A roar came from a distance. A Grindstone Zombie had spotted Jackson.

Jackson climbed quickly up a tall tree. He planned to follow his usual method: jump from the tree and land on the Grindstone Zombie's head. With his M23 bayonet, he would stab it in the skull, killing it with one blow. The Grindstone Zombie was big, but slow. Its skull was its weak spot. Jackson had learned this after many battles.

A "ding" sound was heard. A mechanical voice said: "The courage and willpower training session is over. The 'Sin' program will shut down in 5 seconds. Countdown: 5, 4, 3..."

From his spot in the tree, Jackson saw the world of the program break into small light particles. The particles quickly gathered in front of him.

"Ah!" Jackson sat up suddenly in his life-support pod. Yellow liquid from his nanosuit dripped down into the pod.

Jackson clenched his fists and flexed his fingers. He quickly adjusted to his body. His soul had been gone for 28 days. He needed a moment to adapt. Looking at his body, he was relieved it hadn’t gotten worse. The nanosuit and nutrient fluid had helped keep him intact.

"Help! The devil is coming! Run!" shouted a soldier from a nearby pod. He jumped out and ran down the hall.

Jackson shook his head. He guessed the soldier was mentally unstable.

Soon, several other soldiers started acting out. Doctors arrived and used tranquilizer guns to subdue them. They were taken away. Jackson figured these soldiers would be eliminated.

Jackson worried about his friends, Li Feng and Xiao Yi. He hoped they were not affected the same way.

After getting ready, Jackson was about to find Li Feng when someone tapped him. He responded with an over-the-shoulder throw, sending the person to the ground.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Li Feng’s voice came from below.

Jackson scratched his head. "Sorry, just a habit. Are you okay?" He felt embarrassed but relieved when he saw Li Feng was fine.

"I was fine before you threw me down," Li Feng said, getting up. "You’ve really improved. You couldn’t take me down this easily before!"

Jackson and Li Feng walked to the Light Brain Assisted Training Center and found their squad. The three instructors, in sharp military uniforms, looked at them. They quickly saluted and said, "Sir, good morning!"

Huffman glanced at them. He noticed the change in their demeanor. They were more composed, especially Jackson, who now had a more dangerous presence.

Huffman nodded and returned their salute. He said, "Good. Fall in!"

Jackson felt proud. This was his first compliment from Huffman.

When Xiao Yi appeared, Jackson sighed with relief. His two best friends had made it through.

After everyone gathered, Jackson noticed that only 100 recruits remained. Five had been eliminated. Surprisingly, the overweight Keane had passed. Jackson was impressed. The chubby, goofy soldier had proven his resilience.

After nearly a month of training, the recruits' physical and mental qualities were up to standard. The 11th Regiment Base gave them a full day off to rest and prepare for the next phase: equipment handling.

"Squad leader, chatting with your girlfriend again?" Nangong Yi teased as he approached. "The 11th Regiment’s Flight Squadron is cleaning up monsters around the base. Let’s go see it!"

Jackson was confused. "Cleaning monsters?"

"Come on, I’ll explain on the way," Nangong Yi said, grabbing his arm.

Jackson reluctantly gave up studying online and followed Nangong Yi to see what was happening.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

On the way, Jackson noticed Keane standing off to the side, staring blankly with a silly grin. He pulled Keane along. "Keane, come with us for a walk. Don’t stay in your pod. It’s not good for your health!"

Jackson had been worried about Keane. Since returning from the "Sin" program, Keane had been zoning out and sometimes mumbling to himself. Although the central light brain hadn’t detected any mental issues, Jackson, as the temporary squad leader, was particularly concerned.

"Okay... okay," Keane answered in a mechanical voice, which sounded odd. Jackson didn’t think much of it. He assumed it was a minor side effect from the program.

The base was crowded. Recruits were visiting each other, catching up with old friends, and looking for familiar faces. Most of them came from the Wooden Galaxy system. Military rules were strict, so wandering around was usually not allowed.

With a full day off, they took the opportunity to relax and enjoy themselves. Some recruits took the base’s spacecraft to shop or eat real food. Eating synthetic food all the time had become a burden.

Suddenly, a loud roar of jet engines echoed through the air. Jackson looked up and saw seven X-305 space fighters flying overhead, heading for the dark forest near the base. The fighters were painted in dark gray, with various emblems on their tailfins: the Kabas Empire’s eagle-lion, the number "11" for the 11th Regiment, and their squadron numbers.

"Wow, they look amazing!" Nangong Yi said, watching the fighters. "That’s the CCFR996-11 Flight Squadron. They handle aerial defense and support around the base. They’re heading to clean up the monsters in the dark forest."

The three of them arrived at the base’s plasma protective wall. They watched as the fighters shot white beams at the dark forest, targeting the monsters.

A loud screech echoed as a humanoid monster, covered in green and yellow, jumped into the air. It wielded a giant wooden hammer and swung it at an X-305 fighter. The fighter quickly performed a 90-degree climb to dodge the attack. Another fighter fired a beam that vaporized the monster’s head. The glowing green orbs on its back faded and went out.

"What was that?" Jackson asked, surprised. He had never seen a humanoid monster before. He thought the strange creatures in the "Sin" program were just fictional.

"Heh, that’s a Withered Tree Elf. It’s a native creature of the Dark Forest. They’re not intelligent. They usually hide deep in the forest, but sometimes they attack our bases. The flight squadrons deal with creatures like them," Nangong Yi explained.

"More monsters? Are there others on this planet?" Jackson asked.

"Come on, Squad Leader, that’s basic knowledge! Humanoid life forms dominate the universe. Other creatures without intelligence are considered beasts. Only a few non-humanoid species are part of the Universal Intelligence Life Alliance, and that was only after reaching a fifth-level civilization. The Withered Tree Elves are just beasts," Nangong Yi replied.

Jackson didn’t argue. He understood. On Earth, no one considered kangaroos, penguins, or sparrows as equals.

Suddenly, the ground shook. Dozens of giant creatures, as large as elephants, charged out of the dark forest toward the base. Their bodies resembled elephants, but their necks had two strong arms, each holding sharp bone blades covered with blue crystals.

"Wow, the CCFR996-11 Flight Squadron is getting lucky. Those are Jungle Giants. The crystals on their bodies are called Blue Shells. You can extract 'Xi' from them. It’s extremely hard," Nangong Yi said, excited.

The X-305 fighters quickly finished off the Withered Tree Elves and turned to chase the Jungle Giants. They executed precise maneuvers, closing in from behind.

The ground shook again as the Jungle Giants moved. The base’s metal surface vibrated under their weight.

The flight squadron continued firing high-energy lasers, targeting the unprotected parts of the Jungle Giants. Soon, all the Jungle Giants were dead.

A JD-71 heavy maglev vehicle entered the base through the plasma wall and stopped near the fallen monsters. The crew began removing the Blue Shells from their bodies.

"Let’s go check it out," Jackson said, grabbing Nangong Yi and Keane. He wanted to get some Blue Shells to sell. Jackson had little money, and everything in this world required it.

Back on Earth, Justin could ask his parents for money. But now, Jackson felt too embarrassed to ask for anything, as he was inhabiting someone else’s body. Soldiers received a subsidy, but only after completing their training.

If Jackson had money, he would have gone out with Li Feng and the others. But since arriving in this alien world, he had been immediately thrust into military life and hadn’t had time to experience ordinary life.

Nangong Yi suddenly grabbed Jackson’s arm. "Squad Leader, are you trying to get yourself killed? The plasma wall can vaporize you."

"But didn’t the people in that maglev vehicle pass through?" Jackson asked, confused.

"They’re from the 11th Regiment Flight Squadron. The base’s light brain recognizes them and grants them permission to pass. Anyone else trying to break through will be turned to ash," Nangong Yi explained.

"Haha, I was just joking. It’s not like we killed those Jungle Giants. I wouldn’t dare take their spoils. Right, Keane?" Jackson said, trying to defuse the awkwardness.

"Squad Leader, the Jungle Giants aren’t that scary. They’re nothing like Fire Bears!" Keane said, slapping his head.

Nangong Yi rolled his eyes. He didn’t think much of Keane. Keane had caused the squad trouble before and had been a frequent source of punishment from Huffman.

Huffman had a strange rule: everyone in the squad had to finish tasks together. Anyone who fell behind or broke the rules caused the entire squad to be punished.

Nangong Yi, however, wasn’t openly critical of Keane. Jackson had been specifically instructed to look after him.