Ren Yunying felt that Chloe had become increasingly unmanageable as she grew older.
She would fly into a rage at the slightest provocation, and afterwards, she'd initiate communication as if nothing had happened, continuing to chat normally.
Just like now.
On the screen, Chloe was sitting with Anderson. The handsome young man with a cool demeanor was skewering meat. After preparing the skewers, he placed them over the campfire to grill. Once cooked, he finally handed them to Chloe.
Chloe, completely oblivious to the fact that she had just lashed out at Instructor Ren, was shamelessly praising Anderson's culinary skills and extolling the deliciousness of the wild game from the Forest of Life.
Seeing the girl's enthusiastic eyes, Ren Yunying found herself unable to scold her. In the end, she could only cut off the communication with a cold expression.
As the "beep beep" of the disconnected call sounded, Chloe immediately tapped Anderson's shoulder:
"Quick, go to my previous tent and bring the golden statue from the table."
Anderson paused for a moment, then stood up and headed towards the tent as instructed.
Hearing this, Daniel blinked his eyes and asked with great interest, "Golden statue? Where is there a golden statue?"
"You'll see soon enough," Chloe replied, looking at the grilled meat in her hand. This skewer was one she had grilled herself, and Chloe felt it wasn't quite done yet.
She continued grilling it stubbornly, but because she couldn't master the art of barbecuing, by the time Chloe realized it, the meat had turned as black as charcoal.
Chloe: "..."
She nonchalantly tossed this skewer into Daniel's bowl, pretending she hadn't done anything.
Fortunately, Daniel had no inhibitions and didn't find the charred meat unpalatable at all. He stuffed it into his mouth without the slightest change in expression.
Qin Huaibei, who had witnessed the entire scene, couldn't help but laugh: "If you don't know how to grill, just don't do it. It's not like Anderson won't come back."
As he spoke, he handed Chloe the meat he had just finished grilling.
Chloe took it with a word of thanks, feeling that Qin Huaibei had a point.
Not long after, Anderson appeared before everyone, holding a lifelike golden statue in his hand.
Qin Huaibei's eyes widened: "Is that pure gold?"
Chloe took the statue from Anderson's hand, tapped it twice with her knuckles, and said, "Pure gold, the real deal."
Qin Huaibei's eyes immediately lit up, and he earnestly said, "Let me keep it safe. I'll definitely take good care of this treasure!"
Chloe rolled her eyes at him, handed him the golden statue, and added, "I can give it to you, but this thing might be useful, so don't you dare secretly sell it off."
Hearing this, Katherine immediately caught on: "Is this a clue?"
"Mm-hmm." Chloe ate a skewer of grilled meat, and after swallowing, she continued, "We need to keep it safe. If I find out you've sold it for money..."
Qin Huaibei immediately widened his eyes: "Am I that kind of person?"
Chloe glanced at him, neither confirming nor denying.
This look deeply wounded Qin Huaibei. He muttered about their decades of friendship, yet Chloe still didn't have an ounce of trust in him. Qin Huaibei felt his heart had been hurt.
Chloe couldn't be bothered with him. After finishing her grilled meat, she stood up:
"Once you're full, let's set out to look around. I've already sent you the simulated map from the sand table. Split into two groups and go check out the flagged locations."
"I'll stay here. If the Viper Group people come back, I'll send you a message."
Chloe's eyes turned cold: "At that time, no matter what's happening on your end, you must come back to help!"
Everyone sobered up from their joking mood: "Yes!"
...
Qin Huaibei and Daniel formed one group. He opened the terminal on his wrist, projecting a virtual sand table as a light screen in front of the two.
A small green dot represented their movements. After navigating through several paths ahead, they would reach the flagged point they needed to investigate.
Daniel was feeling a bit bored. They had been on the road for a long time, and there was nothing interesting along the way, not even dangerous beasts.
This Forest of Life was infinitely safer than the one during the last Joint Military Academy Competition.
So Daniel felt like he was about to grow mushrooms from boredom.
"How much longer until we reach the flagged point?" he asked.
Qin Huaibei glanced at the light screen and replied irritably, "Don't you have eyes to see for yourself?"
Hearing this, Daniel got a bit angry: "Why do you always snap at me? Do I look like an easy target?"
Qin Huaibei replied bluntly: "Yes."
Daniel was about to explode with anger. He was like a powder keg in a dry place, ready to ignite at the slightest spark.
In an instant, the tall youth transformed into his original form, a massive deep forest wolf. He headbutted Qin Huaibei onto his back and galloped bravely towards the flagged point.
Along the way, he deliberately caused trouble, trying to jolt Qin Huaibei off his back.
Qin Huaibei found such childish behavior, which posed no real harm, completely incomprehensible.
For him, having his legs freed was actually a good thing.
After who knows how long, they finally arrived at the flagged point.
From afar, both of them sensed an unsettling atmosphere.
It was like a terrifying aura emanating from an abyss, carrying a quality that naturally instilled fear and foreboding in people. Qin Huaibei couldn't help but shudder.
Daniel also involuntarily transformed back into his human form, crouching in the grass and staring at the object on the mound ahead. His pupils contracted, clearly very afraid.
His voice was tense as he asked, "...What on earth is that thing?"
*
"What's so unsightly at the flagged point?"
Katherine's terminal displayed a light screen.
The path they were taking was quite secluded, with a maze-like network of roads that made it easy to get lost. Fortunately, the virtual sand table had been converted into an electronic map by Ren Yunying, preventing them from ending up in a dead end.
Katherine walked in front, with Anderson guarding from behind. His expression was calm, only occasionally glancing at the terminal on his wrist.
The terminal on Anderson's wrist displayed Chloe's chat box. He was constantly waiting for a message from her.
Their deep master-servant bond was evident, and Katherine didn't feel right saying anything about it, but she couldn't help being moved by such profound emotion.
The two walked in silence until they approached the flagged point nearest to them.
Katherine halted her steps.
She heard some hoarse, dry sounds, similar to "squeaking" calls, along with heavy sniffing noises.
Chaotic footsteps and prolonged dragging sounds all indicated the presence of numerous unknown species ahead.
Katherine's throat bobbed as she realized things weren't as simple as she had thought.
She took two steps back, her voice tense: "What's up ahead?"
Clearly, Anderson didn't know the answer to that question either.
He raised his hand:
"Let's observe for now."
