The Military's Schemes Ran Too Deep

(Sorry, the chapter order was reversed. You were initially seeing chapter 67, but it has now been corrected.)

At an altitude of 20,000 meters, a warship about 400 meters long is silently hovering.

At this moment, the Student Observation Group who had been at the Jin Jilan Fighting Arena, as well as high-ranking military officials, all appeared on this warship.

This is Near-Earth Heavy Carrier Ship specially dispatched by the military. The ship's specifications are much higher than those of the existing ships on Zicui Star, and it is even equipped with firepower equivalent to that of a Missile Destroyer.

The heavy transport ship is divided into three levels. At this moment, the military personnel are sitting together on the top level, looking at the ten screens that are being projected.

There is a panoramic view of the site below, as well as monitoring of various key terrain features.

The remaining screens display specialized battlefield maps.

At this moment, the densely packed green dots on the grid-like map represent these one hundred candidates.

The middle-aged officer, wearing the rank of senior colonel, looked at the group of people sitting around him and said in a deep voice, "Make sure to record the data properly this time, and bring the examinees out promptly after each time the area is narrowed down."

Upon seeing someone raise their hand in a gesture, the colonel paused for a moment.

"Major Liu Ze, please speak!"

A major, dressed in uniform distinct from the other officers, stood up. "Sir, what is the minimum number of deaths required for this competition? Also, should armored units be deployed periodically to eliminate unforeseen dangers?"

The colonel pondered for a moment, then said, "Armored units will not be deployed for the time being, and the death toll in this final round will be limited to twenty..."

Twenty people!

Major Liu Ze's eyes widened instantly, and even some of the young officers around him showed surprise.

One-fifth of the deaths!

This is the highest ever, even double that of the previous year.

"The military leadership has already planned for this matter, so no further explanation will be given. Major Qian Chen, monitor biological activity and report any energy levels exceeding level 25 immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

A handsome young officer stood up and saluted.

Then the colonel turned to the person next to him and instructed, "Release those twenty Loser's Bracket players at 11:00 tomorrow."

"Remember, this final is to select the elite; this is not child's play."

"Yes, sir!" the officers shouted.

Separated by a partition layer three meters thick, the academic area below had no idea that the military above had already entered the situation analysis phase. The space below was more than twice as large as the space above.

It was still divided into five areas, and this time each college was in its own area. Some people were very happy that they could not see those annoying faces.

For example, that annoying bald guy.

A senior observer from the Dawn Academy was instructing his subordinates. "These damned military data providers haven't provided us with complete data. We have limited data right now, so do your best to compile the data and keep a close eye on the latest information released by the military."

After saying that, he muttered to himself, "After so many years of doing admissions work, what is the military trying to do this year! If it weren't for the opinions from Two Houses of Parliament, I would never have taken on this thankless task. What do they take our college for?! A bunch of damned military!"

The pale-faced young teaching assistant next to him was carefully sorting the information on the screen, not daring to speak.

His family is in the military, so if a nobody like me dares to talk back, I'll be tricked and killed without even knowing how.

Seeing that no one responded, and knowing the concerns of these shrewd people, the senior observer muttered a few curses and returned to his assigned seat. The feeling of being enveloped by the soft sofa was indeed much better than the hard chair below.

The area next door, separated by just one wall, is the area of the Dingchuan Academy.

At this moment, a group of observers were busy with their work, but there was one person sitting in the room with an air of nonchalance, showing no intention of getting up.

Seeing that shiny bald head and bear-like physique, you could tell it was none other than Instructor Ruan.

No one around dared to disturb this important figure. His demeanor was nothing like that of a senior observer from the academy; he looked more like a powerful underworld boss there to keep order.

At this moment, Ruan Xiongfeng leaned his head back on the soft chair, looking up at the large screen projected at a 45-degree angle above him, chewing on a toothpick that seemed to be stuck in his mouth.

"They're really going all out. Back when I was risking my life, I never saw a heavy transport ship like this. I don't believe the military high command if they dare say there haven't been any changes. It's getting more and more interesting now. Those idiots still think it's a regular college recruiting students?" Thinking of the dissatisfied expressions on the faces of the heads of the neighboring colleges, Ruan Xiongfeng couldn't help but feel secretly amused.

"Let's see what kind of trouble the military can stir up this time." With a bored expression, Ruan Xiongfeng crossed his legs and began to look at the area map projected in front of him. The rules this time clearly piqued his interest.

The candidates below had no idea what they were doing; some were even chuckling as they opened the Mysterious Backpack.

Flights can be boring, even if it's only a minute.

"Damn it! Is his family kidding me? You put a plunger in my backpack! Where the hell am I supposed to find a toilet in this Primeval Forest?!"

The test-taker sat bored inside the vehicle, unpacking his backpack. A shiny plunger on a wooden handle nearly blinded him, and then a string of curses echoed beneath the clouds.

Countless similar scenes unfold inside the launch vehicles that are launched into the air.

"Hmm, look what's in here... canned goods? Tuna, beef, sardines, chicken breast, and oh, a can of peaches..."

Another examinee, who had just been ejected from the mountain by the vehicle, eagerly opened his backpack and saw this pile of canned food.

To prevent people from taking it out beforehand, the Federation Military even added a metal box to the backpack, where all the items were stored.

At the time, I thought the heavy backpack was a pack of hand grenades!

Is it okay to swear?

The candidate almost burst into tears.

How did you manage to escape the Primeval Forest on your own... relying solely on these five cans of food?

The next examinee after Mu Fan also opened his backpack.

A waterproof lighter wrapped in thick newspaper was found inside a metal box in the backpack.

"Lighter?"

How could a competition give out something like this? It's insane!

The candidate had a rather bad temper and casually threw the lighter under the seat.

The above describes most people who, feeling itchy, open their backpacks mid-air. Others, like Mu Fan, take the opportunity to observe the environment below from high altitude, without paying much attention to their backpacks.

The first batch of catapult launchers has begun its descent.

Mu Fan placed his left hand in front of his chest and gripped the side wall tightly with his right hand.

Our horizons are constantly expanding!

Plunging rapidly!

Falling from this distance would be fatal.

Mu Fan's palms finally started to sweat. The feeling of not being able to control his life or death in this flimsy little vehicle made him extremely anxious.

Boom!

The pilot parachute suddenly popped out from behind the launch vehicle, and then a large buffer parachute appeared quickly. At this point, the distance to the ground was less than 500 meters.

It swayed and drifted down.

Through the transparent hatch, Mu Fan could see a river flowing rapidly below.

I... it seems I'm going to end up here?

No, that's a waterfall ahead!

***************

ps: Thank you to book friend "Xuanguoguo" for the 200-coin reward! Thanks to book friends "⒈⒎ The Rainy Season" and "Yellow Spring 11111" for the 100-coin reward!

Thanks to book friends "Dast", "mephi", "It's like an old friend", "horntail", "Young Master Yang" and "Soviet Armored Infantry" for the 10-coin reward!