Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 143

Chapter 143: New Students 3

 

“What happened to me?” Duan Yu’s mind was in a daze as he found himself tied up and asked in a confused manner.

 

Zhou Zhou had already eaten a large chunk of meat, but since he couldn’t eat too much, he had to painfully move away from the roasted meat. At this moment, he was standing next to Duan Yu.

 

“You’re awake.” Zhou Zhou squatted down and, seeing that Duan Yu was indeed conscious, untied the ropes for him.

 

“You grabbed the magic mushroom with your bare hands, and then you fell into a hallucination. Don’t you have any memory of it?”

 

Duan Yu shook his head. He only remembered picking the magic mushroom, but couldn’t recall anything that happened after that.

 

“If you can’t remember, don’t think about it. Go eat something.”

 

Duan Yu stood up, still feeling a bit dizzy in his head. At this moment, he couldn’t muster any other thoughts and obediently walked towards his companions and sat by the fire.

 

Meng Ziye silently handed him a piece of roasted meat. Duan Yu instinctively took a bite and exclaimed in surprise, “This is a Zerohorn beast?”

 

“Yeah.” The others lowered their heads and ate the roasted meat, mumbling in response.

 

Although the roasted meat was delicious, Duan Yu couldn’t understand how they had caught the Zerohorn beast, and moreover, they did it while he was absent. Thinking of this, even the delicious roasted meat became difficult to swallow. After a moment of silence, he couldn’t help but ask, “How did you catch it?”

 

Zhou Zhou walked past, holding some fruit. “Today, we were able to catch the Zerohorn beast thanks to you.”

 

“Me?” Duan Yu was perplexed.

 

Zhou Zhou ate the fruit, and the aroma of the roasted meat wafted over, causing him to move farther away. “Yes, if it weren’t for you today, we might not have been able to eat the Zerohorn beast.” It might have taken us a bit more time.

 

Duan Yu tried hard to recall but couldn’t remember doing anything to help catch the Zerohorn beast. He could only ask the others, “Did I also help catch the Zerohorn beast?”

 

The others suddenly envisioned the scene of Duan Yu tied to a tree, and they felt that if they told him the truth, he might get angry, so they could only nod silently.

 

Zhou Zhou said seriously, “Of course, you put in the most effort in catching the Zerohorn beast.”

 

After all, they had only set a trap, while Duan Yu had personally acted as the bait. If he hadn’t been poisoned and out of his mind, the Zerohorn beast might not have fallen for the trap so easily, so he did indeed play a major role.

 

“Is that so? It seems I had to take action.” Duan Yu ate the roasted meat proudly, not doubting Zhou Zhou’s words at all. In his view, he had the highest combat prowess in the entire squad, so it was only natural that he could catch the Zerohorn beast, even though he couldn’t remember the entire process.

 

Moreover, Zhou Zhou’s tone and expression were so sincere that it made Duan Yu even more confident in his abilities.

 

As for the others, when they looked at Zhou Zhou in the distance, eyeing the roasted meat and gnawing on fruit, and then at Duan Yu, whose nostrils were practically turned towards the sky, they all lowered their heads.

 

No, they couldn’t laugh out loud. They had to hold it in.

 

This meal was eaten in an unusually harmonious manner, as Duan Yu, considering himself the major contributor, looked upon the others more favorably.

 

Especially in the afternoon, Zhou Zhou would still occasionally praise and fawn over him, with a sincere tone and pure eyes, making Duan Yu feel quite pleased with himself.

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely make our squad the first.” Duan Yu patted his chest and promised.

 

“That’s really great. There’s something I need your help with,” Zhou Zhou said with a delighted smile, his amber eyes full of anticipation.

 

At first, Duan Yu didn’t understand the meaning of this sentence, but later, when they encountered various ferocious prey, he gradually understood.

 

“Duan Yu, be careful! Run to the left!”

 

“Duan Yu, lure it into the trap!”

 

“Duan Yu, run quickly, it’s coming!”

 

As he was chased by various ferocious animals until he looked dazed, Duan Yu finally realized what Zhou Zhou had meant by asking for help, to use him as bait!

 

Whenever they discovered traces of prey, Zhou Zhou would lead the others in setting traps in advance, and then have Duan Yu lure the prey into the traps.

 

But why should he listen to Zhou Zhou? Zhou Zhou wasn’t the squad leader, and his combat prowess didn’t seem all that impressive either. Shouldn’t he be listening to Duan Yu instead? And why did he have to run around here?

 

As Duan Yu pondered this in a dazed state, he continued to lure the animals chasing him into the traps.

 

The enraged animals’ eyes were blood-red, fixated solely on the person fleeing in front of them, resulting in them stepping right into the trap, their short limbs unable to climb out.

 

Duan Yu leaned against a tree, panting for breath, his gaze gradually becoming clear.

 

“Duan Yu, we’ve caught another one,” Zhou Zhou said with a beaming smile as he looked at Duan Yu.

 

Dazzled by Zhou Zhou’s radiant smile, Duan Yu wasn’t fooled by his charm and gruffly asked, “Why do I have to be the bait every time?”

 

Zhou Zhou blinked and pondered, then said in realization, “You don’t like being the bait, huh? Then next time, you can help dig the traps with everyone else.”

 

Duan Yu sneered, “I’m asking why we have to listen to you.”

 

Zhou Zhou looked perplexed. “We’re in the same squad. As long as we can catch the prey, does it matter whose orders we follow?”

 

Duan Yu glanced over and sneered at the distant Zhao Yijie. “Our squad leader lacks ability, but that doesn’t mean you get to call the shots. Who do you think you are?”

 

Even lying down, Zhao Yijie was hit by the remark, and his brow furrowed. “Stop arguing. As long as we can catch the prey, it’s fine. Didn’t we cooperate well just now?”

 

They didn’t have any weapons, and they couldn’t directly confront large ferocious beasts. Although setting traps was troublesome, it was safe, and with everyone working together, they had already earned a few hundred points today alone.

 

The others also felt this method was good and looked at Duan Yu with disapproval.

 

This was the first time Duan Yu had experienced being isolated. His family background was decent, and in the past, he had a few sycophants flattering and agreeing with whatever he said. Being looked at by everyone with such gazes, he immediately became enraged.

 

“Let’s duel. Whoever wins becomes the leader, and for the next few days, we’ll listen to the winner.” Duan Yu looked at Zhou Zhou.

 

Zhou Zhou seemed to be daydreaming and only turned his head when he sensed Duan Yu’s fiery gaze upon him. “But I’m not the leader.”

 

What was the point of dueling him?

 

Moreover, their mission was to earn points. Teammates fighting each other wouldn’t earn any points, so Zhou Zhou couldn’t understand why they should waste energy on such a meaningless act.

 

“Are you afraid?” Duan Yu taunted. He seemed fixated on Zhou Zhou, ignoring the persuasions of others.

 

Zhou Zhou’s physical body was exactly the same as the data presented in the virtual world. In the past, he would have had a perfect physique, but in the interstellar era, most people had undergone gene optimization, especially the students able to attend military academies, who were the cream of the crop. Therefore, Zhou Zhou appeared somewhat frail among this group of people. Additionally, his pale, almost glowing skin made him seem even more out of place.

 

In short, he exuded a sense of being weak and easy to bully.

 

From time to time, Zhou Zhou would look up at the sky. The azure sky stretched endlessly, appearing exceptionally clear. However, Zhou Zhou detected a hint of moist vapor in the air.

 

The weather was about to change.

 

Zhou Zhou’s thoughts were focused on the imminent weather change, completely disregarding Duan Yu’s taunts. Enraged by being ignored, Duan Yu suddenly attacked Zhou Zhou.

 

The distance between them was close. The others were either far away or hadn’t reacted yet when Duan Yu closed in on Zhou Zhou.

 

A fierce fist, accompanied by a whistling gust of wind, came hurtling towards Zhou Zhou. Duan Yu prided himself on his skills and had yet to encounter a formidable opponent among his peers.

 

Zhou Zhou had sensed the attack the moment Duan Yu moved, thanks to the relentless training sessions with Alvia over the past stretch of time. Alvia never went easy on Zhou Zhou, and every training session was extremely solid.

 

Therefore, when faced with Duan Yu’s attack, Zhou Zhou instinctively retaliated with full force.

 

“Aahhhh!”

 

A horrifying scream rang out, startling the birds and beasts in the surrounding forest.

 

Everyone stared in disbelief at Duan Yu, who was on one knee, clutching his arm and drenched in cold sweat, and at the bewildered Zhou Zhou standing beside him.

 

No one had expected Zhou Zhou to subdue his opponent with a single move.

 

Including Zhao Yijie and the others, they probably couldn’t have withstood Duan Yu’s punch. Even if they managed to dodge, they would have been in a sorry state. Just a moment ago, they had thought Zhou Zhou was doomed this time, and if Duan Yu had been more vicious, Zhou Zhou might have been injured. Yet, in the next instant, it was Duan Yu himself who was injured.

 

Zhou Zhou appeared to have effortlessly caught Duan Yu’s fist, and in the next moment, he used leverage, grabbing Duan Yu’s fist and twisting it halfway around. A cracking sound was heard, and Duan Yu’s arm was dislocated.

 

It was an unbelievably easy feat.

 

Zhou Zhou stared at his own palm, finding it hard to believe himself. No matter how much force he used or what techniques he employed during training with Alvia, he had never won a single bout. Alvia had always appeared completely at ease, not even breaking a sweat after hours of training, making Zhou Zhou feel like he hadn’t truly mastered the skills.

 

But now, witnessing the disbelieving gazes of Duan Yu and his other teammates, Zhou Zhou suddenly felt that his perception might have been flawed.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.” Zhou Zhou genuinely hadn’t expected Duan Yu to be so fragile. Normally, this amount of force couldn’t even budge Alvia’s arm, so who would have thought the same force would dislocate his teammate’s arm?

 

After that horrifying scream, Duan Yu didn’t say another word. He couldn’t believe he had been defeated so easily.

 

Clutching his dislocated arm, Duan Yu actually reset it himself with his other hand, his face turning pale from the pain, but he remained silent throughout.

 

Zhao Yijie had originally thought the instructors had placed Zhou Zhou in their squad so they could take care of him, but now it seemed Zhou Zhou didn’t need their care at all.

 

Afterwards, Zhao Yijie voluntarily stepped down and let Zhou Zhou become the squad leader, while Duan Yu no longer made any fuss and silently followed orders.

 

With Zhou Zhou leading the squad, things became much smoother.

 

“It’s going to rain soon. We need to find higher ground to take shelter.”

 

The others looked up at the cloudless sky and were momentarily speechless when faced with Zhou Zhou’s serious expression.

 

“This… where’s the rain?”

 

It was clearly a sunny day, without a single cloud in sight. How could it possibly rain?

 

Zhou Zhou didn’t offer further explanation. Abandoning the hunt for prey, he led everyone towards higher ground.

 

Although the others didn’t really believe him, since Zhou Zhou was now the squad leader, they still followed him.

 

An hour later, the group stood under the canopy of leaves, expressionless as they watched the pouring rain.

 

Who could have imagined that just a while ago, the sky was completely clear, but suddenly, dark clouds had gathered, and a torrential downpour had begun, with the intensity of the rain increasing by the minute until it formed a solid sheet?

 

Zhou Zhou frowned as he observed the heavy rain and urged everyone to move upwards quickly.

 

The trees here were abundant and dense. Although there was no risk of landslides, such heavy rain, if it didn’t stop, might lead to other unforeseen situations.

 

Braving the downpour, the group trudged through the muddy ground, with each step sinking deep or shallow. The mountain path, layered with fallen leaves, had been soaked by the rain, making it easy to slip and fall.

 

Fortunately, they had noticed the situation in time. At the foot of the mountain, the rainwater had already converged into a raging torrent, the turbulent currents revealing glimpses of animals struggling to climb to higher ground.

 

Thanks to Zhou Zhou’s early warning, they were now halfway up the mountain. Zhou Zhou continued to lead them upwards, though the path was difficult, and the heavy rain slowed their progress considerably.

 

“We shouldn’t get flooded here. Zhou Zhou, do we need to keep going?” Zhao Yijie shouted.

 

After a day of hunting for prey and then trekking through the rain up the mountain, everyone was running low on stamina.

 

Compared to the others, Zhou Zhou had exhausted his stamina even earlier. After all, he had only been human for less than a year, and his usual training strictly followed his physical condition, progressing gradually. This was the first time he had undergone such prolonged training, leaving his body more fatigued than he had anticipated, though he hadn’t shown it.

 

Hearing Zhao Yijie’s question, Zhou Zhou halted and looked down the mountain.

 

The flood had submerged the fields, trees, and the once-gentle stream had become a vast expanse, carrying a raging torrent that rushed downwards. Animals that were usually unseen in the forest were now making their appearances, frantically running towards higher ground to survive.

 

Animals of various sizes, panic-stricken, came charging up the mountain. Compared to humans’ two legs, they were more accustomed to running and leaping through the mountains and forests. What had started as just a few scattered individuals quickly converged and grew in numbers, heading straight for the mountaintop.

 

The mountain they were on was the highest in the area and the primary escape route for these animals.

 

“Climb up the trees,” Zhou Zhou immediately shouted.

 

The others had also seen the surge of animals at the foot of the mountain. Upon hearing Zhou Zhou’s order, they immediately scrambled up the nearby tall, sturdy trees.

 

Although it’s best not to stay under trees in the rain, no one could worry about that at this moment. Leading the surge of animals were ferocious beasts from the mountains. If they blocked these beasts’ path, whether human or other animals, they would be trampled into the mud.

 

Soon, these animals passed through the forest. The new students looked down at the various animals in the wave, calculating how many points this one was worth, how many points that one was worth. They watched helplessly as the points fled, aching but not daring to go down and provoke them.

 

Duan Yu’s arm had been reset, but it was still aching. After being rained on for a while, the joints became both painful and itchy. He had accepted his defeat, and since he was the one who provoked the situation that led to his injury, he endured the pain without complaining. Normally, he could easily climb a tree, but now the pain in his arm made it increasingly difficult.

 

The rain had already affected visibility, and the others hadn’t noticed Duan Yu’s abnormality. By the time he finally made it up the tree, his arm was in excruciating pain.

 

The arm clutching the tree trunk could no longer exert any force, so he had to support himself with his other hand. Duan Yu gritted his teeth, his face deathly pale, watching the animals continuously rushing past below. He just had to endure until the surge ended.

 

A massive ferocious beast, soaked from head to toe, charged recklessly through the forest. Its enormous size and thick skin made it extremely difficult to maneuver through the trees, but the startled beast charged straight ahead, crashing into everything in its path, whether it was running animals or standing trees. Many smaller animals were crushed under its hooves, and some trees not sturdy enough were also knocked down.

 

By sheer coincidence, this beast happened to charge directly into the base of the tree Duan Yu was in as it passed through the forest where the new students were located. Although the tree was too thick to be knocked down, the beast’s massive impact still caused it to sway.

 

The others watched Duan Yu, half lying on the tree branch, their hearts leaping into their throats.

 

However, the frenzied beast didn’t linger and soon moved on after the collision. Only then did the others breathe a sigh of relief.

 

But in the next moment, before their eyes, Duan Yu, who had been lying on the branch just fine, fell straight down.

 

“Be careful!”

 

“Duan Yu!”

 

Although they didn’t get along with Duan Yu, he was still their teammate and classmate. No one wanted any accidents to befall him.

 

The others wanted to climb down from the tree but were stopped by Zhou Zhou.

 

Zhou Zhou reacted faster than the rest. The moment Duan Yu fell, he had already jumped down from a nearby tree.

 

It was now the latter half of the animal surge, and the animals passing by weren’t as dense as they were initially. Zhou Zhou agilely dodged a few animals and ran towards Duan Yu. He had noticed that Duan Yu wasn’t in a good state. After falling from the tree, Duan Yu tried to stand up, but his movements were slow and dull, completely different from his agility when acting as bait earlier.

 

Before Duan Yu could stand up, a deer with two antlers on its head approached. Facing this “obstacle” blocking its path, the deer lowered its head, its massive antlers viciously thrusting towards Duan Yu.

 

“Duan Yu, watch out!” The others gaped in horror, feeling as if their hearts were about to jump out of their chests.

 

In the next moment, Zhou Zhou appeared and tackled Duan Yu. With the “obstacle” gone, the deer continued running forward.

 

Zhou Zhou had timed his tackle perfectly. Now, he and Duan Yu were hiding behind a large tree. The tree was thick enough and wouldn’t obstruct the animals’ path, so they were relatively safe for the time being.

 

Seeing Duan Yu silently clutching his arm, his deathly pale face looking like he might pass out any moment, Zhou Zhou immediately guessed that it was due to his previous injury that Duan Yu had fallen from the tree.

 

“I’m sorry,” Zhou Zhou said, his face full of remorse as the two hid behind the tree, with animals occasionally passing by. “If I hadn’t caused your injury, this wouldn’t have happened.”

 

Duan Yu gritted his teeth through the pain and said gruffly, “It’s my lack of skill, not your fault.”

 

Zhou Zhou wanted to take a look at Duan Yu’s arm, but he didn’t know how to treat injuries and was afraid of making the injury worse by moving it carelessly. He felt helpless. “No, if I had been more careful during our sparring, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

 

He said it as if Duan Yu was made of clay. Duan Yu cracked a wry smile. He was the one who had attacked first, and at the time, he had intended to teach Zhou Zhou a lesson, not holding back at all. It was only his lack of skill that had led to this outcome, yet Zhou Zhou was embellishing it as mere sparring.

 

“Why did you save me?” Duan Yu suddenly asked.

 

Zhou Zhou, who had been peeking out to check if any more animals were coming, unhesitatingly replied, “We’re teammates.”

 

The words came out without much thought.

 

Teammates?

 

Duan Yu looked up at Zhou Zhou. They were extremely close, so close that Duan Yu could even see the raindrops sliding down Zhou Zhou’s face, the long eyelashes adorned with a few tiny droplets, his amber pupils misty.

 

At some point, the sounds of the rain, the animals’ roars, seemed to have been put on pause. Duan Yu gazed at Zhou Zhou, watching his pale lips move, his entire being seeming to be in a strange state.

 

The pain in his body was momentarily forgotten.

 

Suddenly, a tearing pain brought Duan Yu’s thoughts back to reality. Everything around him returned to normal, the deafening rain, the screeching animals, and his teammates’ urgent calls.

 

“Duan Yu, what’s wrong? Did you hit your head when you fell?”

 

“Hey~ Hey~ Can you hear us?”

 

“Don’t move him, we don’t know where he’s injured.”

 

He was now surrounded by people, all their faces etched with worry and concern. The animal surge had passed, with only a few stragglers making their way through the forest, allowing the others to climb down from the trees.

 

Noticing Duan Yu’s dazed, unresponsive state, the others thought he might have been injured somewhere and tried to search for wounds, finally snapping Duan Yu out of his trance.

 

“I’m fine,” Duan Yu averted his gaze, not daring to look at Zhou Zhou again.

 

Afterwards, as the rain subsided, Meng Ziye found some medicinal herbs and applied them to Duan Yu’s arm. Although it couldn’t cure the injury, it at least reduced the pain. Once the training ended, such an injury could be quickly healed in a treatment chamber.

 

Before nightfall, Zhou Zhou and the others took advantage of their higher ground and managed to catch a few animals fleeing up the mountain. These animals, panicked and separated from their groups, were easily captured by the humans.

 

That night, the group found a secluded spot to rest. Their score was over a thousand points, but they didn’t know the scores of the other squads or their ranking.

 

After the day’s perilous events, the new students were still somewhat excited, chatting softly about the current situation of the other squads and Zhou Zhou’s performance today.

 

After praising Zhou Zhou for a while, they suddenly realized he hadn’t joined the discussion. Looking around, they found Zhou Zhou had fallen asleep, leaning against a tree.

 

Usually, Zhou Zhou was the most vigilant, but now he had fallen asleep against a tree, clearly exhausted.

 

Without any prior agreement, everyone present quieted down. Meng Ziye silently went over and covered Zhou Zhou with a piece of clothing. Zhou Zhou shuffled and tucked his head into the clothing, continuing to sleep.

 

They no longer continued their conversation, and those on watch duty and those preparing to rest all moved in a coordinated, quiet manner, not wanting to disturb Zhou Zhou’s sleep.

 

Duan Yu secretly glanced at Zhou Zhou. He wanted to go over and thank him but couldn’t find the opportunity and didn’t know if Zhou Zhou would accept his apology.

 

He looked at the exposed forehead and hair peeking out from Zhou Zhou’s clothing and noticed that Zhou Zhou’s hair appeared slightly curly. Having been drenched by the rain without being combed, his hair looked a bit messy, even cute. The exposed skin on his forehead was paler than the rest of them. Was it because he hadn’t trained before that he was so pale?

 

Duan Yu stared absentmindedly at Zhou Zhou, his mind filled with jumbled thoughts until Meng Ziye blocked his view. He then came to his senses and closed his eyes to rest.

 

Meng Ziye had been following Zhou Zhou the whole way and stayed beside him during rest periods, coincidentally blocking Duan Yu’s view of Zhou Zhou.

 

Only after Duan Yu’s breathing became steady did Meng Ziye open his eyes to glance at Duan Yu before quietly shifting positions to completely block Zhou Zhou from view.

 

Over the next few days, they experienced various extreme weather conditions, from torrential rain to scorching heat, from heavy snow to storms. The new students were certain that the weather here was being artificially manipulated by the instructors. Otherwise, how could it be so abnormal?

 

Many squads had already lost members, some even wiped out entirely, while the remaining squads were exhausted, eagerly awaiting the end of the final day.

 

Zhou Zhou’s squad still had all its members, but they had all suffered injuries to varying degrees.

 

When the final day arrived, the new students simultaneously received a message in their neural implants.

 

【There are 24 hours remaining until the end of training. The score rankings of all squads are now announced. The top ten ranking squads will receive additional points and rewards. All squads must return to base within the designated time. Any squad that fails to return will have their score reset to zero.】

 

Zhou Zhou’s squad fell silent after seeing the newly revealed score rankings. Not only were they still at full strength, but over the past few days, no matter the weather, they had been continuously capturing prey and collecting plants to earn points. Now their score had reached over five thousand points, and everyone had guessed that this score would likely place them in the top three. However, they were now ranked twelfth.

 

“Why aren’t the squad numbers for the top ten shown?” Zhao Yijie asked in confusion. The rankings displayed in their neural implants used asterisks to replace the squad numbers for the top ten, only showing the numbers from eleventh place onwards.

 

“That’s not the main point. The important thing is that we’re still over a thousand points behind tenth place.”

 

“They probably hid the squad numbers of the top ten to prevent other squads from intercepting them.”

 

“So should we keep hunting? There are still twenty-four hours left. If we work hard, a thousand points should be achievable.”

 

“But the requirement is for us to return within the designated time. If we keep going forward, we definitely won’t be able to make it back in time. Wouldn’t that be counterproductive?”

 

“If we start heading back now, we should have enough time, but there probably won’t be as many points to earn on the way back since we’ve already scoured the area.”

 

Everyone debated, unsure of what to do, until they all turned to Zhou Zhou.

 

Zhou Zhou was still reading the message. Noticing everyone’s gazes on him, he finally looked up.

 

“We’ll head back.”

 

“But what about the points? We’ve worked so hard to reach twelfth place. If we put in a bit more effort, we could get extra points and rewards. It’s such a pity.”

 

Zhou Zhou’s tone was resolute. “No one knows if the weather will change on the way back. No matter what rank we get, if we don’t return on time, we’ll have nothing.”

 

After spending this period together, everyone had come to trust Zhou Zhou, so they unconditionally followed his decision.

 

Sure enough, on their way back, they hardly encountered any animals, let alone point-earning plants. Their score remained largely unchanged, while the scores of the squads ahead and behind them continued to rise.

 

Some squad members felt it was a pity since they were so close to the top ten, letting the opportunity slip away. However, Duan Yu shut down these regrets.

 

“Most of our current points were earned thanks to Zhou Zhou. If you’re not satisfied, you can go back and hunt prey yourself.”

 

Ever since Zhou Zhou had saved him, Duan Yu hadn’t been as arrogant as before. Most of the time, he remained silent, but whenever the squad needed to cooperate, he was very cooperative, practically like a different person.

 

After being rebuked by Duan Yu, the squad member only quietly retorted that he was just saying it and didn’t mean to go against Zhou Zhou’s decision.

 

With 12 hours remaining until the end of training, Zhou Zhou’s squad was almost back at the base.

 

Contrary to Zhou Zhou’s expectations, the journey was smooth, with the weather being exceptionally good, and they didn’t encounter any unexpected situations.

 

However, their ranking had dropped to fifteenth place.

 

The squad members no longer harbored any hopes of receiving rewards. They just wanted to return to the base and rest, take a shower, and change clothes. After this week, they practically looked like beggars.

 

After walking for some time, Zhou Zhou suddenly stopped, gazing confusedly at the surrounding trees.

 

“Why did you stop?” Meng Ziye, who had been by Zhou Zhou’s side, asked.

 

Zhou Zhou looked at the oasis in front of him. He remembered the base was located here, but why was there only a vast expanse of trees ahead?

 

Upon hearing Zhou Zhou’s doubt, the others initially thought they had taken a wrong turn. However, when one squad member discovered the uniquely shaped rock he had deliberately placed near the base to wish for a good score, they confirmed they hadn’t gone off course. This was indeed the location of the base.

 

But now, where was the base?