That summer, they accepted the invitation of the God of Wealth and embarked on the journey to the Reverse Tide Training Camp.

At the beginning of this journey, the outside world didn't have much hope for them.

After all, the start was too miserable.

Every day, they were either beaten or scorned by various looks, and words were full of insults about their weakness, suggesting they didn't deserve to be in the training camp.

Those with connections should be eliminated quickly, not to waste the camp's resources.

At that time, there weren't many viewers in the live broadcast room, and most felt they would likely give up this Hidden Task.

Even they themselves thought they probably couldn't hold on for long.

The reason for persisting can be summed up in four words: Hidden Task (Generous Rewards).

Living in the modern era, they had never suffered hardships, as physical labors were carried out by robots.

They played games with an entertainment mindset, wondering how they ended up living a life worse than death in the game.

Later, even their right to eat was stripped away, and they were thrown out of the cafeteria, beaten black and blue, which made them thoroughly angry.

Although they were Working Party players, they held their own principles.

Li Zheng chose to confront them directly, throwing punches of resistance at the powerful Ghost Pupil and others, along with a group of long-following good brothers.

If they were to fight, they would push themselves into a desperate situation first.

Thus, they embarked on a new player path, now known among players as the "Student Stream Players."

Their relationship with Ghost Pupil and others transformed from foes to close friends, a process even the players of the Liver Emperor Group found incredible.

At first encounter, there was only the spark of hatred struck by fists among them and the other cadets.

In the quagmire of the camp, what they saw in each other's eyes were the most embarrassing images, wishing they could beat the other down to the ground.

At that time, they considered themselves the Children of Destiny favored by the player system, only wanting to lie flat and muddle through, grabbing rewards as players.

On the other hand, Ghost Pupil and other cadets, were warriors who came in pursuit of glory, pride, and strength, carrying two entirely different survival philosophies, destined to clash.

Yet fate fused them together in the most cruel way.

When the blizzard engulfed the whole squad, when the poison fog corroded the last half bottle of Spiritual Liquid, when the roars of the Fierce Beasts were near at hand and the Qi-Blood was exhausted... the once clear boundaries were erased by the warmth passed by pressed backs and the sight of licking each other's wounds in adversity...

In the first Snow Mountain trial, they warmed each other with their body temperature, and during the second, the Lava Purgatory taught them to trust each other's blades... they were no longer just competitors, though they'd never spare each other verbally, they saw each other as brothers deep down in their hearts.

Looking back suddenly, they realized that the fists once thrown in their faces, the taunts at the tip of their tongues, had somehow been forged into a bond stronger than any contract.

The narrative within the training camp wasn't a beautiful fairy tale, but a camaraderie forged through countless life-and-death trust dealings.

This group of new-generation warriors, who once disdained each other, could now smile while exposing their most vulnerable sides to one another, and the past history of confrontation had long become memories and jokes.

This journey of growth was witnessed firsthand and accompanied daily by innumerable players.

They bore witness together to their transformation. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

At this moment, the players of the Liver Emperor Group were browsing the forum information in the camp, moved by the words of countless players.

But they hadn't forgotten the preparations for the days ahead.

The Ultimate Trial was about to begin, and they needed to inventory their carried supplies as per the instructor's instructions.

This trial had no restrictions, all weapons, equipment, and items could be brought along.

Just as back then, the God of Wealth had once worn his father's Battle Armor to participate in the Ultimate Trial.

Half a day later, the instructor would hold a farewell ceremony for them.

Before that, they had to add some guarantee for survival for the brothers who were about to separate in the camp.

Li Zheng prepared 20 bottles of Special Recovery Potions for Ghost Pupil and the others.

This was a considerable sacrificial power expense, with each bottle of Special Recovery Potion valued at a thousand points of sacrificial power.

But in the eyes of Li Zheng and other players of the Liver Emperor Group, it's more important for brothers to live.

When they handed the potions to Ghost Pupil and the others, they didn't refuse but accepted them, though they were still teasing.

Especially Ghost Pupil, who, after stuffing the potion into the tactical bag at his waist, punched Li Zheng in the chest heavily:

"When I come back alive, I'll repay you double for these potions."

Beside him, Long Gen shook the special medicine bottle in his hand, making a crisp sound:

"Bricklayer, you are really stingy, just 20 bottles? Who can they suffice, bring another 20 bottles,"

Complaining with mouth, he backhandedly tucked the potion into the inner layer space of his Heart Protection Armor.

Hearing the teasing of these brothers, Li Zheng cracked a smile:

"All of you better come back alive; consider these potions what you owe me, I'll wait for you to pay your debts."

"Pah, there's no word 'owe' in my dictionary, once it's in my space, it's mine, no potion for you, just a life..." Before the Brass Clan cadet finished speaking, his neck was choked from behind by a sneaking Chi Tu:

"Then I'll take your life, die for me."

The scene fell into a daily brawl but quickly turned silent again.

Everyone understood how great the risks of this journey were.

Perhaps some brothers might not come back.

The sadness in Li Zheng and the others' hearts came from this.

They could have an infinite margin for error, at worst just an hour's resurrection cooldown.

But these brothers who they lived with day and night, their lives were only once.