Chapter 326 Unbridled Adoration.
"Oh... thanks for the reminder." Clare picked up a pebble and aimed it at a camera in the tree, shattering its screen, and then casually covered two other ground-level cameras with leaves.
"There, no more cameras," Clare declared before kicking Amelia's shoulder, sending her back into the water.
Amelia and Lucine tried to climb out several times to no avail.
Whoever tried to climb up was systematically kicked back into the water by Abella and Clare...
After being kicked repeatedly three or four times, they all learned their lesson and no longer tried to approach, simply hoping for Abella and her group to leave.
As long as Abella and Clare didn't leave, Amelia and her group could only stew in the water.
There was a changing room nearby for those who accidentally fell into the water. Abella instructed Josie and the others to go change while she and Clare stayed on the shore.
Everyone had set off that day carrying a pack with a change of clothes. As the group of four went to change, Clare amused herself by skipping stones on the water, hitting those in the water on their heads.
"This is fun," Clare remarked after a round and then said to Abella, "Doesn't this look like we're playing 'Whack-a-Mole'?"
"Don't insult the moles." Abella smirked.
"You... You..." Lucine was seething with rage, yet she was powerless to retaliate!
After Joanna and the other three had changed, Abella and Clare finally left at a leisurely pace.
"The way you girls' scheme and compete against each other is truly terrifying..." Arthur mused along the way.
A guy would simply fight out his frustrations and if that didn't settle things, they'd fight again.
"It's not scheming; they started bullying us first!" Joanna couldn't help but interject to set the record straight.
Back at the finish line...
Several instructors separated Lucas and Liam as they urgently said,
"Stop fighting, both of you! What's going on? Commander Jackson will be here shortly; do you want to be punished?" one instructor warned.
"Arrogant little brats." Another added.
After being pulled apart, Lucas wiped the blood from his nose, glaring angrily at Liam in front of him.
"Just because you’ve received a few commendations and acknowledgments of merit, you dare to be lawless in front of me? In terms of experience, I've been here six years longer than you!"
Liam smirked upon hearing this. "Six extra years and you're still a pushover?"
"What did you say? Say that again!" Lucas said seething with anger.
"You heard me, numbskull! Get the surveillance back online quickly, my students are in trouble, and you can't bear the responsibility!" Liam slapped the monitor, causing it to snap and crackle.
Lucas laughed, "Don't think I haven't noticed, that Abella in your class is a thorn in the side! It's not clear who's bullying who. Maybe that arrogant look of hers is the result of being spoiled by men…"
"Damn…" Liam couldn't hold back, and he threw a few more punches at Lucas.
Abella and her group passed the high jump platforms, low stumps, and tire climbs, finally arriving at a grassy field.
There was no barbed wire around it, and at first, they thought they were nearing the end, but as they walked, the thick fog blurred their vision, and they quickly lost their bearings.
"Where are we?" Clare asked.
"We've overcome so many obstacles; why haven't we reached the end yet?" Joanna said.
"Where's the red flag?" Arthur questioned.
"Could this fog be another test?" Josie added.
Everyone became more and more confused, even losing their sense of direction.
"Have you guys noticed that we've been here before?" Abella said looking at the ground.
"It seems so. I remember this tree had a strange shape... Does this mean we're back to where we started?"
"This is so strange, it's like we're cursed." Samuel voiced his observations.
...
Abella remained calm in the face of danger, merely saying in a serene tone, "Josie, take off your watch."
With a puzzled look "Oh," she replied but Josie still complied, even if she didn't understand why, and handed her watch to Abella.
"Abella, what are you doing?" Joanna stepped forward, curious to see her busily at work.
Abella picked up a small twig and stuck it upright in the ground, then laid the watch flat on the earth.
"Align the shadow of the twig with the hour hand. The direction between the 12 o'clock mark on the face and the midpoint of the scale indicated by the hour hand is south, and the opposite way is north. We headed out from the north initially, so if we keep going this way, we should reach the end," Abella explained, pointing out the direction they should head.
As soon as Josie heard it, she was awestruck. "Abella, you're so impressive..."
The two boys hadn’t anticipated that she even knew such an obscure piece of knowledge. Unable to help himself, Arthur said, "Without a watch, wouldn't we be hopelessly trapped here?"
"That's not necessarily the case," Abella responded as she continued walking. "If you don't have a watch, you can look for ant hills. Usually, the entrances of ant hills face south."
"Abella, you know so much..." Joanna admired her even more.
"It's common knowledge," Abella remarked, her tone reflecting mild indifference. "They taught us these types of things in our nature classes when we were kids."
"What if there are no ant hills?" Arthur pressed on with another question.
"Then you look at tree stumps. You can identify direction by the tree rings – the wider side of the rings faces south." Abella answered confidently.
"What if there are no tree stumps either?" Arthur pushed his question further.
"Then you observe the trees. Are there trees in the forest? The denser side of the trees will be south, the opposite, north."
After Abella's explanation, everyone admired her immensely...
Truly a straight-A student... they each thought now looking at Abella in a different lightbthen before.
There seemed to be nothing she didn't know... Nothing seemed too difficult for her...
"Look, the finish line is over there," Abella said, slightly lifting her chin towards the front.
To everyone's surprise, they saw a red flag planted in the grass ahead. Does this mean they had already successfully passed the test?
That's fantastic!! The group suddenly felt elated by the sight of the flag.
Elsewhere.
When Commander Jackson heard that Abella was participating in today’s competition, he made a special trip to check it out.
As soon as he arrived near the tents, he saw quite a few people breaking up a fight. Several strong instructors had just managed to pull Lucas and Liam apart...
Lucas had some scratches on his face, and Liam was no exception...
Both of them looked at each other with eyes full of hatred...
"What is this!" Commander Jackson's expression darkened as he walked over with his hands behind his back.
"What do you think this school is for? Fighting here?! Is this how you set an example for the students??" he disciplined them.
"Reporting—" Lucas snapped to attention and saluted before pointing the finger first.
"Liam has been chasing a student from the medical class, Abella. I demand a thorough investigation—"
An instructor pursuing a student could mean a serious demerit, or even a dismissal if it is found to be severe!
"Reporting—" Liam, not to be outdone and full of confidence, reported, "Lucas is allowing his students to bully mine, which includes Abella!"
What???
Abella???
That was the person Battalion Lopez had repeatedly emphasized to take good care of...
"What happened to Abella?" Commander Jackson quickly inquired.
"Lucas's students were bullying her. I was trying to see what was happening when Lucas turned off the surveillance!" Liam said directly.
"You're slandering me!" At that moment, although Lucas did not understand why Commander Jackson suddenly took an interest in Abella, he still felt a twinge of guilt about the surveillance issue.
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