Evolution - Chapter 74
Chapter 74
With one hundred twenty-five thousand new students, it was impossible for them all to rush in at once for a chaotic free-for-all.
The competition area for the student-versus-student tournament had four entrances. The first wave consisted of 10,000 students entering from each entrance. Afterward, for every 1,000 students eliminated, another 1,000 would enter the field. Newly entered students had a thirty-minute invulnerability period.
To prevent passive play that would drag out the massive brawl into a tedious affair, each person could remain on the field for a maximum of twenty-four hours. Once the time was up, the signal light on their protective suit would automatically turn from green to red, and they would be withdrawn from the competition.
After the lots were drawn, Ji Changqing and her group tallied their numbers and found the distribution to be quite even. Ji Changqing and Gu Changge drew numbers that put them in the opening wave. Du Zhong and Lu Youwen were in the high forty-thousands, approaching fifty thousand. Lu Youxia and Weisman were in the sixty-thousands, while He Qingping, Cheng Jian, and Eve were close to the one hundred thousand mark.
If the fighting was fierce enough, Gu Changge and Ji Changqing might even have a happy reunion with Lu Youxia and Weisman on the battlefield.
Everyone studied the simulated panoramic map of the area and circled eight locations.
Their skill levels varied. The stronger ones could reach one of the four rendezvous points closer to the central area within half an hour. It didn't matter if the weaker ones couldn't make it; they would meet at the four points on the periphery, form small teams, and then fight their way out.
As the designated party crashers, their plan was simple and brutal.
A forceful assault! A two-pronged forceful assault.
Those meeting at the four central points would snipe the top candidates for Chief Student, giving them an early exit from the competition. Those meeting at the four outer points would sweep up the scattered lone players, snatching up points first.
According to their intelligence, six of the fifteen potential candidates had drawn numbers in the first half of the entry queue.
At eight in the morning, the student-versus-student competition officially began.
Ji Changqing and Gu Changge weren't so lucky this time as to be grouped together. They were assigned to different entrances, one in the south and one in the north. Meeting up would be a significant waste of time.
While collecting her firearm, Ji Changqing found herself missing Pencil. He was truly an excellent sniper. What a pity he wasn't at the Fourth Military.
Without Pencil to assist her, she would have to go it alone.
She chose a sniper rifle, collected ten bullets, and slung it over her back with ease.
Two other troublemaking companions from the first wave were assigned to the same entrance as her. Ji Changqing entered early, and with her speed, she quickly reached the rendezvous point near the central area for their entrance, where she found a suitable spot and concealed herself.
After waiting for about ten minutes, she heard the faint rustling of someone approaching. She adjusted the muzzle of her rifle and coughed lightly. "Password."
Encased in protective gear, and being unfamiliar with each other, no one could tell friend from foe. They could only rely on the password to connect.
The two approaching figures recited with utter listlessness, "Are you happy?!"
Ji Changqing suppressed a laugh. "I am very happy!"
The three of them had successfully rendezvoused.
"Hey, which way should we go?"
If they wanted to crash the party, they had to find people first. If they couldn't even find anyone, how were they supposed to kill them?!
Ji Changqing replied nonchalantly, "The thirty-minute invulnerability period is almost over. When the time is right, they'll show us the way themselves."
Like hell we believe you! The other two shot her identical, disdainful looks.
Ji Changqing didn't bother explaining. "Before we stir up trouble, let's get some more bullets first!"
Anyone with ambition would be trying to form a team, right? All they had to do was target the larger groups and kill to their hearts' content!
But first, they had to ensure they had enough ammunition. Hand-to-hand combat wasn't going to cut it.
During the thirty-minute invulnerability period, those who had teams and were lucky enough to be in the first wave were racing against time to meet up. But everyone was cautious, not going wild right from the start. Most wanted to lie low for a while, waiting for others to stir up the fighting so their own teammates could enter the field sooner.
For the first three hours, progress was incredibly slow.
After Ji Changqing's trio met up, they began constantly changing positions. The only thing that remained constant was that their new positions always offered a view of their designated meeting point. Anyone not approaching from the specified direction was eliminated on sight!
Gradually, as a dozen or so people gathered at their point, their guns had already claimed over a hundred vengeful souls.
Most people chose assault rifles and the like, so they collected the most ammunition for those. They also took down three students who had chosen sniper rifles.
Ji Changqing cradled her sniper rifle and sighed deeply. After taking out three snipers and using her own bullets sparingly, she now had only twenty sniper rounds.
She tucked a pistol into her belt, along with twenty extra bullets. In a low voice, she said, "Listen. The gunfire is getting more intense."
Her companions turned to look at her in unison.
That was obvious. Although the total number of participants was constant, the ones eliminated early were those who lacked skill or didn't have teammates for cover. Those who remained were either skilled or good at staying hidden.
By now, the teams should have assembled their members. The phase of sweeping and firefights was likely about to begin.
Otherwise, the candidates from the first wave wouldn't have much time left to rack up points.
The moment the candidates started farming points was the moment their little troublemaking squad would make its move—either by forcing others out or getting forced out themselves.
Ji Changqing adjusted her protective face shield to make her voice less muffled. "During the thirty-minute invulnerability period, the first wave of entrants would have run as fast as they could. The closer to the center, the safer it is. But for those who enter later, to avoid getting eliminated right away, they'll definitely find a place to hide for that half-hour."
She drew several points on the ground, then two circles, connecting the points to form a ring. "The two points we chose for each entrance direction were based on a prediction that this ring-shaped area would be where most people hide."
They understood immediately. If the entire area were color-coded by danger level, the ring would be a high-risk red zone. The area from the ring toward the center would be relatively safe—because most people would be eliminated before they could even dash into the central region.
This meant that the first-wave entrants who managed to reach the inner area within their thirty-minute invulnerability period were unlikely to meet up with their teammates.
The number of people inside wouldn't be very high either.
To get more points, one had to enter the ring.
Now, the gunfire was growing more intense, which clearly indicated that teams had organized and were on the move.
All they needed to do was observe which direction the gunfire was moving, and they could roughly guess the enemy's route.
Du Zhong waited anxiously in the queue at his entrance. Those who hadn't entered the field yet could see the kill counts. At the beginning, the numbers were just ticking up by one or two, indicating the fighting wasn't very intense.
But starting from the fourth hour, the scores of the candidates who had entered earlier began to skyrocket. In the first four hours, their scores had increased by less than 100, but in the next four, their individual scores shot up by more than three hundred. The numbers would jump by six, seven, or eight at a time, then by another four, five, or six a moment later, as if people were lining up to be killed by them.
Just then, someone exclaimed, "Whoa! Look!"
"Holy crap! Who is Ji Changqing? Is she just picking them off one by one? Her kill count shot up by twenty-seven in less than two minutes!"
"Two minutes! Twenty-seven kills! Does she even need to aim?!"
"Ahhh! Tao Jun was taken out! Who was so ruthless?!"
"What? Tao Jun was eliminated?"
"Yeah, look! His rank is dropping!"
Du Zhong whipped his head around to look at the large screens behind him.
Sure enough, on the large screen displaying the real-time battle status, Tao Jun's name was still at the top of the score change list, but it was grayed out.
And on the screen showing the overall student rankings, his name had dropped from the top spot he had briefly occupied to second place.
He couldn't help but grin.
A commotion erupted among the new students waiting to be called. The chatter was all about how Tao Jun, a top contender for Chief Student, had been eliminated prematurely.
After all, he was the man who was only a few points behind first place.
Of course, the person in third place was only about ten points behind him.
But during the months of training, this year's new students had basically all been sold on how amazing he was. Prominent family, excellent skills—he was clearly the chosen one.
Everyone knew he was determined to become the Chief Student and had gathered the largest number of followers.
Especially since he was in the first wave, he had every advantage. Everyone thought he had it in the bag. But just like that, he was out, unable to survive even eight hours on the battlefield.
The feeling was as thrilling as hearing about a major figure being effortlessly assassinated despite being under heavy protection!
A suspicion churned in everyone's mind, but no one dared to voice it.
From Ji Changqing's sudden rise and soaring kill count to Tao Jun's name turning gray, there was practically no time lag.
Just how deep was their grudge?!
Du Zhong let out a pleased "hmph" through his nose.
The grudge was huge, okay? It was this guy who had all but pointed at Ji Changqing and accused her of having low character and winning by latching onto powerful people.
And as fate would have it, he was assigned to the same entrance as Ji Changqing, both in the first wave. Who else would she go after first?
Another half an hour passed, and Du Zhong and Lu Youwen were finally called to prepare for entry.
Just as they were collecting their firearms and ammunition, preparing to pull down their face shields and step onto the battlefield, another wave of gasps and shouts erupted from the waiting area behind them:
"Holy crap, Baoge'er was taken out too!"
"Is this year cursed or something? Why are the top ten contenders getting eliminated so quickly?!"
"God, did these chosen ones start fighting each other so soon? A mutual destruction?"
"Mutual destruction, my ass! It's been half an hour!"
"Could it be that Baoge'er's team took out Tao Jun first, and then someone ambushed them while they were vulnerable?"
"Are you blind? They were at opposite entrances, north and south. Would they be stupid enough to sprint for hours just to have a duel?!"
Du Zhong began to hum a cheerful tune.
Gu Changge wasn't bad either, pretty quick on the draw.
In the waiting area of another entrance, Lu Youwen quietly listened to the wild speculations, feeling a strange sense of delight, as if he held all the world's secrets.
He silently calculated that two of the six targets entering in the first half were already down. Hmm, he had to step up his game. He had to get at least one kill!
His number was at the very end of the 48,000-49,000 block. By the time he collected his gun and ammunition, the several hundred people ahead of him were already out of sight.
Getting his bearings, he used his qinggong to rush toward the rendezvous point near the central area for his entrance.
He had been running for only about ten minutes when he suddenly slowed down. Nearly two hundred people were standing neatly and openly on both sides of the road.
It looked just like a gang showdown.
The signal lights on their suits blinked with a charming yellow, indicating they were in the safe, invulnerable period.
They must be from the same wave that had just entered.
The protective suits concealed everyone completely. In theory, no one should be able to recognize anyone else.
Then he heard a fawning voice call out, "Hey, Lu Youwen, take us with you on your decapitation strike?"
His feet faltered, and he nearly tripped.
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