Chapter 42: The Next Target

·"Let's save the welcomes for later," Li Huan said as he sat back down on the ground. "For now, our only objective is to escape from this academy."

"That's it? What's your plan?" Kiana asked, sitting cross-legged without a care for her image. "Are you planning to break out directly? Honestly, it wouldn't be too difficult. With our strength, we can easily escape through the front gate."

Li Huan immediately retorted, "Is your brain filled with muscles, or did you feed all your intelligence to the dogs?"

"Hey! Why are you suddenly insulting me?" Kiana shouted angrily, slapping her thigh. "Are you looking for a fight?"

"Have you considered our survival?" Li Huan asked, his expression emotionless. "Do you even know how many dead soldiers are out there beyond this academy? Have you calculated how long it will take us to escape the city?"

His barrage of questions left Kiana speechless, and her anger subsided.

"If we escape from this academy, we'll inevitably encounter more enemies. What about our supplies then? Do you plan to just wing it?"

"Wait a minute!" Kiana protested. "Weren't you the one who said we should escape the academy?"

"I'm not just asking about escaping," Li Huan replied, resting his chin on his hand. "I'm asking how we plan to escape the academy."

Mei quickly understood Li Huan's point. "You mean, we need to gather enough resources here before we leave?"

"Exactly," Li Huan nodded. "This academy is huge, which means the resources here must be abundant."

"But here's the problem: there are only three of us, plus a cat. We can't carry much."

Even though Li Huan had an inventory, it was limited to thirty slots. He couldn't carry everything, and in the future, he would prioritize useful equipment, skills, and items.

"Also, we need rest and sleep. Outside, we could easily face unexpected situations, leading to exhaustion. Fighting when you're tired and weak is a bad idea."

"So, our challenge is finding a way to store a lot of supplies, move them easily, and have a place to rest," Mei summarized, looking troubled. "That sounds really difficult... How can we meet all those requirements?"

"Think about it. Maybe we'll come up with something," Li Huan encouraged.

The two began to ponder the issue, but after a while, they both gave up.

"Nope, I can't think of anything," Kiana said, her face scrunched up. Thinking about such complex problems had maxed out her brain capacity.

It seemed like the plan to use Li Huan as a meat shield to wear down the Herrscher of Thunder had already used up all her brain cells.

"Sorry, Li Huan, I can't think of anything either," Mei apologized, shaking her head. "I don't know how to meet all those requirements."

But then Li Huan said, "Actually, there is a way to meet all those needs."

His words made Kiana and Mei look at him in unison.

Kiana, still annoyed, said, "Hey, if you had a plan, why didn't you say so earlier? Were you just messing with us?"

Li Huan calmly replied, "I just wanted to see if you could come up with a better idea. After all, my plan isn't necessarily the best one. It's always good to brainstorm together."

"But since you couldn't think of anything, we'll go with my plan."

"You should have said that sooner!" Kiana grumbled.

"I told you, I wasn't sure my idea was the best. If you had a better one, I wouldn't need to mention mine."

"Ugh, I really racked my brain for nothing..."

"Thinking is good. If you don't think, you'll turn into a protozoan."

"Are you calling me stupid?"

Seeing that they were about to start bickering again, Mei quickly intervened, "Alright, alright... Li Huan, just tell us your plan. And Kiana, stop messing around. We're a team now, so let's not fight amongst ourselves."

"Fine, since Mei said so, I'll let it go," Kiana said, grudgingly suppressing her anger and sitting down with a pout.

Li Huan sighed in relief, then pulled out a map of Thousand Feathers Academy from his inventory, pointing to a spot on it.

"Take a look at this."

Kiana and Mei leaned in to see where he was pointing.

"This is where we are now," Li Huan said, indicating the senior-year building. "If we head from here to the academy's exit, it will take about one to two hours to reach the main gate, not counting any battles along the way. By the time we get there, we'll be exhausted and starving."

"That's nothing for me," Kiana said confidently. "A one or two-hour walk is easy."

Mei agreed, "I can handle that too. It's not a problem."

"You might be fine, but I'm not," Li Huan said, glaring at them. "Even if you're super warriors, I'm just a regular person most of the time."

"Besides, even if we were all super warriors, shouldn't we find an easier way to do this?"

As he scolded them, Li Huan moved his finger slightly on the map. "Actually, the solution is pretty simple."

He pointed to the parking lot. "Let's get ourselves a bus."

Thousand Feathers Academy was large, so it had several buses to ensure convenient transportation. Now, all those buses were parked in the lot, just waiting to be used.

"Oh, I see," Mei said, understanding the idea but then questioning it. "But will a bus be effective against the dead soldiers?"

Kiana added, "Yeah, how can a regular bus handle that many enemies?"

"Who said we're using a regular bus?" Li Huan rolled his eyes. "Once we get a bus, we'll modify it on the spot."

"We'll use the resources there to turn that bus into an ultimate strategic motorhome that combines lodging, living, defense, and attack."

As if envisioning the scene, Li Huan smiled confidently. "Then we'll drive that bus out of Thousand Feathers Academy."

"I'd like to see anyone try to stop us!"