Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Ji Xinghai's reputation preceded him. When he sat down and announced his challenge, nearly two hundred members of the White Faction did not dare to step forward.

The other members of the Black Faction also watched him, seemingly unwilling to move until he did.

Although Ji Xinghai did not particularly want to be a leader, he had become an invisible banner after several campaigns. There was an unspoken expectation that this man would once again create miracles.

Ji Xinghai had anticipated this situation, so he calmly placed a replica prop card on the table: the Fraudster’s Qualification Certificate, which allowed him to steal one person's identity for 24 hours (can be canceled early), usable once per replica.

He had used a card to expand his equipment slot by one, allowing him to bring four prop cards each time he entered a dungeon. Besides the essential game backpack, he also carried a 'Homemade Dish,' a 'Fraudster’s Qualification Certificate,' and a roll of used bandages.

"Another equipment slot expansion card, please; I don't have enough slots." Ji Xinghai 'wished' towards a certain spot.

He originally wanted to bring the Wonderful Fruit Basket too, but there was no space.

Wishing Pool: ...

Let's return to the manuscript.

This edition was crafted with the intention that one side would experience a devastating loss while the other would eke out a narrow victory; it was not meant for anyone to depart with a smile.

The Hungry Academy crafted such a replica to spur students to engage in mutual destruction, both in body and mind. From a conventional standpoint, attaining both survival and triumph was an impossibility. Nevertheless, there existed an unorthodox strategy: to overturn the table.

If I can't eat, neither can you.

The method was simple: drag out the judge, the Balance, and delete its account.

Without the judges, how could the competition proceed?

However, doing so had two drawbacks: first, there might be supplementary judges, and these new judges might not be as fair as the NPC Balance; second, overturning the table right away would make the game completely unplayable.

Who plays games by choking the boss?

Fortunately, Ji Xinghai had a middle strategy: modify the rules.

From previous competitions, the Balance and Little Apple were NPCs with some autonomy, capable of adding new rules randomly. Although they could only add rules, not modify or delete existing ones.

The Hungry Academy likely placed them here to limit unconventional student actions.

But now, they were all to his advantage.

Ji Xinghai touched the 'Fraudster’s Qualification Certificate' and squinted, looking like a behind-the-scenes villain.

This prop card was powerful but had limitations. After stealing an identity, one could not confront the original owner; encountering the real deal would instantly invalidate the fake.

He needed to steal the Balance's identity without it noticing and use its authority.

"Steal the Balance's identity," he whispered, placing his hand on the back of the prop card. "Now add a new rule: contestants who fail will not be... hmm?"

Ji Xinghai initially intended to declare that the unsuccessful contestants would not be eliminated, but a force within the copy seemed to caution him.

Was this a restriction?

Ji Xinghai immediately adjusted his plan: "Now add a new rule: contestants who fail will not be immediately eliminated; they will enter a 90... 80..."

Restrictions came again.

"50, 40, 30, 2..." He kept counting down until he reached "2," feeling the path open up.

"29, 28... 24, they will enter a 24-hour unconscious state. If the game ends during their unconsciousness, they will return to normal and not be eliminated."

As soon as Ji Xinghai finished this statement, the broadcast announced:

"A new rule has been added: contestants who fail will enter a 24-hour non-combat unconscious state before being eliminated. If the game ends during their unconsciousness, they will return to normal and not be eliminated."

"Huh?" Both the Black Faction and the White Faction were stunned, mouths agape.

What was going on? Was the judge insane? Or had it been turned?

Balance: ...I wonder too.

It instinctively looked at the biggest troublemaker in the crowd. Coincidentally, the troublemaker was also looking this way, smiling charmingly with a dimple on his left cheek.

"Brothers and sisters," Ji Xinghai's voice echoed in the suddenly quiet square, "24 hours, is that enough for us to send the sleeping beauties opposite to a peaceful slumber?"

The Black Faction students immediately realized that Ji Xinghai must have orchestrated this rule change. They were so excited that their faces turned red, making a noise as if there were three hundred of them: "Enough! Send them to sleep!"

"Sleeping beauties opposite, wait for our great victory!"

"Pfft!" The White Faction also got fired up, standing up and shouting, "Keep dreaming. Can you even handle 173 of us? Just wait for our great victory."

Though they had only gained a day's reprieve, everyone felt the shadow of death dissipate. They wanted to scream and shout, releasing their emotions.

In the bustling square, only one person remained seated, pinching his thumb and middle finger together.

The Balance must have realized something, so the stolen identity became invalid. But the goal was achieved, so disappearing was fine.

He liked this state of the game. Previously, everyone wanted to sacrifice themselves, making it unplayable. Now, everyone wanted to give their all, making the competition exciting.

"Ji, did your main body do this? Awesome (censored)!"

The 'Ji Xinghai' whose elbow was nudged silently glanced at him: If the petty Hungry Academy had duplicated the props, it should have been the Black Faction students nudging Ji Xinghai, saying awesome (censored).

He used to hate physical contact, but now, after being nudged several times, he didn't mind. This world must be toxic.

With the threat eliminated, it was time for real competition. Before Ji Xinghai could point at anyone, someone approached him eagerly: "I've heard your name for a long time. Let's take this opportunity to compete."

"What kind of competition?"

"They say soldiers from JiuZhou's army are all formidable. This time, let's compete in hostage rescue. Whoever rescues the hostages first wins."

"Agreed." Ji Xinghai readily accepted. They quickly disappeared on either side of the stone table.

The students who had followed him saw that the competition was about to begin and began selecting their opponents.

The Hungry Academy wanted them to hurt each other, but they refused to do so. Within 24 hours, they would certainly determine a winner. What sacrifice or letting up? They would give it their all to honor their status as students and their countries behind them.

Almost all the survivors from The Black Faction joined in, totaling around a hundred people.

They needed 173 victories. Even if these hundred people never lost, they would still need to win twice on average. However, their ability to secure one victory under adverse conditions already demonstrated their strength. Now, further inspired by Ji Xinghai's words, their morale was high, even making the larger White Faction wary.

"Good." The minister from the military couldn't contain his excitement.

With the students' spirit, what did they fear from the Hungry Academy?

Of course, he still had to admit shamelessly that Ji Xinghai had set a good example. No one else could have carried this off without the accumulated prestige and reputation from those three scenarios.

At this moment, Ji Xinghai's match had already begun.

His opponent was genuinely seeking guidance, not resorting to any means necessary to kill. Therefore, the game setup resembled a special forces evaluation.

A standalone three-story building surrounded by flat ground and a ring of forest. Ten kidnappers were inside, mostly concentrated on the first and third floors, all fully armed.

Three hostages were on the third floor, squatting in the corner with their hands on their heads. The contestant's task was to neutralize or control the kidnappers and rescue the hostages.

Both contestants were now in position.

They wore camouflage uniforms, bulletproof vests, and helmets, with their faces painted. Apart from that, they had nothing—not even a knife, let alone a gun.

The challenger chose to rush directly to the third floor. The standalone building was made of red bricks, with an uneven surface, which might pose a challenge for ordinary people but not for professionals who could use the small protrusions to climb to the third floor.

However, only one window on the third floor was accessible, while the rest was sealed off. So, the student swiftly climbed to the second floor and then entered through the balcony.

Ji Xinghai took another route, carefully leaping into the house through the kitchen window on the first floor, then crouching low to attack a kidnapper from behind.

He leaped like a cat, easily landing on the tall kidnapper's neck, wrapping his legs tightly around and rotating 360 degrees before silently landing and catching the falling body, taking the kidnapper's gun and knife.

The challenger was still looking for an opportunity. These kidnappers were ruthless; if alerted and feeling threatened, they would kill the hostages. Three hostages were not enough for their madness.

He didn't know that Ji Xinghai had already killed two kidnappers downstairs. The first one had his neck broken, and the second was slit throat—both brutal but effective methods.

Most importantly, there was no sound at all.

"Ji Xinghai is even more ruthless than the toughest."

"Nonsense, my Brother Hai is just cautious."

Countless people crowded into Ji Xinghai and the challenger's live streams, watching the two professionals perform a daring hostage rescue. The challenger matched their expectations of a rescuer, whereas Ji Xinghai... he was fierce, having already killed three people with professional techniques.

"Not even a single bullet fired, wasting my Brother Hai's shooting skills."

The rescuers had no weapons and had to rely on close combat. Even if they had guns, there were no good cover spots near the building—the farthest forest was over eight hundred meters away. Hitting a moving target through an obstructed window from eight hundred meters was akin to hitting a rolling coin.

"This is what a competition should be like, exhilarating! Before, it was too convoluted."

"Brother, before, they risked their lives and balanced group and personal interests. How could that be thrilling? Don't speak if you don't understand."

"Heh, I guessed right. I knew Brother Hai wouldn't follow the rules. But how did he manage it?"

"It must be a powerful scenario item. Brother Hai has many points and items."

Once the threat of death was removed, not only the students inside but also the spectators outside relaxed, all jubilant, almost congratulating each other—it seemed no one would die in this scenario.

Regardless of whether The Black Faction or the White Faction won, as long as no one died, it was fine.

Apart from Ji Xinghai, the other students' matches had also begun.

Possibly because of their tacit understanding, the students selected well-known training exercises for their competitive projects. They also endeavored to confine the duration to twenty minutes—to ascertain a victor within a 24-hour period, a goal they held in high regard.

"Less than twenty minutes." The challenger had found an opening to subdue a lone kidnapper on the third floor and obtained the kidnapper's weapon.

There were only two rooms on the third floor. With one subdued, four kidnappers remained in the room with the three hostages. The challenger switched on the safety of his pistol, crouched low, and prepared to investigate.

He cautiously approached, reaching out to use a small mirror to check the room when he caught a glimpse of something rolling in through the window, emitting a whirring sound and white smoke.

"Enemy attack!"

The four kidnappers shouted, and the challenger peeked out, seeing a figure jump in through the smoky window, followed by relentless gunfire.

As he tried to look again, the figure in the white fog seemed to turn back, and a bullet whizzed past...

"..."

"...Is it really okay to kill teammates too?"

"Well, they're not exactly teammates, more like competitors." Although killing competitors is still ruthless.

"He already showed mercy by not shooting the heart."

The match ended in ten minutes and three seconds.

Ji Xinghai carried the unconscious student, hit by a bullet, to the opposite side and glanced at the time.

"Next."