SCOM - Chapter 52
Chapter 52
The moment the four from the Northern Military Academy looked up, Zuo Luohuan had already gotten up, leaped from the light strip to the side, and quickly climbed to the second floor, chasing after the figure and disappearing from their sight.
The technician turned his head to look up at the lights. Before he could tell his companion to find a weapon, a shot was suddenly fired from the side of the second floor, successively hitting the Northern Military Academy team members standing on the first floor.
A direct hit to the helmet.
“Get down!” Zuo Luohuan heard the gunshot, jumped down from the other corridor, and grabbed the other two people, pulling them aside to take cover.
The two team members hit by the paintballs stood dazedly under the first-floor lights. A message of elimination popped up on both of their optical computers.
“There are Blue Team members upstairs?” the technician asked nervously, hiding under a seat.
“Not sure, I didn't catch up,” Zuo Luohuan said, half-squatting as she stared at the two team members whose helmets were smoking. “When I went up to the second floor just now, I saw a gun on the light strip. I’ll go get it.”
“They already have guns!” the technician said, grabbing Zuo Luohuan.
“On the way here, there was a hardware store we checked. You guys circle around through the back door and wait for me there,” Zuo Luohuan said, turning her head. “I’ll bring the guns back.”
“...Be careful.” The technician knew Zuo Luohuan’s strength, so he said no more and left through the back door with his last companion, his body hunched over.
Just as they stepped out the back door, they heard several more gunshots from the movie theater.
“How did the Blue Team get here so fast?” the technician worriedly glanced back at the movie theater as he ran behind his companion.
Although several more gunshots rang out from the theater, fortunately, it wasn't long after the two reached the hardware store, half an hour at most, that Zuo Luohuan successfully emerged, carrying a large bundle on her back.
“This is…” The technician was stunned for a moment when he saw her push the door open and noticed the large bundle on her back.
Zuo Luohuan threw the bundle on the ground and pulled out two pistols, tossing them to the men. Only then did the technician realize the bundle was likely the large red cloth from the movie theater entrance.
“There were pistols and ammunition on the light strip, and five submachine guns were found under the seats.” Zuo Luohuan tore the red cloth into two pieces and gave half to the other person. “Take this. We should head back.”
“What about the Blue Team members?” the other Northern Military Academy team member asked.
“I grabbed the guns and got out,” Zuo Luohuan said. “I didn’t see any trace of them, only the shots fired from the second floor.”
The ammunition in the second stage was different from the live rounds in the first. They were just paintballs. A hit to the helmet meant immediate elimination, just like the two Northern Military Academy members who were suddenly taken out. Of course, according to the rules they understood, if another body part was hit, like a hand, that hand could no longer be used. In a strict sense, it was even worse than live ammunition.
“Let’s go back first.” By the time Zuo Luohuan and the remaining two returned to the mall rooftop, it was already afternoon.
Luo Shaoyuan’s expression changed instantly when she saw only the three of them. “Zuo Luohuan, where are my other two team members?”
“Captain, we were suddenly attacked. They had guns,” the technician stepped forward to explain. “Zuo Luo… Classmate Zuo managed to find so many guns all by herself while under their attack.”
Zuo Luohuan glanced at Ji Yuezhi behind the water tank. He was still there, reciting the document information from his optical computer, and hadn't looked up at her even once from beginning to end.
“They were picked up after being eliminated?” Luo Shaoyuan asked, feeling aggrieved.
The students of the Northern Military Academy were known for their excellent skills, yet their entire team had been overturned by An Yingjing in the first stage of the exercise. Now, in the second stage, tied with the First Military Academy, they had lost two members on the very first day. Luo Shaoyuan felt a bitter taste in her mouth.
“Probably.” Zuo Luohuan took a submachine gun and tossed it to Guan Xue, giving all the rest to the Northern Military Academy team.
With weapons, the group’s sense of security greatly increased. Guan Xue and Hui Bing each guarded a direction, while Zuo Luohuan patrolled the surroundings.
Late into the night, Ji Yuezhi finally finished transcribing all the documents he had read and sent them to Qian Mao.
Qian Mao immediately began to study them. Ji Yuezhi stood up, his brow heavy with fatigue after more than ten hours of high-intensity output.
“Why are two people missing?” Ji Yuezhi frowned and asked Luo Shaoyuan, noticing the extra guns in the group and that the Northern Military Academy team was short on members.
“They were eliminated while looking for weapons.” Luo Shaoyuan couldn't really blame Zuo Luohuan anymore. In the end, their skills were inferior, and they failed to dodge. Besides, Zuo Luohuan had brought back two of her team members.
“You went down?” Ji Yuezhi asked.
“Me? No, Zuo Luohuan took four people down.” Luo Shaoyuan lifted her chin and gestured behind him. “She left not long after you sat down behind the water tank. Didn’t you hear?”
Ji Yuezhi turned to look. Zuo Luohuan had her back to him, talking with Jiang Hong.
“She took your team members out, and two didn’t come back?” Ji Yuezhi continued to question Luo Shaoyuan. “Did they run into the Blue Team?”
“I don’t know. They didn’t see anyone, just heard gunshots.”
Ji Yuezhi fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then walked another lap around the rooftop. While he had been immersed in his recitation, the team members had already arranged themselves in a typical high-ground offensive and defensive formation. There was nothing to criticize. But whether below or on the rooftop, it was pitch black, making it difficult to see the surroundings.
“Not going to rest?” Zuo Luohuan heard footsteps and turned to look at Ji Yuezhi. “We’re on watch tonight.”
Half of Ji Yuezhi’s face was hidden in the darkness of the night. He said faintly, “I’m checking the rooftop defenses.”
Zuo Luohuan was still holding the bottle of water she had been given earlier. She offered it to Ji Yuezhi. “Go rest after you’re done. There are still several days ahead.”
Ji Yuezhi didn’t take it, turning his head to the side. “I’ll get my own.”
Zuo Luohuan took the water back, her expression showing no trace of anything unusual.
...
In the latter half of the night, Guan Xue, Yan Yan, and a few others rested behind the water tank. Ji Yuezhi sat beside Qian Mao with his eyes closed, resting, so that he could be asked at any time if Qian Mao found something he had written that he couldn't understand.
It was December, and the weather was growing cold. They were on a rooftop, where the wind was strong and the temperature was low.
There were still two large, thick red cloths on the ground, torn from the movie theater. Zuo Luohuan walked over, bent down to pick them up, and threw one over Guan Xue and the others who were huddled together on the ground. Holding the other red cloth, she shook off the dust and bent down to cover Ji Yuezhi and Qian Mao, who were leaning against the water tank.
Captain Luo Shaoyuan, who was still awake and on watch, tsked a few times and turned to scold a team member beside her. “Look at others, so good at protecting their captain. And you lot, you even snatch my food!”
“Captain, who knows, I might get sacrificed and eliminated tomorrow. What’s wrong with eating some of your food?” The team member beside her looked down on Zuo Luohuan’s actions. “Those people from the First Military Academy are so delicate, they can’t even stand a little cold wind. Not like us from the Northern Military Academy, we can endure hardship, we’re thick-skinned and tough.”
“I don’t know about hardship, but you guys can really eat,” Luo Shaoyuan silently envied the people from the First Military Academy.
“Captain, we can’t beat you at eating, so we have no choice but to snatch,” the team member couldn’t help but speak his true thoughts.
Luo Shaoyuan: “…”
The next day, everyone was woken up by a shout of “I’ve got it!”
Ji Yuezhi, who was closest to the source of the sound, woke up, looked up at the standing Qian Mao, and got up to ask him, “What’s in the documents?” The large red cloth covering them slid to the ground. Neither of them paid it any mind, not even noticing it.
“Captain, this part is used to make a Skeletal Mech,” Qian Mao said excitedly. He had originally thought it was just a random light gun schematic provided by the organizers, but after studying it all night, he realized something was off.
“I’ve also heard about the Skeletal Mech research project,” the technician from the Northern Military Academy said, walking over. “But it requires a material with excellent ductility to design a form-fitting, adaptable Skeletal Mech. The Federation hasn’t found a suitable material yet.”
“This document states that they temporarily used material from the robot dogs, mixed with another material, to create one Skeletal Mech.” Qian Mao was already rubbing his hands together, eager to leave and search for the parts. “The parts are scattered throughout Leye Small Town. Once found and assembled, a suitable person can wear it and be one against a hundred.”
“Is the structural diagram assembled?” Ji Yuezhi asked.
“It is.” Qian Mao turned his optical computer for Ji Yuezhi to see.
“The second stage is to protect the USB drive. It has nothing to do with the Skeletal Mech,” Zuo Luohuan reminded them.
Jiang Hong nodded beside her. “When the Red and Blue teams face off, we might not even need a Skeletal Mech.”
“What if it’s related to the third stage?” Qian Mao had already pieced together the structure; it was impossible for him to just give up.
“We’re going to look for the Skeletal Mech,” Luo Shaoyuan said bluntly. “If the Red Team wins the second stage, maybe the winner will be whichever team finds the most Skeletal Mech parts.”
Qian Mao clutched his structural diagram. “Then you can’t look at it.”
The Northern Military Academy technician chuckled. “I’ve already memorized it.”
He couldn’t memorize a large amount of information from the documents, but he could still remember a single structural diagram.
After discussion, the Red Team finally decided to both protect the USB drive and search for the Skeletal Mech parts.
However, Leye Small Town was indeed not large. By the evening of the second day, the Red and Blue teams had run into each other, and the Blue Team’s weapons were clearly more numerous and powerful than the Red Team’s.
“They’re all armed with high-speed submachine guns.” Guan Xue protected Qian Mao, dodging the dense barrage of paintballs, and fired back a few shots, saying with envy, “Much better than what I have.”
The bullets were too dense. Without a breakthrough, the Red Team was about to be sniped here by the Blue Team.
“Luo Shaoyuan, Zuo Luohuan, break through to the east. Hui Bing, provide cover,” Ji Yuezhi quickly gave the order. The people from the Northern Military Academy had no objections.
Under Hui Bing’s cover, Zuo Luohuan and Luo Shaoyuan broke through the dense net of bullets and quickly moved toward the east.
“Fuck you…”
“Zuo Luohuan!”
A moment later, a few short curses came from the east, all from the Blue Team.
Luo Shaoyuan turned her head, about to praise Zuo Luohuan’s precise and ruthless attack, but in the next second, she saw her grab a Blue Team submachine gun and fire it at her own head.
A puff of colored smoke rose from her helmet.
Luo Shaoyuan was dumbfounded. “…”
Seeing she was about to shout, Zuo Luohuan raised a finger to her lips with a “shush” and mouthed the words: You’re already dead.
A breath caught in Luo Shaoyuan’s throat, and she felt like she was about to explode.
Zuo Luohuan stepped over the bodies of the all-unconscious Blue Team members, walked to Luo Shaoyuan’s side, straightened her helmet for her, and said softly with a smile, “You should leave the field, Captain Luo.”
Luo Shaoyuan knew she couldn’t inform the others, that she was already dead, but the person who had killed her was standing right beside her. She couldn’t help but use the motion of lowering her head to adjust her helmet to question Zuo Luohuan, “Did you kill my two team members as well?”
Zuo Luohuan admitted, “Yes.”
Who would worry about a ‘dead person’ leaking secrets?
lol smart move i guess
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