“Su… Su An…” Chen Xiaocao was pulled back by the sudden force and stumbled. She subconsciously looked back at the large army that was kicking up dust and shouting battle cries. “Aren’t we… aren’t we going up the mountain?”

Su Tang didn't turn around. Her steps were quick and steady. She pulled Chen Xiaocao away from the center of the chaos and plunged into the dark and damp forest.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Bai Wei and Zhao Yan's team had locked their attention on them after a brief exchange.

You think you can catch me? You're too green.

...

On the other side, Bai Wei, along with Lin Hao, Zhao Yan, and Sun Erniu, formed a battle formation and quickly chased them to the edge of the dense forest.

"Where is everyone?" Zhao Yan frowned as she looked at the identical trees and bushes in front of her.

She clearly saw Su An drag that good-for-nothing in right now, how come they disappeared in the blink of an eye? They didn't even leave a footprint!

"Impossible, they can't be that fast!" Bai Wei's face was icy. She prided herself on being a tracking expert, but now she felt like she had been played. "They must be nearby, trying to play hide-and-seek with us! Split up and search! Lin Hao, you go left, I'll go right. Zhao Yan, you and Sun Erniu check the bushes!"

The four immediately scattered and searched the edge of the forest for a long time, but they couldn't find even a single hair belonging to Su An and the others. The two seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving behind only a silent forest that seemed to mock them.

"Damn it!" Zhao Yan kicked a tree in anger. "It's weird! That Su An is really weird! Does she know how to burrow underground?"

Bai Wei's face was extremely pale. She looked into the depths of the dense forest, her agitation and a hint of fear that she herself was unwilling to admit were intertwined and rising within her.

...

Su Tang stopped behind a huge birch tree only after the surrounding noise was completely blocked out by the layers of trees.

The cool morning mist, carrying the damp smell of decaying plants, instantly enveloped the two of them.

Chen Xiaocao gasped for breath, nervously gripping the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle in her hand. The rifle was icy cold, but her palms were sweaty.

She looked around. The tall trees blocked out the sun, making the light dim. The ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves, and each step would sink halfway down, making it difficult to tell how deep it was. It looked very dangerous.

Her heart jumped into her throat.

"Su An, why...why are we here?" she couldn't help but ask in a low voice. "This place...this place looks so dangerous, and...and it's so far from the mountaintop, we definitely won't be able to grab the red flag."

"Who said we were going to steal the red flag?" Su Tang chuckled, took out a small piece of dry food from her pocket, broke it in half and handed it to Chen Xiaocao, "Replenish your energy, we'll be busy later."

Chen Xiaocao took the food in a daze. The food dispelled some of the chill and relaxed her tense nerves a little.

Su Tang took a small bite herself before slowly opening her mouth.

"Why do you think Instructor Lei Kuan placed that red flag on the mountaintop where everyone could see it?"

"So...so that we'd go rob it?" Chen Xiaocao answered without hesitation.

"Yes and no." Su Tang shook her head. "He did it so that the vast majority of people would try to grab it. That red flag wasn't a reward at all; it was bait."

"Barefoot?" Chen Xiaocao pondered the word.

“Yes.” Su Tang explained patiently, “Think about it, what would happen if nearly fifty teams, a hundred people, all rushed toward the same goal?”

The chaotic scene from just moments ago flashed through Chen Xiaocao's mind. She opened her mouth, then said uncertainly, "W-W-a fight broke out?"

"It's not just that a fight will break out, it's that a fight is inevitable."