Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

“What are you doing? What’s wrapped in that rubber metal taken from the fire?”

Even though he knew these guys were intentionally keeping them in suspense, Dean Atchison couldn’t help but ask; he was too curious.

Upon hearing Dean Atchison’s question, the other five members of Adams’ team simultaneously looked at Ruo Manni, clearly waiting for her to answer.

Everyone knew that Ruo Manni and Dean Atchison were relatively close, and since it was her who handled the stuff, she was naturally expected to respond.

However, Ruo Manni, who was usually on good terms with Dean Atchison, gave him a reserved smile and said, “It’s a secret. Enjoy your meal. Goodbye!”

It was obvious she was teasing him for fun. Annoyed, Dean Atchison rolled his eyes at her and thought he’d do the same to her in the future.

Having eaten and drunk to their fill, and having enjoyed seeing the other teams’ frustration, Adam’s team was in high spirits and moved quickly.

After Adam’s team climbed another thousand meters, the mountain slope became even steeper. Fortunately, there were still sparse trees to provide support, and at this altitude, the trail was no longer as muddy as before. Otherwise, despite their strong physical condition and agility, the climb would have been extremely tough.

They had not yet reached half the height of the island mountain, but the slope was already at a 60 to 70-degree incline.

After climbing another five to six hundred meters, they arrived at a tall cliff dominating the northern side. This cliff, about two thousand meters high, looked like a massive screen, dividing the mountain into two halves.

To reach the mountain summit from the north side, they had to climb this cliff.

Although they had seen the cliff from the forest after sunrise, standing at its base made the task of climbing it seem extremely daunting.

The 90-degree steep cliff was covered in hard, smooth rock surfaces, with no vegetation or footholds. The strong mountain winds howled, seemingly capable of blowing away anything that wasn’t part of the cliff.

It was clear to Adam’s team that this was an enormous challenge.

However, finding an alternative route would be equally impossible. Ruo Manni had looked at the surrounding environment and realized that bypassing the cliff would involve a longer detour through the valley, and there would be other dangers like exotic beasts in that area.

Their journey so far had been relatively fortunate, as they hadn’t encountered any exotic beasts blocking their way.

Adam’s team saw the Asimu team, who had arrived at the cliff about ten minutes earlier, having only climbed a little over a hundred meters. This showed how slow their pace had been.

The school had actually prepared for this, equipping them with parachutes. Adam’s team took them out and equipped themselves without needing a command from the leader.

“I’ll go first, Ruo Manni will follow, Su will cover the rear, and Tino and Tamaki will protect Sheila. Everyone, be cautious,” Hebrew Adam ordered.

“Yes, Captain,” the team responded in unison.

Although it was their first training exercise, a month of coordination and their performance yesterday had given everyone a good sense of each other’s abilities.

Hebrew Adam and Su Forty-Three had the highest martial levels and overall combat strength. Ruo Manni had strong mental abilities, allowing her to detect surrounding dangers earlier than the others and provide protection in critical moments. Therefore, Hebrew Adam personally safeguarded her to allow her to focus on scouting and defense.

Hebrew Adam led the way, taking out climbing gloves from his backpack and switching his military boots to climbing mode. The others followed suit, and they used a climbing rope to connect all six team members.

Hebrew Adam began climbing first. Ruo Manni saw him scaling the hard cliff with the ease of a gecko, climbing steadily and calmly.

Ruo Manni followed closely behind Hebrew Adam as they climbed the cliff. The surface was extremely smooth, but their climbing boots and gloves adhered to the cliff face like suction cups, and the mountain wind sweeping past them posed no threat.

However, with the benefits came drawbacks. While the climbing gear helped them stay anchored, it also increased resistance, making their movements laborious and slowing them down. It required effort to move and pull out the gear.

Hebrew Adam had not yet exerted full force, and his steady, unhurried pace was manageable for Ruo Manni.

When they had climbed over 150 meters, Ruo Manni “saw” that the Hua team had also arrived at the base of the cliff.

In the lower part of the mountains, many military students could be seen, indicating that everyone was moving at a similar pace and had set out before dawn.

Climbing was extremely exhausting. Even with climbing tools, they were only aids. As they climbed higher, the mountain winds became stronger, and Ruo Manni had to work hard to stabilize her body.

Behind them was a vast sea of clouds at several thousand meters above the ground. Without protection, a fall would be fatal. In her previous life, climbing to such heights would have terrified Ruo Manni.

But now, with her skills and the safety gear on her boots and parachute, she felt no fear. If not for the need to hurry, she might have even enjoyed the view.

It took over an hour for Adam’s team to climb halfway up the cliff. At this point, Ruo Manni began to feel that her hands and feet were not quite right; her chest felt tight, and her breathing started to quicken.

Ruo Manni realized that at this altitude, the air was becoming thin, which made breathing more difficult due to the rarefied atmosphere.

“Let’s take a break,” Ruo Manni said.

The group stopped, looking at Ruo Manni with confusion. She took out six air tablets from a side pocket of her backpack and distributed them to everyone.

These air tablets are very useful in places where the air is thin and breathing is difficult. After taking an air tablet, it dissolves gradually in the stomach, providing the oxygen needed by the body. However, these tablets can only last for about an hour.

Ruo Manni had originally prepared these tablets in case they needed to swim in the ocean and had to dive underwater for a task. She had purchased them online beforehand and stored them in her jade pendant space. When she saw the cliff earlier, she had secretly taken them out and put them in the side pocket of her backpack.

Adam’s team marveled once again at how thorough and meticulous their deputy leader was. Even though she hadn’t known the training location and environment in advance, she had prepared all the necessary supplies. It was truly impressive.

Hebrew Adam and the others, being noble children, were accustomed to having their supplies prepared for them. They had never considered these small items like air tablets. When the instructors asked them to list their prepared supplies, they were somewhat clueless, as they had never thought about such things.

Given their physical condition, even without these items they could manage to climb such a high mountain, but it would still have some impact. At the very least, their speed would not be as fast.