Survival of the Nation: My luck was a tiny bit worse.

The men immediately straightened their backs and patted their chests: "Leave it to us!"

Alexander, a minor leader, reported with slight excitement: "We're planning to install several automatic trigger traps at key intersections—using the sticky resin we collected in the cave last time; once you step on it, you can't pull it off."

Leng Ruolan agreed, then turned to the Pakistani group, "Hassan, the three of you will be in charge of the camp's logistics and supplies. How long will our current food reserves last?"

"Under normal consumption, it will take about a month."

Hassan counted on his fingers.

"If we double our wartime consumption, it will take about fifteen days. But we can replenish our supplies at any time—we've harvested another crop of wheat in the fields, we can dig up the potatoes, and there's still plenty of meat in the ice cellar."

And there are also offerings from the mutated creatures...

"good."

Leng Ruolan nodded. "That's all for now. Everyone take your positions after the meeting. Tonight, everyone will sleep with their weapons on."

"receive!"

*

The Milky Way stretched across the night sky, and howls echoed through the forest.

Do you think they will join forces?

Chen Hao went to bed early, leaving only two night owls in the camp square.

Leng Ruolan poked at the burning firewood in the campfire and asked, "Those contestants who want to mess with us."

"Definitely."

Ou Yun lay in the hammock, his hands behind his head, watching as Mars was swept into the air by the night wind.

"The regional interaction function allows them to see each other's locations, as well as ours. In this situation, the optimal solution is for the weak to unite against the strong."

Furthermore, the forbidden area has added a rule that defeating other teams will grant double the resources—isn't this encouraging them to unite and take the biggest piece of meat first, and then share it with each other?

"Then we are the biggest piece of meat."

"It's more than just fatty meat, it's practically a Manchu Han Imperial Feast in a forbidden area."

Despite saying that, Ou Yun seemed unconcerned and chuckled.

He took out two metal bottles from his spatial ring and tossed one to Leng Ruolan. "Try this, it's Chen Ge's newly brewed fruit wine, fermented with those fruits that can enhance attributes and wild honey. It tastes pretty good!"

Leng Ruolan caught the bottle, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip—it was indeed delicious, with a pleasant balance of sweet and sour, and a subtle floral aftertaste.

"Big brother, do you think if we kill all the players who are besieging us, the forbidden area will give us some more rewards?"

She leaned against the pillar of the watchtower, looked up at the stars, and said casually.

"Perhaps."

Ou Yun also took a sip of his drink. "Don't you understand the logic of the Forbidden Zone? The more we kill, the more it gives us."

"There's no other way then, we'll just have to kill as many as come."

"Captain Leng, you're really starting to resemble a villain more and more."

"You've already said that wrong."

"Then let's put it another way—you're like the ultimate boss."

"I love listening to this."

The two clinked their bottles together and each took a big gulp.

*

Night was falling.

In the distance, from the dark forests, countless eyes are watching this brightly lit valley.

Some of them are human.

Some are not human—

They are all waiting.

Waiting for the right opportunity.

Three kilometers to the due south.

In a dense coniferous forest, three figures were crouching behind a fallen tree, talking in hushed tones.

"Are you sure this is the Dragon Kingdom's camp?"

The speaker was a bald, burly man. He had dark skin and was holding a modified assault rifle.

His name is Abdullah, and he is the captain of Shi Dongguo.

"Captain Bao, look at the scale of their camp! Stone brick houses, watchtowers, even a damn power plant! Besides China, which other country in this forbidden area has such a high-standard camp?"

A tall, thin man standing nearby, holding binoculars, said with a hint of disbelief, "And I think I just saw a helicopter..."

Holy crap, it's only been a few days and they already have helicopters?

"A helicopter?"

The third person was a short-haired woman with a scar on her face that stretched from her brow bone to her cheekbone, making her look exceptionally fierce.

"Flying a helicopter in a restricted area? Are you sure you're not seeing things?"

"I see it very clearly, Natalie."

Karim, tall and thin, put down his binoculars, his expression complex.

"They not only have helicopters, but also at least two S-class mutated behemoths that have been seen in the camp. I observed them for two whole days. One giant tortoise was a regular in the river bend, and the other two giant birds appeared occasionally, but not frequently."

"Two S-class behemoths..."

Natalie's expression grew increasingly serious.

"The three of us combined couldn't even defeat a single A-grade mutated beast, and they actually have two S-grade ones?"

"It's not just about raising them, it's more like an alliance."

Karim corrected, "Yesterday I saw that Chinese athlete named Ou Yun talking to the giant tortoise by the river bend and even feeding it a fish."

Abdullah was silent for a few seconds, then slammed his fist on the ground: "Damn it! The resources the Forbidden Zone gives to the Dragon Kingdom are outrageous—we've fought tooth and nail to survive in this godforsaken place, and they actually have the nerve to keep pets? And S-rank ones at that?!"

Is that correct?

Is this a human being?

"This isn't a resource gap; it's a world of difference."

Natalie's tone gradually turned cold. "There's no way the three of us can break through head-on. Not to mention they've formed an alliance with players from other countries; that giant turtle alone could wipe us out."

"Then what do we do? Just let it go?"

Abdullah was unwilling to give up. "We finally made it this far, and we're retreating without even breaking through their outer defenses?"

"It's not a retreat, it's a change of approach."

Natalie pulled a crumpled animal hide map from her bosom and spread it on the ground.

"Look, this afternoon when I was scouting in the west, I discovered at least two other groups of people approaching the Dragon Kingdom's camp. One group was a two-person team in the northeast; the other was a single person in the west. They must have also discovered the Dragon Kingdom's camp."

"You mean... join forces with them?"

Karim frowned. "There's no trust between the contestants in the forbidden area. And even if they team up, how will they divide the spoils after defeating the Dragon Kingdom? They'll definitely turn on each other."

They've failed at this many times before... They've seen it many times back in the real world.

Although they have now resolutely embarked on this path...

There's nothing we can do! The Dragon Kingdom's camp is just too lucrative!

Even if they only manage to get a tiny bit, it will be enough for them!

"That's a question we need to consider after we defeat the Dragon Kingdom."

Natalie's eyes sharpened. "Our target is the resources in the Dragon Kingdom camp: weapons, equipment, food, medicine... and of course, the most crucial thing is that legendary furnace."