"Captain Bai... you mean... these three missions are all for us to complete?" Wen Hongyi asked incredulously.
Bai Ran nodded, "The locations for these three missions are all the same, so we'll just do them together."
Just do them together??? These were SSS-rank missions!
Their minds seemed to have stopped working.
"Doing three missions at once, and one of them is SSS-rank, won't it be too dangerous?" Ran Shuang asked Bai Ran worriedly.
Hearing this, Bai Ran curled her lips into a smile, "Scared now?"
Ma Huai excitedly stood up, "Who's scared! It's just an SSS-rank mission, who's afraid of whom!"
"There will be a risk to your lives," Bai Ran stared at him intently, making Ma Huai shiver.
"Captain Bai... you will protect us, right?" Sun Jianning asked cautiously.
Bai Ran scoffed, "If you can't even complete one SSS-rank mission, don't claim to be core disciples of Que Tian Sect when you go out. Que Tian Sect can't afford to lose face like this."
Her words instantly angered the disciples.
"It's just an SSS-rank mission! What's the big deal!"
"Exactly! You look down on us so much, we'll complete it for you to see!"
The disciples unanimously agreed, their fighting spirit full as they headed towards the mission location.
Watching the disciples' backs, Ran Shuang shook her head helplessly, truly being led by the nose.
Soon, their group arrived at the location of this mission—the Soul Scattering Forest.
The entire forest was shrouded in mist, giving off an eerie aura, and visibility was greatly reduced.
"Ah!" Ma Huai shrank to the back of the group, startled by every rustle of leaves, completely lacking the arrogance he had before.
Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from a nearby patch of grass.
"What is it!" Ran Shuang summoned her sword, and everyone tensed up at that moment.
From the bushes, a small, cute rabbit hopped out.
"What, it's just a rabbit," Ma Huai sighed in relief, and the group's frightened hearts also settled.
However, Bai Ran frowned as she looked at them. Based on normal speeds, completing the mission should take about a week.
Before encountering danger, they should either hunt or at least store any edible profound beasts, lest they run out of food.
But they clearly had no awareness of this, showing no reaction as the rabbit hopped away.
Even their first thought upon entering the forest wasn't to find shelter and a water source.
Bai Ran walked alongside the group, "How much food did you bring?"
"I brought half a storage ring," Ran Shuang took out her storage ring.
"I threw all of mine away on the road..."
"Me too..."
Hearing the disciples' words, Ran Shuang suddenly realized, "We should have caught that rabbit just now!"
"Why?" Ma Huai scratched his head, clearly not yet grasping the seriousness of the situation.
"Our food is clearly insufficient..." Ran Shuang pursed her lips, her brows knitted with worry.
Instantly, the disciples turned pale with shock.
"That's right! What do we do, is the rabbit still around?"
"The rabbit is long gone. From now on, we must catch any profound beasts we encounter and store them," Ran Shuang frowned, glancing at Bai Ran walking beside her.
"Captain Bai, are we doing this... correctly?"
Bai Ran glanced at her, "Yes."
Hearing this, the disciples were somewhat reassured, but fate had other plans, and they walked for a long time without encountering a single profound beast.
"What do we do, we haven't even encountered a profound beast, let alone a spirit beast," Sun Jianning said with a worried expression.
Compared to profound beasts, spirit beasts possessed greater strength and higher intelligence, making them dozens of times harder to capture.
"Let's split into two groups," Ran Shuang suggested, "This way, searching for profound beasts will be faster."
The disciples nodded in agreement, and her suggestion was quickly adopted, but Bai Ran's frown deepened.
"You cannot split up," everyone turned to look at Bai Ran.
"Why not?"
"Our ten people searching together is too inefficient."
"Yeah, when would we ever find anything at this rate?"
Ran Shuang looked at Bai Ran without speaking. Despite their short acquaintance, she trusted Captain Bai, and if Captain Bai said so, there must be a reason.
Bai Ran's thin lips parted, "Have you ever considered that if no large profound beasts or spirit beasts have appeared, it might mean there are more dangerous creatures in this area?"
"If you rashly split up, and one team encounters danger, the other team won't be able to provide timely support, and you might find yourselves in peril."
Ran Shuang listened and nodded, "Then let's not split up."
The disciples also felt a little scared upon hearing this. What if they actually encountered some terrifying spirit beast? Wouldn't they be finished?
"Let's not split up then..."
"Yeah, it's too terrifying."
"But if we don't split up, our search efficiency is too low," Ma Huai scratched his head.
Bai Ran curled her lips into a smile, "That will depend on your abilities."
A silence fell. The disciples pondered for a long time before deciding to venture deeper and search for spirit beasts.
Bai Ran followed the group, walking silently without reminding them.
...
"I'm so thirsty," Wen Hongyi took out his canteen and took a few gulps.
Ran Shuang looked at him and suddenly seemed to remember something, her face changing drastically, "How much water do you all have left?"
Hearing this, the disciples took out their own canteens.
"I have one pot left."
"I only brought one pot too."
"I've already finished half of my water..."
Ma Huai blinked, "We have no food, and no water?"
The worst-case scenario.
Ran Shuang's expression turned extremely grim, "Let's find a water source first."
For the next while, the disciples wandered aimlessly in the forest like headless flies.
Unsurprisingly, they couldn't find a water source.
"I can't do it anymore, I'm too tired to walk," Ma Huai collapsed on the ground, "Could it be that there are no lakes or streams in this forest?"
Ran Shuang clenched her fist, the feeling of thirst making her somewhat irritable.
She did have water, but only one pot. If they couldn't find a water source, this pot of water would become a lifesaver, and she had to drink it sparingly.
Several more hours passed, and the disciples' stamina reached its limit. No food, no water...
The dire situation made the atmosphere in the entire group extremely oppressive.
Ran Shuang looked at Bai Ran, her gaze filled with a plea, "Captain Bai..."
Hearing this, the disciples all looked towards Bai Ran.
"Captain Bai, you must have food and water, right?"
"Share some with us, we lost all our supplies on the road."
"Yes, Captain Bai, please help us."
...
Bai Ran chuckled, "I brought three days' worth of food and water, but it's only enough for myself."
Hearing her words, the disciples' eyes lost their last glimmer of hope.
"What do we do..."
"Are we going to die here?"
Just as the disciples were about to give up, Bai Ran spoke again.
"I can help you find water and food."
Bai Ran had originally expected them to complain about her, to complain that she had made them fly here, which led to their supplies being lost.
If that were the case, she would absolutely not offer any help.
But now it seemed, these core disciples were not inherently bad, just a bit foolish.
"Captain Bai!" Ran Shuang's eyes lit up. She knew Captain Bai would have a way.