Chapter Ten: A Battle of Wits and Courage

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A strange phenomenon caught Qi Yu’s attention: after being confined for two days, Xu Yan’s bio-information waves grew increasingly strong. He had repeatedly sent signals to himself. It’s worth noting that sustaining bio-information waves requires nourishment, yet Xu Yan’s waves were extracted from him after his physical death.

Under normal circumstances, he would be nothing but a lifeless body. The fact that he could awaken was already a miracle, but now it seemed the miracles did not end there.

Fifteen kilometers later, following the road signs, they had just crossed a ridge when, unexpectedly, a swamp appeared before Qi Yu and Duan Peng.

Their gazes instinctively dropped to their boots.

“No matter, brother, just a bit more weight,” Duan Peng said, taking the lead and running down.

Qi Yu naturally did not lag behind. In truth, he had not exerted himself fully along the way.

Between physical strength and willpower, before reaching their limits, physical strength holds an innate advantage.

Stepping into the swamp, the boots brought no comfort—instead, they became a burden. Moreover, leeches and earthworms constantly impeded their progress. If not dealt with first, they risked falling into a state of blood loss.

Qi Yu stopped, glanced around, and said to Duan Peng, “Wait here.”

Without further ado, he “ran” sideways, grabbed a handful of unknown grass, uprooted it, smelled its scent near his nostrils, nodded approvingly, then quickly gathered a large handful from both sides and returned to Duan Peng.

He divided the bunch in half and handed some to Duan Peng. “Crush it and smear it on your legs.”

Duan Peng was skeptical but watched as Qi Yu crushed the grass in his palm and rubbed the juice onto his legs. He followed suit immediately.

Above them, a drone’s camera captured every detail clearly.

Sitting in the vehicle, Jing Zhimin asked, “What is Xu Yan doing?”

Then they saw Xu Yan, after applying the juice, sprinting away. A somewhat playful voice came through the camera, “Duan Peng, run! This juice attracts snakes and crawling creatures.”

“Ah!” Duan Peng’s face changed drastically. “Xu Yan, you’re trying to get me killed!”

“I put it on too!” Qi Yu laughed heartily ahead of him.

“This is to die in order to live!” Jing Zhimin laughed heartily. “Adding difficulty to yourself—interesting! Really interesting!”

Duan Peng caught up to Qi Yu and asked, “Xu Yan, what are you doing? Why make it harder for yourself?”

Qi Yu grinned mischievously. “Look overhead.”

Duan Peng didn’t need to look up to know, “The captain is spying on us, as usual.”

“He’s teasing us; how can we not tease him back?” Qi Yu lowered his voice.

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“What do you mean?” Duan Peng asked, puzzled.

Qi Yu smiled mysteriously, voice low enough for only Duan Peng to hear. “Wait and listen to the sounds behind us; then you’ll understand.”

Duan Peng was doubtful but dared not stop. At this moment, he couldn’t tell if what Xu Yan said was true or false.

Minutes later, the sound of rustling came from behind—the swamp function of the armored vehicle was engaging. Like insects, multiple flexible mechanical arms extended downward.

The vehicle moved over the swamp as though it were solid ground, its supports elevating it above the muck, unaffected.

Jing Zhimin had caught up, no doubt planning to add more challenges for them.

However, Qi Yu slowed down and told Duan Peng, “Wait, we’re about to see a show.”

As the vehicle reached the spot where they had smeared the grass juice, suddenly many snakes emerged from the swamp, along with short-snouted crocodiles with long tails.

Although the vehicle’s mechanical arms were made of specialized metal and its movement was unhindered, from the open-top armored vehicle, multiple venomous snakes leapt up, directly attacking Jing Zhimin.

Duan Peng stared at Qi Yu in surprise. “What did you do just now?”

Qi Yu smiled. “The scent of that grass juice repels mosquitoes and leeches, but its roots are the favorite food of crawling creatures.”

The vehicle had crushed their food source, so naturally they retaliated.

Although Qi Yu believed this was only a minor nuisance for Jing Zhimin, it would keep him busy for a while.

Understanding this, Duan Peng laughed heartily. “Let’s go quickly. If he finds out, we’re in trouble.”

“He already knows,” Qi Yu said, pointing at the drone overhead.

Duan Peng was stunned. “Shouldn’t have asked! I’ll remember this!”

Qi Yu curiously asked Xu Yan, “Why does he remember whatever I say?”

Xu Yan replied, “I can’t explain. It’s a sign of his trust in you. From now on, even if you do things he doesn’t understand, he won’t ask too much.”

The next ten-plus kilometers became a battle of wits between Qi Yu, Duan Peng, and Jing Zhimin. Wild creatures appeared unpredictably, baffling Jing Zhimin, who had planned to increase difficulty for the two but couldn’t figure out when these nuisances would appear.

Although he knew it must be Xu Yan or Duan Peng causing this, he was powerless to stop it.

At the end of the 30-kilometer journey, Zhang Xudong was waiting for them.

More than ten minutes later, Jing Zhimin’s armored vehicle appeared before them.

Qi Yu and Duan Peng expected Jing Zhimin to be furious, but although his face was dark, he did not lose his temper. Instead, he asked, “Who was responsible for all this along the way?”

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“I was.”

“I was.”

Duan Peng and Qi Yu almost raised their hands simultaneously.

Jing Zhimin suddenly burst out laughing. “Good, you’ve got guts! Tomorrow, we continue.”

After speaking, he waved at Zhang Xudong. “Let’s go back and see how those rookies are doing.”

Zhang Xudong climbed into the vehicle, looking somewhat pitifully at the two. “Don’t lose your gear. Looks like you’ll miss dinner tonight.”

The vehicle turned on the spot and sped away.

Duan Peng stood up, cursing aloud, “Do you have any humanity left?”

Qi Yu said, “No use. They’re still watching us on the way back.”

Only then did Duan Peng notice the vehicle leaving, while the drone overhead remained motionless, monitoring their every move.

“Rest a moment, or head back now?” Qi Yu adjusted his gear, took a wearable headlamp from his backpack, and attached it to the helmet’s edge.

On the return journey, they took their time, retracing their path.

As night fell, they reached the place where they had first ambushed Jing Zhimin. Duan Peng casually picked up a few snakes.

After leaving the swamp, they built a fire on the hillside and began roasting the snakes.

Their backpacks weren’t just for carrying weight; they had all the essentials for a forced march.

For their simple barbecue, all they needed were knife, fire, and salt. After comfortably enjoying their grilled snake, they walked back to the special forces unit.

At the entrance, Jing Zhimin shook his head. “Looks like these two are quite relaxed. After a few more days, maybe I should try giving them a more advanced challenge.”

Zhang Xudong looked at Jing Zhimin and asked, “Captain, you don’t really think these two are ready, do you?”

“Not yet, of course not. But I have high hopes!” Jing Zhimin said confidently.