18: Chapter 18 Morning Patrol and Brutal Battle Reports

In the early morning, sunlight pierced through the tree canopy and shone into the "flat" 20 meters above the ground.

Lin Ye opened his eyes and let out a huge yawn.

He had slept very soundly last night, all the way until dawn.

He crawled out of his sleeping bag and stretched.

His bones made a crisp cracking sound.

Perhaps because he had slept so well last night, he felt full of energy now, as if he had inexhaustible strength throughout his body.

The first thing to do after waking up was to check the thorn vines and wood ash arranged around him.

Intact and undamaged!

There were no traces of any creatures coming to visit from high above in the middle of the night.

Lin Ye nodded in satisfaction.

He rolled up his sleeping bag and stuffed it into his backpack.

He raised his right arm, and the Wind-Chasing Claw shot out, hooking onto a thick node on the main tree trunk with a "bang."

He leaped.

The cable released, and he landed smoothly back on the ground.

Lin Ye began his routine inspection of the "three-dimensional defense line" he had set up last night.

He first walked around the giant tree, his gaze sweeping over the wood ash.

There were a few messy crawling tracks at the edge, and a few insects were overturned on the ground, their limbs stiff—they were dead as a doornail.

Lin Ye curled his lip and took out his dagger to flick the insect corpses away.

"This alkali resistance is too poor."

Continuing inward, he arrived beside the "Thorn Halo" at the base of the tree.

His footsteps paused.

A wooden spike obliquely inserted into the soil was stained with dark red blood.

A small tuft of grayish-brown animal fur was stuck in the barbs of the wooden spike.

Lin Ye looked up accordingly.

He looked at the "anti-climbing net."

A section of the thorn vine had been torn off, and it was still stained with a few traces of blood.

There were obvious signs of struggling and rolling on the ground, extending all the way into the depths of the jungle.

Lin Ye rubbed his chin.

"It seems there were guests here last night."

He smacked his lips, "But their skills are not good enough; they didn't even manage to jump up to the first floor."

After confirming that there were no remaining threats around, Lin Ye suddenly sighed.

An expression of annoyance appeared on his face: "I miscalculated."

"If I had known the game here was so proactive, I should have spent some effort last night to turn this circle of wooden spikes into a lethal trap."

"A ready-made breakfast ran away for nothing; what a loss, what a loss!"

Great Xia Live Stream.

Those viewers who had gotten up early, ready to rave about Lin Ye's "divine calculations and invincible survival strategies."

Hearing this, they were all collectively choked up.

Subsequently, the style of the barrage changed abruptly.

[Holy crap! What are you feeling sorry for? That thing came to eat you!]

[Defense is not the goal; baiting is the core!]

[I thought he was feeling fearful, but it turns out he was craving their meat?]

[I, who was just feeling sorry for his dangerous situation, feel like a clown.]

[High-end hunters often appear in the form of prey.]

[Leopard is suffering, Leopard fled the forest overnight on a lame leg!]

[Others: Holy crap, that was close, I almost died! Brother Eye: Holy crap, what a loss, I missed a meal!]

The atmosphere in the livestream became relaxed and pleasant because of Lin Ye's outrageous complaints.

Just as everyone was preparing to post a few comments, the announcement sound of the National Destiny Challenge rang in everyone's ears.

[Endgame Simulation yesterday's battle report.]

[Total number of Challenger deaths globally: 713.]

[Great Xia: 5 deaths.]

[USA: 4 deaths.]

[Russia: 4 deaths.]

[Japan: 6 deaths.]

[India: 9 deaths.]

...

[Environmental factors (poisoning/hypothermia/falling off a cliff): 15%]

[Exotic beast attacks: 79%]

[Challenger conflicts: 6%]

The cold, hard numbers echoed in the air.

Those seven hundred-plus lives vanished in the darkness of last night.

Great Xia Disaster Prevention Administration, Command Center.

The atmosphere in the hall was heavy.

On the giant screen, the feeds of the 7 Challengers who failed to find a safe shelter last night had already gone black for 4 of them.

Among the remaining 3, 2 were covered in injuries, their eyes revealing the terror and numbness of having survived a disaster.

Not only that, but even among the first batch of survivors who had lived until now, one person died yesterday while exploring a Level 3 Floating Island.

"Bang!"

Director Wei Tiejun slammed his fist onto the command console.

He clenched his fists tightly, his chest heaving violently.

"Hoo——"

Taking a deep breath, Director Wei Tiejun suppressed the pain in his eyes.

"Immediately send people to implement the pension work for these 5 fallen compatriots!"

After giving instructions on the pension matters, he issued another extremely important directive.

"Notify the survival assessment team to conduct personal status and surrounding environment assessments for the currently surviving Great Xia Challengers!"

Intelligence team leader Zhou Jianping felt a jolt in his heart.

He stepped forward and asked in a low voice: "Director Wei... are we going to use that?"

Director Wei Tiejun nodded.

According to the National Destiny Challenge rules, each country has one opportunity per round to airdrop non-military supplies and a 20-character message to one of their Challengers.

This was not just an airdrop; it was a precious off-field trump card.

Used well, it could change one's destiny; used on the wrong person, everything would be lost.

When to use it? Who to use it on? What to give? How to write the message?

Every decision concerned the overall situation.

...

At this time, the foreign livestream was already filled with wailing.

[USA: Oh no! How could our elite soldiers be bitten to death by beasts!]

[Japan: Baka! This is not true! How can Great Xia people have fewer deaths than us!]

[South Korea: Aish! Our oppa's face was chewed to pieces!]

Last night, a large number of ill-prepared elites from various countries lost their lives.

Many Challengers who claimed to be aces even had their throats bitten through by fierce beasts in their sleep.

...

Great Xia Live Stream.

At the commentary desk, the three commentators stood up together.

"Five compatriots have remained in that sea of clouds forever."

Su Qinglan folded her hands in front of her, her voice a bit hoarse.

"They fought for the tomorrow of Great Xia. Their names will be forever engraved on the monument of Great Xia."

Commentator Chen Guofeng pressed his lips tightly, his back straight as an unsheathed steel blade.

Xu Mingyuan lowered his head, silently wiping the moisture from the corners of his eyes.

...

Void Sea, Level 2 Floating Island.

Lin Ye composed his expression.

"The second day... and 5 more compatriots are gone."

He was very clear-headed.

His smooth sailing over these two days was all thanks to the Eye of Destiny and his sneaky instincts.

But this was the Void Sea, the Endgame Simulation dominated by the supreme will.

There was no mercy here, and it certainly wouldn't believe in tears.

Taking a deep breath, he forcibly suppressed the compassion in his heart.

Sadness could not save Great Xia.

To survive, to extend the life of Great Xia.

The only thing he could do was to get more supplies and bolster the foundation of Great Xia's national destiny.

"Time to work!"

Lin Ye tightened the shoulder straps of his backpack, preparing to head out to search for food.

As he walked, he opened the National Destiny Challenge light screen to check his own status.

[Name: Lin Ye]

[Vital signs: Impaired]

[pollution: 0.00%]

[Spirit Grid: 100.00%]

The right foot he had just stepped out with hung in mid-air.

He stopped his movement.

"pollution is back to zero?"

He remembered clearly that when he scraped his knee yesterday, he had seen tiny gray spots attached to the edge of the wound.

At that time, the light screen also showed that the pollution value had become 0.02%.

How did it disappear after sleeping for one night?

Lin Ye bent down.

He rolled up his right pant leg and tore off the cloth strip he had used as a bandage.

The next second, he was stunned on the spot.

There was no scab, no damage, and no signs of inflammation.

His knee was as smooth as new; not even a scar could be seen.

The wound, it disappeared?