After a brief moment of stiffness, the undercover quartet quickly pulled themselves together, found their combat positions, and advanced at a measured pace, their alert gazes scanning for enemy intel.
Clearly, excellence was a habit.
Elite professionals could adapt perfectly to any harsh environment and display the outstanding skills they had honed over time.
For example,
an outstanding graduate like Yuan Feng, who had earned straight A's at training camp,
an outstanding employee like Shi Huayi, with his stellar intelligence record,
an outstanding informant like Zhou Nan, who had received the highest award for contributions to peace,
and an outstanding sect heir like Luo Xiaohong, who had swept through the martial arts world.
Not only did they promptly spot the enemies lying in ambush at seven, eight, nine, and ten o'clock in the live-action combat game, but they also worked in perfect sync, covering one another as they went on the offensive.
In just three minutes, they landed headshots on four soldiers.
An announcement immediately rang out in their ears. "Four members of the red team have been eliminated."
Comments flooded the livestream.
[Casualties already?! Are we sure the other side is professional?!]
[Holy shit, did you catch that?! Cover, crawl, jump, aim, fire! Not a single wasted movement, and they took out four opponents just like that?!]
[There's no way you can convince me this season's guests don't have some serious skills!]
Hearing the announcement, Lu Yuanhang's mouth fell open in astonishment. What was going on? I hadn't even had time to send their positions, and all four of them already scored their first kills?!
A coincidence?
Or was the production crew deliberately cheating?
Damn it!
They'd resort to any dirty trick to keep the ratings up!
Compared with the malicious supporting character's astonishment, Jian Li remained perfectly calm.
Although the melodramatic novel had never given an exhaustive introduction to the variety show's peculiar guests, judging by its passing descriptions of their special identities, their missions were anything but simple. Otherwise, they wouldn't all have been so agile that each could take on an entire special forces battalion alone...
"Watch out." A cool, low voice came from behind him.
Without a moment's hesitation, Jian Li rolled forward with his momentum, raised his arm, and fired.
The announcement rang out again. "One member of the red team has been eliminated."
Behind the monitor, the director sucked in a cold breath. Beside him, his assistant stared fixedly at the screen. "Director, this..."
Did they realize what this meant?!
The red team only had ten members in total!
Five had already been wiped out, leaving them at half strength.
They'd achieved this in just eight minutes?!
Numbers didn't lie-and these were staggering!
"Is the other side going easy on them?" the director asked uncertainly.
"They probably, possibly, maybe... aren't?!" The assistant tried to close his gaping mouth.
Meanwhile, at the red team's stronghold.
The commander held his radio. "What's going on? Did you take proper cover? How did half our team get taken out so quickly?!"
"Even if you're going easy on them, this isn't how you do it!"
The soldier who had just been shot in the head hung his head dejectedly. "I got careless. I only wanted to peek at their position, and then..."
He faltered halfway through and turned to look at several of his teammates,
trying to find an indescribable sense of shared suffering in their eyes.
"Boss, these people seem to have training!" After several seconds, someone finally reached a conclusion.
The commander sneered. "You think I need you to tell me that? A blind man could see it!"
"Everyone still in the game, listen up! Get your heads in it and go straight on the offensive!"
"Win back the pride we lost!"
With that, he tossed the radio aside. Feng Dayuan's infuriatingly smug face seemed to flash before his eyes.
In fact, after being caught off guard, the red team's tactics had already fallen apart.
Under Jian Li's relentless command in particular, the undercover quartet picked off the concealed positions one by one. They even captured a sniper alive and tied him up in their own stronghold.
Subjected to every humiliation, the sniper refused to yield under interrogation. "I don't know where the red team's stronghold is. Kill me if you want!"
Jian Li sneered at him. "Kill you? Wouldn't that be letting you off too easy?"
He tipped up his chin. "Strip him, tie a sign saying 'I am a prisoner' on him, and use him to draw fire."
The sniper's face flushed red. "You're abusing a prisoner of war! That violates the laws of war!"
Jian Li curled his lips. "I only answer to money, not the law."
"They call me the outlaw."
[Hahaha, fuck! An outlaw, my ass! That line was so brutal, so badass. I love it!]
[Jian Li's cocky attitude reminds me of that mercenary who's really popular on that video app. Kills people left and right but still shares his daily life. Once, someone online insulted him, and he went straight over to kill them!]
[Jian Li's rough, wild style really does have a mercenary vibe!]
[Oh, come on. It's just a script. You actually believe this?!]
[Fuck, you call everything scripted. Then why don't you get Lu Yuanhang to act like that? Isn't he the investor's younger brother? Why didn't he ask for a better persona?!]
[Exactly. Everyone else is charging into battle, while he's cowering in the back like a turtle!]
[...]
The cowering turtle had no idea what the livestream comments were saying about him. Seeing the others adjusting their equipment, he cautiously edged toward the sniper.
"I can save you. I'm the mole."
Hearing the deliberately lowered voice, the sniper looked over in surprise. "You? The mole?"
They actually picked someone this useless?!
Oh, wait.
The roles were drawn blind. He hadn't had a choice.
Most military men were straightforward and wore their emotions on their faces.
So Lu Yuanhang could see the blatant contempt in the sniper's eyes.
He immediately took offense. "If you want to win, you'll have to rely on me. You'd better be polite."
"Heh, I don't know how you usually train. You fold at the first blow, yet you still have the nerve to look down on other people..."
The sniper swallowed his anger again and again before managing to suppress the urge to grab a gun and shoot him.
He didn't want the other blue team members to think he was a sore loser.
So he whispered through gritted teeth, "Cut the crap. How exactly are you going to help us win?"
"By secretly letting you go, of course." Convinced that the plan he had prepared was flawless, Lu Yuanhang gave a smug smile. "Once you get back, have your teammates retrace your route."
"Didn't they say whoever captures the stronghold first wins?"
"Who cares how many people die!"
"..."
Soon afterward, while the other guests continued searching in a dispersed formation, Lu Yuanhang untied the sniper's ropes.
A little bewildered, the sniper asked, "They trust you that much?"
"Of course. We're on the same team." With a smug smile, Lu Yuanhang displayed a team spirit that had come from who knew where.
The sniper remained suspicious, but he still sprinted into the dense woods.
After slipping into the red team's stronghold, he was just about to shout, "Comrades, follow me!" when he realized he had been shot in the head.
His body stiffened as he turned around and saw the blue team's guests advancing slowly in a flanking formation, paintball guns raised.
He couldn't help cursing inwardly.
Fuck!
That bastard was a double agent!
Before you continue