Yan Shen actually wasn’t particularly suited to Xiang Yunjian’s team.
Everyone in that squad, to some extent, had a bit of a “must-be-the-best” obsession. Only he was slow and easygoing – so much so that Jiang Linxia would be driven to frantic frustration before they’d even set out.
His goals didn’t quite align with his teammates’, either.
He relied on his natural talent, didn’t hold any especially lofty beliefs about the profession, and had only enrolled in military school to leave home as soon as possible – and to have a convenient excuse not to go back during holidays.
Yan Shen’s go-with-the-flow attitude often clashed with his teammates’ intense competitive drive. Most of the time, for Xiang Yunjian’s sake, he would make half-hearted compromises to keep this lone-wolf squad intact.
That said, the others all had plenty of their own issues too. Compared to them, he felt he was relatively normal.
Yan Shen steadied his breathing, half-lidding his eyes as he gazed into the overlapping shadows ahead. All sorts of random thoughts flickered through his mind, helping to distract him from the chill carried on the night wind.
…
During the day, the two of them had taken turns passing out, which conveniently maxed out their mandatory rest time. After nightfall, they jogged as they traveled, but the satiety bar on their character panels dropped rapidly, uncooperatively plunging toward the red line.
The meat Cheng Feng had stored earlier had already been eaten by Yan Shen. Drinking water couldn’t effectively restore their stats, and having just gone through a prolonged forced logout, pushing themselves too hard might get them kicked out again. So they had no choice but to pause their progress, start a fire on the spot, and grill the last few fish.
But those small fish weren’t nearly enough for two military cadets with such high energy expenditure – it wasn’t even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth.
Cheng Feng had only just whetted her appetite, yet all that remained in her hand was a strip of fish bone. Smelling the lingering aroma in the air only made the emptiness in her stomach more pronounced.
Yan Shen was even worse – his eyes had already gone a little unfocused.
In the Gobi, mammals usually came out at night. If they wanted to find food, now was the best time.
After finishing their barely-satisfying grilled fish, the two shifted their primary objective to hunting.
Worried that light might startle their prey, they turned off all illumination tools and relied solely on the faint vision provided by their night-vision goggles to search.
However, edible food in the Gobi was scarce. After searching for three to four hours, Yan Shen’s detection device ran completely out of power, and they still hadn’t found anything that could fill their stomachs.
Along the way, they did catch glimpses of a few fleeting shadows, but couldn’t identify what animals they were. In any case, with their current stamina, there was no way they could catch up.
By the time dawn began to break, the two, who had labored through the night, still came up empty-handed.
Yan Shen’s satiety had dropped to just 20, while Cheng Feng was slightly better, hovering around 30.
In such dire conditions, let alone reaching their target camp, they probably wouldn’t even make it through a second night.
Both of them knew this was bad, but neither showed it on their faces. They continued on in silence.
System time, around five in the morning.
The pitch-black night sky above the Gobi Desert was torn open at one corner by a sliver of light, revealing a hazy gray. With yet another journey into an uncertain future about to begin, both of them felt their footsteps grow heavy.
The temperature hadn’t fully risen yet – neither hot nor cold, right at the most comfortable range for the human body. But the golden window of time left for hunting was less than an hour.
When you really need it, an hour can feel as short as a snap of the fingers.
Cheng Feng licked her dry lips, pulled a bottle from his bag, and took a precious sip. As she lowered her head to twist the cap back on – whether it was a turn in their luck or simply the cruel design of the San Yao system – after a whole night of hard work with nothing to show for it, the detection goggles finally picked up the figure of a catchable prey for the first time.
That little creature with brownish fur was docilely lying in a patch of weeds, burying its head as it searched for edible insects or licked droplets of dew off the leaves.
In appearance, it was something between a gerbil and a rabbit – hard to tell for sure from a distance, but one look said it was definitely edible. Its fur looked dry and coarse, but its body was plump – very much like their dream rabbit.
Cheng Feng lightened her footsteps, not even daring to breathe too loudly. She raised her hand, about to signal Yan Shen, when her companion ahead of her had already dropped his backpack and begun circling around from the side.
Cheng Feng closed her mouth, watched for a few seconds to confirm his route, and then consciously moved in the other direction.
She quickly found a good spot, crouching half-hidden behind a rock.
Yan Shen was about a hundred meters away from her when he turned back and gave her a vague gesture, along with a meaningful look. Then, suddenly remembering that she wasn’t his usual teammate and wouldn’t understand their signals, he stopped, said a few simple words over the communicator to get on the same page with her, and continued the operation.
Once Yan Shen reached his preferred hunting spot, he pressed his earpiece to send a signal. Without waiting for Cheng Feng’s response, he lunged forward.
As a well-trained military student, even the explosive power Yan Shen unleashed while in a state of hunger carried astonishing speed.
But Cheng Feng never expected him to be the type who favored a quick, decisive strike. And that desert creature, which looked so sedentary and unassuming, had clearly managed to survive in such a harsh environment for a long time – it fully deserved the saying, “never judge a book by its cover.”
The vibrations from the young man’s running soon startled the prey, which had been busy eating. The little creature’s ears twitched – it didn’t even look back – and shot off like an arrow.
Cheng Feng’s gaze locked tightly onto it. She watched the brown blur race across the desert like the wind, its powerful hind legs kicking up puffs of yellow dust like exhaust fumes.
Not bad – its little legs were pretty long.
Yan Shen kept up his sprint, seemingly determined to stake everything on this agile prey.
The uneven rocks on either side blocked the creature’s escape. Within the confined space, it turned nimbly, widening the gap between itself and Yan Shen from five meters to ten, and then from ten to fifteen.
Just as it seemed the target would slip away and Yan Shen’s stamina was running out, he barked an order over the team channel. Cheng Feng seized the moment, springing out from behind the rock where she had been hiding in ambush.
Startled by her sudden appearance, the prey jerked to a halt in its forward charge and veered sharply. But the little creature had already been chased all the way by Yan Shen, and its stamina was truly running thin. When Cheng Feng lunged with all her stored momentum, it failed to dodge – and its fateful hind legs were caught.
See, that’s the thing: animals with long legs tend to die young.
Cheng Feng freed one hand, pulled a long rope from her waist, and neatly tied the creature up nice and tight.
Seeing the prey successfully captured, Yan Shen let out a long sigh of relief and stopped running. He braced his hands on his weak knees and, between rapid breaths, didn’t hold back his praise. “Well done.”
Cheng Feng said, “Not bad.”
When it came to things like hunting and foraging for wild vegetables, she had quite a bit of experience. After all, this used to be how she made a living.
Cheng Feng lifted the prey in her hand and turned it around, examining it carefully.
The little creature’s facial features resembled a rabbit’s even more closely, except it lacked the signature long ears. Suspended mid-air by her grip, it was still bursting with energy, its four long legs kicking nonstop as it let out short, shrill cries.
It didn’t disappoint – the thing was quite plump, roughly estimated to weigh three to four kilograms. Even after skinning it and deboning it, it would be enough to get the two of them through the day.
She looked at this rabbit-like thing, pulled a dagger from the inside of her boot, and prepared to give it a quick, merciful end.
Yan Shen pressed a hand to his forehead, enduring the brief spell of dizziness caused by exertion and hunger. He went back to retrieve his backpack, took out a fire starter, and found a sheltered spot out of the wind to make a fire.
Cheng Feng crouched on the ground, already daydreaming about the deliciousness of the meat, and asked for his opinion in a loud voice, “Roasted or stewed? Do you like spicy food?”
Yan Shen was about to say “either is fine” when his nostrils flared – he caught an unpleasant scent drifting in on the wind.
Cheng Feng noticed it too. She lifted her head and swept her gaze around in all directions.
The daylight brightened as if on fast-forward, as though someone had impatiently reached out and yanked the scorching fireball up from beneath the horizon.
The long shadow of a wild wolf was cast out from behind the rocks by the shifting light, swaying back and forth as the beast paced.
Both of them froze instantly. Their eyes lingered on the shadow for a moment, then met in midair, revealing each other’s shock.
The thing in Cheng Feng’s hand was still struggling; blood dripped steadily down through its fur, staining the sandy ground a vivid red.
The wolf stepped out into the open, as if sizing up their fighting strength. Its cold, greedy gaze darted between the two of them. As it cautiously drew closer, it raised its head and let out a long, resonant howl.
Cheng Feng immediately whipped her head around, scanning for any of its companions lurking in blind spots.
A faint smell of blood hung in the air. Cheng Feng caught it and felt that her fate was just as ill-fated as the prey in her hand.
Why was she so unlucky?
Yan Shen was still faster than her. He calmly reached out a hand and said, “Give it to me.”
Without a second thought, Cheng Feng tossed him the prey.
Yan Shen stepped forward, picked up the rabbit, and without another word, turned and ran.
Cheng Feng froze for a moment. Only when she realized the treacherous nature of her teammate did she take off after him.
Hot wind slapped hard against her face. Still unable to believe what was happening, her lips trembling, she roared at the figure pulling further and further ahead, “Does this even make sense?! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Yan Shen!!”
Yan Shen called back, “Standing around in a daze at a time like this makes even less sense!”
Cheng Feng wasn’t wearing a mask. Her mouth filled with wind and sand, a salty, acrid taste flooding her mouth. She knew she shouldn’t be talking, but she just couldn’t help it.
She accused him, “You can’t just abandon all decency!”
Yan Shen replied ruthlessly, “Decency is for humans!”
Once again, Cheng Feng felt utterly disappointed in shameless humanity.
“Didn’t you say winning or losing didn’t matter? You liar!”
“Shut up!” Yan Shen kindly reminded her. “Run!”
Cheng Feng lowered her head and sprinted, the wind howling past her ears. She glanced back over her shoulder and nearly choked on her own breath.
One wolf had split into three.
Even the wolves have companions!
“Yan Shen!!” Cheng Feng bellowed. “I’m serious – it’s down to two choices! Are you saving the big one or the little one?!”
