The Most Powerful Brain in the Interstellar Space

Chapter 99 Sour Gas
Jiang Hui breathed a sigh of relief when the team leader suddenly appeared before her.

She wasn't exactly familiar with interstellar travel, and even though it wasn't dark yet, the place already looked eerie, with some of the shadowy corners appearing rather frightening. She could only imagine how terrifying it would be after nightfall. She couldn't just stay here waiting for the school officials to come looking for her.

Just when they didn't know what to do, the instructor came back.

"?" Jiang Hui, like a silly goose, couldn't help but utter a very foolish sound.

She quickly realized that the other person was probably trying to persuade her to give up.

“Since you know you’ve done your best, you should cut your losses in time, otherwise you’ll hurt yourself and others. If you continue like this, you’ll only drag others down,” Mays said to the girl.

These words were practically accusing her of holding everyone back, and Jiang Hui felt her face burning slightly, even though she was usually quite thick-skinned.

"You can wait here. There's a temporary tent with your luggage, so you'll be safe inside for now. I've already notified the observation center, and someone should be coming to pick you up soon. Don't stay with the team anymore."

...After saying all that, what else could she do?

Jiang Hui wasn't usually that determined, but she was used to seeing things through to the end, and she was determined to walk the path she chose, no matter how difficult it was. That's why she persevered all this way, because she didn't want to be someone who succumbed to comfort.

But now that someone is pointing their finger at her and telling her that she's a hindrance and a burden, completely superfluous, any anger she felt has already dissipated.

Fortunately, the instructor wasn't really that heartless. He seemed worried that Jiang Hui wouldn't know how to use the makeshift tent, so he showed her how to install it and then left her behind without looking back.

Jiang Hui watched the other person's back for a long time before turning around and entering the temporary tent when the night was completely dark.

So... this training camp ended in such a disappointing way? Now all she has to do is lie back and wait for someone to come and pick her up?
Despite being called a temporary tent, the quality is actually quite good. It seems to use space-saving technology, as it's quite spacious enough for one person to sit inside. From the inside, it looks like it has a metal structure. It feels very light when lifted, but it also feels quite sharp to the touch. Lying down in it gives you a sense of security.

She might as well just lie there and wait...

No! What if I fall asleep in this desolate wilderness and never wake up?
Of course, Jiang Hui couldn't possibly be so carefree as to fall asleep. In fact, being in this enclosed tent gave her a constant sense of dread, as if she were a little lamb in the hunting range of a wild beast.

The more you can't see it, the more terrifying it becomes.

Jiang Hui felt a pang of regret. She shouldn't have listened to the instructor's threats and insisted on sticking with him. She wasn't exactly someone with a strong sense of collective honor, but she valued her life more than anyone else. What if something happened to her while she was alone here?

and so--

When will the school staff come to pick her up?

-------------

"This batch is not bad; they've almost reached the last station." The people at the other observation center looked around and already had a good idea of ​​the situation.

Has anyone arrived yet?

"...Not yet. We're at the last checkpoint, so it'll probably be a long wait. I wonder which team will break through and get there first." The speaker was wearing an instructor's uniform, the only difference between him and the first-year student being the insignia on their chests. "In that case, the last checkpoint must be the most crucial and climactic one. Instructor Vic, would you mind sharing this with me? I heard that this part was designed and coordinated by you second-year students. Last year's ambush was truly spectacular, giving those brats a good lesson."

"Mr. Ares, you're right. I'm hoping these guys will be careful and not act recklessly again. Last time, those brats didn't think of the consequences and almost hurt a freshman's eyes. Otherwise, it would be a question whether the school could even stay open today," the second-year homeroom teacher said with a shake of his head and a laugh.

So this last stop is also an ambush? The others had already understood the implication of the other party's words and guessed that this was the final test of the training exercise.

In some areas, the process had already begun. The fewer people talking, the more focused the class instructors were on watching the footage pointing directly at them. Because of the cross-screen recording method, no one noticed that several live feeds were missing, seemingly vanished into thin air.

-------------

Jiang Hui had been waiting in the same spot for quite a while, her initial skepticism gradually turning into growing doubt.

Did the team leader really contact the observation center for her? Or is this the school's rule that rescues can only be carried out after the training is completed...? If they had known earlier that she was waiting at the temporary accommodation, she wouldn't be here in the middle of nowhere feeding mosquitoes now.

Jiang Hui's personal terminal wasn't in her possession, and she didn't have a tool like a clock to tell time, so she could only judge the time by her general sense. She felt that it must have been at least an hour or two.

She grew increasingly restless as she waited in the confined space.

"..." Jiang Hui suddenly sniffed.

She wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt a strange, acidic smell suddenly permeating the air, which gradually became stronger.

It's normal for there to be unique scents in the jungle. She had also occasionally smelled some special plant scents on the Dengming Shier Aiping Mountain, with all sorts of aromas, some even seeming to have a synesthetic quality. After walking around there for a while, Jiang Hui felt that her sense of smell had been greatly improved, and she would no longer react easily to strange smells.

But she had never smelled any sour smell like this, which had such obvious biological characteristics; it was more like a sour stench, a putrid stench, than a sour smell.

This is an aura that makes humans instinctively feel very uncomfortable.

The aura grew stronger and more intense, accompanied by a strong stimulating sensation. Jiang Hui felt that her whole body was not right. Her skin, exposed membranes, eyes and nose, mouth and throat, as well as the unseen nervous system inside, were all extremely uncomfortable from the outside in. Her heart was pounding incessantly inside her body.

Despite having a normal respiratory system and being able to feel her breath flowing in and out normally, Jiang Hui always felt a suffocating sensation, as if something was blocking her from the inside out, making it hard to breathe.

I can't bear it anymore.

Jiang Hui cautiously peeked out of the tent, carrying a lamp.

In the pitch-black environment, her was the only bright spot. There was no one around, and no rescuers. Jiang Hui felt like she had been abandoned all alone under the dark sky.

She didn't have time to panic. She took a deep breath, which carried the unique scent of grass and trees of the wilderness. The air was filled with the same acidic smell that had almost suffocated her, but perhaps because the air was circulating more frequently in the open space, it didn't feel so suffocating.

She almost suffocated inside the tent just now.

(End of this chapter)