Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Pei Ning was momentarily stunned, then suddenly noticed two exceptionally massive monsters appearing right in front of his team. Before he could even react, he saw the two creatures lock eyes, and then their enormous tails swept across violently.

The last thing Pei Ning saw before losing consciousness were the gigantic tails of those two monsters.

When Pei Ning regained consciousness, he looked up to see a snow-white ceiling.

Their team had been eliminated on the spot.

Jiang Se and the others booked it into the distance, only stopping when they could no longer hear the roars of the two monsters, their hearts still racing.

"I wonder how Pei Ning and his team are doing?" Jiang Se glanced back toward the distance and murmured.

"Who the hell knows what happened to Pei Ning? To be honest, with his attitude, getting eliminated was too good for him," Zhu Jin said quietly.

Just as the four of them had a chance to breathe, they ran smack into a raging Monster Tide.

The four fought like hell amidst the Monster Tide, barely managing to fight their way out only when their consciousness was nearly blurred from exhaustion.

At that moment, a flat, robotic voice announced: "All other teams have been eliminated. The remaining team is victorious."

Hearing this, Jiang Se arched a brow. "The remaining team—is that us? Holy shit, we actually won!"

"Since all the other teams were eliminated, of course it’s us left!"

Chu Yun whispered.

The next second, they were teleported out, immediately meeting Pei Ning’s furious eyes.

Un-fucking-believably, after being eliminated, he hadn’t left but instead waited for them on a nearby lounge chair.

"What a coincidence, Pei," Jiang Se said, slouching with his hands in his pockets, still looking as casual as ever.

"Not a coincidence. I’ve been waiting for you to come out."

Pei Ning stared at them, spitting out each word.

The pissed-off tone in his voice was barely concealed.

Seeing his expression, Zhu Jin raised an eyebrow. "Whoa, so salty. Are you upset we didn’t call you when we ran? Well, not our fault—you should’ve followed when you saw us running."

"Exactly," Jiang Se added with a sigh. "Your own damn fault for not following us! Who can you blame for that?"

…

Watching the four of them egging him on only made Pei Ning angrier.

Just as a fight seemed about to break out, a middle-aged man appeared on a high platform above, his gaze sweeping over everyone’s faces.

He carried a commanding presence, and everyone immediately stopped, turning their attention to him.

"The competition is over. I believe everyone has a lot they want to say."

"You might feel this exercise was too harsh on you, but I want to tell you—this is what the battlefield is like."

"On a real battlefield, there is absolutely no room for retreat. Now, let’s congratulate the winners of this match."

As his words ended, Jiang Se and the other three were whisked up onto the stage. Applause and flowers surrounded them from all sides.

Jiang Se lifted his head, glanced around, and gave a lazy wave with the flower in his hand. "I’ll fucking remember this day."

"This isn’t our first victory—we’ll have many more fucking victories to come!"

After the award ceremony ended, Jiang Se got a tap on his shoulder. "The instructor wants to see us!"

Zhu Jin whispered in her ear.

The instructor stood in the corridor not far away, with a deep frown. He looked at the four of them, sighed, and said, "Grab your gear. We’re heading out soon."

"Wait, for what?" Jiang Se asked instinctively.

"To participate in the Exercise Tournament."

"Huh? You fucking with us, Instructor? Sending a bunch of freshmen to the Exercise Tournament?"

"What about Lin Xu and the varsity team?" Zhu Jin asked softly, looking at the instructor.

"You’ll find out once we get to the meeting room," the instructor said gravely.

The meeting room was on a very high floor, probably for VIPs. Both its style and decor were luxurious.

Automatic cleaning robots were working nonstop on the windows.

As the instructor turned into the corridor, he caught Jiang Se whispering to Chu Yun behind him: "Want to bet I can disassemble and reassemble that goddamn robot in under ten seconds?"

The instructor sighed, thinking of the urgent classified intel he had just received, and hoped these kids were ready for what was coming.

Pushing the door open, they saw four or five middle-aged people inside, men and women, all looking serious. The leader’s piercing gaze immediately fell upon them.

"What’s going on?"

Jiang Se traded puzzled looks with Zhu Jin and the others.

The middle-aged man then softened his expression, a faint smile playing at the corner of his mouth as he looked at the four. "Hello."

"You might not know me, so let me introduce myself—I'm the VP of Alliance University."

"I’m here to let you know something: you’re gonna represent Alliance University in the upcoming Exercise Tournament."

"Did something happen to the varsity team? Normally, the Exercise Tournament should be months away."

Zhu Jin looked at the vice president and asked softly.

"A few days ago, the varsity team had an accident. During an internship on a barren planet, they encountered an Epic-level Monster Tide. Several are still in intensive care. When Lin Xu came to for a minute from a deep coma, he told me that if there’s any team in Alliance University capable of replacing the varsity team, it’s you guys."

"As for why the Exercise Tournament is starting early—recently, the Twelfth Army discovered a new star sector on a barren planet."

"A new star sector?"

Hearing this, everyone was stunned speechless for a moment.

"And as everyone knows, the discovery of a new star sector naturally leads to the dividing of interests. The results of this Exercise Tournament will determine the mining rights for each star sector and the military regions behind them. That’s why the Exercise Tournament for all major military academies is being held early."