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

Leng Ruolan said "Oh," and then asked, "Should we go over there before they arrive?"

Ou Yun said, "I guess so. We need to take the initiative and push the battle lines to other areas."

It's supposed to be an exploration of forbidden territory, but it seems like we'll never finish exploring it.

Judging from the current situation, for every little bit they explore, they add a little more to the forbidden area.

This is never going to end!

Ou Yun picked up his glass and took a sip. "The forest area is our home turf. We have an absolute advantage in fighting here. But if we wait for the enemy to come to our doorstep, our camp will suffer damage regardless of whether we win or lose."

Sigh, it's not easy to farm in this wretched place. I hope we don't end up back to square one.

Leng Ruolan turned her head to look at him.

The firelight illuminated Ou Yun's profile, casting his expression in a half-light, half-shadow.

He spoke in that unhurried tone.

But she could tell he was serious.

This man was a bit lazy at times, but deep down, he knew better than anyone what he was doing.

"So why did you try freefall in the first place?"

"because……"

Do you believe me when I say I want to test whether I can die?

Leng Ruolan thought for a moment.

"Haven't you been doing this all along?"

"...Then it's alright."

Leng Ruolan said "Oh," and then asked, "What about the campsite? We can't all just leave."

"Let's leave half the people here! Brother Chen will definitely have to stay behind; his experimental equipment and data are all here. We'll just leave him a communication stone."

Ou Yun stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"Our Pakistani brothers are skilled in defense; keep two of them. One of our Xiong brothers, come with me."

Ou Yun counted on his fingers, "Add you, me... oh, and Douglas, he knows the situation up north. That should be about enough people."

Leng Ruolan thought for a moment and decided the number of people was feasible. "When do we depart?"

"Let's do it the day after tomorrow! Let everyone rest tomorrow, organize their equipment, and replenish supplies."

Let's wait and see if the forbidden area will give us any new rewards—after all, we just defeated the lord!

Ou Yun chuckled a few times.

Leng Ruolan saw right through him. "You're still waiting for a reward? A helicopter and a machete aren't enough?"

"Who would complain about having too many good things?"

Leng Ruolan said that was true.

*

Drink the mead until the very last sip.

The wind was stronger on the watchtower than on the ground, making Ou Yun's hair all messy.

Everything seemed so peaceful and serene.

But both of them knew that this peace was only temporary—or rather, all peace in this forbidden area was time-limited.

And tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or some day further away, new enemies will always emerge.

But what can we do about it?

We've already killed the lord, what's there to be afraid of?

Ou Yun placed the empty cup on the watchtower railing, stood up, and stretched.

"I'm going to bed, I'm exhausted today."

"Go ahead. Tomorrow I'll arrange a new training program for you—standard operating procedures for skydiving."

"?"

*

The next morning.

A scream shattered the morning's tranquility—

"Help me!!!"

Hmm... that doesn't sound like a camp member's voice.

But Ou Yun still managed to get out of bed.

A crowd had already gathered in the square, with Hassan, Alexander, and Douglas standing around the experimental field.

In the experimental field, the carnivorous plant was entwining a person with its vines.

The man was completely wrapped in a tattered combat uniform, his face mostly obscured by vines, with only a pair of panicked eyes visible.

"What's going on?"

"Brother, this guy sneaked up to the south side of our camp before dawn, trying to climb over the low wall."

Alexander pointed to a clear climbing mark on the low wall next to him, "When he climbed over, he stepped into a sticky trap and got stuck. Then the carnivorous plant stretched out its vines and pulled him out."

"Oh, so the man-eating plant can capture people on its own now?"

"Yesterday, Brother Chen used powder made from the remnants of the collapsed lord to fertilize it."

Leng Ruolan was walking over with a bowl of meat soup.

"As a result, it grew half a meter tall overnight, and the length of its vines doubled."

"Wow, they're really into it?"

Is this the "golden fertilizer" of the fertilizer world?

Looking at the carnivorous plant that was wrapping the captives in its vines like a silkworm cocoon, Ou Yun couldn't help but feel a complex mix of emotions.

"Things in our camp seem to be getting more and more outrageous."

Chen Hao and Leng Ruolan: ...

You just found out?!

"You, you all—"

The person entangled in the vines struggled to lift their head and shouted in broken Chinese.

"I've come to surrender! Don't kill me!"

"surrender?"

Another one coming to surrender?

Leng Ruolan carried the soup over and looked him over. "What's wrong? Are you alone?"

Upon seeing that it was Leng Ruolan approaching, the man's expression became even more terrified: "No, no, no, I have two more teammates—they're waiting outside! We didn't bring any weapons! We've come to seek refuge with the Dragon Kingdom!"

Leng Ruolan's face displayed her standard, stern expression, reserved for external audiences: "Why did you climb over the wall without weapons?"

"Because...because we're afraid of being shot dead if we go through the main entrance..."

The man's voice trailed off, "There was a group that went through the main gate, but that big cat carried them away."

Leng Ruolan glanced back at Nanbei, who was yawning on the watchtower.

Nanbei also looked at her, tilting his head slightly.

The way it walks is quite cute.

Leng Ruolan waved her hand, "Alright, let the man-eating flower put him down. Then have your two teammates come in through the front gate, don't bother climbing over the wall."

Don't let our man-eating flower get too full.

*

Fifteen minutes later.

The three new surrenderers were led to the center of the square.

They were from a small country that I had never heard of before in Europe—I think it was called something like something alliance.

Leng Ruolan watched as this person timidly reached into his robes and rummaged around inside—

Ou Yun thought to himself, "What? Is it a little too late to think about taking out a hidden weapon now?"

Leng Ruolan remained still, quietly watching him take things out, and even took a sip of juice—

Then I saw the man pull out a dark, wrinkled thing.

"What is that thing?"

"A new type of concealed weapon?"

"I think it's a new type of pickled vegetable."

Alexander took it, patted it in his hand, shook it, and the thing rotted and spread out—

It turned out to be a national flag whose design was no longer legible.

The leader was a middle-aged man in his forties, with a stubble beard and tired but still relatively calm eyes.

He introduced himself as Marcus, a former architectural engineer who had survived by hiding and scavenging for supplies since being selected as a contestant.

Leng Ruolan was there receiving guests, while Chen Hao whispered to Ou Yun in the back, "Look, this is the standard template for surrendering."

Ou Yun also muttered under his breath, "It was the same when we first met up."

"..."