38: Chapter 38: A Successful First Day?

After the vehicle stopped, the soldiers quickly set up the assembly point.

Instructor Qin Feng stood on a half-collapsed concrete pier and emphasized the rules one last time.

"The activity range has been synchronized to your locators."

"Do not cross the line, do not leave the team, and do not enter the red-marked areas without authorization."

"The signal flares are not decorations. If you truly encounter a situation you cannot handle, fire them immediately."

"Now, move out!"

Eight small teams quickly scattered, entering the edge of the Wasteland Zone in different directions.

Lu Cheng's team didn't rush to the front, nor did they intentionally lag behind; instead, they chose a path somewhere in the middle to cut in.

Not long after walking out of the assembly point, Ma Dachun started panting.

"I think… can my load be shared a bit…"

Lu Cheng looked back at him.

"Everything you're carrying is the extra medicine and various ingredients you stuffed in yourself… I really can't understand, bringing salt is one thing… but why bring thirteen-spice powder, barbecue seasoning, and so many snacks?"

"Well, you need seasoning to eat!"

Seeing this, Lu Cheng sighed and helped him sort out some things from his bag.

Xia Xi walked in front and to the left of Lu Cheng, occasionally looking down at the ground, then looking up to scan the surroundings.

Although she wasn't very reliable, she was still very serious when it came to critical moments!

Su Wan followed behind, her footsteps almost silent, her presence suppressed very low; she was like a patch of snow ready to melt into the shadows at any moment.

The first training task came quickly.

They discovered traces of Splitting-Claw Rabbit activity near a patch of shrubs.

This type of ferocious beast is considered quite common among Tier 1 beasts; it is small in size, fast, and its front claws are split like hooks. When it goes crazy, it can tear open an ordinary person's calf.

There were fresh gnaw marks on the ground.

The edges of a few broken blades of grass still held moist sap.

Xia Xi squatted down and looked for a few seconds.

"They didn't leave long ago."

Su Wan added.

"There are two, not one."

Lu Cheng followed her gaze and, sure enough, discovered shallower footprints on the other side.

His heart stirred slightly.

That familiar perception gave a slight twitch again.

Seeking Good Fortune and Avoiding Bad Luck.

It wasn't a strong warning, just a subtle reminder.

The left side, not good.

Lu Cheng barely hesitated, raising his hand to point to the front right.

"Go around this way."

Ma Dachun was stunned for a moment.

"But aren't the rabbit tracks more obvious to the left?"

"They might only be obvious because they were left intentionally," Lu Cheng said casually. "Don't pursue too aggressively yet; reconnaissance is the priority."

The others didn't object and directly changed direction.

After circling around for about a hundred meters, they spotted two Splitting-Claw Rabbits behind a half-collapsed pile of stones.

That place had an open field of view with no cover around, which was indeed much safer than the shrub area on the left.

Xia Xi's eyes lit up.

"We really found them!"

After a simple setup, Xia Xi and Lu Cheng flanked them from front and back, while Su Wan raised her hand in the rear to condense a wisp of cold air, precisely sealing off the escape route of one of them.

The startled Splitting-Claw Rabbit bolted upright.

The next second, Lu Cheng stepped forward and threw a punch directly at it.

Bang!

That Splitting-Claw Rabbit was sent flying sideways, slammed into a stone, twitched twice, and then stopped moving.

The other one tried to run, but Xia Xi was already on it. With a flash of her figure, her short blade slashed across, cleanly and neatly cutting its hind leg.

Su Wan's cold air followed closely and entangled it.

A few seconds later, the battle ended.

Ma Dachun arrived at the scene holding his knees. He first looked at the rabbits, then at the three of them, his expression complex.

"Damn, it seems like in this team, I'm really only left with doing chores!"

Lu Cheng tossed a Splitting-Claw Rabbit to him.

"Then you handle the materials."

"Alright."

Hearing that he didn't have to fight, Ma Dachun immediately perked up a bit.

For the next half day, the training content gradually unfolded.

They learned to identify footprints, distinguish between fresh and old beast droppings, and judge wind direction and water source locations.

Instructor Qin Feng had obviously set up quite a few teaching points in advance.

Some places had hidden markers; as long as they could be found, they could earn basic points.

Other places were intentionally set up as risk zones to let students learn how to avoid them.

For example, that Poison-Mist Vine area.

Gray-green vines were entwined between scattered rocks and dead trees, with translucent sacs bulging on their surfaces. When the wind blew, the sacs trembled slightly, as if turbid gas was rolling inside.

Just as Ma Dachun wanted to take a shortcut from the side, a sudden prick hit Lu Cheng's heart.

Danger.

He paused his steps, grabbed Ma Dachun by the back of his collar, and dragged him back.

"Don't go over there."

"Huh?"

The next second, a vine in front seemed to be touched by the wind, and with a puff, it exploded into a cloud of gray-green mist.

A fist-sized beetle nearby had just flown into it; it fluttered its wings twice, then plop, it fell to the ground and stopped moving within seconds.

Ma Dachun's face turned pale.

"Holy crap… this thing is this poisonous?!"

Su Wan glanced at it and said indifferently:

"Low concentrations cause paralysis, high concentrations corrode the respiratory tract. If you had gone in just now, you would probably have been carried back lying down."

Ma Dachun's Adam's apple bobbed, and he silently took two steps back.

"I declare, from now on, wherever Brother Lu says to go, I will crawl there."

Lu Cheng didn't take the bait, just re-selected a path along the outer edge of the Poison-Mist Vines.

Along the way, his "feeling" was triggered intermittently several times.

Each time, he changed direction slightly without attracting attention.

Circling around a collapsed area.

Avoiding a beast den hidden under the grass.

And steering clear of a low valley that looked easy to traverse but actually had the wrong wind direction.

Behind a high rock in the distance.

Instructor Qin Feng held binoculars, watching the route of Lu Cheng's team, and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"That's the third time."

A soldier nearby asked in a low voice: "What's the third time?"

"He's avoided danger points for the third time now." Instructor Qin Feng lowered the binoculars, his gaze darkening. "This Seeking Good Fortune and Avoiding Bad Luck… if it could be used in the land reclamation teams… then we wouldn't have to lose so many brothers every year…"

Instructor Qin Feng didn't speak again, just mentally bumped Lu Cheng's name up higher on his list.

At dusk, the sky began to darken.

Night in the Wasteland Zone comes faster than in the city, and the temperature drops significantly.

The four of them chose a leeward low slope to set up camp.

Ma Dachun was responsible for the labor and finally found his life's value.

Setting up simple tents, pulling warning ropes, burying small noise-maker traps, and even sprinkling a circle of insect repellent powder around the perimeter.

Although his movements were a bit unsteady, and he got dizzy when squatting down and standing up, he had brought a full set of tools.

Lu Cheng looked around and nodded.

"Not bad, it wasn't a waste of effort letting you carry it."

Ma Dachun wiped his sweat and smiled weakly.

"The God of Logistics… never falls…"

As a result, the next second, just as he wanted to hammer the last wooden stake into the ground, he swayed and plop, sat down on the ground.

Xia Xi almost laughed out loud.

"You call this 'never falling'?"

"This is a tactical seating."

Su Wan leaned against a stone nearby, quietly organizing the routes and marked points recorded today.

The campfire was quickly lit.

The compressed rations tasted average after being heated, but in the Wasteland Zone, they were already considered decent.

Nightfall pressed down bit by bit; the sound of the wind, the rustling of grass leaves, and the occasional beast roars from afar mixed together, making one's nerves tense.

Lu Cheng sat by the fire, his gaze sweeping over the perimeter of the campsite.

Today was only the first day, and so far, everything had gone smoothly.

But for some reason… that sense of crisis in his heart was becoming increasingly intense.