Chapter 113 Nobles 11

As an event held since the school's founding, the winter hunt is as important to Silver Oak as its anniversary. Initially, it was to commemorate the victory in the sixteen-year-long snowfield war, but it gradually evolved into an activity to train students' wilderness survival skills and teamwork abilities.

All first- and second-year students were randomly divided into groups of four to six and released into the vast Southern Mountain Forest north of Silver Oak. During the day, they would survive by hiking and searching for supply crates; at night, they would hunt, with the prey being other members of their respective groups.

Such simple and cold rules can easily turn into the bullying of the weak by the strong. In fact, in every winter hunt, the special recruits are the lowest level. They rarely "survive" the first night and are divided up before the winter hunt even begins.

Lu Xuejin suddenly stood up, cupped Momo's face in his hands, his icy fingers carrying the chill of the wind and snow, and gently patted Momo's cheek. "You'd better be careful."

A gentle voice, tinged with a hint of mockery, and blue eyes fixed on the tall young man, said, "Be smart, don't become prey. You're one of my people, and I'll be very embarrassed if an outsider catches you."

A few days before the winter hunt began, the list was announced, and the online forum erupted in heated discussions.

[Jinbao actually participated this year? Am I seeing things?? We prepared for so long last year, but Jinbao didn't even go to Nanshan TT]

The president probably doesn't participate in these time-wasting activities.

[Does this mean the guild leader skipped training last year? Isn't participation in the winter hunt mandatory?]

[Forcing whom? Are you out of your mind?]

Although I hate to admit it, I guess it's because of so-and-so this year. They probably won't talk anymore, and she's afraid her husband will be made miserable, so she went to the other side or something...

[I just asked, is it still Jiaqi or Xiao Chunu? Thank you, tonic to make my wife Huang Yao!]

Actually, it's Xiao Chunan.

Are you guys crazy? You don't have many lives to waste on this.

[Is it Xiao Chunu or Xiao Chunan? Please give me a precise gender!]

[What Xiao Chunan? A new classmate? Pointing fingers at him in the anonymous section—where are your morals? Where is your dignity? Where are your bottom lines? Where is your contact information?]

[I just want to ask Jinbao, what the heck is that group? It's all people I know. This must be random grouping. I'm speechless.]

Just speak your mind.

[Place your bets now! Guess what will happen to the specially admitted students. I'll go first: I bet a mad dog will break their legs.]

It's not that easy. The last person who acted so recklessly had their spine broken and was paralyzed for life.

[No way, SM is the president's man, no one should dare to touch him.]

[Wow, these abbreviations... Are the special admissions students really just getting promoted by having the student council president whip them?!]

[Mad Dog deliberately opposes the president, suppressing whoever the president favors. Rumor has it his relationship with his father is terrible; some speculate he's doing this to bring down the Pei family. He doesn't care how much the president likes the special admissions students; in fact, the more the president likes them, the more he wants them to suffer a miserable fate.]

[Following the logic of the person upstairs, if this mad dog doesn't destroy the special admission student, he'll be letting his father down.]

[The claims are getting increasingly outrageous; some people are saying that specially admitted students are practically corpses.]

In the snowy forest, accidents happen all the time; a broken leg or losing half your life is all too common.

[Maybe he's just disappeared? He's just an insignificant civilian anyway...]

That makes sense. It wouldn't be surprising if someone forgot their coat and went for a walk outside at night, freezing to death.

On the day of the winter hunt, the sky was overcast, with leaden clouds hanging low, as if they might fall at any moment and crush the snow-covered mountain ridges.

The biting wind, carrying shards of ice, stung my face.

All participating students changed into matching cold-weather gear, carried basic supply packs, and assembled at the starting point. The atmosphere was tense and solemn, yet filled with excitement and anticipation.

He silently looked around, but couldn't find any trace of Lu Xuejin.

The other groups met and communicated after the list was announced, but this was his first time meeting his teammates. Unsurprisingly, everyone looked at him with hostility, even those who smiled couldn't hide the hostility in their eyes.

"Looking for your master?" one of the teammates said with a half-smile. "No need to look, the guild leader isn't with us."

Another made no attempt to hide his sarcasm: "You think the chairman will keep you by his side? You delusional lowly commoner."

A group of people from middle-class backgrounds, eager to climb the social ladder, gathered together. The glances they exchanged showed no intention of teamwork, only undisguised calculation and contempt.

While the other teams chatted, they also kept a close eye on the movements of Silent Team, their eyes filled with the desire to hunt. Clearly, even though they hadn't set off yet, Silent Team was already seen as prey by the others.

Under the barrage of malicious stares, the specially admitted student remained calm and composed, gently wiping his fogged-up glasses without showing any sign of panic or fear.

"No wonder the president has his eye on him." Someone sneered.

Time ticked by, and after the supervising teacher finished explaining the rules and precautions, when the clock reached ten, a long whistle was suddenly blown. The piercing sound echoed through the forest, startling a flock of birds. Each team moved quickly, racing against time to search for the supply boxes.

The first day's supplies are crucial, including not only survival items but also a considerable number of weapons. Whoever grabs the weapons will dominate the night hunt, and their advantage will snowball.

"Hey, let's head east. According to past statistics, more supply boxes are placed in the east."

"casual."

No one asked for the opinions of those who remained silent.

Compared to the well-organized, coordinated, and orderly team, the Silent Team failed to communicate effectively from beginning to end. The team members seemed completely unconcerned about their ranking, walking lazily and letting others pass them with menacing and malicious glances.

Not long after entering the snow forest, and before they were even completely out of the supervising teacher's sight, the group exchanged glances.

The tall boy in the lead silently walked up behind Chen Mo, then suddenly attacked, snatching the supply bag from his shoulder.

"These things are a waste for you to keep; you might as well increase our chances of winning!"

Another short, chubby boy seized the opportunity to shove Mo Chen away, saying, "Get lost! We can't keep a big shot like you here. Before night falls, you'd better run far away, maybe you can find the chairman to save your life."

Silence was pushed and stumbled, falling back a few steps before her feet sank into the deep snow.

He did not resist, nor did he show any surprise or anger. He simply watched as the men quickly divided up his food, water, and emergency supplies, then ran away as fast as they could, disappearing into the dense forest.

The cold wind whipped up snowflakes, lashing against his bare body. He could feel the gazes coming from all directions, like hungry wolves lurking behind snowdrifts, greedy, cold, and full of the patience of a predator before it hunts.

He took a deep breath of the cold air in silence, and without any hesitation, turned and walked into the depths of the dense forest. He had to find a supply crate and a sufficiently concealed hiding place before nightfall.

Unfortunately, he didn't see a single supply crate by sunset. Contrary to his teammates' words, the east was desolate, with only ill-intentioned hunters blocking his way.

Soon, night fell like a giant black velvet curtain, suddenly enveloping the entire snow-covered forest. With a clear whistle, the silence of the day was replaced by a restless atmosphere.

"The hunt begins!" someone shouted excitedly.

Several figures rushed out from several camps, like wild dogs breaking free and heading east.

As night fell, the wind and snow intensified. Hunting in such weather posed danger not only to the prey hiding in all directions but also to the hunters themselves, who were moving at breakneck speed. Beneath the thick snow, no one knew whether it concealed frozen ground or a trap.

The dark boots kicked the snowdrift, and with a loud thud, the high snowdrift collapsed. Pei Wei bent down and glanced at the depth of the snow cave.

"Enough to bury one person." He curled his lips into a smile.

He turned and glared at Lu Chen fiercely, but his tone was calm: "I have some questions for that special admission student. You and the others go and bring him here."

Pei Wei's irises glowed red in the hazy moonlight, his voice slightly distorted by excitement and the cold. Before Lu Chen could react, he chose a direction and continued running.

Clearly, they were already impatient to capture that special admission student and tear him to pieces.

Lu Chen smiled wryly and could only call the others to run in another direction.

The sounds of hurried footsteps and breathing mingled, while pale spotlights searched every possible corner where someone might be hiding.

Silence blended into the darkness, moving swiftly and efficiently through the dense woodland, like a nimble nocturnal animal.

Many people kept a close eye on his whereabouts before nightfall, but when they rushed over after nightfall, they found nothing.

However, without supplies and with Pei Wei and others relentlessly pursuing them, the encirclement continued to shrink, and Silence's situation quickly became precarious.

Several times, paintballs marked with pigments grazed his body, embedded themselves in tree trunks, and splattered out a blinding splash of color.

"Where the hell did that kid run off to! He ran so fast, when we catch him we're going to break his legs!"

"This is not our turn. Pei Wei alone could ruin him."

"What if the chairman finds out about such a big commotion?"

"Young Master Lu is in the western half. Who knows what might happen at night? It was that special recruit who strayed from the group and fell. What does that have to do with us?"

"Let's go, keep chasing."

The group quickly ran into the distance, and only after they disappeared from sight did the silent figure slowly emerge from behind the snowdrift, calmly observing the surroundings.

At high speeds, it is difficult for the human eye to observe static objects. He had been hiding behind a tree trunk, and as the search party moved, he was stuck in a blind spot, right next to them, yet no one noticed him at all.

"Junior, you hid it very well."

"What a pity..." A faint laugh disappeared into the wind and snow. He turned around in silence, holding a pistol in one hand and putting the other hand in his pocket. He seemed to be unable to stand the cold. He shook off the snow on his body, and his breath turned white. He said lazily and wearily, "Come with me."

Seeing that Mo Chen didn't react, Lu Chen smiled helplessly, suddenly leaped down from the height, and closed in on Mo Chen in a few steps. More figures surrounded him from the darkness, like a pack of wolves hunting, completely surrounding Mo Chen.

The tense atmosphere seemed to intimidate the special admissions student. He took a half step back and accidentally fell into the thick snow, eliciting a burst of mocking laughter.

The visibility was poor at night, and it wasn't until we got here that Lu Chen could see Mo Chen's expression clearly. To his surprise, there was a faint smile on his lips, and he looked extremely composed.

Did he think Lu Xuejin would come to his rescue? Or did he think they wouldn't dare to lay a hand on him?

That's too naive.

Lu Chen took a deep breath, the chill seeping into his internal organs, and he felt extremely exhausted.

Thumb on the trigger, just before it's pulled—

The sound of footsteps was loud and undisguised.

Lu Chen assumed they were the other pursuers and glanced over casually out of the corner of his eye, but his movements froze instantly.

Lu Xuejin appeared a few steps away at some point, seemingly just taking a casual stroll.

Moonlight filtered through the branches, falling on his delicate profile. A long windproof coat covered a black wool sweater, and his deerskin boots were still specks of unmelted snow, making him stand out starkly from the fully armed and menacing crowd around him.

He walked slowly over, the snow crunching softly under his feet.

Lu Chen's hand, holding the pistol, froze in mid-air, unsure whether to release it or not.

"Senior," Lu Xuejin called out calmly.

Lu Chen suddenly froze on the spot.

Lu Xuejin walked past him and went straight to Chen Mo. She bent down slightly and extended a hand to him, her slender, fair fingers gleaming like cold jade in the moonlight.

"Get up."