Military Training Begins

When Zhou Tao heard Tang Yu's words, his expression changed instantly. The people around them began whispering among themselves. News that Zhou Kang and Luo Shan had been beaten had spread long ago, but no one really knew much about the person who had beaten them. Tang Yu had stayed holed up in the dorm for the past few days, to the point that he did not even know who his two roommates were. Now that everyone learned Zhou Kang and Luo Shan had been beaten by Tang Yu, the crowd immediately erupted.

"What are you making all that noise for? Get ready to disembark!"

At that moment, Zhang Shuai walked over from the other end of the cabin and barked at the group.

So soon? It had not even been an hour, and they were already there?

"Once you reach the designated location, the wristbands on your hands will send you the specific details of the military training. If you encounter any danger or wish to withdraw, just send a message to the stored account on the wristband. You will be automatically located, then wait for rescue. But let me remind you: if you want to quit, do it early. Rescue might not arrive immediately."

After saying that, Zhang Shuai fell silent. A while later, the transport ship came to a stop above an open area in the forest. However, it did not land, hovering seven or eight meters above the ground.

"Hurry up and get down! Don't waste time!" At the cabin entrance, Zhang Shuai berated the two students sitting in front. Only after hearing his scolding did they take a deep breath and jump down.

They all had gene indexes above a hundred. As long as they controlled themselves well, jumping directly from seven or eight meters up was not a problem. Tang Yu did not even need to prepare before jumping down. Back at the broken bridge in Ruins City, he had been able to leap more than thirty meters in one go. Seven or eight meters was naturally nothing to him.

"Ow!" Zhou Tao was not so lucky. His jump was fine, but when he landed, it seemed that he stepped into empty space and fell flat on his face. Fortunately, he was still a warrior with a gene index over a hundred. If he had been an ordinary person, he would have broken his chin and legs. Even so, the sight still drew laughter from the others.

"What are you laughing at? Laughing my ass!" Seeing the surrounding students laugh, Zhou Tao shouted angrily. Unfortunately, no one paid him any attention.

Roar...

Hah...

Moo...

Right after Zhou Tao cursed, waves of terrifying roars suddenly came from the surrounding forest, growing closer and closer.

"These are Bona Golden Apes!" The moment Tang Yu heard those sounds, he knew things were bad. Bona Golden Apes were mostly herd-dwelling mutant creatures, and they were omnivorous. In other words, they ate people. Sometimes, they even ate their own kind. They were exceptionally savage. Once they set their sights on someone in their territory, that person was truly finished.

"Run!" Tang Yu grabbed Fang Zheng, who was sitting on the ground, and ran in the opposite direction of the sounds. The others scattered as well.

"These are Bona Golden Apes. If we don't run, we're done for once they lock onto us!" Fang Zheng had not understood what was happening at first, but Tang Yu's words sent a chill through his heart. They ran more than ten kilometers in one breath before finally stopping once they could no longer hear the roars.

"Brother Tang, let's team up!" Fang Zheng said to Tang Yu. Surviving here alone would be extremely difficult. Half a month was simply too long. But two people were different. One could rest while the other stood guard, and even if they encountered danger, two people had a much better chance of surviving than one.

"Alright." After a brief hesitation, Tang Yu agreed.

Before them was a murky river more than forty meters wide, with a primeval forest on the other side. They definitely could not stay here overnight. They had to find somewhere across the river to set up camp.

"I'll go down and test it," Tang Yu said, preparing to enter the water, only for Fang Zheng to stop him.

"Brother Tang, let me go instead! I have rope. If anything dangerous happens, pull me up immediately!" As he spoke, Fang Zheng pulled out a coil of high-strength fiber rope as thick as a pinky finger from his waist and tied it around himself.

This was equivalent to placing his life in another person's hands, even though the two had known each other for barely over an hour.

"Alright! Be careful!" Tang Yu did not stand on ceremony. Holding the rope, he gave Fang Zheng those words, and Fang Zheng jumped straight into the river. The water was not very deep, barely reaching Fang Zheng's waist. When he reached the middle, his head was still above the surface, though the water had risen to his neck.

"Brother Tang, there's no—" Fang Zheng turned around, about to tell Tang Yu there was no danger, when the water suddenly began churning violently. Three powerful currents surged up and rushed straight toward Fang Zheng. They were clearly not normal undercurrents. Seeing this, Tang Yu did not hesitate. He yanked the rope in his hand and ran backward. With his four-second hundred-meter speed, he instantly dragged Fang Zheng back onto land.

Only then did Fang Zheng see three giant crocodiles lurking beneath the water's surface. Every one of them was over seven or eight meters long, and one was even ten meters long. With their huge bloody jaws, swallowing a living person whole would have been effortless!

Gulp! Fang Zheng could not help swallowing. If Tang Yu had not noticed in time, he would already have been the crocodiles' lunch.

"Thank you." Fang Zheng turned and said solemnly to Tang Yu.

"Don't be so formal. We're comrades in the same trench now. If it were you, you wouldn't have stood by either, would you?"

However, Tang Yu frowned. If they could not cross the river, did that mean they had to spend the night on this side? It would be fine if they did not encounter Bona Golden Apes, but if they ran into them, the two of them would be finished on the first day.

"Let's follow the river downstream and see if there's a narrower spot to cross!"

Tang Yu nodded at Fang Zheng's words. There was nothing else they could do.

"Brother Tang, are you craving snake soup?" Fang Zheng asked half-jokingly as he looked at the tiny Redline Snake dangling from Tang Yu's hand.

"Look again carefully!" Tang Yu said, tossing the snake into Fang Zheng's hand.

Fang Zheng had seen Redline Snakes before. He frowned. This thing looked familiar, but it was indeed not a Redline Snake.

"This is a Crimson Blood Snake. It carries deadly venom. Just one milligram is enough to instantly render a Force warrior with awakened genes unable to move!"

After Tang Yu said that, Fang Zheng remembered. Their high school biology textbook had indeed mentioned this creature. He simply had not thought of it just now.

They continued onward for nearly two hours. The forest was stuffy and hot, and there were swarms of venomous snakes, ants, and insects everywhere. Any one of them could be deadly, and the slightest carelessness might cost them their lives. Thus, they moved slowly the entire way. Finally, the river ahead curved, and the bend was only a little over ten meters wide. With their strength, crossing it with a running jump would not be difficult!

The two exchanged a glance. Tang Yu took the lead, retreating thirty or fifty meters. He drove his heel fiercely into the ground, his body shooting forward like an arrow loosed from a bow and leaving behind a blur. Deep footprints appeared where he stepped. Finally, his body sprang upward like a cannonball, rising seven or eight meters into the air before landing on the opposite bank. Fang Zheng followed suit and leaped across as well.

"You sure hid it well, kid!" Tang Yu nudged Fang Zheng and laughed. The kid had actually been holding back. He had barely taken a run-up, retreating only seven or eight meters before rushing forward in two strides and clearing the river.

"Hehe, I've practiced ancient Chinese martial arts since I was little. All my skills are in my legs. This little distance is a piece of cake!"

Tang Yu finally understood after hearing Fang Zheng's words.

Their most urgent task now was solving the problem of food. Nutrient solution replenished Force consumption, and using it merely to restore bodily energy would be far too wasteful. Fortunately, this vast primeval forest did not lack meat. The question was whether they could catch it.

This primeval forest had clearly seen few human visitors, so the number of creatures was enormous, nearly three to five times what it had been during the Great Cataclysm. However, these creatures were far stronger than those from that era. Even an ordinary antelope could now injure a Force warrior. Its four hooves were like four iron balls, powerful enough to crush rocks and boulders. One careless move could get someone kicked to death. But that was not difficult for Tang Yu. The difficult part was that he simply could not match those antelopes' speed.

Tang Yu could run a hundred meters in four seconds, but for an antelope sprinting at full speed, a hundred meters passed in only a few blinks. Then again, it made sense. Without extraordinary survival abilities, living in this primeval forest would be far too difficult.

"This is easy! Brother Tang, watch me!" Seeing the worry on Tang Yu's face, Fang Zheng grinned. His entire body seemed to teleport as he pounced forward, without making the slightest sound. That was what amazed Tang Yu the most. In less than a breath, Fang Zheng had already taken down a small antelope calf.

"Antelope calf meat is the tastiest. We're in for a treat this afternoon!" Carrying their spoils, Tang Yu and Fang Zheng stopped beside a mountain stream in a deep valley. They gathered a pile of dry firewood and began preparing their catch. There was not much to prepare, really. They simply cleaned it and placed it over the fire to roast. Before long, they had roasted the entire antelope.