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For the rest of the afternoon training, Shi Jin was silently pondering over a question—why had his progress bar dropped?
After dealing with Xu Jie, his progress bar first dropped to 100 for a while, then, when Xu Jie woke up in the hospital after her operation, it climbed up a bit, to 300. Lian Jun helped him send Xu Jie to a psychiatric hospital abroad; on the day she left B City, his progress bar dropped to 200. Once Xu Jie arrived in the hospital and met the nurse who’d been her accomplice, as arranged by Lian Jun, Shi Jin’s progress bar had been falling steadily. By the time he had reported to school, it had dropped to 100 and never moved again as if stuck.
This should have been the limit of Xu Jie’s influence on his progress bar, and with her current situation, he could be sure that the remaining value of 100 had nothing to do with her.
But if that was the case, what was the reason for the change in his progress bar?
There shouldn’t be any lethal factors in the military base because if so, the bar would have increased the moment Shi Jin arrived here, instead of inexplicably decreasing after a few days. And he hadn’t done anything to improve his safety just now; he simply carried a bucket of water.
If he excluded these two reasons, coupled with the fact that the progress bar hadn’t risen before dropping… Maybe this wasn’t related to lethal factors but survival factors?
He couldn’t help but look at Xiang Aoting—was his brother the reason? Did Xiang Aoting’s presence increase his survival factor? Or—he glanced around at his surroundings, a closed and absolutely safe military base, uncertain—was it the environment? No, it shouldn’t be, otherwise the progress bar would’ve dropped as soon as he arrived… So the environment wasn’t the cause.
His thoughtful gaze fell back on Xiang Aoting. The decline in the progress bar should still be related to his brother because at that moment, he’d just finished a conversation with him. With 80% probability, Xiang Aoting was the reason.
But it still didn’t seem to fit completely. According to his previous guess, the survival factor he obtained from someone should have a limit value, determined by the strength of that person’s ability and desire to protect him.
When his relationship with his brothers improved, the survival factors they gave him should’ve already been maxed out, and the value by which these survival factors could lower the progress bar should have reached the limit. Not long ago, he received Ruxing from Shi Weichong; such a huge security guarantee should be a big survival factor, but the progress bar didn’t even budge. It proved that his last remaining progress bar value should not be affected by survival factors. Xiang Aoting didn’t say anything special just now. He didn’t make any promises to protect him or the like—their conversation had been completely mundane, so why did the progress bar drop…
“This afternoon’s training is over, dismissed! Have dinner at 6:00 in the canteen, then assemble for evening training at 7:00 on the training grounds. You’d better not be late!” Xiang Aoting’s voice suddenly rang.
It sounded quite close. Awoken from his thoughts, Shi Jin blinked and turned towards where it came from.
Xiang Aoting was standing at the side of the squad and just happened to be looking at Shi Jin. Seeing him glance over, Xiang Aoting frowned and knocked on the air, pretending to make a reprimanding knock on the young man’s head. Realizing that his absent-mindedness had been noticed, Shi Jin raised a hand and knocked on his own head, smiling sheepishly at his brother.
Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations. Read on the original translator’s site to get the fastest updates!
The evening training was rather relaxed; as everyone just jogged casually while singing, and practiced the basic drill commands they’d learned in the afternoon, time seemed to fly by.
Doubts and questions were spinning around in Shi Jin’s mind even as he lay down on his bunk at lights-out. This matter was really important to him. He’d completely resolved the original novel’s plot, but there were still 100 points left in his progress bar; he’d been unable to figure out what it was related to. Now that there was finally a clue, he couldn’t let it slip away.
Still thinking about it, he drifted into sleep. He hadn’t noticed that, strangely, Xiao Si kept silent after informing him that the progress bar fell, even though it would usually comfort and encourage him when he was struggling with a problem.
Probably because he’d been entangled in thoughts all day, Shi Jin had a dream that night. He dreamt about Xiang Aoting.
In the dream, he became the original ‘Shi Jin’, lying on the cold ground with a bloodied face as the spark of his life faded away. His face had been disfigured and his ring finger had been cut off; he was in a lot of pain. Probably because he had lost a lot of blood, his body felt cold, and his mind was a little confused.
Am I dying?
He tried to blink but found he had no strength.
Why didn’t his brothers come to save him? Why… Oh, that’s right—his brothers ignored him now, they no longer wanted him… He moved his arms, trying to prop himself up. I can’t die here, I need to get out, to get out of here…
Bang!
With the sound of the door being slammed open, the light finally poured in the dark, damp basement.
They were coming again, his torturers… He fell back to the floor, turning his head towards the patch of light with difficulty, despair welling in his eyes.
This is probably the end, isn’t it…
A tall, familiar figure rushed in.
Then there was a familiar voice: “Xiao Jin!”
He stared at the man, running straight to him, with wide open eyes that were reddening rapidly. He didn’t know where the strength came from, but he managed to prop himself up on his injured arms. Holding up his weak body, he crawled forward a little, struggling to grab the hand reaching out to him as the man dropped to his knees in front of him.
It’s warm. It’s my brother’s hand.
When he gripped the man’s hand so hard, the wound from his cut-off finger was squeezed and hurt very much, but he didn’t want to let go.
Hold it tight even if it hurts, don’t let go, ever.
“Fourth Brother…” he mumbled, slumping back to the ground. He wanted to see the man’s face, but his consciousness was fading rapidly. “…It hurts.”
If you’re seeing this notice, you’re reading this chapter on pirate site – the original translator of Death Progress Bar is Betwixted Translations.
“Shi Jin!”
The loud call woke Shi Jin up. He blinked and opened his eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling. After a moment, he sat up with a frown, raising a hand to rub his forehead.
Luo Donghao knocked on the frame of Shi Jin’s bed. “Hurry up and get up or you’re going to be late.”
Shi Jin returned to his senses and hummed in response. He gave his face a hard rub to perk himself up, folded the quilt, and climbed down the bed ladder.
Luo Donghao stood by and waited for him. Seeing that Shi Jin’s face looked a little pale, he frowned and asked, “What’s wrong, are you still feeling tired?”
“No, I just had a weird dream and my head hurts a little,” Shi Jin replied half-truthfully. He chatted with Luo Donghao as he changed his clothes, casually diverting the topic, then the two of them took their toiletries and went to the communal bathroom for the morning ablutions.
On the way to the training field, Shi Jin was rather spiritless, keeping his head down and not speaking.
Last night’s dream was too real, to the point that even now, he felt a dull ache in his finger. He’d never been affected by the memory of the original ‘Shi Jin’ to this extent. Before this, when he looked at ‘Shi Jin’s’ memories, it was from the third-person perspective, without really getting involved—like watching a movie in which the protagonist looked a little bit like him. But last night, in the dream, he was the original ‘Shi Jin’, and fully felt all the pain ‘he’ had suffered.
It was a really bad experience.
He clenched and opened his hand vigorously to weaken the painful feeling, asking Xiao Si, “Last night, I dreamed of the memories of the original ‘Shi Jin’. It was not from the third-person perspective but from ‘his’ perspective, and since waking up, they keep flashing in my mind. Is this normal? Should I pay special attention to this?”
Xiao Si’s answer was succinct, which was rare: < It’s normal. You don’t need to worry about this, just wait it out. >
Shi Jin frowned. “What’s wrong? Why are you so listless today?”
< I… > Xiao Si began, then continued in a small voice, < I miss Darling. >
Once Lian Jun’s name fell, Shi Jin paused, then let out a sigh. Pushing everything that was troubling him right now to the back of his mind, he said, “I miss him too… I wonder if Xiang Aoting passed my message on to him yesterday…”
Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations. Read on the original translator’s site to get the fastest updates!
Probably due to the deep influence of the dream, when Shi Jin arrived at the training field and saw Xiang Aoting, Shi Jin’s heart suddenly flooded with chaotic emotions.
Wanting to avoid him, wanting to question him, wanting to rush to him and hold his hand… These conflicting emotions ebbed as fast as they flowed in. Shi Jin stopped for a moment, rubbing his forehead as he waited for them to fade, then lowered his head and followed Luo Donghao and the others to find their positions.
After they lined up, Xiang Aoting made them number off. He glanced at Shi Jin, frowning when he saw him keeping his head down and seemingly dispirited, and said, “As usual, first run three laps as a warm-up, then come back here and stand at attention. The rules for the additional training stay the same.”
The students didn’t have any special reaction when they heard his words. They neither let out a shocked gasp like the first day nor burned with the will to fight like yesterday, but just obediently went to run, appearing mature and calm.
Xiang Aoting looked at them pretending to be unperturbed—they seemed to be scheming something. He glanced at Shi Jin, who was concentrating on the warm-up, his fingers unconsciously scratching the clipboard with the roster.
It didn’t take long to run three laps. When they were done, everyone lined up without having to be ordered and assumed at attention stance.
On that day, as if the team had some kind of agreement, no one gave up. Whether they moved or not, they kept standing; no matter what Xiang Aoting said or promised, they acted as if they were deaf.
Under such collective persistence, the training time was extended indefinitely as Luo Donghao had feared yesterday, and the total training time soon exceeded the training time in the morning. Realizing that he couldn’t trick the cadets no matter how hard he tried, Xiang Aoting finally closed his mouth. He caught on to what their “scheme” was and, satisfied, decided to change his strategy.
“I’m very happy that you all chose to persist,” he said in a gentle voice, stopping right in front of the squad. “But we can’t continue wasting time like this. Now, everyone who moved should line up to the side.”
This shocked everyone. Although not all of them had “survived” the additional training, in their hearts, they felt that they’d defeated Xiang Aoting. The cadets who had moved hurriedly stepped out, relieved that they didn’t have to drag their companions down any longer.
Out of the team of forty, thirty-nine people were suddenly gone, leaving only Shi Jin standing in the original place.
The students, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, froze at the sight of the lonely Shi Jin. Their insides ached with frustration—so, once again, only the young master was left in the end…
Everyone looked at Luo Donghao, their gazes reproachful—yesterday, didn’t you “survive”?!
Luo Donghao lowered his head in shame, whispering, “Just now, there was a gust of wind. The sand blew in my eyes, and I couldn’t help moving…”
Everyone: “……” Alright, bro, this excuse is too solid.
“Why are you just standing there in a daze? Line up!” Xiang Aoting barked, scowling.
They complied in a hurry, then looked at the instructor, wondering what he had prepared for them this time.
Xiang Aoting walked up to them. “You can’t hold on to the end because your physical strength and stamina are not up to par. If so, you should practice until they are, and not give up! Each of you should remember how many times you moved. Once—do ten push-ups, twice—twenty push-ups, and so on. Supervise each other, and don’t slack off.”
Oh, so it’s just push-ups. That’s easy!
The eyes of the students who only moved once, like Luo Donghao, brightened.
“Before doing push-ups, go and run five laps around the field,” Xiang Aoting amended, then looked over at the lone “survivor” on the other side. “Shi Jin was able to stand without moving for three days in a row. This proves that his endurance and physical strength are far beyond the required standard, so he doesn’t have to run and do push-ups—he’ll be learning fighting from me.”
Huh? Fighting?!
The cadets’ eyes lit up and they all looked at Xiang Aoting. Luo Donghao shouted,  “Instructor, I also want to learn fighting!” Fighting was so cool, it was much more fun than running!
“Unqualified personnel has no right to make demands,” Xiang Aoting replied coldly, his icy gaze sweeping over the group of unruly quail chicks. “When you’re able to stand at attention without moving to the end of the training, I’ll let you learn something else. Until then, you can only watch others learn.”
Hiss— So cruel!
The little quails gasped in shock.
Xiang Aoting scowled at them. “Not running yet?!”
Intimidated by his glare, they didn’t dare to make any more requests and glumly went to the running track, throwing Shi Jin envious glances.
“Shi Jin, tomorrow I’ll accompany you!” Luo Donghao said in a low voice as he ran past Shi Jin. His eyes were full of admiration and envy.
The corners of Shi Jin’s mouth twitched. “Okay, I’m waiting for you,” he said dryly. Also, congratulations on biting Xiang Aoting’s bait.
When the little quails ran away far enough, Xiang Aoting immediately walked up to Shi Jin and touched the teenager’s forehead. “You didn’t sleep well last night? Your face looks pale.”
The hand on his forehead was very warm. Taken aback, Shi Jin looked up at Xiang Aoting, whose eyes were filled with concern. The images from last night’s dream flashed in his mind; he took a deep breath, suppressing the impulse to slap his brother’s hand away. He stepped back, took off his cap and put it aside, then turned to Xiang Aoting and beckoned to him provocatively. “Come on, let’s spar! I couldn’t win against you last year, but this year, I’ll definitely beat you to the ground.”
Xiang Aoting was relieved to see him cheer up again. He took off his cap, put it aside together with the clipboard, and assumed a fighting stance. “Yes, let me see how much you have grown since then.”
Shi Jin eyed him, burning with fighting spirit. His muscles straining, he immediately rushed to attack.
On the track, after making a turn, Luo Donghao instinctively glanced towards their squad’s usual position. His eyes opened wide as he saw two figures fluidly exchanging blows. He quickly raised a hand to rub them and looked again, then cried out in disbelief, “Fuck, Shi Jin is actually sparring with the instructor! He can actually fight!”
Surprised, everyone looked in that direction, only to see Shi Jin forcing Xiang Aoting back with a savage high kick. Their jaws dropped.
“How fierce! Is that really Shi Jin?”
“Fuck, that kick was brutal! These moves look very skilled, Shi Jin is no amateur!”
“Hit his face, his face! A kick, yeah! Come on, kick him!”
“Damn, is he really a spoiled young master? You guys totally lied to me.”
Luo Donghao stared, dumbfounded. Looking at Shi Jin’s flexible movements and ruthless attacks, he felt a chill on his back for some reason. Why did he think that Shi Jin’s techniques were a little strange, as if they were all killing moves? Where did he learn them?
Xiang Aoting asked the same question when they separated for a moment.
Shi Jin once again swept out with his leg, trying to throw him off balance. “Last year, didn’t you say that my attacks were too routine and predictable? I did my best to improve on this.” And boy, hadn’t he suffered because of it! During practice, he’d continuously been beaten up by Gua Two and Gua One. The two men said they wanted to help him reform his rigid fighting skills, which looked nice on paper, but it was actually a euphemism for beating him up! Straight-out beating him up!
Xiang Aoting recalled Lian Jun’s dangerous group of subordinates and frowned, inexplicably feeling that they had dragged his younger brother over to the dark side. He deftly captured Shi Jin’s arm and pressed down his shoulder, at the same time striking at the side of his waist. “Here, the hole in your defense is too big. You should pay more attention to defense when attacking! Again!”
Knocked to the ground with such apparent ease, Shi Jin’s face darkened. Seeing Xiang Aoting look as if he still didn’t need to go all out, he twisted and broke free from his brother’s hold then threw a punch straight at his face.
It so happened that the rest of the squad was running by just at this moment. The cadets immediately became excited when they saw this scene; someone, emboldened by being hidden in the crowd, shouted at the top of his lungs, “Hit him! Come on, Shi Jin! Take the devil down!”
Startled by the loud roar, Shi Jin stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. His attack instantly lost momentum and Xiang Aoting directly caught his fist.
“You’re too easily distracted, remember to work on this,” Xiang Aoting admonished him, then turned to look at the runners. “Liu Yong, it seems you’re quite idle. Fifty push-ups!” he growled in a cold voice.
All the cadets immediately stopped rubbernecking and ran properly again. The one called out by name, Liu Yong, looked away with a glum expression, filled with regret for shooting his mouth off.
Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations. Read on the original translator’s site to get the fastest updates!
Lap after lap, everyone watched Shi Jin and Xiang Aoting spar, their faces nearly green with envy—they also wanted to be like Shi Jin, who was able to fight on a par with the instructor!
“The content of military training is fixed. We’ll all learn later what the instructor is teaching Shi Jin today as long as we properly complete all the previous exercises,” Luo Donghao said suddenly. “It’s like playing a game: we can only go to the next level after passing this one. Shi Jin already had the strength to reach the next level, but we’ve been dragging him down. Today, the instructor let him proceed to the stage where he should be. If we don’t hurry and catch up, we’re going to be left far behind.”
After hearing this, everyone thought of Shi Jin’s outstanding performance in the past three days and calmed down a little. They looked to the front and started running seriously—if they wanted to pass the current level, they needed to work hard. There was no time to waste.
…They had calmed down, but when they finished running and were suffering through the push-ups while Shi Jin was sparring with Xiang Aoting and learning military combat ahead of schedule, they still couldn’t help but be envious.
They, too, wanted to join the world of the strong.
Also, who lied to them that Shi Jin was a spoiled young master? Looking at the hard muscles bulging on Shi Jin’s arms during the fight, where was he spoiled?!
Just as they were roaring in their hearts, the instructor of the squad next to them suddenly ran over. Eyes shining, he observed the fight for a moment, then asked if he could also exchange a few moves with Shi Jin.
Xiang Aoting agreed on behalf of Shi Jin. He pulled Shi Jin aside and said something to him, then walked to the side, yielding his place.
Shi Jin and the instructor began sparring, and both squads began cheering for their competitors. The lively atmosphere soon attracted the attention of other squads, and more and more people came to watch.
Three minutes later, Shi Jin executed a beautiful side throw and pressed the instructor to the ground.
The cheering stopped abruptly, and the crowd on the training field fell deathly silent. What did they just see? Did a cadet really manage to throw an instructor down?
Shi Jin’s teammates were stunned at first, then burst out into deafening cheers.
He won! Shi Jin actually won! The student beat the instructor! The rumored pampered young master beat the instructor!
Shi Jin released his hold and stood up, then reached out to help the other man up, saying, “Thank you for your guidance, sir.”
“What guidance, as if I could teach you anything. You’re very strong, young man. Have you received special training?” The instructor didn’t refuse Shi Jin’s help and let himself be pulled up, looking at him as if he had found a treasure. Looking at Xiang Aoting, he asked, “What’s this cadet’s name?”
Xiang Aoting’s eyes were beaming with pride, but he forced his voice to sound flat: “His name is Shi Jin. He’s the top candidate on this year’s admissions list—he scored 600 points in the college entrance examination.”
“Oh, it’s the student who was almost recruited by XX military academy, no wonder.” The instructor looked Shi Jin up and down in surprise. He patted Shi Jin on the shoulder happily and said, “My older brother is also a graduate of your police academy. You have an eye for quality, you’ve chosen a good school.”
Shi Jin was patted so hard his shoulder ached. Forcing out a smile, he said, “Thank you, sir, I just happened to have good luck.”
The instructor became more and more enthusiastic. “I heard you’ve also been on a mission. What kind of mission? Do tell!”
“Not really, it was just a small task…” Overwhelmed, Shi Jin quietly moved closer to Xiang Aoting.
Xiang Aoting hurriedly jumped in to save him, finding an excuse to send the other instructor away. Then he announced the end of the morning training, and took Shi Jin away on the pretext of discussing the spar they just had.
The crowd watched them walk away, stunned by too much information—first place candidate? Special training? Mission? What the hell? This was about Shi Jin? Wasn’t Shi Jin a spoiled young master whose family had a mine and who didn’t even know how to make a bed? What the instructors said just now and what they’d heard was really about the same person?
“Hey, Luo Donghao.” Liu Yong couldn’t help poking Luo Donghao next to him, who seemed to be petrified.
The other youth turned to him stiffly.
“Who the hell said that Shi Jin was a young master?” Liu Yong asked, looking at him expressionlessly.
Luo Donghao let out a cough. “Who knows…”
Shi Jin became famous once more. This time, it was positive renown, but he didn’t feel very happy because he kept dreaming every night.
The pitch-dark basement, dying, Xiang Aoting rushing in when he was about to give in to despair. Again and again, the same scene, the same pain, the same dull ache in his fingers.
Shi Jin plunged his face in the wash bowl, sobering himself up with the cold water, then straightened and looked at his trembling fingers. Weary, he poked Xiao Si in his mind. “It’s been five days already. He Chun, the weakest person in the squad, can already stand at attention without moving, so why is this dream thing still not over? Xiao Si, is this really normal?”
The system remained silent.
“I know, you can’t tell me.” Shi Jin buried his face in the towel and let out a long sigh. “Xiao Si, we’ve been together for more than a year. All this time, you’ve only refused to answer when I asked you two questions: what is your existence and why was I reborn in the body of the original ‘Shi Jin’. With you being like this now, it really makes me think.”
Xiao Si didn’t keep silent this time, but only reminded cautiously, < JinJin, you should go now, or you’ll be late for training. >
“You little fellow…” Shi Jin put down the towel and looked at himself in the mirror. Suddenly, he laughed. “Okay, why do I hear crying again? I wasn’t trying to scare you or anything.”
Xiao Si was silent for a while, as if it was holding back sobs. Finally, it said, < JinJin, please don’t be angry with me, and don’t hate me and not want me anymore. >
“Silly, how can I not want you?” Shi Jin tucked his towel and toiletries in his wash bowl one by one. He clenched his fingers, which began aching again, and sighed, “Xiao Si, I miss Lian Jun.”
I want to stay with him and sleep at his side, safely and at peace, without any dreams.
Translator’s Notes:
The corners of Shi Jin’s mouth twitched. “Okay, I’m waiting for you,” he said dryly – I took some liberty with this: Shi Jin actually said “Jiayou”. This literally means “add oil” and it’s an expression of encouragement and support; it has no one set translation. (Wikipedia)