JIETOU's reaction was within my expectations. Of course, I wouldn't be angry with him because there is no such thing as anger between us. Even if we were really angry, we wouldn't say it out loud and would just fight it out. That's what brothers do.
"Hey monk, calm down and listen to me," I stopped JIETOU and then looked at Chi Qingshuai and Xie Yilin. "Here's the thing: there are only four of us now while the other side has a large number of zombies, ghosts, and some unknown monsters. They have more people than us so we're at a disadvantage. If we want to successfully infiltrate their core position, we must have unified leadership, good division of labor, and quick on-site command; otherwise if something unexpected happens, we might be caught off guard."
I looked at the three of them as I spoke.
Upon hearing my words, Chi Qingshuai nodded in agreement and said: "YiHeng's proposal is very good. I agree with it completely. In addition to that suggestion though, from now on YiHeng will officially become our team leader responsible for all actions."
"Thank you for your support," I smiled awkwardly before looking over at JIETOU and Xie Yilin.
"I don't object to this idea," JIETOU rolled his eyes at me saying.
"Don't worry YiHeng; whatever you say goes," Xie Yilin came forward hugging my arm intimately causing JIETOU to roll his eyes again.
"I heard that showing affection leads to an early death so you two better be careful," JIETOU said sourly.
"Heheh! There's a saying that goes 'we don't need to be born on the same day or month but let's die together.' Don't worry; if I die, I'll definitely take my good brother with me," I retorted at JIETOU before getting serious again. "But enough joking around; let me assign the tasks. For now, we won't use the 'Heaven Covering Bell' because although it can help us hide our figures, it also blocks our vision and has too many drawbacks when used. Besides, dealing with those low-level zombies and ghosts doesn't require using the Heaven Covering Bell exclusively since Chi Qingshuai's spell can achieve this as well. Additionally, my Qi Shield can conceal everyone's figure without blocking their vision or affecting their movements."
"Let's talk about division of labor," JIETOU interrupted me.
"It's simple, Master Chi has rich experience and extensive knowledge. He understands the situation here thoroughly, so I'll ask him to be our guide and vanguard. At the same time, he needs to use his Concealing Sky technique to help us hide our presence." I said to Chi Qingshuai.
"Don't worry, leave it to me. I'll lead from the front and give timely warnings if there are any issues," Chi Qingshuai replied as he took a sip from his wine jug before adding: "I'll carry a flashlight with me. If my light goes out, that means we've discovered something dangerous and you should all hide immediately."
"Okay then, that's settled," I nodded before turning towards Xie Yilin: "Xie Laoshi, being a woman makes you more meticulous but relatively weaker in strength compared to us men. So I'd like you to take charge of medical care and first aid during this mission. Just stay close by my side while we're on the move; if there is any fighting going on your priority is self-protection followed by treating anyone who gets injured among us as soon as possible. There's an emergency kit in my backpack which you can carry."
"Don't worry about it! I promise to complete my tasks successfully!" Xie Yilin held onto the emergency kit with pride written all over her face: "You might not know this yet but every teacher must have basic first-aid skills!"
"What about me?" JIETOU stepped forward looking at me.
"You're responsible for guarding our rear flank during this mission; once there is any fighting going on just provide long-range support for us against enemy attacks," I told JIETOU.
"Ahh...just what I expected..." Hearing this response made JIETOU sigh deeply before taking out his golden wheel and shaking it: "If only this thing was a machete, then I could be the first to charge in!"
"Alright, now is not the time for that," I smiled slightly as I looked at the three of them: "That's settled then. I'll take command from the center while you all carry out your respective duties. Oh, one more thing; if we encounter any dangerous situations during our mission, we might not be able to speak freely since that would alert nearby zombies and ghosts. So let's try to communicate through hand gestures instead. Let me show you some basic ones like this gesture where you chop your palm forward means 'move forward', swiping left means 'turn left'. The gesture for collective attack is clenching your fist and smashing it forward while retreating is simply waving my hand backwards which means hide or retreat. Do you all understand?"
"Simple, it's too easy to understand," the three of them nodded together.
"Okay then, let's continue forward. In the end, I hope everyone remembers one thing: once I make a gesture to attack, we must quickly eliminate the enemy with swift and decisive action. We absolutely cannot let them transmit our information back. Understand?" I looked at the three of them and said.
The three of them nodded together, indicating that they understood.
Seeing this, I couldn't help but feel like pulling out Gan Jiang and Mo Ye swords as I held Sheryl's hand and nodded at Chi Qingshuai. Then the four of us walked along the uneven mushroom hills ahead.
The space in this underground cave was very large. As they say, you can run a horse to death by looking at mountains from afar. When we came in here, we didn't think it was that big yet; only when we started walking did we realize how vast it was here. We had been walking for quite some time but still hadn't gotten out of the mushroom hills.
During our journey, although our mood was tense initially after a while it became somewhat boring so inevitably we chatted away.
Sheryl first brought up a topic by leaning close to my ear and whispering softly: "Why are you still calling me Teacher Sheryl? What do you mean by doing that just now?"
"Eh," upon hearing this question, I couldn't help but look at her helplessly and say: "Then what should I call you?"
"Don't I have a name?" Sheryl pouted her lips.
"Isn't calling someone by their name impolite?"I whispered back
"Just don't use my last name then." She coquettishly replied
Seeing this situation,I could only nod my head reluctantly:"Alright then,I'll call you Irin-sister from now on."
"That's more like it! Good little brother!" Sheryl's eyes sparkled as she looked at me, full of happiness. Meanwhile, I sighed inwardly.
It's like admiring a flower in the mirror or the moon on the water; you know it's impossible but still feel that it is beautiful. This should be what Sheryl is feeling right now.