CR CH20

Chapter 20: The Fight

Ten minutes ago, at the Z01 base special training ground.

The desolate land was devoid of vegetation. The mud, washed clean by rain, was slippery, and the air was thick with a lingering, metallic scent of blood. Beyond the perimeter of the jagged rocks lay an unnamed sea, separated from them by a glowing, shimmering defensive energy grid.

A sweltering heat swept across the entire arena, turning these young, hot-blooded Alphas into ticking time bombs.

In the week since the new training modules officially began, friction within the squads had been constant. They had been holding it together primarily through sheer willpower and a baseline of professional decorum, but the tight-stretched atmosphere was like a balloon pushed to its limit—one prick, and it would explode.

Accumulated grievances finally erupted; no one was willing to back down. As far as the most toxic atmosphere went, Ji Yandong’s squad was a mandatory nomination.

“BANG!”

When the training module ended and the instructor gave the signal for a break, the team had barely stepped out of the training ground’s gate when Feng Huo gave the nearby energy tower a violent kick and spat out a curse. The facade of team unity finally crumbled.

“Trying to show off, are you?” Ji Yandong, brows furrowed, stepped forward and shoved him hard. “Mistakes in the early stages of squad coordination are normal. Haven’t you ever made a mistake?”

“Who are you giving that attitude to these past few days? The whole team has been trying to look out for you; did anyone say a single word of complaint?”

“Fuck.” Feng Huo had been holding back, but after being shoved, he finally exploded. “Why do you keep hounding me? Am I the only one who isn’t a human being in your eyes?!”

“I call out whoever isn’t acting like a teammate. What’s the problem with that?”

Ji Yandong, usually as calm as a monk, was showing a level of rage no one had ever seen before. For a moment, those around them were too stunned to react.

The two stood face-to-face, the atmosphere electric. Suddenly, Feng Huo pointed at Jiang Tianji, who was resting against a railing nearby.

“I’m sick of it! You don’t say a word about him, the one dragging us down every single day, yet you insist on picking on me, the one who’s only messed up once! I don’t have a father, a mother, or a home—does that make my life cheaper than everyone else’s?!”

“Feng Huo, you—”

Seeing the two of them grabbing each other by the collars, Jiang Tianji, who had been sitting on the ground without a word, put his water bottle aside. He stood up, pulled Ji Yandong back, and gently tapped Feng Huo’s arm.

“It’s my fault, actually. My fundamentals aren’t solid, and I keep holding everyone back. Training is tiring, and it’s normal for you guys to be frustrated.” Jiang Tianji gave his teammates a lopsided grin. “I’ve been improving these past few days, right? Fewer mistakes. I’ll try my best not to mess up later. How about I treat everyone to lunch today? My treat, as an apology. Sorry about that.”

“Tianji, this has nothing to do with you. Don’t listen to his bullshit.”

“Don’t need your fake pity!”

The two voices overlapped. Ji Yandong’s fury was off the charts, and the others couldn’t hold back either. Huang Qi and Li Cheng were the first to move, fingers pointed as they charged toward Feng Huo, only to be dragged back by Jiang Tianji, who had grabbed them by the waist.

The two struggled while trading insults with Feng Huo across the distance. Qi Xiuyi and Liu Zhaoxi, usually men of composure, were now under the scrutiny of the crowd and remained silent, watching Feng Huo. Things had spiraled to a point where they couldn’t be easily contained.

Other squads came over to try and mediate, grabbing Feng Huo to calm him down. The crowd was noisy, and in the chaos, someone said something that finally pushed Feng Huo over the edge. He lost his temper entirely and blurted out, “So I can’t even point out a problem? I don’t care what kind of family he has—what were his parents doing, raising him to be this useless…”

The moment those words left his mouth, Jiang Tianji didn’t hesitate for a fraction of a second. He spun around and threw a punch.

This turn of events caught everyone off guard.

The crowd saw nothing more than a blur. By the time they realized what happened, Feng Huo was already pinned to the ground. Jiang Tianji’s speed was blistering, fueled by a raw, unhidden ruthlessness.

Feng Huo, stunned by the sudden blow, was slow to react. By the time he realized Jiang Tianji was sitting on his chest with a raised fist, rage had already cannibalized his reason. The two collided in a brutal brawl.

The crowd was frozen for a moment before rushing in, only to find they couldn’t intervene. Teammates grabbed the two men by the waist, but even with so many people, they couldn’t hold back the two mad bulls. The scene was pure chaos.

“Stop fighting! You’re teammates, do you have to do this?!”

“Are they crazy? Someone, get more people!”

“We can’t hold them! This is bad, if they keep hitting each other, someone’s going to get killed! Go get help!”

The situation was spiraling. Anyone from the sidelines who tried to get close was glared away by their respective squad leaders. Feng Huo and Jiang Tianji burst through the perimeter, successfully shaking off the others and continuing the fight toward the edge of the arena.

Jiang Tianji kicked the other man into the energy wall, pinning him down and raining down punch after punch without holding back.

Ji Yandong and the others were squeezed out; they were worried the one-on-one fight would escalate into a squad-wide brawl.

By the time they fought their way back to the edge, Jiang Tianji had his hand around Feng Huo’s throat, slamming him into the wall with a sickening thud.

With his hair hanging low, obscuring his expression, the onlookers could only see him lean in and whisper something in Feng Huo’s ear. Feng Huo’s face shifted, his eyes widening in disbelief as he looked up. The next second, Jiang Tianji’s fist slammed into his face, smearing bright red blood everywhere.

Whether it was because Feng Huo was off his game or something else, he appeared to be losing, completely suppressed by Jiang Tianji.

“Wait, this kid usually…” someone muttered, confused, but their voice was drowned out by another.

“Evacuate the area! Their pheromones are out of control!”

Ji Yandong and his team stepped forward to break it up. Even the usually aloof Liu Zhaoxi tried to shove himself between them, but to no avail. The strange, manic pheromones made everyone around them wince in pain.

“Wake up!” Huang Qi was pushed aside by Jiang Tianji, stumbling back against an energy tower, gasping for air.

Jiang Tianji’s eyes were blood-red. He couldn’t smell the pheromones, but he could sense an aura that made him inexplicably manic, as if his very blood was screaming for victory.

In the distance, there was a commotion—the officers had arrived.

“That’s enough! Stop right now!” Ji Yandong commanded.

Jiang Tianji’s face was bruised and bloodied, sweat dripping down his jawline. At the command, his movements stuttered for a second, but the deep-seated restlessness within him couldn’t be tamed. He landed one final, brutal punch square on Feng Huo’s nose. Blood splattered onto their skin and combat uniforms. Feng Huo’s struggle weakened, his face unrecognizable beneath the carnage.

Driven by the pheromone interference, both men had abandoned any semblance of technique, like two beasts locked in a fight to the death. With bloodshot eyes, they stared at each other, neither willing to yield.

Everything in front of them turned blurry. The sounds around them faded, replaced by a high-pitched, incessant ringing.

Seizing the opportunity, the onlookers finally managed to pull the exhausted pair apart.

Jiang Tianji gasped for air, completely out of control, his head bowed as he leaned against the wall. The space beside him fell silent.

Forcing his eyes open, he caught sight of a pair of military boots standing still right in front of him.

“Well, well. You’re quite the brawler, aren’t you?”

A familiar, amused, and mocking voice drifted down from above.