Volume 2: Jade Promise Chapter 42: Robbed by a Beast
After breaking up Li Zhi's gang and obtaining ten nameplates, the night had gradually enveloped the entire forest.
However, the occasional dazzling lightning flashed across the sky, the rumbling thunder echoed in the valley, and the puddles and mud everywhere on the ground caused considerable trouble to the candidates who were still taking the practical assessment in the mountains and forests.
Although it is summer, it is still a bit chilly in the mountains and forests at night.
Most of the candidates had been caught in the rain all day, and most of their star power had been consumed in the battle. Most of them were looking for a safe and secluded place, desperately trying to recover their star power and recover from their injuries.
They would rather shiver in the wind and rain than use their star power to keep warm - this behavior not only reduces the speed of star power recovery, but also increases the chance of exposing themselves.
Relying on his good memory and the rich field experience he had gained from working with various maps in his previous life, Tang Zheng quickly found his way back to the "safe house" he had arranged for Meng Fenghua and the others under the cover of darkness.
"The King of Heaven and the Tiger of Earth!" Tang Zheng approached the 'safe house' and whispered the safety code that had been set long ago.
"The pagoda suppresses the river monster!" Tang Zixie's voice quickly spread.
Tang Zheng looked back again to confirm that there was no "tail" behind him, and then he quickly entered the cellar he had discovered.
"Master, have you found them? How was the battle? Are they injured?" Tang Zixie couldn't wait to ask as soon as he saw Tang Zheng coming in.
Tang Zheng took out the dry food and tinder that he had prepared , lit a small bonfire, and then swiftly threaded two plump hares that he had caught and placed them on the bonfire. Then he smiled and replied, "It's a good harvest. Let's eat first and talk while we eat."
The red flames licked the hare on the campfire, making a sizzling sound. Drops of fat dripped into the fire, making the flames flicker. The color of the hare gradually turned golden and crispy. Tang Zheng changed the heating angle of the hare, and when the whole hare was 80% cooked, he took the hare off the campfire.
"Wow, it smells so good, Master, Master, is it time to eat?" Little Lingling stood on tiptoe and looked up at the hare in Tang Zheng's hand, which was still emitting fragrance and emitting small bubbles of oil. Her nose twitched constantly, and her two watery eyes were full of anticipation.
"Hahaha, don't be anxious, it's not ready yet. You'll gain weight if you eat it now. Wait for the teacher to process it again." Tang Zheng rubbed Xiao Lingling's soft hair lovingly, smiled and took out a big pot from the storage bag and placed it on the campfire.
Then, he took out a kitchen knife and chopped the two rabbits into thumb-sized cubes with a few slashes.
Then he took out a pot of high-quality sesame oil from the storage bag, passed it under his nose, and poured the fragrant sesame oil into the pot with a satisfied look on his face, until the oil was half full. When a light smoke rose from the pot, Tang Zheng's smiling face became a little funny behind the mist from the pot.
Tang Zheng continued to take out the prepared onions, ginger, garlic, and peppercorns from his storage bag that looked like Doraemon, put them in a small cloth bag, and threw them into the oil pan.
At this time, another fresh and spicy aroma filled the air. Tang Zheng sprinkled a handful of salt into the wok and immediately put the diced pork into it.
The other hand reached out to the campfire, controlling the star veins and emitting a very weak lunar star force, lowering the temperature of the campfire.
Just like that, Tang Zheng began to stir-fry while adding various ingredients, star anise, millet pepper, seven-star pepper, green pepper, ginger slices, tangerine peel, garlic slices...
Until the very end, when little Lingling was about to drool, the rabbit meat finally turned into a brown color. As Tang Zheng sprinkled in a little honey and mixed it well, the surface of the entire diced rabbit meat turned bright brown. The rising mist carried a unique aroma of salty, spicy, sour and sweet.
At this time, not only Xiao Lingling, but even Tang Zixie's throat twitched violently a few times. Looking at the dishes in Tang Zheng's hands, he swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva.
Tang Zheng gently slapped away the little paw of Xiao Lingling that stretched out impatiently to steal the food. The lunar star power in his hand once again dissipated into the plate of rabbit meat, lowering the temperature of the diced rabbit meat. He imitated the exaggerated expression of the hotel waiter when serving the dishes and shouted, "Signature cold rabbit with tangerine peel, first roasted and then stir-fried, my unique innovation, come and try it--"
"Master, Master, please give me a bowl quickly. I want to eat it!" Little Lingling's eyes were completely attracted by the cold rabbit in Tang Zheng's hand. She couldn't help but jump up eagerly.
"Okay, okay, everyone has a share. No rush, no rush." Tang Zheng smiled and took out four fine jade bowls. He divided the cold rabbit with tangerine peel into four portions and served one to each person.
Tang Zixie and Xiao Lingdang immediately stretched out their paws, pinched two pieces of diced meat and put them into their mouths, breathing heavily and chewing happily. Even Meng Fenghua was sweating slightly while eating.
Tang Zheng took out a few bottles of Yaoshan Warm Dew and gave one to each person. They ate and drank while warming their wet clothes.
If this scene was seen by the examinees who were hiding in dark corners, squatting in tree pits, or huddled on tree branches, hungry, blowing in the wind, with wet clothes and suffering from fear, they would probably riot and burn Tang Zheng to death.
Damn, is this guy here to take an exam or to have a picnic?
Comparing yourself with others will only make you angry.
Although many candidates had made preparations in advance and brought some dry food, most people did not have as much experience in surviving in the wild as Tang Zheng, and they did not spend a lot of money to buy the best quality storage bag at Jubao Pavilion. Since Tang Zheng found that it was actually quite useful without the storage bag, his storage bag no longer contained so much purple gold, and basically replaced it with various food ingredients and cooking utensils...
In the warm and secluded cellar, there were only the sounds of drooling and chewing. Tang Zixie quickly finished his large portion of cold rabbit with tangerine peel, then gulped down a few mouthfuls of Yaoshan Warm Dew. He wiped the corners of his mouth that were shiny from eating and the sweat on his forehead, and then said contentedly: "It was the wisest decision to follow the teacher out to take the exam. Haha, when I find Xiaotang and Xuanxuan, I must ask them what they have eaten these two days..."
"That's right, the master is the best!" Little Lingling nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice.
"Did you catch up with those guys just now?" Only Meng Fenghua remembered himself and his friends, and they were still taking the exam.
"Well, I caught up with him, and encountered a very interesting scene." Tang Zheng said as he threw a handful of glittering nameplates from his waist into Tang Zixie's hands.
Then, he told Meng Fenghua and others who were staying in the 'safe house' bit by bit how he caught up with Li Zhi during the day, the special gang developed by Li Zhi, and the final textbook-like long-range sniper battle.
Listening to Tang Zheng's exciting fighting process and Li Zhi's snowball-like gang development method, Meng Fenghua and Tang Zixie's eyes were filled with strange looks.
As a warrior, both Meng Fenghua and Tang Zixie have a heart that is eager to fight and become stronger. Although the previous team battle of four against ten and the final victory has benefited them a lot, hearing about Tang Zheng's feat of fighting one against nine still makes their blood boil and they feel yearning.
"Although today is only the first day, it is estimated that half or more of the candidates have been eliminated. The further we go, the more powerful the remaining warriors will be. No matter how many nameplates we have snatched and how many warriors we have eliminated, once we are defeated, it is very likely that we will return to the pre-liberation era overnight. So my suggestion is that we put the seized nameplates on Zixie."
"Hmm?" Tang Zixie raised his head.
"With his stealth talent, once we encounter a battle with a huge disparity in strength, Zixie can use his astrological talent to become invisible and retreat first. The rest of us just need to conserve our strength. When the nameplate benefits are not much, no one will be willing to fight to the death with a strong enemy like us. In this way, we will basically be invincible." Tang Zheng analyzed while eating a rabbit.
Meng Fenghua and Tang Zixie both nodded, agreeing with Tang Zheng's point of view.
For the people in Tangjiabao, they have experienced life and death together more than once, and the level of trust is far beyond that of ordinary candidates.
This arrangement maximized the advantage of Tang Zixie's hidden talent in this assessment.
As long as no one specifically targets them, Tang Zheng and his team have a very good chance of winning.
"The problem now is that although we have obtained quite a few nameplates, and individually, we are among the best in the first day's results, but we have not yet obtained our designated target nameplates. The designated target nameplates of three people are enough to replace nine ordinary nameplates. In the next few days, in addition to trying to get as many ordinary nameplates as possible, our most important task is to find the designated target nameplates." Tang Zheng continued.
"That's right, but... Master, our nameplates are okay, but I feel like there's something fishy about your nameplate number 001..." Tang Zixie replied.
"There's nothing I can do. I guess I was sanctioned by the system because I performed too well in the first two rounds. I can only take it slow." Tang Zheng spread his hands and said helplessly.
Meng Fenghua was about to speak when Tang Zheng's expression suddenly changed. The blade of the folding fan in his hand popped out, and the stars rose up. He shouted, "Who?!"
Tang Zheng had just finished speaking when a white shadow suddenly jumped in from the entrance of the cellar.
Its target was actually Xiao Lingdang, who was holding a small bowl and munching on cold rabbit with tangerine peel with relish.
"Xuannv Sword Intent!" Since it concerned Xiao Lingdang's safety, Meng Fenghua reacted very quickly. He immediately raised the Nine-Sky Xuannv Constellation and directly cast the Xuannv Sword Intent on Xiao Lingdang.
However, the attacker who pounced on Xiao Lingling did not trigger Xuannv's sword intent at all... but instead quickly snatched the jade bowl containing the cold rabbit with tangerine peel from Xiao Lingling's hand with one claw.
Then, without stopping, he turned around and crawled out of the cellar again.
Little Lingling looked at her empty hands and froze in place. After a moment, she pouted and cried out, "It, it took my rabbit away... I only ate half of it..."
"The one who snatched the cold-cooked rabbit... seems to be a fox?" Tang Zixie asked weakly, looking at the extremely aggrieved Xiao Lingling.
"Yes, it's white. The most important thing is that I saw a nameplate on the fox's neck. The number is..." Tang Zheng touched Xiao Lingdang's head and continued with a playful look.
"Number 0108 is Xiaotang's target!" Meng Fenghua helped Xiao Lingdang wipe away her tears and said in a firm tone.
