Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"What do you think Brother Hai saw? I can't even guess from his expression."

"There's no need to guess; it must be the mission details. Unfortunately, only the trainees can see their own pages, otherwise we would know what their mission is this time."

"Knowing wouldn't help us anyway; we can't go in and give him tips."

Indeed, every country was speculating about the nature of the trainees' mission. Judging by their efforts to set traps, craft weapons, and create hidden shelters, it seemed to be an escape scenario. The enemy must be either very strong or numerous, prompting most trainees to prioritize defense after reading their mission details.

If the risks were too high or uncontrollable, the trainees would adopt a conservative strategy. If they chose to take risks for potential gains and ended up dying, they would face harsh criticism upon their return.

It was an escape scenario, with enemies using thermal weapons and occupying fortress-like structures... The elite from various countries outside the game were now searching for the "prototype" or "suspected prototype" of this scenario.

Even if they found it, it wouldn't be of much use.

Meanwhile, Ji Xinghai had already put away his mission watch, still maintaining his serious expression as he calmly retrieved the roasted sweet potatoes and potatoes from the hearth, placing them in a wicker basket. He even washed the pots and bowls.

"Seeing how efficient he is, he must have done plenty of work at home."

The audience, munching on stir-fried dry mushrooms, commented, "Ah, Brother Hai looks like a good man, always ready to work, not just sitting around waiting to be served."

"Eating fried rice while watching videos isn't as fun. When do you think Brother Hai will get some sunflower seeds or peanuts?"

"Are you ordering a menu?"

"A beautiful expectation! Understand the concept of expectation? We can't influence the game, but can't we indulge in our fantasies?"

"In that case, I'm looking forward to some rice wine. Salted peanuts with alcohol, the more you eat, the better it gets. That little taste, tsk tsk."

"...Your JiuZhou style is quite toxic."

The copper bird whistle in his pocket suddenly poked his leg, reminding him of its presence.

Since this world was a deliberately arranged game setting, any object unrelated to the environment would have a reason for being there.

What was the purpose of this bird whistle?

He cleaned the copper bird whistle, even boiling it in hot water, polishing it until it shone. At that moment, his watch vibrated slightly.

'It's here,' he thought.

Sure enough, when he opened his mission watch again, a line of text appeared under the previously untriggered bonus points: You have obtained a copy item. Please use the bird whistle to alert everyone, 'Enemies are approaching, retreat into the mountains quickly.'

Ji Xinghai: ...

He knew that the bird whistle could produce sounds similar to birds, that mountain dwellers used its sound as bait to catch birds, and later it evolved into a secret code among the mountain people.

But he didn't know the code being used here.

Outside, the sun had shifted, and the watch showed two-thirty, leaving only a dozen hours before the purge operation.

He aligned the number 7 on his watch with the sun to determine direction. Hmm, it was roughly as he had guessed, facing southeast, and the direction he came from was the west side of the mountain.

From where he stood, he could faintly see down the mountain, a stone path nestled among the trees.

But it was still too bright, and he suspected the enemies were waiting at the foot of the mountain for him to walk right into their trap. He hadn't forgotten the previous gunfire, and the enemies likely had the advantage of high-to-low pinpoint shooting.

Leaving too early might invite a raid on his base, which was currently guarded by only a foolish dog...

Suddenly receiving attention, the hunting dog jumped up, then quickly lay back down, rolling over to expose its belly, shrinking its limbs pitifully, "Woof."

Come on, let me pet you. A dog could still be somewhat useful.

"..."

Considering the information he had gathered, Ji Xinghai decided to wait until later to descend, at least until dusk. Before that, he needed to make some preparations, such as optimizing his weapons, preparing food that could be stored for long periods, and gathering items he might need for the next three days.

He returned to the previous forest area, but not for mushrooms, rather for a particular tree.

This tree grew in the mountain forest, seemingly ordinary, but Ji Xinghai found it and collected a large bowl of milky white sap.

The experts in the live stream explained that this tree was called the 'touch-me-not' tree, also found in Y province, a highly poisonous plant with medicinal properties. Ancient people would coat arrowheads and blades with its sap, which, entering a wound, would cause heart paralysis and even death by suffocation, hence the name 'touch-me-not'.

"When did he discover the touch-me-not tree? Was it during his mushroom collection?"

"Judging by his familiarity with wild mushrooms and the mountain forest, it's hard to believe he doesn't have some wilderness survival experience."

In the Command Unit, the night shift worker slurped instant noodles while staring at the screen. This was their night shift allowance, synthetic instant noodles, not nutritious but filling.

"I remember he participated in summer camps every year in elementary school, several of which had wilderness survival themes. It was popular back then, extreme survival, post-disaster survival, those kids talked about it like they knew everything.

"After real disasters struck, the summer camps changed to 'how to reasonably use your balcony for vegetable gardening.' Wilderness survival was taught in schools, and survival skills in extreme environments became a mandatory part of the curriculum."

"Can attending summer camps alone lead to this level of skill?"

"Well, he's a genius."

"I think instead, his body was in hibernation while his soul trained for nine years, resulting in this effect. Look at his actions; could this be purely taught by academics? There must be practical experience involved."

"That makes sense."

Amidst the slurping of noodles, Ji Xinghai on the screen returned to the hunter's cabin with his spoils.

On his way through the mountain path, he encountered a thin, crimson snake blocking his path, which he promptly subdued by pressing down its head with a broken branch and grabbing it by the neck to toss it back into the woods.

The unfortunate snake, which had merely come out to bask in the sun, was left hanging steadily on a branch, its tongue flicking nervously at Ji Xinghai before slithering away hastily.

"!" Ji Xinghai's eyelashes fluttered rapidly; he wasn't imagining things, someone was watching him.

There was no unusual movement in the wind; nothing was following him. This feeling of being watched wasn't like being filmed, but rather, there was a tangible presence observing him in a way he couldn't comprehend.

It was unclear whether this sudden emotional fluctuation stemmed from encountering danger or swiftly resolving it. If the former, 'Ji Xinghai' himself was the point of concern for the other party. If the latter, 'Ji Xinghai's potential and abilities' were what mattered to them.

In the replica world, water flowed gently, devoid of any human voices. Ji Xinghai returned to the hunter's cabin without showing his hand, carrying his basket on his back. He placed firewood in the stove below, where sweet potatoes and potatoes simmered in a pot, while rice steamed in a clay pot above.

As the water in the pot began to boil, bubbling vigorously, Ji Xinghai glanced at his watch and stood up.

The audience didn't know what he intended to do, but they immediately perked up upon seeing his movement. Even though it was already late at night in JiuZhou, many night owls were still awake, chatting idly in the live stream.

He stepped outside and retrieved the desiccated remains of the wooden skeleton from the doorway.

Though referred to as bones, they resembled brittle branches, cracking like cookies in Ji Xinghai's hands, breaking easily with a brownish oily residue glistening at the fracture points.

"I remember that the wooden skeletons are a mutation of agarwood," recalled a viewer in the live stream. In the southern regions where agarwood was abundant, wooden skeletons often appeared, and during peaceful times, they were more valuable than dry tree truffles.

"It would be great if it was included in the recipe book; I've heard that agarwood soothes the mind."

"What are you dreaming of? Forget about the dry tree truffles, can you even eat this thing?"

"Snap."

Ji Xinghai, expressionless, crunched on the wood chips while facing the open pages of the *Tao Tie Food Canon*. Though the texture was poor, he could still swallow some when mixed with saliva.

In truth, he had long recognized this substance as agarwood. He wanted to know whether only ingredients were edible or if anything that attracted him intuitively could also be consumed. Was the description of 'eating anything' reliable?

The audience was nearly frightened by his decisiveness, but fortunately, no mishap occurred. Instead, an entry for 'Wooden Skeleton Fragment' appeared in the supplementary volume of the food canon.

Wooden Skeleton Fragment: A mutation of agarwood, can be used to make incense and medicine, with calming and health-strengthening effects.

Note: Best not to eat, unpalatable, personal experience confirmed.

Viewers in JiuZhou stared dumbfounded at the description, subconsciously issuing a summon. Those who had already used their daily quota naturally summoned nothing, but those with remaining slots found a finger-thick piece of agarwood appearing in their palms.

Though small, its color and scent indicated high quality.

"Hurry, hurry!"

Staying up late indeed brought surprises. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, who had been watching the live stream, sprang into action. Agarwood wasn't just useful for making incense; it could also be used in medicine, producing different effects when combined with various herbs. Due to the scarcity of raw materials, they hadn't used such high-quality agarwood for a long time.

'So it truly eats anything,' Ji Xinghai was surprised. His pica was becoming increasingly severe.

Although the wood chips were difficult to swallow, they did carry a hint of special energy. Even if they couldn't compare to dry tree truffles, he wasn't picky.

However, agarwood was best utilized in incense-making.

Would incense made from this agarwood have a stronger effect?

Ji Xinghai set aside the agarwood left behind by the deceased wooden skeleton.

While agarwood was excellent, it held little use for his current situation. It would be better to have some wolfbane, croton, or arsenic; he could create poison smoke.

But lacking poison smoke, he only had the blood-sealing poison available.

Blood-sealing poison was prepared for arrow tips. The arrows hanging on the wall were homemade wooden arrows, approximately twenty in number, with iron heads, wooden shafts, and bird feathers. Some of the arrow tips were rusted red.

He summoned the wooden skeleton and instructed it to sharpen the arrow tips using the whetstone beside the stove.

"Is he going to use a bow? For ordinary people, wouldn't an axe be better?"

"I suspect he will."

During their missions, students usually had their own considerations, and the audience had long passed the stage of questioning everything they saw. They merely speculated in the live stream.

Some were curious about the differences between the main and supplementary volumes of the *Tao Tie Food Canon*—the distinctions surely went beyond the utility and frequency of summoning items.

As the owner, the wooden skeleton summoned by Ji Xinghai wasn't merely a piece of agarwood, but a one-meter-tall, level-one anomaly capable of walking and moving. Though not particularly intelligent, it possessed ample strength to grind arrow tips without issue.

Seeing that it was doing well, Ji Xinghai didn't keep a close eye on it. Instead, he took the remaining arrows and practiced outside the door.

With numerous enemies and confirmation that the opposing side had long-range thermal weapons, a bow and arrow would naturally be preferable—assuming he knew how to use them accurately.

Coincidentally, he did.

Due to not having regained his touch, his first two arrows missed the mark. However, the third arrow struck a pine tree a hundred meters away with precision, and his skill improved steadily thereafter, never missing again.

"He must have learned shooting, and he's an expert. Who has the money to learn shooting these days? His family background isn't simple."

"No, Ji Xinghai was my elementary school classmate before he suddenly transferred schools. As far as I remember, his family's circumstances were just average; both his parents were workers, and he was an only child."

"Innocent, aren't you still a student? How could society be so simple?"

Those who claimed to know the student appeared in the live stream, sparking discussions about 'Ji Xinghai's background.' However, experienced viewers in JiuZhou listened casually without believing the claims.

There were too many impostors pretending to be classmates, neighbors, or relatives of the students in the live streams.

They enjoyed 'role-playing,' with one taking the white face and the other the red face, then saying ambiguous things, either stirring up gender conflicts or fueling discord between the rich and the poor.

"Do not believe or spread rumors; always be vigilant against remote shepherds lurking among the masses. Report."!