CHAPTER 1349: CHAPTER 1350: SHE WANTS TO CONSERVE HER STRENGTH FOR THE FINAL SPRINT

"As long as you’re not sick," Qi Tengfei nodded. "You’re competing against female soldiers now. If you hold them back, I won’t let you off the hook later, you hear me?"

Qi Gaoda felt like luck wasn’t on his side today. Being lectured by his father in front of so many people—how humiliating! He shot a secret glare at his younger brother, Qi Weimeng. It was all his fault for kicking up such a fuss. If it weren’t for him, there was no way their father would act like this.

Then, obediently, he replied, "Understood, Father."

"Address me as General!" Qi Tengfei widened his fierce eyes.

Qi Gaoda immediately corrected himself, "Understood, General."

Only then did Qi Tengfei stay silent, looking satisfied—extremely satisfied, in fact, nodding with approval. He had four sons, but only his eldest truly met his expectations. Out of all his boys, only this one looked exactly like what he envisioned his son should resemble.

An Jing couldn’t figure out why Qi Gaoda kept blushing. From the first time she saw him today, his face had been red. But honestly, An Jing couldn’t be bothered to think much about it—especially since Qi Gaoda had confirmed he was in good health, she’d stopped paying him any attention.

The male soldiers competing alongside them, however, found it hilarious that someone as grown-up as Qi Gaoda was getting scolded by his father, Qi Tengfei. They secretly chuckled amongst themselves.

A man, two meters tall, noticeably rugged and muscular, being meekly reprimanded—honestly, the sight was downright comical.

Some of the female soldiers couldn’t hold back either; like the male soldiers, they giggled quietly.

Du Aya didn’t bother hiding her laughter. She was openly laughing. And while laughing, she still managed to whisper words of comfort to Qi Gaoda: "Vice General Qi, your father isn’t so bad—he’s just giving you a verbal dressing-down. My dad? Whenever I pissed him off, he’d grab the butcher’s knife and chase me down the street."

Qi Gaoda wept silently in his heart: You haven’t seen the scene where my dad grabs a broadsword and tries to cut me down...

Du Aya had no idea what was going through Qi Gaoda’s mind right now; she had just noticed that Liu Feifei was falling behind, so she shouted loudly, "Feifei, do you want us to wait for you?"

Although this was a competition, the overall team result was what mattered.

Liu Feifei immediately shouted back, "No need! You guys go wait for me at the finish line!" Because her stamina was weaker than the others, she had deliberately avoided keeping their pace at the beginning, planning to give it her all and sprint later.

The male soldiers noticed Liu Feifei lagging behind and were certain victory was within their grasp. Their faces lit up with delight; some even laughed aloud, declaring there was no need to keep competing—obviously, the result was already clear.

Yet Liu Feifei wasn’t bothered by the teasing from the male soldiers. She continued walking at her own pace, undeterred.

Riding on horseback, Liu Buli glanced at Liu Feifei, a flicker of pity flashing in his resolute eyes. Then, without saying a word, he galloped on, following An Jing and the others, gradually leaving Liu Feifei farther and farther behind.

An Jing, having trained Liu Feifei and her squad daily, knew exactly how far Liu Feifei’s endurance could go. So at this moment, An Jing wasn’t worried in the slightest about whether Liu Feifei could complete the 60-kilometer march.

As time went on, more people began to fall behind.

But the further things progressed, the more it started to become clear that the female soldiers might actually win. While the male soldiers struggled to comprehend how the women could have better stamina than them, there was nothing they could do about it.

They had exerted themselves to their limits.

Even if they wanted to overtake the female soldiers, they simply didn’t have the strength to do so.

Tobanya, Du Aya, and Qi Gaoda arrived at the finish line almost simultaneously, with Qi Weimeng, Shi Shi, Su Chengyuan, and Li Wuyu close behind.