Chapter 44

Chapter 44

This question was highly consistent with what the audience wanted to ask.

They too were extremely curious about what the council was up to.

Before the start of the Wasteland Tournament, the council had already warned that this competition would be harsher than before, but no one anticipated that the so-called "harshness" would reach this extent.

It was practically akin to the level of frontline battle preparations, and simply attributing it to an increase in competition level was insufficient.

The general public and the military school students on the wasteland didn't know that the council was very aware of this; the original live broadcast would not have been successful—had it not been for Cheng Jiu suddenly rushing back from the frontline.

The Cheng family, which usually didn't get along with Cheng Jiu, this time, like taking the wrong medicine, stood behind him, exerting pressure on the council together with the Ninth Army.

Families with children participating in this Wasteland Tournament sensed something amiss and did not hesitate to join Cheng Jiu in pressuring the council, demanding to know the situation of the Wasteland Tournament.

It must be said that the council's handling of this matter was extremely foolish.

Students from various military schools stood at the edge of the oasis, waiting for the insectoids' civil war to end.

They were not worried about the energy core falling into the hands of the insectoids. The insectoids couldn’t harness the energy of the core in a short time; they only needed to kill the creatures and extract it. They could very well play the role of the fisherman, watching as the snipe and clam battle it out.

The battle between the insectoids was long and drawn out, far more savage and bloody than any human conflict. The rich green of their lifeblood was quickly absorbed by the yellow sands, leaving behind chunks of flesh that still writhed on the ground, severed nerves twitching.

Lin Fu stood atop a dune, overlooking the carnage below.

The potent scent of humans drew the attention of several Level 8 insectoids, which attempted to scatter the humans but were quickly seized by the lower-Level 7 insects, dragged back into the fray.

It was an uncanny sight, humans and insectoids coexisting so peacefully within the same space.

Lin Fu observed each insect's wounds, trying to predict the eventual victor.

He cautiously retracted his psychic threads, looping them close to his body to avoid the psychic assaults of the higher insectoids.

Instinctively, his gaze fixed on one particular insect, drawn to it.

It seemed... as if it wanted to break away from the struggle, heading in a different direction.

Would an insectoid abandon the energy core?

Naturally not. The attraction to it was ingrained in their genes; even if the struggle led to death, they would not choose to give up.

But as higher insectoids, their defining trait was their ability to think, to discern and choose the better over the worse.

What choice could be more advantageous than the current situation?

The battle raged for nearly half an hour, the military school students who were initially detained gradually caught up, and with the main group, they stopped on the dunes, watching the strife at the edge of the oasis, their gazes occasionally falling to its center.

That was where the energy cores lay, and not just one.

Who wouldn’t want them?

Even with representatives from the four major military schools, Xuan Sword, and Flying Fish present, what if someone managed to snatch a core amidst the chaos?

The victor could be directly promoted to the rank of captain, spared from the frontline dangers that loomed with death at every turn!

With this thought, many eyes grew hot and greedy in the quiet.

The insectoids' battle lasted for over half an hour, ending with the triumph of a Level 8 insectoid and a Level 7 insectoid.

A small pool of blood accumulated briefly in the depressed sand pit, its seepage slowed by the sands saturated with spilled blood. The thick green liquid reflected a blinding light under the intense sun.

Only two high-ranking insectoids remained, both gravely injured; any military academy here could dispatch them.

Yet, a brief silence fell over the space, no one making a move.

"Finders keepers..." so who does the energy core belong to?

The deadlock was broken by Milton, who charged into the depression first, her broadsword mercilessly cleaving the two elite insectoids in half!

With the deterrence of the higher insectoids gone, countless mid- and low-level insectoids began swarming towards the oasis, plunging the military academy students, who had relaxed for half an hour, back into the tide of crisis.

Yan Yan and others followed Milton’s lead, swarming into the oasis, with Tu Shengyao and others not far behind.

The oasis was too small to accommodate mechs; otherwise, they would trample everything underfoot.

They disembarked from their mechs, slaying lower insectoids while searching for the location of the energy core.

Lin Fu and his group blended in with the crowd; with Yan Yan and Milton drawing the attention of their seniors, their actions were less conspicuous.

Milton and Yan Yan had already engaged in fierce combat with individuals from other military academies.

At this juncture, their brief alliance with the Holy Mountain Academy was undoubtedly over, turning them into competitors.

Led by Roy, two military academies tangled with Artemis and Glorious Lion Academy, but were evidently outmatched. Glorious Lion Academy’s combat effectiveness had far surpassed other students during their months underground, having developed the battlefield soldier's aura of blood and slaughter, enough for one academy to tie up Menkar Carlton and Holy Mountain.

Artemis had spare hands to deal with. Amidst the strife between the four major academies, Xuan Sword and Flying Fish lurked ominously, and numerous military academies sought to stir the waters, creating an extremely chaotic situation.

Milton, pulling back Zhong Si who wanted to rush to help, asked Lin Fu in a low voice, “Did you notice anything?”

Lin Fu, casually slaying an insectoid beside him, frowned and closely observed their movements, shaking his head after a long while: “Let’s go down and look for the energy core first.”

Tang Qian agreed: “Okay.”

Zhong Si quickly caught on to their line of thought. Realizing something was amiss with the insectoids, but unable to discern the issue despite careful observation, he abandoned the thought and followed Lin Fu’s lead.

The four tried to conceal their figures as much as possible to avoid attracting attention from other academies.

Arriving at the lake within the oasis, the four huddled in the shadows of the trees, Zhong Si frowning: “How are we supposed to find it? If it’s underground, we can’t exactly turn the ground upside down.”

Indeed, this was a problem.

With the deterrent of the higher insectoids lost, the tide of insectoids had become chaotic. Their resistance to external disturbances was far inferior to that of the higher insectoids. Devoid of command and subjected to too much human interference, only a few insectoids could maintain precise directional sensing.

Lin Fu sheathed his katana and retrieved a high-purity energy stone. Its faint blue glow, unobscured even by the desert's harsh light, shimmered beneath the shade of the trees.

The emergence of the energy stone confounded the lower-tier bugs as they approached the tree's base. They paused momentarily, circling in confusion, torn between moving forward and succumbing to the tantalizing lure so close at hand.

The previously chaotic swarm tore open small fissures as some bugs halted in bewilderment. Those unaffected by the stone's allure now had a clear path forward.

Lin Fu leapt down from the tree and, before Albert and the others could follow, he halted them: "Stay in the tree. We don't want to attract attention from the others." With that, he trailed the direction of the advancing bugs.

The torn gap quickly healed, plunging the swarm back into chaos.

The trio had no choice but to remain perched, ready to disrupt their rivals.

The bugs headed towards the lake, waving their antennae. After circling the lake's edge, they tentatively ventured into the waters.

Clutching his katana and extending his psychic energy, Lin Fu enveloped himself in a protective shroud, camouflaging himself among the bug horde as he plunged into the lake.

The murky waters masked the lake's true size, which, like a gourd, stretched expansively beneath the surface in all directions.

Holding his breath, Lin Fu dived towards the lakebed, slicing through the floating weeds with his katana. Suddenly, the bugs burrowed into a narrow cave.

One after another followed suit until the cave was crammed full, leaving no room for more.

Lin Fu held his breath, waiting for them to emerge.

About half a minute later, the outermost bug, struggling to push inward, abruptly detached from the cave. Its half-human-length antennae waved, the sharp poisonous stingers at their tips ready to impale any of its kind emerging from the cave.

Lin Fu braced against the lake wall, ascending slightly, watching the brutal infighting.

Flesh splattered, thick green blood gushed forth, saturating the water with rich color before gradually dispersing, staining the surrounding waters.

A beetle was swiftly devoured by the others, vying for the central piece of flesh that concealed the energy core.

Lin Fu eyed a bug that seized the meat. As its large mandibles gulped it down with the murky water, he instantly released his mech, seizing the bug and rapidly ascending from the lakebed. When the exit proved too narrow for the mech, he hurled the creature high above the water, crashing it onto the shore.

The mech retracted into the storage device in a blink, and Lin Fu swam towards the shore.

His psychic energy shrouded him throughout, only exposing his presence during the fleeting seconds of the mech's appearance. The colossal entity's abrupt emergence and swift disappearance left the predatory bugs aimlessly searching.

Yet, the bugs in close proximity to Lin Fu were hard to deceive. Mouths gaping, they sought to devour this audacious human, only to be sliced into pieces by Lin Fu's katana.

The ground was startled by something that suddenly burst forth from the water's surface, causing the chaotic battle to fall into a momentary silence. It wasn't until Albert and his two companions leaped down from the treetops and swiftly charged toward the insectoids that had emerged from the water that they realized with a start: "The energy core!"

With a cold sneer, Milton kicked Roy over, "Daring to be distracted while fighting me? Dream on if you think you can snatch the energy core from our hands!"

Yanyan, engaged in a fight with Shengyao not far away, didn't resort to the mocking words like Milton, but her moves grew more ferocious and ruthless, her actions spelling out the words "dream on" quite vividly.

Albert and his companions deployed their mechs, and the moment they retrieved the energy core from the insects and stowed it away in their storage device, they didn't hesitate to flee. The swarm of insects, maddened, chased after them relentlessly. The trio burst into the military academy cadets' battlefield, causing disarray among all with the sudden intrusion of a large wave of insectoids, forcing everyone to focus more on fighting off the bugs.

Lin Fu climbed onto the lake shore, and seeing Albert's mechs charging into the fray, he knew the energy core had been secured.

Several cameras flew high above, capturing every detail on the ground with crystal clarity.

The energy cores deployed by the council were marked, and would automatically disengage from the count once in the hands of the military academy students.

The match would come to an early end once all ten energy cores were disengaged.

So far, no announcement of the match's end had been made.

Lin Fu wiped the water off his face, and pulled back his damp hair that slightly obscured his vision from his forehead, revealing a pair of calm, pitch-black eyes.

He was unaware of how many energy cores the other military academy students possessed, but now he was eager to find out if there was still one more energy core to be found here.

*

The audience watching the live broadcast were thrilled by the explosive scenes!

The melee was precisely the spectacle they craved!

Whether it was famous prodigies from the top five military academies like Yanyan and Milton, or the low-profile leaders from the Xuanjian and Flying Fish academies like Shengyao, none held back their skills in the chaos of the battle.

The audience was eager to know who among the young generation of military academy students was the strongest!

Since the beginning of the melee, the official website had launched round after round of voting, with speculations running rampant about who would ultimately secure the energy core and who would triumph in the chaos. Detail fanatics and analysts frequented the comment section, causing an uproar as lively as the chaotic scene on the barren planet.

The stealthy movements of Lin Fu and his companions had initially gone unnoticed, except by their fans.

But soon, the number of people focusing their attention on them gradually increased.

"Damn, where did they get that energy stone from? Wasn't it agreed that no external energy sources would be allowed besides what's provided by the organizers? How do they still have some left after running for so long??"

"This energy stone... it looks to be of such high purity."

"Holy smokes, why did he jump in there, kiddo no! The lake is swarming with bugs, it’s so dangerous for you to go down there alone!!"

"Ahhhh why isn’t the camera following underwater!! I'm so anxious!!"

"Aren’t Tang Qian and the others Lin Fu's good friends? How could they let him go down there as a guide by himself?"

Soon, the barrage of worried and skeptical comments was startled into a screen full of question marks by an insect bursting through the water’s surface.

"?????? What is that?"

"?? Don't tell me that huge meaty worm was fished out of the water by a little guide, I don't believe it!!"

"The energy core!! Quick, grab it!! Stop fighting and grab the energy core!! I’m so anxious!!"

"They've dug it out, so that's what those three were guarding and doing. The Holy Mountain Academy is so disappointing, it's infuriating!!"

"It looks like the energy core is almost certainly going to Artemis Military Academy. I just took a screenshot and zoomed in; I saw two energy cores. Is this what they call keeping a low profile while doing something big? Awesome!"

The atmosphere reached a climax due to the appearance of the energy cores.

Soon, their attention was drawn to new movements.

"Sobbing, I’m swooned by the hair flick!"

"What’s Lin Fu up to, sneaking around like that?"

"I’m laughing so hard, he sneaked around like a thief, and nobody even noticed."

"Military academy students: Do not cue, their eyes simply can’t move away from Albert’s 'charming' figure."

Albert and his companions, with the energy cores in their possession, were stirring up trouble all around the chaotic battlefield, and nobody noticed Lin Fu crawling out of the lake in the distance.

In fact, they didn't even notice Lin Fu climbing out of the lake, their minds completely fixated on the energy cores in the hands of Albert and his companions.

Albert and his companions inside their mechs did notice Lin Fu’s figure, and each of them breathed a sigh of relief seeing him emerge safely from the water.

Intending to avoid detection, Lin Fu was naturally covered by his companions, who acted even more outrageously, turning the already chaotic melee into an utter mess.

Lin Fu left the oasis and walked along the shadows of the dunes to avoid being noticed by others.

He quickly scaled the dune and descended the other side, his tiny figure thoroughly obscured by a vast swarm of insects, even his scent masked by their potent, fishy stench.