He sat there leisurely, crossing his feet, rocking them back and forth as he took another sip of tea.
“Principal Zhou sure looks like he’s having a relaxing day?”
“Of cou—” Uh?!
Before the word course even left his mouth, Zhou Zhengqi froze on the spot! He shot upright in an instant, spinning around and unexpectedly locked eyes with Jiang Fuyue, who stood there smiling at him.
He was instantly dumbstruck, like a chicken hit by lightning.
“You—you—you… why are you here?!”
Jiang Fuyue didn’t bother with nonsense. She raised her gun and pulled the trigger. With a bang, a burst of colored smoke exploded, splattering his light-gray Zhongshan suit into a swirl of bright rainbow stains.
“Principal Zhou, you’ve been eliminated.”
Only after finishing her business did she answer his earlier question: “You asked why I’m here, well, now you know, don’t you?”
To take your head, raid your camp, and splatter your suit with color~
She glanced at the tea spilled all over the ground—
Oh, and to spill your tea too, just to see your eyes pop wide in shock~
It took Zhou Zhengqi a long moment to recover. He glanced from her gun to the colorful mess on his chest, then burst out furiously: “Jiang Fuyue! You show up everywhere and every time you do, something goes wrong!”
He’d actually been eliminated?
And by Jiang Fuyue again?!
He still hadn’t even settled the score from last time, when she and Xiao Shan poached Q University’s top faculty and now she’d gone and wiped out Q University’s entire base!
Right now, only two words flashed repeatedly through Zhou Zhengqi’s mind—nemesis! This girl was born to be Q University’s nemesis. His nemesis!
Jiang Fuyue ignored his glare of rage and frustration, only smiling lightly: “Tea good?”
Zhou Zhengqi’s mouth twitched violently. He snorted through his nose. “Cut the act.”
Jiang Fuyue nodded. “So it is good.”
Then she calmly picked up the teapot, handed one cup to Liu Sisi, and took a few gulps herself. After smacking her lips thoughtfully, she gave an honest assessment: “Too weak.”
Zhou Zhengqi said nothing, but his heart was bleeding. His precious tea! Straight down a dog’s throat!
Such waste! Such blasphemy!
Liu Sisi added, “Yeah, I don’t think it’s that good either.”
Zhou Zhengqi: “……”
Another hit straight to the chest.
“Get out! Both of you, get out!”
They’d already got their points and quenched their thirst. They weren’t planning to linger anyway. Setting the teapot down, they turned to leave.
Zhou Zhengqi: “?”
They really left?
***
The two of them found the narrow path leading east, pushing aside the waist-high weeds as they moved at full speed.
Because no one had walked this way for a long time, the “path” didn’t look like a path at all.
Jiang Fuyue could only rely on her memory of the satellite map to roughly gauge direction.
Even so, their pace never slowed.
Finally, half an hour later, they reached their next target— Ocean University Base!
Jiang Fuyue didn’t rush in. She crouched silently in the tall grass like a waiting predator.
Wind stirred the trees; leaves rustled softly.
Everything was quiet. Still.
Ten minutes later, footsteps sounded on the nearby road.
It was the three men led by the yellow hair!
“D*mn seriously? After all that picking, we ended up at our own base?”
“What the h*ll? We walked an hour for this? Too late to turn back now. Should’ve gone the other way…”
Their tones carried clear blame and irritation.
But yellow hair wasn’t about to take that lying down. He sneered, “Regretting it now? You could’ve picked yourselves! Or walked your own d*mn way from the start! Don’t pin everything on me when things go wrong. Have some dignity, will you?”
The other two flushed red with embarrassment.
“So… what now?”
Yellow hair shot them a look and swaggered forward.
What else could they do?
Since they were already here, might as well grab a drink and take a rest.
His bold, unbothered attitude was strangely similar to Jiang Fuyue’s.
The two followed him in quickly.
After confirming they were from the same university, a group of school administrators greeted them warmly.
And when they heard these three had wiped out both B University and Ming University’s bases, their smiles grew even wider.
“As expected of our Ocean University defense students!”
“Two bases means two hundred points. We’re definitely in the top three.”
“I’d say even first place is possible! Last year, Q University only took one base and still won the championship, this year we’ve taken two in one go!”
“If that’s true, it’d be amazing.”
Ocean University had never taken first place before!
Just as the administrators were congratulating themselves, a faint rustle came from behind the tent.
Yellow hair turned sharply, but saw nothing unusual.
“…Student Lin? Student Lin?”
“What?” He snapped out of it.
One administrator smiled kindly. “Would you like water or a sports drink?”
“Either.” He replied absentmindedly, still glancing toward the back.
“Lin Zhaodong, why do you keep looking over there?” One teammate frowned, annoyed. “Trying to act mysterious to get attention from the school leaders?”
“Didn’t you hear something strange?”
“Please. Strange sounds? You’re paranoid.”
Yellow hair’s eyes went cold.
The teammate snorted and turned away—
But in the next second, two shadowy figures shot out like ghosts. Liu Sisi lunged straight for yellow hair!
Lin Zhaodong was on guard already. He reacted instantly, trading blows with her.
A punch here, a kick there, they clashed fiercely in the center of the tent.
Meanwhile, Jiang Fuyue wasted no time. The moment the two other students froze in shock, she fired twice—
Bang! Bang! Two more points secured.
Then she began scanning the crowd of administrators for the Ocean University principal.
Yellow hair clearly guessed her intent. Ignoring Liu Sisi’s kick that landed hard on his shin, he broke away and sprinted toward a middle-aged man, shielding him with his own body.
Protective posture. That man had to be the principal!
Jiang Fuyue raised her gun instantly—
Liu Sisi lunged again—
At the last possible moment, yellow hair smirked, that same sly, triumphant grin curling on his lips.
But Jiang Fuyue didn’t aim at the man he was guarding. Instead, she abruptly swung her gun toward the tent entrance and fired without hesitation—
Bang!
Color burst with a sharp crack splattering across another middle-aged man who had just lifted the flap to flee.
And that man—
was the real Ocean University principal!
Yellow hair’s self-sacrificing act was nothing but misdirection, trying to trick Jiang Fuyue into shooting the wrong person while giving the real one time to escape!
As long as the principal lived, the base stood.
Even if they broke in, they’d score nothing. A wasted effort!
A clever ruse indeed—one stone, two birds!
“Lin Zhaodong, right? I underestimated you.” Jiang Fuyue wiped the paint off her gun barrel and set it aside casually.
Now that victory was decided, she didn’t even need the weapon anymore.
She strolled to an empty chair and sat down with a faint, amused smile.
The grin on yellow hair’s face froze. All his mystery and cunning crumbled into farce.
“You, you played me?!”
Jiang Fuyue: “Weren’t you trying to play me?”
He choked.
“I just used your trick against you. Admit when you lose. A dead duck still quacking gains nothing.”
“……” You’re the d*mn dead duck! D*mn it!
Not far away, Ocean University’s principal finally realized what had happened. He looked down at the colorful stains on his expensive suit, mouth twitching violently.
Then he stepped forward and asked, “Student, which university are you from?”
“Ming University.”
The principal froze, disbelief flashing across his face.
“M–Ming University?”
Jiang Fuyue had already picked up a bottle of water. “You don’t mind, do you?”
The principal waved his hands hurriedly. “Please, help yourself! Don’t be polite!”
“Thanks.” She said it offhandedly, then tossed the bottle to Liu Sisi.
Then she grabbed another one for herself.
The blond guy glared. What kind of person is this? Not even a hint of politeness!
Jiang Fuyue noticed him staring and thought for a moment before asking, “You want one too?”
Blond guy: “…”
The president of Ocean University had never met such an interesting student. He walked over, sat across from her, and smiled. “Student, may I ask you a few questions?”
Jiang Fuyue nodded, considering he had given her water. “Go ahead.”
“How did you spot me?”
Beside them, the blond guy unconsciously pricked up his ears.
Jiang Fuyue: “With my eyes.”
“But you were confronting Student Lin at that time, and I was so far away…”
“Doesn’t matter.”
The president: “…”
The blond guy muttered under his breath, What’s she so cocky about?
“Then how were you so sure it was me?” The president’s movements had been quick and precise when he’d fired without even a trace of hesitation. “Was it just because I tried to run?”
Jiang Fuyue nodded. “That’s one reason.”
“What about the others?”
“First, Blondie’s reaction was too abrupt. His attempt to ‘protect’ you was too obvious, it looked like acting.”
“Second, even if you hadn’t been the real target, it wouldn’t have mattered. It’s not like it’s an actual killing. In this situation, I’d rather make a false hit than let someone go. After all, the cost of a mistake is zero.”
The president’s eyes flickered. “Then what if I hadn’t tried to run? You might not have noticed any flaws, and maybe you’d have followed Student Lin’s lead and believed the fake president’s identity.”
Jiang Fuyue shook her head, looking regretful. “To become a university president, you must have plenty of experience. How could you think something that simple would work?”
So simple it was almost naïve.
The president’s face twitched, had a student just called him simple-minded?
Cough… Still, curiosity was winning out. “Simple? What do you mean, simple?”
Jiang Fuyue said, “No matter if it was the real president or a fake, if I wasn’t completely sure, to be safe, I’d shoot everyone present including you. So whether you ran or not didn’t really matter.”
After all, everyone would be “wiped out” anyway.
The president froze—
She actually intended to “kill” everyone?!
Jiang Fuyue raised an eyebrow. “What’s the problem? If it’s too hard to choose, then don’t choose.”
“Just destroy them all.”
The yellow hair guy’s whole body trembled. He looked at Jiang Fuyue like she was some kind of living demon.
Too ruthless!
…
Jiang Fuyue and Liu Sisi stayed in Ocean University’s camp for about half an hour before the loudspeakers finally announced the end of the exercise.
They exited the dense forest together.
A few instructors and the students who’d been eliminated earlier were already waiting in the clearing by the exit.
Oh, and a few other universities’ presidents were there too.
When they saw Jiang Fuyue and Liu Sisi, everyone’s expressions turned a little unnatural but none of them could meet the girls’ eyes.
“Eh? Why don’t I see Ming University’s team? Where are they? Did they come out yet?” someone suddenly asked.
Everyone looked around in confusion.
“No… haven’t seen them. You?”
“Me neither…”
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, hidden among the thick bushes—
The breeze was cool, sunlight mild.
There was a faint rustling, then someone rolled over, smacked their lips, and went right back to sleep.
Soon, soft snores filled the air again.
All around were students sprawled every which way on their backs, on their sides, limbs everywhere.
Li Chen and Liang Jingzhou were slumped against tree stumps, heads drooping as they nodded off.
Gu Huaiyu and Cheng Lian were straight-up lying on the ground, using their backpacks as pillows, with leaves covering their faces, also dead asleep.
A glance around revealed….. an entire field of deep sleepers.
The broadcast was too far away; the sound barely reached here at all.
So, they had no idea the exercise had already ended.
Until—
“Students of Ming University, are you here?! Ming University team?!”
“Li Chen—Gu Huaiyu—”
“Where are you?!”
“…”
A sharp jolt, Li Chen shot awake, sat up straight, and shoved Liang Jingzhou. “Old Liang! Wake up!”
“Huh?” Liang Jingzhou’s eyes snapped open. He jumped up like a spring. “Enemies?! Get ready for battle! My gun, where’s my gun?! D*mn—”
“No, no enemies.”
He sighed in relief, dropped back down, and grumbled, “Then why wake me up? I wasn’t done sleeping…”
“Listen, doesn’t it sound like someone’s calling us?”
“Huh? Seriously…” He tilted his head, listened for a few seconds, and frowned. “I don’t hear anything.”
“Listen carefully again.”
“Ming University students—Li Chen—Gu Huaiyu—”
“There! There! I heard your name and Old Gu’s!”
Li Chen frowned, suddenly thought of something, and checked the time.
One glance and his expression changed. “D*mn, the exercise already ended!”
“Huh? E-ended? That fast?”
Didn’t they just close their eyes for a short nap?!
Li Chen: “It’s been over half an hour! Hurry, wake everyone up!”
“Ah? Oh!”
Too bad, it was still too late.
By the time the instructors and other students arrived, half the Ming University team was still sound asleep.
The instructors: “?” They’d known Ming University students were lazy, but this level of laziness was beyond imagination.
The students: “?” What did I just see? While we were marching under the blazing sun and fighting in mock battles, these people were sleeping?!
“Honestly, that’s exactly the kind of thing Ming University would do.”
“Well, they are Ming University students.”
“If someone told me tomorrow that Ming University students farted and somehow filled in a pond, I wouldn’t even be surprised.”
“Freaks every year and they’re always from Ming University.”
“Why do I suddenly feel jealous? They literally slept their way to first place. I’m so bitter.”
Indeed, when the six schools outside gathered and exchanged a few words, it took less than two minutes for the story to spread—
Ming University had wiped out B University and Central University as soon as they entered.
Then Jiang Fuyue and Liu Sisi went on to ambush five other schools’ camps.
No need to even calculate, it was obvious who ranked first.
“If we’d known, we’d have taken out two schools and then gone to hide and nap too.”
“Easy for you to say, you think taking out a school is that simple?”
“Isn’t it?”
“Of course not! The schools that enter near each other always guard against one another…”
“What, Ming University didn’t need to guard against anyone—”
Uh.
Actually, Ming University didn’t.
After all, they’d been lazy and unthreatening for so many years.
Who could’ve predicted they’d suddenly flip the script and overturn the entire board?
“Central University’s total wipeout was ninety percent due to underestimating them.”
“Hmph! Ming University just got lucky.”
But smart people wouldn’t think that way.
Just looking at these groggy Ming University students right now was enough to tell how shrewd the strategist behind them had been, turning their supposed weakness into overwhelming advantage.
Zhou Zhengqi sneered, “Principal Xiao must be feeling pretty pleased right now?”
Xiao Shan’s tone was calm, neither proud nor humble. “It’s all the students’ own hard work. I wouldn’t say pleased, but I am gratified.”
“Hmph! If Ming University didn’t have Jiang Fuyue, do you think they’d have achieved these results?”
Zhou Zhengqi had seen enough, Ming University was still the same lazy, washed-up school. It was only because of Jiang Fuyue that this salted fish had managed a temporary comeback.
Xiao Shan’s lips curved in a faint smile. His tone was mild, but the words hit like a blade: “But the fact is Ming University does have Jiang Fuyue.”
A person B University and Q University could never have.
Zhou Zhengqi choked, speechless.
Ever since becoming Ming University’s president, Xiao Shan had never felt this triumphant.
This feeling—
could only be described as utterly refreshing!
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