Chapter 61

Chapter 61

On the screen, Jiang Se's team of four was huddled inside the cave, sleeping soundly.

The instructor laughed in exasperation: "Even in this situation, these four little punks can still fall asleep. The other teams outside are having a hell of a time!"

A middle-aged man who had been silently watching the screen raised an eyebrow at these words and glanced at Jiang Se and the others. He said in a measured tone, "It's about time to refresh the safe zone."

Hearing this, another instructor nearby raised an eyebrow and remarked, "Refreshing the safe zone so early? I thought you’d let them stay in there for a few more days, boss."

The middle-aged man replied calmly, "It’s time to refresh the safe zone. Otherwise, these kids might just keep muddling through this exercise for several more days!"

*

Jiang Se had buried her head in her sleeping bag, fast asleep and oblivious to the world, when a cold metallic voice blared overhead: "The safe zone is about to refresh. All students, prepare now!"

The voice was extremely loud, as if several people were shouting through high-intensity speakers right next to their ears. Jiang Se poked her head out of the sleeping bag, yawned, and looked at Chu Yun, who had also just emerged from her sleeping bag. "Did you hear that? The broadcast said the safe zone is going to refresh!"

"I heard it. This exercise is so extra!" Chu Yun grumbled.

"I wonder what the safe zone will look like!" Jiang Se murmured, then stuck her head out of the cave to look outside.

In the vast expanse, a faint blue light appeared near the horizon. At first, the light was very faint, but it gradually transformed into a massive glowing dome. It began contracting step by step along the horizon, just like the safe zone shrinkage in those battle royale games Jiang Se had played before.

"Wow, looks like they’ve gone all out with the special effects!" Jiang Se remarked.

Nearby, Zhu Jin gazed at the sky, his brow slightly furrowed. "Do you guys hear something?"

His voice was tense, as if something unexpected was about to happen.

"Sound?" Jiang Se pricked up her ears and indeed heard the roars of exotic beasts near the horizon.

"I hear the sounds of exotic beasts," Jiang Se said.

"It seems just as I thought," Zhu Jin sighed heavily. "This safe zone doesn’t just affect the participating students—it also affects the exotic beasts in this exercise area."

"So, as the safe zone contracts, not only will students be moving toward the center, but exotic beasts will too..."

"Holy crap!" Jiang Se exclaimed. "The instructors are planning to artificially create a beast tide in this exercise area!"

The thought of the chaos that would accompany the safe zone’s contraction made Jiang Se’s scalp tingle.

"So unfair!" Jiang Se muttered under her breath.

"The safe zone is still some distance away from us," Chu Yun murmured, staring at the general outline of the safe zone in the distance.

"Still, we should prepare to move out. This isn’t a place to stay for long," Zhu Jin stated quietly.

"Seriously, can’t even let us have a proper nap!" Jiang Se yawned and spoke sluggishly.

As she said this, Jiang Se had no clue what they were in for.

After packing their things, the group piloted their mechs and left the area.

The region was a dense forest, and after leaving it, they entered a relatively flat wooded area. The roars of the exotic beasts behind them seemed to have been left far behind.

The mechs moved through the dense forest almost silently.

In the team’s voice channel, Jiang Se whispered, "This place seems pretty safe!"

Before she could finish her sentence, the ground beneath them began to tremble violently. Although the mechs had strong grip stability, it was still difficult to maintain balance.

"What the hell is happening?" Chu Yun couldn’t help but exclaim softly.

Along with the tremors came a cloud of intense dust, almost completely obscuring the sky.

At the end of the dust cloud, two exceptionally massive exotic beasts were fighting. Their size was even more exaggerated than that of the mutated crocodile beast the group had previously killed.

"Take cover!"

The moment he spotted the beasts, Zhu Jin shouted urgently. The four quickly hid in a nearby gully.

Once hidden, Jiang Se said, still shaken, "No wonder there aren’t any other exotic beasts around here. It’s because these two formidable giants are fighting!"

"Right. With these two around, probably no other exotic beast would dare come close," Chu Yun added.

"Now that we’re here, what should we do?" Zhu Jin asked softly. "Sneak past them from the side?"

"I think we should. Those two are fully engrossed in their fight. Let’s not go up and ask for trouble," Jiang Se said quietly.

The four were all on the same page and decided to sneak past the two beasts, who were too absorbed in their battle to notice anything else.

Just as they were piloting their mechs to quietly bypass the fighting beasts via a side path, Jiang Se heard a voice that was weirdly familiar from above: "It’s you?"

The voice was sinister, carrying a hint of relentlessness.

Jiang Se looked up from her mech and saw Pei Ning’s team standing on higher ground, looking down at them.

"Why them of all people?" Jiang Se couldn’t help but complain in the team channel.

"Yeah, of all times to run into Pei Ning’s team—talk about bad timing!" Zhu Jin also sighed.

If they had encountered Pei Ning’s team at any other time, it wouldn’t have been a big deal—they could’ve just fought it out. But now, with two deadly giants fighting behind them, engaging Pei Ning’s team risked drawing the attention of those massive beasts.

The mere thought of being taken out by the exotic beasts alongside Pei Ning’s team made Jiang Se’s scalp crawl.

Please, not that!

"Can we take out Pei Ning’s team without alerting the two beasts behind us?" Chu Yun asked.

Zhu Jin thought seriously for a moment and said, "It’s a bit tricky."

After all, Pei Ning’s team wasn't pushovers. Taking them out wasn’t the problem—the challenge was doing it without attracting the attention of the two exotic beasts.

"Then let’s just make a run for it!" Jiang Se said decisively.

"Agreed!"

Then Pei Ning watched as Jiang Se and the others’ mechs paused for a moment before suddenly turning tail and running in the opposite direction.

Pei Ning: ???

What are these people doing?