Zhang Shaohua's words convinced Ouyang Feng.
Their immediate task was to guard the flags they held.
By noon tomorrow, the rankings would be decided!
As for the unfortunate souls whose flags had been stolen, they were not on their minds at all!
After a brief discussion, Zhang Shaohua and the other found a place to rest.
Meanwhile.
The gathered new recruits had already begun a meeting!
"This can't go on. I suspect they might not stop at just one theft!"
The leader of the first team to have their flag stolen was a burly young man, resembling a bear.
Everyone nicknamed him "Big Bear."
Hearing Big Bear's words, everyone nodded.
That's right.
If the flag thieves only wanted to pass, they wouldn't have stolen twice!
This indicated that the thieves aimed for first place!
And they couldn't be sure if there was only one group stealing flags...
"Let's try to identify who is missing, maybe we can narrow down the suspects," Big Bear suggested.
As long as they found the flag thieves, they could simply reclaim their flags!
However, Big Bear's idea was clearly impractical.
This training on the island wasn't a separate session for any specific group.
Several groups were mixed together.
Not everyone knew each other.
Moreover, the Dragon Team had not provided them with a list of all training participants.
This made it impossible for them to even begin their investigation!
Big Bear was immediately troubled.
"Then what should we do now? Should we conduct a carpet search?" someone asked.
If they couldn't catch the flag thieves, they wouldn't have a peaceful night's sleep!
Most importantly.
It wasn't just Zhang Shaohua's team stealing flags; if others saw that stealing was easier than collecting their own, they might be tempted!
Thinking of this, all the new recruits present felt a sense of unease!
Big Bear glanced around.
Apart from the area around their bonfire, which cast a dim light, the rest was pitch black.
Big Bear immediately rejected the suggestion.
"No, if we do a carpet search, we won't have enough people, and acting alone will make some people even more vulnerable to being robbed!"
"How about this, we'll take turns on watch and stay awake until morning."
At this point, Big Bear and a few others already had enough flags to pass.
These teams had generously shared their flags with Big Bear to thank him for the notification.
This ensured everyone could meet the passing requirement.
But aiming for first or second place was out of the question.
Currently, the enemy was hidden, while they were exposed.
Even guarding the flags they currently possessed was a difficult task.
Let alone pursuing others?
After hearing Big Bear's words, everyone grudgingly agreed.
After arranging the watches,
Most people, clutching their backpacks, fell asleep by the bonfire.
Those assigned to watch could only keep their eyes open, guarding the surroundings.
Chirp chirp—
Dawn broke.
A few birds flew overhead.
The Zhang Shaohua duo slowly woke up.
Their first action upon waking was not to find some wild game for breakfast.
But to check the area where the others had gathered.
Seeing that this group was sleeping together, they were suddenly overjoyed!
"A bunch of fools, daring to sleep at a time like this?"
"Young Master Zhang, let's go and steal all those flags and let them keep sleeping!"
Ouyang Feng exclaimed with delight.
However, Zhang Shaohua promptly spotted the two people on watch and stopped Ouyang Feng.
"They've posted lookouts, we can't go!"
Only then did Ouyang Feng halt his steps.
In fact, the flags they held were already more than enough to secure first place.
But Ouyang Feng wanted to humiliate the others.
Seeing that there were guards on duty, Zhang Shaohua and his companion dared not get any closer, merely watching from a distance.
After watching for a while, Zhang Shaohua said, "Now, we just need to pretend to look for flags and hold out until noon, then we win."
"Pretending to search is to lull these people into a false sense of security, preventing them from knowing we stole the flags and causing unnecessary conflict!"
They had worked hard to accumulate so many flags. If their actions were discovered,
They might be attacked by everyone.
And then, they would lose everything!
Therefore, they had to disguise themselves as just waking up, unaware of what happened last night.
And distance themselves as much as possible from the flag theft.
After all, the others, including Big Bear, hadn't clearly seen Zhang Shaohua's face yesterday.
They had only seen his back!
Even if they met face-to-face, they wouldn't recognize him!
Only then did Ouyang Feng nod.
After eating a couple of mouthfuls of dry rations, the two continued their journey through the forest, pretending to search for flags.
After everyone had searched yesterday, there weren't many flags left in the area.
Zhang Shaohua and his companion walked for a considerable distance without spotting any red shapes.
But they were only putting on a show, so they didn't mind at all.
Meanwhile, the group of new recruits was not idle.
Because their flags had been stolen, in order to catch up today,
Many of them began to search meticulously.
They wanted to achieve a good result before the training ended at noon!
Big Bear and a few others gathered together, discussing how to catch the flag thieves!
"Regardless of whether I pass or not, let's agree now, I will not let this slide!" Big Bear said with a grim expression.
Originally, everyone competed based on their own abilities, without guarding against each other.
But then such an anomaly appeared, stealing their hard-earned results while Big Bear was off guard.
How malicious was that?
Big Bear was determined to catch the culprit and vent his anger!
The other two people whose flags had also been stolen nodded forcefully, agreeing with Big Bear.
They weren't fighting for buns, but for pride.
They were determined to find the thief and give them a good beating!
At this moment, the Zhang Shaohua duo hadn't discovered the movements of Big Bear and the others yet.
They were still sifting through the forest with feigned effort, moving very slowly.
Even the observers in the training room couldn't help but hold their breath!
"He who does much evil will be consumed by it. Hmph, Young Master Zhang's petty cleverness will eventually be his downfall!" one of the enforcers said.
Indeed, Zhang Shaohua's actions were merely petty cleverness.
Was it that simple to win first place by stealing others' possessions?
Not only would it arouse the vigilance and dislike of other students, but it would also make others think that this person had no great potential!
The two enforcers from the Zhang family, Steward Zhu and Steward Zhao, looked displeased upon hearing this.
Especially Steward Zhu, who angrily turned his head, glaring at the speaker with a face as purple as an eggplant!
"What do you mean by doing much evil? These are clearly actions permitted by the rules, Young Master Zhang is just faster than others!"
Hearing Steward Zhu's words, the enforcer merely snorted, not bothering to argue with him.
It wouldn't be too late to say these words again after Zhang Shaohua was found by Big Bear!