69: Chapter 69 Preparations Before the Final Day

Lin Ye looked up at the water curtain outside the cave.

There were still at least a few hours until dark.

He pulled a dagger from the side of his backpack and tossed it to Zhao Mengmeng.

"You know how to whittle branches, right?"

Zhao Mengmeng nodded immediately.

"Good."

Lin Ye pointed to the small pile of hardwood branches in the corner.

"Whittle these straight first, using the metal arrows as a length guide. Discard the ones that are too thick, and don't bother with the ones that are too crooked."

Zhao Mengmeng blinked. "How many?"

Lin Ye thought for a moment. "At least twenty semi-finished ones before I get back."

Zhao Mengmeng's mouth twitched. "Are you setting a production quota for me?"

Lin Ye hoisted his fire axe onto his shoulder. "Can't help it. The team was just established, and management protocols must keep up."

Zhao Mengmeng rolled her eyes, but she had already crouched by the wood pile and grabbed a branch to start whittling.

As the blade pushed against the bark, thin wood shavings curled away.

Lin Ye turned and walked to the cave entrance, disappearing into the water curtain.

Zhao Mengmeng looked up and muttered, "This way of leaving is really hard on the heart."

In the Great Xia Live Stream, the audience was already amused.

[Here we go, Brother Eye has started exploiting the newbie!]

[Twenty as a starting quota, is he going to dock her performance pay if she fails?]

[Don't be afraid, Mengmeng! If you do a good job, you'll get extra mutton soup tonight!]

[This team is finally taking shape—one for field duty, one for internal duty.]

Lin Ye landed below the waterfall, his toes stepping across the slippery rocks as he quickly ducked into the jungle.

The fire axe fell repeatedly, and the sound of snapping wood rang out one after another.

Half an hour later, a small bundle of branches was already piled on the ground.

During this time, two small exotic beasts approached after hearing the noise.

One had its head smashed in by the back of Lin Ye's axe, while the other was hooked by the Wind-Chasing Claw, dragged back, and had its neck snapped underfoot.

[Killed small exotic beast, points +2]

[Killed small exotic beast, points +2]

The points weren't much.

But at least it didn't interfere with the main task.

Lin Ye bundled the branches tightly with vines, strapped them to his back, and continued searching deeper into the jungle.

Over an hour later, he returned to the waterfall.

The hardwood branches on his back were piled into a large bundle, pressing the shoulder straps deep into his shoulders.

He raised his hand, fired the grappling hook, and used the momentum to swing into the water curtain.

As soon as his feet landed at the cave entrance, Lin Ye paused.

By the fire pit, several sets of stones were neatly arranged.

Rows of semi-finished arrow shafts were pressed between the stones.

Zhao Mengmeng was drenched in sweat, stirring the meat soup in the pot with one hand and flipping the roasted lamb chops with the other.

Beside her were thin strings made from scraped tree bark.

Lin Ye watched in silence for two seconds.

Zhao Mengmeng turned around and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I've finished all the materials I could. I didn't keep the crooked ones; I chopped them for firewood."

Lin Ye set down the hardwood on his back. "Your efficiency is impressive."

The young girl lifted her chin. "Don't look down on me; I never slack off when I work."

The Great Xia Live Stream instantly became lively.

[Brother Eye has hired a top-tier Sichuan-Chongqing laborer; even capitalists would be moved to tears.]

[Brother Eye made a killing this time, picking up a support who can fight and work.]

[Mengmeng: Give her meat and she works, give her soup and she'll risk her life.]

In the fire pit, the mutton bone soup bubbled with white steam.

Zhao Mengmeng handed the roasted lamb chops to Lin Ye.

Lin Ye took them, bit off a large mouthful, and meat juices seeped out along the charred yellow edges.

Zhao Mengmeng picked up the small pot, blew on it a few times, and took a sip of the soup.

With the hot soup in her stomach, she felt much better.

Just then, she looked down at the wrist terminal and suddenly slapped her forehead.

"Brother Lin, we haven't used today's upload opportunity yet."

Lin Ye chewed on the lamb chops and said vaguely, "Don't worry about these past two days."

Zhao Mengmeng was stunned. "Don't use it? Isn't there only one per day?"

Lin Ye finished gnawing the bone clean and tossed it into the pile of bone waste nearby.

"Uploading ordinary supplies now doesn't mean much to the country."

"Tomorrow is the last day of the Scarlet Hunt. Everyone will be scrambling for points, and the real good stuff lies in the rewards for the top 15."

"The most important thing tonight is preparing for battle."

Zhao Mengmeng looked at him, and her expression shifted slightly.

She had previously only been thinking about whether she could survive.

Lin Ye, however, was thinking about how to kill more exotic beasts, how to get the best rewards, and how to squeeze more resources for Great Xia.

This kind of brain—it really wasn't something she could compare to.

After dinner, Lin Ye summoned the light screen.

The semi-transparent light blue interface unfolded before his right eye.

[No. 1: Lin Ye (Great Xia) — Points: 566]

[No. 2: Scott (USA) — Points: 523]

[No. 3: Ivan (Russia) — Points: 263]

[No. 4: Soldier King Xu Haifeng (Great Xia) — Points: 257]

Lin Ye stared at the rankings for a moment.

Scott was catching up quickly.

During the day, he had been over a hundred points ahead, but now the gap had narrowed to just over forty.

If Scott worked overtime tonight, he might surpass him by tomorrow.

Looking further down, the gap between Ivan and Soldier King Xu Haifeng was only six points.

The top of the leaderboard was all neck and neck.

After eating and drinking their fill, the two began working overtime to make wooden arrows.

Lin Ye was responsible for the rough work.

Zhao Mengmeng was responsible for the detailed work.

After working hard all night, the finished wooden arrows piled up to over eighty.

Zhao Mengmeng rubbed her wrists, her face filled with exhaustion, yet she didn't utter a single complaint.

Lin Ye looked outside the cave, then looked at Zhao Mengmeng.

"That's enough. We'll take turns keeping watch tonight."

Zhao Mengmeng looked up. "How will we arrange it?"

"I'll sleep first, and you call me in the second half of the night."

She was stunned. "You trust me that much?"

"I'm a light sleeper. If you try anything, I'll wake up."

Zhao Mengmeng's mouth stiffened. "Your trust is truly touching."

Lin Ye didn't stand on ceremony, crawled into the sleeping bag, and closed his eyes quickly.

Zhao Mengmeng sat by the fire pit, listening to the sound of water outside the cave, and her heart slowly calmed down.

She hadn't felt this secure in a long time.

At least at this moment, there was fire, meat, weapons, and someone who could lead her to survive.

In the second half of the night.

Zhao Mengmeng gently pushed Lin Ye.

"Brother Lin, it's time."

Lin Ye opened his eyes, rolled over to sit up, and stretched his neck.

He walked to the fire pit and added a few pieces of firewood.

The flames flared up again.

"You go to sleep."

Zhao Mengmeng stood in place, looking at the sleeping bag on the moisture-proof rack, and her face slowly turned red.

In the entire cave, there was only this one sleeping bag.

Her supplies had long been lost completely when she was robbed by Sean Johnson.

Although there was a fire in the cave, the stone walls were cold; if she really slept against the wall, her arms and legs would ache tomorrow.

Lin Ye saw her standing there motionless and looked back.

"What's wrong?"

Zhao Mengmeng's ears burned. "I... where do I sleep?"

Lin Ye realized and pointed to the sleeping bag. "Right there."

Her face turned even redder now. "You just slept in it."

Lin Ye's hand stopped adding firewood. "Then what, you want to sleep standing up?"

Zhao Mengmeng's lips moved, but she couldn't get a word out for a long time.

The night owls in the livestream, who had been incredibly sleepy, were instantly energized.

[The whole internet is watching a massive social suicide scene!]

[Don't be a coward, Mengmeng! The sleeping bag won't eat you!]

[Brother Eye: The sleeping bag is just equipment. Netizens: No, it carries too much.]

[In wilderness survival, one must prioritize resource reuse.]

Zhao Mengmeng still couldn't overcome her exhaustion.

She kept her head down, walked to the moisture-proof bed frame, and crawled into the sleeping bag.

The sleeping bag still held the warmth of Lin Ye's body.

And the mixed scent of sweat, smoke, and smoked meat.

Zhao Mengmeng's cheeks burned, and she tucked her head further inside.

"I'm just too tired, don't think nonsense."

A few minutes later, the sound of rhythmic breathing came.

Lin Ye sat by the fire pit, glanced over, and continued poking the charcoal fire.

The next morning.

The final day of the Scarlet Hunt officially arrived.

Zhao Mengmeng woke up quickly, rolled over and climbed out, without a word of nonsense.

She wrapped all the leftover roasted meat from last night with large leaves and stuffed it into Lin Ye's backpack.

She also bundled the eighty-plus wooden arrows into two packs with vines and strapped them to her own back.

Lin Ye checked the crossbow, fire axe, dagger, and Wind-Chasing Claw.

After confirming everything was correct, he walked toward the cave entrance.

Zhao Mengmeng followed behind, the embarrassment from last night gone from her face, replaced only by excitement and nervousness.

Lin Ye wrapped his arm around Zhao Mengmeng's waist and raised his right arm.

"Hold on tight."

"Boom!"

The Wind-Chasing Claw shot out.

The two swung out of the water curtain, passing through the falling white waves of the waterfall.

Lin Ye first swung Zhao Mengmeng onto a protruding rock in the middle of the cliff face.

"Jam the dagger into the crevice, don't move around!"

Zhao Mengmeng immediately did as told, inserting the tip of the knife into the rock crevice and planting her feet firmly.

Lin Ye used the momentum to climb to the top of the cliff, then turned back and threw the grappling hook down.

After Zhao Mengmeng grabbed it, she was pulled up to the top of the cliff.

"Give me a heads-up next time!"

Lin Ye retracted the grappling hook. "We'll see next time."

Both fully armed, they stepped into the jungle, one after the other.