NOVEL WEB Chapter 157 - Training Exercise 5
Previously, Mai Dongzi had already observed the surrounding terrain while in the air. When choosing a landing spot, she skimmed over the various hills of different sizes and specifically selected a relatively flat valley for landing.
In such a windy environment, landing in a valley was safer than landing on the bare tops of the hills. Although there was a higher chance of encountering beasts in the valley compared to the hilltops, the wind in the valley was not as strong as that on the hilltops.
Moreover, Mai Dongzi was not afraid of the beasts; on the contrary, she hoped they would encounter them soon. After all, they currently had nothing, and defeating a beast would at least provide them with food.
Unfortunately, while she used her mental power to “observe” the surrounding hills from the air, she did not discover any beasts.
Mai Dongzi was observing the geological features of the valley to prevent any unforeseen dangers. If she found no threats, she planned to stay in the valley with the Phantom Team for the next couple of days to familiarize themselves with the natural patterns of the planet before heading to the designated target location indicated by the school.
As she observed, she noticed distinct signs of significant water erosion on the valley walls. The erosion marks were higher than she was, so she moved a large stone to stand on and examined the area more closely. The marks were still quite fresh, with a slight dampness underneath.
Looking more closely at the upper sections of the valley walls, she found similar but more vague signs of water erosion, which likely indicated that those marks had been there for a longer time.
Seeing this, Mai Dongzi abandoned her plan to camp in the valley and decided to lead her teammates up the nearest hill.
With the strong winds swirling around and the gray clouds overhead, she was unfamiliar with the local weather conditions and was uncertain if it would rain under such circumstances. Therefore, she felt it was best to leave the valley for now.
Mai Dongzi led the way, with the other seven members of the Phantom Team closely following behind her.
The slope of the hill was not steep; under normal conditions, they would have been able to climb it in just a few minutes. However, in such strong winds, the bare hillside offered no leverage, and the seven of them formed a line, struggling to make their way up. Occasionally, they glanced at their captain, whose seemingly delicate figure appeared exceptionally tall and steady.
Although the wind buffeted them like blades of grass, their captain remained as solid as a rock, as if everything was under control, which helped keep them calm and untroubled.
Mai Dongzi had no idea that, in the eyes of the Phantom Team members, she appeared so “majestic.”
She was multitasking, observing her surroundings for usable resources while being on guard for any potential ambushes and also keeping an eye on her teammates’ safety.
The reason she could walk so steadily in the strong wind was that, in her previous life, she had practiced grounding techniques while in the military, which made her very stable on her feet. Additionally, her experience helped her understand how to maintain balance in such high winds, and she could even use her mental strength to assist her balance when the winds became too strong.
The Phantom Team moved up the mountain behind Mai Dongzi at a slow pace, occasionally catching glimpses of their captain bending down to pick up something.
While they couldn’t take out resources not native to this planet from their portable space equipment, they could collect materials from this planet and store them in their space devices for later use.
As a result, those with better financial conditions had even purchased small three-cubic-meter space devices, while those with poorer living conditions could rent one.
Therefore, the team could see Mai Dongzi picking things up from the ground but could not clearly identify what she was collecting.
After climbing three hills with Mai Dongzi, they saw her stop and quickly surrounded her.
They understood the reason for their captain’s stop; they were at the junction of two connected hills. The hill they were standing on was relatively low, while the other hill was over fifty meters taller, and at the connecting point, there was a natural formation that could be called a cave.
The cave on the mountainside was about four to five meters wide and high, but it was less than two meters deep.
“Captain, there’s barely enough room to fit in here!” The moonlight team member exclaimed loudly.
Such a shallow cave couldn’t block anything, not even the wind.
“In a place like this, finding a natural cave is almost impossible; we’ll have to dig one ourselves,” Mai Dongzi said.
She didn’t speak as loudly as the moonlight team member, but her voice was clear enough for everyone to hear.
Zhuang Huaiya heard their conversation, crawled into the cave, and scraped the cave walls with his hands. He then turned around with a distressed expression and said, “We don’t have any tools! The walls are too hard; we can’t dig with our hands.”
Upon hearing this, Mai Dongzi pulled out a pile of stones from the ground.
The moonlight team member and Durant reacted quickly; they crouched down, sifted through the pile of stones, and each picked out a long, narrow rock.
These stones weren’t large enough to be cumbersome, and they were sharp on one end.
Now the members of the Phantom Team understood and gathered around to crouch down and select suitable stones for themselves.
Mai Dongzi must have thought of this when she was picking up stones, as the stones she produced were all similar in shape and size, allowing everyone to quickly find something suitable.
With that, there was no need for Mai Dongzi to say anything further; everyone began to try digging deeper into the cave using their stones.
Digging into the mountainside with stones was not easy; it was indeed laborious, but at least they were able to make some progress.
Not a single person voiced any hesitation; they all understood that this was not the time for sentimentality. In the absence of knowledge about the conditions on this planet, it was crucial to quickly create a place to rest and take shelter.
The cave entrance was not large, and Mai Dongzi required them to dig a cave with a diameter of about three meters, so only two people would dig at a time.
This way, those who were tired from digging would have enough time to rest and recover. They didn’t hold back their strength, and although they worked hard, their speed was not slow.
Mai Dongzi did not join the digging; she stood to the side, keeping watch for safety. These tasks were something they could accomplish with a little effort; she couldn’t do everything herself.
After two hours of strenuous digging by the seven of them, they had created a cave about three meters in diameter and seven to eight meters deep.
“Everyone, let’s take a break and listen to me,” Mai Dongzi called out to stop them.
Everyone immediately halted and waited for her to speak.
“This cave is deep enough for us to rest temporarily, but now our priority is to find food,” Mai Dongzi said.
Before leaving the starship, each of them had taken two nutrient packs and drank a lot of water. Otherwise, after being buffeted by the strong winds and digging for more than two hours, they would have become severely dehydrated.
“Have you all noticed the stars above Liva?” Mai Dongzi asked the members of the Phantom Team.