Chapter 9 The Counselor’s Ninth Day Maybe you’re unlucky, encountering…

Chapter 9: Counselor's 9th Day on the Job

"Maybe you're just unlucky and ran into..."

"Run to your left!"

"How much farther? How long until we get there?"

"Almost there!"

Zhao Yao wiped his face, barely clearing the rain from his features: "When will this rain ever stop?!"

Through the downpour, a distant voice, indistinguishable, called out, "In your dreams, maybe"—making him groan—and then swallow a mouthful of rainwater.

"Ugh, ugh," he hastily ducked, dodging a flying branch. "I never should've picked that orchid!"

...

Half an hour earlier.

Zhao Yao and Cong Xieying, as the primary combatants, had ventured a bit farther from camp to set traps and hunt, hoping to find small animals rich in Millet Jade. Meanwhile, Xia Fengchi and the two remaining betas stayed behind to organize and set up tents, also searching nearby for any Millet Jade-containing plants.

Millet Jade's effect on plant appearance was strikingly obvious, so it wasn’t long before the team, as planned, traded points for a weather forecast device. Thus, before the heavy rain truly began, the two Mecha Department members had already returned to camp. Cong Xieying carried a Cynthia rabbit with ears as smooth as silk, along with five eggs it had laid in his pocket; Zhao Yao held a ribbon-tailed bird with tail feathers like a colorful streamer, though even after entering the camp, he kept looking back over his shoulder.

The pre-storm low pressure intensified the stifling, humid heat of the jungle, making Zhao Yao’s behavior especially unusual.

"Zhao (looking for) something?" Cong Xieying started with a homophone pun.

The rest of the team shivered at the lame joke.

Zhao Yao placed the ribbon-tailed bird on the waist-high detector, letting the machine measure its Millet Jade content for point conversion: "On my way back, I saw a cluster of Crescent Orchids on a tree over there that looked like amethyst. It was a bit high up, but climbable."

"I had the bird, so it was inconvenient. I thought I’d come back first, but..."

Xia Fengchi chimed in: "But it’s about to rain, right?"

Zhao Yao: "Exactly. But that cluster of Crescent Orchids clearly has a very high Millet Jade content. If we can get it, we’ll have enough for the insect and snake repeller." Without the repeller and lacking sufficient repellent herbs, they’d been relying on his alpha pheromones to manually ward off pests, filling the camp with the scent of sun-dried blankets.

"Far?" Cong Xieying asked.

Zhao Yao thought back: "Not far, but not exactly close either. A run there would take about... ten minutes?"

"Let’s go," Xia Fengchi said, sprinkling the last of the snake-repelling herbs. "Xieying, grab the climbing rope. The three of us will go together."

He turned to instruct: "Qing En, Lin Lin, can you handle preparing lunch?"

"No problem!" the two girls replied promptly.

In hindsight, bringing the rope and leaving the non-combat support members behind were both smart calls by Xia Fengchi. It just goes to show that the Command Department lives up to its name, with incredible foresight.

At first, everything went smoothly: Zhao Yao nimbly climbed to the treetop, Xia Fengchi held the safety rope below, and Cong Xieying kept watch nearby.

After confirming no hidden insects or snakes were around, Zhao Yao used his knife to carefully remove the Crescent Orchid along with its root moss, placing it into the grass-woven collection basket at his waist. He then picked a few leaves to cover the top, hiding the brilliantly glowing petals.

"Coming down!" he shouted toward the ground.

A long whistle echoed from below, meaning "acknowledged."

Zhao Yao slid down just as agilely as he’d climbed up, brushing the dust from his hands: "Done. Head back?"

Xia Fengchi nodded.

Cong Xieying, however, reached out: "Let me take the basket. Your pheromones are great for repelling mosquitoes, but up close for too long, I’m afraid the flowers could get dried out."

"I’m not using any pheromones?" Zhao Yao looked puzzled, raising his arm to sniff.

Xia Fengchi, who couldn’t smell anything, smoothed things over: "Maybe it’s just sweat from climbing. Let’s head back for now..."

At that very moment, chaos erupted!

The sound of massive wings beating came from above, accompanied by the crackling of branches and leaves. A bird shimmering with sunlight swooped down angrily, emitting an furious "Coo-jee!"

"Watch out!" Zhao Yao shoved the seemingly dazed Cong Xieying out of the way.

Meanwhile, Xia Fengchi rolled to the ground, protecting his head and face from the sharp claws.

Having missed its strike, the giant bird screeched in dissatisfaction: "Jee!"

It flapped its wings, rising with a grating sound, its claws digging deep into the tree trunk.

As the bird perched mid-air, raising its rear, Xia Fengchi had a sudden insight: "Close your eyes!"

Almost the instant the three shut their eyelids, the bird’s brown tail feathers fanned out like a screen, emitting an intensely blinding light that left spots on their retinas even through closed eyes.

Cong Xieying felt a cool drop on the tip of his nose, followed by another on his tightly shut eyelid.

The predicted heavy rain was about to begin.

"Coo-choo~" Seemingly convinced its enemies were incapacitated, the bird made a cheerful gurgling sound, landing farther from the humans, crunching leaves underfoot.

Xia Fengchi peeked through a gap between his arm and body, his fingers subtly brushing over his terminal.

"Beep, beep, beep."

Urgent electronic tones sounded in Zhao Yao and Cong Xieying’s ears.

The rain grew heavier, droplets hitting them and sliding off their hair.

"Beep, beep."

The giant bird took a few steps closer, the glow from its feathers casting a faint red light through their eyelids. The increasing rain made it shake its feathers impatiently.

"Beep."

"Go!" Zhao Yao sprang up, turning and hurling his combat knife straight at the bird’s eye!

Cong Xieying dashed past him, clutching the Crescent Orchid as he ran.

They could guess the bird hadn’t attacked without reason—it was likely after the Crescent Orchid. But just by looking, they knew its Millet Jade content was undoubtedly high. To quickly build an early points advantage, their only choice was to secure it.

—After all, the Banga Naka Rainforest was a training base, not a truly unknown wild planet. The flora and fauna here had been screened by officials, with nothing excessively ferocious; moreover, every trainee’s actions and data were monitored. Since death wasn’t a risk, it was worth the gamble!

"Coo—!" The tip of the combat knife sank into the bird’s eye, eliciting a cry of pain as its wings flared wide.

Light flashed like lightning in the night sky, stinging the eyes of Zhao Yao and Cong Xieying, who had turned away. Xia Fengchi, unable to avoid it in time, lost his vision on the spot.

Zhao Yao tugged and flicked the rope, smoothly retrieving his combat knife.

The rain intensified abruptly—the downpour had finally arrived. Torrential rain washed the blood from the knife but not the bird’s fury. It charged straight at Zhao Yao, though fortunately, the heavy rain had soaked its flight feathers, preventing it from taking to the air.

"This is an Epic Colossus-Bird! They're not supposed to be this big! Its Millet Jade content must be extremely high!" Xia Fengchi's near-roaring voice came through the terminal.

"What Epic Giant Bird?!" Zhao Yao was baffled. He swerved sharply to dodge another charge from the giant bird and yelled back into the terminal, "This is a life-and-death moment, no time for taxonomy! Whether it's bronze or epic doesn't change the fact that it's trying to kill me!"

"Its scientific name!!!" Xia Fengchi was so frantic he was about to burst a blood vessel. Shouting over the heavy rain, he said, "This bird isn't highly aggressive! Keep it busy for a while! Cong Xieying went back to grind for the orchid—once he's done, we'll have a net gun!"

The Epic Giant Bird swung its wing, snapping a wrist-thick sapling and hurling it toward Zhao Yao. Zhao Yao rolled forward. The ongoing storm had already turned the ground into small rivulets, and after the roll, he was almost completely drenched. The cold sensation sent a shiver through him: "Holy shit! Isn't the Epic Giant Bird just a chicken we eat?!"

...

"Why is it called that?" Mou Lin scratched his head, baffled.

Do you interstellar people really name things based solely on "whatever we feel like"?

Cheng Jingnian used a branch to dig out two eggs, each the size of an adult man’s fist, from the smoldering ashes and gestured for Mou Lin to eat while they talked.

The eggshells were too hot to hold, so Mou Lin tossed them back and forth between his hands, essentially giving them an extra stir-fry.

"Eat this," he heard Cheng Jingnian say with a laugh.

Mou Lin looked up, hissing from the heat, and saw Cheng Jingnian’s eyes crinkle slightly, his light-colored eyelashes framing a gentle smile. The next moment, the scalding large white egg in his hand was taken away and replaced with one that had been carefully peeled at the top and wrapped in leaves for insulation.

Partner, my wonderful partner!

Mou Lin’s eyes welled up. After blowing on it several times, he took a bite.

Mou Lin chewed, skeptical, then chewed again. "Tastes pretty similar to a regular egg, with a slight salty flavor... seems a bit more flavorful than ordinary eggs, and the egg white has a better texture."

"Epic Giant Bird eggs," Cheng Jingnian said, washing the ash off his hands with rainwater. "But it’s laid by a chicken with very high Millet Jade content. The saltiness comes from a special kind of tree bark I added while roasting."

Mou Lin: "So, normally the eggs aren’t this big?"

Cheng Jingnian nodded: "Regular Epic Giant Birds are only slightly larger than primordial chickens. This breed is native to White Frost Star and originated in this jungle. It’s called White Frost Chicken in online stores and is considered a local specialty."

"Mhm..." Mou Lin took another bite. As his teeth sank in, a flowy, soft-centered yolk spilled out from the just-set outer layer. He instinctively sucked it in, savoring the smooth texture and the rich aroma that filled his mouth, squinting blissfully.

"Delicious—but where’s the chicken? Is it not home?"

Mou Lin naturally overlooked the possibility that his partner might have accidentally let the prey escape.

"It’s here. I drove it away after raiding its nest," Cheng Jingnian replied. For Drill Instructors, points are counted from the moment they catch the prey, unlike students who need specialized testing. Letting the prey go temporarily without claiming points is part of the Drill Instructor’s plan to go easy on them.

...

"Wait, this chicken is female!" Zhao Yao yelled in frustration into the terminal. The rain pounding on him made it hard to breathe and drained his stamina rapidly. He gasped for air: "Isn’t it supposed to lay eggs year-round? Huff, shouldn’t it be brooding and protecting its eggs on a rainy day like this?!"

"Maybe you’re just unlucky and ran into one that’s childfree and loves flowers instead," Qing En offered weakly, but she also brought good news: "Brother Cong is on his way to meet you. We have enough points and exchanged for a net gun." She and Lin Lin had long heard the chaos through the terminal and eventually found the most cost-effective option among the 3,700+ items on the exchange list.

The massive Epic Giant Bird grabbed another branch and hurled it straight at Zhao Yao’s head.

Zhao Yao picked out the whooshing branch through the rain and swerved sharply, barely dodging it. But the sap oozing from the broken end still splattered onto his face, stinging sharply.

"Brother Cong, huff... help!" Zhao Yao panted, out of breath. "This bird, huff, has gone mad—it’s started using poison!"

Author's Note:

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No disrespect intended—whether one has children, loves cats, or loves flowers is a personal choice. I’m just having a bit of fun with the meme [a playful pun].