The mountain forest was especially quiet at midnight. The chirping of insects gradually thinned out, leaving only the occasional beast's roar echoing through the trees.
The wooden cabin's walls kept out the night dew and cold wind, radiating a steady warmth.
Just then, two furtive figures appeared outside the cabin.
Using the shadows of the trees for cover, the two dark figures craned their necks to examine the building that had appeared so abruptly.
"Lao Tie, is this... a cabin?"
The man on the left lowered his voice, his tone full of bewilderment and suspicion. He scratched his head, unable to understand how there could be a ready-made house deep in the mountains.
Lao Mo, on the right, frowned too, leaning closer to inspect it by moonlight.
"Something's wrong. This is clearly the Freshman Competition grounds. Where did a cabin come from? Could it be a trap?"
"A trap, my ass!" Lao Tie spat, a flicker of greed flashing through his eyes.
"I bet there's someone inside! Building a house to enjoy themselves during a competition? They probably found plenty of Command Tokens. That's why they dare to let their guard down!"
Lao Mo immediately perked up at that. "Then what are we waiting for?"
"Let's teach them a lesson and 'borrow' their Command Tokens while we're at it! Go!"
The two exchanged a glance, rubbed their hands together, and walked toward the cabin door with sinister grins.
Just as they raised their hands to push the door open, a dark figure suddenly appeared silently beside them.
"Lao Tie, stop touching me! I'm about to make my move!"
"Hey, what do you mean, touching you? You're the one leaning against me!"
Lao Tie grew irritated too, and the two actually began arguing in hushed voices at the door.
Behind them, Su Yu yawned, an amused smile curling his lips.
"Hey, you two. Why are you wandering around here in the middle of the night instead of looking for Command Tokens?"
Only then did the two realize that this person was clearly the cabin's owner!
Su Yu looked at the newcomers and stretched lightly, his voice full of teasing.
"Want to fight? Then hurry up. Don't hold up my sleep."
Lao Tie's expression darkened. His Martial Soul suddenly possessed him, his arms growing thick and strong as iron as he swung at Su Yu with a rush of wind.
"You're asking for death!"
Su Yu sidestepped the blow and lightly tapped the doorframe with his fingertips. Two vines suddenly shot out of the ground.
Like agile snakes, the two vines instantly coiled around their ankles.
"Ow!"
Caught off guard, the two were yanked off their feet by the vines and landed flat on their backs, the Command Tokens tucked inside their clothes clattering all over the ground.
Hu Liena's voice came from inside, languid with recent sleep.
"Su Yu, what happened?"
"Nothing. Two people came to deliver Command Tokens."
Su Yu bent down, picked up the seven or eight Command Tokens from the ground, and gave them a shake.
"Thanks. You've saved us the trouble of doing anything tomorrow."
Lao Tie and Lao Mo struggled to break free, only to find the vines tightening around them.
They could only watch as Su Yu tucked their Command Tokens into his clothes, their faces turning green with anger.
Su Yu dusted off his hands and called into the cabin, "Nana, go back to sleep. It's handled."
With that, he waved his hand, and the vines dragged the two deeper into the forest. Only two aggrieved curses remained, soon swallowed by the night.
The cabin fell quiet again, with only the moonlight outside creeping silently onto the windowsill.
The next morning-
Su Yu and Hu Liena emerged from the cabin yawning, faint dark circles beneath both their eyes.
"I didn't get a proper night's sleep. Another team came every little while. It really never ended."
Hu Liena rubbed her eyes, her voice tinged with sleepiness, though she could not hide her smile.
"But we did get quite a haul."
Su Yu stretched, working his slightly stiff neck.
"I counted them. Including the ones 'delivered' last night, we have a hundred and twenty-three now. We've pretty much secured this first assessment."
He had barely finished speaking when Hu Liena glanced toward the woods beside the cabin and burst out laughing.
Not far away, two people hung from each of ten trees, all students bound firmly to the branches with vines.
Some hung their heads, clearly not fully awake yet;
Others struggled with wide eyes, muttering something, but the vines bound them too tightly for them to raise their voices.
These were all teams that had tried to ambush them and steal their Command Tokens last night. Without exception, Su Yu had "hung" them up with Wood Release.
"Su Yu, isn't leaving them hanging like that a little too harsh?"
Despite her words, Hu Liena's eyes were full of mischief.
"What else should we do?" Su Yu raised an eyebrow.
"They came to rob us. Surely we can't welcome them with smiling faces?"
"Let them clear their heads here. We'll let them down around noon, when the assessment's almost over."
He walked beneath a tree and looked at the two people bound to it-none other than Lao Tie and Lao Mo, the first to arrive last night. They were now glaring at him listlessly.
Su Yu patted the trunk and smiled. "Stay put. We won't be bringing breakfast."
Then he turned to Hu Liena. "Let's go. Since we have enough Command Tokens, let's take a stroll and see what 'shows' the others are putting on."
Hu Liena nodded and followed him. The two strolled leisurely down the forest path, sunlight filtering through the branches and leaves to fall warmly on them.
Occasional arguments between other teams and the muffled impacts of clashing Soul Skills drifted over from afar, forming a stark contrast to their ease.
On the raised platform, the Crystal Ball was displaying this very scene. Watching the students hanging from the trees, Golden Crocodile Douluo's mouth twitched.
"This kid... really knows how to have fun. He snatched ninety Command Tokens in one night! Looks like first place is in the bag!"
Holy Dragon Douluo could not help laughing either. "It seems plenty of people had designs on them last night. They never expected to lose their rice without stealing the chicken-and end up as 'hanging ornaments' instead."
Although Bibi Dong said nothing, a faint smile lingered in her eyes as she watched the Crystal Ball.
In the forest, Su Yu and Hu Liena reached a stream and crouched to scoop up water to wash their faces.
The cool stream water chased away their drowsiness. Looking at their reflections in the water, Hu Liena smiled.
"Now no one will dare bother us again, right?"
"Who knows! But when soldiers come, we'll send a general to stop them; when water comes, we'll bank it with earth! If anyone comes to bother us, we can collect a few more Command Tokens!"
Noon soon arrived, and the assessment was about to end.
The number of Command Tokens in Su Yu and Hu Liena's possession had also broken through the two-hundred mark.
Of course, compared to them, the teams they had held "friendly exchanges" with did not have a single Command Token left!
His only slight regret was not running into Xie Yue's team. If he had, he would definitely have shown them some "concern"!
Every week when Xie Yue came to see Nana, he would badmouth Su Yu to her!
He had long wanted to show Xie Yue some "concern," but unfortunately, he had never had the chance.
He had originally planned to give Xie Yue some proper "special attention" during the assessment, but he had not even caught a glimpse of that old rascal!
Su Yu and Hu Liena returned to the Martial Arts Arena with a huge pile of Command Tokens.
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