The next day, the custom training uniform Wang Zhi had ordered was delivered to the door of his residence ahead of schedule. After retrieving his gear, Wang Zhi found his set and put it on.
"Whoa, this is quite heavy," Wang Zhi muttered, weighing the 30 kg outfit.
The effect of the clothes was exactly as ideal; small iron blocks reinforced every section, distributing the weight evenly, so no single area felt disproportionately heavy.
Wang Zhi felt that all his movements were sluggish—whether raising his arms or taking a step—there was a constant sensation of gravity, as if thirty kilograms of flesh had suddenly been attached to him, clinging tightly to his body.
Wang Zhi called the others out and asked them to try it on as well.
"Captain Wang, will we wear this during regular times from now on?" Fatty asked while moving around.
"Except for sleeping at night, you must wear it the rest of the time. You have to treat this clothing as if it were your own flesh."
"Mm! These clothes look quite good," Ying said satisfactorily after putting hers on and trying a few movements.
Thus, Wang Zhi and the four others entered the training ground wearing uniform black team uniforms. From a distance, they looked no different from normal attire, and up close, one could only tell the clothes were very thick, unable to notice at all that they were actually steel plates inside.
The best way to adapt to this clothing was running. Wang Zhi got on the treadmill. Initially, Wang Zhi ran less than half his usual distance before he was already panting heavily as he stepped off the machine.
This state was somewhat similar to when he had first arrived at Dawn Tower: stamina depletion was immense, and he would start panting after just a couple of movements.
Wang Zhi glanced at the others; they weren't faring much better, all red-faced, clearly also unaccustomed to the situation.
At noon, the group went up to the second floor to eat.
"Yo, buddy, those clothes are quite distinctive. Where did you buy them?"
Just as Wang Zhi and the other four were enjoying their lunch, a jarring voice cut in from nearby.
Wang Zhi turned his head to see a Yellow Hair youth whose expression and demeanor were arrogant and overbearing, much like a street punk. It seemed Dawn Tower was not short of such types either.
"Hey, I'm talking to you guys! Are you deaf?" Seeing that none of them responded, Yellow Hair grew even more aggressive.
"I advise you to leave right now," Wang Zhi said coldly, looking at the Yellow Hair youth beside him.
Wang Zhi hated nothing more than having his meal interrupted.
"Oh really? You think you're pretty bold, don't you? I'm not leaving. What are you going to do about it?"
Just as Wang Zhi set down his chopsticks, ready to stand up because the man still showed no sign of leaving, several other people rushed over from the side.
"Captain Wang, my apologies. He's new and ignorant. I'll apologize on his behalf, please don't hold a grudge; I'll take him away immediately!"
"Captain? What are you doing?" Once they were outside, Yellow Hair demanded of his captain, clearly unconvinced.
"I'm telling you, if you cause me trouble like this again, you can just get lost," the captain retorted, turning back with a dark look.
"Why? I didn't even do anything wrong!" Yellow Hair complained, feeling wronged.
The captain turned back and looked at Yellow Hair, saying, "They are that Sunset Glow squad."
"Th-that's... that's the squad that actually killed people in here? I... I haven't seen them!"
This time, Yellow Hair started to panic a little.
"Nonsense! They've been a Level Three Team for ages, always on the third floor. They only come up during meal times, how often would you see them? If I hadn't rushed over just then, we wouldn't have had a good end! You almost ruined us!"
The captain roared, and Yellow Hair realized he had made a mistake, lowering his head as the captain reprimanded him.
"Forget it. You keep a lower profile from now on, kid. There aren't many people here who are easy to mess with. This is the Apocalypse now; nobody will tolerate your attitude. Hurry up and get back to training."
Captain Zhang said this while looking at the insolent Yellow Hair.
"I... I was wrong, Captain... But will they hold a grudge?"
Now Yellow Hair was genuinely scared.
"Since they let us go, they probably didn't take it to heart," Captain Zhang said with a sigh of relief.
...
"Hehe, is our Captain Wang so famous now? It looks like they all respect you!"
In the dining hall, Su Muying laughed from the side.
"Don't mention it. Hurry up and eat; we still have training later."
Wang Zhi interrupted Ying's teasing.
...
After seven days of training, everyone had almost gotten used to the uniform.
"Captain Wang! S-some explosive news—the people from Former Dynasty have returned!"
"So what if they returned? There's no need to make such a fuss."
Wang Zhi said to the panting Fatty.
"No, they returned, but only two people came back."
"What!" Wang Zhi, fearing he misheard, asked again.
"J-just... just two," Fatty jumped at Wang Zhi's shout and carefully repeated himself.
"Quick! Hurry and follow me to the first floor."
Wang Zhi called everyone and they jogged to the first floor, heading straight for the infirmary.
Since they had returned, the first order of business was definitely cleaning, disinfection, healing, and security checks.
Arriving at the infirmary, he inquired about the situation with Sophie and learned that the two were lying in the medical bay.
Going to the medical bay, he saw two people on the beds with tubes inserted, receiving nutrient solution—one was Captain Duan Qingtian, and the other was Zhang Ming.
"Wang Zhi? Why are you here?" Zhang Ming, whose condition looked better than Duan Qingtian's, asked after recognizing Wang Zhi.
"What happened to you two? Zhang Ming?" Wang Zhi asked anxiously, desperately wanting to know what they had experienced.
"Sigh... we..."
Just as Zhang Ming was about to speak, he was interrupted by Duan Qingtian beside him.
"I ask a favor of you all, can you promise me one thing?" Duan Qingtian said weakly.
"Please tell us."
"Please let your team take in Zhang Ming. If he goes with your team, I will be at ease."
"What? Captain, what are you saying?" Zhang Ming struggled to sit up from the bed and looked at his captain, asking.
"I am not worthy to be this Captain; don't worry about me anymore." Duan Qingtian finished speaking, closed his eyes, and shed tears.
Wang Zhi was also somewhat stunned. Was the other party disbanding? And handing Zhang Ming over to his team? Wang Zhi looked at Zhang Ming on the sickbed. As for Zhang Ming, Wang Zhi's first impression was quite good; after all, when he arrived on the third floor, Zhang Ming was the first person to proactively come up and greet him, plus his team was exactly one person short.
Wang Zhi considered for a while and replied, "If Zhang Ming doesn't mind, I have no problem on my side."
"Captain, you..."
"Enough, stop talking. I have already decided. It was my wrong decision earlier that led to everyone's sacrifice. I am sorry to everyone, and I have no face to continue here. Our team's Survival Points will be split into two portions. Take your share and join Sunset Glow."
Duan Qingtian finished speaking and closed his eyes, saying no more. It was clear that he was extremely guilty internally; the sacrifice of his comrades was a significant blow to him.
"Zhang Ming, tell us what exactly happened to you all?" Wang Zhi asked.