NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 170 - Training Excersice 18
Mai Dongzi didn’t take out the metal knives; instead, she only brought out the metal pot to cook Level 6 beast meat for everyone.
Tired of grilled food, the Phantom Team happily ate their fill, replenished their water supplies, and set off again in high spirits.
The reason everyone was so happy was because their captain said that in just two more hours of travel, they would be able to leave the hilly area.
However, two hours later, as the Phantom Team stood on a small, low hill, gazing out at the vast expanse of orange-yellow desert, all their excitement vanished without a trace.
Even though they hadn’t trained in the desert before, they all knew how difficult it was to walk through a desert. Therefore, trying to make up for the lost time by walking faster was not going to be easy.
“In the hilly area, the wind was strong, so everyone learned how to stabilize your footing. But in the desert, if you want to walk fast without exerting too much energy, you need to learn how to move lightly and quickly,” Mai Dongzi advised the group.
The Phantom Team members looked confused. They understood what the captain said, but they had no idea how to move lightly and quickly.
When unsure, they learned. With their captain’s guidance, they learned quickly.
The winds in the desert were the opposite of the ones in the hilly area. During the day, the temperature in the desert reached over 30 degrees Celsius, and the wind was much lighter. It wasn’t until near evening that the wind gradually picked up.
“Captain, considering the situation, it seems that we should travel during the day and rest at night while we’re in the desert,” said Yu Guangxi, asking for Mai Dongzi’s opinion.
Mai Dongzi had already considered this idea, but hadn’t spoken up yet. Since You Guangxi brought it up, she agreed immediately.
The Phantom Team didn’t stop until both moons were halfway in the sky, at which point they found a relatively sheltered sand dune to rest.
They were pleased to see that, although traveling in the desert was still not very easy, it was much faster than in the hilly area.
“From now on, we’ll rest for four and a half hours every night. We’ll take turns keeping watch. Two people will be in a group, and each group will watch for one hour,” Mai Dongzi set the new rule.
The Phantom Team had no objections, and Mai Dongzi specifically asked to take the last shift. After that, she wrapped herself in animal pelts and closed her eyes to rest.
Except for Zhuang Huaiya and Wang Yiyi, who were on night watch, the others had all wrapped themselves in animal pelts to rest.
Once everyone’s breathing had steadied and it was clear they had fallen asleep, Mai Dongzi reluctantly opened her eyes.
They had been walking in the desert for over three hours and hadn’t encountered a single beast.
In this situation, having just changed maps and being in a new, unfamiliar area, they should at least maintain a certain level of vigilance. The right approach would be to carefully observe the surroundings for any hidden dangers.
Initially, Mai Dongzi had thought that the first-year students lacked the experience to think of such things, but she expected the second-year students, Yu Guangxi and Durant, to have some level of caution. However, she was surprised to find that they were just as unprepared.
Mai Dongzi didn’t believe they hadn’t thought of it; rather, they simply hadn’t bothered to think about it.
As she had guessed, it seemed that recently, the Phantom Team had become overly reliant on her mental power detection.
Mai Dongzi used her mental power to scan the surroundings, hesitated for a moment, then made a decision. She closed her eyes again and pretended to be asleep.
Seeing that Mai Dongzi was the first to lie down to rest, Zhuang Huaiya felt a bit sorry for his cousin. Over the past few days, she had been resting on his back, and it was clear that she hadn’t been getting proper rest.
Although they were both on night watch, it was impossible for them to talk while sitting on opposite sides of the team.
Zhuang Huaiya was fully focused on scanning the surroundings.
In the desert, the light from the two “moons” was not as bright as in the hill area, because strong winds had picked up in the desert night.
Although the wind here was only about level eleven or twelve, much weaker than the winds in the hill area, it was enough to stir up a blinding dust storm.
As a result, the visibility in the desert was far worse than in the hill area.
…
On the hovercraft, Instructor Shan watched the display screen, where the densely packed red dots were gradually closing in. Among them, one large red dot remained still.
“Is Classmate Xi really asleep and unaware, or is she pretending not to know, hoping that the Phantom Team will experience the crisis themselves?” Instructor Li asked curiously.
“It’s probably the latter. Someone like her would never fall asleep without vigilance. She must have realized that since the appearance of that seventh-level beast, the Phantom Team has become too reliant on her mental power detection,” Instructor Shan answered without hesitation.
“If that’s the case, she certainly has courage, but this way, someone in the Phantom Team is bound to get hurt,” Instructor Li said.
They currently didn’t have any energy or healing potions, so anyone who got injured would have to endure it. Even though Classmate Xi was a level three wood-type ability user, she wouldn’t be able to heal any serious injuries.
“They won’t grow without this,” Instructor Shan said.
After the incident where Mai Dongzi robbed the Ability Team 1, Instructor Shan could tell that Mai Dongzi valued improving the overall strength of the Phantom Team more in the team training competition, relying on the Phantom Team’s abilities to earn points.
Otherwise, if she eliminated the members of the Ability Team 1, the Phantom Team would have earned a large amount of points.
Instructor Shan shared the same view as Mai Dongzi. While he valued the Phantom Team’s ranking, he valued the improvement of the members of the Phantom Team even more.
…
In the desert, half an hour passed, but Zhuang Huaiya continued to patrol the surroundings.
Although he hadn’t noticed anything unusual, a feeling of unease gradually began to rise within him. He felt as though something was drawing closer to them.
He scanned the area again as carefully as possible, but still saw nothing. Zhuang Huaiya gently stood up and took a defensive posture, gripping a sharp, rectangular stone in his right hand.
On the other side, Wang Yiyi, who wasn’t as sensitive as Zhuang Huaiya, stood up after him, looking at him with a questioning expression.
Zhuang Huaiya didn’t respond to Wang Yiyi. He resumed scanning the area again. There was still no sign of danger, but the sense of urgency in his heart grew stronger…
Zhuang Huaiya’s eyes suddenly narrowed as he focused intently on one spot. Wang Yiyi, noticing his unusual behavior, also looked in that direction, but the sand there seemed normal.
Just as Wang Yiyi was about to silently ask him again, she saw Zhuang Huaiya place his finger in his mouth and blow hard…
The sharp whistle cut through the howling wind. The members of the Phantom Team, who had been quietly resting on the ground, all had their beast skins vanish at once, and in almost the same instant, they rolled and jumped up from the ground.
“What’s going on?” Durant asked urgently.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw a black object emerging from the sand, flying toward them…