Hidden Cave

Jiang Yuanjie's chubby body trembled at Ling Fei's question, as if he were recalling a painful memory.

"Wait! You guys should just help me back into the cave; let's talk once we're inside!" Jiang Yuanjie's eyes darted around, and seemingly realizing there was no need to be out in the open, he shouted loudly.

"Hehe, you got it!" Ling Fei agreed.

Immediately, Mu Qing and Ling Fei exchanged a glance, their lips curling upward. The next moment, each of them raised a foot and kicked Jiang Yuanjie squarely in the face.

Jiang Yuanjie went flying backward with a miserable shriek, and a moment later, Mu Qing and Ling Fei heard the sound of a heavy object crashing into the ground.

Mu Qing was quite curious; he had no idea how Jiang Yuanjie trained, but despite all the fat on his body, it never seemed to diminish during the cultivation process.

"Hurry up and get in here! Don't let anyone outside see you!" Jiang Yuanjie's voice echoed from the hidden cave.

Mu Qing's heart stirred, thinking that Jiang Yuanjie might have run into some trouble, so he and Ling Fei quickly walked into the cave.

Turning on the light mode of their communication devices, the previously pitch-black cave suddenly brightened. The surrounding walls were sturdy rock, and the space was quite spacious, easily accommodating a dozen people.

Turning their gaze toward Jiang Yuanjie, Mu Qing and Ling Fei suddenly burst into laughter.

Jiang Yuanjie was glaring at them, and on his chubby face, two black footprints were clearly branded.

"I didn't expect you guys to find the cave even after I set up those precautions. It seems the concealment isn't good enough," Jiang Yuanjie said slowly, raising his hand to wipe the black footprints off his face.

Mu Qing and Ling Fei were moved by his words.

It turned out that the reason the cave they found was so well-hidden—nearly impossible to spot without a careful look—was because Jiang Yuanjie had meticulously prepared it.

"Why are you hiding? Where are your friends?" Ling Fei asked.

He remembered that before entering the depths of Lake Heart Island, Jiang Yuanjie had formed a team with members of the News Department.

"We walked into a trap. It was the North Campus students; they ambushed us. You know that I'm the only one in our News Department at the Blood Qi Fifth Rank, and the West Campus has a team composed of twenty top-tier students."

"They rarely hunt beasts; their main targets are students from the other three campuses. We ran into them earlier, and all our points were snatched away. I was the only one who managed to escape. That group from the North Campus was still roaming nearby, so I hid to avoid them."

Jiang Pangzi's fat face was filled with rage, his hands clenched tight. Mu Qing and Ling Fei could clearly feel the intensity of his anger!

The members of the News Department he led had all been eliminated, and many of them had been severely injured by the North Campus students and taken away by teachers for treatment.

"What about you two?" Jiang Pangzi suddenly looked at Mu Qing and Ling Fei.

Seeing the blood covering their bodies, he frowned deeply and asked in surprise, "Your injuries look even worse than mine. Don't tell me you ran into that group from the North Campus too?"

Mu Qing shook his head and said, "We didn't encounter students from the other campuses, but a Gray Wolf Pack. There were so many you couldn't even count them at a glance, led by three giant wolves at the Blood Qi Fifth Rank."

Mu Qing then told Jiang Yuanjie how they had managed to shake off the Gray Wolf Pack.

"Impressive! To be able to fight your way out of a Gray Wolf Pack and even shift the disaster onto Wang Haixuan—hehe." Jiang Yuanjie laughed heartily, his face full of schadenfreude.

"Jiang Pangzi, you're all by yourself now. Why not join us? It's very hard to avoid being eliminated if you're on your own," Ling Fei said, extending an olive branch to Jiang Yuanjie.

To be honest, a team of just him and Mu Qing was a bit of a stretch; two fists were no match for four hands. If Jiang Yuanjie joined them, their overall strength would improve significantly.

At these words, Jiang Yuanjie fell silent, contemplating whether or not to join them.

After a moment, Jiang Yuanjie gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I'm in!"

He was a lone wolf now, and if he were to venture through Lake Heart Island by himself, it would clearly be much more difficult. It was better to stick with Mu Qing and the others.

"You guys look like you've exhausted your strength. Recover for a while; I'll stand guard for you!" Jiang Yuanjie said.

Mu Qing and Ling Fei exchanged a glance and nodded.

After their ordeal with the Gray Wolf Pack, they had indeed depleted too much energy, especially their Origin Force, which was completely drained and needed to be restored as soon as possible.

"Oh, right!"

Jiang Yuanjie seemed to remember something and asked, "How many points do you have now? According to what I've heard, as long as you get three hundred points, you can use the Recorder to check the leaderboard and see the points of everyone on Lake Heart Island!"

"There's such a thing?" Mu Qing was stunned, then looked down at his wrist.

The number on the Recorder was already in the triple digits.

"One hundred and thirty-six!"

Mu Qing's expression changed in surprise, a hint of joy appearing in his eyes.

He then looked at Ling Fei, and saw that the Recorder in his hand also displayed a three-digit score.

"One hundred and thirteen!"

"It seems we didn't come away empty-handed this time," Mu Qing laughed.

Although they had suffered various injuries from the encounter with the Gray Wolf Pack, they had gained a significant amount of points.

This meant that the total number of Gray Wolves killed by Mu Qing and Ling Fei combined was over two hundred!

This showed just how terrifying that Gray Wolf Pack was.

Though their individual strength was weak, their sheer numbers were overwhelming. Even after Mu Qing and Ling Fei had killed over two hundred of them, the pack didn't seem to have thinned out at all.

Mu Qing guessed that it probably wouldn't be easy for Wang Haixuan and his group to deal with that pack either.

"Wait! I feel like I'm about to break through to the Blood Qi Sixth Rank," Ling Fei's expression suddenly turned serious, though a hint of joy flickered in his eyes. "Jiang Pangzi, hurry and guard me."

"What!"

Mu Qing and Jiang Yuanjie were both shocked, followed by expressions of delight.

If Ling Fei broke through to the Blood Qi Sixth Rank, he would undoubtedly become one of the strongest people on Lake Heart Island and would be able to stand his ground against Wang Haixuan.

"Don't worry! With me here, nothing will happen!" Jiang Yuanjie patted his chest and said, "Ever since I awakened my Blood Spirit, my perception has soared to a terrifying level. If anyone approaches, I'll definitely know the moment they get close!"

Mu Qing looked at Jiang Yuanjie's confident demeanor with a slightly strange expression. Upon closer thought, he realized that Jiang Yuanjie's Blood Spirit was quite unique—it was a Camera!