In the blink of an eye, the situation on the field had changed completely.
The host murmured, “This really changes in the blink of an eye…”
The dizzying barrage of gunfire was nearly overwhelming her senses, leaving her unable to make any judgment. She could only see squads of soldiers rushing past in disarray, figures collapsing one after another. The tread of military boots on concrete had a distinct rhythm, but that faint sound was completely suppressed by the flashing sparks.
Scene after scene switched and shifted, and in the background were the shouts of young people whose allegiances were hard to discern.
By the time she came to her senses, the UFU team – which had been at a massive disadvantage just moments ago – was now striding through the examination hall with guns held high, grinning triumphantly as they charged fearlessly after the White Team.
The host began racking her brain, trying to figure out what she had missed, but the sheer volume of information coming in made it impossible for her to focus on any one thing.
So she tugged at Mr. Luo’s sleeve and shot him a helpless, pleading look.
She couldn’t come up with the next topic. The match pace, which felt like it had been sped up, left her – a non-professional – utterly lost.
Mr. Luo smiled and said, “This is what a large-scale battlefield is like. The military universities all start on roughly equal footing, each with only a thousand infantries. When the tide turns, there’s only an extremely brief window for those at the cliff’s edge to make their choice. Whoever can’t seize it, whoever can’t analyze it clearly, will fall behind – and then get hit.”
The host quickly asked, “So the White Team is about to get hit now, right?”
Mr. Luo said, “Not exactly. Tao Rui responded swiftly – he made a very timely and accurate judgment. The ones who are really about to get hit should be the Second Military.”
He pulled up the backend data and displayed it in the corner of the livestream for the audience to see.
UFU currently had just over 600 survivors, UMU had over 700, but the Second Military still had nearly 900.
“So far, the biggest advantage among the Red Team actually lies with the Second Military. UMU’s bottom lane was also forced to take losses at the very start. Only the Second Military has been skirting around all the various skirmishes, playing it safe and building up quietly while others drew the enemy fire.”
“Tao Rui’s strategy should be to defeat them one by one, so the Second Military’s advantage is something that will have to be taken down sooner or later. Right now is the best time.”
He closed the data panel and saw the host nodding thoughtfully at him, clearly trying to figure out how to explain it in simpler terms.
The rule of scoring separately meant that the six military universities were allies on paper yet also divided from one another, and seemingly hostile yet bound by subtle interwoven interests.
The shifting and leveraging of enemy-and-ally positions – that was the most fascinating part of a large-scale battlefield.
That was why the large-scale battlefield was a stage for commanders.
Mr. Luo took a sip of water first. Since the bottle cap had been left open, the water had gone a bit cold, but he didn’t mind. Only after his throat was no longer parched did he speak slowly, “The White side’s losses are now unavoidable – they simply don’t have as many resources as the others. The most critical question before Tao Rui is how to preserve his side’s earlier advantage to the greatest extent possible.”
“UFU’s mid lane goes without saying. If Tao Rui flees down the bottom lane, then to prevent the Second Military from becoming too powerful, Cheng Feng will most likely be forced to assist, balancing out the gap among the three universities. After all, the rules prohibit infighting within the same camp – if the gap grows too large, it can’t be made up later.”
“But going to the Second Military’s camp on the upper route is a different story. Cheng Feng is responsible for hunting and replenishing their earlier losses. Tong Xun is conservative, and with limited supplies, he can roam the sidelines to pick off stragglers. Tao Rui, on the other hand, uses the pursuit of the Second Military to even out his own losses.”
In fact, it was just like the opening phase – except this time, Tao Rui had pulled UFU and UMU onto his side by offering interests that all three parties could accept.
Mr. Luo pointed at the white dots on the large map and indicated, “So you see, once the White Team’s soldiers decided to go up, they were no longer scattered. The way they moved and marched still showed organization and purpose.”
The host suddenly understood, but also found it a bit ridiculous. “How the tables have turned.”
Tao Rui, stationed outside the city, was directly commanding a joint force that didn’t communicate smoothly with one another. Yet he was able to recognize his own troops’ combat deficiencies in a short time and calmly respond accordingly – even Mr. Luo had to say, “Tao Rui is indeed an impressive student.”
Though there were still some immaturities in his concepts and techniques, on the large battlefield, he truly had the talent to sweep through everything.
The host smiled and picked up the thread. “Tao Rui’s performance is indeed outstanding, but Cheng Feng can still see through his tactics and effectively counter them.”
Mr. Luo wasn’t trying to praise his own student through this, and merely tugged at the corner of his mouth to reveal a faint, barely noticeable smile.
The host said, “Then please give your assessment of Cheng Feng as well.”
Mr. Luo pondered for a moment, then gave a serious and restrained evaluation. “Cheng Feng is already starting to look a bit like a commander.”
The host said in surprise, “You’re being a bit harsh on your own student, aren’t you?”
Mr. Luo’s smile was somewhat meaningful, and he shook his head very slightly.
The netizens, who understood everything, began to chime in on the topic.
“The host really doesn’t get it. Extract the key points from Mr. Luo’s words: Tao Rui -‘student,’ Cheng Feng – ‘starting to look like a commander.'”
“No need to parse every single word so meticulously.”
“Today’s theme for the Red team: internal friction.”
“Storms are brewing everywhere.”
“I keep feeling like those guys from the Second Military have this simple, naive vibe – I’m almost starting to feel sorry for them.”
“The Second Military and the White Team’s mistake is not understanding the importance of resources.”
“Cheng Feng can both wear down his opponents and keep his allies in check. ‘One against five’ isn’t quite accurate – ‘one against four’ is more like it.”
“Live stream admin, I’m begging you – I know you’re panicking too – but please, stop switching the camera angles! My head is spinning from all the shaking!”
As Mr. Luo had said, the White Team’s soldiers paid no heed to the UFU examinees chasing after them from behind, focusing all their firepower on the Second Military’s camp with single-minded determination.
The soldiers from the two military universities were still fairly easy to tell apart.
The Second Military’s soldiers had barely any ammunition left, yet they dared not abandon their camp, so they could only scatter and flee. Clutching their remaining supplies, they guarded them like a nest egg they were unwilling to spend.
The UFU bunch, on the other hand, fired at the slightest provocation and fell back the moment they met any resistance – cherishing their own lives above all else.
At times like this, the presence of the UFU examinees left Kang Zhenxue with mixed feelings. They were somewhat detestable, yet he still needed them.
The White Team’s soldiers were fighting with a mindset of total self-sacrifice, ready to be shattered to pieces for their team – so how could Kang Zhenxue possibly want to sink together with them?
Seeing his own side’s kill count plummeting like a bucket with a hole in it, Kang Zhenxue could only call for help on the public channel. “Cheng Feng, hurry up! Coordinates (312, 119) – there’s a squad of over a dozen there. Quick, quick, quick!”
Cheng Feng replied with a smug tone, “Add a ‘please.'”
“‘Please’ isn’t enough – I’m begging you!” Kang Zhenxue had long since learned how cruel the world could be. “I’m pleading with UFU to attack! Come over here and take some free kills!”
No sooner had Kang Zhenxue finished speaking than he heard the UFU examinees’ barely restrained, excited voices:
“Xiang Yunjian is coming! Make way for our Brother Xiang!”
“I’m finally unleashed! Wouldn’t it be unfair if I didn’t get at least ten kills?”
“Where do you need support? I’ll sprint over at full speed!”
Xiang Yunjian laughed and said, “Keep it down. Stay low-key.”
Jiang Linxia said lazily, “Come back early, all of you. I’m still waiting for you at the city gate.”
The young man who had just been rotated out by Cheng Feng was savoring this rare taste of freedom, and said with deep feeling, “Jiang Linxia, waiting is beautiful – it ferments into even richer friendship.”
Jiang Linxia chuckled and cursed, “Get lost!”
UFU had shaken off their previous slump and firmly seized the initiative.
With the team’s kill scores hidden from view and the frontline command of infantries left to the squad leaders’ own arrangements, there wasn’t much left for Cheng Feng to do.
Shen Dan and Chen Huayue also relaxed along with her. The moment they moved, their backs and shoulders felt stiff – only then did they realize how tense they had been before.
Chen Huayue let out a long breath, then quickly broke into a smile and said, “That was way too intense.”
Shen Dan clapped with immersed satisfaction and said with great solemnity, “As expected of my MVP partner. The two of us together – unbeatable in the world of manual ops.”
The NPC had been mocked by them several times before and had resolved not to speak unless spoken to, but at this he couldn’t help muttering under his breath, “Since when does a data analyst’s job scope go this wide? Now they’re developing alongside manual ops too?”
“You don’t know that?” Shen Dan shot him a sidelong glance, pointed his thumb at himself, then jabbed it toward Cheng Feng. “Me – San Yao’s MVP, the rising star of the manual ops world. Her – the MVP of the individual soldier category, the Purple Star of manual ops!”
She looked so proud, as if having the NPC sitting behind them was some great honor -the young man’s facial muscles twitched at the sight, and he felt like giving her a piece of advice from someone who’d been around.
The NPC noticed that Chen Huayue and the others all had strange expressions on their faces, and figured Shen Dan was just bluffing him. He curled his lip and didn’t take it seriously. Glancing at Cheng Feng, he said awkwardly, “Not bad. This year’s commander’s got a little something.”
Cheng Feng waved her hand. “Don’t be jealous – it makes you look ugly.”
The NPC let out a cold laugh, running his tongue over his teeth, but found himself at a loss for words.
The soldier stationed at the front gate turned his head back, gave him a look that said “I can’t even,” and said, “Torturing yourself, huh? Why are you even talking to them?”
The NPC turned his back, signaling that he was done participating.
The gray sky hadn’t changed at all, but time was indeed marching forward.
Pleasant experiences were always especially brief. By the time Cheng Feng swept her gaze across the panel again, the number in the upper-right corner read 2 hours and 55 minutes.
In another 5 minutes, the equipment depot would reopen.
The Second Military’s logistics personnel had already driven over ahead of time to wait, and the arena tensed up once more. The atmosphere was like a drawn bowstring – with each second that ticked by, it let out a faint tremor. A warning that change was coming.
Cheng Feng said, “The White Team should be preparing for their second retreat.”
Zhong Yijie felt like his campaign had only just begun – every pore in his body was screaming for battle. He immediately thumped his chest and promised, “Don’t worry, we’ll definitely stop them!”
“Let them through, let them go. Jiang Linxia, your squad should also prepare to withdraw.” Cheng Feng said unhurriedly. “Stopping them will bring bad luck. Zhong Yijie, calm down.”
Zhong Yijie: “…”
It was hard to get an exact count of how many personnel the White side had left. Cheng Feng made a rough estimate – probably only three to five hundred people remained.
That seemed like a small number, but three to five hundred manpower was critical in the later stages. UFU itself only had about five hundred left.
The important thing was that these examinees had almost completely run out of ammunition. Staying inside the Red camp, which had just been resupplied, would only lead to certain death.
After Tao Rui’s side collected their supplies, they would inevitably enter from outside the city to provide support and get the White Team out. When they charged in through the mid lane, the first to bear the brunt of it would again be UFU.
Cheng Feng said, “If Tong Xun and Kang Zhenxue’s side tries to block them, you help out as support and send the White Team off quickly.”
Jiang Linxia laughed and said, “Got it. Zhong Yijie, do you understand?”
Zhong Yijie pressed down on his cap and muttered quietly, “Can we make a deal – next time, could you give the order first? We’re comrades who’ve been through life and death together, after all.”
Cheng Feng said, “I’ll try.”
Outside the arena, Zhong Yijie’s instructor had a gloomy look on his face and quietly took a step back, not daring to glance at his colleagues’ expressions.
What an embarrassment. There wasn’t a single word in that guy’s head besides “charge.”
