The King of Black Fog

Three minutes later, the lifting platform slowly closed, and the transport plane accelerated on the runway.

Before long, the fuselage ascended and quickly climbed to a certain altitude, where one could see the faint clouds outside the window.

This was the first time both Li Changzhou and Li Qianxia were on an airplane, which was a pity since their destination was Soul-shocking Island, and they couldn't properly enjoy the scenery along the way.

On the way there, Zheng Qing had briefly explained the mission to them.

The location was Hemick Island.

Before the Value Game began, the locale was already an overseas island with a high mortality rate. After the Value Game, the danger coefficient soared, and many of the local islanders had fled.

The goal of Scholar Lü and others was the resin of the Dragon Brain incense tree trunk.

This medicine, known as "Dragon Brain" since the start of the Value Game, had the effect of clearing the mind and enhancing alertness. After the game began, its effects were even more potent.

It was said that if combined with a few other ingredients, it could directly enhance a person's Attribute, and even Scholar Lü believed that this medicine could potentially unlock new Skills in the human body!

On Hemick Island, there was a Dragon Brain incense tree trunk that had become a Player.

With such a treasure at stake, it was no wonder it would become the target of coveted desires.

Scholar Lü only wanted some of the resin and did not support cutting down (or rather, attacking) the tree. However, this unknown force landed on the island, cut down the tree directly, and what's more, they wanted to kill Scholar Lü and his people to silence them.

Relying on the jungle's dangers and the cover of the Special Warfare Bureau's warriors, Scholar Lü and his students hid in the jungle, but the plane they arrived on was destroyed.

Now they could only be stranded on the island, avoiding the enemy's pursuit, dealing with the dangers of the jungle, and waiting for the country's rescue.

"What are they writing?" Li Qianxia suddenly asked Zheng Qing quietly.

Zheng Qing glanced at Scholar and answered, "Wills. It's quite normal in the military. I wrote my first will during my first parachute jump, and besides the will, we also put strands of hair and fingernails in there."

"Is parachute jumping dangerous?" Li Qianxia asked again.

"Normally it's fine, but the year I joined, I heard that someone's parachute didn't open, the backup chute also failed, and they died on impact. Another had an accident, didn't die but ended up with a concussion."

Li Qianxia's expression after hearing this was not visible, but one could feel she was obviously shocked.

"Every line of work has its dangers," Zheng Qing said in a relaxed tone, "When we're not at war, there might be more taxi drivers who die than us, it's not a big deal."

"That's not the same!" Li Qianxia strongly disagreed, "You are doing it to protect us."

"We get paid too." Zheng Qing laughed, her liking for Li Qianxia instantly rising because she had the tone and stance of someone who felt underestimated and insulted.

Zheng Qing didn't think she was anything special; she hadn't joined the army out of a desire to protect the people, but protecting the people had become her responsibility and job since she did.

But she could only say such things to herself or think about them; she'd be somewhat uncomfortable if others felt the same way.

However, Li Qianxia's attitude made her very fond of her.

"Do you want to write one?" Zheng Qing asked her.

"Uh, no thanks, I don't have much to write." Li Qianxia answered.

"Give me one," Yang Qinglan suddenly spoke up.

Zheng Qing got a pen and paper from Yang Liu and handed them to her.

Under Li Qianxia's astonished gaze, Yang Qinglan wrote earnestly—if she died, the house on Yanhe Road, Qing Lan Bookstore, and everything in the bookstore, all would belong to the Li siblings.

"Qing Lan," Li Qianxia placed her hand on her shoulder, "don't worry... forget it, spit, spit, spit, we shouldn't be joking about this sort of thing right now."

"Hey, beauty!" Poison, one of the five soldiers, suddenly spoke up.

Li Qianxia looked over, feeling a strong identification with the term "beauty."

"If you had to choose one of us, who would you pick?" Poison pointed at himself, Scholar, Big Thigh, and Tank.

Li Qianxia gave them a once-over and pointed at her brother's head.

Yang Liu let out a whistle and said with a laugh, "Looks like we've got ourselves a handsome man!"

"Weren't you the one who disliked handsome men?" Scholar was completely puzzled.

"When there's no choice because none of you five are handsome, I have to make do. Besides, is there any woman who doesn't like handsome men? Don't you men all like beauties too? Right, Captain Zheng?"

Before the mission began, the atmosphere within the team was relaxed.

Experience had shown that air force teams that sat up straight and serious the moment they were aboard the transport plane had a higher chance of encountering accidents than those who prepared for a parachute jump only five minutes beforehand.

"Captain Zheng likes handsome guys too?" Li Qianxia curiously looked at Zheng Qing through her visor.

"I only like those who can perfectly complete a mission," Zheng Qing could only say that.

Otherwise, what's the difference between saying you like handsome men and saying you like him when Li Changzhou is around?

At twenty-two, and still considering herself a young girl when not dressed in military uniform, she sneakily glanced at Li Changzhou, who had his eyes closed, not knowing if he had heard the previous conversation.

Li Changzhou was planning.

All of "Honey Pot World" was already in his mind, and on that basis, he was constructing houses, hanging corridors, studies, training grounds, dining rooms, kitchens, and storerooms.

Here, he planned a swing to be made of vines; there, a bridge of the same. Such plans continued in his mind, creating blueprints within.

The transport plane had been flying for who knows how long, when a soldier informed them that they were approaching the parachute area, and to please get ready.

"Parachute? We're going to parachute?" Li Qianxia exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes," Zheng Qing said while strapping a parachute pack to her back, "to prevent the transport plane from being destroyed again, and to reduce any trouble."

"I won't die from the fall, will I?"

"You won't."

"What about a concussion?"

Glancing at her, Zheng Qing said, "According to intelligence from the Special Warfare Bureau, you're supposed to be able to transform into an owl, right?"

Li Qianxia had practiced a few times near Yanhe Road.

She was stunned for a moment before patting her chest with relief, "You scared me, I had totally forgotten."

She then turned to Yang Qinglan and said, "Xiao Qing, you're lighter; I'll grab onto you when the time comes."

"No need, I can control gravity," Yang Qinglan said, securing her own parachute pack after observing Zheng Qing's movements.

Zheng Qing checked it for her to make sure there were no issues.

"I mean, I'll grab onto you, and you keep an eye on my bro, pigeon!" Qian Xia mustered all her strength and finally managed not to blurt out "my bro."

"Wow! Brother," Poison, who was already prepared, came over to Li Changzhou and said, "That title carries a bit of an edge."

"It does," Li Changzhou laughed, "Can you check if my parachute pack is worn properly?"

Poison glanced at it and tugged a few times, saying, "No problem! Is this your first parachute jump?"

"Yes."

"Relax, just watch me. You jump when I jump, you open your chute when I open mine. It's actually very simple, not much different than in 'Battlegrounds.'"

"Press the F key?"

"Press the F key!"

"Understood," Li Changzhou nodded.

Poison turned around, pointed at Li Changzhou with his thumb, and said to his teammates with a laugh, "I like this guy!"

"Poison," Zheng Qing spoke up.

Poison snapped to attention on the spot and stood upright like a thrown javelin.

Zheng Qing left him there, teaching Li Changzhou and the others how to deploy the main and reserve parachutes and what posture they should maintain in midair.

The plane had descended to an altitude of 1,500 meters and was slowing down. The red light at the tail of the aircraft flashed, signaling the transport bay was opening slowly.

At an altitude of 1,500 meters, standing so high for the first time and having to jump, even Li Changzhou couldn't help but feel his heartbeat accelerate slightly.

"Remember!" Zheng Qing shouted over the roaring wind. "At our current altitude, you can open your chute once you've stabilized! Yang Liu will land first and light a signal on the ground. Everyone should try to gather near her, understand?"

"Understood!" the five warriors responded in unison.

Li Changzhou and the two others nodded as well.

The alarm sounded, and the red light inside the cargo hold began to blink non-stop.

"Jump!"

At Zheng Qing's command, everyone, including Storm (the military dog) with his parachute pack, took a leap into the sky.

The only sound was the whooshing of the wind, and the resistance of the air was more apparent and persistent than ever.

It was 6 p.m. in Xia Country. At this moment, 1 p.m. on Hemick Island was right below Li Changzhou, waiting for his grand entrance.