“Turn the steering wheel about fifteen degrees to the left… yes, use the shovel bucket to brace against the ground and slide over… don’t move! Keep this position and shift sideways…”

Qin Le sat in the passenger seat, watching the dirt trench ahead and directing Qian Can in operating the excavator.

On the roof of the machine, Li Xiao, Song Jin, and the other two sat with blank expressions, their eyes dazed.

The terrain in the rainforest was complicated. The ground was almost entirely covered by vines and plant roots, and it was hard to find any completely flat stretch of land.

The excavator was already slow to begin with, and in a place like this it was practically crawling.

After crossing the trench, Qian Can slapped hands with Qin Le in excitement. “I did it! Look, I did it!”

Qin Le said, “I was almost moved to tears.”

A few students with long legs stepped easily over the trench. As they passed the excavator, they gave the two of them a subtle look and waved with a smile.

“Good luck, looking forward to you taking first place.”

“This excavator is really solid. Honestly jealous.”

“Having a vehicle to sit in is so nice. Unlike us, who can only rely on our legs.”

The sarcastically mocked Qian Can and Qin Le: “…”

Qian Can bit his lip, his face falling instantly. “Why did I win the buzzer round only to get a load of dead weight? Waaah…”

Driving an excavator was slower than walking. Qian Can had refused it on the spot, but the rules stated it had to be kept for at least ten hours and could not be actively abandoned. Only if someone else seized it did it not count as abandonment.

Qian Can stuck out his neck and shouted, “The excavator factory has gone bankrupt! Ninety-nine-percent-new excavators on clearance sale! Selling cheap, come get one!”

His voice echoed through the rainforest, setting off a whole flock of birds.

The students hurried forward and scattered like a gust of wind, afraid they’d be caught and forced into a bad deal.

“Don’t draw the nearby beasts over here,” Song Jin said, tapping the roof with his heel to signal Qian Can to shut up.

Qian Can looked up. “Boss, get into the cabin.”

Song Jin flatly refused, “No.”

Qian Can: “…”

He had originally wanted Song Jin to drive it. The man could even operate a combat aircraft, so an excavator should be nothing. But Song Jin despised it so much that he didn’t even want to step into the cabin.

Song Jin wasn’t interested in the assessment results, but if his brother saw him driving an excavator, he would definitely film it and keep it as a joke.

Out of the corner of his eye, seeing Li Xiao observing the surroundings, Song Jin asked casually, “Is this very different from the first military academy’s exam site in your country?”

Li Xiao said, “All desolate planets look more or less the same.”

After the military cleared the land, they activated artificial atmosphere systems, and all environmental indicators were adjusted according to standards suitable for human habitation.

A level-two danger zone like this, if nothing went wrong, could be downgraded to level one in about fifty years, at which point immigrants could be arranged to live here permanently.

But this was an exam site set up by the military academy. Aside from the dense surveillance, there were many hidden high-end intelligent systems. Even temperature, humidity, and weather were probably being controlled by AI. The investment was huge.

Compared with that, the first military academy was clearly far less careful.

The excavator crawled at a snail’s pace. Sometimes the tracks got stuck in roots, and sometimes the bucket snagged on something. The six of them were like riding a sedan chair, bouncing around terribly.

Da Bei gripped the raised edge tightly, nearly being jolted off.

“How is anyone supposed to endure ten hours of this?”

Li Xiao said, “Once we get down this hill, find some idiot and sell this hot potato off.”

Da Bei: “…”

So this assessment was really about marketing?

Song Jin instinctively mocked, “You mean the exchange students? You won’t find anyone that stupid in a military academy.”

Li Xiao said, “We’re teammates in the same vehicle now. You want to sit here until night?”

Song Jin: “…”

Forgot about that.

Another violent jolt hit, and Song Jin said sourly, “The first person we see after going down the hill is the target.”

Li Xiao: “…Mm.”

Jiang Hao looked at the two of them: “…”

He always had the strange feeling that he was going out to rob someone with his big brother.

Being a good person and being a robber didn’t seem all that different.

After finally getting through the vines and rubble to the foot of the mountain, there was a small stream about three meters wide blocking the way ahead.

Qian Can cursed under his breath and got off to inspect the situation.

Across the stream was flatter rainforest terrain, and also the shortest route to their destination.

The water was shallow in some places and deep in others. With trees on both banks, it would be easy to jump across with rope assistance, but the problem was that they had an excavator!

“Boss, we can’t get across!” Qian Can looked at Song Jin. “My skill isn’t enough. The chance of flipping over is 91%.”

Song Jin jumped off the roof and looked around.

There was more than one route to the destination. They could go around from the left or right along the foot of the mountain, but it would take longer.

It was a little after eleven at noon. As long as they got out of the rainforest before dark, it wouldn’t be too dangerous. The problem was manageable.

After observing for a while, Qin Le said, “The left side can go up from that hillside. The detour is shorter.”

Qian Can said, “I can handle that side.”

Just as the few of them were discussing routes, Li Xiao suddenly caught a very faint, strange scent and quickly identified where it was coming from — the rainforest on the far side of the stream, front-left.

“Go right,” Li Xiao said, looking at the three people by the stream.

Song Jin turned back. “Why?”

Before Li Xiao could answer, another team of more than ten people came down from the mountain and immediately saw the bright green excavator. They smiled and came over to greet them.

Meng Tao sized up the excavator and looked at Li Xiao with a half-smile. “With such a powerful transport vehicle, it’d be hard to justify not taking first place, right?”

Li Xiao sat on the roof with one leg bent. “Just playing around. Whether we’re first or not doesn’t matter. As for you — you’d better aim for a good ranking this time.”

That remark immediately reminded Meng Tao of the previous class quiz ranking, and the smile on his face stiffened at once.

Under Song Jin’s look, Qian Can ran over to try selling the excavator, but nobody bit, so he came back looking downcast.

“Stop chatting, let’s go,” someone from their team called from the stream bank.

Seeing they wanted to cross to the other side, Li Xiao spoke up and warned, “I advise you not to take this route.”

A beta team member asked, “Why?”

Li Xiao had just started to answer when Meng Tao cut him off.

Meng Tao said, “Obviously because this route is the shortest. If we take it, won’t we leave them behind?”

The others laughed and joined in.

“Didn’t expect Li Xiao to be such a liar even though he looks so handsome.”

“Trying to play tricks on us doesn’t work — we’re not falling for it.”

“I thought there was some real reason not to go this way.”

Li Xiao smiled lightly and said nothing more.

That reaction looked like tacit agreement to everyone, but since he was so good-looking and admitted it so openly, it didn’t make anyone dislike him.

Qian Can watched helplessly as they all jumped to the other side and even turned back smugly to wave at them, and he was furious enough to curse.

“Boss, let’s go left and catch up to them! Make them follow behind us crying!”

Song Jin: “Go right.”

Qian Can: “Okay… huh?”

Seeing Song Jin jump back onto the roof, Qin Le patted Qian Can. “Listen to the boss.”

Qian Can: “Am I the only one who wants to win?”

Qin Le: “Do we look like the kind of people who can win?”

Qian Can: “…”

He couldn’t argue with that.

After driving about ten meters, a breeze blew past and brought with it a very faint strange fragrance. Song Jin’s brow twitched.

It smelled like the scent given off by saprophytic fungal species.

These mutated fungi were usually found in level-four danger zones and were very rare in lower-level danger zones. They could release hallucinogenic toxins that lured animals nearby and then poisoned them to death, feeding on the decayed tissue.

The toxin wasn’t lethal to humans, but any area near a fungal colony would inevitably attract a lot of mutated beasts.

Song Jin turned his head to look at Li Xiao, thoughtfully.

Had Li Xiao noticed this just now?

He hadn’t expected someone’s senses to be even sharper than his own.

Song Jin asked, “You really wanted to warn them not to take that road?”

“Of course I did,” Li Xiao said lightly, looking across the stream.

“Wait, what smell is that?” Jiang Hao frowned.

Then Qin Le and the others also noticed it.

“Ah—! So many worker ants, run back!”

There was a loud commotion from the rainforest across the stream.

The group that had entered the forest only minutes earlier, including Meng Tao and the others, came fleeing in disarray along the stream, with a mass of black worker ants chasing after them.

The ants were about one meter long, about the size of large dogs. Individually they weren’t very strong, but if a swarm swallowed you, they could still bite you to death.

Da Bei sat bolt upright in disbelief. “How did they attract so many?!”

More and more worker ants emerged from between trees and rocks, piling over one another in layers like waves surging forward.

Li Xiao frowned.

The number was wrong.

There couldn’t be such a large growth of saprophytic fungi in a level-two danger zone. The scent was also too faint to attract this many ants.

Li Xiao’s gaze swept over a few places where sand and stones had piled up along the stream. He tapped the roof twice. “Dig this shallow area deeper.”

Qian Can was seeing such a huge ant swarm in person for the first time. Snapping back to reality, he hurriedly manipulated the mechanical arm to dig.

Meng Tao and his teammates used rope launchers to hook onto the tree trunks on the opposite bank and jumped across, panting heavily and looking very unpleasant.

They hadn’t taken Li Xiao’s warning seriously, and now they’d been proven wrong so quickly. It was humiliating.

Worker ants couldn’t swim. A large number gathered at the edge of the stream, the ones in front being pushed by those behind. Many fell into the water and were washed away, while some crawled over the shallower sections toward the opposite bank.

Song Jin shouted, “Hurry up!”

Qian Can frantically operated the controls. “I can’t, it’s too late! Lele, help me! Okay, I’ve got it again! No, it’s off target, Lele, come up faster!”

With so many ants, if they managed to crawl onto the bank it would become very troublesome.

Qin Le was also in a difficult position. He could pilot a mecha, but operating an excavator might be even worse for him than for Qian Can.

Jiang Hao opened the cabin door. “I know how to drive it. Let me!”

Qin Le immediately pulled Qian Can over to his side and made room for Jiang Hao.

Jiang Hao grabbed the two control sticks. The bucket came straight down, precisely cutting off the ants’ path. The dirt and gravel he dug out were thrown across the bank and even crushed a few ants.

Qian Can exclaimed, “Xiao Jiang, awesome!”

Jiang Hao said, “No license needed in the exam. If it can move, I can drive it.”

Qian Can: “…”

At a time like this, who cared whether you had a license?

A very small number of ants leaped over the bank and charged straight at them.

Da Bei was attacked head-on. Seeing those iron-clamp-like mandibles, his legs nearly went weak.

Li Xiao swung his knife backward and cut the ant in half at the waist, then turned to deal with another one that had lunged at the windshield, making sure Jiang Hao’s view wasn’t blocked.

“What are you spacing out for during combat?”

Da Bei watched the ant split in two and fall away, its fluids splattering over the vehicle body and his clothes, and his pupils shook violently.

This was his first time taking part in actual combat like this.

He had done plenty of simulated training before, but he hadn’t expected that once it became real, he wouldn’t even know how to kill an ant.

Qin Le and Qian Can quickly got down from the passenger seat and joined them.

The long saber in Song Jin’s hand flipped deftly. He nearly killed one ant with every strike, and not a speck of grime touched him.

The stench spread everywhere, and his patience rapidly ran out.

“Some people really have no ability at all, yet they’re excellent at dragging others down.”

Meng Tao, who was nearly being named outright, looked even darker.

Old and new grudges together drove him mad.

When one worker ant lunged at him, he fiercely chopped off its head, then pretended to accidentally kick it toward Song Jin.

Song Jin was turned away fighting the other two ants. As the sharp mandibles came for the back of his head, he noticed the movement here and slashed back at an angle.

The severed mandibles rebounded at very high speed, slicing past Meng Tao’s neck and then pinning themselves into the tree trunk behind him.

The speed was too fast. Meng Tao couldn’t react at all. He only felt a stabbing pain in his neck, and when he touched it, his hand was covered in blood.

“You—!” Meng Tao glared in fury, only to meet Song Jin’s cold gaze. His pupils shrank, and he instinctively stepped back half a pace.

As fellow alphas, in that moment of confrontation, Meng Tao was completely suppressed by Song Jin. His previous momentum vanished, leaving only fear spreading from his tailbone through his entire body.

Song Jin withdrew his gaze. “Sorry, I missed.”

Meng Tao’s face darkened, and he clenched his molars.

Those words sounded like an apology, but were actually a threat.

This military academy student named Song Jin was very strong.

After Jiang Hao finished digging, he stretched the mechanical arm to the opposite bank and directly smashed the large bucket into the ant swarm, one hit silencing one ant after another.

“Boss, I need to move a bit farther forward.”

“Okay,” Li Xiao said.

The excavator suddenly lurched forward. Song Jin lost his footing and stumbled backward — and in the next second, crashed into someone’s arms.

Li Xiao wrapped one arm around Song Jin’s waist and lifted a leg to block Da Bei from falling outward.

“Be careful.”

The low voice struck straight into his ear. Song Jin’s vision flickered with something, but it was too fast to catch.

There it was again. That familiar feeling.

Less than half an hour later, the worker ants by the stream gradually returned to the rainforest, with only a few left lingering by the water, no longer a threat to them.

Qian Can shook out his sore wrists and looked at Meng Tao’s team. “What did you guys do to attract such a huge nest of worker ants?”

The beta who had led the team answered in confusion, “We didn’t do anything special. After smelling the saprophytic fungi’s toxic gas, we started heading back, and then on the way we were suddenly attacked by this swarm of worker ants.”

Qian Can snorted. “Good thing we have an excavator, or we’d all be in trouble too.”

Once the excavator was mentioned, everyone’s eyes lit up.

They had previously thought the excavator was dead weight — slow and cumbersome — but now it suddenly seemed very useful.

If they ran into a swarm of insects like the worker ants again, it would be extremely handy.

The teammates kept throwing frantic eye signals at their captain.

The beta captain scratched his hair and said, “Thanks just now. Earlier you said you didn’t want the excavator, right? Then we’ll—”

Qian Can raised a hand in a stopping gesture and looked at Li Xiao and Song Jin on the roof. “Are we still selling it?”

Song Jin said, “We came out here to do charity?”

Li Xiao said, “Good things only sell once.”

Qian Can smiled and looked at the beta team. “You heard what the two bosses said, right?”

Beta: “…”

Other team members: “…”

Missed out on a billion and dying inside!