his head out to look at him. “But have you ever noticed that the policemen at the roadside sentry box stand guard the whole day, and they still have to pay attention to everything around them? They don’t become crippled, do they? After graduation, we’ll all start from the bottom rung of the ladder, and maybe we’ll get assigned to exactly that kind of roadside sentry box. Now the instructor has us practice the most fundamental basics. He intentionally makes things difficult for us because he doesn’t want us to give up easily—because in our future work, there won’t be any room for giving up.”

Stunned, Luo Donghao fell silent. The other people in the room couldn’t help but sit up, though they didn’t speak either.

“Didn’t the instructor say that ‘the dead’ have no right to speak? He should’ve added, ‘as long as there’s life, there’s hope, so don’t give up’. Sticking to it is the right choice—the moment we decided to enter this profession, we’ve renounced the option to ‘give up’,” Shi Jin guided them patiently. He didn’t have the heart to watch these young people continue wasting their time and energy going around in circles, or perhaps even driving themselves into a dead end.

Everyone looked thoughtful. The person who started the conversation clenched his fists and said, “Shi Jin is right—in this profession, we don’t have the option to give up. I’ll hang on with everyone, so I’m sorry, Shi Jin, but I’ll continue to drag you down for a while!”

“It’s fine.” Seeing that his talk wasn’t in vain, Shi Jin gave the youth a fatherly smile. “If you drag the team down, then you’ll just have to invite everyone for a meal when we’re back in school. Now come on, let’s rest. We’ll likely return to the regular training program in the afternoon, so we should get our strength back as soon as possible.”

“Yeah!” the teenager responded vigorously. He added with a smile, “If I’ll have to invite everyone for a meal, then I’d better start saving money now—my physical fitness is really bad.”

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh, and the atmosphere finally relaxed a little. Luo Donghao looked at Shi Jin, who was lying on the edge of his bunk and smiling as he watched his roommates. Unable to hold back his curiosity, he asked, “Shi Jin, your family seems pretty rich, so why did you choose to enter the police academy?”

The laughter stopped abruptly, and everyone looked at Shi Jin tentatively—yeah, he was a young master and could spend his life in luxury, so why did he run to a police academy to suffer hardship?

Shi Jin: “……”

Because being a civil servant is an “iron rice bowl” job… Well, of course he couldn’t answer this way. He bowed his head in silence, pretending to look serious, then replied, “Because there’s someone I want to protect. When I become a policeman, I will be able to protect him openly.” As he spoke, he couldn’t help but feel amused at the image of Lian Jun looking at him with an expression full of trust and dependence and saying, ‘Thank you, officer.’

Because there’s someone I want to protect.

Luo Donghao looked at him obviously thinking of someone, with even his smile becoming gentle, and flopped back on his bed. “You are really a strange young master…” he sighed.

“I’m just an ordinary person.” Shi Jin also lay back on his bunk and looked up at the ceiling, suddenly missing Lian Jun very much. He’d been away for three days—who knew if Lian Jun was eating properly now that he wasn’t by his side…

In the club, Lian Jun held a tablet, browsing through the pictures and tidbits of information Li Jiuzheng had received from Xiang Aoting and forwarded to him. As he looked at the photos of Shi Jin, dashing and handsome in his uniform, his eyes were soft.

This is your dream… You look great in that uniform. The person he loved was, indeed, better suited to walk in the light.

“Jun-shao,” Gua One, who had appeared in the study at some unknown point, called in a low voice.

Lian Jun came back to his senses. He turned the tablet face-down and looked at Gua One, his expression inscrutable again. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

Gua One stepped forward and put the file he held on the desk. “There’s some movement in the underworld. In addition, the authorities suddenly invited us to cooperate on a mission in G Province.”

G Province? Wasn’t that where Tarantula’s headquarters was?

Lian Jun frowned. He took the document and quickly flipped through it, his expression sinking a little. “They want to take a shot at Tarantula,” he said. “But why? Why are the officials suddenly focusing on Tarantula? Snake Fang is clearly the one making waves right now.”

Gua One shook his head, just as puzzled. “Jun-shao, should we agree to take part in this assignment?”

“Yes. If we want to protect Tarantula, we must participate in this mission.” His finger tapping on the file, Lian Jun ordered, “Contact Tarantula—I need to meet with Lu Shan.”

Gua One was well aware that this matter was of utmost importance, so he nodded hurriedly and turned to carry out the order.

Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations. Read on the original translator’s site to get the fastest updates!

As Shi Jin expected, during the afternoon training, Xiang Aoting didn’t tell them to stand at attention but instead, like the other teams, made them do some regular training. The whole squad breathed a sigh of relief—to be honest, if they had to be subjected to this kind of psychological pressure tactics several times a day, every day, they would all break down sooner or later.

After going through two hell-like standing at attention training sessions, everyone found the regular training pleasant and relaxing and threw themselves into it with enthusiasm, without Xiang Aoting even having to order them. They also took this as a chance to try to prove to him that they were not as useless as he thought.

During the scheduled break time, Luo Donghao and the others in room 103 exchanged tacit glances, then got up and walked to the people from the other rooms, and whispered to them.

Shi Jin didn’t know anything about it because as soon as the break started, Xiang Aoting pulled him out of the training field to help him bring water for everyone in the squad.

“You really are using your position to bully me,” Shi Jin accused Xiang Aoting in a low voice, lifting a bucket of water.

Xiang Aoting was also carrying a bucket. Seeing that Shi Jin’s forehead was damp with sweat, he reached out to help him hold the bucket. “I just wanted to talk to you. Are you mad at me for what I did during the morning training?”

Shi Jin looked at him as though he were an idiot. “Why would I be mad at you? You are our drill instructor, so it’s up to you to decide how to train us. Besides, you’re doing this for our own good—everyone will understand this in the future.”

Xiang Aoting didn’t expect him to understand and was a little moved. He raised a hand and rubbed Shi Jin’s head.

Without his support, Shi Jin’s bucket lurched down, nearly hitting the ground. He stopped walking and hurriedly straightened his back to stabilize himself, then took a step sideways to avoid Xiang Aoting’s hand. “Don’t touch a man’s head and a woman’s waist, don’t you know this precept? I’m not a child anymore!” he said. Then, as if a sudden thought hit him, he moved back to his brother’s side and gave him a false look of worship.

As soon as he saw it, Xiang Aoting knew that the teenager was definitely scheming something. He reached out to help him hold the bucket again, asking, “What are you up to?”

Shi Jin flashed him a fawning smile. “I’m not up to anything… I’ve heard that instructors are allowed to use mobile phones. Have you brought your phone with you? I want to send Lian Jun a message, but my own phone was taken away and locked up. I can’t get it back until the military training is over.”

Xiang Aoting frowned, obviously unwilling.

“Are you still calling yourself my brother?” Shi Jin complained, aggrieved. “Look at my trembling legs, my hunched back, my sweaty head, and this bucket of water I’m carrying. You—”

“You can’t borrow my phone, but I can send Lian Jun a message for you,” Xiang Aoting had no choice but to compromise. “What do you want to tell him?”

Shi Jin instantly changed his expression to a flattering smile again. “Just that he has to eat and sleep properly. That’s all, otherwise you’ll feel awkward. Thank you, Fourth Brother—as expected, you really are the brother who loves me the most.”

Xiang Aoting’s expression softened. “Everybody loves you the same.” Abruptly, he pulled the water bucket out of Shi Jin’s hand, quickened his pace, and walked towards the squad’s position.

Stunned, Shi Jin watched him trot away with two buckets of water, then smiled and chased after him.

He didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt very happy. It was as if he’d been looking forward to such a moment for a long, long time.

No one had fallen into the abyss—on the contrary, everyone’s future was still filled with endless possibilities.

Abruptly, Xiao Si said, < JinJin, your progress bar has dropped to 80. >

Surprised, Shi Jin stopped to take a look at the progress bar. His gaze was confused—why did it drop suddenly? Did he just do something?

The author has something to say:

Extra: why would Lian Jun receive photos from Li Jiuzheng

One day, Lian Jun sent a text message to Li Jiuzheng: [I’ll let you take Shi Jin to school, but you’ll need to do something for me.]

Li Jiuzheng (instant reply): [Deal.]

———

Another day, the brothers’ chat group:

Xiang Aoting: Xiao Jin is working hard. [picture][picture][picture]…+n

The brothers quietly right-clicked and saved.

Li Jiuzheng adjusted his glasses, saved, and forwarded.

———

#What is the instructor doing when he’s standing behind the squad all the time?#

Translator’s Notes:

“Don’t touch a man’s head and a woman’s waist” – a common saying passed down from ancient times. Short explanation: in ancient times, the identity and status of a man were recognized by his clothes, headwear, and/or hairstyle. As such, the man’s head (with all that’s on it) could be equaled to his dignity. An elder could touch a child’s head, but touching a grown man’s head was a social taboo. “Don’t touch a woman’s waist” – if a woman let her waist be touched by others at will, it was regarded as being wanton, which could ruin her reputation and chances to marry. (Source)