Regarding hunting maps, Ye Nai did know, they’re divided into public and private maps.
Public maps are of low value, being well-known places that countless people have scoured over and over again, much like the wild beast zones in online games—always yielding something and suitable for beginners to build courage. They could be downloaded for free from the Awakener’s resource area.
It’s the private maps that are truly valuable. They are explored by various teams through their own legs, wheels, and even at the risk of their team members’ lives, belonging exclusively to each team and highly classified.
In the few months Ye Nai had been online, she had seen several scandals over private maps, including being tricked by fake maps and spies infiltrating just to steal a team’s treasured map that was as precious as life itself.
For the sake of high-value private maps, people would do anything, and seduction was child’s play in comparison.
Ye Nai didn’t care much about the team’s hunting maps; the spores she had dispersed along the way had already plotted her path.
When the convoy stopped, Ye Nai heard the faint growling of beasts in the wind.
"This is an absolute danger zone. Be alert while sleeping at night and always be on the lookout for night attacks by wild beasts."
As everyone dispersed to clear the ground and prepare the camp, Captain Xiao Ni instructed Ye Nai.
Ye Nai nodded in understanding; she certainly wouldn’t take her life lightly.
The invisible superpower spores fluttered in the wind, landing and growing wherever they fell, rapidly forming a widespread and unbreakable defense circle of fungal mycelium beneath the soil.
Not afraid of the beasts coming, just afraid they won’t come; if they do come, they are just nutrients for the fungus.
In the middle of the night, intermittent roars kept Ye Nai waking up intermittently, and the entire team was even more on edge, each person holding a machine gun, ready at any moment.
Compared with them, Ye Nai couldn’t resist her sleepiness; she buried her face into her sleeping bag and slept anyway, knowing that the noise was from the wild beasts struggling in the fungal traps, unable to break through.
In the wild, you have to force yourself to sleep even if you can’t; otherwise, you’ll be even less energetic during the day.
In this dazed state, she lasted until dawn when Ye Nai energetically crawled out of her tent to see the others looking like they had not slept all night.
"Man, what a ruckus in the middle of the night."
"Noisy as it was, not a single one broke through."
"Shall we go check it out after breakfast?"
"Yeah, sure."
Half an hour later, the team broke camp and departed.
This time, Ye Nai didn’t feel like riding in the car; she took out her newly purchased motorbike.
"I’m not riding in the car anymore, my bottom hurts from sitting too much. Time to practice my riding skills."
The bright and eye-catching motorcycle attracted a crowd for a while. Afterward, everyone got into their vehicles, and Ye Nai rode alongside the lead vehicle’s co-pilot position.
The new motorcycle provided a much better riding experience in the wilderness than the last time she rode an electric bike; the wheels were stable, not swaying, with good shock absorption and no risk of a concussion. It was steady and could speed up as she wished.
Getting a driver’s license was the right decision.
Based on the sounds heard in the middle of the night, everyone estimated the source was roughly three to five kilometers away, but after nearly ten kilometers, there was no response from either the Earth or Wood element team members or the vehicle’s detection instruments.
Of course, there was no response because the prey had been decomposed by the fungus on the spot. The fur, clean meat, and two small Heart Cores were in Ye Nai’s space.
"Everyone’s accounted for; if no traces are found, let it go. Let’s find other prey."
Captain Xiao Ni picked up the radio in the car to notify the whole team and then opened the window, waving to Ye Nai to catch up.
The convoy turned left in a wide arc and sped for over half an hour. Suddenly, the sparse grass along the road became much shorter, revealing a broad river and an expansive riverside clearing.
"Wow, this place is great. Where there’s water, there are animals."
Ye Nai followed the convoy slowly and turned off her engine. Clearly visible within their sight, dozens of small and large animals were drinking and frolicking by the river, while satiated predators ambushed their prey in the sparse shrubs.
Spores were scattered as usual; although without the cover of the environment, it wasn’t easy for the fungal mycelium to directly hunt. What she needed was to disrupt the animals, especially disabling the mutant beasts’ ability to unleash superpowers, ensuring they quickly fell to the gunfire on her side, reducing the burden of hunting.
Then, Ye Nai put away her motorbike, pulled out a grenade gun, and climbed onto the roof of the lead vehicle to lie down.
The team members watched her skilled movements and gave Captain Xiao Ni a thumbs up to show that Ye Nai indeed inspired confidence. Then they too grabbed their guns and took their positions.
The hunting sequence was commanded by the captain. As a Gold Element Awakener, he could sense whether the animals had any energy reactions. Ordinary beasts could be spared for a while; mutant beasts were to be targeted first, and especially the strong ones among them needed to be focused on immediately, never allowing them a chance to retaliate.
The entire team fired upon his command, targeting whichever creature he targeted.
Ye Nai did not follow; her grenade gun was aimed at the animals trying to flee, whether they were crossing a river or darting into the bushes. As long as they were within the range, she got one with every shot.
After several shots had brought down several animals, some team members began turning their guns to help her finish them off.
After firing continuously for a few minutes, the hunting session ended. Dozens of animals, except for those killed on the spot, had all run off, most of them across the water.
The whole team looked on with sighs, then drove to collect the game one by one, leaving it temporarily in the care of Ye Nai.
Ye Nai piled the game in a corner of the Space, ordering the Fungal Mycelium not to touch it.
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"Ah, they jumped into the river and ran again."
"Is the river very deep?"
Ye Nai stood on the dry, hard soil by the river, not daring to approach the moist areas, afraid that a mutant beast from the water might spring up and drag her down.
"Quite deep. The dry season is also dangerous, deep enough to submerge our vehicle’s hood, so we can’t drive across."
"And there are mutant beasts in the water, bigger and more ferocious than the crocodiles native to Blue Star."
"Is it the dry season now?"
"Yes, in the wet season the river is wider, and the spot where we are standing now would be underwater."
"Oh, so we need a vehicle that can handle water better, right?"
"Hmm?"
As Ye Nai spoke, she distanced herself a bit from the team members and stood alone in an open area.
Captain Xiao Ni and the team members watched with interest to see what good thing she could pull out.
Then, with a "bang," a massive object appeared in front of them.
A four-wheeled tractor’s front.
Bigger wheels, a higher engine hood than their vehicles, better at wading through water.
"Wow!"
Captain Xiao Ni was the first to run up and walked around the tractor.
"Didn’t you go to buy a motorcycle?"
"Yeah, but then I saw this, so I bought one instead."
"... You know how to drive it?"
"No." Ye Nai dug into her pocket and pulled out a book, "I have the manual."
"Keep it safe, keep it safe." Captain Xiao Ni pressed down on Ye Nai’s hand and shouted to the crowd, "Ah Qi! Where are you?"
"Here, here!" A shaggy-haired young guy ran out from behind the tractor, "Did the captain call me?"
"Still know how to drive a tractor?"
"Captain, you’re joking. I’ve known how to drive a tractor since I could walk, a child prodigy!"
"Good, I have a task for you. Teach her." Captain Xiao Ni pointed at Ye Nai.
"Yes." Ah Qi saluted with a beaming smile.