The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers

Chapter 1305: Digging Tunnels

The time rewinds to an hour ago. The wind gently blows, bringing a slight chill. Ji You stands by the border river, gazing across at the steep peaks on the other side. To the group of students she is leading, she says, "The temperature is starting to drop. Right now it’s around 25.6 degrees, and it’s expected to drop by about 30 degrees in an hour, reaching minus 5 to 10 degrees. It’s expected to reach minus 20 degrees in two hours."

"So, we don’t have much time left."

As everyone listens to Ji You’s voice, they all furrow their brows.

On Nami Star, the temperature difference between day and night is extreme. Everyone present knows this. Even if they hadn’t heard before, they’ve heard the rumor that on Nami Star, the temperature at night is cold enough to freeze a bear to death.

The environment is extremely harsh.

Ji You says, "None of you here are wearing constant temperature clothing, are you?"

Everyone listens and shakes their heads.

Before entering the arena, the competition committee had issued a notice prohibiting participants from wearing constant temperature clothing. If discovered, they would be disqualified. This punishment is very severe, and before entering the arena, everyone’s attire and carried items are inspected: space button, personal accessories, food... none of these are allowed inside.

So, if the temperature really drops to several tens of degrees below zero, everyone can only endure it.

Ji You says, "Therefore, we’re pressed for time. Listen, I won’t allow any one of you to delay progress. Believe in yourself, believe in the power of unity. We will definitely achieve great success on this journey."

Just then, Cheng Haoyue asks, "Aren’t we going back to the base immediately?"

The most important thing now is to find a sheltered place to hide from the wind, and then come out again after the temperature rises.

Ji You shakes her head, pointing to the other side, "Still in pairs, swim across to the other side quickly." Such a large item as the raft can’t be hidden and can only be destroyed by fire, but setting a fire makes it easier for the enemy to discover them. So from the start, Ji You gave the order to let teammates casually throw the raft into the enemy camp. Ji You did it on purpose. She wanted to create the impression that after their side infiltrated the enemy camp, they attacked in a rush to prevent others in the enemy camp from discovering them, creating the appearance of an immediate escape...

The purpose?

Of course, to mislead the enemy.

So, since the raft has already been thrown elsewhere, it can’t be used again, and they can only swim back.

Ji You squints, looking at the opposite bank, and says, "If all goes well, we will return to the warm base within an hour, and we can have hot food and drink warm water."

Eh?

Upon hearing about food and water, everyone involuntarily swallows.

Ji You raises her hand and says, "Go!"

After saying that, the two students standing at the front immediately leap into the river. With a few splashes, they swim to the other side.

Next.

The second group.

The third group.

The fourth group.

...

Ji You, Cheng Haoyue, and He Nu are the last three. After the people in front enter the water, Cheng Haoyue and He Nu follow in. Ji You stands by the riverbank, suddenly turning back to glance at the enemy camp behind her.

If the person preventing the enemy from falling into the trap she set was Lou, then after tonight’s move, Lou will have his hands full.

Ji You smirks, then dives into the river.

The outside temperature has already dropped, and the river water has started to get cold. As soon as she dives in, a coldness to the bone hits all over her body. Ji You shivers and speeds up to swim to the bank.

Her teammates are already waiting by the bank. The place that can accommodate everyone standing is very narrow. All around are steep, towering rock walls, blocking the path forward. Unfortunately, everyone only brought military shovels and weapons to kill the enemy, without any climbing equipment.

Someone looks troubled and says, "Squad leader, should we climb the mountain now? How... how should we climb it?"

With humans genetically improved continuously, their physical fitness is already excellent, but the heights of these rock walls are about several hundred meters, making climbing them very difficult.

Ji You says, "No."

Everyone: "???"

Ji You says, "We’ll go through the cave."

Everyone: "!!! Is there a cave here?"

Ji You waves a big hand and says, "Follow me."

Upon hearing this, everyone brightens up, so under Ji You’s leadership, the team cautiously moves in a series of large curves. About ten minutes later, they stop at a pitch-black, narrow entrance.

The width of the entrance is barely enough for one person to walk through.

Everyone: "..."

Cheng Haoyue asks, "Ji You, are you sure we can go through this?"

Ji You doesn’t answer but bends low, extends her hand inside the mountain cave, and lightly touches it. Sure enough, she pulls out a gray feather and says, "Do you know what this bird is called? It’s called — Drilling Bird. Because they like to live in long, narrow, and well-ventilated caves."

Everyone listens and widens their eyes.

Cheng Haoyue directly asks, "Is this the bird you imitated before?"

"Cough cough..." Realizing such talk could be awkward, Cheng Haoyue stiffens his face and says seriously, "This was the bird’s nest we encountered after infiltrating the enemy camp, right?"

Moreover, Cheng Haoyue was always very disappointed that the birds flew away, which made it impossible to try roasted bird. That taste must be delicious.

Ji You nods and says, "Let’s go."

This time, Ji You still leads the team, entering the cave first. When the absolute safety cannot be guaranteed, Ji You never lets others take risks but takes the lead herself.

This bird cave and the previous enemy camp situation were discovered while Ji You was using the pretense of helping Shaun to scout for alliance teams, constantly running around the map. She made special observations to determine that this cave probably ran through the entire mountain peak. At that time, Ji You memorized it, thinking it might be useful in a critical moment, not expecting it to come into use now.

Then.

In front of everyone, Ji You takes out the military shovel she has been carrying on her back, bends low, and begins to knock and tap the bird’s cave with the shovel... It is only then that everyone understands the purpose of the military shovel.

In the dim light, Cheng Haoyue watches as Ji You digs and knocks with the military shovel, gradually opening up the bird cave, making it large enough for an adult to walk through while bent over. Ji You steps in without hesitation. Before going in, she turns back and says to the teammates behind her, "Hold onto your military shovels firmly. Some paths are very narrow, and we will have to manually widen them ourselves."

"..." Cheng Haoyue can’t help but mumble, "So the military shovel was really for digging? I almost threw it away."

Seeing Ji You already inside the cave, Cheng Haoyue and He Nu both worry she might encounter danger, and quickly follow in.