Huang Yixiang now keenly felt the sting of trying to steal a chicken, only to lose the rice used to lure it.

Originally, he and Su Xuebing had planned to beat up Lin Feng and snatch his banner. But now, one of them was unconscious and the other severely injured. To make matters worse, Lin Feng was about to take their own banner!

Seeing Lin Feng holding their banner in his hands, Huang Yixiang felt a desperate urge to weep but could shed no tears.

"You... you dare!" he roared. "That's our banner! If you dare take it, I'll make you regret it!"

Lin Feng looked indifferently at Huang Yixiang. Seeing the usually stern man's face flush crimson with rage, Lin Feng gloated inwardly.

"Are you threatening me? If I take it, how will I regret it?"

Ignoring Huang Yixiang's expression, Lin Feng shoved their banner into Ye Lin's bag right under Huang Yixiang's nose. He did it with such an air of perfect innocence that Huang Yixiang nearly choked on his anger and spat blood.

Ye Lin watched Lin Feng's shameless display and found it secretly amusing. Just how thick-skinned is this Lin Feng? He steals from others, beats them up, and still acts completely justified. That's beyond what any ordinary scoundrel could manage.

And yet, deep down, Ye Lin felt a grudging admiration for Lin Feng's actions for the first time. Su Xuebing and Huang Yixiang already had a banner but still came to rob us. They deserve to know what it feels like to be robbed.

"Lin Feng... you, you won't take the banner, will you?"

After a moment's hesitation, weighing the banner's importance to him, Huang Yixiang's tone did a complete one-eighty as he pleaded with Lin Feng.

"I'll apologize to you, how about that? From now on, Su Xuebing and I will never bother you again. Please, give us our banner back, and we'll stay out of each other's way. Look at us now! Who knows when Su Xuebing will even wake up? We'll definitely be the last to reach the assembly point. If we don't have a banner, Su Xuebing and I will be utterly humiliated and mocked by everyone. Please, just help us this once, alright?"

Huang Yixiang pleaded, looking at Lin Feng with beseeching eyes. He had always held himself in high regard and was fiercely protective of his pride, so this was the first time he had ever humbled himself to beg someone.

He'd never imagined the first person he'd ever beg would be a high school student who, in his eyes, was still wet behind the ears.

"You want me to help you?" Lin Feng looked at Huang Yixiang and asked.

"Yes, we would be extremely grateful," Huang Yixiang said, his expression earnest.

"Alright," Lin Feng nodded.

"Thank you..." A sinister, almost imperceptible smile played on Huang Yixiang's lips—the triumphant smirk of someone whose scheme had succeeded.

"I'll help you out this one time..." Lin Feng said casually, then turned to leave.

"Help you by taking this banner to the assembly point first... No need for you to rush. Wait for Su Xuebing to wake up, take your time getting there... Oh, and I forgot to mention, this area is teeming with wolves at night. You're quite fleshy; the wolves will surely have a field day tearing into you."

"You! You bastard!"

Watching Lin Feng's retreating figure, Huang Yixiang trembled with rage, his face twitching.

He'd thought his scheme had succeeded, but it turned out Lin Feng had a scheme within a scheme. He'd been utterly played!

Huang Yixiang was so furious he was speechless. He slammed his fist hard onto the ground.

SPLAT!

He hadn't seen the pile of wild dog droppings on the ground. His fist landed right in it, sending feces splattering everywhere. Not only was the back of his hand completely smeared, but flecks of it also landed on his cheeks, lips, and even his nose...

Dog feces. He'd punched dog feces. Huang Yixiang completely broke down. A mouthful of blood, tinged with the foul taste of feces, spurted from his lips...

...

As Ye Lin hurried through the forest after Lin Feng, she asked, "Hey, why didn't you agree to Huang Yixiang's plea just now?"

"Agree to what?" Lin Feng didn't look back as he replied.

"He and Su Xuebing are still our teammates, after all. Even if we're not on the same squad, we're bound to run into each other frequently. Isn't it going a bit too far, taking their banner like this?"

"Hmph... Since when did you become so charitable? When you were chasing and trying to beat me up, you didn't consider letting me off easy, did you? Guys like Su Xuebing and Huang Yixiang are rotten to the core; you can tell at a glance. You know the saying, 'a dog can't change its...'"

"'...habit of eating shit.'"

"Exactly. So you get it."

"You..." Ye Lin stared at Lin Feng, momentarily speechless. Lin Feng looks like he's barely twenty, so how can he be so devious? She truly couldn't figure him out.

Just as it struck nine in the morning, the two of them reached the edge of the Giant Wood Forest. In the distance, they spotted the flag marking the assembly point and quickly picked up their pace.

"Well now, you two made it here early!"

Deputy Chief Instructor Zhang Chu was waiting at the assembly point. Seeing Lin Feng and Ye Lin arrive right at nine, a surprised smile spread across his face.

"Did you manage to find a banner?" Zhang Chu asked.

Ye Lin didn't speak. She put down her backpack, took out two banners from inside, and handed them to Zhang Chu.

Staring at the two banners in his hand, Zhang Chu was momentarily stunned. Then, he looked at the pair in astonishment and asked, "The airdropped packages are scattered at least dozens of miles apart. You actually managed to get two banners?"

Zhang Chu and the surrounding instructors all stared at them in disbelief.

Getting two banners was in itself an extraordinary feat.

But not only had they secured two banners, they were also the first to arrive at the assembly point. This was simply incredible!

"Haha, it looks like first place in this training exercise is yours for the taking! Lin Feng, Ye Lin, how on earth did you manage it?" Coach Zhang asked, his curiosity piqued.

Ye Lin looked at Lin Feng, indicating for him to answer.

Lin Feng paused to think. I can't exactly tell him about the wolf pack, spending the night with the stunning Ye Lin, or the fact that we stole Huang Yixiang and Su Xuebing's banner, can I?

"Haha, Coach Zhang, we just got lucky. And you know, when a guy and a girl team up, the work doesn't seem so tiring, hehe. You get me," Lin Feng said with a sheepish grin, offering a vague explanation.

Hearing this, Ye Lin shot Lin Feng an exasperated glare. What's he talking about, 'when a guy and a girl team up, the work doesn't seem so tiring'? With so many instructors around, saying that is absolutely mortifying!

Memories of the incident at the waterhole flooded her mind: Lin Feng carrying her, giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, his hand on her chest, and the two of them changing clothes on the bank. A peculiar warmth spread through her, and she couldn't help stealing another glance at Lin Feng.

"Haha, well, completing the mission is what counts. Neither of you are injured, are you? If not, head over to the temporary rest area. Once everyone else gets here, we'll head back to base." Zhang Chu smiled at Lin Feng after logging their arrival and banners.

About half an hour after Lin Feng and Ye Lin, others finally began to trickle in. Yan Su, Lu Pengju, and a group of four from another team arrived at the assembly point almost simultaneously.

"Lin Feng!" Lu Pengju wailed, bursting into tears the moment he saw him.

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