Chapter 20: So-called Delicious Food

“I succeeded!”

Su Xuan stood atop the high platform, his face brimming with elation.

“I finally conquered it!”

Starting from seven o’clock, a full five hours had been spent on it.

Five hours wasn’t long, but the bitterness within was hard to describe.

Hundreds of falls, hundreds of electric shocks, stiff limbs, an aching waist and abdomen, and a strained mind—the amount of exercise in these five hours was greater than a month of morning runs.

But with effort comes reward.

His control over his breathing had given him a foundation for controlling energons.
The efficient consumption of energons had improved his physical constitution.

Although he was starving now, his spirit was still high, and his strength was abundant.

His slender arms now possessed explosive power.

Though his muscle lines weren’t that obvious, they were the most beautiful lines in nature.

Sweat clung to his fair skin, shimmering with a watery light.

His flushed cheeks radiated an incomparable charm.

Zhang Heng coughed lightly and said to Su Xuan, “Want to go eat with me?”

How could Su Xuan, who had been oppressed for half the day, pass up the chance to fleece him?

His slender, white-jade-like fingers clenched into a fist.

His heart was filled with a mischievous desire for revenge.

‘I’ll eat you into bankruptcy, hmph~’

Su Xuan thought to himself.

Zhang Heng put away the deck chair as if by magic, patted his wrinkled duster coat, and walked outside without a word.

Su Xuan brushed aside the sweat-dampened hair stuck to his forehead, revealing his fair brow, and closely followed Zhang Heng’s steps.

‘D*mn old man, why are you walking so fast!’

Su Xuan saw Zhang Heng striding forward and quickened his pace.

It was clear Zhang Heng didn’t want Su Xuan to keep up, as he walked faster and faster.

Su Xuan thought the guy was trying to run off and deny him a meal, so he chased after him with all his might.

Because regular high schools were in session, there weren’t many people at the training ground.

The few students present stared blankly at the celestial-like beautiful figure.

That exquisite face, seemingly annoyed yet resentful, on the verge of anger yet shy, was enough to make anyone fall for her.

“I… I’m in love…”

A male student clutched his chest, his eyes bloodshot.

“Get lost… she’s mine.”

The boy next to him, with an arm slung over his shoulder, gave him a push and said arrogantly.

“Heh heh~ Her boyfriend is me, Dio!”

Another boy joined the so-called competition.

The instigator, Su Xuan, had no idea how great an impact he had caused.

From then on, the rumor of a peerless beauty at the Jincheng Training Ground began to spread.

Soon, Su Xuan followed Zhang Heng to a strange-looking restaurant.

It was called the Warrior’s Restaurant.
There weren’t many people inside.

Several of them were muscular brutes with rugged faces, some with scars.

“Yo~~ Zhang Heng!”

A muscular man with a buzz cut raised his hand to greet Zhang Heng.

The other men all looked toward Zhang Heng, greeting him.

“Zhang Heng…”

“Zhang Heng…”

And Zhang Heng returned their greetings.

“Zhou Hu… Zhou Long… Ou Chen.”

The moment Su Xuan entered the room, dozens of eyes turned to him in unison.

“Hehe, Zhang Heng, you’re into this kind of thing? Does Li En know?”

“Zhang Heng, quite the casanova, huh? But won’t bringing her to this kind of restaurant scare her away?”

Several burly men laughed heartily, chugging down white liquor.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. This guy is my student.”

Zhang Heng retorted.

“Ehh~~”

The men let out a disdainful sound.
Then they turned to look at Su Xuan and said, “Hey beauty, don’t believe this sanctimonious guy. That part of him doesn’t work. Come have some fun with big brother, I guarantee a good time~”

“Hahaha~~”

Su Xuan’s face flushed red, then went pale.
He was furious.

One must know, the former Su Xuan had been a proud person.

As a transmigrator, the pride he’d had since childhood was etched into his bones.

It was only with the arrival of high school that this pride had been buried deep down.
But the words of these barbarians had deeply stung his pride, stung his dignity.

“Su Xuan… dignity is something you earn for yourself.”

Zhang Heng sat on a stool, his calm eyes looking at Su Xuan by the door.

“Mm…”

Su Xuan responded quietly, a chill radiating from his entire body.

However, he didn’t make a move, because he knew he was no match for these retired soldiers.

But when he broke through to the Initial Form, he would definitely get his face back.

“Ou Chen, watch your mouth.”

A burly man nearby, seeing Su Xuan’s pitiful look, said to the one who had made the lewd comment.

“Alright, alright… I won’t say any more. Let’s eat!”

That man seemed to realize he had misspoken and quickly turned back to call his companions to start eating.

Zhang Heng looked at the silently approaching Su Xuan and offered some advice, “Don’t hold too much of a grudge.

This group isn’t all that bad. But this is also your fate. On the front lines, your appearance won’t help you. In fact, it might bring you unexpected danger. Without formidable strength, it’s hard to gain a foothold in that kind of place.”

“I know…”

Su Xuan replied quietly.

He also knew that the group wasn’t targeting him specifically, but he was still very angry.

After all, being mistaken for a woman and verbally humiliated was not something one could tolerate.

“So, you have to work even harder. The dishes here will definitely make you forget your troubles!”

Zhang Heng smiled, a very wicked smile, like someone who had successfully pulled off a prank.

Looking at that chilling smile, Su Xuan had a bad premonition.

“Coming… guest, your ordered dishes.”

“Raw sliced Meat Cicada Worms, Earthworm Ramen, Termites Climbing a Tree, Mealworm Rice…”

Dish after dish was brought to the table, but they didn’t whet his appetite in the slightest.
Looking at the wiggling insects, Su Xuan’s face slowly turned pale, even forgetting his recent displeasure.

Was this the so-called forgetting of troubles?
Using a bigger trouble to push out the previous one.

Nice move.

“This is your lunch… How is it? These are all high-energy, high-quality ingredients rich in protein, you know.”

Zhang Heng laughed heartily, admiring those aggrieved eyelashes, which blinked and shimmered as if tears were about to fall.

“If you don’t eat, then we’ll stop the afternoon training. I’m afraid something might happen to you.”

Zhang Heng said indifferently, as if he was certain Su Xuan wouldn’t be able to eat these things.

He knew well that back in the day, in the large mess hall, many people couldn’t eat these things at first, causing them to fall behind in training and end up in the treatment station.

These were all high-nutrient substances, food specifically designed for training.

Ordinary rice simply couldn’t meet the high nutritional demands of training.

During high-intensity training, cell turnover is extremely fast.

These insects provided a large amount of matter and energy for the birth of new cells.
Some trace elements could also promote the body’s secondary development.

It could be said that without eating these things, the training effectiveness would be halved.

‘I hope you can stomach it. Don’t act like a real woman.’

Zhang Heng thought silently.
For him, this was a rare opportunity.

“Look over there. Zhang Heng is really daring.”

“Isn’t this… the devil training camp meal… Looks like this girl has good potential.”

“What’s the point of potential if she can’t eat it? Without a good stomach, you can’t become an excellent warrior. In those desolate lands, when you’re in a desperate situation, you have to fight with vultures over rotten meat. The crawling maggots are like eating jelly, crunch crunch… This is child’s play in comparison.”

The group of muscular men also started discussing amongst themselves, not lowering their voices.
Su Xuan heard every word clearly.

‘Su Xuan, you are betting your soul, betting your dignity as a man! How can you be defeated by these insects!’

Su Xuan knew this wasn’t Zhang Heng deliberately making things difficult for him, but rather to support the training that would follow.

Eat them, and the training continues.
Fail to eat them, and the training ends.

…