Chameleon: My True Face 168 Discovery

"Don't worry Scarlet, you will slowly learn," Wuxing assured her and began segregating the bags they had. 

Dongmei on the other side took out a second knife and walked up to Scarlet, taking her away to cut the lines of the parachute. They could always come in handy later. 

They had five backpacks all-together after killing the two participants and would soon gain another one but they didn't need them all. 

He pulled out everything from the inside to count what they had to take. Just as he expected, every backpack had a lock which was why he didn't bother to open it inside the airplane. The lock opened after they landed on the island. 

The backpack contained a bottle of water, a map, a knife, some food rations to survive for a day which included two bars of chocolate and a small fireplace kit to start a fire in need. There was also a small flashlight included but he didn't think they needed so many of them.  

It was a selection, not a scout's camp. If they were on a mission, all of them would keep the flint in the pants pocket just in case and the flashlight would only bust their position at night. 

Each backpack was big enough to keep two bottles of water inside so he packed his own to the brim, adding another water and food while doing the same with Dongmei's backpack. He decided against adding additional weight for Scarlet. 

Only after he was done did he pull out the map and checked what was their situation. Just as he expected, the base was far from the airport, almost at the other side of the island. Landing in the middle of the island was the safest option. 

'How far do you think it will take us to get there? What are the conditions on the island? I think we are about ten kilometers away.' Wuxing asked in his mind, creating their action plan. 

'If that was normal terrain, we would only need about two hours but the whole island is filled with lush jungle. We will need at least four to get to the base. That's only while counting that no one will be injured and we won't be attacked by anyone,' Devil Face described their situation which made Wuxing relieved. 

'That's good. We will reach the base before we know it,' Wuxing said to himself but Devil Face quickly countered it. 'I wouldn't be that happy. It's best if you move from this place quickly unless you want to be surrounded by beasts in the next two minutes.' 

"What?" Wuxing called out, his voice leaking outside of his mind but he didn't question further, picking up the three backpacks and run to Dongmei. She already stood up, hearing his voice. 

"What happened?" Dongmei asked confused, seeing Wuxing's hurried actions but knowing they apparently had to run, she picked up her backpack, wearing it immediately. 

"We need to go, now!" Wuxing ordered, not knowing the details yet and quickly helped Scarlet wear her own gear. Hearing the sudden increase of their pace, she couldn't help but panic a bit. 

'Why didn't you tell me earlier?!' Wuxing scolded, not liking to learn about such info at the last minute. 

'I only learned about it just now. A few giant leopards and one meter high apes are rushing towards your location. They just entered my five hundred meter radius. They seemed to be attracted by blood,' Devil Face explained. 

'Stop blabbering and tell us where should we go!' Wuxing hurried him, not knowing which direction they should take. They were surrounded by high trees with no way of telling where was north. 

'Go to your right, two o'clock angle and run straight forward. That's where your base is and fortunately, no beasts run from that direction.' 

Before Devil Face finished speaking, Wuxing was already running, pulling Scarlet with him. Dongmei was experienced enough so she followed right after them.

"There are predatory animals nearby. We need to relocate quickly," Wuxing explained with short words to the girls who were still clueless.

"There should be many participants on the island who landed before as. We need to be careful. I will ask Layla to alarm us in case she spots anything," Dongmei proposed but Wuxing stopped her. 

"No, don't. I'm already scanning. You will just waste your energy," Wuxing stopped her. Devil Face was taking energy from him but they already had enough stored to last them for a few hours. 

They run almost six hundred meters until they finally stopped, Scarlet already out of breath. She wasn't used to such high intense running so the moment they stopped, she hugged onto Wuxing to get some support, breathing deeply. 

"Drink some water," Wuxing proposed, taking out a bottle and Scarlet took that advice without hesitation.

She took a few small sips before giving it back. "I'm fine with this much. We don't have many bottles so we might need it later," She muttered, placing her head on Wuxing's chest to rest a bit. 

Both Wuxing and Dongmei looked at each other and smiled. Despite the lack of knowledge, Scarlet was smart and quickly adapted which was crucial in their business.

Just as Wuxing wanted to talk, Scarlet asked while turning her head to look to the side, "What's that shiny crystal?" 

They all glanced where Scarlet was pointing and saw a familiar Crystal Block that both he and Scarlet knew well. 

Ethernum crystal. 

"Don't tell me…" Dongmei muttered, seeing a mouse who was munching on a small fragment of the Ethernum. "Is that an island where Ethernum naturally grows like that? Does that mean the animals which chased us away were already—"

"Mutated," Wuxing finished for her, already figuring the theme of the Elimination this year. It was survival while fighting against beasts. 

Normally it was a battle against other thousands of players who landed at the same place and only those who managed to reach the end would join the real Selection. There were no rules in the jungle so one could kill how much they wanted. 

'Exactly. Unfortunately, only Evolvers can consume Ethernum crystals. If you eat them before that, you will die,' Devil Face confirmed his guess. 

"Babe…" Dongmei suddenly approached him, tugging on his black pullover. "Layla says I should try to evolve now."

Wuxing's eyes turn wide and Scarlet let go of him, giving the two some space. "How confident are you?" he asked worried. He knew it came with some type of risk.  

"I'm already at the peak. I can't go beyond that unless I evolve. Layla says it should take about an hour and my next ability will help us immensely." Dongmei passed down Layla's words. "I will be able to see anything I want. You won't need to waste your energy anymore." 

"Couldn't you do it earlier?" he asked confused, knowing she has been at the peak for a while. 

"To evolve, one need to consume an Ethernum crystal. There were none in the city so Layla didn't bother me yet," Dongmei replied, leaving the decision to him. 

"Alright, let's do it," he decided after a short thought, leaving his scolding for later. Devil Face never told him anything.

Chapter end