The host paused for a moment, then said, “This direction… the middle route isn’t looking too optimistic, is it?”
Mr. Luo admitted frankly, “It’s looking very bad.”
The host asked, “Is it really going to come down to one against five?”
Mr. Luo nodded. “That’s indeed a real possibility.”
He reached out and grabbed the thermal mug on the table, his expression unreadable. His brows furrowed slightly, and the shadows cast by the hollows of his eye sockets made his gaze look particularly deep and unreadable.
“If UFU’s main battlefield performance is less than ideal, then Cheng Feng could very well miss out on the Golden Cup. Although Cheng Feng’s team-event scores are quite high, in the infantry competitions, Xiang Yunjian and the others were eliminated far too early. Right now, quite a few of the students trailing Cheng Feng on the leaderboard are from other military universities. If there’s a major upset, it’s not impossible for the Golden Cup to end up in someone else’s hands.”
“So compared to the White faction, the UFU are a much clearer target. Blocking the UFU from getting the MVP is the most efficient strategy. As for which university ultimately benefits – losing two MVPs wouldn’t look too bad for anyone.”
The host nodded thoughtfully. “So roughly how bad would it have to be for Cheng Feng to lose the Golden Cup?”
Mr. Luo said, “For example, if the UFU team is completely wiped out, or if the number of survivors drops below fifty. Or if their kill count is too low and their overall performance is poor – then after coefficient weighting, the points Cheng Feng earns would be very few.”
“Ah…” The host’s eyes darted around, looking even more worried than Mr. Luo. “Then… could they try to persuade the other two allies to cooperate? After all, everyone’s in the same faction.”
Mr. Luo unscrewed the bottle cap, blew on the steam, and said unhurriedly, “Not possible until the UFU show clear signs of decline. Reason comes after fists – without taking a hit first, you can’t get through to people with just words. After all, the UFU have too big of an advantage right now.”
The host mulled it over for a moment, then asked persistently, “So you’re saying that later on, when everyone’s in a weak position, there’s still a chance they could bury the hatchet? Then could they try to preserve their strength as much as possible, pull everyone back toward the top and bottom flanks, and force the two allies to commit their forces? Then, once everyone’s strength has been worn down to a dangerous level by the White team, they could cooperate?”
Mr. Luo weighed his words for a moment, then put it more bluntly. “Teammates within the same faction are prohibited from attacking each other – they can only be weakened by members of the opposing faction. So before it’s confirmed that the UFU no longer have the strength to contend for the MVP, it’s best not to hope for any reconciliation.”
“Besides, Kang Zhenxue is right – UFU have more to lose. They have to hold back the White faction; they can’t just give up and play carelessly.”
In many situations, not being able to let go completely is a fatal weakness.
The host hesitated and said, “Isn’t that a bit unfair? I heard that San Yao’s tournament format has always been opposed to this kind of excessive targeting.”
Mr. Luo shook his head but didn’t say anything this time.
…
At this moment, Cheng Feng had already followed her teammates to the easternmost edge of the map – just another two hundred meters to the military supply depot.
From a distance, two rows of men stood guard at the intersection. When they saw the group approaching, they raised their hands to stop them.
Their uniforms were different from Cheng Feng and her teammates’ – faded to a dull gray from repeated washing, giving them an old, worn look. They were also older, all seemingly veterans in their thirties.
Cheng Feng walked to the front and applied for combat supplies from them. Then, under the lead soldier’s guidance, they headed inside the depot. But just as they passed through the main gate, another squad of fully armed troops marched past in neat formation along the street.
Cheng Feng couldn’t help but stop and look back, surprised. “How many people are stationed here in total?”
“Two thousand NPCs guarding the depot,” Shen Dan replied in a low voice. “When the Red faction is about to be overrun, we can ask them to come out and help – but it’s not worth it. Besides the point deductions for NPC deaths, there’s also an additional penalty for faction dereliction of duty. And by the time they’re willing to step in, the faction battle is basically already lost.”
Cheng Feng jogged back up, craned her neck, and put on the shameless grin she’d learned from Jiang Linxia, striking up a conversation. “Bro, we’re all on the same side here – how about you join us a little earlier?”
The lead NPC sneered. “Hah, you bunch of greenhorns think you can give us orders? Pfft!”
Cheng Feng froze, then turned around and tattled: “He just ‘pfft’ at me!”
Chen Huayue egged him on. “Pfft back at him. When it comes to trash-talking, we believe in self-reliance.”
These NPCs’ base settings were really uncivilized – who knew what kind of grudge the system guy had poured into them.
Shen Dan said, “Don’t get any funny ideas. These NPCs only operate within the depot’s vicinity.”
Cheng Feng was undeterred and didn’t seem to mind the humiliation. She chased after the NPC again and asked, “What would it take for you to voluntarily join our team? Are there conditions? Is there some kind of prerequisite quest?”
The veteran soldier shot her a sidelong glance, his arrogant expression strikingly realistic. He unlocked the warehouse door and said impatiently, “Register. Collect. Get someone with a normal IQ to sign here.”
In the end, Cheng Feng and her team received three crates of grenades, ten crates of ammunition, along with various scattered explosives and defensive supplies.
The heaviest haul was borrowing two armored vehicles and thirty military motorcycles. The next supply pickup would be in three hours.
Cheng Feng selected a few soldiers to drive the armored vehicles and deliver supplies to their teammates on the front lines.
Every soldier had an initial military backpack, but it didn’t carry much – not enough to sustain long-term combat.
The vehicles soon sped off, trailing exhaust fumes.
By now, ten minutes had passed since login.
Jiang Linxia’s vanguard force sent back word that so far they had only encountered a dozen or so scouts – no sign of any main force yet.
Cheng Feng sighed. “Looks like Tao Rui really did succeed in uniting the three uni.”
The infamous alliance of troublemakers, along with the First Military University’s perennial rival -the Second – had all been placed on the Red faction. Tao Rui had almost no obstacles on the White side.
The grouping was so coincidental that Cheng Feng couldn’t help but suspect it was some kind of conspiracy.
Sure enough, being in the same team as Yan Shen always made things turn out especially unlucky.
“The supplies are a bit scarce.”
Cheng Feng had just muttered something about Yan Shen when his voice came through the channel.
Yan Shen’s team was positioned toward the rear of the defensive line and received their allocated supplies first. He set the crate down beside him, crouched low, and said, “Tao Rui and his team can collect three times the supplies in one go and pour all of them into a surprise attack on the middle route.”
Cheng Feng said, “I know. That’s fine – it just means the enemy is more valuable than us. Let’s see if we can use them to fatten ourselves up.”
Zhong Yijie was confident about that and immediately chimed in, “That’s a good thing! I think it’s doable.”
Jiang Linxia was holding the front line at the heart of the storm, waiting anxiously for the enemy to show. It was impossible not to feel tense.
When he heard Cheng Feng call his name and ask him to make some minor positional adjustments, he finally had a moment to double-check the map – and immediately exclaimed in surprise, “Cheng Feng, are you leaving the rear completely open?!”
Cheng Feng replied calmly, “Don’t worry. Even if I leave the gates wide open, they wouldn’t dare push deep in.”
Given that the various military universities had likely made some unspoken agreements before the match started, Tao Rui – in order to isolate Cheng Feng’s team as much as possible – would avoid antagonizing the other two universities. If he pushed too far inward, getting close to the equipment depot, it would likely put UMU and Second Military on high alert.
Therefore, as long as it worked to his advantage, Tao Rui would only operate in the forward section of the middle route.
Thus, the main purpose of Cheng Feng’s defensive setup wasn’t to block the White team’s advance, but to eliminate as many targets as possible while preserving her own forces’ combat effectiveness.
After listening to her explanation, Jiang Linxia freed up both hands and gave a small round of applause. “Not bad, Cheng Feng – looks like you’re not nervous at all.”
Cheng Feng gave a light hum.
Jiang Linxia’s squad was responsible for the southern front, while Xiang Yunjian took the northern side.
Behind them, Zhong Yijie and another senior led teams to cover the rear.
Yan Shen and other snipers were interspersed among the different squads.
Xin Kuang’s team was in charge of logistics and guerilla assistance.
The remaining examinees stayed in safe positions, waiting to step in as replacements when teammates fell.
In less than ten minutes, all one thousand members of UFU were in position. This level of organizational ability and information analysis showed that Cheng Feng’s mind was functioning normally – and reliably.
Jiang Linxia hadn’t even caught his breath for long when a dull rumbling came from the central entrance – like an immensely heavy giant wheel rolling across the ground.
The lead heavy mech charged straight in, detonating the explosive devices the team had set up in advance.
After the danger was cleared, the mech retreated swiftly, followed by a row of soldiers raising bulletproof shields as they charged in side by side.
Yellow dust billowed from the explosions. Jiang Linxia risked standing at the very front line.
He tried to fire, but his vision was obscured and the angle wasn’t right – he couldn’t penetrate the enemy’s defensive shields. After exchanging information with Xiang Yunjian, Xiang Yunjian quickly shifted position, looking for an opportunity to strike from the flank.
Jiang Linxia took cover behind a window, leaning out slightly and zooming in with his detection scope to report back to Cheng Feng: “Numbers… I can’t see a thousand yet. About five to six hundred coming down the middle front… Can’t hold them – I’ve been spotted, pulling back now.”
Cheng Feng frowned suspiciously. “That doesn’t add up? Only five or six hundred? Why wouldn’t they use their numbers advantage to sweep us all out at the start?”
“Right now it’s not about how many there are,” Xiang Yunjian said gravely. “They’re pushing way too fast!”
The White faction’s advance was alarmingly fast – they were practically charging straight into the city under a hail of bullets, which caught Cheng Feng somewhat off guard.
What were they running so fast for? To rush straight into the enemy’s heart and get themselves killed?
Cheng Feng pressed her lips together, crouched low, and updated the enemy troop data with her two partners. Just as she was mulling it over, Jiang Linxia’s voice roared through the channel: “They’re not just coming down the middle! They’re advancing on all three fronts – they’ve sent troops to the top, middle, and bottom!”
His voice was barely containing his fury.
“Holy shit! UMU and those bastards from the Second Military really opened their doors and let them right in – the White team is going to surround us from all sides!”
