[edited]

Rong Shi had received countless rejections in his pursuit of learning the combat techniques of various planets. He had also managed to impress numerous combat master’s with his sincerity. However, he had never imagined encountering such a rejection reason during his learning journey. 

Rong Shi had never thought that one day he would be as concerned about his age as a woman. He earnestly looked at Su Ge and said, “According to your Earth’s age calculation, I am only twenty two years old. I still consider myself quite young.” 

Su Ge, unmoved by Rong Shi’s concern about age, shook her head without mercy. She smiled and said, “You’re too old. To learn ancient martial arts, you’re already too old to make such a request.” 

Without waiting for Rong Shi to ask, she pointed to her nose with her finger and said, “Do you know at what age I started practicing martial arts?” She didn’t wait for Rong Shi’s response and continued, “According to the Interstellar Alliance, I started learning during my infancy. I was practicing martial arts as soon as I could walk. That’s why I am where I am today. Compared to me, do you still think you’re young?” 

Rong Shi: … 

Watching Su Ge gracefully moving ahead of him, occasionally demonstrating a “space step” in mid-air, Rong Shi had never felt so despondent in his life. 

And those four words from Su Ge, “You’re too old,” were like a thunderbolt from out of the blue that still reverberating in Rong Shi’s ears. He is feeling so damn depressed… 

Before he could completely dispel the slight depression in his heart, he heard a very hearty voice coming from nearby, “Rong Shi!” 

They were already standing at the edge of the forest, and the scenery in front of them suddenly opened up. Following the sound, Su Ge looked over and saw a young man of about two meters tall standing not far away, waving towards both of them, or rather, towards Rong Shi beside her. 

This man is from Neptunian, a race from the planet Neptune, known for their towering stature and formidable unarmed combat abilities. However, it’s said that their hand-to-hand combat prowess has diminished considerably with the proliferation of aerial combat craft in the Interstellar Alliance. 

Despite this, one can still see their exceptionally developed upper body muscles and their brown skin. On their foreheads, there are four small protrusions, which according to the “Interstellar Encyclopedia,” are crucial organs for Neptunian, especially during mating, as they emit a faint red light. 

At this moment, Su Ge, with her clear vision, noticed that these four small protrusions emitted a faint red light when the Neptunian greeted Rong Shi. 

Suge: I think I’ve discovered something amazing! ╰(*°▽°*)╯ 

Just as Rong Shi was refused by Su Ge for his request to learn the “ancient martial arts” due to being “too old,” almost all the planets watching the live broadcast erupted once again. 

【What? Isn’t that thing cheating?】 

【If it were cheating, Rong Shi would have noticed, and he wouldn’t have asked to learn it. So, it’s not cheating.】 

【Didn’t the organizers already say it’s not cheating? What’s the use of fussing over this now?】 

【Ha, is this Earthling stupid? She actually rejected Rong Shi’s request? Doesn’t she know why she was invited to participate in the program from Earth? It’s to serve as an attendant for these first-rate planets. Now she doesn’t even want the opportunity that’s come knocking. I bet she’ll end up in prison when she returns to Earth after this show!】 

【You’re too optimistic. I don’t think Earthlings will wait until the end of the program to leave. Maybe she’ll be naturally eliminated from the program very soon.】 

【Ah, is this Earthling asking to be destroyed? How dare she say Rong Shi is old! I swear I’ll blast her to smithereens with my energy gun right away!】 

Earth’s broadcasting room. 

【Wow, Su Ge’s so daring, she not only rejected this alien but also said he’s too old!】 

【Hahaha, did you see that alien’s expression! Haha, so funny!】 

【Su Ge didn’t say anything wrong. Forget about ancient martial arts, even at twenty-two years old, he’s too old to practice modern martial arts, let alone ancient martial arts… it’s simply wishful thinking.】 

【Will this alien bear a grudge against our Su Ge? Will he bully Su Ge?】 

【That’s possible!】 

【Quick, send out bullet comments to protect our Su Ge!】

… 

When Rong Shi and Su Ge reached the safe zone, there were already two teams present, indicating they had arrived not long ago. 

They were Neptunian Zigmadar and his teammate Li Ya from Rigel, along with Ron from Ronnie and his teammate Sela from Alrak. All four of them expressed great welcome to Rong Shi and Su Ge. 

Well, more accurately, they warmly welcomed Rong Shi’s arrival. However, when they saw Su Ge beside Rong Shi, the expressions on their faces became rather peculiar, indicating that the formation of a team by Rong Shi and Su Ge puzzled them greatly. 

“Shall we go over and say hello together?” It’s polite to consult with your teammate before making any choices as part of the same team, and Rong Shi has always been a very polite person. 

“No need,” Su Ge replied curtly, sensing the hostility and disdain emanating from the four. 

For all the veteran planets and star systems in the Interstellar Alliance, they often form their own factions or have firm alliances. For example, the Milky Way galaxy, a highly acclaimed star system within the alliance, while Earth, a recent addition to the alliance and classified as a Category V planet. It’s already considered as courteous if they didn’t get snubbed to their faces. 

Aside from caring for her reputation, Su Ge also has some backbone. 

There’s a saying in China: “When friends arrive, there’s fine wine; when jackals and wolves arrive, we welcome them with shotguns.” 

Faced with obvious exclusion and disdain from the others, Su Ge wouldn’t stoop so low as to ingratiate herself. After politely expressing her choice to Rong Shi, she shifted her focus to the environment of the safe zone. 

Surveying the surroundings, it was a vast wilderness situated at the edge of the forest they had just traversed. Behind the wilderness was a smooth rocky cliff, adorned with many green plants from a distance. 

The area within the safe zone was relatively clean, with no large stones, and even had a fair amount of low vegetation. It would serve well as an initial camping site. It was evident that the organizers had carefully selected this safe zone, solving the initial inconvenience for all participants. 

However, after surveying the area, Su Ge noticed a significant problem. 

There was no water source within the safe zone. 

According to the basic rules of wilderness survival, if one didn’t have enough water, they should choose a place with a water source for their safe zone. But there was none here. 

From Su Ge’s general understanding of all the races in the Interstellar Alliance, no matter what they consumed, no one could afford the lack water. However, within the safe zone, there was no direct source of drinking water. It could be anticipated that in the coming days, finding water would become one of the main activities for the participants. 

Just as Su Ge was still observing the area for safety, Rong Shi had already walked towards her. He greeted her, “We’re going over there to complete a task.” 

Following the direction Rong Shi pointed to, Su Ge saw a military green tent tucked away in a very concealed corner. The color of the tent was so similar to the surroundings that Su Ge hadn’t noticed it immediately. 

During the process of completing the task with Rong Shi and Su Ge once again received attention from four people from the other planets. Although they still didn’t speak to her proactively, their gaze was somewhat more courteous than before. 

Of course, Su Ge’s focus wasn’t here; it was on something else. She asked, “Do their messages also contain hints about directions like northeast, southwest?” 

“They do.” It was indeed a headache-inducing matter. The Interstellar Alliance was accustomed to four-dimensional targeting, but now suddenly everyone had to switch to a two-dimensional plane to locate targets. 

“They’re quite impressive then. They found the safe point so quickly, at least earlier than us,” Su Ge said this sincerely. 

However, Rong Shi snorted disdainfully, then proceeded to explain, “Their two teams had one aircraft landing right on the edge of the safe point, while the other… Do you know what the Alrakians are good at?” 

“I’m not very familiar.” 

“Alrakians are natural scouts. They have an innate talent for finding things and navigating,” Rong Shi explained casually, but Su Ge sensed something different in his tone. 

If I’m not mistaken, your implication is that they’re just lucky, whereas you rely on skill, is that it? 😅 

The location for completing the task was a very small tent. It can barely able to accommodate one person. Inside was a palm-sized object resembling a camera. Standing in front of it, a light similar to infrared would scan the person from head to toe, seemingly confirming their identity. Once the identity was confirmed, a mechanical female voice rang out again. 

“Congratulations on completing Wilderness Guidance Task One. As the third team to complete, you are entitled to the reward of choosing your own base camp location.” 

After that announcement, Su Ge noticed the small camera-like object emitting a blue light. This light slowly scanned from top to bottom in mid-air, creating a three-dimensional sand table. Upon closer inspection, she could see that this sand table was a miniature representation of the safe point. 

The virtual 3D sand table was divided into approximately twenty equally sized sections, each located at different positions within the safe point. Four of them had already turned red, indicating they had been claimed, while the remaining sixteen were still green. 

It was evident that the first four individuals had already chosen their base camps.