Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Pervert!

Yi Ye's face turned as red as finely chopped green and red chili peppers. Furious, he punched Eugene hard in the chest and vowed in his heart that once they returned, he would not only write a ten-thousand-word essay but also mobilize the entire Kawaguchi group to join him in insulting Eugene! This bastard who gets hard anywhere!

But despite the insults, cooperation took priority. He could only sulk, clenching his face, suppressing the urge to stab this guy to death, and turned his head: "First, contact our teammates. We can't end up with just the two of us after they finish killing each other."

Eugene studied his profile as if he had found some interesting toy.

"What are you looking at?!" Yi Ye bared his teeth, pushing him away and turning to walk towards a nearby ruin. After ensuring Eugene couldn't hear him from a distance of four or five meters, he took out his terminal to contact Bai Chuan.

*

The wind carried the sounds of intense combat.

Bullets pierced the heads of the Zerg, white brain matter exploding, followed by the youth slicing open the Zerg's abdomen, causing its body to split into pieces and scatter on the ground. The nearby teammates exchanged glances, a chill running down their backs. Since Yi Ye's disappearance, Bai Chuan had become like an emotionless killing machine, not taking a single breath, his expression cold, each shot carrying a brutal ferocity.

They were all afraid to speak to Bai Chuan. The way he had shot his teammate was too decisive, something no normal teammate would do.

With a slash, Bai Chuan cut open the Zerg's compound eye, using the force to leap up and kick the bug's eye out.

Bang!

As his feet landed steadily, the area was already littered with Zerg corpses.

But Bai Chuan felt no joy. He gripped his gun tightly, feeling as if his breath and blood were cold. He had watched Yi Ye fall, into such a fast river, such cold water, and he was still sick. Why couldn't he be stronger? Faster? If those two students of the Imperial Honor Military Academy hadn't blocked him, how could Yi Ye have fallen into the river? Ultimately, it was his own weakness that had harmed Yi Ye, his own uselessness, his own worthlessness!

Why...

Why couldn't he have been born strong?

The lines of the knife handle pressed into his palm with excessive force, his hand almost gripping the blade, blood dripping from his fingertips like a stream.

"Xiao... Xiao Bai... can you hear me?" A crackling sound suddenly came through the earpiece.

Bai Chuan froze, his blood-stained fingers trembling slightly, his voice hoarse, even his breath light: "...Brother?"

"It's me." The signal on the other end connected intermittently, "I'm fine!"

He swayed in the wind, as if his feet had finally touched the ground, his eyes instantly red.

"Where are you?!"

Yi Ye was crouched behind a stone pillar, "I'm fine, I've escaped. I'll tell you the details later." He could tell Bai Chuan wasn't in a good state, but there was no time for them to transition, so he sped up his speech, "Bai Chuan, now you need to calmly listen to every word I say."

"Okay, go ahead."

"We need to cooperate with Melville Military Academy, Eugene has already agreed." Bai Chuan immediately showed disagreement but didn't interrupt, continuing to listen to Yi Ye's instructions, "I know you're currently facing a group of Zerg. 15 minutes, I need you and Melville Military Academy to hold out for 15 minutes, then lure the Zerg into the city. Eugene and I will handle the rest."

"Do you trust Eugene?"

"No." Yi Ye said softly, "Xiao Bai, but I trust you."

These words were like a sedative, gently soothing his overly agitated soul. Bai Chuan lowered his eyes, obediently saying, "Okay, I'll listen to you."

Yi Ye smiled, "Also, there's one more thing, but you need to keep it a secret..."

...

The terminal disconnected.

Bai Chuan immediately found Elia to convey Yi Ye's orders. They looked across the bridge, where a group of youths in golden uniforms began rotating their necks and arms, warming up for the upcoming frenzy. Elia had never truly imagined a day when they would collaborate with Melville Military Academy, but at this moment, he suddenly realized his previous statement was wrong.

"This team has no unity to speak of."

It wasn't that there was no unity.

Rather, they were missing the most crucial soul figure.

—But now, he had appeared.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Heavy machine guns roared with intense sparks, and laughter exploded like fireworks in the air! Golden figures charged into the midst of the battle between Imperial Honor Military Academy and the Zerg. Blue and gold wildly spread across the pale, vast ground. In this fierce battle, rows of Zerg fell like dominoes, blood splattering, and shouts never ceasing.

"Hahahaha! I’ve been itching to get in there for so long, finally my turn!" A Melville Military Academy student laughed heartily, carrying a cannon.

"Don’t get too carried away, you might laugh yourself to death, and even the bugs will call you an idiot."

Lei Li slashed through the nearby Zerg, adjusting his glasses with two fingers, just as he met Elia, who was also wearing glasses. Although they were distant relatives and had rarely met, an unspoken sense of camaraderie arose between them at this moment. Lei Li immediately offered a friendly smile.

Elia nodded politely.

"Ahhhhh, Elia, look, I’ve gouged out this Zerg’s eyeball!" Kappel’s voice rushed over from afar.

Elia: "..."

Lei Li: Seems like your team isn’t easy either.

*

"Everything’s set?"

Yi Ye returned to the old signboard, confirming the results with Eugene.

"Where did those two go?" he asked.

"Due north."

Yi Ye nodded: "Let’s move."

Three minutes later, several terrifying thuds echoed from a corner of the ruins. Two Lion Feather Military Academy patrol members were tightly bound, their faces swollen and bruised beyond recognition. Eugene treated them like punching bags, violently venting the frustration of being trapped in the cave.

Yi Ye stopped him in time: "Don’t kill them, or the rest of Lion Feather Military Academy will get alerted, and we’ll be exposed."

Eugene’s face darkened, and he reluctantly kicked out a tooth before stopping.

"Ughhh..." The Alpha’s mouth was full of blood, his eyes trembling in fear.

Yi Ye glanced at the man’s pitiful state, clicked his tongue, and turned to his teammate, kicking his leg with his boot. "If you don’t want to end up like him, tell us the location of your main base."

The man stiffened his neck: "Just kill me! I won’t talk!"

"Don’t be ridiculous," Yi Ye said with a leisurely smile. "Of course, I won’t kill you. Not only won’t I kill you, but I’ll also give you some blood-replenishing medicine to keep you alive."

The teammate’s eyes widened in disbelief: "What are you trying to pull? Don’t think bribing me will make me talk!"

"Idiot," Yi Ye scoffed. "Why would I bribe you?"

At that moment, Eugene disgustedly pulled out a terminal from the pocket of the Lion Feather Military Academy member who had lost two teeth. He held it through the fabric, blood dripping, and waved it at him. Yi Ye smirked in satisfaction, pointing at the terminal: "Actually, finding out the locations of your other teammates is simple. I just need to pretend to be one of your teammates and probe a bit to get their positions. But I’m willing to give you a chance. If you speak up voluntarily, I won’t torture you."

"Bullshit! Our terminals have codes, even if you get it, it’s useless! Either torture me to death or shoot me, but I’ll never give in!"

There's a code? What a pleasant surprise.

The polished leather boot suddenly stepped on the youth's face. Looking up from below, Yi Ye's features resembled a vividly painted traditional Chinese painting. He showed no expression: "I remember this is a live broadcast for the entire empire, right? How about I strip you naked, including your underwear, and hang you on the wall? I think the audience might be bored just watching us fight, let's give them some entertainment."

"Looking forward to seeing you on a special little website in the future."

"How can you do this!" The man's face turned pale, his cheeks deformed and red from the pressure, his words strained, "Students of the Imperial Honor Military Academy can't use such disgusting... tactics..."

Yi Ye twisted his ankle, grinding the sole of his shoe across the man's face.

"Nothing is more disgusting than you Lion Feather Military Academy guys. Although I don't know how you managed to deceive everyone, do you really think no one noticed your cheating methods?"

"...You, what are you talking about? I don't know!"

"Can't be bothered to argue with you."

He clapped his hands, "Buddy, come give me a hand, let the whole empire see how big he is."

Surprisingly, Eugene didn't object, striding over, his footsteps pounding on the terrified heartstrings. The teammate suddenly broke down, shouting, "I'll talk! I beg you, let me go!"

Yi Ye chuckled, releasing his foot: "That's more like it."

They learned the code and the main base location of the Lion Feather Military Academy from the teammate, which was near the east gate in a three-story building. They then stripped all the supplies and terminals from the two, and swapped their jackets.

The clothes reeked of sweat, and Yi Ye silently gagged several times.

With no time to linger, they quickly put on masks and bulletproof helmets and headed towards the main base.

Approaching within two hundred meters of the base, they indeed spotted traces of the Lion Feather Military Academy.

There were four people outside the first floor, two by the window on the second floor, and a telescope on the east side of the third floor. At least seven people were visible.

Yi Ye glanced at the time, six minutes left. He marked the location and sent it to Bai Chuan, quickly loaded his gun, then put on his goggles and gestured to Eugene: "You go ahead, I'll flank."

Eugene grabbed his wrist: "Why not wait for the insect swarm and the others?"

"I want to find out their cheating method."

Eugene fell silent.

Yi Ye knew he had something to say, but since he didn't speak up, Yi Ye didn't want to waste any more time and got up to leave.

"Last time, they killed someone."

Yi Ye paused, looking at him puzzled: "Isn't this competition about killing?"

"Not simulated." Eugene's cold eyes were piercing, "The deceased was a student of Melville Military Academy."

Almost no one knows exactly how the Lion Feather Military Academy operates behind the scenes. The information Eugene knew was just a little leaked by Melville's officials.

That student died from a neural overload-induced collapse. To cause such a death, it couldn't be done within the simulated battlefield; external assistance was necessary. Their bodies lay in simulation pods, with fluids and neural sensors connecting their skin and brain's nervous system, forming a loop that allowed them to have real senses in this world. But this was also dangerous. Although there were officers and instructors patrolling and monitoring outside the simulation room, anyone with malicious intent could interfere with the students from the outside.

This was why Eugene and Yi Ye suddenly fell ill and experienced many discomforts. However, this was still mild. If it were severe, who could guarantee that what happened last time wouldn't occur again? Yi's current physical condition was poor, and the probability of losing against them was at least 70%.

Eugene didn't feel particularly concerned about Yi Ye's life or death, but if this person was really going to die.

Better to die by his hand.

"So, if I face them alone, I'm likely to die, right?"

Eugene didn't move, which was tantamount to acquiescence.

"Pretty good."

Yi Ye found it quite rare for Eugene to share such things with him, though it didn't change the fact that he was still a rogue at heart. He leaned back in, his dark eyes meeting Eugene's blue ones, his face closing in.

"Since you were kind enough to warn me, I'll give you a piece of honest advice."

"I've escaped death countless times, so the only one who can kill me in this world is myself. As for those guys?"

He smiled arrogantly and boldly, "Not. Worthy."

As soon as the words fell, the warmth in his palm disappeared, and the youth strode towards the ruins without a hint of hesitation.

Eugene remained in place, thoughtfully rubbing his fingertips.

*

Outside the arena.

The judging panel was seated with various leaders from the military academy league, mostly composed of presidents or vice presidents from the top ten military academies. But this year was special, representing the Imperial Honor Military Academy was the Empire's active commander, General Lin Pei.

General Lin Pei rarely appeared in official media, so from the start, there were constant camera flashes and reporters focusing on him. Suddenly, someone noticed that the active commander had applied to leave the military academy league committee, and low, rapid discussions ensued. Then, taking his seat was a seemingly gentle and scholarly mentor.

Clark wore an appropriate smile, facing the dense array of cameras around him.

"May I ask what General Lin Pei is going to do?" a judge from the Lion Feather Military Academy tentatively inquired.

Clark's tone was sincere, "I'm not sure, perhaps he's feeling unwell."

"He can feel unwell too?"

"Perhaps?" Clark smiled gently, "After all, anyone would feel nauseous at the sight of something disgusting."

Like you, a bunch of fools reeking of decay to the bone.