First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 61
Chapter 61: Group Up
At eight in the morning, Lian Sheng got up to receive her equipment. The robot delivered the items to her dorm room.
Her small room was extremely cramped, with furniture haphazardly arranged. Moreover, Lin Lie had previously brought her quite a few things that were now piled together, leaving virtually no space for this large item. So she first directed the robot to rearrange the furniture in her room.
Hearing the commotion, several roommates came out and learned she had brought a sensor set.
Roommate A said, "You can put it in the living room. I've seen others usually place it there. We can clear this table."
Lian Sheng glanced outside and replied, "No need. Thank you. I can make it fit."
The three of them weren't Military Academy students and usually enjoyed watching shows and chatting together in the living room. If Lian Sheng occupied the space, they'd probably feel uncomfortable.
After the robot finished rearranging and came out, Lian Sheng said, "I have an appointment at nine to grind points with someone. See you later."
The three nodded, stepped back, and returned to their rooms.
Lian Sheng went to open the equipment door—everything inside was brand new. Feeling somewhat excited, she methodically put on the protective gear and clicked start.
The login process for private equipment was indeed different from the training room's. When logging in at the training room, she directly entered the preparation zone with her real appearance. Here, the first interface that popped up was for creating an anonymous account.
Lian Sheng thought for a moment, then grinned.
Throughout her life, she had hovered between various general titles but never attained the rank of Grand General. So she directly chose the highest military title—Piaoqi Great General.
Nice. Not bad.
Falsely claiming an official title shouldn't be a problem since she couldn't find any records of such titles anymore.
Scrolling down the selection interface, she noticed a "Recommended for You" section.
Face Changer (You can adjust your facial features.)
Voice Modulator (You can adjust your voice tone.)
Each cost fifty points or two thousand star coins. Lian Sheng nodded, thinking this was also good—after scamming one person, she could move on to the next. But she didn't have that much money.
She only had five hundred points, which seemed utterly insignificant. So she decided to reserve two hundred points for equipment and consider the rest later.
Right after purchasing two "Recommended for You" items, a whole row of new recommendations popped up.
Lian Sheng took a closer look, then checked her points again.
Well... should she go for another round?
Nine in the morning.
Since it was the weekend, most were still sleeping in. Zhao Zhuoluo went to wake them up.
Fang Jianchen washed his face and came out in his underwear. He grabbed a piece of bread and a carton of milk in the living room.
Fang Jianchen complained, "All you know is violently coercing your roommates! There's no brotherly love in our dorm at all!"
Zhao Zhuoluo said, "To be honest, if not for dorm camaraderie, you might not have survived till today."
Fang Jianchen: "..."
Fang Jianchen walked back in and slammed the door shut.
Cheng Ze and Ye Buqing also finished preparing, and the four logged into Sanyao.
Zhao Zhuoluo entered Lian Sheng's character name in the team.
"Piaoqi Great General? Doesn't sound like something an eight-year-old girl would pick." Fang Jianchen searched her info and exclaimed, "She still has two hundred and fifty points?!"
According to Sanyao's rules for solo point grinding, this person had already won quite a few matches.
"What a hardcore Sanyao fan. Kids these days are something else." Fang Jianchen shook his head ruefully. "I can imagine her points are built on others' blood."
What was the most dreaded thing in random matchmaking? Of course, teammates who seemed to live in another dimension—stabbing you in the back while forcing you to carry them. After all, small battlefield rewards were calculated solely based on victory or defeat.
Cheng Ze said, "She has over two hundred points? Does she still need you to guide her in Sanyao? She must have played quite a few matches, right?"
Zhao Zhuoluo frowned slightly. "I don't know. Let's see first."
The group gathered in Waiting Hall No. 12—a spacious area with a white-dominated color scheme, people milling about.
Suddenly, exaggerated exclamations came from the front, and the crowd began pressing toward the center.
Ignoring them, Lian Sheng walked over from the distance, her name displayed above her head.
At first glance, Zhao Zhuoluo and the others couldn't help but shudder.
"Holy hell, this brutal aesthetic!" Fang Jianchen clutched his chest. "First grader at most!"
Cheng Ze's lips twitched. "First graders would probably come after you for that."
Fang Jianchen: "By eight, I was already a mature, domineering CEO. Are kids these days developing so slowly?"
The person before them had exaggerated colors and hairstyle, trailing ribbons, a bright robe, boots over boots, pants over pants. The outfit was a chaotic mess. In short, this ensemble was truly something.
Facial features were androgynous—thick eyebrows, a somewhat square face. But obscured by all the accessories, it was hard to make out clearly.
The person calmly stood before them and raised a hand in greeting. "Hello."
The voice was also somewhat hoarse.
Under the crowd's gaze, the four couldn't help but take a step back.
Cheng Ze paused, then said tactfully, "I never realized the mall items could look this ugly."
Fang Jianchen swallowed and said gently, "Look, little sister, it's not that I don't understand you, but don't adjust your height and body shape during matches. It contradicts your training purpose and will only make you more uncomfortable."
Lian Sheng tilted her head—Fang Jianchen's distinctive voice was all too familiar.
Looking at their names: Step by Step to the Clouds, Next-Door Top Student, Alliance's Number One Cannon, When It Rains, the Gods Take Command.
Lian Sheng opened their info—all four had over 100,000 points, with Next-Door Top Student nearing 200,000.
Lin Lie had said the people guiding her were also Alliance University students who participated in the last military academy league—wasn't that Zhao Zhuoluo and his team?
Lian Sheng scratched her head, took off her hat, and examined it with a frown. "They all look good individually. But together... they're ugly."
The group sighed in relief. If she knew it was ugly, there was hope!
Zhao Zhuoluo asked, "Have you played Sanyao before?"
"Yes," Lian Sheng said. "But only ancient battlefields."
Fang Jianchen said, "Then how about something fresh this time? Urban mech battlefield?"
Cheng Ze immediately smacked the back of his head. "What are you thinking? Where's your awareness? Are we here to play or to guide?"
Urban maps were extremely complex, with various districts and shelters imposing many restrictions.
Cheng Ze said, "Ignore him. Ten-player team, modern ruins battlefield. Let's recruit first."
Ruins battlefields were known for quick, decisive battles.
Each side would deploy three mechs, each with one battery.
Cheng Ze then created the team, selected the 10,000 vs. 10,000 system soldier mode, and began recruiting teammates.
Since their points were high enough to tower over almost everyone in the venue—clearly indicating they were top-tier students from military-related majors—they were prime targets for leeching. The team filled almost instantly.
After matching opponents, everyone entered the countdown to the battlefield.
This was Lian Sheng's first time in a modern battlefield, so everything felt fresh. Looking at the options, she flexed her fingers and asked, "How are roles assigned?"
Before she could say she wanted to be commander, Zhao Zhuoluo had already rolled the dice. He selected all roles, then clicked to become the main assault force, applying for a mech.
Zhao Zhuoluo said, "Just roll randomly."
Cheng Ze and the others also selected all roles. After hesitating, Lian Sheng followed suit.
The newly joined teammates were baffled. What kind of operation was this? So casual? One immediately grew wary. "Holy shit! Are you here to screw us over?"
Another panicked. "This feels like hacked accounts! Are you here to vent? Young people, don't be so pessimistic!"
"You don't get it, you just don't get it," a teammate named Pointy-Mouthed Monkey said. "Real experts can solo-clear the field. This is their subtle way of inviting us to freeload. We should be happy!"
Zhao Zhuoluo said, "You all pick company commander."
After role selection, the equipment interface popped up.
Lian Sheng looked at the row of firearms and asked, "What weapons should I buy?"
Zhao Zhuoluo was surprised. "Choose default. We'll grab them from the soldiers later."
Small-scale battles provided a default set of equipment. Since this was just for grinding points, buying weapons would mean losing money.
Hearing this, Fang Jianchen skeptically turned to look at Lian Sheng. Would someone with a "massive" 250 points really ask this?
After finalizing selections, the ten spawned together on the map.
The system announced individual roles.
Commander: Fang Jianchen.
Deputy Commander: Lian Sheng.
Mech Pilots: Zhao Zhuoluo, Cheng Ze, Fang Jianchen.
Deputy commander, meaning data analyst. Seeing the result, Lian Sheng was speechless. "I don't know how to play deputy commander."
The teammates immediately exploded.
First God of Inward and Outward yelled, "What the hell? If you can't do it, why select all roles? Are you trolling?"
Fang Jianchen immediately stood up for her. "So what if she can't? That's why we're guiding her. If she could, why would we be here? Don't bully people, alright? Right, little sister?"
Lian Sheng looked at him. "You've called me 'little sister' many times now."
Thinking she was displeased, Fang Jianchen tentatively said, "Then... little friend?"
Lian Sheng made a surprised "Huh?" sound.
Fang Jianchen found it strange she didn't immediately try to stab him. Judging by their reaction, did they not know who she was?
Lian Sheng's mind raced, then she suddenly laughed. "You can call me Great General."
The group chuckled dismissively.
Zhao Zhuoluo said, "It's about to start. Great General stays here. Everyone else, get into position. Commander, assign troops. I don't need any."
Fang Jianchen, who had been scowling, suddenly remembered he was the commander.
Ten people, ten thousand troops. He assigned one thousand to each. Lian Sheng and Zhao Zhuoluo got none, and the extra two thousand all went to Cheng Ze.
"Damn it!" Cheng Ze, realizing he now had three thousand soldiers, immediately understood Fang Jianchen's malicious intent. "Are you guys just freeloading now? That's too much!"
Fang Jianchen: "You chose mech piloting! You made your bed, now lie in it! Hahaha!"
The three mech pilots ran to the back to retrieve their mechs, while the five teammates who had joined just to make up numbers stood rooted in place, exchanging glances.
First God of Inward and Outward said blankly, "Commander, shouldn't you at least give clear orders first? How do we fight without a data analyst? How are mechs assigned? Which route do we take?"
"No data analyst means you can't fight? Send soldiers to scout the map, then figure it out yourselves!" Fang Jianchen declared righteously. "Don't you know how to hit people?"
Pointy-Mouthed Monkey clutched his chest. "Have you... ever commanded before?"
Fang Jianchen: "Nope!"
The group: "..."
"If you've never commanded, why did you pick commander?!" The five were losing it. "How the hell did you even get your points? Did you hack?!"
Zhao Zhuoluo couldn't take it anymore and issued orders in Fang Jianchen's stead: "Go to your positions, assemble your troops, then advance straight ahead. Someone will clear the path for you."
The group asked skeptically, "That's it?"
Zhao Zhuoluo nodded. "Yeah. That's it."
This map was actually very simple.
Though a modern battlefield, it was already in ruins, with virtually no buildings over a hundred meters tall. More importantly, it was relatively small.
Since this map was designed for point grinding, most chose to prioritize attack power for quick victories, minimizing reliance on data analysts.
For Zhao Zhuoluo's team, mech piloting skills alone could determine the battle's outcome, so a commander wasn't strictly necessary.
But the five didn't understand this. Huddling together, they whispered:
"They seem so unreliable. Are they just here to flirt?"
"What if they overestimate themselves?"
"Then what do we do?"
"Let's see first."
Lian Sheng stood nearby, listening quietly, then looked up at the sky.
A gray overcast—the precursor to rain.
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Ooh ok? I didn’t expect them to not recognise each other
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