Six hours might seem like a long time, but for the students of the Tianjiao Camp who wanted to avoid the instructors’ harassment, it passed in the blink of an eye.
While the others had already fled far away, the six of them—Su Mo and his group—were either just coming out of an internet café or leaving the library. Wu Heng was in charge of asking around on the spot.
He was the only one among the six who understood Spanish, so this important task naturally fell to him.
“Crossing the Andes from here, the lowest point is still around four thousand meters above sea level, and some parts even reach five thousand meters. It’s covered in snow year-round, and avalanches happen from time to time.”
“I found out that there was once a collapse accident there, caused by excessive mining.”
“That’s right, there are incredibly rich mineral deposits distributed throughout that area. We might run into a lot of them on the way, but none of that is the most important thing.” Wu Heng frowned tightly. “When I talked with the local residents, I learned that there’s a kind of monster in those mountains. They walk upright, look very much like humans, but have long scorpion tails.”
“I’ve seen this in official news too. In recent years, the tragic cases caused by them are too many to count. But judging from the reports, their strength should be around D-rank, though in reality it might be slightly off.” Su Mo said.
After all the information was gathered together, they reached one conclusion: the Andes were not easy to cross, and countless dangers were waiting for them there.
Ye Qingyi added, “Although the scorpion-tailed people are vicious, there are no cases of them actively entering human residential areas. That shows they aren’t eager for battle. Most likely, someone stepped into their territory, which is what caused the conflict.”
“I wonder if scorpion-tailed people count as extra points.” Huo Jingshu looked eager to try.
Su Mo said, “Whether they count or not, I think it’s necessary to investigate them. Any suspicious creature appearing at this stage could be from another world. The earlier we discover them, the earlier we can deal with them.”
Zhuge Zhi thought for a moment and said, “What if they’re just a kind-hearted race that fled to Earth to take refuge because their own world was hit by disaster, like those few we found at the pool hall before?”
“Once race is involved, it can no longer be defined simply by good and evil, or right and wrong. No matter what their purpose is for coming here, as long as conflict arises over resources, sooner or later they’ll become enemies.”
As he spoke, he thought of the Tianyao Clan. That was an extremely powerful race, and it had deep ties with the Xia Kingdom. Although he had a good relationship with Hong, Shuang’er, and the others, without the blood contract, he still wouldn’t be able to earn their trust.
This was a heavy topic, because if you changed perspectives, the invaders and the heroes defending their homeland were often the same group of people.
And they were determined to become exactly that kind of people.
At that moment, Huo Jingshu suddenly said, “With Qingyi’s herbs, I’ve successfully condensed my fourth snow mountain. Having everyone at C-rank is our greatest reliance.”
Zhuge Zhi said excitedly, “Yes, yes, yes! I was still D-rank at first, but in just one month I condensed three snow mountains. These medicines are way too useful.”
Zhuge Zhi was far less diligent than Huo Jingshu, but his talent was much better. With the same amount of effort, his gains were far greater than hers.
As for Xia Qingqing, her talent was already good to begin with, and after coming to Tianjiao Camp she had also become diligent. Currently, she had the cultivation of five snow mountains.
Su Mo and Wu Heng had six, and Ye Qingyi had seven.
Wu Heng had already condensed six snow mountains before receiving help from Su Mo’s herbs, so he worked toward seven snow mountains. But he found it was completely impossible, so he began preparing to break through to B-rank.
Su Mo said, “Jingshu is right. Our team’s greatest advantage is that none of us are weak. We don’t need to spend extra effort, but each person is skilled in a different field, so someone needs to protect Zhuge Zhi.”
Zhuge Zhi scratched his head, looking awkward. “Sorry, I’m a bit weak and dragging everyone down.”
“No. Specialization is what matters. Every team has people responsible for fighting, and naturally they also need logistics support staff. After the assessment ends, if we’re lucky enough to become a Tianjiao squad, dividing up team roles will definitely be necessary. By then, you’ll understand that you have an irreplaceable role.”
When Su Mo said this, the others also nodded in agreement, which moved Zhuge Zhi deeply. In his heart, he secretly resolved that he must work hard at cultivation from then on.
And he wasn’t stupid either. He knew those words were a hint to him, telling him not to keep slacking off and to train properly.
“I’ll definitely work hard at cultivation. It’s just… the money I owe everyone…” As soon as Zhuge Zhi mentioned money, he became hesitant and evasive.
Wu Heng patted his shoulder. “Come on, we all know you need that money because of your special ability. We won’t ask more about the rest. Just don’t slack off in the future.”
Zhuge Zhi’s eyes flickered. “I really can’t talk about the ability, but you should have a chance to find out later.”
Xia Qingqing said in confusion, “You’re making it sound so mysterious. Now I’m actually kind of looking forward to it.”
Seeing that six hours had passed, the instructors had already all set out.
But Su Mo and the others were in no hurry. They sat in a café chatting, and only after estimating that the instructors had already left the city did they slowly set off.
Zhuge Zhi looked sly, as if this idea had been his: “They definitely wouldn’t expect us to be right under their noses.”
The group didn’t plan to walk there. Instead, they joined a tour group, preparing to go there under the guise of tourism.
The whole tour group had more than twenty people, and among them, a slender young woman caught Su Mo’s attention.
Even though she covered her face with a mask, Su Mo could still recognize her as Hong.
This assessment had sent out nearly ten B-ranks from Tianjiao Camp, a fairly large scale, but with Hong’s A-rank strength, she naturally didn’t need to worry about being discovered.
All the tourists were in place, but the tour guide was nowhere to be seen. Just as everyone was eagerly looking around, a sentence in Spanish full of classical Eastern flavor came from afar: “Sorry to keep everyone waiting. Let’s first count the number of people.”
After getting on the bus, the tour guide first counted the people, then had everyone download an app, saying it was for convenient communication and management. Its function was more or less the same as Penguin and Green Bubble.
“After everyone joins the group, remember to change your note. The format is name plus phone number, for easy contact.” The tour guide was no ordinary person either. He said the same thing in Spanish, English, and Chinese to prevent anyone from not understanding.
A strange phenomenon occurred. On a bus of more than twenty people, a quarter of them lowered their heads and buried their faces so others couldn’t see them.
To be precise, so the tour guide couldn’t see them.
The tour guide’s dark yellow face was like a calm lake brushed by a gentle breeze, stirring slightly. He seemed to be smiling, but no clue could really be seen.
He pushed up the frame of his glasses and continued in Spanish full of classical Eastern flavor: “Everyone’s here. We can set off now.”
Then came English and Chinese.
At the end, he cast a contemptuous glance toward the direction where Su Mo and the others were sitting. His small eyes seemed to say: “Little rascal, fighting me!”
