The Mole

"Just do your best," Lin Chuan reassured him softly. He hadn't expected that group to become addicted to killing. Once they discovered someone unwilling to go along with them, anyone with a relatively high number would probably be killed.

"No, let's gather a few more people and strike back. What do you think?" Terai looked at Lin Chuan, then at Number Thirty, who had narrowly escaped death, as well as Shin and Sai, whom he had discovered beforehand.

"I don't care. You arrange the people you bring in." Lin Chuan felt that with his current strength, dealing with two or three trainees from the same batch would not be a problem. But if more than ten people surrounded him, he would have to run too.

"I'll listen to you." Number Thirty had an injured arm. Being alone at a time like this would be certain death, so he planned to stay here and recover.

"We'll listen to you too." Shin stopped Sai, gave him a reassuring look, then stepped forward and nodded lightly. These two seemed far less hostile than that other group, so they were worth trusting.

"I'm going to sleep first." Lin Chuan yawned and gave Sai and Shin one last look. These two had appeared in the anime, and Sai was even an important supporting character. His hands were itching for a fight, but unfortunately, they were not enemies.

On the twelfth day, morning.

Terai went out in the morning, this time with someone accompanying him. Shin knew he was weaker than the others, and since he could not just sit around doing nothing, he suggested going out with Terai to look for people.

The two spent another day outside. This time, they brought back five people: Torune and Fu, along with Number Twenty-Eight, Number Twenty-Seven, and Number Twenty-Five.

Most of those who came over had relatively high numbers. That group simply refused to accept trainees with high numbers as companions. Whenever they saw someone with a high number, they would gang up and kill them.

That night, everyone sat together to discuss matters. There were ten people gathered here now, so they no longer needed to fear that group.

Looking at the results of the past two days, Terai proposed, "We've gathered ten people. That's enough to fight them. I suggest we start tomorrow..."

"I think we can find a few more people. What if their group has grown over the past two days?" Shin suggested being more cautious.

"If we're still looking for people, leave it to us." Torune Aburame wore dark-framed sunglasses, so no one could see his expression change, but everyone knew he came from a clan that controlled insects.

"Fine." Terai glanced at Lin Chuan. Compared to these outsiders, he trusted Lin Chuan more. Seeing Lin Chuan nod lightly, he agreed.

Lin Chuan knew that the Torune and Fu duo were experts at finding people. One could control insects, while the other could sense others. The two of them would find people much faster than Terai's blind searching.

Then came the thirteenth day. There was now another team searching for people. The first team was still Terai and Shin, while the second was Fu and Torune. Lin Chuan and the others naturally stayed behind to guard the base.

They searched until evening. Terai only brought back one person, while Fu and Sai brought back three. They were all trainees numbered in the twenties. Including the original group, there were fourteen people in total.

Adding the dozen or so people in the group that had been conducting the massacres, the more than thirty trainees surviving in the wilderness had basically formed into two groups. A major battle was now unavoidable.

Everyone sat together again to discuss a strategy. They planned to rest well for the night, then on the fourteenth day of wilderness survival, seek out the other group for a decisive battle.

But things were never that simple. Everyone had fallen asleep on the tree trunks when Lin Chuan slowly opened his eyes and saw someone beneath the tree quietly leaving the camp. He was probably going to tip them off, hoping to wipe them all out in one sweep during the night. These kids' schemes really were simple.

Terai and the others pulled in anyone they encountered. Who could guarantee that none of the people they brought back were moles? What was the point of looking at their numbers? Couldn't they just change clothes?

In the end, if they did not solve the issue of trust, they could never truly unite. Gathering together only made them living targets, convenient for the enemy to wipe out in one go.

"You noticed there was a mole long ago?" Terai silently appeared beside Lin Chuan. Watching the shadow beneath the tree grow farther away, he could not help asking in a low voice.

"The way you recruited people was too sloppy. It would be strange if there weren't any moles," Lin Chuan complained helplessly. Though he did not oppose what they had done, joining forces would not be of much use either.

That group could unite because they had lived together for ten days and had already more or less grown accustomed to one another. But these people had only gathered for two or three days, yet they wanted everyone to trust each other. How could that be possible? Trust was not that cheap.

"Is that so? I thought they would stab us in the back during the day. I didn't expect them to be so impatient that they wanted to act at night." Terai was no fool either. After gathering everyone together, he realized they were just a disorganized rabble. When they discussed things last night, everyone had held different opinions.

Number Thirty and the others who had been surrounded before would be afraid when facing that group. Once the battle began, they would definitely lose their nerve and run. These people could not be trusted. They would suspect one another and were completely unreliable.

He and Lin Chuan were fairly familiar with each other and could barely trust one another. Shin only wanted to protect his younger brother Sai, while Fu and Torune would not listen to him. His head hurt, and he could only ask Lin Chuan, "How do we break this situation?"

"Keep following the plan you made. Even though we recruited a mole, that doesn't mean it's useless. As the group with the highest numbers, we can scatter and run when the time comes. The chances of them chasing us will be the lowest..."

"If they want to take us down, they'll have to send at least six people after us. That way, they won't be able to deal with the others. If they spread their forces too thin and only send four people to hunt us down, it's still uncertain who will live and who will die..."

"That's true." Hearing that what he had done was not useless, Terai secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had spent three days on this. If it had been completely useless, Lin Chuan would have laughed himself to death at him. He did not want to relive the embarrassment of Fire Release.

Suddenly, the two noticed the mole returning. Yet no one else followed him. Lin Chuan then chuckled softly. "Looks like you guessed wrong. They want us to sleep a little longer. With more people around, at least they can get a good night's sleep..."

"True enough. Sleep, sleep." Terai returned to the tree trunk, slowly sat down, and closed his eyes to rest. But Lin Chuan ran toward the edge of the camp.

"You're still sleeping? Sleep my ass, hurry up and run," Lin Chuan said, shooting an exasperated glance at Terai, who followed him. The two quietly moved away from the camp. Before long, they had a Shadow Clone return to keep pretending to sleep while their real bodies fled directly.

In truth, many people had noticed the mole. After all, no one truly trusted anyone else. With the mole's suspiciously obvious departure, how could careful ninja fail to notice?

"Ahhh—"

In the early hours of the fourteenth day, everyone woke with a scream. As soon as they opened their eyes, they saw the mole slash a lone unlucky man, while signals for an attack came from the surrounding forest and dozens of figures closed in.

Seeing this, Lin Chuan and the others swiftly revealed themselves and appeared beside the slain man. Looking at Number Twenty-One, who had died miserably, and the mole who had retreated behind the enemy lines, they could only think that he had been truly vicious!

Even though the wilderness survival rules did not forbid them from killing one another, this group had still understood the rule of the game: use mutual slaughter to eliminate others and advance themselves.

"You go. I'll hold them back," Lin Chuan said, turning and waving a hand. His tall, stalwart figure looked imposing as he decided to stay behind and stop the enemy.

In reality, he did not want to deceive these experience points into staying behind to die, especially Sai, Shin, Fu, Torune, and the others. He wanted to kill them himself.