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Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Re-cooperation
Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Yang Xiao gathered everyone together and said seriously,
"This matter was initiated by us, so naturally, the spoils belong to us. However, if we leave the pond, it becomes a place everyone can scramble for. So, from now on, we must camp here until the water is drained and we catch the fish."
"Boss, doesn’t that mean we have to spend the night on the mountain?"
"Yes, that’s right. The main thing I want to discuss now is spending the night on the mountain. The girls are divided into two groups; Huang Wen will lead half the girls down the mountain to bring some simple tents, pots, and pans. We estimate we’ll be here for two days. Feifei will lead a group to cut down trees.
Aren’t you fond of cutting trees? Cut more, drag those tall branches over here, and form a circle to make a simple defense wall. Guard against large mutated creatures attacking us at night, and prepare more firewood to keep the bonfire burning all night long."
After Yang Xiao finished giving instructions, everyone went about their tasks.
Huang Wen was about to leave when Yang Xiao called out to her.
"Boss, do you have further instructions?"
"When you go down the mountain, you’ll encounter Xiao Zhe. If Xiao Zhe wants to return to the mountain immediately, just tell him our leader wants you to bring the top 30 people and come up; food and lodging are self-managed."
Huang Wen was taken aback and said,
"What do you mean?"
Yang Xiao gave a mysterious smile and said,
"No need to ask. When you get down the mountain, just do as I said."
Huang Wen muttered under her breath, then led Chen Lu and a dozen girls down the mountain.
It was noon, and the mountain road was a two-lane concrete road. The thick fog enveloping the mountain road had long been cleared. Yang Xiao and Xiao Zhe had traversed it several times, so the mutated creatures on the road were mostly eliminated, making it relatively safe.
After walking for half an hour, Huang Wen and her group gradually approached the vicinity of the academy and saw Xiao Zhe and others standing on the mountain road, seemingly discussing something from afar.
...
The flow of water was much faster than walking.
Xiao Zhe and his group left the pond in a huff, looking dispirited and dejected. At that moment, a rumbling sound of water came from the mountain.
The drainage stream flowed down along the mountain road into the academy, and soon the sound of rushing water reached Xiao Zhe and his group, pouring down.
Xu Hua was puzzled and looked at Xiao Zhe.
"What’s happening?"
Xiao Zhe was also puzzled.
A girl in the team suddenly said,
"Oh no, Yang Xiao is draining the pond."
This stream had only one water source, the pond, so when the girl reminded everyone, they immediately understood.
"Yang Xiao has gone mad, draining the pond for no reason?"
Xiao Zhe’s face looked unusually grim; after a moment of silence, he slapped his forehead and said bitterly,
"Such a simple thing, how did we not think of it?"
Then he glanced at the more than sixty people around him and said with some regret,
"Why are we so stupid, not thinking of such a simple thing?"
Everyone’s faces showed embarrassment.
Xu Hua said,
"Xiao Zhe, everyone was scared by that strange fish at the time. No one thought of this. Yang Xiao was an observer, and there’s this saying: those in the game are lost, while bystanders are clear; that’s why he thought of draining the pond to catch fish, the simplest strategy."
Someone protested, saying,
"Even if Yang Xiao can drain most of the pond, he can’t completely drain it, right? Those water monsters are hiding in the central low water pits of the pond; can he handle that?"
Xiao Zhe rolled his eyes and said,
"Don’t forget, those are giant fish several meters long. Once they lose the protection of the pond, they have no place to hide, trapped in the center of the pond. Won’t they be easy to capture or even die of thirst?"
"Xiao Zhe, are we just going to let Yang Xiao monopolize the pond? There are many mutated water monsters in there. With the pond, he could easily collect a large number of genetic fragments. It’s a treasure trove."
Xu Hua said unwillingly.
Xiao Zhe glanced at Xu Hua and said,
"Can you beat Yang Xiao?"
Xu Hua didn’t even think and shook his head immediately,
"No, I can’t!"
When Xu Hua spoke, the others fell silent; many of them had personally seen Yang Xiao kill twice with fierce ruthlessness and no mercy.
Xiao Zhe thought for a moment and said,
"Yang Xiao’s eating meat, and we still need to get a taste of the soup. Even if he wants to hoard the pond, I reckon he doesn’t have the ability. Let’s go up there and negotiate with him."
Xiao Zhe led the group up the mountain and met Huang Wen and others head-on.
Upon seeing Xiao Zhe heading up the mountain, Huang Wen thought, "The leader’s words are truly prophetic," and immediately stood in front of Xiao Zhe, saying,
"Xiao Zhe, are you planning to go back to the pond to find our leader?"
Xiao Zhe was taken aback and nodded.
"Our leader asked me to deliver a message to you: Take the top thirty people up the mountain, no more, and food and lodging are self-managed."
Hearing this, Xiao Zhe was delighted and asked,
"What else did Yang Xiao say?"
"Nothing more, just these."
"What are you going down the mountain for?"
Xu Hua couldn’t help asking,
"We are going down to the camp to bring some supplies back up."
After saying that, they ignored Xiao Zhe and his group and went straight down the mountain into the campus.
Xiao Zhe immediately said,
"Let’s go, hurry back, bring some dry food, tents, and supplies, and return to the mountain with Huang Wen and the others."
Xiao Zhe returned to the camp and specifically called over Qin Yu and Deng Xiao.
"Qin Yu, Deng Xiao, pack up and come with us up the mountain later. We’ll be spending the night up there, and we may not come down for days."
Qin Yu was taken aback and asked cautiously,
"Xiao Zhe, most of the people going up the mountain are boys. It might not be appropriate for us to spend the night on the mountain with you."
Xu Hua glanced at Deng Xiao and said,
"Don’t worry, there are 3 other girls going up with you, and your awakened beast souls are birds, which will be very useful for our operations in the future."
Qin Yu and Deng Xiao looked at each other, still hesitant, but Xiao Zhe was the boss, and they couldn’t disobey him.
Xiao Zhe paused, and then said coldly,
"Wang Aijia unexpectedly died at the pond today. In our team, only your beast souls have awakened as birds, and you two are the only ones who can fly. This operation is very helpful to us, so you two must come with me up the mountain. As a collective, you also need to make your contributions; I’ve been accommodating you long enough. You have half an hour to come with us up the mountain, or you’ll be expelled from the team."
With no choice, Qin Yu and Deng Xiao nodded.
The outside world was already a world of mutated creatures. Without the protection of Xiao Zhe’s team, it would be tough for them to survive.
In the playground, over a thousand people were reforming groups to hunt mutated creatures in the wild. The smaller teams from before were gone, replaced by a dozen or so larger teams.
