Chapter 31: In the League

Xie Sen’s team of four walked along. The further we went, the more luxuriant the vegetation. The island was surrounded by towering trees and when they looked up, they were unable to see the sky. All the birds and insects were chirping in their ears, as well as the roar of wild beasts deep in the forest and occasional human screams.

If there was only one person, this atmosphere would be really a bit scary. Xie Sen looked at Maine’s tall back in front of him, and felt very relieved. Maine periodically opened his bracelet to take a look, and occasionally gave a reminder to them to pay attention to their feet, in case the people behind stepped into a pit.

The land was covered with a thick layer of dead leaves. The soil was wet and soft. Every time they stepped on it, there was a slight sinking feeling, and it was very tiring to walk like that. Xie Sen panted, and tried to control his breathing to keep up with Maine’s pace. He looked back at Bai Jiao and Long Teng, Bai Jiao was still dry, not sweating at all, while Long Teng was sweating all over his forehead, just like him.

Xie Sen looked at Bai Jiao enviously, and turned back to wipe his sweat while he looked up at the road ahead.

“Wow! It’s beautiful.”

Not far ahead on the right, there was a tall, half-human plant in the green bushes. A soup bowl-sized flower grew at the top of the plant.

While they were talking, Maine went to the flower. The flower’s petals opened to a big beast-like mouth, and bent the branch towards Maine’s arm.

Xie Sen was stunned by this scene. He took a deep breath, and was about to shout ‘watch out,’ when Maine took a step back, lifted his foot in a side kick, and sent the flower to the ground with its mouth facing the ground.

The flower’s branches folded into a tall, thin n-shape, but didn’t break. The next moment, like a spring bouncing up, the flower opened its mouth towards Maine and spit out red juice.

Xie Sen’s eyes widened abruptly. He didn’t know if it was poisonous.

Maine reacted quickly, and jumped forward to avoid it. Bai Jiao quickly passed Xie Sen. Just as  the sap was about to fall on the trunk of the tree opposite the flower, he held an umbrella-like object in his hand, and pressed the surface of the umbrella to the trunk of the tree.

When the sap fell into the umbrella, Bai Jiao lifted it upside down, took the umbrella off the stand in three or two clicks, closed it around the sap, then took out a thin rope and tied it tightly.

He had a smile on his face. “I’ve been interested in flesh-eating plants for a long time. This is the right trip.”

Long Teng came close to his neck to look at the juice he was collecting in his hands. He was about to ask something, but when he put his hand on his shoulder he immediately forgot all the things he wanted to ask, and just looked at Bai Jiao in surprise. “Wow, you’re so cool!”

Bai Jiao took his hand off his shoulder. “I was born with a cooler body.”

Long Teng was full of envy as he wiped his sweat, then simply reached out and wrapped his arms around him, “Let’s go like this. It’s not so hot when I’m next to you.”

Bai Jiao put the collected juice into his space, then tilted his head to pull away from Long Teng. “No good, let go.”

Long Teng pouted, then estimated the height of the two. “Are you too tired? I can carry you, I’m not tired.”

Bai Jiao rubbed his brow. “I’m a female. I can sue you for harassment if you do that.”

Long Teng blinked, and pulled back his hand. His doll face was red. “I…I did not! Don’t talk nonsense!”

Bai Jiao was a little surprised to see him like this. He smiled, took out a shovel, dug the whole flower out of the ground and put it into his space, then said to Maine, “Let’s hurry up.”

They went on for almost another hour, and at twelve o’clock Long Teng said loudly from the back, “I’m hungry. I want to eat!”

Maine looked at Xie Sen. His dark hair was wet with sweat, he was panting heavily, and when he looked over, he said bitterly, “I’m tired and hungry.”

Maine opened his bracelet and looked at it. “Hang on. There’s a good place to rest not far ahead on the left.”

Five minutes later, the four of them arrived at the place Maine mentioned. A small hill in the forest.

When Xie Sen took out the spicy dried meat, Long Teng immediately approached. Maine patted his shoulder. “I’ll hunt for wildlife. You collect firewood here, and keep them safe at the same time.”

Long Teng patted his chest. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

Xie Sen was a little worried. “Are you going alone?”

“It’s okay, I won’t go far.” Maine said, and disappeared into the forest in three or two steps.

Long Teng was very quick, and in a short time he had collected a pile of firewood. Then he continued to look at Xie Sen, who handed him a lunch box, and then one to Bai Jiao.

“It doesn’t matter how full you get, it’s only an appetizer.”

Long Teng took out a piece of spicy jerky, and chewed it as he exhaled the spice. He slurred, “It’s good.”

Bai Jiao took a bite, and said in amazement, “It’s delicious!”

Xie Sen laughed, “It’s good if you like it.”

Maine came back soon afterwards with two rabbits in his hands. Xie Sen asked, “Is there water nearby?”

“Yes, but it’s not safe near the water.” He skewered the rabbits. One for himself, and one for Long Teng to roast.

While roasting the rabbit, he operated his personal bracelet. Three messages sounded from the rest of the team’s bracelets, and he said, “I’ve sent you a map of the area. In case we get separated, follow the map.”

Xie Sen clicked on the message, and the attachment was a very detailed map with four green dots in their current location.

After Maine finished, his brow suddenly furrowed. His finger slid twice on the virtual screen above the bracelet, then his face sternly looked to the right. “Someone is approaching.”

Long Teng instantly got excited. “I’ll go and fight them off!”

Bai Jiao stood up. “Catching up while we were on lunch break, that’s really dedicated,” he smiled and inclined his head to Long Teng. “You grill the meat. Leave them to me. I can try out the medicine.”

Xie Sen wasn’t too sure. “I’ll go with you.”

“No,” Bai Jiao smiled. “I’m fine by myself.”

He asked Maine to share the real time location of the visitor with him, then scampered into the dense forest to his right, and disappeared into the tall plants in no time.

In less than five minutes, he was back. Xie Sen was relieved to see that he was okay. He saw that the rabbit would be roasting for a while, so he sat next to Maine, and rested with his legs bent.

He had to rest, or his body would go out of control and he would be in trouble.

Maine glanced at him, then turned his head to continue grilling the rabbit. Long Teng was grilling while nibbling on the spicy jerky with a satisfied face. Bai Jiao sat not far from him and had begun to close his eyes.

The surrounding area was quiet, casual and relaxing.

“Ahhhhh… That tickles!”

“What’s wrong? Is it a bug bite!”

Ten minutes later, screams and yells came from the right.

“Nothing, you go back to sleep.”

Hearing Maine’s voice, Xie Sen was somehow relieved, and let himself go back to sleep.

Long Teng looked curiously at Bai Jiao, who had opened his eyes, and had a light smile on his face. He asked in a low voice, “What did you do?”

Bai Jiao looked at him in surprise, then at the sleeping Xie Sen. With a smile in his eyes, he said softly, “Nothing. I just sprinkled some of my tickling powder on the road they were passing.”

Long Teng grinned, showed his bright white teeth and gave a thumbs up. “You’re great!”

Bai Jiao smiled, and said modestly, “I still need to learn more.”

Xie Sen slept for half an hour before Maine woke him up. He looked at the time and said, “I’ve delayed us.”

Maine handed him a rabbit leg. “It’s okay. The meat is only good for the exam. It’s not good to eat raw.”

Xie Sen took the rabbit leg. As he ate it, he suddenly remembered the screams he had heard while half asleep, and asked what was going on.

Once they told him, Xie Sen also gave Bai Jiao a thumbs up. “Great.”

The taste of barbecued meat in the wild wasn’t as nice as the one made at home, but the good thing was that there was spicy dried meat to mix with it, and all four of them ate very satisfactorily.

The further they went, the more animals they saw on the way, and halfway through they encountered two long-haired, wild boar beasts, both of which Long Teng took care of.

Maine used a dagger to cut the best meat off the bodies, and put it into his space for dinner.

Xie Sen counted the time in his mind. He’d only slept for half an hour at noon, so he had a four-hour statute of limitations. When it was almost 4:30, he took Maine’s arm.

Maine turned his head. “Not feeling well?”

Xie Sen apologized, “Can you carry me for half an hour?” He didn’t want to drag his feet at all, but there was nothing he could do about his health for the moment.

Maine knelt down. Xie Sen wrapped his arms around his neck and lay on his back, as he said guiltily, “I’m sorry.”

His face was next to Maine’s neck, and his breath swept over him as he spoke. Maine’s body stiffened slightly. Maine took a deep breath, and spoke in a steady tone, “It’s okay. You’re light.” 

Long Teng raised his hand, and patted Bai Jiao’s shoulder. Bai Jiao turned his head, and saw a big smiling face.

“No,” Bai Jiao smiled. “Thank you.”

Xie Sen timed it to 5:00, and didn’t care about anything else. He fell asleep on Maine’s back. He thought he would have trouble falling asleep because he was uncomfortable, but he went to sleep quickly.

He was awakened by the alarm clock at five o’clock, and subconsciously rubbed his face. He blushed when he realized where he was, but fortunately the surroundings were already dark. He patted Maine’s shoulder. “Thanks. Can you put me down?”

“I can keep carrying you. I’m not tired.” Compared to hundreds of pounds of beast, Xie Sen was too light.

“It’s okay, I’m rested.”

Maine put down Xie Sen. Without him on his back, he couldn’t help but frown. He felt like something was missing, and from time to time he would look back. Only when he saw Xie Sen was he reassured.

By 5:30, the forest was so dark that it was almost invisible, so they walked for another half hour with their lights, surrounded by the howling of beasts. From time to time they could see green eyes in the distant darkness.

Maine said, “We can’t go any further. It’s dangerous to go on.”

They were like a shining target. At any time a beast might pounce.

Bai Jiao and Xie Sen roasted the meat, while Maine and Long Teng gathered enough firewood for the night. As they were eating the meat, the sound of humans yelling and beasts roaring suddenly came from the right hand side. At the same time, the ground shook.

Maine looked aghast, and stood up.

In a few moments, four tall boys ran into their resting place, and the one in front shouted, “They’re getting away!”

“The hyenas will be after us soon. What do we do?” One of the men behind shouted.

“They must be around. We’ve done our job by bringing the beasts here as we were told! Send a distress signal!”

“It’s over. The signal can’t be sent out!”

“Quick, flares!”