Hide-and-Seek Grandmaster Grandmaster Grandmaster!

"Are there examinees nearby? And... still alive?!"

The Department Head was overjoyed.

Although, among those missing in Ten Thousand Beast Mountain, besides a large number of examinees, there were also quite a few Patrol Examiners.

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

The number of dead Monster Beasts and Demonic Beasts here was too high, and among them were plenty at the ninth-grade Martial Apprentice level.

In one-on-one combat, the Patrol Examiners would certainly have the advantage, but this quantity was something one or even a few Patrol Examiners couldn't handle.

Moreover, the fatal wounds on these Monster Beasts and Demonic Beasts didn't look like human methods, and the distribution of the corpses was irregular.

So, when the chaos began, there probably weren't any Patrol Examiners here.

After the chaos ended, it was even less likely.

This massive pile of corpses—the most valuable parts were the various materials on the Monster Beasts and Demonic Beasts. The Department Head gave them a rough check and found that none of the materials had been harvested from any of the beasts.

Therefore, theoretically, no Patrol Examiner had lingered here.

Then the only possibility left was an examinee!

After all, to the examinees, these corpses were wild Martial Exam points!

They could skip the materials, but for the exam points, all they needed was to take photos as evidence!

"Great, these kids might still be alive!"

The Department Head was thrilled and began a careful search of the area.

A moment later, he discovered some venomous stingers from Tail-Stinger Demon Bees not far away.

From the scattered distribution, these stingers had all been fired in one direction, but someone had blocked them with some kind of method.

There were even some footprints that looked rather chaotic!

He could almost picture how panicked the examinees had been when they fled.

"Four examinees."

The Department Head deduced the number from the footprints and grew even more delighted.

He didn't know what methods these four examinees had used to survive in the Renxu District, but it was clear that all four little ones were still alive!

"Hang in there, Uncle will take you home!"

The Department Head activated the 'Startling Swan Escape,' transforming into a soaring swan as he tracked the footprints.

Along the way, he found torn fabric fibers on some bushes. After a simple identification, they were definitely from the specialized material of high school uniforms!

By this point, the footprints were no longer chaotic, meaning they had already escaped danger.

"Good kids, all good kids!"

The Department Head continued tracking the footprints.

However, not long after, the footprints abruptly stopped.

"What's going on? Which way did those kids go?"

The Department Head frowned. The faint traces of aura that had been lingering here had now completely vanished.

And this place was already beyond the area under human control, having entered the 'Mountainside' zone.

"You have to survive, I will definitely find you!"

"Let me tell you, when surviving in the wild, you have to be careful!"

Ji Ruo, covered head to toe in green, stood on a tree branch and said seriously, "Walking on the ground leaves footprints, which is like pointing the way for any Monster Beasts or Demonic Beasts that might be chasing us.

So we can't walk on the ground. Those beasts that might have found our footprints and tracked them here definitely won't expect us to climb trees!"

Liang Shixian nodded in agreement: "I didn't expect it either."

They had been walking along when Ji Ruo suddenly made them climb into the trees, moving through the branches. It was slower, but it left no footprints at all.

Presumably, those Monster Beasts and Demonic Beasts tracking them by footprints must be utterly baffled when they saw the trail suddenly end?

Thinking about it, Ji Ruo couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Zhang Quan rubbed his own green-stained face with some disgust and asked in confusion, "I get the logic, but why do we have to smear grass and leaf juice all over ourselves?"

Ji Ruo rolled his eyes: "When we were picking up points earlier, we all got the smell of blood on us. While that scent might be hard for humans to notice, to some keen-nosed Monster Beasts or Demonic Beasts, it's the clearest trail marker.

If we didn't cover it with plant juice, do you think we'd be chatting so leisurely right now?"

What Ji Ruo didn't know was that if he hadn't pulled all these stunts, they'd probably be even more relaxed right now, maybe even sipping some happy-fatty cola.

But even if Ji Ruo knew, he'd probably still choose to do it this way.

Because he had just triggered a new achievement—

[Congratulations to host, little friend, for unlocking a function-based achievement: Hide-and-Seek Grandmaster!]

[Obtained skill: Camouflage]

[Camouflage: Increases camouflage effectiveness by 40%, lasts until camouflage is removed, no cost. (Upgradable)]

[Note: Understand the environment, blend into the environment, become the environment!]

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

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

"Hehe, not much, not much, just a little."

Liu Neng, Zhang Quan: "."

We don't know a damn thing, sorry for that!

Ji Ruo raised his wristwatch to check the time and said, "It's about time. Let's find a place to eat lunch."

"Yeah, yeah!"

The group found a wind-sheltered boulder as a temporary rest stop, sat in a circle, and stared eagerly as Ji Ruo fried rice.

There was no water source nearby, and it was daytime. Although diurnal creatures weren't as bloodthirsty as nocturnal ones, they weren't completely non-aggressive either.

For safety, they didn't shell the Blood Rice this time.

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

Eating unhusked rice might taste a bit worse, but it was far from inedible.

In this situation, having anything to eat was good enough!

"Too bad, we should have cut some meat to bring along," Ji Ruo said regretfully as he fried the rice with both hands.

There had been so many corpses back there. If they'd grabbed some, they could have improved their meal now.

Liang Shixian said, "What's there to regret? We don't have the conditions to process those meat chunks. Carrying them around would only let the bloody smell give away our position. You said that yourself, Ji Ruo."

Ji Ruo chuckled. "I was just saying. Meat? There's plenty in Ten Thousand Beast Mountain. We still have over five days to go—plenty of chances!"

"Good that you think that way."

Liu Neng stared blankly at the shelled Blood Rice being continuously stir-fried between Ji Ruo's crimson palms.

"The teachers always stress that the Martial Exam is extremely dangerous, that we have to be careful, careful, and even more careful—one slip and we'll die. I'm not good at studying, but I remember that line clearly. But how come... the real situation feels a bit different from what the teachers said?"

Zhang Quan smacked his lips and said, "Yeah, we're even eating lunch now, and it's Blood Rice. Feels like we're on a field trip. I've heard that every year during the Martial Exam, quite a few people starve to death."

He glanced at his wristwatch again and added, "And didn't the teacher say that after sending a distress signal, a Patrol Examiner would arrive within two hours at most? But it's been a whole day, and no one's come yet."

Ji Ruo was also puzzled. "True. I can't figure out what went wrong either. It's really strange."

Liang Shixian thought for a moment and said, "Could it be a bug?"

Liu Neng carefully checked his wristwatch and nodded. "Probably. Our watches seem to have lost signal a while ago."

"Don't overthink it. If the Patrol Examiner isn't coming, then fine. We're still safe for now. Just be extra careful."

"True."

Just then, Ji Ruo said cheerfully, "Time to eat! Time to eat! Everyone dig in. Hurry up and finish so we can leave this place quickly."

With that, Ji Ruo didn't mind at all as he grabbed the forcibly stir-fried, shelled Blood Rice, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed heartily.

While eating, the youth mumbled indistinctly, "This Martial Exam is way too random. It's been so long and we still haven't run into any other examinees. I feel like we're playing a single-player game. I wonder how the other classmates are doing? Eating well? Going hungry?"

Thanks to reader 'Reader1277849817203060736' for the 600-point tip~