New Recruits (A WangXian ff) ✔

8

"Sit down."

The boys all sat in their own seats, looking around intriguingly at the room. It had plain white walls and no decoration. There was a desk for Wangji and a few windows at the side. Apart from that, it was completely empty.

"Welcome to phase 2. During the next three weeks I plan to break you down so much you're going to wish you failed your physical assessment. We're going to dive into your deepest fears and find ways for you to overcome them. Be warned, some people change by the end of mental training. Now, let's begin. Lie down."

Everybody was silent as they leaned back in their seats, their minds slowly taking in their Instructor's serious words. Was mental training really that bad? Nie Huaisang was practically shaking as he lay back, looking around at the others to make sure he wasn't the only one wishing he had failed.

"Excuse me." Wei Ying spoke as he raised his hand in the air.

"Hm?"

"Did you really have to say that last line? Look at everyone, terrified! Huaisang and Wen Ning look like they're about to pass out."

"Better to get straight to the point."

"More like get straight to the top of the hill where you're gonna push us down 'cuz it ain't getting any better than this."

Wei Ying gave a small laugh before lying down, careful to watch his ribs as he did so. He looked up at the boring white ceiling as he too was worried about what he was about to face. On the outside he looked calm and collected but that was to reassure everyone else. If what Wangji said was true then they looked up to him and he wouldn't be setting a good example if he was a squirming mess.

"Let's begin."

Wangji turned on a switch and a projector screen appeared on the roof. It was a PowerPoint about life or death situations and how to deal with them.

"As you can see-"

"Why are we lying down?" Wuxian asked as he popped his head up to look at Lan Zhan.

"It helps with muscle relaxation, slows your heartbeat and promotes stress-relief. A better environment for learning."

"Cool."

Wei Ying gave a knowing smile at the muscle relaxation as that would be good for his injuries. He saw Wangji give him the same look just without the smile before he lay back down and looked up at the ceiling.

"You're being held hostage and the person in charge gives you a choice. You either take the drug they offer and deal with the consequences or don't take it and fight. What do you do?"

"Fight." said Jiang Cheng and Jin Guangyao.

"Take it." said Wen Ning and Huaisang at the same time.

The pairs gave the others shocked looks and then they all turned their heads in unison to look at Wei Ying. He seemed to be distracted: whether thinking about his decision or in a daydream, no-one could tell.

"Wei Ying." Wangji called out to the boy.

"Right. I choose the third option."

"Third option?" Lan Zhan asked.

"Yeah, the third option. Let's say that if I am being held hostage then I would either have a tracker on me or it would have been on me before my captors found it. I could have also been on a mission in a team and therefore my past location would be known and so, depending on how long ago I disappeared, they would know the areas in which to look. It would help if we were after said person because they would know their patterns and thoughts. So the third option would be to stall for time. Simply take my time making my decision or just talk. Talk and talk and talk until they either get sick enough to leave or mad enough to fight. If I was being held hostage then I probably would not be fed or given hydration, so they would assume my body to be unfit to fight. They would go into the battle all prideful and cocky which gives me a better chance of beating them. If they attempt to shove it down my throat then I would fight, knowing if I got them to swallow the drug they would be out of commission. Considering they are stupid enough to hold me hostage they will probably want nobody else to be in the room so there won't be other people to fight. Once I overpowered the director then I would search their body for weapons or keys, anything useful, and try to fight my way out. If not then I would presume they had a phone so I would send a message to my team or the Commander- although it is unlikely he would answer- and tell them my location, figuring that by now my body would be unfit to continue on."