Guests at the Old Camp

The people from Class C did not rush in immediately.

They stopped outside the old camp. One lowered his head to send a message, while the other looked back and forth between the tarp, the fire pit, and the footprints, as if confirming just how far Class D had gotten.

The less eager they were to enter, the more the traces that had not yet been cleared from the old camp resembled bait—and a noose, slowly tightening around the necks of those still there.

Ike Kanji had half his body tucked behind a tree, his voice so low it came out weak.

"Did they find us?"

"Shut up," Yukimura said quietly.

Ike Kanji immediately covered his mouth.

Gu Heng did not respond.

His thumb rested against the edge of his terminal. Every time the screen lit up, he looked toward the outside.

The supplies for the new base were still being processed.

The second group had not finished withdrawing.

And Class C had already reached the entrance of the old camp.

The terminal buzzed again.

Horikita had sent a message.

Are the supplies still processing?

Gu Heng replied with a Yes.

The next message followed immediately.

When will the second group move?

Gu Heng looked over at the people remaining in the old camp.

Kushida, Yukimura, Ike Kanji, and several students waiting to leave with the second group.

The supplies had already been divided into two piles. One had been tied up and was ready to take away, while the other remained scattered beneath the tarp. Half an empty water pouch had been deliberately left outside.

What flashed in the top-right corner of the terminal was no longer the headcount confirmation, but the countdown for supply confirmation.

When Ike Kanji saw the two Class C students take another step inward, his face went pale.

"Gu Heng, they're really coming in."

Yukimura pushed up his glasses.

"They still aren't sure whether we've fully withdrawn."

Gu Heng continued for him.

"So they're waiting for someone to show themselves."

"If someone shows themselves here, the new base will be in danger." Yukimura looked at him. "If this place is left as nothing but a shell, they'll focus on the old camp first."

Gu Heng did not beat around the bush.

"The second group moves now."

Yukimura immediately looked at him.

"If we leave now, they'll spot us."

"They'll spot us if we stay too." Gu Heng said. "The difference is whether they find people, or a shell."

Gu Heng tossed the lightest bag of supplies to Ike Kanji.

"You take this and walk in the middle with Kushida."

Ike Kanji nearly failed to catch it.

"What about the rear?"

"Yukimura and I will stay for two minutes and clear out the things that actually matter."

Yukimura frowned.

"Two minutes isn't enough."

"It's enough to take the ledger, medicine, and compressed rations," Gu Heng said.

"What about the tarp?"

"Leave it," Yukimura said first. "Leave the empty water pouch outside too."

Ike Kanji looked at the tarp shelter, wincing in distress.

"We spent half the day putting that up."

"If we take everything now, Class C will know at a glance that we're willing to completely abandon this place." Yukimura said. "Leave the shell, and we buy time."

Gu Heng looked at Kushida.

"You lead the second group out first. Take the rear route. Don't look back."

Kushida shouldered her bag and looked up at him.

Gu Heng added another sentence.

"If anyone asks about Shinohara, don't explain, don't comfort them, and don't spread it."

The fingers gripping Kushida's shoulder strap tightened slightly.

"I understand."

"Do it."

The two girls who had been standing close to her instinctively shifted half a step away after hearing that.

The smile on Kushida's face had just started to rise before she pressed it back down herself.

"Okay."

The second group moved quickly.

It was messier than the first group.

The two Class C students were still outside the old camp. Someone in the group slipped, and someone else could not resist looking back. Ike Kanji wanted to glance behind him every couple of steps, until Kushida quietly stopped him.

"Look ahead."

"I know."

"You've already looked back three times."

Ike Kanji's neck stiffened, and he stopped talking.

Kushida did not scold anyone else. She simply straightened Ike Kanji's crooked bag strap, then signaled for the girl beside him, who had nearly stopped walking, to keep up.

This time, she really was only coordinating.

But the less she said, the quieter the girls around her became. The people who had been willing to follow up on her smiles yesterday now looked at the road first, then at her. None of them was willing to offer up their thoughts first.

Gu Heng watched as the second group cut into the forest from behind the old camp. Only after the last person disappeared did he turn around and clear things out with Yukimura.

Supply records, remaining water, medical reserves, and compressed rations all went into Yukimura's bag.

Gu Heng trampled the strings of footprints around the fire pit that most clearly showed the direction of their withdrawal. Then he pulled an old tarp halfway outward, leaving one corner pressed beside the fire pit. Along with the half-empty water pouch, it looked as though Class D had not yet made up its mind to completely abandon the place.

Yukimura nudged the tarp with the tip of his shoe.

"You want them to think this place still has value."

"At least make them think we're still reluctant to give it up," Gu Heng said.

"What's the cost?"

Gu Heng looked down at his terminal.

Processing.

The supply confirmation countdown in the top-right corner had less than three minutes left.

"The supplies will be delayed."

Yukimura fell silent for two seconds, then nodded.

"Fine."

The two of them withdrew into the bushes at the rear side without leaving immediately.

Only when the two Class C students truly stepped onto the edge of the old camp and began examining the tarp and the shell of supplies did Gu Heng speak softly.

"Go."

At that moment, the old camp was truly abandoned.

Class C had gotten a shell. Class D had lost a round of supplies. But at least they had not traced the figures leaving the camp back to the new base.

They skirted the outer side of the water source along the withdrawal route, each step landing lightly. Yukimura nearly slipped on wet mud midway through, but Gu Heng reached out and pulled him steady.

Yukimura took a breath.

"I hate plans that rely on physical exertion."

"This doesn't count as one," Gu Heng said.

"Then what does it count as?"

"A bad-luck plan."

Yukimura gave him a cold look.

"Not funny."

By the time the two caught up with the second group, they had just passed the narrowest stretch of slope.

Kushida was the first to turn and look at Gu Heng.

"Did they enter the old camp?"

"They did."

The moment those words came out, several people in the second group slowed their steps.

Gu Heng did not let the mood spread further.

"Keep moving. The old camp is no longer our core."

After he said that, Kushida was the one who continued first.

"Let's get to the new base. Horikita and the others are still waiting."

Her voice had returned to its usual gentle tone. This time, no one objected.

The terminal buzzed just then.

Gu Heng opened it.

The supply request could not enter this round of confirmation.

Please resubmit during the next application window.

Ike Kanji's hand on his bag strap dropped at once.

"It's gone?"

Yukimura closed his eyes briefly.

"We've lost a round."

"How much are we short?"

"Based on the amount we applied for, at least half a day's buffer."

The group fell silent.

Someone screwed the cap back onto a water bottle they had just opened. Someone else instinctively hitched their bag higher on their shoulder, as though that alone could save a little of what they would need later.

At that point, the lost round of supplies was no longer merely a line of text on a terminal. It was a real price pressing against everyone's throat on the very first day.

Gu Heng looked at the screen and laid down a new baseline.

"Once we reach the new base, the second group will not take extra water. Those who are slow and those carrying heavy loads get priority. Everyone else takes the minimum."

Yukimura immediately followed up.

"My group—Gu Heng, Ike Kanji, and I—won't take any first."

Ike Kanji opened his mouth miserably, but in the end, he did not argue.

The new base was just ahead.

Horikita stood outside the entrance. Only when she saw that everyone in the second group was present did her shoulders relax slightly. But the moment she saw the notification on Gu Heng's screen, her expression darkened again.

"The supplies?"

"They didn't make it into this round of confirmation," Gu Heng said. "We withdrew successfully, but we lost a round of supplies."

Hirata first confirmed that no one from the second group had fallen behind, then turned back to ask:

"What about the old camp?"

"Class C went in."

"What did they get?"

"An empty shell," Gu Heng said.

Yukimura added coldly.

"And one round of supplies we lost."

Hirata's pen hovered beside the supply records before it could touch down. Then a low whistle came from outside the entrance.

Sudo was the first to turn.

Ishizaki Daichi stood behind the shadows of the trees without approaching. One hand was tucked into his pocket as he grinned in their direction.

"Ryuuen told me to pass along a message."

The tip of his shoe lightly ground into the mud, as if he were deliberately pressing his gaze into every face in Class D.

"The old camp was nice. Just a little empty."

Ike Kanji took half a step back, his shoulder hitting a tree trunk as his sleeve trembled.

Ishizaki waited until he had steadied himself before slowly stepping back as well.

"Next time, we won't just run into an empty camp."

He lifted his chin toward the people in the new base who had only just sat down.

"We'll run into the people you still haven't learned to protect."