“How about I offer myself to you?”
Su Mo said, feigning annoyance, “You already belong to me. What’s there to offer?”
Ye Qingyi playfully thumped her. “What do you mean, I’m yours? You’re so domineering!”
Su Mo clicked her tongue. “Your body is currently mine, right? That’s true.”
Ye Qingyi’s ears turned red. That was technically correct, but it sounded a bit… suggestive…
Leaning against each other, they felt an immense sense of comfort.
Because of the body swap, a sudden barrier had appeared between them and their once-familiar family and friends. Now, the only person they could communicate with at zero distance was each other.
Of course, the communication here refers to the spiritual level…
According to the original plan, they were supposed to set out for the assessment the next day.
But considering Su Mo’s physical condition, Ye Qingyi intended to apply for a postponement, only to be stopped by Su Mo.
Her reasoning was: she couldn’t let the entire team be affected because of her alone.
Yang Jie had also wanted to advise her to apply for an individual postponement, but Su Mo refused. She felt her current physical condition was incredibly good.
This wasn’t an exaggeration. Perhaps because Yang Jie had infused some of his own core spiritual energy, she felt her cultivation had slightly increased.
She had even specially thanked her senior brother for it, but he stubbornly refused to show a happy expression, holding it back the whole time.
Tsk tsk, so tsundere…
The assessment proceeded as scheduled.
Early the next morning, Yang Jie was waiting on the training ground. Once the two teams he led had assembled, he gave the order.
Move out!
Their destination was an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, a place of year-round high temperatures and heavy rain, giving rise to many fierce birds and beasts.
Su Mo had only ever seen such a challenging environment on TV before; it used to be her favorite. Being able to experience it firsthand now, saying she wasn’t excited would be a lie.
Their mode of transport was helicopters, directly crossing hundreds of kilometers of ocean to drop them at the precise location.
Two teams, two helicopters. Su Mo didn’t understand why they didn’t use a larger one to go together. Were they afraid of conflict between the two teams? Other instructors’ teams all traveled together…
Just as Su Mo was thinking this, the pilot suddenly called out, “Everyone, attention! Giant raptor ahead! Be prepared to parachute at any moment!”
The six of them looked out. A massive bird with a wingspan over ten meters was charging toward them like lightning.
Huo Jingshu’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Pity I can’t fly, otherwise I’d definitely fight it.”
Xia Qingqing, meanwhile, wiped drool from the corner of her mouth. “If roasted, it should be pretty tasty.”
Zhuge Zhi: “These feathers… I could sell them for thousands each in my hands. Hehe.”
Wu Heng turned his head away, thinking to himself what a bunch of kids they were.
He leisurely spoke up, “I think I could fight it to a draw.”
“Eww~” Xia Qingqing made a disgusted face. “Putting aside the facts, I could even make it dance for me.”
Wu Heng: “I don’t talk to underage little girls.”
Xia Qingqing flew into a rage. “Three days! It’s just three days short!”
Wu Heng fell silent, turning to look at the rapidly approaching bird. His expression gradually changed. “Bro, your flying direction seems off. Feels like you’re deliberately provoking it?”
Su Mo had noticed the anomaly earlier. She guessed this was probably also part of the assessment, so she faced it calmly, having made early preparations to parachute.
As team captain, Ye Qingyi remained silent, staring intently at the direction the bird was coming from. She gripped her seat tightly, wanting to see where this pilot was planning to take them.
After all, they were all buckled in with seatbelts. He couldn’t possibly kick all six of them out.
Just at the moment when they were about to collide, the pilot suddenly turned his head and grinned at them. “Everyone, bye-bye!”
With that, he leapt out himself.
On the verge of collision, Su Mo and the others couldn’t parachute quickly because they were fastened with super-reinforced seatbelts.
Su Mo violently tore hers off, then helped the others get free, her movements fluid and seamless.
Ye Qingyi’s actions mirrored hers exactly. Xia Qingqing watched, thinking to herself that they truly were a couple, even their problem-solving styles were so direct and forceful.
By now, the giant bird’s sharp talons had grasped the helicopter’s fuselage, piercing through it in one go.
The bird’s foot-long talon stabbed into the interior space, just barely grazing Zhuge Zhi’s chubby face.
“Ah! My handsome face!” Zhuge Zhi cried out, a streak of blood appearing on his cheek.
Seizing the opportunity, Su Mo grabbed the talon that had pierced inside.
“Ha!” With a surge of strength in her arm, a bloody, keratinous claw appeared in her hand.
“Damn!” Zhuge Zhi wore an incredulous expression.
The giant bird, mad with pain, flung the helicopter fuselage away violently, its massive form careening chaotically through the sky.
“Don’t just stand there! Jump, now!”
Among them, only Wu Heng had parachuted before. For the others, it was their first time, and under such dangerous circumstances to boot. They were stacking all the difficulty buffs.
Fortunately, they had studied the relevant knowledge beforehand and were lucky enough that no one failed to deploy their chute.
Whether the timing was right or not was another question.
The intense feeling of weightlessness left them with zero sense of security. Even a tough person like Su Mo, who had seen life and death many times, couldn’t help but feel a bit afraid.
As an old Xia saying goes, “When it rains, it pours.” Coincidentally, just as they opened their parachutes, a fierce gale swept through, scattering them like dandelion seeds into the distance.
Su Mo lost control over her body’s descent, but she remained calm.
Even though she nearly ground her silver teeth to dust.
The island was at least several dozen kilometers away. Although its outline was now visible, reaching it wouldn’t be easy.
Just as she was about to land on the sea’s surface, a sharp screech came from above. Without looking, Su Mo knew it was the bird whose claw she had just pulled out. A plan immediately formed in her mind.
The giant bird seemed to enjoy watching her fall towards the sea, escorting her all the way down.
“Stupid bird! Come get me!” Su Mo kept provoking it, trying to lure it closer, but the bird was clever and didn’t take the bait.
So that’s how it is…
She took out the talon the bird had just lost, casually toying with it in her hand, occasionally making a disdainful expression.
The giant bird was furious.
A bird can be killed, but not insulted!
With an angry, long cry, the bird beat its wings and charged.
Its speed was so fast it was hard to follow with the naked eye.
The third eye between Su Mo’s brows quietly opened. Every move the bird made was now within her grasp.
Rip—
Su Mo’s parachute was torn to shreds by the giant bird. She plummeted rapidly towards the sea, the sound of wind roaring in her ears.
After ensuring Su Mo had no means to resist, the bird shot towards her like an arrow, ready to tear this hateful human apart and have a good meal to vent its hatred.
However, just at the moment when human and bird were within reach, the corner of Su Mo’s mouth suddenly curved up. “Hooked!”
A trace of crimson flickered in the depths of her eyes, her expression turning wild.
Before the bird could react to what was happening, it felt its remaining claw seized by a pair of slender, jade-like hands. An electric-shock-like sensation made all its feathers stand on end.
In the next instant, a nimble figure suddenly flipped over and mounted its back, grabbing the feathers on top of its head. “Be good, listen, or I’ll pluck your feathers…”
“Screech!“
Pluck!
“Screeeeeech—!!!“
Pluck pluck pluck pluck…
The giant bird let out a series of miserable cries, its sounds seemingly piecing together a sentence that roughly translated to: “What are you doing~~~~~~”