The announcement failed to dispel doubts, and the scene erupted in a chorus of criticism.
Everyone threw up their hands, expressing their refusal to accept it and demanding that San Yao provide an explanation.
Each faction was now marked with a red name. The remaining supplies represented their lifeline, all hidden away in concealed spots within the cities.
And since the board still showed their supplies were intact, on what basis could UFU turn the tables?
No matter how you calculated it, this was impossible.
San Yao directly published the points breakdown for the five major factions.
What shocked everyone was that, on this very board, UFU topped the charts for kill count, had the highest survival number, possessed the most NPCs and supplies, and even had the highest score for city building integrity.
For every single valid statistic, UFU was number one. Although the margins weren’t huge, it was an undeniably champion performance.
At this, the students’ criticism grew even fiercer. Some pointed accusingly at the sky, others at the ground – it didn’t matter, since the system was everywhere anyway.
“NPCs and supplies, my ass?! Are you brazenly altering data like this?”
“If this isn’t a bug, then what is? Programmer, have you donated your eyes and brain already?”
“UFU was the first to be red-named, and now you’re telling me they’ve left everyone in the dust?”
“Did the programmers at San Yao not wake up properly tonight? They couldn’t have cooked up data like this even in a sleepwalk!”
When students from four military universities joined forces to unleash verbal barrages, it was surely something no one could withstand. After all, they were professionals.
San Yao swiftly processed the appeal letters flooding their backend. The response they gave was: It is recommended to watch the replay yourselves.
Seeing San Yao’s attitude so resolute, the students from UFU belatedly realized that their fourth consecutive championship was secured.
The commander nearly wept with joy. He fiercely gripped his companion’s arm for support as he bent over weakly.
He had originally thought the honor of UFU’s three-time winning streak would end with him. He never imagined they would instead create new history.
At this moment, his hands and feet felt weak, his mind a blank slate, filled with an indescribable excitement that overwhelmed all reason, causing his muscles to tremble slightly.
Then, he clenched his fist and let out a loud roar.
The sound jolted all the still-stunned freshmen back to reality.
Young people in every corner of the city raised their arms in response, letting out incoherent shouts to celebrate their victory.
Meanwhile, the arguments in the live stream’s comment section grew even more intense.
Back when Cheng Feng had used differential treatment to widen the gap between the three military branches, sowing discord among them, the atmosphere had still been quite harmonious. Netizens were making jokes, saying that from now on they wouldn’t dare easily believe any negative gossip about the various forces – after all, once you put on a vest, who could really tell who you were?
Even within UFU’s invigilation group, people were teasing that this little robot’s grasp of human nature was surprisingly accurate. This wave of sowing discord placed the power of choice completely out of the hands of the opposing side; everyone was forced to follow her script.
“This is what you call the highest level of sowing discord. The most convincing reason will always be immediate, tangible interests. Promised benefits might not necessarily be delivered, and two people who weren’t truly close to begin with can’t rely on each other. But actual, lost interests – that’s a knife hanging over both their heads. Neither can escape unscathed.”
“Very characteristic of our military! [Appreciative glance]”
“Everything is ‘characteristic of your military,’ give it a rest already. For all you know, Cheng Feng might not even be from your military!”
Then the camera angle shifted, switching to the remaining half of Cheng Feng’s team that had gone missing.
This group had not participated in the city’s defense. Despite the severe shortage of manpower, they had taken a motorcycle and disappeared without a trace afterward, to the point where everyone had nearly forgotten about their existence.
In the split-screen view, it was clearly visible that this half of the team was actually moving their own faction’s NPCs and supplies. Like ants transporting food, they were moving them along the most remote routes on the map, carrying them out of their faction’s territory and hiding them deep in the mountain path near the Mobile University.
At this moment, the Second Military’s forces were pinned down within the Fifth Route, unable to break free, while the First Military and UMU were locked in a war of attrition along the edge of the First Route.
The stragglers who had breached the city had indeed destroyed some NPCs and supply crates. However, a small portion of the city’s points had been moved out by UFU itself as an insurance policy, only brought back near the end of the match.
Since the three forces never exchanged such detailed data, no one sensed anything amiss, all assuming UFU’s red name status was due to allied combat operations.
Even if they had compared notes privately, the quantities were small, and with their own bases under fire, achieving precise data would have been difficult.
No wonder UFU had wanted to support the mobile university. Their main forces were all deployed along this defensive line close to UFU.
Even during the chaotic melee, these individuals had been quietly fishing in troubled waters, smuggling supplies from the mobile university.
This was precisely why the UFU faction managed to turn its name tag green at the very last moment – its health pool had been replenished so deeply.
As a result, netizens felt that UFU’s victory wasn’t particularly brilliant, or could even be described as somewhat underhanded.
“The ultimate purpose of the league is to assess the students’ quality, right? Can military personnel treat civilians like objects? Is this the kind of attitude that should be encouraged? This is completely exploiting a loophole in the rules, isn’t it?!”
“Don’t go making sweeping generalizations. In-game NPCs are definitely less important than teammates.”
“Don’t make excuses just because you lost. The trophy might be heavy, but UFU can still hold it up. They topped every single ranking, which proves it was a victory through superior strength.”
“They only turned it around in the last five minutes, and you call that a victory through superior strength? How much did UFU pay you in online troll fees? Is the First Military that poor?”
“The people from the Mobile University were shouting ‘You’re my own brother!’ behind them, and the ‘own brother’ just walked right into their house and took their stuff. Hope that brotherly love lasts forever; whoever lets go first is a dog.”
“The Mobile University is so naive, still believing there’s genuine feeling in the competition even now. Oh, sorry, there actually is – coming from themselves.”
Most people felt that UFU’s win was purely due to luck, that their ability to seize opportunities was too strong, and the last-minute turnaround only reinforced this belief.
If even a slight accident had occurred, if any faction had discovered their little scheme, UFU would have collapsed.
Then, the first system analysis post appeared on San Yao’s official forum.
[The freshman competition data is out. Allow me to explain slowly.]
“Everyone, stop cursing. Let the laymen watch the excitement, and while you’re at it, recognize who your daddy is.
“Actually, the direction of the match was pretty much set from the start of the three-force joint attack. Everyone’s focus has been fundamentally misplaced from the beginning. The key to UFU’s victory wasn’t about being underhanded or taking hostages; it was about overwhelming superiority in strength.”
A long comment followed immediately, clearly pre-written and copy-pasted.
“Time was limited, so the data statistics are a bit rough, but take a look. Here’s the data from several of UFU’s engagements.
“First wave of melee: UFU had zero casualties. First Military lost 11, Second Military lost 14 (killed by the Mobile University), Mobile University lost 4.
“Second wave: UMU initiated a skirmish. UFU had zero casualties. UMU lost 19.”
“Third wave: The three-force joint attack. UFU lost 33 (including those in the Fifth Route). UMU lost 27, First Military lost 39 (12 were killed by UMU coordinated attacks), Second Military lost 31 (Second Military attacked the Fifth Route independently).
“I haven’t tallied the subsequent melees yet, mainly because it was the Mobile University’s home ground, and everyone took heavy losses. But it’s not that important anymore. Everyone can judge for themselves.”
“This data is clear enough, isn’t it? Sufficient to illustrate the point, right? UFU’s offensive capability in this round was simply overwhelming, whether in guerrilla tactics or group battles, it was beyond reproach. They consistently maintained a kill ratio of around 1:3, or even higher. You’re telling me that with this kind of performance, UFU would have had trouble resisting the three-force joint attack? Honestly, I think if they’d charged head-on, it might very well have been feasible. The reason they chose this more roundabout approach was, first, to play it safe, and second, to save face for the other factions. To avoid too embarrassing a loss.
“If it really came down to pure strength, this laurel could only have fallen into UFU’s hands. If you still say a team like this winning the championship was just ‘seizing an opportunity,’ then the competition really isn’t worth watching anymore.”
The post quickly gained traction and was simultaneously pinned by the moderator.
A large number of netizens rushed over from the live stream, flooding the comment section with questions. “Are they really that strong? Is UFU’s intake this dominant this year? That’s the most unbelievable part!”
“Everyone must be wondering why UFU has suddenly become so ferocious this year. Actually, it has little to do with student intake; it’s mainly about their god-tier positioning. Mark this [Image].
“It’s hard to explain in detail, but it’ll be more intuitive if you substitute into an after-action review from different perspectives. UFU soldiers’ staggering, their distance, their angles – everything was arranged with absolute clarity. If you pull back to a god’s-eye view, you’ll find that not a single soldier who charged into UFU’s faction could even get two blocks out. In comparison, the other three teams were just ragtag stragglers, completely disorganized!”
“Yes! Exactly that strangely bizarre deputy commander! I don’t know how she did it, but in terms of data analysis skills, they’re just not on the same level at all!”
“So this is a pure case of strength suppression, a classic example of a B-class god carrying the team. UFU has this purple mikoshi leading the charge this time, everyone just has to accept defeat. It’s not an unjust loss.”
The original poster’s wording was too absolute, leading a large number of netizens to question and criticize fiercely in the comments.
The battlefield for both sides shifted from the live stream to the San Yao forum.
Meanwhile, within the freshman competition interface, the students who had been loudly arguing just moments before had now fallen silent. They hadn’t logged off, but were simply sitting dejectedly on the ground, hands over their ears as if waiting for something.
A moment later, the UFU commander gave a dry cough. The sound, amplified, echoed across the entire map, startling Cheng Feng.
The cheers that had just subsided began to erupt once more with renewed fervor.
Cheng Feng tilted her head up and asked, “What are they doing?”
Number One excitedly said, “Making the victor’s declaration! Full-screen voice chat, just to infuriate the other four factions! It’s the champion’s most glorious moment!”
The commander’s voice was already completely hoarse, carrying a gravelly texture. He strained to speak, saying, “Guys, we won! Although we don’t know exactly how we won, that’s not important! Thank you to all the comrades who worked hard silently behind the scenes!”
Everyone applauded vigorously.
The commander thought for a moment, genuinely unsure of what to say. Feeling that this moment of glory rightfully belonged to Cheng Feng, he smiled and said, “This overwhelming victory was, to a large extent, due to one of our deputy commanders. Let’s invite her to say a few words!”
The permission for full-screen voice chat was transferred to Cheng Feng, and countless gazes instantly shot towards her.
Cheng Feng lowered her chin, the ends of her eyebrows tilting downwards, her expression slightly pained as she shook her head.
Number One chirped enthusiastically, “Comrade, just say anything! You’re our spiritual leader!”
“It’s okay, sis, whatever you say is right!”
Cheng Feng tugged at her collar, thinking hard, while everyone patiently waited for her to speak.
After a long while, she opened her mouth and uttered a single syllable: “Hello?”
It was soft, crisp, carrying a hint of woodland breeze’s melodiousness and uncertain bewilderment.
Everyone was stunned.
