Chapter 43: Robbery

Xia Fei kept his speed at 100 m/s, maintaining a steady pace as he leaned his body forward about 10 degrees, keeping his center of gravity a bit forward. This posture was the most suitable for long-distance running, as it significantly reduced the amount of energy needed to keep running.

The rain shadow area was vast, and due to the aridity over time, the yellow earth beneath his feet had cracked into pieces, and there was even a layer of yellow sand accumulated on it.

A series of yellow sand clouds and footprints were left behind as Xia Fei ran through at high speed. Fortunately, the rain shadows were windy all year round, and the dust and dirt that got swept would quickly cover up his trail, leaving no traces behind.

After about one and a half an hour had passed, Xia Fei began feeling a sense of heaviness creeping up his legs as if they were being filled with lead. His breathing had also become short and rapid. His face was now sweating profusely, as he already reached the limit of his endurance.

In front of him was a fissure about a meter deep and approximately 50 to 60 meters wide. There were plenty of withering shrubberies and wild grasses growing in the fissure’s opening, and it would have been impossible to notice had he not been close enough.

Xia Fei contemplated this for a while and carried Xiao Yu and jumped right into that fissure. Putting her down, Xia Fei sat by the side and wiped his sweat. He retrieved two bottles of mineral water from his spatial ring and twisted the cap off one and drank it all down as he handed another to Xiao Yu.

After an hour and a half of high speed running, Xia Fei’s heart rate and blood pressure were already reaching their highest point, so it was reasonable to say that he should not immediately eat or drink, but the thirst and hunger he was feeling made it impossible for him to care about such matters.

Xia Fei then retrieved five cans of canned beef from his spatial ring along with two cartons of vacuum-sealed milk and two apples. He sat on the ground, took big bites of everything, directly shoving down the meat inside the can as if he were a famished lion.

Xiao Yu had been cradled in Xia Fei’s arms the entire journey and had barely expended much of her strength during the journey. Besides, girls had much smaller appetites, so all she ate was an apple and a few gulps of milk, and she was done.

“Are you still drinking the milk?” Xia Fei asked as he took a large bite of the beef.

Xiao Yu shook her head, her eyes not even blinking once as she stared at Xia Fei ravenously eating everything. The way he was eating looked very unsightly, but Xiao Yu felt rather happy watching him, secretly snickering to herself as she sat opposite him.

Xia Fei took that half carton of milk Xiao Yu had left and poured it into his mouth until the last drop of milk dripped down his stomach, only then did Xia Fei have enough as he wiped his mouth with the corner of his sleeve.

“The weather is too hot, so it’s best to finish an opened carton of milk as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will spoil,” Xia Fei explained to Xiao Yu.

Xia Fei calculated the food he had remaining in his spatial ring and figured that he should have just enough to last 7 days. Considering that it was very difficult to replenish food and water supply in this vast wasteland, running out of food was still barely fine, but their survival rate would be greatly reduced if they were to run out of water.

Xia Fei decided to reserve 2 day’s worth of food as emergency rations, so he was only feeling half full after that meal. If he truly gorged himself properly, he was afraid that the food he had brought might not even last three days.

Xia Fei’s spatial ring even had some precious medicinal ingredients that could replenish his physical strength, but this was only the first round of the assessment. Xia Fei had planned to save these precious medicinal ingredients for the most critical moments.

Xia Fei ignored the dust and dirt on the ground and simply laid down and looked up at the sky, hoping to get a short rest. He was swiftly digesting the food he had just consumed and quickly turning it into energy inside him.

Xia Fei’s ability to digest and absorb nutrients was rather frightening. Even if he were eating a piece of rock, he would also be able to ingest all the calcium in it.

Xiao Yu used one hand to shade her eyes as she asked Xia Fei, “Why are we here and not in the east, searching for the token we need to get to the next round? How are we going to take part in the second round without the token?”

Xia Fei pulled out a stick of Hongtashan from his pocket and lit it up, taking several puffs of it. Smoking in such an arid environment would leave the smoker parched; the strong taste of tobacco had caused Xia Fei’s throat to turn dry and somewhat itchy.

“There are close to 100,000 candidates this time. What will happen when these candidates head to the east to seize 1,000 tokens?” Xia Fei puffed out a smoke ring and asked.

Xiao Yu wrinkled her forehead and thought about it, “They would surely fight, perhaps spilling blood or even killing others in the process.”

“If you got a hold of a token while in the northern foothills, what would you do?” Xia Fei asked again.

“I would run away immediately, of course. If those people were to see me holding the token, they would most definitely come after me to snatch it, and I won’t be willing to hand it over.” Xiao Yu was tugging on her cheek with one hand even as she gave her answer.

By now, Xia Fei’s strength had more or less returned to normal. He sat up and used his finger to delicately brush Xiao Yu’s little nose as he said, “That’s right. The first thing the other candidates would do upon acquiring a token would be to flee the battlefield to find a safe spot to hide until the first round is over. That is why we didn’t go searching for the token but came here instead.”

Xiao Yu’s eyes suddenly brightened as she said with a crafty expression, “Big brother Xia Fei, you’re so wicked. You’re not going to search for a token yourself, but you’re gonna hide here and wait for them to come to you, snatching away their token the moment they come by and take it for yourself.”

Xia Fei used his hand to rub Xiao Yu’s head lightly, “Now you understand. Rather than to fight it out with 100,000 people for the tokens, why not stay here and wait for them to come to us? We’ll grab one when it crosses our path.”

Xia Fei was not the fierce general Zhang Fei or marshal Yue Fei. He was of moderate strength out of all the candidates in this assessment, so hoping to escape the chaotic fight among 100,000 candidates would be easier said than done.

That was why he had secretly planned to set up an ambush and avoid the main battlefield. This was a wise choice, and also Xia Fei’s only option.

Xiao Yu crooked her head to the side, and quite a few barely visible wrinkles could be seen on her forehead, “If you wish to rob someone of their token, why not choose to go to the south? There are plenty of huge boulders there, won’t you be more concealed hiding there? The desert region to the north would work too. With all the sand dunes at varying height, it would be so much easier to hide there as well. This terrain we’re now in is far too open, and anyone could see dozens of miles with a single glance, making it really easy to spot us from a distance.”

Xiao Yu could already think of so many problems in such a short time, and every one of them was reasonable and fair. Xia Fei was slightly taken aback by this as he unhurriedly explained, “With more than 100,000 candidates, we can’t be the only one who had come up with such a plan. If we were to hide in the rocky formations or desert region, we would likely bump into the others who plan to rob people as well. When that happens, an unnecessary confrontation would inevitably occur.”

Xiao Yu repeatedly nodded, looking at Xia Fei with eyes filled with admiration, “I understand now, big brother Xia Fei. But why do we have to run out so far away? What are we going to do if none of the candidates come out here?”

“Xiao Yu, how far will you hide if you manage to get a hold of a token?” Xia Fei asked.

“Of course, I would want to be as far away as possible. I wouldn’t wanna get caught,” Xiao Yu answered.

The little girl immediately realized what she had just said and excitedly exclaimed, “Oh yeah, those candidates who are afraid of others stealing away their tokens would definitely wish to hide as far away as possible, which is why we only have to patiently wait here for someone to show up.”

Now that Xia Fei was done resting, he leaped out from the fissure and began to set traps around the area. He dug a little pit and buried small and portable mechanical devices he retrieved from his spatial ring and tossed another completely different contraption over in some nearby bushes.

With that fissure as the center, Xia Fei had covered 50 square kilometers of the area with plenty of mechanical devices that he had previously prepared. Each of the devices’ location was perfectly calculated and measured by Xia Fei meticulously, like a veteran hunter putting up his own traps.

Xia Fei took a long while before he finished his grand blueprint and returned to his hiding spot in the fissure. Xiao Yu had dozed off leaning up against the side at the moment, her lips somewhat white and crack due to the dryness. When she saw Xia Fei return, she rubbed her eyes and sat up, flashing a sweet smile at Xia Fei before she licked her lips with her tongue, not at all complaining about the hardship they were experiencing.

Xia Fei pulled a bottle of mineral water from his spatial ring and handed it to her. But he did not have a drink himself as ensuring they have a water supply was most important. Xia Fei needed to be strict with his daily water ration to ensure there was enough water to keep them alive.

“Xiao Yu, may I use the venom that your granny gave you?” Xia Fei asked.

“Sure. But granny’s venom had been specially blended by her, so it’s very venomous. You need to be very careful handling it,” Xiao Yu nodded and said, “What do you intend to do with it?”

Xia Fei lifted his head and looked up above. The sky was getting darker, and there were more and more dark clouds gathering, looking like a destructive storm was about to descend.

“I want to prepare a gift for them,” Xia Fei chuckled. “This gift would be even more perfect if a heavy downpour were to happen.”

All of a sudden!

*Sha la la*

The two of them heard a scuttling sound that seemed to be coming from every direction around them, as more and more gathered. The sound was small and sharp, which gave people goosebumps!

Xia Fei fixed his eyes on his surroundings and could not help but break out in cold sweat!