Did you misunderstand something about top alphas?

Xiao Lie, who had already run a long way, heard the announcement and turned to look behind him.

"Xiao Lie, they..."

"Xie Lin and the others probably went over."

"Should we go back to help?"

Xiao Lie shook his head.

"There's no time. Keep going. I'll stay here to meet the others coming up behind us."

"...Okay!"

Meanwhile, Fu Yunxi looked at the Blue Team, which hadn't lost a single person, stiffened his neck, and strode toward Xie Lin.

"No one was chasing us at all. Tell me, did you just want to beat me up..."

"Another word, and I'll eliminate you too!"

Xie Lin waved the Boning Knife in his hand.

He genuinely didn't want to waste another word arguing with this idiot, afraid his IQ would be forcibly dragged down.

Lu Ye shook his head helplessly and reached toward the knife.

"This thing..."

Xie Lin swung the knife toward him too, baring his teeth like a little beast guarding its food.

"And you! Steal my knife again, and I'll chop your fingers off!"

Wu Xinyou rolled her eyes hard. Has it occurred to you that that's my fucking knife!!!!

Disheveled all over, Zhong Rui rubbed his hands together and smiled awkwardly.

"Um... thank you for coming to save us."

Xie Lin waved a hand.

"You got lucky. If the Red Team's remaining members hadn't disagreed, some of you definitely would've been eliminated."

Zhong Rui nodded.

"You're right. So what now? It's already dark."

Xie Lin swept his gaze over those fifteen people.

"Same as I said before. You have to split into small groups and take roundabout routes. If you run into the Red Team and can't beat them, hide. Be smart about it, and making it to the end won't be too hard."

Lu Ye nodded and added,

"The hardest part will be the final day. As things stand, the Red Team will definitely reach the finish before us."

A girl whose face was already smeared raised her hand.

"Then will they wait there to ambush us?"

"Yes!"

The rules of the competition were that everyone had to reach the finish within the time limit, and the side with more people remaining would win.

After this crushing defeat, that was definitely what Xiao Lie was planning now.

"The Red Team has already lost seven people. Next, they'll go all out to reach the finish. As long as you don't run into them on the way, you'll be fine. Go on, don't worry."

The girl with the smeared face looked around and stepped forward.

"Your name's Xie Lin, right? I want to go with you. Can I?"

As soon as she finished, several more people stepped forward.

"I'll come too."

"Take me with you!"

"Please, let us join you!"

"Stop, stop, stop-"

Xie Lin pushed his palm forward.

"I said we're going separately. How you split up is your business. I don't have the energy or the interest to be your captain. That's final."

With that, he turned to continue up the mountain.

But before he could take a single step, he heard a thud, and someone clamped tightly onto his thigh.

"Godfather-"

Snot and tears streaming down his face, Song Yunshen knelt on the ground and held on for dear life.

"Godfather, you can't leave me behind!"

Xie Lin took a deep breath, slowly lowered his head, and flashed a deadly smile.

"Get the fuck up!"

"No! If you won't take me with you, Godfather, I'm not getting up!"

The dozen or so people left exchanged looks.

Soon, contemptuous whispers began to buzz.

"If he won't take you, so what? What's so special about him? Do you really have to call him your godfather? Have you got no shame?"

"Exactly. It's just a competition. You won't actually die. Is that really necessary?"

Song Yunshen wiped his face. Still kneeling and hugging Xie Lin's thigh, he swept a scornful gaze over them.

"Your supply packs all got taken, didn't they?"

Everyone froze.

"Now you've got nothing to eat or drink, right?"

Everyone looked at their empty hands.

"All you can do next is shout 'I give up' three times and slink off with your tails between your legs, right?"

Dead silence fell.

"Getting eliminated because you have no food or water isn't embarrassing?"

Everyone's faces turned green!

Fu Yunxi braced himself and stepped forward.

"Taotao, you have so many backpacks. There must be food and water inside. Share some with us!"

At that, everyone snapped out of it.

"Right, right! Just a little. We'll find our own after that."

"We're all on the same team. We should look after each other."

"You've already saved us anyway. Giving us a bite to eat and something to drink isn't asking too much, is it?"

Everyone talked over one another.

A bright, clear voice interrupted them.

"Compressed biscuits, thirty thousand a pack. Mineral water, thirty thousand a bottle, or fifty thousand for two."

Qiao An blinked those big, clear eyes, the corners of his mouth curving upward.

"Want any?"

The air suddenly went quiet.

The next second, the crowd erupted as though a bomb had been thrown among them.

"Why don't you just rob us?"

"Are you insane? Thirty thousand for compressed biscuits that cost a dozen yuan?"

"Mineral water costs one yuan a bottle, and you're charging thirty thousand?"

"Have you gone money-crazy?"

"There are only five or six of them, and so many of us. Let's rob them!"

He Jianing's soft voice rose from the crowd.

"Stop arguing, stop arguing. Xie Lin means well too. If you're hungry, just..."

"Means well, my ass!"

Someone roared, "This is outright robbery!"

Bang!!!

An enormous crash rang out, making everyone's scalp tingle.

Lu Ye leisurely withdrew his fist and slipped it back into his pocket, his gaze passing over every person.

Finally, it settled on Fu Yunxi's face, his voice low.

"Keep yapping, and I'll pound you like this tree."

Before he finished speaking, the tree beside him, its trunk as thick as a bowl's rim, let out a teeth-grating creak and crashed to the ground.

Its branches and leaves shook and rustled, sending dust billowing everywhere.

The live comments went blank for a moment, then-

[Puppy Lu protecting his wife like a boss!!]

[What's wrong with these people? Tao Miaomiao kindly saved them, and now they're guilt-tripping him?]

[If this weren't a team competition, Puppy Lu would've sent them home with one punch each already.]

[You said it yourself, it's a team competition. What's wrong with sharing food with teammates?]

[So you make no effort, and everyone else owes you pampering? Is the whole world your mom?]

[Oh my, this world has so many overgrown babies!]

Xie Lin shrugged, bent down, and hauled Song Yunshen up, his expression indifferent.

"Buy it or don't. We're leaving!"

Song Yunshen's eyes lit up, and he immediately scrambled to his feet and followed.

"Thank you for taking me in, Godfather!"

"Mm!"

Xie Lin patted his shoulder with a benevolent smile.

"Good boy!"

After a few steps, Xie Lin looked back at Qiao An and tipped up his chin.

"What are you standing there for? Come on!"

The light that had dimmed in Qiao An's eyes lit up again, and he immediately jogged after them.

Fu Yunxi opened his mouth, wanting to say more.

He Jianing linked arms with him.

"Forget it, Yunxi. Mr. Xie seems to really dislike us. Don't go asking for a snub."

"Hah. Lu Ye's just brainwashed him."

As the sky grew darker and darker, moonlight spilled through the gaps in the leaves onto the few people trudging ahead.

Lu Ye raised his hand and checked the time.

"Let's find somewhere to camp and rest. We'll set out early tomorrow."

The others answered in unison.

"Okay!"

Half an hour later, they stopped beneath an enormous tree, on a relatively flat patch of ground.

"Here will do."

Xie Lin took the meat he had roasted at noon from his backpack and shared it around, then gave everyone a bottle of water and a whole-wheat roll.

Song Yunshen grinned widely, his face full of gratitude.

Once they had nearly finished eating, Xie Lin pulled several apples from his bag like a magician.

"Here, have some fruit!"

Qiao An stared.

"No way. The supply packs even have fruit?"

Wu Xinyou reached out and took one, rubbed it on her clothes, and bit into it with a crunch.

"Of course. The production team's very considerate. They put the supply packs in places that are extremely easy to find. As long as you're not blind, you won't go hungry or thirsty."

Lu Ye glanced at him, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.

Wu Xinyou had been proud and haughty since childhood. Earning his approval was no easy matter.

Clearly, he now regarded Xie Lin as a friend.

Having eaten and drunk her fill, Yue Lan patted off her backside and stood up.

"Tidy up and get some rest. I'll take the first half of the night!"

"No need!"

Lu Ye stood up.

"All of you rest. I can keep watch all night on my own."

"Enough, don't push yourself. It's only the first day. We still need to conserve our strength..."

Lu Ye scoffed.

"Did you misunderstand something about top alphas?"