Xie Ji was indeed a bit sleepy. He thought for a moment, then crawled into his sleeping bag. The bag still held the warmth of Lu Xunji's body, making it incredibly cozy in the frigid night of the primeval forest. "Then wake me up when it's time. I'll sleep for two hours too..."
"Um."
Xie Ji finished the half-eaten biscuit with filtered water, then lay down on Lu Xunji's lap and fell asleep.
The next day, Xie Ji was woken up by Lu Xunji. He stood up groggily, his eyes still closed, and hurriedly rolled up his sleeping bag. "Are we leaving already? How long have I been asleep?"
Lu Xunji didn't say anything, wiped away the traces of their rest on the ground, bent down, picked up their backpacks, and walked forward.
Xie Ji quickly caught up with him and checked his watch.
Wow, I slept soundly for six hours.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Xie Ji, somewhat annoyed. "Damn it, how could I have slept for so long?"
Sometimes I really want to kneel down and beg myself not to sleep.
Later, I discovered that I could sleep while kneeling.
"It's nothing," Lu Xunji said. "He's still growing."
Xie Ji was speechless. "I'm already nineteen, I'm still growing. By the way, where did you get that ability to precisely control your sleep time?"
Lu Xunji remained silent, leading Xie Ji as they trekked through the primeval forest.
They didn't encounter any ferocious beasts along the way, but they did encounter quite a few patrolling soldiers. However, each time, Lu Xunji had already swiftly dealt with them before the soldiers could even spot them.
When Lu Xunji dealt with the seventh patrolling soldier but still couldn't find a pass on him, Xie Ji began to suspect that his divination might have gone wrong.
Lu Xunji stood up from the unconscious patrolling soldier and expressionlessly looted his belongings.
On the third day after entering the primeval forest, all supplies were running out, and the examinees had to go from avoiding the patrolling soldiers to searching for their whereabouts.
After all, they were the only ones carrying a limited amount of supplies, and in order to hold out until they could obtain the pass, they had to keep attacking the patrolling soldiers.
However, the soldiers assigned by the Imperial Military Academy, although not elite troops who had seen battle, were still inferior to these candidates who had not even attended military academy.
What's more, it's an absurd ratio of 100:6.
A figure darted swiftly past within the low bushes.
Xie Ji's face was scratched by the bushes, but he didn't have time to take care of his face because a patrolling soldier who looked to be at least 1.8 meters tall was following behind him.
"Brother, please stop chasing me, brother!" Xie Ji rolled away and hid in the dense bushes. "I have people upstairs!"
The patrolling soldier sneered, instantly pinpointed Xie Ji's location, and darted after him!
The next moment, another agile figure descended from the sky and kicked him in the chin. Before he could react, he was pinned to the ground and his hands were quickly tied behind his back. Soon, a sharp pain shot through his brain as the person swiftly dislocated his arms!
He couldn't help but roar in anger!
Xie Ji peeked out from the bushes, covered in blood and grime. "You wouldn't listen to Jiji, I told you I have connections."
Lu Xunji kicked him, a fierce look in his eyes. "Pass."
The patrolling soldier gritted his teeth. "No!"
"Damn it, this is the tenth one today, and we still don't have a pass?!" Xie Ji angrily tugged at a bush. "No pass? Then do you have any canned food or something? I've been eating compressed biscuits for three days, and that snotty nutrient solution. I'm about to throw up. If you don't have canned meat, I'll eat you!"
The patrolling soldier stared blankly without saying a word. Lu Xunji knocked him unconscious with a single punch, then swiftly stripped him of his clothes. From his body, he found several compressed biscuits, a flashlight, a small half-empty nutrient solution, a small particle gun that had run out of power, and a splitter that was running out of power.
There were no passes, and no canned meat.
Xie Ji looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle. "Enough, really enough! Who came up with this kind of assessment method? If I could pass this special exam, would I need to go to military academy? I'd hang a chicken leg around my neck and head straight to the battlefield."
Lu Xunji went over and pulled him up. "Get up."
Xie Ji leaned listlessly against Lu Xunji's waist, saying, "I want to eat meat, Lu Xunji, you smell so good, can you give me a bite? Just a small bite."
Lu Xunji glanced at him, then silently pulled out a dagger, walked up to the unconscious soldier, and asked, "Which piece do you want to eat?"
Xie Ji: "..."
"I was just kidding, bro."
Lu Xunji didn't seem to be joking with him, and said in a very serious tone, "It's edible, very fresh, and won't kill you."
Xie Ji swallowed hard. "Does it mean I won't die, or that he won't die?"
"No."
"I remember that eating people can cause prions, bro! Stop going crazy, let's go!"
"Not necessarily." Lu Xunji brandished the dagger in his hand, seemingly considering which part of the body would be easiest to attack. "The probability of infection is very small."
Xie Ji: "..."
Xie Ji: "I think compressed biscuits are quite delicious, actually."
Lu Xunji suddenly frowned, his gaze warily fixed on the bushes behind him.
After a long while, Xie Ji finally heard the rustling sound of leaves rubbing together.
Xie Ji glanced at Lu Xunji and thought, "Good heavens, this guy's senses are terrifyingly sharp."
The sound of leaves rustling grew louder and louder. Soon, a disheveled figure darted out of the bushes. He seemed to be a candidate like them, followed by four or five patrolling soldiers.
Xie Ji picked up his bag. "Good heavens, what kind of patrol soldier decoy is this?"
When the man saw the two of them, the look of fear on his face changed.
Xie Ji stepped aside and gave him a thumbs up. "You really know how to fish, bro."
The man screamed, "Aaaaaaah! Help me! Help me! There are so many people behind me!"
Xie Ji nodded. "I see it. Run forward. There's an open area ahead with a wide field of vision. After you're eliminated by the patrolling soldiers, the drones will spot you immediately..."
"I just wanted to steal a can of food! I was so hungry I couldn't stand it anymore! Please, let me go!"
The man ran wildly toward Xie Ji while shouting.
Xie Ji crossed his arms. "Canned food? Even if there is canned food, it won't work, there's so much! Ugh?!"
Before he could finish speaking, Lu Xunji had already darted out.
"Holy crap, bro!" Xie Ji quickly followed, and as he parted the bushes, Lu Xunji was kicking a patrolman to the ground with a spinning kick.