Hide-and-Seek Grandmaster Grandmaster Grandmaster!

"Are there candidates nearby? And they're still alive?!"

The Department Head was thrilled.

Although those missing in Ten Thousand Beast Mountain included not only a large number of candidates, but also quite a few Patrol Examiners,

most of those Patrol Examiners were only at the Qi Pulse Realm.

There were far too many dead Monster Beasts and Demonic Beasts here, and among them were quite a few ninth-level Martial Apprentices.

In a one-on-one fight, the Patrol Examiners would certainly have the advantage, but there were too many for one or even several Patrol Examiners to handle.

Besides, the fatal wounds on these Monster Beasts and Demonic Beasts didn't look like the work of humans, and their corpses were scattered irregularly.

So there probably hadn't been any Patrol Examiners here when the chaos began.

And it was even less likely that any had come after the chaos ended.

The most valuable things on this pile of corpses were the various materials from the Monster Beasts and Demonic Beasts. The Department Head took a quick look and saw that no materials had been harvested from any of them.

So, in theory, no Patrol Examiner had lingered here.

That meant there could only be candidates!

After all, to the candidates, these corpses were free Martial Exam points!

They could leave the materials behind. For Martial Exam points, they only needed to take photos as proof!

"Great! These kids might still be alive!"

The Department Head was overjoyed and began carefully searching the area.

A moment later, he found some Tail-Stinger Demon Bee stingers nearby.

Judging by how they were scattered, the stingers had all been fired in one direction, but someone had blocked them with some sort of method.

There were even some footprints that looked rather chaotic!

He could almost picture how panicked the candidates had been as they fled.

"There were four candidates."

The Department Head deduced their number from the footprints, growing even more excited.

He didn't know what methods the four candidates had used to survive in Renxu District, but clearly, all four little ones were still alive!

"Hang on! Uncle's taking you home!"

The Department Head activated Startling Swan Escape, transforming into a streaking swan as he followed the footprints.

Along the way, he found torn clothing fibers on some bushes. After a quick inspection, he confirmed they were made of the special material used for high school uniforms!

By this point, the footprints were no longer chaotic. In other words, the candidates had escaped danger.

"Good kids. Every one of them!"

The Department Head continued tracking the footprints.

But before long, they came to an abrupt halt.

"What happened? Which way did those kids go?"

The Department Head furrowed his brow. The faint traces of their presence, which he had barely been able to sense before, had vanished completely here.

And they were now beyond the area fully under human control, entering the "mountainside" region.

"Please, stay alive. I'll find you, no matter what!"

"Listen up! When you're surviving in the wilderness, you have to be careful!"

Ji Ruo stood on a tree branch, covered from head to toe in green, and spoke solemnly. "Walking on the ground leaves footprints. That's like pointing any Monster Beasts or Demonic Beasts chasing us straight in our direction.

"So we can't walk on the ground. Those Monster Beasts and Demonic Beasts might have already found our footprints and followed them here, but they'd never guess we'd climb trees!"

Liang Shixian nodded in deep agreement. "I didn't think of that either."

They'd been walking along when Ji Ruo suddenly told them to climb up into the trees. Moving along the branches was slower, but they hadn't left a single footprint.

The Monster Beasts and Demonic Beasts tracking them along their footprints must have been completely baffled when the tracks suddenly stopped, right?

Thinking of that, Ji Ruo couldn't help laughing.

Zhang Quan rubbed at his green face with an irritated look. "I get the logic, but why did we smear grass and leaf juice all over ourselves?"

Ji Ruo rolled his eyes. "When we were picking up points earlier, we got blood all over us. We might not notice the smell ourselves, but to Monster Beasts and Demonic Beasts with sharp noses, it's the brightest signpost imaginable.

"If we hadn't covered it with the smell of plant juice, do you think we'd still be sitting here chatting so leisurely?"

What Ji Ruo didn't know was that if he hadn't pulled so many stunts, they'd probably be even more relaxed right now. They might even have already cracked open some fizzy drinks.

But even if Ji Ruo had known, he probably would've done the same anyway.

Because he'd just unlocked a new achievement--

[Congratulations, little host! You've unlocked a feature achievement: Hide-and-Seek Grandmaster Grandmaster Grandmaster!]

[Skill acquired: Camouflage]

[Camouflage: Increases camouflage effectiveness by 40%. Lasts until camouflage is removed. No cost. (Can grow)]

[Note: Understand your surroundings, blend into your surroundings, become your surroundings!]

[Note: Nyah nyah nyah~ You can't see me~]

Liu Neng said, "Ji Ruo, you sure know a lot."

"Hehe, not that much. Just a little."

Liu Neng and Zhang Quan: "..."

We don't know anything at all, sorry about that!

Ji Ruo glanced at the time on his wristwatch and said, "It's about time. Let's find somewhere to have lunch."

"Sounds good!"

They found a rock sheltered from the wind to use as a temporary resting spot, sat in a circle, and waited eagerly for Ji Ruo to fry the rice.

They hadn't found any water nearby, and it was daytime. Diurnal creatures weren't as bloodthirsty as nocturnal ones, but that didn't mean they weren't dangerous.

To be safe, the group didn't hull the Blood Rice this time.

As sixth-level Martial Apprentices, even though they were still high school students, they weren't that delicate.

Unhulled rice might not taste as good, but it was still perfectly edible.

In a situation like this, having anything to eat was already a blessing!

"Too bad we didn't cut up some meat to bring with us," Ji Ruo said regretfully as he fried the rice with both hands.

There'd been so many corpses back there. If he'd taken a little meat, they could've had a better meal now.

Liang Shixian said, "What's there to regret? We don't have the means to process those chunks of meat right now. Carrying them around would just let the blood smell spread and give away our position. Those were your words, Ji Ruo."

Ji Ruo grinned. "I was just saying. There's plenty of meat in Ten Thousand Beast Mountain. We'll be here for more than five days, so we'll have plenty of chances!"

"Good, as long as you see it that way."

Liu Neng stared blankly at the unhulled Blood Rice being tossed and turned between Ji Ruo's two crimson palms.

"The teachers keep stressing that the Martial Exam is extremely dangerous, and we have to be careful, careful, and careful again. One small mistake, and we'll end up dead.

"I may not be a good student, but I remember that part perfectly. But why does the actual situation feel so different from what the teachers told us?"

Zhang Quan smacked his lips. "Yeah, we're already having lunch, and it's Blood Rice, too. It feels like we came out for a picnic. I heard plenty of people starve to death during the Martial Exam every year."

He glanced at his wristwatch again and said, "Also, didn't the teacher say the Patrol Examiners would arrive within two hours after we sent a distress signal? It's already been a whole day. Why hasn't anyone come?"

Ji Ruo was puzzled too. "You're right. I can't figure out what's going on either. It's strange."

Liang Shixian thought for a moment and said, "Could there have been a bug?"

Liu Neng carefully checked his wristwatch and nodded. "Probably. Our watches stopped receiving signals a long time ago."

"Don't think about it too much. If the Patrol Examiners aren't coming, then they aren't coming. We're still fairly safe for now. We just need to be extra careful."

"True."

Just then, Ji Ruo chirped, "Lunch is ready, lunch is ready! Hurry up and eat, then let's get out of here."

With that, Ji Ruo grabbed the unhulled Blood Rice he'd forcibly fried without a hint of hesitation, shoved it into his mouth, and chewed heartily.

As he ate, the boy mumbled, "This Martial Exam is way too random. We haven't run into any other candidates in ages. I thought we were playing a single-player game. I wonder how everyone else is doing. Are they eating well? Have they gone hungry?"

Thanks to reader "读者1277849817203060736" for the 600 coins~