CH 44

Xiao Zhenyun confirmed that the original mission prompt was ‘innocent civilian,’ but due to his participation, the rule-makers intentionally added an adjective, making it ‘beautiful and innocent civilian.’

“Besides Xiao Jingfeng, there was absolutely no one else who dared to tease him like this,” Xiao Zhenyun gritted his teeth and thought.

At the same time, the allocation of mission points was full of mocking implications. Was it ‘rescue (to gain) 250 (points)’ or ‘rescue (this) idiot’?1In Chinese, 二百五 (250) is a term used as an insult, which means ‘idiot.’ He was sure that this ambiguous number was also intentionally done by Xiao Jingfeng.

Vice Chairman Xiao, who believed in the principle of an eye for an eye, couldn’t wait for that annoying old white donkey to come out.

Before lunch, Xiao Zhenyun was carried away by the wild yak sentinel. They kept him in a tizzy until 1:30 when the mission was released. Then the three people arrived at the designated hiding spot, without a drop of water in between. Blindfolded, Xiao Zhenyun smelled the musty scent of the wooden house. After a while of waiting, he sensed that he had been carefully placed on a soft bed. He heard the sound of drawers and cabinets being moved. Soon, the aroma of food wafted over. Someone approached, untied Xiao Zhenyun’s blindfold, then loosened his wrists. Following, a sentinel handed him a bowl of fragrant fried noodles, saying, “The starting time of the mission isn’t ideal. The Chairman might not have had lunch; you’ll have to make do.”

On another wooden chair, the wild yak sentinel was relishing the meal, “Brother Li’s skills are superb!”

Xiao Zhenyun, who had been poisoned by the pomegranate scrambled eggs, picked up his chopsticks and began eating. The taste was indeed good. He looked up and saw other sentinel retrieve three bottles of coconut milk from the wooden cabinet, handing one to Xiao Zhenyun and asking, “Chairman, would you like some hot water? Let me check if there’s any tea…”

“It’s alright.” Xiao Zhenyun wiped a drop of sauce from his chin with his fingertip, “Do you have tissues?”

“I’ve got them.” The wild yak sentinel took out a pack of scented osmanthus napkins from his pocket, “Just this one, Chairman, please use them sparingly, or you might have no paper to wipe later.”

“Enjoy your meal!” The crocodile sentinel kicked the yak’s chair leg under his bottom.

“Why are things so well-prepared here?” Xiao Zhenyun asked, puzzled.

“Because the mission setup designated this place as our hideout in advance before we got arrested, and we prepared ample supplies,” the crocodile sentinel earnestly explained, “It’s definitely not because the prisoner, who was originally an ordinary innocent guide, became a ‘beautiful and innocent guide,’ and the event organizers rushed to add supplies within half an hour.”

Xiao Zhenyun couldn’t help but laugh, “So, did they forget to prepare toilet paper?”

The crocodile sentinel blinked, and the straightforward wild yak immediately laughed, speaking his mind for him, “Oh my, Vice Chairman, you can crack jokes too! We all thought you might never even go to the bathroom, only drinking dew every day.”

“…”

The shabby chair leg was brutally kicked once more.

“The Ruthless Fugitive”

“The Beautiful and Innocent Civilian”

Both sides sat together in a harmonious atmosphere, sharing the belated lunch. Thanks to the exceptional culinary skills of the crocodile sentinel, Xiao Zhenyun even had a second bowl and eagerly asked advice on related cooking techniques.

The crocodile sentinel wrote down the types and proportions of seasonings on paper, reminding to use olive oil and suggesting adding some Sichuan pepper oil for extra flavor. Xiao Zhenyun took it seriously and folded it to put it in his pocket. Of course, he wasn’t planning to learn it himself, but to bring it back for Si Di to have a look.

About fifteen minutes passed after dinner. Two sentries, chilling by the window, cracking jokes, suddenly fell silent. Di Li, the crocodile Sentinel, sprang up from his seat by the window and briskly moved to the cabin door. He tilted his body to eavesdrop on the outside world while unzipping the back of his pants.

Unlike other special individuals with slender tails, his crocodile tail was thick and long. As the zipper went down from his waist, the hefty crocodile tail thudded on the ground, raising a layer of dust.

Xiao Zhenyun, who had been half-lying on the bed, dozing off, was jolted awake by this sudden impact. He turned his head and saw the wild yak sentinel with sharp, 90-degree brown-black horns on his head, Yue Xin. He held two pieces of cloth in his hands. One was a long strip, which had been previously used to cover Xiao Zhenyun’s eyes, and the other was a square piece.

Yue Xin, the wild yak, spoke in a forced tone, “Vice-Chairman, according to protocol, I should use this cloth to gag you. This one hasn’t been used, it’s very clean, and the label is brand new, look…?”

Xiao Zhenyun replied casually, “You dare.”

“Alright.” Yue Xin quickly folded the square cloth and put it back in the cabinet. He only blindfolded Xiao Zhenyun’s eyes and tied his hands, behaving quite obediently.

“Chairman…” Di Li, the crocodile, called out in a hushed tone, “Call for Help…”

Xiao Zhenyun took a second to react, cautiously opening his mouth, “Help…me…?”

Encouraged by Di Li and Yue Xin, Xiao Zhenyun started shouting louder and more earnestly, “Help, is there anyone? Please, help me!”

“Haha…” Yue Xin chuckled and took out a pistol that was fastened to the back of his waist, “Shout all you want! Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will come to save this ‘innocent and beautiful civilian’!”

Xiao Zhenyun sighed, “…”

Xiao Zhenyun pretended to be distressed, “What kind of world is this? No one even came to save the ‘innocent and beautiful civilian’!”

“Pfft…” Yue Xin couldn’t hold back his laughter, shaking.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside, as if someone was throwing stones at the door. Yue Xin quickly turned serious, and even Xiao Zhenyun, influenced by the tense atmosphere, antlers and ears appeared on his head.

“Hey, in there!”

A clear female voice came from outside the door, “We’re not here to rescue hostages! We just want to see how ‘innocent and beautiful civilians’ really look!”

Xiao Zhenyun, “…”

Yue Xin completely lost his composure, his bull horns hitting the wall as he twisted in laughter.

Di Li tried to sound fierce, roaring, “Get lost!”

“Don’t be so stingy,” the woman fearlessly replied, her voice closer now, “I’ve checked, I’m the only one around. Let me have a peek, okay? I promise, once I’m done looking, I’ll leave without causing any trouble.”

Yue Xin couldn’t help but respond, “Sister, ‘just you alone’? How did you say that with a straight face? There are two sentinels in the room, eight ears in fusion mode, plus the spiritual form, that’s twelve ears. Do you think we won’t notice the few people outside?”

“Two specials, twenty regulars,” Di Li concisely stated, “Protect your spiritual domain.”

Xiao Zhenyun’s vision was limited, but he could hear a crowd of footsteps surrounding the cabin after the woman’s lies were exposed.

The real-life NPCs aren’t allowed to eliminate candidates; they can only intervene and obstruct. That’s why the task of rescuing civilians isn’t too hard. What’s tough is the subsequent responsibility of protecting them and returning them to civilians. Di Li and Yue Xin both have signal flares on them. The aim is to send a signal to others inside the test area at the moment Xiao Zhenyun is rescued by a certain team. It’s said they’ll continue to track Xiao Zhenyun, creating obstacles for the candidates under the guise of ‘retaliation from a fugitive,’ living up to their reputation for stirring up trouble.

After all, it’s a high-value mission worth 2500 points; there’s no way it could be so easy to accomplish. Just as the crocodile and wild yak sentinels were prepared for battle, a gunshot disrupted the rhythm of the encirclement from outside. Xiao Zhenyun guessed that it was another team from a hostile camp arriving, catching the first team off guard. Despite the various restrictions imposed by the examiners’ behavior, the candidates were openly fighting with each other. Gunshots echoed continuously for a moment; ‘Beautiful and innocent civilian’ only belongs to the strong.

Di Li and Yue Xin took the opportunity to open the door and used tranquilizer guns to resist the first wave of attacks. Soon after, the team that arrived later retreated, but the winning team didn’t gain much either. The third and fourth teams were already lying in ambush, waiting for them to exhaust each other, to their advantage.

Inside, the wooden beams constantly dropped ash amidst the deafening sounds of the fight outside. Xiao Zhenyun wildly shook his head like a deer, trying to shake off the dust. Even so, a lot of dust flew into his mouth, making him sneeze countless times. Annoyed, he asked, “Since I’m a hostage, can I escape?”

“Of course,” Di Li turned to him, “But can you escape?”

Before he could finish, Di Li felt a heavy pressure on his shoulder and looked up in disbelief, only to see a muscular deer hoof. Yue Xin, taken off guard by his companion being knocked down by Xiao Zhenyun’s spirit form, was about to defend himself when a tranquilizer dart struck his shoulder.

Xiao Zhenyun held a gun in one hand and pulled the blindfold from his eyes with the other. “As a fugitive and kidnapper, you should tie me up more securely and not carelessly leave weapons within my reach.”

“Chairman! If you want to escape, you can negotiate with us,” Yue Xin lay motionless on the ground, wailing. “Why shoot me? It hurts a lot!”

Di Li had already instinctively released the crocodile spirit form with a cold expression, ready to counterattack, but upon hearing this, he suddenly halted his attack. Oh, he wasn’t actually a kidnapper. If he really harmed the vice chairman’s spiritual form, that would be a problem.

So, the vicious kidnappers stood there, watching as Xiao Zhenyun allowed Tian Lu to come to his side, waiting for his master to climb onto his back.

“I suggest you wait a bit,” Di Li sincerely advised, “At least here, there’s food, a place to rest, and our protection. Those students outside are ruthless, and some were a bit cruel in the past years, not being able to claim the rights to the hostages, maliciously killing them and refusing to let other teams get points.”

“It’s too noisy,” Xiao Zhenyun wrinkled his brow, spat out some dust, and pondered. “Alright then, let’s negotiate. After five minutes, when the tranquilizer effect wears off Yue Xin, you shoot to cover me while I leave.”

Yue Xin, Di Li: …

Yue Xin: “When I said ‘negotiate,’ I didn’t mean this kind of negotiation! Do you even care about us, the two fugitives?”

“That coconut juice is pretty good. Get me two more bottles to take with me,” Xiao Zhenyun said.

Yue Xin, Di Li: …

Di Li dutifully went to fetch them, worried that if Xiao Zhenyun was lucky enough to survive until evening, he might feel cold and hungry. He handed over his survival kit, which contained compressed biscuits, chocolates, and a lighter. “Once you’re out, run west; there are more shelters over there.”

“Y’all are some good fugitives,” Xiao Zhenyun said with emotion, “Call it quits, Ah Di and Ah Yue.”

Di Li: “…”

Di Li: “Alright, tomorrow we’ll turn ourselves in, actively reform in prison, and start afresh.”

In just half an hour, there were seven waves of teams arriving from different directions on the outside. What started as a fierce fight gradually turned into an eerie calm, concealing hidden dangers. Not a single team gave up on this mission. They just noticed that the fiercer the commotion, the more people showed up. Everyone, unconsciously, started thinking about blocking the news that the civilian was here.

Even the team that was defeated and left with only two members was waiting for an opportunity. As long as they gained ownership of the civilian, it meant 2500 points, enough to resurrect their chances.

At this very moment, the previously shut door of a small cabin suddenly opened a small crack inward and then the wooden door swung wide open. A pair of sharp, extended brown antlers appeared in the sunlight, followed by the head of a stag. The deep black pupils gazed straight ahead, and a male hand, with long fingers and pale skin, gently stroked the smooth neck.

Xiao Zhenyun saw only a few scattered people, all ordinary folks from the military academy, standing a few paces apart. However, he felt the gaze of many more people, and as he stepped out, all eyes locked onto him.

With an air of indifference, he flicked his hair and dusted off his shoulders before revealing the deer tail that was hidden under him.

All the participants who were previously whispering to each other lowered their hands and stared at him, their expressions alternating between amazement and confusion. For a moment, no one moved. Xiao Zhenyun gave them a slight smile and then lowered himself, leaning on the back of Tian Lu. With a gentle pat, Tian Lu dashed forward like a wild deer breaking free from its restraints.

It was then that Yue Xin, holding a signal gun, walked out from the cabin. A red signal flare shot up into the sky, and he shouted loudly to snap the entranced candidates back to their senses, “Oh no! ‘The beautiful and innocent civilian’ just broke free and ran away! If we don’t catch up, we’ll lose not just 250 points but 2500 points too!”

“Wow!” In the hidden grove, the woman who had initially wanted to see how attractive the civilian really was put down her binoculars, excitedly telling her companions, “No wonder they added ‘beautiful’! Captain, you have to see this quickly. He’s so handsome! To die for! He’s so good-looking that I can’t even stand it, I want to throw fruits and flowers at his car! Captain, you better look now, or you’ll miss out, and there are even antlers and a tail as a bonus! The fusion state of the special person’s spirit form is really cheating! I’m a cat-ears fan, but I’m defecting!”

“Lily, you’re not just a cat-ears fan, you’re also a bunny-ears, dog-ears, and bear-ears fan.”

“Get lost.” Lily, seeing that her captain was still unresponsive, huffed, “You, this guy, even if you’re a genius rivaling a sentinel, you’re just a boring old stick-in-the-mud. If it weren’t for your grandpa insisting I team up with you, I wouldn’t want anything to do with you…”

“Go after them.” The person next to her left three simple words and quickly left the spot.

Lily snorted, her face full of displeasure, but she still obediently followed her captain’s orders.

The running speed of the stag was something that humans could never catch up to. However, it also had its natural enemies. A cheetah swooped down from the sky midway, designed for high-speed running, and it instantly closed in on Tian Lu. At the same time, a tiger and a black antelope joined the fray, with the tiger even having a rabbit balanced on its head, as if they were coordinating their efforts.

The so-called rescue mission somehow turned into a chase of the civilian?

Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters.  (๑>ᴗ