As Ji You stood ready, the Fool opposite was evidently annoyed by Ji You’s words. It was a boy, just by looking at his head emerging, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a square face, a broad nose, and thick lips... even more charmingly naive than Little Zhouzhou, but Ji You was certainly not going to underestimate him because of his appearance.

She pretended to take a step, actually leaning slightly forward, her back hunched.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

...

Time ticked away, little by little.

The Fool shouted, "Hurry up, what are you dawdling for?"

Ji You suddenly stopped and said, "I’m asking you, Fool brother, are you a teammate or an enemy? Logically speaking, if you are a teammate, why are you hiding? You should stand up and let me see you completely."

While saying this, Ji You couldn’t help but snicker and said, "Anyway, since you’re hiding and not revealing your whole body, there must be some shady business you’re up to."

The boy wanted to retort to Ji You, but when he heard the term ’Fool brother’, his face turned even darker, "Who are you calling?"

Ji You tilted her head, looking innocent and said, "Didn’t you say you’re called the Fool yourself?"

Boy: "..."

The boy angrily said, "Hurry and come over, I’m your class leader."

Upon hearing this, Ji You stopped moving and didn’t take another step forward.

The boy saw this and said furiously, "You don’t believe me?"

Ji You said, "The problem is I want to believe but I can’t."

The boy was fuming inside, but he patiently explained to Ji You: "Do you see this tree?"

Ji You nodded: "A tree with a great destiny. I estimate that with some rains next spring, a little breeze will let it sprout again. But, that’s my most optimistic estimate. I think the biggest possibility is it will die this year because..."

"Why do you talk so much nonsense?" The boy directly interrupted Ji You’s ramblings, pointing at the sign that hung on the branch but has now fallen to the ground, and said: "Do you see that sign? I wrote it just now."

Ji You looked enlightened: "I wondered why the handwriting was so ugly."

Boy: "..."

The boy said angrily, "Stand still and throw me the straw coat on your shoulder."

Ji You: "Why should I?"

The boy said: "Because I’m your class leader."

These words made Ji You dislike him. She said directly: "You say you’re the class leader, I could say I’m your boss too! Saying it doesn’t prove anything, who would believe!" As she was busy arguing with the boy, the Spiritual Silk Network she had tautly woven was already spreading around, confirming that other than this boy, there were no other students, nor were there traps or schemes...

Obviously, the boy was somewhat at his wit’s end with Ji You’s bickering. He pointed at the scorched earth beneath Ji You’s feet and said: "Take one step forward, and you’ll see whether I’m lying."

Having ruled out the danger, Ji You was still alert, continuing to debate: "You ask me to take one step forward; I take one step forward, would that not make me lose face? Why don’t you walk 100 steps toward me?"

steps would reach the place where Ji You was standing.

"Gosh! Such a nitpicker!" The boy raised his hand to rub his forehead and said, "My number is 4378, named Cheng Haoyue. If you don’t believe me, you can try it out. As far as I know, you are 5 minutes away from reaching the temporary base, right? Let me tell you, if you wait until 5 minutes are up and step inside, you’ll realize your mistake."

Upon hearing this, Ji You believed him a bit and cautiously took a step forward.

As she crossed the crooked-neck tree, the usually quiet bracelet finally gave a notification: [Congratulations, you have successfully reached the temporary base. Please report to your class leader. Keep up the good work in the upcoming competition.]

Ji You: "..."

The boy, Cheng Haoyue, also heard the tone from her bracelet and couldn’t help but curse: "Would I bother deceiving a low-ranking little newbie like you?"

"Cough cough..." The information was quite overwhelming, meaning with his thick eyebrows and earnest face, Cheng Haoyue was indeed the class leader, and the bracelet could send timely alerts indicating every move of each participant was monitored. The bracelet served as an identity tag, a locator, and a communicator...

Moreover, Cheng Haoyue said she was a low-ranking little newbie, meaning he knows her ranking?

Or perhaps...

Ji You thought about it and stopped procrastinating. She lifted her foot, about to step toward Cheng Haoyue, who was hiding at the bottom of a low slope. Cheng Haoyue saw this and jumped in surprise, hurriedly saying, "Wait!"

Ji You: "?"

Cheng Haoyue hesitated slightly, "Uh... that... First, throw me the straw coat."

Upon hearing this, Ji You guarded her straw coat vigilantly and said: "Why should I? This is my gear."

"Cough..." Cheng Haoyue’s face was slightly awkward and said: "4444 Ji You, as the class leader and your direct superior, I am now officially notifying you that your straw coat has been temporarily requisitioned by me."

Ji You did not move.

Cheng Haoyue said: "This is an order."

Ji You looked at his exposed forehead and the root of his neck...plus his arms raised smoothly, suddenly guessing: Could this class leader be bare-skinned?

"Cough cough..." Noticing Ji You’s blatant gaze, Cheng Haoyue’s old face blushed, saying, "I still have a pair of underwear on."

Ji You: "Tsk!"

Ji You thought for a moment, then tossed the straw coat in Cheng Haoyue’s direction. He raised his hand to catch it and quickly hid behind the big rock beside the low slope.

Soon, Cheng Haoyue emerged from behind the rock, wrapped in the straw coat, revealing two ankles, barefooted, he came out holding the straw coat tightly, mouth muttering: "Damn! I waited for ages, someone finally came. I almost thought I’d have to spend the night without my shirt."

Cheng Haoyue asked, "Got any food? I’m starving."

"Nope." Ji You shrugged and said: "When you entered the dormitory area, the Space Button and everything you carried were stored away."

Hearing this, Cheng Haoyue was greatly disappointed and cursed: "Damn! The organizers are despicable."

Ji You was curious, asking: "I say, brother, how did you end up looking like this?"

Upon hearing this question, Cheng Haoyue’s lips twitched, obviously reluctant to speak.

Ji You urged: "Brother, hurry up, we are in the same class. You are the class leader and also a teammate, how can I understand the current situation if you don’t tell? If you don’t tell, how will I make fun of you?" Cough cough...

Cheng Haoyue’s face was slightly awkward and said: "I came in a good half-day earlier than you. I entered after breakfast this morning." After entering, he couldn’t go out, wasn’t allowed to bring food, drinks, or weapons; there was nothing here but soil. He finally found the temporary base according to the prompts, discovered a small river with water in it, wanting to drink some water but worried the river water might be problematic, he burned his only straw coat to boil water.

And then...

Tragedy struck.