Chapter 206: Chapter 185: Stealth, Super Plan

"Uh, I’m just saying, what if?"

"No, it’s not a ’what if.’ They definitely won’t pass through here!" Gao Neng suddenly realized.

"Huh? How can you be so sure?" Fang Tangtang looked bewildered.

"I’ll explain later. That alien team heading up the mountain is about to creep up on us. Let’s find a place to hide first!" Gao Neng didn’t explain right away, instead pulling Fang Tangtang up and starting to run.

Since Fang Tangtang had said she’d been on a battlefield before, Gao Neng had been instinctively following her lead and directions the whole way.

But thinking it over now, he realized that Fang Tangtang had nearly led him astray.

The Military Department’s operation this time is a secret one, not a true declaration of war. Plus, it’s not a protracted battle—it’s only supposed to last for three days.

So, in essence, it’s still a sneak attack.

’A sneak attack...’

’Why would they possibly take the main road?!’

If he was guessing correctly, the Military Department had probably dispatched an elite unit this time, a mix of third and fourth-rank students from the four major military academies. Their numbers wouldn’t be huge, but their marching speed would certainly be extremely fast.

A lightly-equipped elite force taking the enemy by surprise, forcibly tearing open a weak point in one of the two defensive lines, and then rapidly retreating after three days—that was the proper way to conduct a sneak attack.

’Take the main road on Wild Battle Mountain and fight a frontal battle?’

’Absolutely not!’

The Military Department’s target definitely wouldn’t be on the front lines. It would be one of the weak points in the first defensive line—and if all went as planned, it would also serve as a retreat route.

As Gao Neng considered this, a rough plan began to form in his mind.

However, the priority right now was to find a place to hide.

Fang Tangtang wanted to ask more, but the alien team behind them was drawing ever closer. She had no choice but to clamp her mouth shut and follow Gao Neng.

The two of them and the cat began to search the mountainside. Before long, they found a small cave, just big enough for three or four people to hide in.

But that was enough.

Gao Neng had Fang Tangtang go in first. Then, he blocked the entrance with a large rock, leaving a small crack to observe the situation outside.

Because it was a bit dark, he couldn’t get a clear look at the alien team passing by.

But the team soon passed by, moving without a sound. It was clear they had no intention of searching the area either.

Once the alien team was a safe distance away, Gao Neng pushed the rock aside.

"Gao Neng, hurry up and tell me, what did you mean earlier?" Fang Tangtang immediately asked.

"Do you think they’d launch a frontal assault in a sneak attack? Or take the main road?" Gao Neng retorted casually.

"A sneak attack? Huh? You said sneak... Oh, I get it!" Fang Tangtang froze for a moment before the realization dawned on her.

Gao Neng didn’t dwell on the issue. He opened his map and began to carefully examine the terrain of the first defensive line, analyzing the Military Department’s possible points of attack.

’As for Fang Tangtang’s intelligence...’

’Everyone has their strengths. Gao Neng didn’t think Fang Tangtang was unintelligent; her forte just wasn’t in "practical application." She was much better at judging character and public speaking.’

’From the moment they entered the military academy, Fang Tangtang had singled out Gao Neng. She constantly tried to sweet-talk him into joining her Death God Team, and later tried to do the same with Kong Kun and Feng Qingqing.’

’If Gao Neng hadn’t forcefully established the Invincible Team, the Death God Team would probably have been formed long ago.’

’Beyond that, Fang Tangtang was also incredibly sharp when it came to investing. The moment Gao Neng mentioned he was looking for an investor, she immediately took him to see Fang Yuan.’

’It might sound like a normal thing to do, but it was actually a move full of decisiveness and wisdom.’

’First of all, Fang Tangtang has significant financial autonomy. She didn’t even blink when paying a ten million deposit, so how could she not have money to invest? But at the time, she never mentioned investing herself. Instead, she claimed she had no desire to start a business, yet she specifically took Gao Neng to Fang Yuan.’

’To put it bluntly...’

’Fang Tangtang had the makings of a "post-success" businesswoman, but she lacked the mindset of an entrepreneur. She had never experienced hardship, so she didn’t understand the difficulties of a startup’s early days and naturally lacked a strong sense of crisis.’

’She was an excellent "investor," but not an excellent "practitioner." So if you actually asked her to draw up a battle plan, it was only natural that she wouldn’t be able to think it through comprehensively.’

’But Gao Neng was different.’

’He was born into the lower rungs of society. From birth, he was surrounded by danger. No one paved the way for him; a single misstep could mean death.’

’Different upbringings naturally lead to different experiences.’

’Asking him to make money from money, rake in interest, find business opportunities, or make investments? That would definitely be a no-go.’

’But staying alive and making plans—those were his strong suits!’

Gao Neng only studied the map for two or three minutes before successfully identifying several potential "points." After two rounds of elimination, two remained.

The first was near a forest, a good spot for a sneak attack. Moreover, it offered a convenient retreat route directly into the woods.

The second was easy to defend and difficult to attack, as it occupied the high ground. If a sneak attack there succeeded, even a small force could defend it for three days to keep the retreat path open without any issues.

"Fang Tangtang, which of these two do you think is more likely?" Gao Neng was hesitant and looked to Fang Tangtang for her opinion.

"The second one!" Fang Tangtang answered after a moment of thought.

"Oh? And your reason?"

"I once heard Uncle Bai say that if you encounter a forest on the battlefield, it’s best to stay out if you can. Otherwise, you might die without even knowing how it happened. So, I’m guessing the Military Department won’t attack from the forest."

"Mm, I also think the second one is more likely. The high ground is difficult to assault, but the Military Department is deploying elites this time. With the element of surprise, taking it shouldn’t be a major problem. As long as they capture that high ground, they’ll be able to advance or retreat as needed." Gao Neng nodded slightly in agreement.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get going!"

"Which way?"

"From here, of course... Look... there’s a path right here on the map. If we cut through, we can get there in time, right?" Fang Tangtang pointed at the map.

"What if we run into another one of those proposal parties? Besides, the closer we get to the first defensive line, the more aliens there will be. We’ve probably only avoided them so far because of the time of day. If we head in that direction... it’ll take even longer. After six o’clock, we’re very likely to run into them!"

"Then how do you suggest we go?"

"While I was hiding in the cave, I was thinking, why don’t we travel underground?"

"Underground?! You want to dig a tunnel from here... all the way to the high ground at the first defensive line? Are you insane? How long would that take?!"

"Did you forget? I have a super Earth Dragon."

"An Earth Dragon! That’s right... you have an Earth Dragon. But, wouldn’t that still be slower than running? After all, no matter how fast an Earth Dragon can burrow, it can’t be faster than sprinting on the surface."

"The problem is, you *can’t* sprint on the surface. Go on, give it a try..."

"But wouldn’t that be way too slow?"

"I’ve calculated the time. If we travel on the surface, we can get there in about two hours. Traveling underground, however, will take about seven or eight hours."

"That long?"

"It’s a bit longer, but the timing is perfect. Did you forget? Even if we arrived early, we’d still have to wait there for at least five hours. Getting exposed on the way would be even more dangerous. We might as well spend that waiting time on the journey instead."

"Fine, I’ll listen to you this time!" Fang Tangtang gritted her teeth and finally nodded. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Hold on tight." Gao Neng immediately crushed the high-dimensional capsule.

The black super Earth Dragon instantly appeared before them.

"Huh?" Fang Tangtang was taken aback.

Gao Neng didn’t stand on ceremony. He swept Fang Tangtang into his arms as the Earth Dragon leaped up, its hind feet immediately gripping his back and backpack.

"MEOW!" Gao Xiaomeng let out a cry.

"Fang Tangtang, put on your helmet. Don’t you have anti-magnetic battle armor? Put that on too. If you don’t want your clothes shredded while we’re burrowing, you’d better change into it quickly."

"Oh? Okay!"

"BOOM!"

Once the two of them had put on their helmets and anti-magnetic armor, the Earth Dragon plunged into the ground with a BOOM.

A seven-to-eight-hour underground journey.

’They certainly weren’t going to crawl it!’

’If they actually had to crawl, they probably wouldn’t get there by morning.’

The Earth Dragon grabbed onto Gao Neng with the claws on its abdomen and then began to burrow. He’d performed this maneuver before, back when he was taking on the D-Rank Challenge.

The only difference was that now he had Fang Tangtang with him.

"..." Fang Tangtang was held tightly in Gao Neng’s arms. She finally understood what he meant by "traveling underground." ’The Earth Dragon is actually carrying us while it burrows?’

’So I don’t even have to run... right?’

’Not bad at all!’

’It might be a little slow, but the main thing is that it’s effortless.’

The two of them were carried by the Earth Dragon as it burrowed, its movements completely controlled by Gao Neng’s Spiritual Power. The toll was considerable, so Gao Neng had to periodically consume an Energy Pill.

They continued burrowing like this for over an hour...

Suddenly, Gao Neng noticed a problem.

When he controlled the burrowing Earth Dragon from the surface, he could precisely manage its direction and position. However, now that he was underground himself, controlling its direction seemed to have become a bit of a crapshoot.

This was a problem he hadn’t anticipated.

’But we shouldn’t have strayed off course, right?’

’My sense of direction has always been incredible. There’s no way I’m lost.’ Despite his thoughts, Gao Neng still controlled the Earth Dragon to surface.

He glanced at the surrounding terrain. A faint light was beginning to touch the sky. All around were rocks and weeds, and he could hear a rustling sound not far away.

"Huh? Why did we surface? Gao Neng... you’re not lost, are you?" Fang Tangtang, who had been sleeping soundly, groggily sensed something was amiss and opened her eyes.

"Lost? How is that possible? Me, get lost? What a joke!" Gao Neng gritted his teeth and had the Earth Dragon dive back underground to continue its journey.

’Getting lost is impossible!’

’I’ll never get lost, not in this lifetime!’

’Besides, to look at it another way, the sky is already starting to brighten. The surface definitely isn’t safe. Traveling underground at least guarantees our safety.’

’Onward!’