Second Day.
The sun was about to set and all the hunting teams that had split up to collect resources had finally returned to the camp one by one. By the time the rest of the team had come back, Lin Yven, Tang Si, and Feng Wu had finished preparing their dinner. Feng Jing is seated near the bonfire roasting some cheese and marshmallows he took from his dimensional space. Sitting beside him are the Shi brothers who are helping watch over the rest of his snacks. They were extremely thankful when they heard that Feng Jing had saved them.
Shi Wen, Shi Lou, and Wu Liu were adopted orphans the Tang Clan had brought over since they were children. They grew up as people who are to serve the descendants of the same age from the Tang Clan. They work as aides. The Han Family is connected by marriage. In short, Han Ling and Qu Yul are cousins. Si Shen is their childhood friend.
After successfully reporting the result of their tasks and passing their inventory warehouses to the logistic officers, they sat near the bonfire and ate snacks with the other three who had longed to wait for their return with the rest of the group. The proper business would be done after dinner.
As the night fell, the whole team enjoyed the feast Feng Jing ordered to be made. The three members who were assigned to cooking worked together to complete the feast their leader had tasked them to do. They've started a party mode during dinner and Feng Jing even allowed them to drink some beer.
When the mealtime was over, everyone gathered around and let Feng Jing speak.
"We had collected enough resources to enter the middle region. I wonder if you guys are ready. In the middle region, there would only be a high-ranked mutated beast and low to mid-level Zergs. All ordinary people in our team would use the support mecha." said Feng Jing.
All ordinary people in their teams all agreed to his idea. "Yes, leader."
Feng Jing spoke, "Ai~ even though you call me the leader I wouldn't be the one commanding for tomorrow ba~"
Support Mecha is a human-sized mecha armor that gives protection from all angles. It allows one to increase someone's defense and offense capabilities. At the very least it allows an ordinary human to possess defense and attack levels the same as that of an awakened one.
"The command for our whole journey in the middle region will revolve around Senior Yeon, A'Yu, and Xue Ran," said Feng Jing. "You three should arrange the command core by yourself."
Bai Yuyan asked, "How about A'Wu?"
"A'Wu won't be leading. He would need to protect me, after all, ~" said Feng Jing.
Everyone's mouth twitches when they've heard about that. They knew that their leader really wanted to act like a salted fish all the way until the end of the competition. After all, the only reason he entered this event is to earn the championship rewards and give them the spotlight to attract some eyes on them.
"Tomorrow, we will move as a unit. Tonight I slept well. I will guard the camp tonight. Of course with A'Wu~" said Feng Jing.
Knowing that the strongest among them is guarding the camp tonight, those who accumulated fatigue from two days hunting can finally have a good rest.
Solaris Vega raised his hand and said, "Me too. Leader, I want to stay awake tonight as well."
"Do you want to try your knee-made gadgets? I can accompany you, Xiao Vega,~" said Feng Jing.
"Un. Un." Vega nodded his head excitedly with a smile on his face.
Xue Ran suddenly spoke, "I want to abstain from my position as a leader. Please make me a regular member."
Everyone except Feng Jing was startled by Xue Ran's decision. Feng Jing's eyes narrow discreetly as he stares at Xue Ran with a smile but he says anything as he already knows the reason why.
The twins asked, "EH! Why Ranran!?"
Feng Jing said, "Let's talk about this tonight, Xue Ran."
Bowing his head in respect, Xue Ran replied, "As you wish, Lord Jing."
"Since Senior Xue had declined the leader position, is there anyone who wishes to take his place?" asked Feng Jing.
When Feng Jing asked this question everyone's eyes from the Qu Yeon team had looked at Tang Yi. Clearly, in their team, the secondary command was from him.
Tang San said, "Elder Brother, how about you do it?"
"Big brother, we can't go to the middle region with only two leaders taking command. There is a risk of danger from all sides in that place," said Tang Si.
Shi Lou and Shi Wen raised their hands and said, "We vote for Tang Yi to take the free position."
"What are you guys doing? Stop! It is enough for our group to have the boss enter the command position. I can't take the young one's opportunities."
Seeing this Han Ling and the other had looked at each other and also raised their hands.
Han Ling, Si Shen, Qu Yul, and Wu Liu said, "We also like to vote for Senior Yi for the position."
Tang Yi said, "Brats stop it! This is an opportunity for you! Why are you giving it to me?"
"There is no need for our team to get this priority. As long as we win everyone would get that opportunity. Since our goal is to win. It is better to place the right people for the position. I also vote for Tang Yi to take my place in the lead for tomorrow." said Xue Ran.
Solaris Vega and Lin Yven, including Feng Wu, raised their hand in agreement. Seeing this Tang Yi was dumbfounded while Tang San, his twin, was delighted. With everyone's vote, Tang Yi had no other choice but to accept the position.
"Okay. The leaders for tomorrow will be Qu Yeon, Bai Yuyan, and Tang Yi. Please talk among yourselves who will be the Main Command and the two-second commands. After all the preparations for tomorrow are done, you can go to rest and take your sleep. Meeting adjourned!" said Feng Jing as he ended the meeting.
As soon as the meeting ended everyone did what they wanted to do. The Shi brothers were told to take a rest to get a perfect state for tomorrow. Tang Si and Tang San held their things. Qu Yeon, Bai Yuyan, and Tang Yi went to another corner to make plans for tomorrow. They need to talk about the formation of the team. Who will look to take the vanguard position, the sides, and the rear?
Meanwhile, Feng Jing was pulled over by Solaris Vega in his tent to explain the gadget he made all day. Feng Wu and Xue Ran followed after them. Han Ling and Qu Yul were laying on the ground resting as they hadn't fully digested their dinner yet. They overate like the twins. Lin Yven, Si Shen, and Wu Liu work together to clean up after eating. The rest of the evening was spent in leisure until everyone had fallen asleep except for the four who would be guarding tasks for that night.
The sky at this time is completely dark with few stars glowing in the sky. Feng Jing, Feng Wu, Solaris Vega, and Xue Ran were seated around the bonfire. They were waiting for everyone to activate the sound isolation device in each tent so everyone could sleep well tonight even if it is so noisy outside their tent.
Feng Jing asked, "They seem to be all asleep now and the sound insulation is working well. Should we go now, Xiao Vega?"
"Okay! Let's go to a deserted area. To test my devices." said Solaris Vega.
Xue Ran stood up and said, "I will accompany you."
Feng Jing and Solaris nodded their heads in agreement with Xue Ran's words.
"Then, I will protect the camp and spread a spiritual barrier while the lord is away," said Feng Wu.
Solaris Vega said while smiling, "We won't take too much time. 2 hours would do."
"You can take your time," said Feng Wu.
After gathering all the devices Solaris Vega is about to test, the three of them went to a ruined area within a few minutes. Vega had placed a portal to it yesterday when he was planting some traps around their camp. The location of the deserted area is quite far from their camp. At least 100 m away.
—
Deserted Area in Outer Region.
The area in this land is in ruins. Desserts are almost forming. The lack of water source caused the land drought to the point there are cracks on the surface. All the trees and plants withered in this place. There are even beast bones scattered around making the area look like the land of the dead.
Feng Jing looks around the area with his spirit energy. He was startled to see that the reason for this land to be in such a state is because of something no one would have expected. Under the drying land, Feng Jing could see few creatures that should only be found in the middle and central regions. There is a zerg nest under the land. Though they are only low leveled zergs, their numbers were quite a lot, few hundreds and so.
A playful smile appeared in the corner of his mouth which Xue Ran noticed. He knew that this young lord of the phoenix clan is unlike what the rumors had said. The silly and innocent Feng Jing everyone knows is not his real face. But Feng Jing who pointed him out as a spy is the real him, a mischievous yet cold person. He does whatever he wants and no one is able to move him unless it was his chosen partner.
Even among the Phoenix Clan, he is one that mustn't be moved unless you are prepared for death. Not only is he strong himself, but his other half is also even stronger than him. Moreover, the connections are wide and his intelligence is above normal as well. The type one shouldn't make an enemy no matter what reason.
Feng Jing said, "Xiao Vega~ the location you had chosen as a practice spot is amazing ba~"
"Yes~ In here even if we destroy the whole area it would be okay. My drone, which I released to check the whole region, spotted this. I've also tried sending some drones in the middle regions with the leader's program to update our map for tomorrow. Thankfully, it wasn't shot down because I covered it with paint with invisibility effects!" said Solaris Vega.
Feng Jing pats his head in praise, "Our Xiao Vega is so smart. Are there any explosives among the devices you wanted to test?"
"Hmm~ There are but… if we used it right away this place would be destroyed and my other devices cannot be tested," said Solaris Vega.
Feng Jing said, "Even if it is destroyed it's okay. We can test the rest of your device to the sea. I want to catch some seafood on the way~"
"C-Can you catch big fishes and octopuses?" asked Solaris Vega.
"Yes~, let's catch a lot then. Go get the explosives ready. Throw it at the location I will point out." said Feng Jing.
Solaris Vega nodded his head in agreement as he accepted his leader's decisions without any second thoughts. Only Xue Ran noticed that something must be wrong in this land for their leader to want to bomb it with explosives. He was staring at Feng Jing with a bit of worry in his eyes but the latter just grinned at him.
Feng Jing said, "You can see with your eyes what is wrong with this land. Go help Vega carry the explosion. I will point out where you guys should throw it. Don't worry~ I've already imprisoned this whole area with spiritual energy. None can escape from it."
"Okay," said Xue Ran with a confused expression on his face but he still helped Vega prepare the explosives they would be testing.
The low-level zerg nest under this plot of land was surrounded by Feng Jing's energy without them knowing. The whole nest was enclosed in a square-shaped energy barrier while locking everything inside.
Solaris Vega with a bright expression holding a notebook in his hands said, "Lord Jing, everything is ready. The ones in the first box had an explosive effect of 30 meters wide. The next one is 60 meters and the last one is 100 meters radius. Which should we try first?"
"Throw the first two boxes in the first half land in front of us and the last box in the center," said Feng Jing who is already holding 30 and 60 meters radius explosives in his hands. "I and Senior Xue would do the throwing. Xiao Vega should focus on recording the effects~" said Feng Jing.
Solaris Vega said, "Okay~"
