Chapter 401: A Master, Absolutely a Master!

"Got it?"

"No."

"Lost it?"

Lao Mao widened his eyes and stared at Bai Yuan in disbelief.

"You, here, on this island, actually still got left behind?"

"Big brother, you've been on this island for a full ten years, this is your home turf!"

Bai Yuan's face darkened, his breath ragged: "How the hell would I know that kid could run that fast, like a damn fleet‑footed devil! I'm old, I'm old, I'm useless now, getting on in years…"

Lao Mao rolled his eyes: "Did you get a good look at what he looks like?"

"All black and greasy, if you could even describe it clearly there'd be a ghost—what did you lose?"

"Lost two packs of instant noodles, a pack of cigarettes, and the noodle broth left in my bowl was drunk up."

Bai Yuan took off his hat and scratched his head vigorously: "What a mess! How could you be so careless, letting someone slip in?"

Lao Mao was speechless too: "Have you ever seen anyone go out to pee, holding a bowl, carrying two packs of instant noodles, and still lock the door? Besides, aren't you still out there? Who knows a loophole might be exploited!"

"Should we blow the whistle, gather everyone, and ask who did it?"

"Forget it."

Bai Yuan waved his hand: "For two packs of instant noodles, make everyone scramble; who knows what they'll curse us to death behind our backs—let's just pretend we don't know."

Lao Mao leaned in, lowering his voice: "Do you think it was that new kid with the surname Lu who did it?"

Bai Yuan shook his head: "Just the stuff in his stomach would take at least a day and a half to digest; there's no need to take such a big risk right after landing. Moreover, with seasickness aftereffects throwing his senses off balance, how could he possibly run that fast?"

"Damn it, even a hunter can be outwitted by a little sparrow—truly a once‑in‑a‑lifetime sight."

"From now on all supplies must be locked in cabinets; if those kids steal everything, the two of us will have to dig wild veggies and gnaw bark."

Bai Yuan muttered curses as he returned to the outpost, while Lao Mao patrolled the surroundings, wondering which bastard was bold enough to dig up the instructor's head.

"Hurry up, hurry up, keep up!"

The next morning on the island's edge, groups of three to four shouldered a round log and ran with the load.

The log was heavy and had to be balanced on the shoulders; it was a training that heavily tested team coordination.

Lu Yang's situation was awkward, because no one would team up with him, so he had to find a short log himself, shoulder it, and stay at the very back of the line.

【Knowledge point detected: Shoulder‑carried round log variable‑speed run (Deserted Island Survival version)】

【... During the training, it can provide up to a two‑fold speed boost to the core, legs, shoulder‑back muscle groups, and endurance!】

Because it was his first time experiencing such training, and the log he chose was rather stubborn and uncooperative.

It was short and chubby enough, but also damp, and there was no good bearing point on it.

This caused Lu Yang to slip several times while carrying it, nearly smashing his foot.

The deserted island lacked the flat ground of a camp, so he had to constantly watch for reefs, stones, earth mounds, and debris washed ashore.

To ensure the round log wouldn't keep falling, Lu Yang could only keep the lowest pace at the back.

Perhaps it was this clumsiness that made Bai Yuan, who supervised the training from above with a telescope, completely cross him off last night's "little rascal" suspect list.

After eliminating the wrong answers, he focused his suspicion on the eleven people ahead, hoping to see if any flaw could be found.

"Slow down, slow your speed!"

Lao Mao manually adjusted the marching speed of several squads.

The head of the third Platoon, Tu Hongwei, was too close and almost collided with the second Platoon's front.

Lao Mao, brandishing a megaphone, stormed up: "Pai Daxing Number Ten, are you brainless? I said slow down, did you not hear, or are your ears deaf?"

"Do you know what would happen if this heavy log's inertial acceleration hit the back of someone's head in the group ahead?"

"Report, I don't know!"

Tu Hongwei's already dark face grew even darker, barely containing his fury.

Lao Mao pressed the megaphone to his face and shouted: "His occiput would be struck by a blunt weapon, possibly causing bleeding, unconsciousness, shock, and life‑threatening injury! On this deserted island, dozens to hundreds of nautical miles from any soul, a serious wound means a death sentence!"

Tu Hongwei pressed his lips together, unable to reply, and stared rigidly.

Earlier he had indeed been distracted, watching what Bai Yuan on the hilltop was looking at through his telescope.

So his reaction lagged, his body couldn't keep up with the command, but fortunately Xu Ce and Jiang Dahai at the rear braked in time.

"Stare, what are you staring at, trying to make your eyes look big?"

"In my view, you haven't even performed as well as HaidaiShierhao, who just landed yesterday!"

"Even if they fall behind the pace at the back of the line, at least they understand what a command is, when to speed up, when to slow down!"

Tu Hongwei turned his head to the rear, where Lu Yang, carrying the log alone, seemed to have his self‑esteem struck by a heavy blow.

He already looked down on this privileged kid, and now being told he's inferior is like a bayonet to his gut.

Lao Mao was too lazy to waste words, instead pointing the megaphone at everyone and berating them harshly.

"I tell you all, here put away your fragile pride and forget those laughable achievements of yours!"

"The path you chose, now you must obey orders!"

"You bunch of stinky fish and rotten shrimp, actually think you're a person?"

"Playing cocky in front of me, you little brats, you're not even worthy!"

"Everyone repeat the rules here, louder, don't sound like you haven't eaten!"

"Obey, obey, just damn obey!"

A feeble voice shouted from everyone's mouths, and Lu Yang echoed it.

Tu Hongwei squeezed out a sound between his teeth, making him loathe this place even more, regretting his original decision.

Under Lao Mao's orders, the team kept shouldering the log and running forward; sometimes slow, sometimes fast, as if deliberately messing with them.

This made the already famished, weak‑bodied crowd, who had been starving for days, suffer immensely.

Tu Hongwei gritted his teeth and said: "Don't give me a chance, or I'll definitely turn Lao Mao into a lame cat, a dead cat!"

Xu Ce comforted: "Stay calm, stay calm, he's not targeting you, but all of us; instructors are like that, just get used to it, treat his words as farts."

Jiang Dahai turned his head and glanced: "However, I'm quite surprised that Number Twelve can keep up with the pace? Looking at him, he probably never practiced this subject before."

Tu Hongwei snorted dissatisfiedly: "With food in his stomach, he naturally has strength; let him go hungry for three or four days and try again, he probably couldn't even carry a log. Now I finally understand why they let this back-door entrant in!"

"Why?"

"They deliberately picked the weakest to disgust us, anger us, mess with our mentality, and force us to quit!"

"That makes sense; I was wondering how someone just got shoved in for no reason—this explains it!" Jiang Dahai fully agreed.

"Don't worry about others, just do your own thing." Xu Ce's mindset remained as steady as ever.

"Hey, I've got a little gossip—do you want to hear it? It's about Lao Mao and Bai Yuan and their gang."

"What's up?"

"Last night, something went missing from the mountain outpost; Bai Yuan and Lao Mao spotted the guy, chased him but couldn't catch him, and finally just considered themselves unlucky."

"Holy shit!" Jiang Dahai's face full of shock: "Who did this? That's way too badass—daring to cause trouble right under the noses of two instructors, and still got away? Do we have someone like that here?"