The Heiress They Lost Came Back Overpowered

"Instructor, we’re not sick of it!" the crowd answered without a moment’s hesitation, their voices booming.

Yvonne Lowell raised a hand to pick at her ear. ’The wisdom of a seasoned old hand—when the boss asks how you’re doing, you never tell the truth. If you’re tired, you say you’re not. If it’s tough, you say it isn’t. If you’re sick of it, you say you aren’t.’

They had clearly put this universal truth into practice.

A hint of amusement flashed in Yvonne Lowell’s eyes. "Are you really not sick of it, or are you just faking it? Anyone who isn’t telling the truth gets to stay for extra practice tonight."

The crowd’s faces remained calm, but inside they were conflicted.

They couldn’t resist glancing at the expressions of those around them. ’So, are we sick of it, or aren’t we?’

Jasper Hayes was the first to speak. "Instructor, I’m sick of it!"

The others quickly chimed in, "Instructor, we’re sick of it too!"

Yvonne Lowell laughed to herself. ’What a bunch of wimps.’

"Good. Since you’re sick of it, let’s try something new." Yvonne Lowell walked over to a sled and announced,

"Next, pair up within your squads. You’ll take turns pulling each other in a round-trip run. From here to where you assembled earlier, then switch and run back. It’s not far, just two hundred meters. Thirty reps per person."

The good news: They didn’t have to pull tires anymore.

The bad news: They were pulling people now, and people were heavier than tires over a longer distance.

’Damn it! We’d rather just keep pulling tires!’

Jasper Hayes timidly raised his hand. "Instructor, our squad and the Gray Wolf squad both have an odd number of members."

’So maybe I can just run the laps by myself? Or even pull a tire... please?’

"Then the two squad leaders can pair up. Is your brain filled with sawdust? Stop asking stupid questions that drag down the average IQ. Hurry up! Everyone, find a partner and get moving."

With that one sentence, she successfully shattered eighteen hearts into a million pieces.

The trainees scrambled to find teammates of a similar build and began their sled-pulling journey.

From that moment on, the legendary "Three Sled Stooges" were a thing of the past—because now they were all the fourth stooge.

Yvonne Lowell rested her chin on her hand, casually watching their dead-inside expressions. Her mood, it had to be said, was fantastic.

Beneath her mask, her lips were stretched in a grin wider than anyone’s. The irritation of staying up all night and waking up early to work had finally been mostly dispelled.

By the time everyone had finished this training exercise, the sky was completely dark. The lights on the training ground had all been switched on, and it was long past dinnertime.

"That’s it for today’s training. No assembly tonight. Get a good rest. Dismissed."

The trainees felt like their nervous systems had short-circuited. Every part of their bodies seemed to have a mind of its own, refusing to be controlled by their brains. With blank expressions, they could only help each other shuffle toward the cafeteria.

They were past the point of feeling tired or hungry. They only knew that after they died, they could probably apply for a job with Santa Claus. After all, a single one of them could replace all nine of his reindeer—pulling his sleigh to deliver gifts.

One to replace nine. What a bargain—cheap, practical, and effective.

Plus, you’d get 364 vacation days a year, and every three years, you’d even get 365.

You only have to work one night, the rest of the year is vacation, and you’d still get a perfect attendance bonus.

...

After arranging for the equipment to be returned to the warehouse, Yvonne Lowell and her team headed to the cafeteria.

When they entered the cafeteria, they saw the trainees sitting there, all of them with vacant eyes, unconsciously shoveling food into their mouths.

’They look utterly pathetic. Anyone who didn’t know the situation might think they’d been trafficked into a scam ring and were being abused for not submitting or failing to meet their quota.’ A conclusion the trainees would have enthusiastically confirmed.

Yvonne Lowell couldn’t help but press her forehead. She immediately averted her gaze and went to get her own food. ’It’s best to look away from such an eyesore.’

’How did all forty of them manage to act in perfect unison without any prior discussion?!’

Behind her, Nina Jennings and Zachary Jacobs exchanged a look. They could tell what she was thinking, so they just shrugged and followed.

At the dinner table, Zachary Jacobs spoke up. "I don’t know if they’ll show any improvement in a month, but they’ll definitely be emotionally scarred."

Yvonne Lowell shot him a glance. "What’s that? Taking a jab at me? You think I’m not like you, that I don’t know how to ’feel sorry for the poor dears’?"

Zachary Jacobs’s expression was complicated. "Come on, lay off the memes. Especially one that’s ancient history."

He paused, then continued, "It’s not that I feel sorry for them. We all went through this, just like the people under our command. I was just getting sentimental."

"What? Are you trying to wax poetic with me? ’Reminiscing about the past, surveying the present, envisioning the future,’ is that it? Trying to be a sensitive artist now? If so, you’ll need a white shirt and long bangs. Besides, your face just doesn’t fit the role."

Zachary Jacobs took a deep breath. "My bad. I’ll shut up and eat my food."

"What’s this? After fifteen years, our bond just fades like that? You don’t even want to talk to me anymore? So all these years, you were just faking it?"

Zachary Jacobs: ...? ’So am I supposed to talk or not?!’

Nina Jennings couldn’t help but laugh. "That’s what you get for being a chatterbox. You know her tongue is sharpest right after she’s done training people, yet you still walked right into the line of fire."

Yvonne Lowell: ’Yep. You messed with me right after I finished a training session. You really picked the wrong opponent. Hehe. ^_^’

...

The dormitory area was noticeably quieter at night than it had been during the lunch break.

The pain was still there, even worse than it had been at noon, but now they were too exhausted to even cry out. They just lay limply on their bed boards, completely spent.

’As for this humble soldier... I’m finally no different from a dead fish~’

But Yvonne Lowell actually showed some mercy that night. She didn’t wake them in the middle of the night, waiting until five a.m. for the broadcasted wake-up bell to sound.

The announcement also reminded them to eat breakfast first and assemble on the training ground at six a.m. sharp.

The trainees: ’*Thank you! At least you let us sleep an hour and a half longer than yesterday. You’re such a good person!*’

After washing up, they dashed to the cafeteria. Once they finished breakfast, they headed to the training ground, a silent understanding passing between them.

Assembly was at six, but they needed time to let their food settle. Otherwise, if they had to run later, what would they do if they threw up?

Their sterling reputations couldn’t be tarnished so easily.

Sure enough, just as they’d expected, the day began with a twenty-kilometer weighted run.

(I’ve been reborn. Reborn to the first day our squad began its month of hellish training. The moment I opened my eyes, I heard the instructor ordering us to begin a twenty-kilometer weighted run...)

So they ran, without a single peep of protest. After all they’d been through, who could possibly outrun them?

Well... actually, there was. Instructor No. 1, for example, who had started at the same time with the same amount of weight, had already lapped them by more than a full circuit.

As she passed them, she didn’t forget to shoot them a look of contempt before disappearing ahead.

’Damn it! It’s so infuriating! And the worst part is we can’t even catch up!’