Cheng Feng led the team back to camp and found a safe spot to log off for a drink of water.
When she logged back in, Number One was vividly describing the forest battle to his companions. A few tall, muscular young men were practically drooling with envy, squatting on the ground with looks that were both pitiful and longing.
Cheng Feng listened for a while and realized this guy had quite a gift for language. He was a bit like Jiang Linxia.
The difference was that Number One would chase after her calling “Sister” nonstop, whereas Jiang Linxia would only chase her yelling, “I’m your father!”
Heh.
Cheng Feng’s shoulders shook with a silent laugh as she turned away to check the map.
Off-screen, Jiang Linxia held a drink in one hand and pointed at the screen with the other, declaring emphatically in the group chat: “She secretly smiled, I’m sure of it. The corners of her mouth lifted. Generally speaking, if someone laughs for no apparent reason, they’re probably cursing someone out in their head. Xiang Yunjian, was it you?”
Xin Kuang found it amusing. “Why are you so lacking in self-awareness? If trash talk were a form of DPS, you’d be the first to die every single time.”
“A performance that brilliant, it’s only natural to smile, isn’t it?” Yan Shen mused. “But judging by her performance just now, it really is hard to tell which specialization she should choose. A solo player who can grasp firsthand data is too formidable. And a commander who can analyze data quickly can also boost combat effectiveness terrifyingly.”
Xin Kuang said, “I still think commanders are rarer.”
Jiang Linxia, despite not having been in the fight himself, seemed inexplicably proud, lounging with his legs crossed. “Of course. The level of a data analyst is like a math problem. A bad student can’t even formulate the problem properly. An average student can write the problem clearly but messes up the key points and ends with a hundred question marks. A top student will circle the key points for you. But a deputy commander at the top level, like that Lion Zhou, won’t just list the scoring points clearly for you; they’ll also fill in the entire problem-solving process. They’re practically shoving the paper in your face and smilingly asking you, ‘What’s 1+1?’ Working with a deputy commander like that – could it be anything less than satisfying? Is there anyone in this world who hates having a physical cheat code?”
Jiang Linxia took a sip of water, his tone shifting to that of a worried old father. “Cheng Feng’s biggest problem right now is probably her lack of real-world experience. She hasn’t been hit by the harshness of human nature yet.”
He slapped his thigh. “Miscalculation. Before the competition, I forgot to warn her: don’t believe a single word from any commander major. It’s a lesson passed down in blood and tears from generations of seniors. Their hearts are especially dirty, and they won’t even admit it! After this, the opposing commander will definitely be up to some tricks behind the scenes.”
Yan Shen thought to himself, But isn’t Cheng Feng also from the commander major this time?
…
Inside the arena, the guerrilla unit, having finished their ambush, was preparing to withdraw and reporting their combat situation to the main commander along the way.
When the few of them met up, they were all utterly bewildered.
“What the hell? Who exactly is First Military running from?”
“No idea. I heard Second Military lost a few people too, killed by someone from Mobile University.”
“Judging by the direction they’re retreating, they must have come to ambush us. But we didn’t get any intel about it. And there’s clearly no one behind them, yet they’re all acting like they’ve seen a ghost. What’s their problem?”
The commander imagined the scene and found it utterly comical. Those two factions really never did things the conventional way.
He chuckled twice, then suddenly seemed to grasp something, his expression stiffening as he said, “Could it be… the other squad?”
Everyone hesitated slightly.
Mainly because this truth was a bit hard to believe.
After two seconds of silence, a student finally overcame the limitations of their own perception and spoke up for Cheng Feng.
“It’s possible. That squad has seemed really active all along. The map keeps changing, and the route indicators and coordinates are constantly being updated. If First Military was coming to ambush us, they definitely would have passed through their area.”
“Third Route is just full of mystery, especially that deputy commander. No one knows anything about her background; she was just dropped onto the participant list out of nowhere a couple of days ago.”
“If you say the deputy commander is modeling things all wrong, none of the students on their team have complained. But if she isn’t just messing around…”
No one could finish that latter “if” hypothesis. They just felt their brains were in a daze.
“Huh?”
The commander’s confusion was all condensed into that single, simple syllable.
One wasn’t enough. After a pause, he added another.
“Huh?”
The deputy commander beside him said, “Stop ‘huh-ing’. Ask her already.”
The commander gave an “Oh” and sent Cheng Feng a message notification.
Cheng Feng’s communication ban had been lifted long ago, but she hadn’t spoken a word while they were all chatting. The commander suspected she had blocked him specifically.
…Was this the revenge of a pro?
“What is it?”
Cheng Feng deigned to reply, saving him a little face.
But even though her voice was still its usual peculiar self, the commander inexplicably felt a sense of pressure this time. A bit tense, he said, “Um, you know about what happened with First and Second Militaries, right?”
“I know.”
But didn’t feel like saying much more.
Cheng Feng tapped on Number One and had him repeat the whole story to the commander.
Having just finished his rousing speech, Number One was very familiar with the narrative and cheerfully responded, “Okay, Sis!”
After the two of them finished communicating, a momentary silence fell over the command channel.
The commander furrowed his brow slightly, his expression turning serious.
As thrilling as it was, he felt that “escaping from the jaws of death” was a more apt description than “a godsend.”
“You were too aggressive. Why didn’t you ask for support?”
Sensing the word was a bit too negative – Cheng Feng had, after all, just performed a major feat – he quickly corrected himself. “You were too bold!”
Cheng Feng said, “I just made a reasonable judgment based on the data.”
The commander argued, “But you clearly had a safer option.”
“Data doesn’t make mistakes,” Cheng Feng said. “Besides, I left them a certain margin for error. Take the recklessness of Second Military on the East Road, for example – they still managed to escape.”
The commander asked, “What if they hadn’t escaped? What if they’d been killed outright because of Second Military’s recklessness? What then?”
Cheng Feng hesitated for a moment. “Then that would mean the soldiers aren’t good enough?”
The commander felt a lump in his chest, a suffocating sense of having no comeback.
Number One supported her unconditionally. “Exactly! It means the soldiers aren’t good enough!”
“What strategy doesn’t involve some risk? If you want one hundred percent safety and certainty, you might as well just not go to the battlefield.”
Cheng Feng’s stance was clear, and the overall commander’s confidence involuntarily waned. He weakly argued, “But the level of danger here was way too high.”
“It’s not that bad,” Cheng Feng said. “The worst-case scenario would be losing five people. I definitely would have survived.”
The young follower who was just about to chime in agreement with Cheng Feng paused, his mind racing quickly before he said humbly, “As long as you’re alive, Sis, that’s what matters. Don’t worry about me. I’ll definitely take a few of them with me before I die, so your efforts won’t be in vain!”
The others: “…”
Was it just them, or was the way this team talked a little… strange?
Number Four hadn’t heard their conversation but could clearly see Number One’s act. He felt an immense pang of sorrow for this once seemingly straightforward and manly youth.
Damn it!
The competition was about to take an unexpected turn!
The commander, his emotions complicated, said, “Well… if you guys think it’s okay, then it’s okay. I’ll deploy the countermeasures for the next phase. The other side definitely won’t let this go.”
…
News of First and Second Militaries’ defeat quickly reached the ears of the United Military University.
Their reconnaissance team had witnessed with their own eyes Second Military fleeing back in disarray, only shaking off their pursuers with the support of the defense forces. A guerrilla unit reduced to a handful of scattered survivors – a truly heavy loss.
In less than an hour, the first wave of the team battle was over. Only UMU remained completely uninvolved, as if they were just sightseeing on the training map.
The UMU commander immediately sent a representative to probe the situation. After connecting to the other side’s communication channel, he fished for information: “Hey, is your commander still alive?”
The person on the other end snapped back, “If you can’t talk properly, then shut up!”
The UMU commander said with a grin, “Don’t be so mad, I’m just here to offer my condolences.”
The Second Military commander was perfectly lucid and, already fuming, vented his anger directly at him. “Oh, cut it out. You’re all the same. No need to come pay your respects. If you’ve got nothing else, get lost.”
“I said don’t be angry, calm down. You got screwed over by First Military, right? First Military has always been the best at trash talk, and you’ve got old grudges with them. Why on earth did you choose to cooperate with them?” The UMU commander sighed. “I offer my silent mourning and sympathy for your meaningless sacrifice. But friend, you have to stand up. You have to get revenge. Don’t forget our purpose this time. We have to drag UFU down!”
The Second Military commander let out a silent, cold laugh.
They were also very wary of UMU, that troublemaking stick in the mud, having been burned by them plenty of times before.
During the summer training camp, the instructors had sprayed spittle while passionately listing countless charges against UMU, detailing just how hypocritical and fickle they were.
If it weren’t for UMU stirring things up, they wouldn’t have had to fight nearly so hard.
In the ranking of most disliked military academies, First Military took the top spot, but UMU weren’t far behind. In comparison, UFU seemed much more appealing.
The UMU commander prodded, “So, how about cooperating?”
Second Military commander replied, “We’ve already made our charge. Now we need to rest and recover.”
The UMU commander urged, “Rest and recover? Time waits for no one. You need to mend your wounded pride too? Seriously?”
“Right now, the only ones who can match UFU’s strength are you. Your two schools have such similar names, yet every year you can’t even touch UFU’s coattails. I think you’re in a much more urgent situation than we are,” the Second Military commander said, slowly pouring fuel on the fire. “How about you show some good faith first?”
“What kind of good faith?”
The Second Military commander thought for a moment, then said: “First Military definitely won’t ally with UFU. We’ll help you block Mobile University’s reinforcements on this side. You go and assault UFU’s Third Route. If you succeed, consider it revenge for us. If you don’t succeed, then no more infighting – let’s have all three universities go up together.”
The UMU commander laughed out loud. “We’re not stupid either. I get the feeling you’re just hoping we’ll be the ones to take the hit and let you recover?”
The Second Military commander spoke the truth, “There’s something really off about UFU’s Third Route. If we don’t take them out, none of us will save face today. Recovering just to get second place again – what’s the point?”
The UMU commander just thought these guys were crazy.
They were all freshmen. How “off” could they possibly be?
Even if the door to another dimension was right in front of you, could you even push it open?
The UMU commander said, “If you guys really go block Mobile University, then we’ll attack.”
“Attack!” the Second Military commander said. “If you attack, we’re brothers in the same trench! We’ll settle the rest of the scores separately!”
…
After disconnecting the communication, the UMU deputy commander asked, “Are we really going? Weren’t you supposed to be persuading them? How did it turn into us being the ones to go?”
The UMU commander said, “We’ll take one team to gather some data on UFU. I also find this whole situation pretty strange. No matter how bad First and Second Militaries are, there’s no way they should have been beaten to such a pulp by Mobile University.”
