He was having the time of his life, but Chubby and Song Jie were suffering. The relentless pace of battle had left both of them drenched in sweat, and the endless, suicidal assaults of the Army Ants filled them with fear.
Each wave they killed was replaced by another. These Army Ants had no concept of retreat, and the ant corpses on the ground piled higher and higher.
Chen Xiaolin spun web after web. The outer webs had already been chewed into tatters by the Army Ants.
"Jiang Hao, I can't hold out much longer!"
"Song Jie, can you guys hurry up? I'm running out of psychic power too!"
Jiang Hao said, "Just a little longer!"
Song Jie said, "I'm nearly dead on my feet! I don't have three heads and six arms, so rushing me won't help! Jiang Hao, you're the captain. Hurry up and decide. Whether we stay or leave is up to you."
Meanwhile, Jiang Hao was still upgrading his skills like mad.
Beast Pet owner: Jiang Hao Beast Pet: Ice Crystal Phoenix (hen) Realm: Golden Body (level 40) Rapport: 90 Combat power: 401 Attribute points: 152 Skill points: 18800 Strength: 237 Stamina: 13 Defense: 20 (60%) Agility: 30 Critical hit rate: 0 Precision strike: 0 Skills: Hen and Eggs in Ruin (passive), Shadowless Clone (passive), Thorn Armor (level 3, max, passive), Fireball (level 6, max), Lure (level 5, max), Wind Orb (level 3, max), Eagle Strikes the Sky (level 3, max) Hen and Eggs in Ruin: Passive skill. When the Beast Pet is threatened, this skill triggers a counterattack, launching a random skill that can strike the enemy precisely. Shadowless Clone: Passive skill. Uses a false-death body to block one instance of fatal damage. Cooldown: 3 hours. Thorn Armor: Passive skill. Increases defense by 60%, with a 3% chance of triggering absolute defense. Absolute defense grants immunity to all damage for 3 seconds. Current level: 3, max. Eagle Strikes the Sky: Active skill. Soar through the heavens like an eagle. Current level: 3, max. Flight duration: 40 minutes. Cooldown: 1 hour. Lure: Trigger skill. Forcibly gathers enemies within a fifteen-meter diameter into one spot. Current level: 5, max. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Fireball: Active skill. Scorching fire elements can inflict the deepest wounds on any one enemy. Current level: 6, max. Skill cooldown: 10 seconds. Wind Orb: Area attack skill. Explosive damage. Effective targets: 10. Current level: 3, max. Cooldown: 6 seconds.
Seeing all his skills maxed out, Jiang Hao could have laughed himself awake from a dream. Thorn Armor had not only increased his defense bonus to sixty percent-roughly seven points when converted-but also raised the chance of triggering absolute defense to three percent.
At max level, Eagle Strikes the Sky's flight duration had soared to a full forty minutes. Lure's range had also increased from ten meters to fifteen, while its cooldown had dropped to five minutes.
Fireball's cooldown had not changed, remaining at ten seconds, but Wind Orb's had dropped by four seconds to six.
His only regret was that Big Hen's appetite was too small. She was full after eating 150 Army Ants, earning him only 150 attribute points, on top of his original two. But with every skill maxed out and 18800 skill points still left over, Jiang Hao's grin nearly stretched to his ears. Which little sweetheart had delivered such an enormous gift to him?
If none of his teammates had brought the honey that appeared around their camp, he had every reason to suspect someone else had deliberately set them up.
Next, he allocated all his attribute points, putting a hundred straight into strength, twenty-two into agility, and dividing the remaining thirty evenly between stamina and defense.
Strength: 337, stamina: 28, defense: 44 (60%), agility: 52
Reluctant as he was to leave, Chubby and the others were clearly scrambling and could not hold on much longer. "Pack up first. I'll clear a path for everyone."
The only thing they needed to pack was their tent. Once everyone was ready, Jiang Hao cast Lure outside the Heavenly Net. The skill forced the Army Ants apart, opening a passage, and Chen Xiaolin seized the opportunity to lift a corner of the web so everyone could pass through.
Once Chubby and the others had run out, Jiang Hao brought up the rear. Opportunities like this were rare, so he would kill as many as he could. These were all skill points.
By the time everyone's legs were weak from running and they were gasping for breath, they looked back and found that the Army Ants were long gone.
"I'm dead on my feet!"
Chubby set Gongsun Qianxun down, drenched in sweat. Jiang Hao was hardly any better off, having carried both his own large backpack and Chubby's.
The sky had begun to brighten.
"We need to be careful from here on. I suspect someone's been sabotaging us," Jiang Hao said firmly.
Who could it be?
The six of them currently occupied six of the top ten spots on the points leaderboard. The other contestants surely did not want them to make it smoothly through the third stage of the competition.
A vast spruce forest lay before them, with a barren mountain ridge beyond it.
To guard against interference from other contestants, Jiang Hao suggested that, regardless of whether anything unexpected happened next, anyone who got separated should regroup with the others on the flat summit of Wuji Peak. Those who became separated would have to find their own way there, preventing the others from wasting so much time searching that they missed the competition.
As for danger, there was even less reason to worry. The guardians hidden nearby could hardly stand by and watch the contestants come to harm.
"Qianxun, you're finally awake! How are you feeling? Does anything still hurt? Let me check your wound!"
Hearing movement, Chubby turned and saw Gongsun Qianxun struggling to sit up. Excited, he reached for her hand. Its soft touch sent his heart fluttering. It was his first time holding a girl's hand, and he nearly forgot what he had meant to do.
"Have you felt enough? Let go already!"
Gongsun Qianxun's voice was very weak. She struggled several times but could not break free of Chubby's grip.
Chubby sheepishly let go. "Sorry. I didn't mean to."
"I think you absolutely meant to! How dare you take advantage of me? You damn fatty, do you have a death wish?"
The words "damn fatty" immediately struck Chubby's raw nerve. At a loss, he rose and went over to Jiang Hao to put on his own large backpack. He wanted to leave but had no idea where to go, so in the end, he could only stand silently beside Jiang Hao.
Seeing how dejected Chubby was, Wen Ruxue could not bear it. She explained to Gongsun Qianxun in full how he had carried her all the way while she was unconscious.
Realizing she had misjudged Chubby, Gongsun Qianxun looked at the boy who had carried her, torn over whether to apologize or thank him.
Everyone rested for a while and only set off again once Gongsun Qianxun had recovered a good deal of her strength.
The route climbed toward the summit the whole way. They had not gone far before Gongsun Qianxun's stamina gave out, forcing everyone to spend another day resting in the spruce forest.
Song Jie handled the hunting, Chen Xiaolin and Chubby gathered firewood, Jiang Hao roasted the meat, and Wen Ruxue looked after Gongsun Qianxun.
Everyone's tasks were sensibly assigned, and they worked in an orderly fashion. Once the fragrant roast chicken was ready, Jiang Hao handed the first one to Chubby, signaling for him to take it to Gongsun Qianxun and Wen Ruxue.
Chubby was clearly still upset about Gongsun Qianxun's harsh attitude toward him earlier and flatly refused to go.
Jiang Hao wanted to kick him flying. What a blockhead-nothing got through to him! But as his brother and best friend, he had to offer him some advice. He lowered his voice. "Chubby, a man should be magnanimous. Don't sulk like a little housewife just because you've been wronged a bit. Take her the food now, and you might even get an unexpected reward."
Chubby replied dubiously, "Really?"
Jiang Hao thumped his chest in assurance. "Of course. Trust me, you can't go wrong. Go on."
So Chubby took the roast chicken to the entrance of Gongsun Qianxun's tent. Both girls were there. Thinking that he was a man, after all, and could not go fawning over her, he handed the chicken to Wen Ruxue and prepared to make a suave exit.
"Wait!"
It was Gongsun Qianxun's voice.
Chubby suddenly felt as though his legs would no longer move.
Gongsun Qianxun cared about saving face too. With Wen Ruxue still there, she was too embarrassed to voice her apology. Only when she saw Chubby about to leave did she instinctively call out.
Wen Ruxue understood. She set the chicken aside and volunteered to leave. "I'll go see if there's anything else to eat."
She left the space to these two awkward creatures.
Once Wen Ruxue had gone, Gongsun Qianxun hesitantly spoke. "Um... I'm sorry. And thank you."
Hearing her apology, Chubby grew so excited that he started to climb into the tent, startling Gongsun Qianxun. "Wait! What are you doing? Don't come in!"
Chubby said, "I..."
He was so worked up that he could not even get the words out.
After stammering "I" for ages, he finally squeezed out the words "I like you."
Unexpectedly, Gongsun Qianxun turned him down with a perfectly calm expression. "I know, but I don't like chubby boys. It's not just you. I don't like any fat boys."
Chubby: ...
All fat boys: We feel attacked.
Gongsun Qianxun had not rejected him outright. Instead, she had tactfully told Chubby her preferences.
"I understand."
Chubby left after saying those words.
He was not giving up. He had resolved to start losing weight.
When he returned, Jiang Hao casually handed him a roast chicken. "How did it go? Any progress? Tell me, and I'll help you figure it out."
Song Jie said, "Fatty, if you ask me-"
Before he could finish, Chubby cut him off heatedly. "Stop calling me fatty! I've decided. Starting now, I'm losing weight. I won't have any roast chicken."
With that, he took the long-neglected dry rations out of his backpack and began gnawing on them.
Jiang Hao: ???
Song Jie: !!!
Chen Xiaolin: ...
Wen Ruxue said, "Chubby, I think being a little plump is fine. It's cute to have some meat on your bones."
She had only meant to comfort Chubby, but when Song Jie heard her words, he looked at the roast chicken in his hand and suddenly wondered whether he had found an opening.
He could not compete with Jiang Hao in looks. But if his goddess liked a little meat on a guy's bones, he could manage that too!
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