Bad Luck

"You're looking for me?" Luo Yan blocked Wu Renfan's path.

Wu Renfan was startled.

But he quickly composed himself.

"Yes, Captain."

"I just wanted to ask—do we have any specific plans for tomorrow?"

"Personally, I think tomorrow's gathering mission might be another test from the Academy."

"So I wanted to discuss it with you."

"Unexpectedly, you weren't there."

"I waited for you a while, and when you didn't come back, I thought about leaving."

"Who would've thought it'd be such a coincidence—just as I was about to go, you returned."

"So, Captain, should we talk it over?"

Seeing how long-winded he was, Luo Yan grew impatient.

He shook his head. "No need to discuss. Just follow my lead tomorrow."

Wu Renfan wanted to say more.

But Luo Yan shot him a glare that silenced him.

In the end, he could only force a laugh. "Alright, I'll follow your lead tomorrow, Captain."

After he left.

Luo Yan walked into the tent.

He checked around and found nothing unusual.

Then he crawled into his sleeping bag.

The next day.

"These are the medicinal herbs you need to gather."

"Cloudfall Grass, Moonlight Flower, and Water Winding Leaf."

"They are the raw materials for 'Calming Agent' and 'Cloud Water Agent.'"

"Their main distribution areas have already been marked on your Group Computers."

"Now, the gathering mission begins!"

In the camp.

Wei Fenghua gave the order.

Including Luo Yan, the New Students surged toward their respective mission sites.

Luo Yan opened his Group Computer and followed its prompts deep into the jungle.

Wu Renfan and Zeng Shan followed close behind.

At first, voices could still be heard around them.

But as time passed, aside from the rustling shadows of trees, there were only small animals occasionally appearing in the bushes or on branches.

Now and then.

Distant roars of giant beasts echoed from afar.

Fortunately, they were in the border area of the Forbidden Land.

With Surface Legion members active around them.

There was basically no major danger.

As they walked.

Luo Yan would stop from time to time.

He carefully observed the ground nearby.

Noticing whether the fallen leaves showed signs of being crushed.

Occasionally, he would dig into suspicious piles of dirt, often finding animal droppings inside.

Seeing Luo Yan seemingly distinguishing the scent of these droppings, Wu Renfan wore a look of disgust.

Zeng Shan, on the other hand, was fine.

In the 'Giant Beast General Knowledge Class,' the teacher had instructed them on how to simply distinguish between the droppings of giant beasts and other animals.

Giant beasts' blood carried 'Red Poison,' so their droppings gave off a pungent smell like sulfur.

It was easy to tell apart.

By identifying giant beast droppings, they could determine whether the area was a giant beast's habitat.

Thus avoiding risks.

Now Luo Yan was doing exactly that.

"He's really overdoing it."

Wu Renfan said quietly to Zeng Shan: "This area was already relatively safe, and yesterday we cleared out two Giant Beasts."

"Where's the danger?"

Zeng Shan, holding the rifle issued by the Academy, looked around and lowered his voice: "I think we'd better not let our guard down."

Ahead.

Luo Yan stopped.

He glanced back at them.

Wu Renfan quickly shut his mouth.

A day passed.

By evening.

Luo Yan and his two companions had gathered enough medicinal herbs.

They prepared to head back and report.

As they walked.

Luo Yan made a 'halt' gesture.

Wu Renfan complained: "Captain, we've been out here all day."

"Other teams probably went back to Camp long ago."

"We're the latest."

"Let's hurry back, my feet are killing me."

Luo Yan turned around, pointed his gun at him, and spat out two words: "Shut up."

Then he looked around and said: "Look, the fog is rising."

Reminded by Luo Yan, Wu Renfan and Zeng Shan finally noticed.

Sure enough, a thin mist was spreading silently.

Blurring the nearby flowers, grass, and trees.

Even the distant scenery became faint and indistinct.

Wu Renfan whispered: "This is called 'Misty Canyon.' Fog rising is normal—what's the big deal?"

Zeng Shan shook his head: "No."

"We're in the edge zone; fog shouldn't rise here."

"Quiet."

"Move fast."

Luo Yan had a bad feeling.

He had lived on the surface for three years.

He had long honed a beast-like instinct.

A thick fog suddenly rising in the edge zone.

This was too abnormal.

When things are abnormal, there must be a catch.

Luo Yan only hoped they hadn't drawn the worst 'lot.'

Which one?

Naturally, Huan—that Overlord Level Giant Beast, whose traits included 'raising winds' and 'generating mist.'

The fog grew thicker.

Now even Wu Renfan, who had been dismissive, was tense.

Their field of vision had shrunk to about three to five meters.

Beyond that.

Everything was a blur.

Moreover.

Luo Yan began to have an uneasy feeling that they were circling in the woods.

So he marked a tree.

A few minutes later.

It was confirmed.

"Damn it, damn it, we're trapped by the fog." Wu Renfan was as frantic as an ant on a hot pan.

Luo Yan said calmly, "Contact the camp. We rest here and wait for rescue."

Zeng Shan immediately pulled out a walkie-talkie and called the camp.

"Camp, camp, do you copy?"

Three calls in a row. No answer.

Luo Yan's heart sank.

But just then.

They heard someone shouting ahead: "Classmates, which group are you from?"

"We're here to rescue you."

Hearing this voice, Luo Yan finally let out a breath of relief.

Li and Xiao were overjoyed.

A moment later.

Sure enough, lights appeared in the thick fog ahead, along with several blurry silhouettes.

"Classmates, where are you?"

"If you hear us, say something."

Wu Renfan was about to respond.

But Luo Yan suddenly thought—if this was a rescue team, why didn't they know their identities?

Why didn't they know which group they were from?

So, like lightning, he covered Wu Renfan's mouth.

Then shook his head.

Around his crimson pupils, faint silver lights flickered to life.

Luo Yan activated 'Obstacle Breaking Dharma Eye'.

The mist vanished from his sight instantly.

Trees and grass lost their texture.

Everything was rendered in lines.

And sets upon sets of numbers appeared.

Luo Yan ignored those numbers.

He looked toward the direction where the lights had just shone.

In the distance.

There was indeed a mass of biological gray light.

But that mass was enormous.

From its outline, it looked like a cat squatting on the ground.

Except behind this 'cat', three tails occasionally swayed.

Huan!

No doubt about it.

They had drawn the worst lot.

The gray mass ahead was the Overlord Level Giant Beast of this canyon.

It was the root of the 'Giant Beast ecology' in the Forbidden Land!

Luo Yan quickly recalled the beast's traits.

Besides 'Stirring Wind' and 'Mist Generation', it also had a description of 'Illusion'.

In other words.

The lights and figures the three had just seen.

Were nothing but an illusion.

A trick of that Giant Beast's deception!

Luo Yan looked around.

He spotted a giant tree that had already died, its trunk hollow.

He grabbed Zeng Shan and Wu Renfan by the shoulders.

"Quiet."

"Follow me."

A moment later, they squeezed into the tree hollow.

Wu Renfan finally asked, "Where are we now?"

"Huan is here."

Luo Yan said succinctly, "The lights and sounds just now were illusions."

"To the Giant Beast, we are far too insignificant."

"Just like how it's hard to spot a few ants in a flower bed."

"It didn't notice us, so it used 'illusions' to lure us into taking the bait ourselves."

"But there must be something on us that attracts it."

"Otherwise, this thing wouldn't have come out from deep within the Forbidden Land."

With that, Luo Yan looked toward Zeng Shan and Wu Renfan.

"Open your packs!"