Chapter 176

"Sophia, where did you hide yours?" Jeffrey asked his companion.

Sophia didn't speak, but raised her hand and touched her hair, mouth, and other areas.

Jeffrey then looked at He Muzhi, He Muzhi immediately replied, "I'm about the same as Sophia."

He would never allow Jeffrey to have the same thoughts as the two of them.

"Alright then." Jeffrey did indeed show a regretful expression.

He felt uneasy because he had no like-minded people around him and he didn't know why.

"Although it's been a long time, we don't know what the situation is like for Team 1. Let's hide well and get out as soon as possible," He Muzhi, looking at the other students.

The others in the same space nodded, took a deep breath in unison, and moved on to the next level.

They hid well, but after getting past that first hurdle, they didn't know how many weapons they would have left. They had no idea how Team 1 would try to stop them from carrying more weapons into the next checkpoint.

They wasted some time on other checkpoints, He Muzhi's concerns were justified; they should indeed speed up to avoid being overtaken by Team 1.

"I wonder where Team 1, responsible for the Assassination, is now? Do you think they're faster, or are we?"

"Although it's disheartening to say this, I still think they were the ones who came first."

"+1. Although the Class Monitor personally wrote down the plan for us, which told us about the layout of each level, it was still our first time encountering it, and we weren't familiar with many things. For example, that thing about coming out of the sealed room earlier—if it weren't for Sophia's angry kicking, we would have obediently hacked and unlocked it."

Hearing the whispers of his classmates, a look of self-reproach crossed He Muzhi's face.

In Qin Su's absence, he habitually took the lead, letting everyone use their skills to hack into the equipment that locked them in the confined space.

Almost everyone in this world has Optical Brain, but not everyone has the skills of a hacker.

Many people had never even imagined that Optical Brain could be used for intrusion.

He couldn't ask Samuel for help.

As expected, they wasted too much time.

If it weren't for Sophia's quick temper and that thoughtless kick, they would probably still be racking their brains trying to figure out how to get out.

It was Sophia's kick that made him realize that he might have been too conventional and rigid in his thinking in many ways.

His mind was racing, and so were He Muzhi's steps and eyes.

"Classmates, we've arrived. Are you ready?" He Muzhi spoke as he pulled himself out of his thoughts, temporarily putting aside his self-reproach.

OK!

"Go!"

A new round of challenges begins for Team 2.

Although Team 1 and Team 2 each had members from the other side trying to sabotage them, they lost contact with each other the moment they entered different Passageway. Even their Optical Brain were blocked from each other, so they could only try to progress by guessing each other's progress.

Qin Su from the sidelines, had a clear view of both teams' situations.

He Muzhi and the others were right; they were about one checkpoint slower than Team 1.

But...

Qin Su's gaze fell on Team 1 again.

Raymond, playing the waiter, has been talking non-stop since the fight started.

Centered on Team 1 students under 1.8 meters tall, and surrounded by Team 1 students who were balding early, had no abs, were disproportionately short, had slits in their eyes, etc., a 360-degree verbal barrage was launched indiscriminately.

Raymond retaliated whenever someone criticized him, infuriating Team 1 students who were initially trying to break up the fight, who then joined in the "gang-up" against Raymond.

This is endless, it's impossible to finish.

Raymond single-handedly expanded the battlefield, fighting in a manner no different from the participants in the interplanetary conferences that Qin Su had previously observed when learning about this world, where they engaged in fierce battles.

If I had to find a difference... it would be that the group at the United Planets Conference were dressed in suits, which was a little more presentable than Raymond and his group now.

During the tug-of-war, equipment was lost in droves, leaving the surrounding area in a mess.

This is why Team 1, which was originally ahead of Team 2, was slowed down by the level where Raymond was, allowing Team 2, including He Muzhi, to catch up with Team 1.

Through the screen, Qin Su concealed the admiring look he cast at Raymond by lowering his eyelids.

He knew that handing the matter over to Raymond would result in a physical 'mess,' but a de facto success.

That's right...

Watching Jeffrey wink and make faces at the live stream of Team 2, actively inviting others to witness the eye-catching sight of his "trained" perky buttocks, Qin Su seriously doubted whether he had brought the wrong "silence" skill when he left the dormitory today.

"..."

Is there no one in this world that Jeffrey cares about?

Since he was able to see it, presumably when Teacher Mei reviews the proceedings for them... everyone will see it too.

Thinking of that horrific scene, Qin Su silently lit a candle for Jeffrey.

"Hey, are you sure you don't want to try it out?" Jeffrey looked at the Team 1 members with anticipation.

"Jeffrey, huh? You pervert, stay away from me!"

"Tsk, you don't even appreciate such a good opportunity presented to you, are you sure you don't..."

"Get out!"

To be honest, college students are too shy. If I were invited, I wouldn't hesitate at all.

[Jeffrey, an Alpha, is facing off against a group of Alphas. Alphas don't get along with each other to begin with, so it's a miracle they didn't knock Jeffrey out of the game.]

[He'll behave himself once Jeffrey meets someone who's into Alphas.]

[Is the Plague God He Muzhi?]

[Although you're not human, don't you think you're getting too close to God? Of course, don't get me wrong, the God I'm talking about is a god of madness (rolls eyes)]

The Team 2 emerged and headed to the next checkpoint, casting strange glances at Jeffrey.

"Hey, honey, stop looking at me like that, okay? It's all an act, it's all an act!"

Sophia exclaimed, "It's not our fault, Sophia, your acting was so convincing that I thought you'd been hiding your true self all along, and that you were just being your real self."

Jeffrey scoffed, "What are you babbling about? Just tell me if it's useful or not."

"..."

There's no denying that Jeffrey had the least contact with the Team 1 members throughout the entire process; in fact, the Team 1 members tried their best to avoid him.

"If you ask me, you still need to practice. This is just for internal use. When you go out into the world, if you act all stiff and serious, as if you're afraid of being seen or touched, no matter where you go, everyone will think there's something wrong with you."

The others didn't refute Jeffrey's words; Jeffrey was right, they were too thin-skinned to go all out.

No one said anything more, but they secretly made a certain decision in their hearts.

Jeffrey convinced everyone, and in his moment of smug satisfaction, he felt as if he had forgotten something important.

'Hiss... what is it?'

'Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. If I can't remember, then it's probably not important.'

--

For Qin Su, the time it took to sit still in one position was exceptionally long.

Besides watching his classmates complete the challenges, Changdao Qin Su also mentally considered the size, shape, and purpose of the items in his space several times over.

Finally, when Qin Su had mentally polished them to the point of being patina-like, he saw He Muzhi, Sheng Shuang, Sophia, Jeffrey, and the other two stop just outside the door, which was only one door away from his.

'Call...'

It's finally about to begin.

Qin Su secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although he appeared to be sitting as still as a mountain while waiting, he had actually moved around a few times, but this was far from enough to satisfy his need to get up and move around.

Fortunately, as soon as they pushed open the door, Qin Su could immediately stand up under the pretext of 'welcoming' them.

To avoid falling due to leg numbness under the camera, Qin Su leaned back, realizing his back was against the chair back, and moved his legs under the table accordingly.

Feeling the numbness in his legs from sitting for so long, Qin Su was glad he didn't have to stand up immediately.

'Finally!'

Four hours later, they stood before their final destination, their hands and bodies adorned with weapons that had been reassembled along the way, or parts that were too fragmented to be reassembled.

Only...

He Muzhi and the three people beside him looked at each other.

They originally had a long group of people, but now only the four of them remain.

In less than a second, the four of them turned their gaze away from each other and looked in unison at the closed door in front of them. Their hearts, which had just relaxed, jumped again, and their bodies tensed up once more.

He Muzhi glanced around cautiously before saying, "I'll go first; you all stay behind and observe the situation."

"Um."

The three responded in hushed tones.

He Muzhi stepped forward alone and placed his hand on the door.

Although the door looks very basic, He Muzhi is convinced that the inside is anything but basic; it must be made of bulletproof material.

Having made sufficient mental preparations, He Muzhi then began to forcefully push against the door.

He thought it would take some time to get through the door, but to his surprise, the door opened a crack without making a sound.

The moment the enclosed space opened, Qin Su saw the light screen in front of him rapidly retract and disappear.

Finally, there was movement from the person outside the door. Qin Su suppressed his excitement and got up naturally.

Standing up straight, and after carefully confirming that his legs, which he had warmed up beforehand, showed no signs of numbness, Qin Su then...

Take a step.

Deliberately controlling the force of his military boots on the thick, long-haired carpet, Qin Su moved without making a sound.

With a clear objective, we stopped at the spot we had chosen beforehand: next to the round, retro-style corner table by the main entrance.

A black pillar in the center supports a black and gold round table. On the fringed wallpaper, besides a bouquet of deep red flowers in an open porcelain vase, there is a black three-headed candlestick...

Importantly, there was an oval mirror hanging on the wall next to the table.

The mirror was marked with the patina of time, and under the dim yellow light in the corner, it reflected his image from the entrance of the banquet hall.

Having taken his place as the 'actor,' and before the other actors he was to act opposite arrived, in order to avoid looking too awkward under the comic book lens, and also to use the candlestick as a weapon for his 'debut,' Qin Su slowly raised his hand, picked up the Lighter beside him, and seemingly casually played with it, but in reality, he was listening intently to the sounds outside, ready to respond at any moment when the other actors were in position and launched an attack on him.

Among the military uniforms provided to him were two small, exquisite, and easy-to-carry weapons, as well as three Military Saber that were respectively inserted into his military boots and arms. There were also four other sharp blades carried by the boots themselves, one in front and one in back.

He didn't plan to use any of those; the things in the room were enough for him.

In this way, he could create the illusion to the Viewers that 'he wasn't serious,' even though the truth was that he was 99% serious, and the remaining 1%... was just a rehearsal; he never really intended to kill them.

Having repeatedly stumbled into traps, and seeing the door that could be opened without any effort or cost, He Muzhi quickly withdrew his hand and took a step back.

A low voice followed immediately from behind.

Something's fishy.

"I ordered it."

"It's obviously a trap to lure you in."

"It's still very bright inside; there might be a trap waiting for you as soon as you go in."

Sophia pulled a small, curved piece of metal, about the size of a grain of rice, from inside her boot laces. "Shall we try dropping this in first?"

Out of caution, the four did not enter immediately after the door was easily pushed open, but instead discussed their next move outside.

"Well..." Sheng Shuang said softly, "It seems we've been overlooking a problem all along."

"Huh?" Jeffrey tilted his head in confusion.

Sheng Shuang: "Did Teacher Mei tell us who the Assassination target was?"

"..."

The four people could not answer.

'No, there really isn't.'

After a two-second silence, Jeffrey whispered, "I think it's probably upperclassmen, faculty members, or robots? Actually, I'm more inclined to think it's robots, because we're just wearing ordinary Combat Suits right now, with no protective features whatsoever. Only robots can truly be measured and avoid harming our lives, while we can attack them without restraint."

Sophia: "That makes sense, but whatever. Whoever it is, it can't be our Class Monitor. Teacher Mei said she and the Class Monitor are watching our actions from behind the scenes."

"Wait a minute." Jeffrey looked at Sophia with a thunderbolt in his eye, "The Class Monitor saw me..."

Jeffrey didn't dare say the rest, as if he wasn't the shameless person he had been before. He looked around, trying to find the Electronic Eyes, his face showing a look of utter despair.

He now finally realized what he had overlooked or forgotten!

Is it possible that the Class Monitor wasn't paying attention to me at the time?

"That's possible." To avoid upsetting Jeffrey, He Muzhi comforted him, "Perhaps the Class Monitor was tired of looking at us and was looking at the people on Team 1 at the time."

"Although the thought of them stealing the Class Monitor's attention is annoying, but..." Jeffrey covered his face, "I desperately hope so now."

[Well analyzed, don't do that next time.]

[Yes, I watched it, but I didn't say I watched it to the end. You guys are still too inexperienced.]

[Congratulations so much! (This time I really mean it) (covers mouth and giggles)]

Humans are inherently inclined to avoid confrontation and are unwilling to face their inner fears.

[The other team hasn't reached this level yet, let's congratulate Team 2 on getting 1 point at scoring point 1! Scoring point 2... emmm, good luck to them (facepalm)]

[Why ask for blessings? Be confident and ask Boss 1 for help. If he's willing to lend a hand, Team 2 will definitely win.]

They never imagined that Qin Su would become a stumbling block to their victory.

After comforting Jeffrey, and seeing that there had been no movement inside since the door was left ajar, He Muzhi turned to Sophia and said, "Sophia, throw it in after I finish my countdown of three."

He Muzhi then looked at Sheng Shuang: "I remember you hid Smoke Bomb. I kicked the door open completely and threw one inside."

"Jeffrey, you're in charge of defense. If anything seems amiss, report it immediately and give orders based on what you see."

With the screen off, Qin Su, who wanted to adapt to the situation, did not choose to hack into the Electronic Eye at this moment, thus losing control of the movements outside the door.

He waited and waited, a full twenty-seven seconds passed.

Aside from seeing the direction the door opened, only faint sounds could be heard from outside.

Qin Su: "..."

When exactly should he come in? This made him, who had already posed in advance, feel quite awkward.

He Muzhi: "One!"

The instant He Muzhi finished speaking, a black, particle-like heavy object was thrown in through the open door.

There was no carpet on the steps; the only sound was the dripping of particles rolling down the steps, but otherwise, there was no other noise.

'It's finally started.'

Qin Su's eyes were fixed on the candlestick.

Having confirmed that he hadn't heard any sound of traps being activated by particles, He Muzhi immediately kicked open the door.

Bang!

Snap!

Two voices rang out in quick succession. The moment the Smoke Bomb Sheng Shuang threw in exploded, Jeffrey's low voice rang out. "Temporarily safe, go inside, find cover!"

At the same time, the four of them nimbly rolled into the mist, and then each looked out from the edge of the white mist, searching for cover.

Qin Su was standing some distance from the door. When the four of them made all that noise, Qin Su deliberately stopped fiddling with the Lighter, so the three outside didn't hear anything coming from inside.

[It's hilarious, all flashy and gimmicky, but it actually looks pretty convincing.]

[As expected of a powerful figure, the King Su didn't even glance at the people who had entered.]

When will they realize their assassination target is Su Bao? I'm so anxious! Why bother with the Smoke Bomb? They could figure it out in no time!

[Bright lighting doesn't matter, they'll use Smoke Bombs to blind themselves (laughing and crying emoji). The rumor is that they're creating difficulties for themselves.]

[Who would dare to Assassination someone by entering a brightly lit environment without creating any cover? They didn't do anything wrong, did they?]

'Four people.'

Hearing four different sounds of things rolling onto the carpet, Qin Su had a rough idea of the number of people. Without further hesitation, he gave them no time to find cover and deliberately made noise by fiddling with the Lighter.

Clatter--

Although the sound wasn't loud, it seemed abrupt and amplified in the tense situation of the four people.

"!"

The four people in the mist shuddered and looked warily toward the source of the sound, just as they heard a familiar voice.

"I'm here." Not wanting to waste his opportunity to 'shoot the scene' in advance, Qin Su spoke up proactively.

"!!!"

That sound...

'Qin Su!'

The fog obscured their vision. After their initial shock, the four quickly rolled through the fog to their chosen cover, then poked one of their heads out to look at the source of the sound.

Through the edge of a lingering mist, at the side table, their Class Monitor, Qin Su, dressed in a crisp military uniform, tall and imposing, faced them sideways, his head slightly lowered. Beneath his stiff military cap, his dark eyes stared idly at the Lighter in his hand. His slender fingers moved rhythmically, the flickering flame illuminating his face, making his features even more striking.

The oval mirror on the wall reflected the changing light and shadow on Qin Su's face as the Lighter flickered on and off...

Because of their different cover, they didn't have a chance to make eye contact, but the same series of emotional changes occurred in their eyes as they looked in Qin Su's direction.

"?"

"?!"

"..."

"!!!"

Ah, this...

Is it right?!