High School Soldier
36. Ice fruit and centipede

24 April 2321, 09.12 WIB.

**

Today is the day of the survival test. Currently the leading Squad is Squad 3 which has passed 6 meeting points. There are still 6 meeting points that this Squad must go through.

Squad 3 make up the bed in the form of a field mat. The members of Team 3, more precisely all the sleep test participants did not use a kind of protective tent because they were not allowed to carry it. One more thing, the resting place of Squad 3 is far from the residential area precisely located in the rubber forest.

To warm up from the cold of the night, the members wear change of clothes and light a bonfire as additional heaters.

While consumption, members of Team 3 eat instant noodles that are completely destroyed as a delay hunger. Because they have to really lack food to be able to eat the rations carried. It was a rule that Nio made and no one complained about it.

In addition, if there is a shortage of food, the soldiers can look for it around the forest such as wild fruits, wild chickens or edible birds. Do not forget if there are several types of insects that can be eaten directly.

Members of the special forces are required to be able to distinguish plants, animals that are poisonous and not. Including Special Student Forces who will do more missions in the forest.

However this was still on the second day, and this Squad had yet to truly lack food. And the members have not dared to ‘mengeluh’ in order to eat the ration that Nio brought.

Nio can also order its members to search for additional foodstuffs, as is done at this time.

The members of Team 3 who were on their way and found a wild fruit tree picked some fruit as a food additive. Of course the fruit taken can be eaten directly and is not toxic.

Including a chicken that cannot be ascertained whether it is a wild chicken or a chicken owned by residents who are deliberately released in order to find their own food.

**

Squad 3 almost arrived at the seventh rendezvous point and was seen stopping to do something.

“Commander, what is it?” ask one member of Team 3.

Nio counted his members while muttering. The squad which originally numbered 32 members has been reduced by 2 people. A common reason for training in special forces is illness or something.

“Nothing, let's continue,” said Nio.

A few more kilometers they would arrive at the seventh rendezvous point and no one knew what to do there.

Because at the previous point all test participants will always meet with mud puddles and cause dirty clothes to get dirty.

Although many mud stains dried up, the members of Squad 3 had no one to change their clothes before arriving at the last point.

Only if they meet the river will they clean themselves, it is also just a moment of soaking without removing the equipment.

Some soldiers can assume that the training they undergo is no different from scout camp but more ‘parah’.

When scout camp there will be a coach watching to stay safe. While undergoing training there are only hard coaches and must be able to take care of yourself and colleagues in each Squad.

If you do not understand the route that is passed to the meeting point, participants may be stray and unknowingly be at the enemy base.

If that is the case the person who is most blamed is the Commandant, if the Commandant dies instead is the most experienced or highest-ranking soldier after the previous Commander.

**

There was something that made the entire members of Squad 3 astonished, as they had to wait until one further Squad arrived to do one thing.

There was a transparent box covered in black cloth and there were 2 pieces and guarded by three trainers. I don't know what's inside until it's covered with cloth.

The entire Squad 3 members were wondering about it. Even Nio did not know about it even though he had done ‘miracle’ several times for his Team.

For half an hour of waiting, the entire members of Squad 1 had arrived after preceding Squad 4 at the fifth meeting point.

After that they also wondered when there were two boxes in front of them.

The coach then removes the cloth that closes the box to reveal its contents.

Something that some people won't like, even it's a dangerous thing.

One box contains several live centipedes and looks medium to large in size.Some types of centipedes can grow up to 40 cm long. But the ringing found in Indonesia is mostly a little smaller than 40 cm.

The centipedes in the box are dark red to some completely dark until they are close to black.

It made some of the soldiers shudder and the female soldiers look fear-bearing. Maybe some people think if centipedes are very dangerous animals and better to be killed.

The coach then removes the cloth that covers the other box.

“What is this joke?” muttered Nio as the contents of the other box were glued together with a slight smile.

The box next to the centipede box is an aquarium filled with fruit ice complete with a spoon to pick up enough fruit ice and glasses for each soldier.

All soldiers of course look relieved after being shown things that are not as terrible as the thing in the other box.

Participants are waiting for the next thing they will do.

Of course eating live centipedes in the aquarium is what all participants who are at the seventh meeting point will do.

Most of the participants who were in this place were seen to show expressions of reluctance to do so. Most were of course female soldiers, but there was also a male soldier who had looked pale when the three trainers took one centipede directly with his hand.

Nio only showed a pale face when in front of him there was already a centipede that the coach had given him.

“If unable, you better go home to the initial Unity!” say one of the trainers as they start handing out live centipedes to each test taker.

The entire body of the participants was physically tired, plus they had to accept the thing that made them mentally tired.

“This is an individual test, you should not help each other's colleagues. If your colleagues ate the toxic part, it was the fault of those who did not read the comic book we gave!” say one of the coaches.

Nio suddenly recalled one of the comic pages that showed the character eating a live centipede. Some of the participants also looked relieved, and the rest remained pale-faced from not touching the comics and novels after being shared with them.

Nio and some of the participants held the bodies of centipedes before creeping away from them and severing the heads and fangs of the centipedes.

Suddenly some people were shocked because of Arista who was unconscious. Not only was Arista unconscious, there were 3 people including him who fainted before touching the centipede.

The thing that happened to the three people who fainted was clear, which was returned to the initial Union and did not pass into PPK.

As if nothing happened the coach still ordered the participants to eat the centipede that has been distributed.

Without a second thought Nio ate a centipede that had been removed from the head and fangs.

Followed by other members with pale faces still force themselves to eat centipedes.

Not all participants were able to do that, there were 10 people who did not pass this test because they could not eat centipedes and immediately returned to the initial Union.

In Squad 3 there were four people who were returned to the initial Union, including Arista.

After all the participants who could eat the centipede were able to do so, one of the trainers called Nio to stand next to him.

“Sergeant Nio, the part of the manakan centipede that is toxic?” ask one of the coaches.

“Ready, the toxic part is the fangs. But to avoid the unwanted part of the head can also be removed,” replied Nio with a pale face after eating a centipede along 18 cm.

“Good, please come back!” say the coach and then take the ice fruit with a vegetable spoon and give it to Nio.

Nio originally just stared at the vegetable spoon containing fruit ice and there was a small piece of mango. He then realized that the trainer allowed him to drink the iced fruit and actually drank it from a spoon directly.

“While there is a glass, but why not use?” the participants wondered about it.

Two trainers grabbed a pile of disposable plastic cups and threw them on the ground. Not only that, the two trainers also trampled on plastic cups until they were very damaged.

It made the participants surprised, more precisely annoyed.

After drinking ice fruit which is certainly only enough for one sip, Nio then returned to his seat earlier.

Participants who managed to eat centipedes were also allowed to drink iced fruit from vegetable spoons and drink alternately.

According to the coach, drinking ice fruit with a tablespoon of vegetables and used alternately is done to train ‘soul korsa’.

Although some participants do not consider if what they do is a kind of ‘soul korsa’, including Nio.

The soul of a corsa is a military concept of the consciousness of an individual in a corps who has a sense of unity.

(Note: for readers who do not understand the meaning of some things can look for it in google*. Thank you for reading this episode).