SCOM - Chapter 52
Chapter 52
The moment the four Northern Military Academy students looked up, Zuo Luohuan had already jumped from the lights to the side, quickly climbing to the second floor, chasing after her target and disappearing from their sight.
The technician turned to look up at the lights. Before he could tell his teammate to find a weapon, a shot suddenly rang out from the second floor, hitting the Northern Military Academy student standing on the first floor—right in the helmet.
“Get down!” Hearing the gunshot, Zuo Luohuan jumped down from the other side of the corridor, grabbing the other two and pulling them to cover.
The two students hit by the paint pellets stood dazed under the lights on the first floor as their optical computers displayed an elimination message.
“There’s someone from the Blue Team upstairs?” the technician asked nervously from under a seat.
“Not sure, I didn’t catch them,” Zuo Luohuan said, crouching down and staring at the two students whose helmets were smoking. “When I went up to the second floor, I saw a gun on the lights. I went to get it.”
“They already have guns!” the technician exclaimed, tugging on Zuo Luohuan.
“There’s a hardware store we checked on the way here. Go around to the back door and wait for me there,” Zuo Luohuan instructed. “I’ll bring the guns back.”
“…Be careful,” the technician said, knowing Zuo Luohuan’s abilities. He didn’t say anything more, bending down and leaving through the back door with the last remaining teammate.
They had just exited the back door when they heard several more gunshots from the cinema.
“How did the Blue Team get here so fast?” the technician worriedly glanced back at the cinema as he ran after his teammate.
Although more gunshots echoed from behind the cinema, thankfully, not long after the two reached the hardware store, within half an hour at most, Zuo Luohuan emerged, carrying a large bag.
“This is…” The technician was stunned when she pushed open the door and saw the large bag on Zuo Luohuan’s back.
Zuo Luohuan dropped the bag on the ground and pulled out two pistols, tossing them to the technicians. Only then did they realize the bag was the large red cloth from the cinema entrance.
“There were pistols and ammo on the lights, and I found five submachine guns under the seats,” Zuo Luohuan said, tearing the red cloth in two and giving half to the other person. “Take this, we should go back.”
“What about the Blue Team?” the other Northern Military Academy student asked.
“I grabbed the guns and left,” Zuo Luohuan replied. “Didn’t see any trace of them, only the shots fired from the second floor.”
Unlike the live ammunition in the first stage, the second stage used paint pellets. Getting hit in the helmet meant immediate elimination, like the two Northern Military Academy students just now. According to the rules they understood, getting hit in other areas, like a hand, meant that hand couldn't be used anymore. In a strict sense, it was worse than live ammunition.
“Let’s head back.” By the time Zuo Luohuan and the remaining two returned to the mall rooftop, it was already afternoon.
Seeing only three of them, Luo Shaoyuan’s face immediately changed. “Zuo Luohuan, where are my other two teammates?”
“Captain, there was a sudden attack. They had guns,” the technician explained, stepping forward. “Zuo…Classmate Zuo was alone under their attack and still managed to find all these guns.”
Zuo Luohuan glanced at Ji Yuezhi behind the water tank. He was still there, using his optical computer to transcribe the document information, never once looking up at her.
“Were they taken away after being eliminated?” Luo Shaoyuan asked, feeling frustrated.
Northern Military Academy students were known for their combat skills, yet their entire team was wiped out by An Yingjing in the first stage of the exercise. Now, in the second stage, paired with the First Military Academy, two of her team members were eliminated on the first day. Luo Shaoyuan felt a bitter taste in her mouth.
“Probably,” Zuo Luohuan tossed a submachine gun to Guan Xue, giving the rest to the Northern Military Academy team.
With weapons in hand, the group felt a surge of security. Guan Xue and Hui Bing each guarded a direction, while Zuo Luohuan patrolled the perimeter.
Late into the night, Ji Yuezhi finally finished transcribing all the documents he had reviewed and sent them to Qian Mao.
Qian Mao immediately began studying them. Ji Yuezhi stood up, the intense focus of the past ten-plus hours evident in the fatigue etched between his brows.
“Why are there two people missing?” Ji Yuezhi asked Luo Shaoyuan, noticing the extra guns within the group and the reduced number of Northern Military Academy students. He frowned.
“Two of them were eliminated while searching for weapons,” Luo Shaoyuan replied. She couldn’t really blame Zuo Luohuan anymore. Ultimately, her teammates were less skilled and couldn’t dodge the attack. Besides, Zuo Luohuan had brought two of her team members back.
“Did you go down?” Ji Yuezhi asked.
“Me? No, Zuo Luohuan took four people down.” Luo Shaoyuan lifted her chin, gesturing behind him. “She left not long after you sat down behind the water tank. Didn’t you hear?”
Ji Yuezhi turned around. Zuo Luohuan had her back to him, talking to Jiang Hong.
“She went out with your team members, and two didn’t return?” Ji Yuezhi continued to question Luo Shaoyuan. “Did you encounter the Blue Team?”
“I don’t know, they didn’t see anyone, only heard gunshots.”
Ji Yuezhi fell silent for a moment, then walked around the rooftop. While he was immersed in transcribing, his team members had already formed a typical high-ground attack and defense formation. There was nothing to criticize. However, both the ground below and the rooftop were pitch black, making it difficult to see the surroundings clearly.
“Aren’t you going to rest?” Zuo Luohuan turned to Ji Yuezhi, hearing his footsteps. “We’re on watch tonight.”
Half of Ji Yuezhi’s face was hidden in the shadows as he calmly replied, “I’m checking the rooftop defenses.”
Zuo Luohuan was still holding a bottle of water she had received earlier. She offered it to Ji Yuezhi. “Go rest after you’re done. There are still several days to go.”
Ji Yuezhi didn’t take it, turning his head to the side. “I’ll get my own.”
Zuo Luohuan retracted the water, her expression unchanged.
…
In the latter half of the night, Guan Xue, Yan Yan, and a few others lay behind the water tank to rest. Ji Yuezhi sat next to Qian Mao, resting with his eyes closed, in case Qian Mao had any questions about what he had written.
December brought colder weather, and the wind was strong and the temperature low on the rooftop.
There were two pieces of the large red cloth from the cinema on the ground. Zuo Luohuan walked over, bent down, picked them up, and threw one over Guan Xue and the others, who were huddled together on the ground. Holding the other piece of red cloth, she shook off the dust and bent down to cover Ji Yuezhi and Qian Mao, who were sitting by the water tank.
Luo Shaoyuan, who was still on watch and hadn’t slept, clicked her tongue and turned to lecture her teammate, “Look at them, how well they take care of their captain. You lot keep stealing my food!”
“Captain, I might be eliminated tomorrow, so what’s wrong with eating a little of your food?” The teammate scoffed at Zuo Luohuan’s actions. “Those First Military Academy students are so delicate, they can’t even handle this little bit of cold wind. Unlike us Northern Military Academy students, we’re tough and can endure hardship.”
“Whether you can endure hardship or not, I don’t know, but you can certainly eat,” Luo Shaoyuan thought, secretly envious of the First Military Academy students.
“Captain, we can’t out-eat you, that’s why we have to resort to stealing,” the teammate couldn’t help but confess.
Luo Shaoyuan: “…”
The next day, everyone was awakened by a shout, “I’ve got it!”
Ji Yuezhi, closest to the source of the sound, woke up and looked up at Qian Mao, who had stood up. He got up and asked, “What’s in the document?” The large red cloth covering them slipped to the ground, but neither of them paid attention, or even noticed.
“Captain, this component is for making Skeletal Armor,” Qian Mao said excitedly. He had initially thought the light gun schematics were just something random the organizers had put together, but after a night of study, he realized something was amiss.
“I’ve heard of the Skeletal Armor research project,” the Northern Military Academy technician said, walking over. “But it requires a highly malleable material to design a form-fitting, adaptable Skeletal Armor. The Federation hasn’t found a suitable material yet.”
“This document says they temporarily used material from the robot dogs, mixed with another material, to create a Skeletal Armor suit,” Qian Mao said, already eager to leave and search for the parts. “The components are scattered throughout Leye Town. Once we find them and assemble them, the right person wearing it can take on a hundred enemies.”
“Did you put the schematics together?” Ji Yuezhi asked.
“Yes,” Qian Mao replied, turning his optical computer to show Ji Yuezhi.
“The second stage is about protecting the data chip, it has nothing to do with Skeletal Armor,” Zuo Luohuan reminded them.
Jiang Hong nodded in agreement. “Even if the Red and Blue teams clash, Skeletal Armor might not be necessary.”
“But what if it’s related to the third stage?” Qian Mao had already pieced together the schematics; he couldn’t just give up now.
“We’re going to look for the Skeletal Armor,” Luo Shaoyuan stated bluntly. “If the Red Team wins the second stage, the team that finds the most Skeletal Armor parts might be the winner.”
Qian Mao clutched his schematics protectively. “Then don’t look at them.”
The Northern Military Academy technician chuckled. “I’ve already memorized it.”
He couldn’t memorize the large amount of information in the documents, but a single schematic was easy enough.
After discussion, the Red Team decided to both protect the data chip and search for Skeletal Armor components.
Leye Town was indeed small. On the second night, the Red and Blue teams encountered each other, and the Blue Team clearly had more and better weapons.
“They all have high-speed submachine guns,” Guan Xue said enviously, shielding Qian Mao from a barrage of paint pellets and firing back a few shots. “Much better than what I have.”
The incoming fire was too dense. Without a breakthrough, the Red Team would be pinned down here by the Blue Team.
“Luo Shaoyuan, Zuo Luohuan, go east for a breakthrough. Hui Bing, cover them,” Ji Yuezhi quickly ordered. The Northern Military Academy team had no objections.
Under Hui Bing’s cover, Zuo Luohuan and Luo Shaoyuan broke through the dense web of paint pellets, quickly moving eastward.
“Holy sh…”
“Zuo Luohuan!”
Soon, a few short curses came from the east, all from the Blue Team.
Luo Shaoyuan turned her head, about to admire Zuo Luohuan’s precise and ruthless attacks, when she saw Zuo Luohuan grab a submachine gun from the Blue Team and shoot her—right in the helmet.
A puff of colored smoke erupted from Luo Shaoyuan’s helmet.
Luo Shaoyuan was dumbfounded: “…”
Seeing that she was about to yell, Zuo Luohuan put a finger to her lips, shushing her, and mouthed the words: You’re dead.
Luo Shaoyuan choked back a cry of frustration, feeling like she was about to explode.
Zuo Luohuan stepped over the unconscious Blue Team members, walked over to Luo Shaoyuan, straightened her helmet, and whispered with a smile, “You’re out of the game, Captain Luo.”
Luo Shaoyuan knew she couldn’t alert the others and that she was already “dead,” but the person who “killed” her was standing right next to her. Taking advantage of the moment she lowered her head to adjust her helmet, she couldn’t help but ask Zuo Luohuan, “Did you also eliminate my other two teammates?”
Zuo Luohuan admitted, “Yes.”
Who would worry about a “dead person” leaking information?
Comments
Post a Comment