Chapter 7: Let’s Go Wild, Girls

Fuxing Town—although it was called a small town, in reality, it wasn’t much different from a rural village.

Moreover, due to its extremely remote geographical location and the lack of good roads leading here, urban development was very difficult and slow. But thanks to this, the surrounding forests still retained their state from hundreds of years ago, just like when the ancestors first arrived.

Pristine, fertile, serene, yet dangerous.

Indeed, although it was modern times, because of the nation’s strict anti-hunting regulations and the residents’ tradition of never overhunting—even during famines—there were still many wild animals living in these forests.

Wild rabbits and pheasants went without saying; wild boars and large mountain cats also inhabited these woods, and even subspecies of the Asian black bear could be spotted.

They posed quite a threat to those who ventured into the mountains to search for herbs and wild yam.

Looking back since the 1970s, very few dared to enter the forests alone. But in 2005, a wayward youth returning from outside treated this place like his personal backyard, entering the mountains twice a year without fail, returning unscathed each time, often bringing back many rare mountain delicacies.

Thanks to his helpful nature and vast knowledge—answering any question and repairing any item—he was respectfully called “Teacher” by the locals.

Every time Teacher went into the mountains, a group of kids would trail behind, constantly asking:

“Teacher, teacher, can you bring me back a rabbit this time? I don’t want rabbit meat—I want a live one!”

“Teacher, can you catch a bear this time?”

“Teacher, how big a house are you planning to build this time?”

Such playful, childish questions continued until they escorted Teacher to the foot of the mountain and then dispersed.

Throughout, Teacher was the only one who ventured into the mountains. But today was different—the forest welcomed a second group of explorers besides Teacher.

A strange team composed of one little boy, two girls, and an adult woman.

“Ahhh, are we not there yet?” Kiana complained. Of course, it wasn’t because she physically couldn’t walk—her fitness from fighting the “Honkai” could only be described as superhuman.

She complained simply because she was bored.

Her complaint triggered a chain reaction. Kiko furrowed her brows slightly, Mei stopped and pulled Kiana up a small slope. Though they didn’t overtly show it, they stopped to look at Liu Yuyun, hoping for an answer.

Naturally, two hours had passed since entering the forest. They marveled at the child’s stamina, but they still hadn’t reached their destination. Kiko suspected the boy was purposely leading them in circles.

“Don’t look at me like that. Teacher is moving over the loose stones. To find him, we need to find his old camp first and then search around,” Liu Yuyun said, pointing at a clearing ahead where an irregularly-shaped bump stood out—upon closer look, a clearly man-made simple tent was visible.

“See? We can already spot Teacher’s central camp.”

“Alright then, Mei, hold onto Kiana and don’t let her wander off. Getting lost here would be a real pain.”

“Got it, Kiana, let’s go.”

“Okay!”

Under Mei’s guidance, Kiana obediently followed at the back of the group like a well-behaved child.

However, perhaps because it was her first time in such a pristine wilderness, her curiosity clawed at her heart like cat’s paws—her boredom stemmed from having to keep walking without much chance to observe strange things or small animals along the way. Now, her patience was wearing thin.

Upon reaching the so-called camp, Kiko was quite surprised to see it, while Mei and Kiana stared with amazement.

“Hmph~ So, how is it? Isn’t Teacher amazing?” Liu Yuyun proudly crossed his arms standing before the camp.

The camp was a makeshift defensive structure people built to protect against cold and dangers when spending nights outdoors.

Usually constructed from broken wood or small stones found nearby, it was generally very simple. But this was anything but simple.

The outer walls were made of layered rocks—not just neatly arranged, but rocks almost identical in size and volume, as if fired bricks made in a kiln.

The natural veins and varied colors on the stones proved they were purely sourced from nearby. The worn edges showed they were personally shaped by whoever built the camp!

There were hundreds of such stones, all neatly pieced together with clay mixed with licorice root, forming a sturdy structure. And this was just the outer wall.

Inside was a semicircular wood-and-clay house about five square meters in size, with a wooden foundation visible beneath. The outer walls, doors, windows, even a chimney for the fire were all complete.

The roof’s frame was made entirely of large and small tree branches, woven with vines, and covered with small twigs and banana leaves.

However, the clay on the outer walls had partially fallen off due to rain erosion and disuse after being built and used once long ago, exposing the internal wooden frame similar to the roof’s.

Kiko entered inside. Compared to the rugged exterior, the interior layout was delicate, well-lit, with two elevated hammocks, a nearby fire pit, a grill, and even a chair and table pieced together from wood scraps.

This was basically a wilderness cabin that would have taken a knowledgeable architect and a construction team several days to build. And you’re telling me this was all done by one person?

“Wow, amazing!”

Kiana’s eyes sparkled. Such a wilderness cabin was far more attractive to a curious and lively girl like her than any pretty clothes or accessories!

“Major Kiko, your instructor… is really amazing.”

Though Mei wasn’t particularly fond of such things, she respected the difficulty and effort of building a cabin like this alone.

“…Honestly, I’m not even sure I still know him anymore.”

“Teacher is Teacher!” Liu Yuyun cheerfully replied, placing his backpack on the bed and pulling out a map.

“This is the map Teacher drew last year. Actually, every year when he comes back from the mountain, he updates it. It marks changes in terrain caused by rain and minor earthquakes, tracks of dangerous large animals, and his own movement paths.”

Despite his small stature, Liu Yuyun had a unique leadership aura, pointing at the map like a commander:

“We should be here now.”

He pointed at the third red dot from the southeast on the map.

“Teacher always starts from this camp when entering the mountain, then randomly picks a direction to search for water. The tricky part is, this mountain range has no shortage of water—there are more than ten streams flowing in this area alone.”

“That search area is huge!” Kiana squeezed forward to see the markings. “How long will we be looking?”

“If all goes well, about three days.”

“Eh? You mean we’ll be in the mountain for three days?”

“Don’t worry, how could I come unprepared?” Liu Yuyun gave Kiana a “Are you kidding me?” look.

“Wow, you seem reliable. Did you bring a locator?”

“No, Teacher doesn’t carry any communication devices.”

“What did you bring then?”

Kiana had a bad feeling.

“I brought sleeping bags so you won’t worry about warmth or mosquitoes at night. Even though it’s June, mountain nights can drop below 5°C. A careless cold could get you sick.”

“…That’s not the issue.”

“Ah, water? There’s a small waterfall 300 meters that way. Oh! You’re girls, right? Don’t worry, it’s a small waterfall but about 3-4 meters high, with a small lake below. The water’s clean. And don’t worry, I won’t look back! Teacher’s integrity guaranteed.”

“The guy who hides giant boobs pillow books under his pillow—how can his integrity be trusted?”

“Alright, alright, don’t be petty. Surviving a few days outdoors isn’t a big deal. We’ve got a week anyway. And this is a good chance for you Valkyries to gain jungle experience, right Mei?”

Kiko slapped Kiana’s mouth shut, a playful smile creeping onto her face.

That’s because she herself had jungle warfare experience under the instructor—fifteen Valkyrie trainees vs. the instructor in an eight-hour hunt. The trainees got easily surrounded and defeated due to disorientation, lack of energy, dehydration, and exhaustion.

That course aimed to teach long-term combat under extreme conditions but was later banned because the academy head deemed it pointless since electronic equipment could easily detect them.

It was Kiko’s only failed course.

“Yeah, I agree.” Raiden Mei nodded, even showing some excitement.

Her serious and diligent personality made her eager to learn whatever was necessary.

“Even you, Mei?! Guh~!!”

Kiana gave up trying to protest—she wasn’t really that upset. She just felt shocked by the sudden plan to camp outdoors, unprepared mentally.

“…What about food?” Kiana, having accepted everything, asked the most important question.

“Ah, food? Simple,” Liu Yuyun reached into his backpack again.

“Eh? You brought food?” Kiana doubted it because his already half-empty backpack didn’t seem large enough to hold three days’ worth of supplies.

Maybe high-sugar energy bars?

“Found it!” Liu Yuyun proudly pulled out a multifunctional… army knife about as long as his forearm.

“Eh?”

With Kiana’s intelligence, she couldn’t connect a knife with food.

“Ohhh~ So that’s how it is?”

Kiko immediately understood.

“Yeah, this will be quite a learning experience,” Mei agreed.

“We’re in this pristine mountain range. My ancestors lived off this mountain for hundreds of years—it’s a natural treasure trove!” Liu Yuyun said excitedly, “There are many edible plants and animals here. We’re going hunting~~”

His excited words struck Kiana’s heart like a dagger!