With a specific direction in mind, they found motivation. After brief planning, the trio decided to set off, with their sights set on area h78.

From a naked eye's perspective, h78 was approximately twenty kilometers from their previous location, if not more. Because of the complex terrain, what would normally take an hour's journey could be doubled at this moment...

The gradually rising sun became increasingly scorching. Under its baking rays, the scent of the fresh grass was more palpable, and the improved temperature and humidity made the air less stifling than before. Walking through the Immortal Trace forest, their steps became lighter...

They crossed the downstream of the lake where splashing noises of the shallow stream echoed around. Their military clothes kept getting soaked then dried, then soaked again. The three-person team was getting closer to their destination. Despite their fatigue, nothing could halt their progress.

As the acting team leader and the only woman with outstanding abilities, Daphne naturally opted for water travel in this terrain. Despite the time it would take to construct a raft, the trio understood their strengths and weaknesses. In this test of strength and endurance, survival wasn't their only focus; they still needed to reach their destination before the other teams.

It must also be understood that physical strength is not typically one of a woman's strong points in a tug-of-war battle. When it was clear that they wouldn't be able to change that, they would instead attempt to go with the flow as they had to.

They had already made a detailed contour survey based on the electronic map. Whether by coincidence or the instructors' intent, the river's tributaries conveniently ringed the task area. Only attentive females would consider these intricate details within such a short time. Crocodiles were to be watched, but not too closely---after all, crocodiles of those sizes posed limited threats to humans. Piranhas were the ones to look out for.

Over a hundred teams were all trying to find the secret campsite in their own way; rushing wouldn't help. By the afternoon, even the last six-person squad had split up due to disagreements.

By two in the afternoon, Elvis's team had received important information from the designated coordinates. There were three areas that Feng Yi had mentioned, and they were now headed for one of them.

Xia Xinru, exhausted and void of strength, could hardly walk anymore. She had consumed all of her beef reserves on the road, and even her water bottle was empty. Normally, half a pound of beef could sustain her for an entire day, but today was different.

While moving, Xia Xinru's shaky and unsteady body showed signs of imminent collapse.

"Captain, let's take a short rest here. She looks a bit..." said the man with glasses.

"I can still go on." Despite her soft voice and fragile appearance, the girl's competitive spirit was as strong as anyone else's.

Elvis paused and dropped his backpack. "No need to rest. Glasses, we'll take turns carrying her."

"Don't you dare take advantage of me."

The two men looked at each other. How could helping each other be seen as taking advantage? Scratching their heads, they noticed the shy, reticent expression on the girl's face. She was just too proud to accept their help, despite her weakened state.

This posed a problem. There was still a lot of time left, so Elvis gestured to the group to take a short break. Since they had chosen him as their captain, he had to take responsibility for leading them to the campsite.

Glasses handed his half piece of beef to Xia Xinru, "Here, eat this. After we rest, we need to get back on the road."

"No, I couldn't take this." Xia Xinru firmly shook her head, hesitating whether to open her last can of food.

Glasses put the beef directly into her arms. "Alright, stop refusing. Save that for tomorrow. I'm not doing this out of consideration for you, but for our team."

A sense of grateful warmth surged through the girl. "Thank … thank you ... but."

"No buts," Elvis interrupted, snatching the beef back and tossing it to Glasses.

"Dude, what are you..." Glasses obviously didn't expect Elvis to do that.

Elvis shrugged, "Isn't your sympathy superfluous? The food was evenly distributed to everyone, 1: she still has canned food, 2: even without it, she can use her own courage and wit to get food. After all this time, I believe she's a girl who dares to eat bugs."

"But …"

"No buts. Have you forgotten what that guy said? This is a time of gender equality. Dependence on a comrade doesn't lie in courtesy. That's no measure of a fine soldier. Your actions are actually detrimental to her - at least, it hasn't reached that point yet. If she cares about this team, shouldn't she also consider the difficulties of the two of us?"

Elvis never thought he would say something like that, at least not before.

At first, Xia Xinru's expression was peculiar, as if she couldn't understand Elvis's words. But by the time he finished speaking, her beautiful face was gradually turning red.

She seemed to have not truly viewed this team as a collective entity. Elvis was willing to eat bugs, and Glasses offered her his food. Since insects were not poisonous, what right did she have not to work for her food, and on what grounds could she be pretentious?

Indeed, she was in the wrong first. Xia Xinru struggled for a while... finally opening the canned food to take a couple of bites before quickly replacing the lid. However, she still found it impossible to eat a live bug.

Glasses said nothing to counter Elvis's comment. That was exactly what Feng Yi occasionally reminded them, treat the mission as mission, without intertwining unnecessary emotions with the main issue.

After finishing the canned food, beef, and Elvis's offering of wild frogs, the three quickly hit the road again.

Walking on the overgrown shrubs, the ground was occasionally dotted with hissing noises and the cries of unknown animals. With every step, they had to be alert to any lurking threats. Glasses, unfortunately, almost stumbled when he stepped on something. As he looked down, he noticed a huge centipede the length of half a meter. A bite from such a creature could be fatal.

The centipede tried to strike back, but Elvis acted swiftly, crushing it under his foot, then swiftly slashing with a knife, splitting the centipede's head into two in an instant. Its body, painted red with its struggle, kept rolling on the ground...

This scene sent shivers down Xia Xinru's spine, prompting her to casually glance at her own feet. To her horror, there were several large scorpions as big as her palm.

No wonder there were so many poisonous creatures. They were standing on a green ant nest. These emperor scorpion-like creatures fed primarily on green ants, which explained their sudden encounter.

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