108: Chapter 108 Crisis or Opportunity?
The liveliness of Lin Mo's squad seemed particularly abrupt within the generally tense official team.
It soon drew the dissatisfaction of Captain Gu Miaoyu.
She had her female deputy come to issue a warning: "Teacher An, please restrain your team members. This mountain range hides many King-level exotic beasts above Rank 6. If they are disturbed, we might not be able to rescue you in time."
Heat instantly rose to Teacher An Nuolan's face.
She looked up at the official squad and, sure enough, saw many people casting dissatisfied glances, so she had to nod and apologize in a hurry: "I-I'm sorry, I will restrain them now."
After the female deputy left, Teacher An Nuolan walked to Lin Mo's side and asked somewhat helplessly: "How about… we wait until the return trip to find a chance to pick them?"
Although Lin Mo felt a bit regretful, he knew it wasn't the time to cause more trouble, so he had to nod: "Alright, that's all we can do."
Just as he put the herb basket into his backpack, a deafening explosion suddenly came from the front of the team.
"Boom!"
Everyone was shocked by the loud noise, their hearts jolting as their footsteps came to a simultaneous halt.
"What happened? Did we encounter a troublesome exotic beast?"
While they were guessing, a member of the Azure Dragon Academy squad hurried to Captain Gu Miaoyu and whispered a few words in report.
A moment later, the news reached the back of the team.
"It was a Rank 6 exotic beast blocking the way. Captain Tu has already dealt with it. Everyone, continue forward."
Lu Mengmeng secretly stuck out her tongue and muttered in a low voice: "The exotic beasts here are quite high-ranked…"
"That is only natural." A stubble-faced official squad leader next to them, who was chewing on a cigarette, deliberately tried to scare them:
"Rumor has it that even a Rank 9 Flood Dragon has appeared in the Emei Mountain Range. I advise you all to obediently follow the team and stop messing around."
"No way, even Rank 9…" Lu Mengmeng shrank her neck.
For the rest of the journey, Lin Mo's squad was indeed much better behaved.
However, sounds of fighting still came from the front of the team from time to time.
Occasionally, a few blind Rank 3 or 4 exotic beasts would jump out to attack, but they were easily dealt with by the official squad.
The members of the official squad were generally above Rank 4 in strength, which was more than enough to handle these low-Rank exotic beasts.
Half a day passed. Although they hadn't encountered any real danger, the rugged terrain of the primeval forest caused the three echelons to gradually drift apart.
They could only barely keep up by following the markers left along the way.
Since Lin Mo's squad hadn't undergone professional physical training, as they walked, they were actually dropped from the middle of the pack to the end of the third echelon.
They could only follow from far away, to the point where they could barely see the backs of the team in front.
"Ouch, these people are running so fast! If this continues, we won't even be able to see their taillights!" Lu Mengmeng grabbed her messy hair and complained while panting.
"They train year-round and execute missions in the wild, so their physical foundation is indeed much better than ours…"
Lin Mo looked at the faint markers ahead, then glanced at the exhausted appearance of his team members.
"If you're tired, let's rest for five minutes and replenish some water."
"What if we get left behind?" Teacher An Nuolan asked with concern.
"It's fine. At worst, I'll just fly you guys later." Lin Mo shook the communicator in his hand.
He thought to himself that this thing could still have a communication range of one thousand meters in the deep forest, so getting left behind was impossible.
Hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.
That's right, since when did our team have a big shot who could carry us…
Lu Mengmeng simply fell backward into the grass on the side, striking a "Ge You slouch."
Lin Mo leaned against a tree trunk, responsible for observing the surroundings.
Having consumed Body Tempering Pills for a long time, his physical strength was higher than theirs.
He wasn't very tired.
…
"Captain, that student squad has fallen behind, and their communicator has suddenly stopped responding!" A team member hurried to Captain Gu Miaoyu's side and reported in a low voice.
Captain Gu Miaoyu was concentrating on observing the surroundings.
At some unknown point, a thin mist began to permeate the dense forest, visibility gradually decreased, and even the air became damp and cold.
Her brows were already slightly furrowed, and upon hearing this, her expression darkened a few notches.
Just a moment ago, she had discovered that the markers left by the first and second squads had started to become chaotic.
The communicator had also suddenly stopped responding.
She was just guessing whether the mist was interfering with their direction and pondering how to adjust the route when, unexpectedly, trouble arose from the back.
"There is no need to worry about them; just leave markers according to the rules." Captain Gu Miaoyu's tone was decisive, carrying an unquestionable firmness.
"Whether they can keep up depends on their own luck."
Throughout this journey, she had already deliberately slowed down several times to wait for them, which was doing more than enough.
If they could still fall behind like this, then it was their own problem; she really didn't have the energy to divide her attention to take care of them anymore.
The most urgent thing right now was to find a way for the second squad to follow the first squad's route.
This mist had come suspiciously; if things continued to be this chaotic, all three squads could completely lose their way.
"Pass the order down: continue to accelerate and follow the first squad's markers."
She looked up at the front where the mist was getting thicker, her voice carrying a trace of imperceptible gravity.
"Have the reconnaissance team increase the scope of vigilance and contact the second squad as soon as possible."
"Yes!" The team member acknowledged the order, turned around, and quickly relayed the command.
The team accelerated their pace again, and their figures were soon swallowed by the mist ahead.
Only shallow markers were left behind, appearing and disappearing on the damp ground.
The mist became thicker and thicker, like a layer of flowing white gauze, isolating the sounds in the mountain forest.
Back to the rear of the team, a human-sized alchemy furnace was hovering three meters off the ground, drifting forward steadily.
"Sigh, this Spiritual Qi mist came at a really bad time; it's hindering our journey." Lin Mo's voice carried a hint of depression.
At this moment, the lid of the alchemy furnace was lifted, revealing seven heads squeezed together.
Fourteen eyes were staring straight at the ground beneath their feet, struggling to search for the markers left by the official team in the thick fog.
The mist was so thick that visibility was less than five meters.
The surrounding trees had turned into blurry shadows, and even the sound of the wind had been absorbed into silence.
The markers that could barely be identified just a moment ago were now completely covered by the mist.
If it were someone without knowledge, they would probably feel afraid upon encountering this thick fog.
"Boss, what should we do? My dog eyes can't see anything." Lu Mengmeng gripped the edge of the furnace, her vision getting blurrier and blurrier.
Just a moment ago, everyone was truly unable to walk anymore, so Lin Mo simply manifested his Martial Soul.
He let everyone climb into the furnace to use it for transport, which saved quite a bit of effort.
However, they hadn't even enjoyed this feeling of "cheating" before they encountered this foggy weather.
"It's fine, just keep drifting forward. Anyway, we have a general direction. As long as we move toward the goal, we'll be able to catch up eventually."
Lin Mo's tone was relaxed as he controlled the alchemy furnace to continue forward.
Who knew that not long after they drifted out, with a muffled "thud," the alchemy furnace crashed solidly into an old tree.
The furnace body shook violently, and the seven people inside were shaken until they were swaying from side to side.
"Ouch…" Lu Mengmeng covered her forehead, grimacing in pain.
Lin Mo shook his heavy head, looked at the vast whiteness outside, and said helplessly: "Forget it, this fog is too heavy. Let's wait until the fog clears before we continue."
His eyes rolled, and he added: "It's perfect; let's take this opportunity to hurry up and Cultivate. This kind of environment is rare and hard to come by."
He knew the ins and outs of this mist. Since they couldn't leave, they might as well let everyone take the opportunity to improve.
"Cultivate? Is it safe here?" Everyone looked worried.
The surrounding fog was so thick it wouldn't dissipate; who knew if an exotic beast would suddenly jump out.
Lin Mo knew they weren't as well-read as him, so he patiently explained: "This mist is condensed from Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. The concentration is several times higher than outside. If we Cultivate right now, the efficiency can increase several-fold."
He paused and pointed around: "I reckon that the exotic beasts in this forest are likely absorbing Spiritual Qi to Cultivate right now as well, so they don't have time to pay attention to us. This is actually the safest time."
"If we were to travel now, crashing into an exotic beast would be the most dangerous thing."
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.
Lu Mengmeng immediately sat cross-legged and patted her chest: "That's great! Cultivate, Cultivate, strive to make a Breakthrough to Rank 3 as soon as possible!"