What I Never Expected

My name is Shi Feng.

To my utter surprise, my voice still rang out throughout the entire venue.

Shi Feng, floating in Ghost form above the Red Team's altar, looked completely dazed.

The camera rewinds to 10 seconds earlier --

Yes, 10 seconds ago.

Shi Feng saw the gray flag of the Gold Mine, he also came into the sight of Bai Xiaowen and his three companions, who were sharpening their knives.

Feng Zi'ang (Blue Team Public Channel): It looks like there's only one person; he's an agile type responsible for reconnaissance.

Li Shuyi (Blue Team Public Channel): (Excitedly) Shall we get started?

Bai Xiaowen (Blue Team Public Channel): All done!

Just as Li Shuyi dashed out like a whirlwind, Bai Xiaowen raised his hand and summoned the Butcher, who swung the Meat Hook with a whoosh.

Shi Feng's instinctive reaction was to dodge to the side, but with a thud, he crashed into a Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier.

That's right, the instant the Butcher threw his hook, Bai Xiaowen used Targeted Airdrop, with two Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier on the left and right, blocking Shi Feng's side-stepping space like a sandwich.

Splash!

The iron chain pierced his flesh, then suddenly pulled Shi Feng back. At this moment, Li Shuyi's Savage Charge arrived like a bull, striking Shi Feng precisely!

Shi Feng felt as if he hadn't been hit by a beautiful woman, but rather suffered a car accident. Faced with Li Shuyi, whose strength value was as high as 30, he was unsurprisingly knocked into the air and left defenseless.

With a series of hissing sounds, before Shi Feng even landed, he had already been struck by Li Shuyi's twin sword thrusts and Triple Slash, and had also been hit by a critical Critical Hit, leaving him bleeding.

Han Xu used his Cover skill on Li Shuyi, following closely behind like a large truck. He rushed to Shi Feng, raised his heavy shield high, and after a brief charge, unleashed Shield Bash that slammed Shi Feng to the ground, stunning him.

Shi Feng had no choice but to use a crowd control removal item to break the stun. However, before he could even get up, two Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier and the Butcher behind him, Han Xu in front of him, and Li Shuyi to his side all began hacking and slashing wildly. Moreover, a beam of holy light and a bolt of lightning struck from afar, and Feng Zi'ang and the Bone Warlock also contributed some damage...

Shi Feng died cleanly and decisively.

Simply put, this is a case of someone face-checking into the bushes and getting ganged up on... From the moment the Butcher hooked the target to Shi Feng was killed, it took less than 4 seconds. The remaining 6 seconds were the time it took for Shi Feng to float back to the altar in Ghost form...

A grand announcement echoed throughout the venue:

First Blood!

"Red Fang Yong: Shi Feng has been killed!"

"Killer: Bai Xiaowen. Assisters: Li Shuyi, Han Xu, Feng Zi'ang."

Jinghai University Auditorium.

A gasp rippled through the audience, followed by thunderous applause!

Holding the microphone, Bai Yanni excitedly announced, "First blood! Jinghai University team takes the first game! Everyone can watch the replay of what just happened..."

So, under everyone's watchful eyes, the process of Shi Feng being raped was replayed. Moreover, at the audience's request, the replay was done at 0.5x speed, making it even clearer for everyone to see.

At 0.5x speed, Bai Yanni's commentary became even more effortless.

"The White Team's ability to summon creatures is simply too powerful! The appearance of the two Skeleton Soldier is like two walls, trapping the unfortunate Shi Feng in the middle, making it impossible for him to dodge this fatal hook!"

"That hook was absolutely brilliant! If we're judging by skill level, the way White Team controlled the summoned creatures to hook was absolutely at the Challenger Tier level on the Player Platform... no, Challenger Tier level players would have a hard time doing that!"

"As you can see, at the same time that the White Team's Stitched Corpse Monster released its hook, Li Shuyi had already rushed out, and her Savage Charge directly hit Shi Feng was still being dragged in the air!"

"This was a flawless teamwork. It's said that Team White and contestant Li Shuyi are a couple and partners who have ventured into the Spirit Realm together. It seems their numerous life-and-death experiences in the Spirit Realm have forged an unspoken understanding between them! They're truly an enviable pair..."

Bai Yanni praised Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi, but towards the end, she suddenly drifted off into thought. At that moment, she suddenly felt incredibly envious of Li Shuyi.

[Why are you so lucky... Born with a silver spoon in your mouth, and became Class Change early on, with a boyfriend who's a rising star in the Awakened world, everything is so perfect... while I can only struggle and flounder in the mire of mediocrity, getting stained with dirt. The person I like doesn't even want to look at me properly...]

[All of this is because you are the guild leader's daughter, and I am just an ordinary family's daughter. However, I will not give up; I must make something of myself! Even if I can't become an Awakened One, I will still...]

Bai Yanni's reverie only lasted a moment; her charming smile returned to her beautiful face as she continued her commentary, "Alright, the replay is over. Let's move on..."

After the notification sounded, the entire Wannan University team was momentarily stunned.

Duanmucheng (Red Team Public Channel): Shi Feng! What happened?

Chu Li, Lu Jiadong, Xu Wenze: Yes, what happened?

However, in his Ghost form, Shi Feng couldn't speak; he could only receive messages. His heart was bleeding silently.

However, Shi Feng didn't need to explain; his teammates could already figure it out from the kill notifications. Asking what happened was just an instinctive reaction.

Duanmucheng was the first to calm down. "It looks like you were ambushed by those four. It's alright Shi Feng, we'll avenge you."

"They're actually a group of four who're trying to seize the Gold Mine! It's a good thing they didn't occupy it immediately, they even used the Gold Mine as bait..." Duanmucheng pondered for a few seconds, "Old Lu and Wenze, after occupying the research institute, continue north and seize the Forge, there's no one there!"

"What if they also go to the Forge? There are four of them ganging up on each other, and the two of us can't beat them!" Xu Wenze said.

"Keep an eye on them. If you see they outnumber you, run! Wenze is Illusionist; he can create illusions to lure them into battle before escaping!" Duanmucheng said. "Once you're in battle, the movement speed bonus from the Beast Pen will disappear, and they won't be able to catch you."

"Chu Li and I will capture the Mill first, then head to the Gold Mine! Either way, we'll get at least one of the two: the Forge or the Gold Mine. With the Gold Mine, we'll gain 4 resources per minute, a guaranteed win; we just need to stall and wear them down! With the Forge, we'll have the bonuses from the Mill, Forge, and research institute—how could we possibly lose? Plus, we'll gain 3 resources per minute, so we won't fall behind."

After a well-reasoned analysis, the four students from Wannan University were convinced, and their initially panicked morale quickly stabilized.