Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Three days later.

The military convoy from Fortress 6616 rolled into Black Rock Outpost.

This military outpost, the closest to the cadets' assessment site, had its sentinel captain waiting early. As soon as the convoy halted, he stepped forward to greet them: "You two must have had a tiring journey!"

Liang Deng and Xiao Nuoya disembarked one after the other. After instructing the others to regroup, they followed the sentinel captain upstairs.

This basic outpost was small and rather dilapidated. As the door opened, the dim light flickered twice.

Liang Deng, unfazed, tossed his backpack onto a chair as he entered, getting straight to the point: "It's been three days since the assessment began. How's the situation?"

The sentinel captain replied, "Overall, it's going smoothly. However, some have been sent to the medical bay for treatment. Asking cadets to handle an infested zone that has entered its incubation phase is still proving a bit too difficult."

"Too difficult? If they can't even handle this level, it only proves their incompetence," Liang Deng dismissed. "I actually think the timing of this area entering its incubation phase is perfect. Otherwise, with the originally planned infested zone having no danger at all, what level could possibly be assessed?"

"Precisely." Xiao Nuoya shared Liang Deng's view. Noticing the sentinel captain's lingering concern, he smiled and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, it won't delay the cleanup. Liang Deng and I brought a team this time. In a few days, we'll head to Village A32 to pick them up. Once this assessment concludes, we'll handle the aftermath."

Hearing this, the sentinel captain repeatedly assented: "To require two Colonels for an infested zone of this level—we really shouldn't trouble you!"

Despite his words, the smile on his face was impossible to hide.

Xiao Nuoya saw through it but said nothing: "Alright, you go about your duties. We'll just look around here."

Watching the captain leave, he walked over to check the current performance scores. He chuckled, as expected: "Team 13 is really pulling ahead, leaving everyone else in the dust."

This remark drew Liang Deng's attention, but his reaction was starkly different from Xiao Nuoya's: "What's going on with those two?"

While everyone else in Team 13 had accumulated some performance points, the two names at the bottom stood out glaringly—Lu Ming and Yi Lan.

Even if the Logistics Department had its own independent evaluation methods, the assessment had been running for three full days! How could they still be at zero points by now!?

*

"Achoo!" Bai Luming sneezed softly, rubbing his nose in confusion. "Who's thinking of me?"

He looked up, catching a fleeting glimpse of something in his peripheral vision.

Immediately followed by a "crunch," the unfortunate insect that hadn't managed to escape was swiftly crushed under Tang Ruyan's foot.

The sound of its carapace cracking as the bullet pierced it was exceptionally crisp. With a forceful grind of her foot, the splattered fluid created a rather striking visual effect.

"..." Pei Suqi was appalled by the sight. Watching Tang Ruyan calmly retrieve her recorder to log her newly acquired performance points, he barely managed to suppress his nausea. "Can't you deal with them in a gentler way?"

Tang Ruyan crouched, completing the scan with her device. Hearing his comment, she looked back, her "peach blossom" eyes curving slightly: "Are you always this soft-hearted? Even towards the Zerg?"

As she spoke, she casually kicked the insect's corpse aside, leaving a trail of fluid on the ground.

Pei Suqi finally snapped: "...Am I worried about the insects? I'm worried about my own stomach!"

His gaze swept over the sticky fluid on the ground, and he finally retched: "Ugh—! Your former clients should really see you like this. I guarantee the glamorous illusion at the club would shatter completely."

"Oh?" Tang Ruyan raised an eyebrow with a half-smile, leaning closer to Pei Suqi. "What, curious about where I work? Now that you mention it, I've been at Golden Phoenix for so many years, and I don't think Young Master Pei has ever graced us with his presence."

Her sudden proximity made Pei Suqi swallow his rising nausea: "...D-don't joke! I may play around, but I keep myself clean. If I went to a place like that, my dad would break my legs."

Tang Ruyan let out a noncommittal "tsk": "Yes, that's how those places are. Those who can't get in mock them, and those who can get in might not even look down on them."

She chuckled softly, withdrawing her gaze and no longer teasing Pei Suqi. Instead, she turned to the two figures at the back of the team, waving from afar: "You two at the back, there'll be plenty of time for your 'two-person world' once we return. You really don't seem to be in any hurry."

At the very rear of the team, two tall figures walked at a leisurely pace.

Hearing Tang Ruyan's remark, Bai Luming lazily replied: "What 'two-person world'? There's simply no opportunity for our Mecha Department to show what we can do. Since we can't earn points, we're actually quite anxious."

Tang Ruyan's gaze fell on his utterly unconcerned face. After a moment of silence, she said: "...Are you two really anxious?"

Bai Luming answered without hesitation: "Yes, we are."

Tang Ruyan: "Yeah, right."

Three days had passed in the blink of an eye, and these two had consistently followed the team from a distance, neither active nor proactive. One looked as casual as if on a picnic, while the other was as calm and elegant as if strolling through his own backyard—all they needed was some background music for a travel documentary.

Bai Luming paid no mind to Tang Ruyan's skeptical gaze and was in a rather cheerful mood.

The five-day assessment was flying by, and the third day was almost over.

So far, apart from him and He Yilan still having zero points, even the Medical Department member had already earned 2 points. The situation, he thought, was looking extremely favorable.

As the saying goes, coasting feels great in the moment, and continuous coasting feels even better.

Although the logistics department system had other assessment criteria, as long as they continued to coast, in an environment where the Mecha Department had no opportunity to contribute, they could, by all appearances, smoothly secure the two elimination slots in the team!

Bai Luming was already planning to celebrate with a good drink at Charlie's bar once they returned.

"It's getting late. Let's find a place nearby to rest first," Ji Xinghan said, looking at the sky, having not participated in the teasing.

Although he wasn't the one who initially picked up the registration form, Ji Xinghan's authority as the overall commander in the mock combat exercises still resonated. Coupled with being the only Command Department student in the team, Chu Xiao had straightforwardly handed him the captain's role.

Now that Ji Xinghan had spoken, the others began to move without any objections.

Since several team members were highly competent, from the moment they entered this infested zone until now, they had handled all low-level Zerg encounters with remarkable efficiency. The journey had been exceptionally smooth, to the point where even the Medical Department student found almost no opportunity to contribute and had to reluctantly earn performance points by killing Zerg.

In contrast, Bai Luming felt no pressure at all. He very contentedly followed at the back of the team as a cheerleader, eating, sleeping, and offering encouragement when appropriate. He and He Yilan peacefully enjoyed the beautiful natural scenery along the way.

As everyone swiftly pitched their tents, the distant sound of a transport flying high above could be heard.

This was already the fifth time they had heard it in the past few days. It likely meant another team member, unable to continue, had pressed the distress button.

According to the rules, if any team member chose to call for rescue, the entire team's assessment would end, and they would all return.

As daylight faded, the surroundings gradually plunged into darkness.

The Zerg species possesses a strong attraction to light. When spending the night outdoors like this, all light sources must be strictly avoided.

In this environment where their vision was gradually obscured, everyone donned their night-vision goggles. Although this was already their third night in the wild, the complete darkness still made everyone subconsciously tense.

Sensing something approaching, Bai Luming turned around and saw Chu Xiao sneaking over to him. He couldn't help but ask: "What's wrong?"

Chu Xiao looked at him, then at He Yilan beside him, lowering his voice: "Lu Ming, how about we do another sweep of the area?"

Lu Ming, noticing his mysterious expression, also asked softly in response: "What for?"

"To see if there are any other Zerg, of course!" Chu Xiao looked anxious. "You two still haven't earned any performance points. This can't go on. Later, I'll go take out a few bugs, and you can scan them with your device. We'll get whatever points we can scrape together."

Bai Luming was surprised that Chu Xiao was still thinking of them at this point. He paused, then exchanged a glance with He Yilan and smiled: "No need. Just focus on your own performance."

Chu Xiao insisted: "No, I can't just leave you two behind!"

"Uh..." Bai Luming said, "Alright then. But I'm afraid of the dark. I really don't want to go out at night. Tomorrow, I'll definitely stick to you like glue."

"Afraid of the dark?" Chu Xiao paused for a moment, thought it over, then nodded slowly. "Then you guys must remember to stick close to me tomorrow!"

Watching Chu Xiao walk away, He Yilan looked his way. "You're afraid of the dark?"

Bai Luming draped the coat over himself. "Is there a problem with that?"

"No problem." He Yilan nodded, standing up at his own pace.

Bai Luming watched him come over and sit beside him. "What are you doing?"

"Aren't you afraid of the dark?"

He Yilan glanced at him, pulling his coat a little tighter. "Sit closer, so if you sleepwalk at night, you won’t have trouble finding someone to grab onto."

Bai Luming: "?"

He watched as He Yilan closed his eyes and settled in to sleep right beside him, reasonably suspecting that this guy was teasing him again.

As night deepened, the surroundings gradually quieted, leaving only the even breathing of the team members and the rustling of vegetation swaying in the wind.

The chirping of insects drifted near and far.

In this F-grade contaminated zone, most of what existed were low-level insect species like the compound-eyed maggots they had seen on the first day.

Though these creatures varied in form, their lethality wasn't particularly high. As long as their numbers were controlled through regular cleaning during the breeding season each year, they wouldn’t pose a significant threat.

Trees towering over thirty meters blocked out most of the sky, nearly obscuring the horizon.

In such an environment, the humidity increased at night, and the air grew muggy. Mixed with the scent of soil and vegetation, it felt as though everything was enveloped in a damp fog.

Drip—!

Occasionally, water droplets hanging from leaves splashed into the soil.

Something leaped in the distance, stirring up a splash of water.

Bai Luming leaned against the tree trunk and looked in that direction. In the darkness, the emerald surface of the lake came into view.

What caught his eye was the same lake they had seen upon their arrival on the first day.

According to the leading officer, due to the dense algae that grew here year-round, the locals called it "Green Algae Lake."

Though they had heard the lake was large, they hadn’t realized just how vast it was. After days of moving around, it became clear that this F-grade contaminated zone almost entirely surrounded Green Algae Lake. No matter where they went, lifting their gaze would always reveal that murky green lake surface.

And every time he saw the lake, Bai Luming felt a very subtle sensation.

Now, watching the green light shimmering on the lake, that subtle feeling grew even stronger.

Bai Luming instinctively turned to look, just in time to see the number on the contamination monitor jump from "35" to "36."

If he remembered correctly, the pollution readings on their first day had been just "32." Once it exceeded "50," it would no longer fall within the F-grade contaminated zone range.

Something flashed through his mind, and Bai Luming’s heart raced. He finally realized what was wrong.

Throughout their journey in this F-grade contaminated zone, they had encountered an unusual number of compound-eyed maggots.

These creatures were adept at gathering "nutrients" and weren’t particularly aggressive, often serving primarily to breed other insect species. But so far, aside from low-level flying insect species, they hadn’t encountered any larger, more dangerous insect species.

So—what exactly were the compound-eyed maggots raising?

Bai Luming’s gaze remained fixed on the Green Algae Lake.

The calm surface of the lake seemed to ripple faintly, as if in response.

One ripple after another pushed the duckweed on the surface, like green blossoms quietly unfurling.

In the stillness of the night, it created an unsettling atmosphere.