Cheat Million Love

At Nic's team campsite, Fin paced back and forth with a worried look on his face.

"It's already almost evening, but Nic still hasn't come back. I need to go find him!" he said anxiously.

Kiyan, holding a clipboard, stopped him right away. "Calm down, Fin. I've already contacted HQ. They're sending a rescue team. If you go wandering off without direction, you'll just make things worse."

Suddenly, Nia, staring at her phone, shouted, "Guys! This is bad!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing.

Nia stared at the monitor with a tense expression. "Nic's GPS… it's gone! He's completely off the radar!"

"You're serious?!" one of the student council members checked their tracking device. "Not just Nic. Sylvia from Class 12 is missing too. Their GPS must be damaged."

The student council wasted no time contacting the safety team to begin a search. Meanwhile, some of them tried to calm down Nia, who looked completely shaken.

"I need to go to Unity Club's camp," Nia muttered as she ran out.

---

At the Unity Club camp, the atmosphere felt strange.

Vivi sat in front of the tent, looking gloomy. "I don't know why, but I've felt uneasy all day…"

Leona, usually cheerful, started to look worried. "Do you think Nic's okay?"

In another corner, Yui dropped her pencil mid-sketch, her hands trembling. "I can't focus… something's wrong. I know it."

Violet stroked her chin with a serious expression. "This isn't just a bad feeling. Something's really off."

Fanny and Jenny looked more drained than usual, while Olivia silently watched Melody play a haunting tune on her violin.

"I'm sure Nic's alright," Raina said, trying to stay positive.

Eliz nodded, although she herself looked uneasy.

Mika, always full of energy when it came to food, hadn't touched her plate. Meanwhile, Lily lay restlessly on her sleeping bag, unable to sleep amid everyone's growing concern.

Suddenly, the sound of helicopter blades cut through the air. Everyone rushed outside, looking up at the chopper heading toward the survival training area.

"A helicopter…?" Their worry only deepened.

---

Inside the cave…

Nic leaned against the cave wall, trying to catch his breath. "Sorry, Sylvia… If I hadn't suggested this way, we wouldn't have run into that tiger."

Sylvia bit her lip, clearly upset. "It's not your fault, Nic. I'm the one to blame… I couldn't do anything. You ended up getting hurt."

Nic chuckled softly despite his injuries. "It's nothing. I'm fine."

Sylvia glared at him. "Nothing?! Sit down and don't move so much!"

As night fell, their hunger forced them to cook the tiger meat. With basic tools, they made simple skewers over the fire.

"I swear, never thought I'd eat tiger meat. It's… not great," Sylvia muttered as she chewed slowly.

Nic gave a faint smile. "This is special meat. We earned it the hard way."

After eating, Nic told Sylvia to sleep first. "You rest. I'll keep watch."

Sylvia insisted he sleep too, but eventually gave in to exhaustion and fell asleep.

Nic took the chance to craft a spear from wood he found near the cave. Once he was sure things were safe, he stepped out to search for more food.

Behind the cave, he spotted an apple tree—but under it stood a huge black bear.

Without hesitation, Nic approached the tree. The bear immediately charged, but Nic was ready. With one clean thrust of his long spear, he pierced the bear's face, dropping it instantly.

Looking down at the bear's body, Nic sighed, "Sorry, I didn't have a choice."

He took one apple to regain strength, then picked all the rest from the tree. He sat down on top of the bear's body, eating an apple quietly while taking in the night sky.

---

Meanwhile, the rescue helicopter landed near the cave. The team quickly began searching the area.

"This place is dangerous. There could be wild animals nearby," one of the crew warned.

When they found Sylvia asleep inside the cave, they were stunned to see the corpse of a giant tiger.

"This… is a big tiger. What the hell happened here?" one of the rescuers murmured.

They gently woke Sylvia. As she opened her eyes and saw them, her face lit up with relief. "Huh… Ah! You're finally here!"

But she quickly panicked when she saw the cave was empty. "Wait—where's Nic?! He was just here!"

The rescuers immediately spread out to search.

---

Not far away, they found Nic sitting casually on top of the dead bear, munching on an apple.

One of the rescuers blinked in disbelief. "What are you, Tarzan?"

Nic just gave a calm smile. "Oh hey, you guys finally showed up. I've been waiting."

---

Back at the cave, Sylvia immediately scolded Nic. "Where the hell did you go?! I almost died from worry!"

Nic raised the bag of apples. "Just went out to find some fruit. Here, for you."

Sylvia let out an annoyed sigh, but took the apple anyway.

The rescue team flew them back via helicopter. Sylvia begged them to get Nic to a hospital right away.

"Don't you realize how bad those claw marks are?! Nic, your back is a mess!"

Nic just nodded, too exhausted to argue. In the end, they were flown in separate helicopters—Nic to the hospital, and Sylvia back to the school camp.

Before parting, Nic waved and hit her with a Love Shoot.

---

As soon as Nic arrived at the hospital, nurses and doctors rushed him into a room for emergency treatment. When they took off his jacket and shirt, everyone in the room froze.

His body was covered in claw marks—his arms, shoulders, even his chest. But the most shocking were the three massive, deep gashes across his back.

One of the nurses couldn't help but ask, "Doesn't this… hurt?"

Nic nodded casually. "Just a little."

The doctor stepped forward. "We're going to inject anesthesia so you won't feel anything during the stitching."

But Nic shook his head. "No need. I'm good."

The doctor frowned. "Without it, the pain will be intense. Are you sure?"

After a brief argument, Nic finally gave in and agreed to the injection. But just as he expected… nothing happened. He stayed completely awake.

"Why didn't it knock him out? This dose should've made him sleep instantly…" the doctor muttered in disbelief.

Nic gave a small smile. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine. Just go ahead."

Left with no choice, they began stitching his wounds—especially the ones on his back. The doctor proceeded slowly, scared Nic might suddenly scream in pain. But Nic remained calm. His face stayed neutral, only his breathing heavier at times.

Then, a voice echoed in Nic's mind.

"Congratulations! You survived an extreme survival scenario. As a reward, you have unlocked a new passive skill: Beast Tamer.

From now on, wild animals will not attack you. In fact, they will naturally become tame in his presence."

Nic smirked to himself. "Thanks, system. This'll come in handy."

Once the stitching was done, a curious nurse finally asked, "How were you so calm through all that? It should've hurt like crazy without anesthesia!"

Nic shrugged. "I have no idea, haha."

When the doctor told him the school had already covered his medical bills, Nic got up, threw on his jacket, and walked out casually. Everyone just stared as the bandaged patient strolled away like nothing had happened.

---

Back at the school campsite, Sylvia had just stepped out of the helicopter. Before she could rest, she was surrounded by worried friends. Nia was the most frantic, sprinting up to her.

"Sylvia! Are you okay?! Where's Nic?!"

Sylvia tried to calm her down. "I'm fine. Nic was taken to the hospital. He needed treatment."

Vivi, standing nearby, joined in. "What happened? Why did Nic need to be hospitalized?"

Before Sylvia could answer, Zen—who never understood the situation—muttered, "Probably just got sick from the rain. What a baby."

Suddenly, Fanny, who had been silent, stepped forward and landed a solid punch on Zen's shoulder. "Now's not the time for jokes!"

The crowd went quiet. No one dared defend Zen. Even Zen himself stood there, swallowing his pride.

"I got punched by a younger girl… damn," he thought bitterly.

A teacher finally arrived and asked Sylvia to explain everything. She told the full story—from the tiger attack to how Nic fought to protect them both.

Everyone fell silent. Nia trembled slightly, whispering, "He… he almost died because of that…"

All of Nic's girlfriends felt a deep relief knowing he survived—but the worry still lingered.

Sylvia asked, "How about the other groups? Did anyone else get into danger?"

"They all made it back safely," said one of the student council members. "But after hearing that story, I don't think anyone's going back into the wild anytime soon."

---

Meanwhile, Nic had just left the hospital and told the escort he wanted to return to the camp.

"I'm fine now. I want to head back to the site."

At first, the staff hesitated, but eventually agreed since Nic looked alright despite being wrapped in bandages.

But as the vehicle started moving, the staff received a call from the principal.

"Bring Nic to the school. I need to speak with him. It's important," the principal said.

The driver immediately turned the car toward the school. Nic, exhausted, soon dozed off in the backseat. When he woke up, the sun was just starting to rise.

Something was about to happen.

To be continued…