Chapter 150

The crowd withdrew their gaze from the light and looked towards the source of the sound in the darkness. Even the group furthest from the Team 1 Group 1 temporarily fell silent.

However, no matter how quiet they were, they couldn't hear the same sound again, leaving them unsure whether it was just their imagination.

In the darkness, Qin Su deliberately made a noise as a 'reminder' to everyone, carefully holding the weapon he had adjusted via the Optical Brain, which could simulate the damage of different insects after hitting the target, without making any further sound.

Aside from the red dots marking the area, his line of sight was the same as everyone else's; he could only see what was inside the Barrier Device and nothing else. His gaze was fixed on the direction of the Team 1 Group 1, ready to adjust his position at any time.

"Is it really an illusion?"

"Impossible! Who hallucinates collectively? Didn't they notice that the other crickets stopped chirping just like us? It must be real... Wait a minute, the two groups inside the Barrier Device can't hear us!"

Thinking about this, the groups outside imagined themselves inside, completely unaware of the dangerous weapon sounds coming from outside, and felt a chill run down their spines.

"..."

'I feel sorry for the people inside for a second. Luckily, they weren't in the first group. Even if it's dangerous, at least... they were somewhat mentally prepared.'

[Seriously, are you guys that receptive to change?]

[Is this a matter of acceptance? It's clearly a matter of lowering one's standards unconsciously when facing Qin Su.]

'It turns out that not all first-place teams are worth envying.'

After a brief moment of holding their breath, similar thoughts flashed through everyone's minds, but their attention was immediately drawn to the series of strange actions of He Muzhi and the others within the light-shrouded barrier after the 'start'.

As soon as the word "start" fell, He Muzhi immediately opened his mouth and quickly said something. Then, the group of people behind him quickly retreated, staring nervously in the same direction, their eyes filled with fear.

The people from Team 2, Group 1, opposite He Muzhi, were right where He Muzhi and the others were staring at. They were all moving closer to the people from Team 1, Group 1, and their eyes were filled with hope, as if they had seen some kind of 'savior'.

Those outside who couldn't see the same situation as He Muzhi and the others were bewildered.

"What are they doing? Why do they look at each other like they've seen a ghost, while the other looks like they've seen a hot commodity?"

"Weren't we supposed to be learning how to verbally strategize from the Class of 24 cohort this morning? Why are they gesturing like that? What was the topic He Muzhi was asking us to discuss again?"

"When you lead a team of thirty and encounter a giant tortoise, what measures should you take to kill it?"

What was He Muzhi's response at the time?

His current actions are completely different from his answer back then.

"... Who else but himself would remember this? But... judging from his current state, he must have 'really encountered' that thing. Yet when He Muzhi went in, he wasn't wearing the same simulated Combat Suits as us; he was wearing regular Combat Suits that could simulate the pain of being injured while ensuring our own safety. I really don't understand He Muzhi's current state..."

Hearing these sounds, Qin Su was not surprised. After his modifications, the 'Viewers' outside the Barrier Device could only see the real scene, while the team members inside the Barrier Device saw several simulated real-life scenarios that changed according to the questions.

If the Viewers wants to glimpse what's going on inside, they'll have to wait until the team members make a mistake and he controls the Barrier Device to open Passageway that allows ammunition to pass through for a very short time, catching a glimpse of something.

The reason he didn't let the students wear the mimicry Combat Suits they usually wore was simply so that when he took action later, he could adjust them to successfully "frame" the other team members inside the Barrier Device.

This would both increase the sense of realism for the group members and allow the students outside to see that he was the one who did it, thus instilling fear in them.

When it's their turn to go in, they'll be more cautious, won't they?

The morning was all theoretical discussion, and the afternoon was for practical application; his arrangement was perfectly reasonable.

If you curse the 'enemy' within the Barrier Device's range, please don't curse them again once you're outside.

Since the insects mimicking the opposite side are all human, and they are unaware that the area below the modified Barrier Device will be mimicked as insects or anything else in the simulated environment, their behavior is uncontrollable, which means that the 'threat' posing to 'Problem Solver' He Muzhi also becomes unpredictable.

Qin Su could only concentrate intently on He Muzhi's every move, ready to move to a suitable position at any time to play his role.

The biting wind forced He Muzhi to squint, but the several blizzards opposite him did not stop their relentless attack just because his eyes were blurred by the wind and snow.

He could only adjust his escape route based on the environment and the movements of the giant tortoise, while simultaneously coordinating with his team members behind him to launch an attack.

Each of them possesses a virtual weapon the moment the situation changes.

Even though he knew he hadn't brought anything with him when he came in, and that the realistic-feeling weapon in his hand was actually a simulation created by the Barrier Device affecting his brain, He Muzhi didn't think too much about it. He was so immersed in the overly realistic scene that he was lost in it for less than three seconds.

It was the same question, but his answer from that morning was now completely out of his control, and the unpredictable attacks of the giant tortoise were almost useless.

Without hesitation, He Muzhi immediately forgot about the answer he had given that morning, and while leading his team members to avoid the situation, he issued new orders based on the actual circumstances.

The others behind He Muzhi were not the 'solutions' to this problem; they were team members being directed and ordered by He Muzhi, the commander. Apart from being frightened at first, their subsequent actions were entirely in accordance with He Muzhi's orders, moving and shooting in this unfamiliar and dangerous environment.

The members of Team 2, Group 1 watched speechlessly as He Muzhi and his group were about to abandon them in this dangerous environment, and frowned as they moved even faster towards them.

What angered them even more was that not only did He Muzhi and his group run away, but they also kept throwing ice blocks at them and doing other provocative things.

Didn't they see the swarm of insects relentlessly pursuing them? They were just making things difficult for them.

They couldn't stand it! They simply couldn't stand it! If they could just catch up with Team 1 Group 1 members in the blizzard, they would complete the mission. They absolutely couldn't lose.

As time went on, the anger of Team 2, Group 1, which was already on edge, skyrocketed due to the constant provocations from Team 1, Group 1.

During He Muzhi's problem-solving, with just over a minute left in the five-minute Countdown, Yin En from Team 2 Group 1 successfully caught up with Peggy from Team 1, Group 1, and tackled him hard into the thick snow...

Seeing Ian's movement, Qin Su quickly activated his combat boots to aerial movement mode, flashed behind Ian, raised his weapon at the chosen target point, and fired a bullet before Ian could lunge at Peggy.

When the bullet touched the light screen deployed by the Barrier Device, a circular notch opened at the point of contact one second in advance.

Bang!

"Ah--"

Those outside the Barrier Device didn't see Qin Su's actions. They only heard a sudden shot and then saw the Barrier Device, which had previously shown no energy fluctuations, abruptly open a circular hole without any impact from any object. Immediately afterward, something quickly disappeared into it.

Before anyone could even process what was happening, a sharp, piercing scream came from the hole.

The students looking through the opening only saw a gigantic wrasse knock Peggy down in the icy snow, a gruesome scene of half of Peggy's body being gone, before the opening closed again in less than a second.

In the pitch-black environment, the students who witnessed the bloody scene gasped in shock. They either blinked or rubbed their eyes, or pinched the arms of the people next to them. Through the whispered curses or the sounds and pain of elbows thrown in retaliation, they confirmed that what they had just seen was not a hallucination.

"!!!"

"Did you see that?"

"I saw it, Qin Su fired the shot himself..."

"Is this what they call 'basic knowledge among students'? The Class Monitor doesn't have basic knowledge?"

"Is this basic? This is the devil... Peggy's entire half of her body is gone, the ground is covered in blood..."

"Don't throw up, don't throw up. Look, Peggy's perfectly fine after the hole closed. That was just Qin Su creating the Truman Show within the Barrier Device; it's all fake."

"Well, don't forget that we're all wearing Combat Suits that simulate real pain. Qin Su really fired the gun, so the pain Peggy felt when half her body was bitten off was genuine."

"..."

The silence of those who witnessed the horrific scene was deafening.

[I knew that this Boss 1 didn't care about seniority or anything like that; he showed absolutely no mercy when he attacked.]

[So true! Don't panic in a crisis, just elbow your partner like crazy, hahaha]

[The group at the top hasn't been on the front lines for a long time. It's only because Boss Su is kind-hearted that he went through so much trouble to relive their old memories. Hurry up and thank our Boss Su (doge)]

[Peggy: (Death smile)]

[Team 1 Group 1: (Thinking) There's a traitor among us]

[Boss 1 who kept his achievements hidden]

Those who weren't facing the same direction as Ian didn't see what was happening inside the hole. They only saw Peggy suddenly tackled to the ground by Peggy. Peggy's eyes widened in horror, her mouth opened as if she was screaming, her body convulsing, and then she rolled her eyes back and fainted.

Then, in the pitch black, they heard a gasp and a murmur of murmurs coming from the direction of the gunshot.

"?"

They're all students, and each group has people from the Class of 26 and Class of 24. Why is it that the 2026 cohort gets to watch, while the majority of the group can't?

With a single shot, he accurately struck the opponent while simultaneously adjusting his 'injuries' via his Neural Link. Qin Su no longer saw He Muzhi's command error or He Muzhi leading the others to escape. He temporarily lowered his weapon, continuing to stare intently, waiting for the next opportunity to strike.

He was targeting Team 1, Group 1. He Muzhi was already used to leading by example, so he always paid close attention to the movements of his team members and adjusted his combat strategy according to their condition. His workload was not heavy.

Inside the Barrier Device, He Muzhi watched as Peggy's body was torn off by the giant tortoise, revealing clear muscle textures and fallen organs, with Peggy splattering all over the ground like flowing water. His face turned deathly pale in an instant.

If he had noticed Peggy's condition earlier, this wouldn't have happened.

'The enemy died so tragically because of his poor command.'

Such a thought flashed through He Muzhi's mind. He Muzhi quickly swallowed hard, his throat dry. Facing the other ferocious and vicious wriths lunging at them, he dared not linger. He forced himself to make a rational judgment, not daring to take Peggy's body away, and didn't even have time to look at it for long. His lips trembled as he directed his team members behind him to retreat and attack.

Seeing that Yin En had completed his task and gone to wait elsewhere, the others became anxious and rushed towards He Muzhi and the others even faster.

With just over ten seconds left in the five-minute time limit, another member of He Muzhi's group had his legs grabbed by Team 2, Group 1.

To He Muzhi and the people outside, this scene appeared as if the group member had both legs bitten off by a giant porcupine.

The person wasn't dead, but had fallen into a coma. He Muzhi carried the person's upper body on his back until the final five-minute Countdown reached zero.

The moment the Green √ number at the top turned zero, even though He Muzhi knew it was just a virtual state, his first thought was still to look for Peggy.

Seeing that Peggy was unharmed, and confirming that the person on his back was in the same condition.

Only...

He Muzhi put the person off him and, through touch, clearly noticed that the person's muscles were twitching uncontrollably.

He Muzhi pursed his dry lips, a chill ran down his spine, and his mind was filled with regret and self-blame for 'it's all because of him'.

After He Muzhi finished, Qin Su didn't give anyone inside time to react. He started the second question, reminding the second person after He Muzhi to look at the question. Everything would start again based on the question in five minutes.

The second person didn't have time to pay attention to He Muzhi and the others. With He Muzhi's experience as a foundation, even though the questions were similar to those they had seen that morning, none of them dared to relax anymore...

Two hours later, all members of both groups had finished solving the problem.

Apart from He Muzhi and the other two people who were used to Qin Su's treatment, the others, who had never experienced such ruthless treatment before, looked disheveled but also irritable and angry, glaring fiercely at each other.

"Are you crazy? What are you trying to do by biting off half of my body like that?"

"You hate me that much?"

"You despicable pervert, you cut off my legs?"

"You don't have a ball at home, huh? You want to rip my head off and use it as a football? You devil!"

"What nonsense are you spouting? I haven't even cursed you heartless bastards for hitting us and then abandoning us, and you're already turning around and blaming us!"

"Dare to do it but not dare to admit it?"

They all believed that the other person was the culprit behind everything they had just suffered.

[Didn't expect that, did you? You've insulted the wrong person (doge)]

[Doesn't anyone think Qin Su's actions are incredibly immoral? Absolutely utterly immoral, the kind that's insanely bad -1-1-1-1--]

[If I remember correctly, this group of people caused quite a few deaths due to their mistakes while giving orders. Now, let them witness the consequences of their command errors firsthand. Maybe they won't dare to give orders recklessly next time. It's like when our school posted horrific and bloody car accident death videos on the bulletin board for us to see when we were kids. It instilled in me a respect for life, and to this day, I still drive my electric scooter very carefully.]

Qin Su: "..."

Shivering. jpg

Other groups. "..."

Stop cursing! If you keep going, Qin Su was already abnormal enough; won't he get even more abnormal later?

Thinking of this, those who hadn't yet completed their mission shuddered.

"I'm thinking about a question?"

"What?"

"Can we, like we did this morning, automatically give up leading because of our low ranking? And automatically forfeit our position as group members? I really don't want to suffer such a terrible fate."

"... What's the use of telling me? If you're so capable, go and suggest it to Qin Su."

"... Do I look like someone who would dare?"

When the two groups finally finished, the people who breathed a sigh of relief were not only the Group 1 of the two teams, but also the students from the Class of 24 and Class of 26 graduating classes who had not experienced Qin Su's 'beating' and had witnessed countless bloody and brutal deaths and injuries caused by Qin Su's shooting from different angles during the two hours.

When the Barrier Device has no holes, they can't hear what's being said inside; they can only see the abstract actions of the two groups of people inside.

The hole created a brief glimpse into the 'real' situation inside, and their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, their hair standing on end in terror.

Just when they thought all this awfulness was about to end, Qin Su, who had been elusive and hidden in the darkness, emerged from the shadows.

"!"

The people in the darkness saw Qin Su suddenly appear in the light, and the noisy crowd, sensing that things weren't so simple, instinctively fell silent.

After all, if the two teams went straight into the second group, Qin Su wouldn't need to come out of the darkness at all.

What exactly is Qin Su planning to do this time?

'No matter what you do,'

"..."

Seeing Qin Su openly holding a weapon and walking towards the Barrier Device that was temporarily turned off, which was in the direction of the Team 1 Group 1, they saw him.

'How come Qin Su has a weapon?'

'Wait a minute, haven't they all admitted to being the ones who did it? Then the injuries they sustained earlier were... Qin Su?!'

Thinking of this, the people in Team 1 Group 1 looked in Qin Su's direction with expressions of fear.

"...!"

'They came over carrying weapons, are they thinking they haven't beaten them badly enough? Planning to fight them again?!'

Qin Su pretended not to see the expressions on the faces of the members of Team 1 Group 1 who were looking at him.

He has temporarily lost his moral character and is extremely low-class and despicable. He walked straight up to He Muzhi, the first person to "solve the problem," and stood there.

He Muzhi swallowed hard, his expression tense as he met Qin Su's gaze. Thinking of how two of his comrades had died under his command, he dared not utter a sound.

When the others saw Qin Su walk up to He Muzhi and stop, an eerie silence fell over the air.

'As expected of He Muzhi, among so many people, Qin Su still only cares about him first.'

Stopping in his tracks, Qin Su silently met He Muzhi's gaze for about a second. Only when he glanced out of the corner of his eye and noticed that all the students within the light's reach were looking in his direction did he ask He Muzhi, "He Muzhi, you should know very well what will happen according to your instructions, right?"

'As expected, they were dissatisfied with his command.'

A look of guilt flashed across He Muzhi's eyes, and he nodded honestly. "... I understand, yes..."

Before He Muzhi could even utter the words "I'm sorry," he heard Qin Su's icy voice again.

Qin Su: "Then, do you have any objection to the person who gives the order bearing the consequences of their actions?"

Bear the consequences?

Doesn't this mean Qin Su Qin Su is giving him a chance to learn a lesson he won't forget?!

He Muzhi's previously dim red eyes suddenly lit up, and he nodded solemnly, "No!"

Qin Su didn't care what consequences he caused, nor did he need to take responsibility for them; that was the real punishment for him.

Although past experience told Qin Su that there was a greater than 60% chance that He Muzhi wouldn't object to his words, Qin Su was truly relieved now that there was no rebuttal, and continued to say the lines he had already rehearsed in his mind, "Very good."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Su raised his hand, and the dark muzzle of the gun was pressed against the left side of He Muzhi's chest, the same spot where Peggy had been shot.

The others didn't understand what Qin Su meant at first, but seeing Qin Su actions, they immediately understood.

The students of Class 6, who had figured it out, took it for granted and were not surprised by it. The students of Class of 24, however, doubted their own eyes.

'So the punishment isn't over yet?!'

'Is Qin Su treating He Muzhi this way only, or will he treat the other Team 1 Group 1 who also caused the command incident equally?'

'No way, He Muzhi not only didn't dodge, but he also straightened his back—what does that mean?!'

While the students of the Class of 24 were still lost in thought, Qin Su mercilessly fired two shots at He Muzhi.

All the positions were under He Muzhi's command, the positions where the two team members who had the accident had been 'injured'.

Everyone: "!"

Even though He Muzhi was very patient, after being beaten twice, he finally knelt down on one knee.

Seeing He Muzhi, who had suffered his first setback due to a command error, severely injured, Peggy felt a secret sense of balance.

Seeing He Muzhi suddenly kneel down before him, fearing that he would shorten his lifespan, Qin Su was startled. He remained calm and walked to the next person, asking him the same question as He Muzhi.

That person was from the class of Class of 24. Thinking that He Muzhi was in so much pain that he almost fainted, he didn't dare to say anything and subconsciously looked for help in the darkness.

"Wait a minute." The darkness made some people think Qin Su couldn't see them, bolstering their courage. Before Qin Su could do anything to the second person, a voice suddenly rang out, "Head Class Monitor, are all the next groups going to be as terrifying as Group 1 from the two teams? Why should they be?"