Just as Qin Luo was debating whether their actions were genuine fighting or “flirting,” the ground suddenly shook. He thought it was just the commotion from their scuffle and didn’t pay it much mind. He hadn’t walked two steps when the ground shook again, and then started vibrating continuously.

“Holy cow! An earthquake?!” Qin Luo’s body swayed. He finally steadied himself and yelled at Rong Shi and Song Yu, “Bro, stop fighting, let’s go!”

The two who were fighting also swayed. Rong Shi seized the opportunity, gripping Song Yu’s swinging hand to steady himself. He scanned their surroundings and spotted two slender antennae on a small, raised mound on the northwest side of the maple forest.

“Let’s go,” Rong Shi waved to Qin Luo, patted Song Yu’s shoulder, and gestured for the two to follow. As the ground vibrated, a pair of pincer-like mandibles and a hard shell for a head quickly emerged from beneath the antennae.

Qin Luo followed closely behind them, running swiftly back the way they came. He curiously looked back and couldn’t help but shout, “Damn! It’s termites!”

The mutated termites in a Class 3 danger zone could be nearly a meter long. Compared to other beasts, their size wasn’t particularly large, but they operated in swarms! With the ground shaking like this, there could be thousands upon thousands of them underneath!

Rong Shi glanced back and said calmly, “They’re worker termites.”

The three ran to the edge of the maple forest, sending signals to the other four to quickly return and gather. 

Song Yu looked up towards the direction the worker termites emerged from. Where the termite swarm passed, all the maple trees were toppled. 

A maple tree over ten meters tall was swallowed by the swarm and devoured in less than a minute. Worker termites would regularly come out to forage, but their aggression wasn’t the strongest among all termite species.

“There are some over there too!” Qin Luo pointed to their left, where a few scattered ones were gnawing on trees. “We’ve fallen into their granary!”

While waiting for the other four, the number of termites had become frighteningly large. The ground in the maple forest, originally covered with red maple leaves, was now teeming with termites; not a single maple leaf could be seen.

Song Yu frowned: “Where did they go to scout the terrain? Why are they so slow?”

Qin Luo fumbled with his communication device: “I don’t know. They shouldn’t have gone that far.”

Just as he was speaking, a worker termite suddenly lunged at Song Yu. Song Yu quickly drew his gun and shot the termite’s relatively soft abdomen. Translucent viscous fluid sprayed out, almost splashing his clothes.

“It’s corrosive,” Rong Shi promptly pulled him, drawing him closer.

“Damn it!” Song Yu looked down at his clothes. Being corroded was secondary; getting that stuff on him was truly disgusting. Nearby worker termites, sensing their comrade’s scent, began to surround them from all directions.

Qin Luo’s forehead was sweating. He had a mild case of trypophobia, and seeing so many termites made him feel unwell. “Let’s go first. We’ll find another place to regroup.”

Rong Shi frowned, considering the feasibility of this plan.

“Chairman! We’re here!” Chen Chen’s voice came from their right rear. He and Old Bai were being chased by a swarm of termites, running incredibly fast.

Old Bai: “Damn it, a bad start!”

Rong Shi’s group of three was already surrounded by termites, and now Chen Chen’s group brought another large wave, leaving them almost no room to retreat. Crucially, Liu Hong and Hu Feng hadn’t returned yet.

“What do we do?! If we stay any longer, we’ll become the termites’ extra meal,” Qin Luo asked anxiously.

---

Inside the Royal Academy, many students were watching the live broadcast of the league. Desolate Star Survival was an annual competition held at the Royal Academy, but this year’s scale was unprecedented. Everyone was excited and curious: between the Royal Academy and the Central Military Academy, who was stronger?

In front of the live stream—

“The military academy’s chairman’s group is really unlucky, aren’t they? They run into the most troublesome termite swarm right away. They might have to surrender on the spot.”

“In previous years, so many people surrendered because they encountered termite swarms. Basically, if you run into them, there’s no way out.”

“Am I the only one wondering why the military academy chairman and Song Yu are fighting?”

“Putting everything else aside, these two’s looks are really my type, hahahaha.”

“A chairman who only scores sixty is too mediocre. What strength could he possibly have? A bit disappointing.”

“Why did Song Yu marry him? Besides his looks, I don’t see anything special.”

Meanwhile, at the military academy on the Academy Planet, many students were also watching the league’s live broadcast. Most of them were watching for Rong Shi, not to see what place he’d get, but out of curiosity to see how he’d muddle through this time.

“I bet a spicy stick that the chairman already has a countermeasure.”

“I wonder if roasted ants taste good?”

“I just secretly went to the Royal Forum. They actually think our chairman is incompetent?!”

“Rong Shi: Achieving first place with a Zen attitude, do not disturb.”

“We say he’s capable, why do they say that?”

“How dare they talk about our old slacker like that? Brothers, let’s go visit them with our weapons!”

---

Back on the field, Rong Shi picked up a handful of maple leaves and used his fire-starting tool to ignite them. The ground covered with maple leaves easily caught fire, and the flames spread rapidly from their original position. Sensing the drastic change in temperature, most worker termites stopped about ten meters away, not daring to approach. Chen Chen and Old Bai leaped over the fire and gasped for breath.

Chen Chen: “Checked it out. There’s a huge termite nest underground here.”

Old Bai: “It’ll be troublesome if the soldier termites come out.”

Soldier termites didn’t venture out to forage; they were generally responsible for defending against external enemies and were much more aggressive than worker termites. If they attracted them, they’d need ten legs to escape and would only be able to fight head-on.

“Come over here!” Liu Hong’s loud voice came from the front left. “We can get out from here!”

The deterrent effect of the small fire wall was limited. Once the worker termites realized there wasn’t much danger, they would surround them again. Rong Shi pulled out his gun from his lower back, slid the barrel, and said in a low voice, “Let’s go.” Then, he looked at Song Yu: “You go behind me.”

Song Yu frowned: “Why?”

Rong Shi: “Aren’t you afraid of getting dirty?”

Song Yu: “…”

Stepping out of the fire’s range, hundreds of worker termites scurried towards them, moving very quickly. 

Rong Shi shot two, and the splashing venom burned a surrounding area of worker termites. 

Each shot could take out at least seven or eight. 

The hard outer shell of the worker termite’s head could resist external attacks and venom, except for the eye area and mouth. 

And every one of Rong Shi’s shots seemed calculated, the splashing venom always flying precisely into the effective attack range.

The others were focused on dealing with the worker termites swarming from all directions and had no mental capacity to notice Rong Shi’s marksmanship. 

Only Song Yu spared a glance, but his attention quickly shifted back to dodging the venom. Later, he realized that indeed, only behind Rong Shi was the cleanest.

Seeing the person obediently take cover, Rong Shi tilted his head: “I thought you wouldn’t be willing.”

Song Yu said, walking and shooting with a cold face, “You’re my wife. Do I need to be polite with you?”

Rong Shi turned back, a faint smile surfacing in his eyes. “No need. You can hide for as long as you want.”

Song Yu: “…” This rival is getting more and more strange recently.

They were only 7 people in total, and their weapons were limited. Even with their strength, they couldn’t deal with thousands of mutated worker termites. Their rapid movement was accompanied by continuous gunshots as they met up with Liu Hong.

“Go that way!” 

Liu Hong led them running in one direction. From a distance, they saw an old, dilapidated pickup truck parked by the roadside. 

Song Yu strode over with his long legs, angrily kicked the driver’s side door, and pulled the handle, opening the door. 

He looked at the driver’s seat and turned to the others: “Who among you can drive a pickup?”

Everyone exchanged glances, shaking their heads unwillingly. Qin Luo ran a hand through his buzz cut:

 “Damn it—this really is my weakness.” 

Hovercar licenses and ground vehicle licenses were not interchangeable. In this day and age, even an average family could afford a smart hovercar, so who would still use an old diesel-guzzling antique like this?

Behind them, the worker termites had already pursued them out of the maple forest, and at the same time, worker termites continuously emerged from the soil.

 A larger soldier termite suddenly appeared from an ant hole not far away. Everyone became alert.

Chen Chen: “Never mind, let’s run.”

Hu Feng: “The fewest trees are at one o’clock. They won’t leave their granary just for us.”

Liu Hong: “What are we waiting for then?!”

Just as the few were about to run, Rong Shi suddenly called out to them. 

“I can,” Rong Shi pulled open the car door and sat in the driver’s seat. 

“Get in.” 

Song Yu walked around the front of the car and got into the passenger seat. 

Hu Feng, Qin Luo, and Chen Chen squeezed into the back seat, while Old Bai and Liu Hong climbed onto the truck bed, aiming their guns at the termite swarm behind them.

Seeing Rong Shi’s gaze searching inside the car, Song Yu: “What are you looking for? Weapons?”

Rong Shi: “The key.”

Song Yu: “…” Forgot that this type of car still needed a key.

Qin Luo leaned over: “Can’t open it without a key? Then we’re doomed.”

Just as the termite swarm was about to jump onto the truck, the vehicle finally started and sped away.

“Damn!” Chen Chen held onto the back of the front seat, swaying back and forth. “Couldn’t tell the chairman was such a wild driver.”

 Rong Shi gripped the gear stick, stomped on the gas, and fiercely turned the steering wheel. The pickup truck weaved and drifted through the forest like a nimble old man, driving incredibly fast.

On the Royal Forum, discussions began to heat up—

“He’s got some skills, actually knows how to drive a pickup, hahaha.”

“As an antique car enthusiast, I say he drives really well, his posture is beautiful. You can tell he’s an old hand.”

“Is no one noticing his marksmanship? How much ammunition that must save!”

“Is anyone analyzing this? I feel like he’s not as simple as he seems on the surface.”

“He actually led a team to escape. I thought he’d be different.”

Military academy students who had crashed the Royal Forum—

“The most handsome chairman in the military academy’s history, bar none, no arguments accepted!”

“If you could so easily see his strength, he wouldn’t be the chairman.”

“If you want to know how strong Rong Shi is, feel free to visit the military academy forum.”

“Our chairman is just more laid-back; he doesn’t like to compete with others. Royal Academy brothers and sisters, please be kind with your words :)”

---

The truck drove out of the forest and across an entire plain, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, problems arose after they drove into the rainforest. 

The truck circled for a long time, and even with the locator, they couldn’t find a way out. Rong Shi simply stopped looking and drove purely by intuition.

After more than an hour, a row of mud-plastered huts faintly appeared in front of the truck. The windows were dark holes, and the dilapidated wooden door leaned askew, not looking like typical housing.

 The people in the truck observed the huts, then realized the truck had stopped in front of them.

Song Yu’s gaze shifted from the window to Rong Shi: “Is there something wrong here?”

Rong Shi: “Don’t know.”

Song Yu: “Then why did you stop?”

Rong Shi: “Out of fuel.”

Song Yu, the others: “…”

Building such a hut in an uninhabited rainforest was definitely abnormal. Since they were already here, Liu Hong and a few others got out of the car to check out the hut. 

They walked around the hut a few times, found nothing unusual, and by then, it was dark. Trekking into the rainforest probably wouldn’t yield a more suitable camping spot; at least this hut offered a tiny bit of defense. They decided to rest here for the night.

They lit a fire in front of the hut, and the seven of them took turns standing watch.

Late at night, everything was quiet.

 Rong Shi sat in front of the fire, hearing footsteps from inside. A moment later, Song Yu sat down beside him, leaving one person’s space between them. 

Rong Shi poked the fire with a stick: “It’s not your turn yet.”

Song Yu: “I know. Can’t sleep, came to chat with you.”

Rong Shi: “About what?”

Song Yu picked up a piece of firewood, snapped it, and casually threw it into the fire: “About his childhood.”

Rong Shi looked up at him: “Childhood?”

“Yeah, aren’t you neighbors?” Song Yu scoffed. “Don’t worry, blank check for the records.” 

In the dim firelight, Song Yu’s skin looked impossibly good.

Rong Shi: “You want to know about him that much?”

Song Yu: “Less talk, are you going to tell me or not?”

Rong Shi: “I can tell you, but—”

Song Yu: “But what?”

 As soon as he asked, he noticed Rong Shi staring at his face intently. 

Thinking of his recent strange actions, Song Yu suddenly felt a flicker of oddness in his heart.

“I’m telling you upfront, don’t you have any strange—”

Before he finished speaking, Song Yu saw Rong Shi reach out and stroke his face. The spot that was touched felt a little itchy. 

Having been teased repeatedly, Song Yu’s fiery temper had reached its limit. Just as he was about to twist Rong Shi’s hand, he suddenly heard Rong Shi say calmly, “You have two bug bites on your face. Doesn’t it itch?”

Song Yu: “…”

---

Author’s Note:

Song Cat: The place touched by my love rival is actually itchy, something must be wrong with me! [Fear/Panic/Cannot accept]

Rong Bunny: Good boy, you just got bitten by a mosquito.

Song Cat: …