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Chapter 1981. Team of the Sick

Starting from the highest altitude, Tianshan Mountain was split into the Valley of Glaciers, the Alps, the Meadow, and the Barren Land.

The Rift Valley meandered upwards, which meant the group would arrive at the Meadow after passing the Barren Land. They would be closer to the Valley of Glaciers and the location of the Scar of Tianshan Mountain.

The Mailong Private Military Group successfully made it out of the Barren Land by following the trail of the mudslide. They had entered the Meadow, which was full of moss and grass.

It was called the Meadow because the land was covered in thick grass. The whole place was dazzlingly green, like a sacred field!

However, since the Mailong Private Military Group was traveling in the Rift Valley, they were unable to enjoy the spectacular view of nature. That being said, the Valley in the Meadow was a lot more spacious than before. It consisted of valleys, basins, and low-lying grasslands, which had also inherited the Meadow’s traits.

The group saw a layer of vegetation similar to a grassy space in the Rift Valley after they reached the Meadow. However, as they ventured deeper, they noticed the walls and cliffs were covered in plants, in particular with vines bearing huge leaves. Some of them were as thick as a wall. They might even think they had walked into a dead end if they were not observing the plants closely.

A place covered in plants would obviously be home to many species, especially poisonous ones. They were supposed to be relieved after leaving the Barren Land, but now they had to stay on alert when they realized they had entered a much complicated area.

The Bone-Eating Spiders were not the only species the Mailong Private Military Group had encountered in the Barren Land, after all.

They had stumbled into a variety of species along the way, but they had managed to drive the creatures away with brute force. Under normal circumstances, the creatures in the Barren Land had no chance of stopping a strong mercenary group like the Mailong Private Military Group. Luckily, they had not encountered another cunning species like the Bone-Eating Spiders. However, they had no idea if other groups had encountered some even deadlier species.

Either way, the environment in the Barren Land had been quite simple. It was made up of rocks, sand, cliffs, and crevices. On the other hand, the Meadow was a lot more complicated, meaning there were more types of demon creatures with higher numbers. None of them dared to underestimate Tianshan Mountain after encountering the Bone-Eating Spiders!

“Old Ai, ask the Vice Leader and Gavin to come here,” Nanyu said.

“Oh, alright.”

The group had set up their camp at a spot covered with dried moss. Ai Jiangtu went to ask Kuma and Gavin over.

“What now?” Gavin asked impatiently.

“He’s dying,” Nanyu pointed at Parker who was severely ill.

Parker had been sick ever since he came to Tianshan Mountain. He could still walk on his feet at first, but he was now lying down most of the time. The other two freeloaders on the team took turns carrying him around.

“Parker, what the hell is wrong with you? Have you been staying at comfortable places for too long? Did you fall sick so easily when the conditions aren’t so favorable to you? Are you a sissy?” Gavin scolded him.

“I…I need a medic,” Parker said feebly.

“So many people are injured. The medics are busy. It’s your own problem that you are sick!” Gavin said.

“Ask Warner to come take a look,” Kuma said.

“Seriously, why must you call us over for something so trivial!” Gavin grumbled.

The medic called Warner soon arrived, but he was obviously worn out too. It seemed like he did not even have time to quench his thirst.

He observed Parker and said, “It’s the same symptoms as before, high-altitude sickness, but they are a lot worse now. Parker, it seems like this place doesn’t suit you at all. Normally, people with high-altitude sickness will recover in a day or two, but you’re getting worse instead.”

“Help…help me…” Parker pleaded.

“There’s nothing I can do. Your body has to adapt to the environment. Try taking more deep breaths,” Warner said.

Even a Healer could not do anything much for a sick patient, let alone something like high-altitude sickness.

Parker’s eyes dimmed after everyone left. He seemed to be suffering a lot, but there was no way the group would turn back now because of him.

“He should have rested in the town.”

“Who knew it would be so serious.”

“Parker is going to die at this rate.”

Even a small fever might kill a healthy adult if it was not treated properly, not to mention the high-altitude sickness, which had a variety of symptoms. If the patient’s body could not adapt to the environment, vomiting, nausea, and edema were only some of the obvious symptoms.

Parker could no longer eat. He might even die of starvation instead of sickness.

Mo Fan and the others did not have any better ideas. Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu tried compressing the air to provide Parker with more oxygen, but that did not work either.

“It seems like they are going to leave him behind,” Jiang Yu shook his head.

“It’s the same for many mercenary groups. Many people fall ill when a journey is long, and most of the time, the sick can only be treated in the cities with doctors, devices, and medicine. It’s normal for the sick to be abandoned by the group,” Ai Jiangtu said softly.

It was the difference between the military and mercenaries. Soldiers were not allowed to abandon their comrades under any circumstances. Even if they were dead, they had to carry their bodies back. Mercenaries were more cold-blooded. They only cared about money and their missions.

“Old Ai, what did Gavin tell you?” Nanyu asked.

“He asked me to leave Parker behind and let him die when I found a suitable spot,” Ai Jiangtu said.

“Holy crap, did he seriously ask us to act like assh***s?” Zhao Manyan said.

“I didn’t agree to it,” Ai Jiangtu said.

The group set out again, but before they took off, two old mercenaries carried another man and placed him in front of Ai Jiangtu and the others.

“What’s wrong?” Ai Jiangtu asked.

“He seems to be suffering from symptoms of the high-altitude sickness too. Gavin has asked us to bring him here for you to look after, since you are so compassionate toward the sick,” the gambling addict Li Yu said.

He kept staring at Mu Ningxue’s bust without concealing his lust.

“What the heck? Is our team the Team of the Sick now? Shouldn’t his team be looking after him?” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

“You should be relieved that we aren’t asking you to take care of the injured, too. Besides, there are many women on your team. It’s normal for you to be looking after the sick,” Li Yu went on

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  1. Online Offline
    ElectricEssence
    + 00 -
    Future readers, next chapter (1982) is misplaced after 1989. Copied it here for you:

    Chapter 1982. Group Reaction
    Versatile Mage

    The ninth team started having difficulty moving around once they had to look after two ill members. They were falling behind when the Mailong Private Military Group arrived at a place covered in frozen moss.

    The Mailong Private Military Group left them markings along the way. Ai Jiangtu noticed the mercenaries had set up camp at a spot with a clear view after losing sight of them for some time.

    “Is it already time to rest?” Nanyu asked.

    “Something must have happened,” Ai Jiangtu judged.

    “What are these mercenaries up to this time?” Mo Fan was starting to feel impatient with the Mailong Private Military Group.

    When they arrived at the camp, they saw Gavin and some other people surrounding three members who were lying on stretchers.

    Gavin frowned. When he saw Mo Fan and the others, he said, “Right on time, we are moving them to your team.”

    “What happened to them?” Ai Jiangtu asked.

    “They are ill. Same symptoms as the high altitude sickness,” Gavin said.


    “We are already looking after two ill members. We won’t be able to maintain the same pace as the group,” Ai Jiangtu said.
    “It’s an order. You should bear some responsibility for the group if you’re one of us. We’ll rest up here and set out again in three hours,” Gavin said.

    Zhao Manyan could not bear with it any longer. He pointed at Gavin and snarled, “You’re overdoing it. We aren’t a team of medics. You should know that your people aren’t any stronger than us!”

    “Huh, kid, do you think the world is short on powerful Mages? You might be strong, but can you take on the entire group?” Gavin scoffed.

    “Humph, there’s no reason for us to follow you useless pricks around either,” Zhao Manyan returned promptly.

    “Sure, you’re only joining us temporarily. Feel free to leave if you want. We won’t stop you,” Gavin sniffed.

    “That’s enough, why are we arguing in a time like this? Team nine, you don’t want to look after so many ill members, but the other teams share the same thought. It’s quite simple, actually. We’ll just move those who are sick to that spot. If they don’t recover in three hours, their chances of survival will depend on whether they can keep up with us,” Kuma said.

    Everyone shivered after hearing Kuma’s words, especially the three sick members.

    “I’ve already told you that if anyone slows us down while we are on a mission, they will be abandoned, including me. If you remember the terms we’ve agreed to, you should leave the group on your own, or else we’ll have to do it the hard way,” Kuma went on.

    The three ill mercenaries begged for mercy, but the rest of the group remained silent.

    The relationships between mercenaries were not as solid as the relationships in a Hunter Group. They were only after personal gain, and had no obligation to look after one another. They were only forbidden from fighting among themselves.

    Every time they were on a mission, they were risking their lives. Not getting the reward was worse than dying for them!

    “Bring them to our team,” Ai Jiangtu said after some time.

    “Are you sure? We didn’t force you to take them this time,” Kuma pointed out.

    “I’m from the military. I can’t accept it,” Ai Jiangtu replied.

    “Very well, let’s hope you don’t fall behind, or we’ll have to abandon you too. You should know that more than ninety of us in the group are hoping to get enough of a reward to live a prosperous life, so they won’t be happy if you are in the way,” Kuma informed him.

    The mercenary group had been promised a handsome reward. These mercenaries had their own principles. If someone died during the mission, they would still receive their share. They had all put down a close relative’s name while signing up for the mission. If the mission was a success, the mercenary group leader would deliver the sum to the close relatives of those who died. The mercenaries might be cold-blooded and selfish, but they would stick to their principles when money was involved. The others were not allowed to claim their shares. The rule was needed to stop the mercenaries from fighting among themselves.



    “Ai Jiangtu, how are we supposed to keep going if you’re taking all the ill members?” Zhao Manyan said.

    “I don’t have a choice, they are more cold-blooded than I imagined,” Ai Jiangtu shrugged.

    “I’m seriously done here. Those regular members of the Mailong Private Military Group don’t even care about the sick, but we have to look after them when we are only joining them temporarily. We aren’t Bodhisattvas!” Zhao Manyan spat.

    “Old Ai didn’t do anything wrong. After all, we aren’t mercenaries like them. We should stick to our principles as Mages,” Nanyu disagreed.

    “Mo Fan, what do you think?” Jiang Yu asked.

    “We’ll just follow Old Ai’s decision. These people are all foreigners. We’ll just treat it as a chance to show them how humane our country is,” Mo Fan shrugged.

    The team now had five sick members. Jiang Yu summoned his Rock Golem and combined the stretchers with vines so the Rock Golem could drag them on the ground.

    The five ill members could only lie still. The national team members could not help but sigh when they saw the ill members’ painful expressions and how cold-blooded the mercenaries were.

    “What’s going on? Why are so many people falling sick?” Mu Ningxue asked. Something did not feel right to her.

    “For some reason, I have a feeling it’s going to happen again,” Lingling said.



    The team set out three hours later. They had to admit that oxygen was indeed lacking in the Rift Valley. The plants were not receiving any sunlight, so they were not using photosynthesis to produce fresh air. Everyone was having trouble breathing evenly.

    Guan Yu suddenly breathed heavily as if his nose was clogged.

    Jiang Shaoxu turned around and asked quickly, “Guan Yu, did you get a cold?”

    “I have no idea. My nose feels blocked all of a sudden,” Guan Yu used his mouth to breathe when he noticed his nose was clogged.

    His breathing had turned heavier. Jiang Shaoxu kept observing him. She noticed his face was turning pale.

    “Guan Yu, are you sure you’re fine?” she pressed.

    “I…I’m having breathing difficulties. I feel so weak. I can’t breathe,” Guan Yu staggered before sitting down on a nearby rock. His chest was rising and falling heavily.

    “Seriously? You’re having symptoms of the high altitude sickness too?” Zhao Manyan said.


    “I’m not feeling well, either,” Ai Jiangtu admitted.

    “Same here,” Lingling said softly.

    Mo Fan was carrying Lingling on his back. He only noticed her face was pale when he turned around. She was panting heavily, like a little fish struggling to breathe with its gills.

    “Lingling,” Mo Fan quickly put her down.

    “I’m feeling a little light-headed,” Lingling said.
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