A Good-for-Nothing

259. A Foggy Forest

Translator: Dragon Rider

Before they came to this island, because no one knew what kind of challenges they would be faced with, Li Zong had trained them to deal with all kinds of unexpected situations. Thanks to SMB’s powerful magic simulation system, He Zheng and his teammates had had some training sessions about surviving on an island.

Therefore, when most of their rivals were in the dark about what difficulties they might encounter, He Zheng and his teammates had a shrewd idea of what to expect.

The supplies provided by the organizing committee were not very generous. Every contestant had been offered a canteen of water, several packs of hardtack, a couple of cans of meat and a tent.

Someone immediately complained aloud, “Oh my God, these things are not even enough to be a snack for me! How are we supposed to survive on this island for three days with so little food?”

“There are wild animals all around. I’m sure you can find a way to make fire. As for fresh water, our staff members will had it delivered to you on a regular basis,” explained a member of the organizing committee, making it very clear that they would have to figure something out by themselves if they wanted to fill their bellies, but they wouldn’t have to worry about fresh water.

The committee’s terse attitude, naturally, caused some contestants to be disgruntled, but none of them would say anything about quitting at this point in time.

Therefore, after teaming up, they prepared to enter the competition area.

Technically, Li Zong’s duty as an instructor was merely to prepare them for the competition. There were two reasons why SMB had made Li Long the instructor: firstly, to psych out the other teams; secondly, to bolster the morale of these young contestants of the Republic of Hua.

No matter how bad the situation is, Li Zong would always be there for them, giving them confidence and courage.

This was a very wise decision. In fact, He Zheng and his teammates were faced with powerful rivals, but none of them felt nervous or afraid.

Because Li Zong was on their side.

Before walking them to the entrance of the competition area, Li Zong halted and carefully told everyone what they needed to be cautious about during the competition, and he seemed to have no misgivings about saying it in the presence of the Rose-Kingdom team.

He did this because he wanted them to know the two teams were partners.

Although members of the Rose team had never had any dealings with Li Zong before, every one of them had heard his name. Therefore, Li Zong’s action made them feel flattered.

As a result, members of the Rose team now felt closer to He Zheng’s team.

Li Zong, after finishing speaking, looked at He Zheng, who was obviously a little absent-minded, standing on the side as though he were an outcast.

Qiu Luo told Xiao Qi, “Maybe we should introduce ourselves to each other before the competition starts.”

His made this suggestion to give Li Zong and He Zheng some privacy. Everyone else caught on and willingly took the suggestion.

“Steamed Bun.”

“Huh?” said He Zheng subconsciously, still thinking about the divinatory symbols. He didn’t even notice that the others had scattered. At this time, Li Zong walked up to him.

Li Zong heavily ran his fingers across He Zheng’s brow, forcing He Zheng to look up at him. “I will look into the matter of those divinatory symbols. Don’t take the event lightly. Give it your best shot.”

Li Zong’s fingers moved downwards from He Zheng’s eyebrows to his lips, which were very soft. Li Zong rubbed them with his warm finger pulps, his eyes very inscrutable. He Zheng had never seen Li Zong look at him like this before.

Li Zong’s gaze, as though it were boring into He Zheng’s soul, gradually quieted He Zheng’s restless heart down.

“Try not to get hurt so that I won’t have to worry about you.” Li Zong’s voice was still so pleasant, his eyes gazing at He Zheng’s while he was speaking.

Li Zong’s eyes were very special. If someone looked at them carefully, they would found that those eyes were dual-pupiled. There had even been several occasions when He Zheng had accidentally noticed that Li Zong’s pupils took on a color of light gold. His eyes were so charming and captivating.

“I will,” said He Zheng, taking a deep breath and dismissing all the miscellaneous thoughts from his head. When he opened his eyes again, there was a determined look in them. “I promise I’ll win the championship. I won’t embarrass you!

I’ll give it my best shot – for you, and for myself.”

He Zheng knew the day had come for him to prove himself.

If he was to be rid of the stigma of being a good-for-nothing, he would have to perform well.

And this event was an golden opportunity.

He was going to do the same thing that Li Zong had done in his first exorcism championship.

“Now that’s what the Steamed Bun I know would say.” Li Zong lips slightly curved into a smile which, surprisingly, was tinged with pride.

The competition area was not the island where they currently were but another island that was connected to this one by a bridge. Although that island was subsidiary to this one, it was much larger.

“All competing teams, please get ready to set off to the island.”

All instructors, including Li Zong, would be staying on this island with the organizing committee, waiting for the results. He Zheng and other contestants filed onto the deck of a ship and then headed for the island designated as competition area.

The old man, who had explained the rules on the platform a few moments ago, showed up beside Li Zong, smiling amiably, his sideburns curly and gray, looking very much like a scholar. “Hi, Li. Long time no see.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” said Li Zong with a slight inclination of the head, sounding fairly courteous.

The two of them stood at the seaside, watching the receding ship. “I wonder what kind of surprise the Republic of Hua will bring us this time,” said the old man, more to himself than to Li Zong.

Li Zong’s countenance was bland, looking neither proud nor uptight. “I think my team will win the championship again,” he said in an unhurried tone.

The old man chuckled.

Their hair and the hem of their clothes were fluttering in the sea breeze.

“I look forward to seeing your team perform as well as you did in the couple of previous events.”

Li Zong smiled, making no reply.

The two islands were only a 15-minute sail away from each other, so the contestants arrived at the competition area very soon.

It was an island covered by a thick forest. Due to its geographical location, it was impossible for people to get a panoramic view of the island.  The sky above the forest was cloaked in dark clouds, and the forest seemed to be shrouded in dense fog. It was a really foggy forest.

Soon, the staff member stopped the ship at a place and let two teams disembark. To prevent the teams from coming to blows at the beginning of the competition, the organizing committee let the teams disembark in four different locations. There was no telling whether He Zheng had the right hand of a god or not, but that Jiangtou-caster from Southeast Asia on Nakayi Hakute’s side, who had drawn the lot, must be the god of bad luck incarnate, for they were to disembark at the same location that the Lion-Tiger alliance would.

He Zheng had not bargained on having such good luck at the very beginning. Many people sneered as they came to know the results of the draw. Given that the Neon Kingdom and the Lion-Tiger alliance landed on the island at the same spot, they would definitely start fighting immediately.

He Zheng’s team was the last to disembark. They got ashore at a spot on the east edge of the island.

“Good luck,” said the staff member in a businesslike manner, and then the ship drove off.

The staff member had told them the rules of the competition but had not told them anything about what kind of monsters they might encounter, or what kind of danger they might be faced with, or what kind of clues they were supposed to find.

Basically, they barely had any information about this island. The only thing they knew was that the team with the most surviving members at the end of the third day would be the champion team.

And the most important thing at the moment was that they needed to reach an agreement about leadership, because they had two captains now, and there were bound to be disagreements in certain circumstances.

Both Chen Qianlin and Chen Kai had talked with He Zheng about this matter when on the ship.

After they landed on the island, the two teams naturally clustered around their respective captains. Xiao Qi’s and Xiao Han’s positions were the nearest to He Zheng’s team.

“Joe, and other members of the Rose team, may I have your attention please? There’s something I’d like to discuss with you guys before we enter this foggy forest.”

Joe seemed to have guessed what He Zheng was going to say. He smiled, “I think you want to ask us our opinions about who the leader should be that is going to lead us through this forest, right?”

Feeling that it was so much easier talking to a smart guy, He Zheng nodded. “I’ll tell you the results of our group discussion if you want. After all, from now on, we are a team, and I want us to have trust in each other in the next three days. I don’t want any infighting before all our rivals are eliminated.”

He Zheng put it in a tactful way. The team with the most surviving members at the end of the third day would be the winners, so He Zheng did not mention what they were going to do on the third day.

“Of course, I couldn’t agree more. Two of my team members, Xiao Qi and Xiao Han, trust you guys, and the rest of us are grateful to your team member Chen Kai for his previous help. We have every reason to work together.

Of all members of this temporary group, you are the best in both the kung fu stakes and the personality stakes, He Zheng, so you should be the leader.”

He Zheng was very pleased. It had never crossed his mind that this matter would be settled so quick.

The entrance to the forest was not far away. It was an island, but the areas in the vicinity of the forest was shrouded in black fog, which formed a distinct boundary.

It was like gate to the world of the evil, as though outside the gate was peace and tranquility, but inside the door were ferocious beasts waiting to take the lives of intruders on sight.

“How do you feel, guys?” He Zheng glanced at his watch, which showed that it was eleven o’clock. He said, “Let’s have lunch first. We’re supposed to enter the forest before 12 o’clock.”

Nobody raised any objections, and they sat in a circle. Chen Kai skillfully opened a can of meat. They collected some firewood. Joe and Xiao Qi fumbled in their pockets for a lighter as the others stared at the pile of firewood.

“I didn’t expect to encounter a tricky problem so soon,” Joe smiled mirthlessly.

Chen Qianlin gave He Zheng who had been silent all along a push and said, “Stop pretending.”

He Zheng ginned. “I’ll handle it.”

On hearing his words, all the others looked at him. One of them asked, “You have a lighter?”

He Zheng casually produced a yellow Fu (Fu is a piece of rectangular paper on which magical figures are drawn by Chinese Taoist priests to invoke or expel spirits and bring good or ill fortune), recited an incantation and with that the Fu ignited spontaneously, flames dancing above He Zheng’s fingertips.

His teammates, all of whom knew what He Zheng was capable of, were not surprised.

Members of the Rose team, however, were stunned at the sight of it. Joe hastened to ask Xiao Qi, “So this is the oriental magic you once mentioned?”