As soon as the words were spoken, the members of both teams entered the waiting area one after another.
The spotlight shone on them, and the satellite cameras immediately turned to them as well.
[Ahhhh, it's starting!]
[Go, Dark Horse Team!]
[ Light and Brightness Team are the real dark horses, they absolutely must take third place!]
On the judges' panel, Jiang Wenzhuo immediately perked up.
He adjusted his posture and turned his gaze to the arena.
Deputy Director Wang, standing to the side, smiled and asked, " Teacher Jiang, which team do you think has a better chance of winning?"
Jiang Wenzhuo cleared his throat. "I think both teams are very good."
The Dark Horse Team is a secret squad trained by their Xihe Alliance Military Academy, a fact known only to the innermost personnel of the academy so far.
Jiang Wenzhuo shouldn't appear too biased towards the Dark Horse Team.
Deputy Director Wang, seemingly oblivious to the problem, smiled and replied, "Indeed, both teams are quite good; they are both potential assets that could be recruited into our Administration Bureau."
Seeing that the two were having a good conversation, Jing Hongyi changed his sitting posture, turned around, and suddenly joined the conversation. "What do you guys think of that Mask Squad?"
Jiang Wenzhuo's expression immediately turned sour.
Their team was defeated by the Mask Squad, and they were still upset.
He immediately shut his mouth, pretending to be deep in thought, and remained silent.
Deputy Director Wang's smile turned meaningful. "This Mask Squad has a superhuman with divine beast bloodline, a genius who reached the Fourth Tier of cultivation at the age of sixteen, and a captain whose combat power far exceeds his own mental strength level. The other two are probably support-type superhumans, but their strength is also quite remarkable. This team... is not simple."
Jing Hongyi's smile widened. "To be frank with you both, I've come here specifically for the Mask Squad."
Chapter 128 (Added 500 words) Third Place...
Deputy Director Wang and Jiang Wenzhuo were both taken aback.
The two exchanged a glance.
Then, Deputy Director Wang tentatively asked, "Do you mean you want to recruit the Mask Squad?"
Jing Hongyi nodded with a smile, "We do have that plan."
Jiang Wenzhuo pursed his thin lips.
Being chosen by the Commander-in-Chief means the future of this Mask Squad is limitless.
While the three were chatting, the two teams had already taken their positions on the arena.
Ji Nanqing and her five teammates stood in a line, facing the Light and Brightness Team.
After both sides finished their introductions, Li Xiang stepped back to the edge of the ring. "Now we will randomly select the match mode for each team."
The text on the giant light screen behind them kept flashing.
A few seconds later, the text above froze at "[2v2, 3v3 Mixed Team Battle Mode]".
"Alright, the format for this third-place match has been finalized as a 2v2 and 3v3 mixed team battle. Now, the ten-minute halftime break countdown begins. Both teams, please prepare for the first 2v2 match."
As soon as Li Xiang finished speaking, the lights on set immediately came on.
A ten-minute countdown began on the giant light screen.
The members of both teams stepped off the stage one after another and began to prepare and study tactics.
Xu Jintang leaned back on the sofa in the rest area, munching on a pita fruit.
"Hello, are you the captain of the Mask Squad?" A staff member approached, holding an envelope.
He bent down slightly and patted Xu Jintang on the shoulder.
Xu Jintang was stunned, and looked up at him. "Is... something wrong?"
The staff member smiled slightly and handed over the envelope. "This is a secret invitation letter issued by the Command Center. Please keep it safe."
Xu Jintang stopped chewing the Thunder Fruit. "A secret invitation from the Command Center?"
"Yes." The staff member nodded.
Xu Jintang hesitated for a moment before reaching out to accept the secret invitation.
Such secret invitations are only authorized to be issued by high-ranking leaders at the Federation Command Center.
Has some important person taken a liking to them?
Yan Yuting and the others leaned forward, casting curious glances. "Squad leader, what's going on?"
Xu Jintang waved the sealed envelope in his hand. "I don't know. I'll open it and take a look when we get back."
Everyone was very curious, but just then the match on the stage began.
Their gazes all turned to the light screen.
The first match is a 2v2 duel.
The Dark Horse Team sent Xing Lei and Jiang Yun to the stage.
The two stood at the edge of the ring, facing the two members of the Light and Brightness Team.
The duel began quickly.
The battle between the two sides was about to begin, and four different beams of supernatural energy flashed rapidly on the arena.
The four rushed toward each other at lightning speed, leaving afterimages in their wake.
Then, the sounds of fighting echoed through the air.
Xu Jintang put the secret order envelope into his bracelet's storage space, picked up the Thunder Fruit, and continued to eat it.
As she studied the images on the screen, she remarked, " Jiang Yun and Xing Lei's fighting style seems to have changed again."
"Yes." Jiang Shiyi nodded. "Last time, their fighting style and magical weapons were tailor-made for us. This time, they've changed their tactics to target the Light and Brightness Team."
"Wow, they're really rich." Xu Jintang took a big bite of the thunder fruit.
Custom-made magical artifacts are generally quite expensive, and some of the inscriptions are so rare that they can't be bought even if you have the money.
Without substantial financial resources, it would be impossible to achieve a change of personnel every single game.
While the group chatted idly, the battle on the arena had already taken place several times.
The Dark Horse Team currently holds the upper hand.
Jing Lei and Jiang Yun's special weapons completely countered their opponents, forcing them to retreat repeatedly.
"I feel like the Dark Horse Team will win this match," Xue Zhongqi said, stretching.
Xu Jintang finished eating the Thunder Fruit in his hand, threw the pit into the trash can, and said, "That's not necessarily true."
The battle in the arena continues.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the two members of the Light and Brightness Team suddenly went all out, and the situation that was just behind was instantly reversed.
Xing Lei and Jiang Yun were then knocked back to the edge of the ring.
The two sides struggled and pulled at each other repeatedly, captivating the audience who watched intently, their eyes glued to the screen for even a moment.
Ten minutes later, Jiang Yun and Xing Lei were completely overwhelmed by the opposing team's firepower and were subsequently thrown off the stage.
Li Xiang jumped onto the stage, raised the microphone, and announced, "In this 2v2 duel, the Light and Brightness Team wins."
"Wow, the Light and Brightness Team actually won!" Song Tianqi exclaimed in surprise.
Xue Zhongqi: "There's still another match. Next time, Ji Nanqing from the Dark Horse Team will be playing."
Xu Jintang yawned lazily, shifted his posture, leaned back in his chair, picked up his water glass, and took a small sip.
"Burp." It hasn't even been half an hour, and I'm almost full.
Upon hearing the sound, Yan Yuting instinctively turned her head. "What was that sound?"
Xu Jintang kept his eyes fixed on the broadcast screen. "It's nothing."
On the judges' panel, Jiang Wenzhuo's brow furrowed with seriousness after seeing the results of the first round.
The game started off at a disadvantage for the Dark Horse Team.
The next match requires even greater caution.
[They're still playing the third-place match? I thought the championship match had already started.]
[You can watch the dedicated live stream from other angles; the Mask Squad's backstage viewing footage is being streamed live the whole time.]
[The person most nervous about today's championship match is probably the black market casino owner, hahaha, after all, they've offered an astronomical odds of 1 to 100.]
The halftime break ended, and the second 3v3 match began soon afterward.
Xu Jintang leaned back in his chair, continuing to stare at the broadcast screen.
The battle between the two sides on the ring was fierce.
Ji Nanqing raised her leg high, forcefully sweeping it across the camera, and then delivered a flying kick.
The two people opposite were kicked over by the force of the impact.
The opposing side then launched a counterattack.
The fight was extremely intense.
After nearly half an hour of this entanglement, Xu Jintang got sleepy and covered his mouth, letting out a yawn.
The eyelids of the other four people also began to droop.
"They won! Light and Brightness Team won!" A scream suddenly erupted from the stands.
Xu Jintang looked up at the screen and saw that Ji Nanqing and the other two had all fallen off the stage, looking quite disheveled.
Meanwhile, the three members of the Light and Brightness Team stood unharmed in the center of the arena.
Because the incident happened so suddenly, many people didn't pay attention to what had just happened on stage.
Li Xiang quickly jumped onto the stage and announced the result, " The Light and Brightness Team has won this match, and let's also congratulate Light and Brightness Team on taking third place in this year's Ability User Competition!"
After the results were announced, a replay of the final moments on the stage immediately appeared on the screen.
Then, the three members of the Light and Brightness Team combined their mental energy and unleashed an attack far exceeding the strength of their opponents, directly blasting towards them.
Ji Nanqing and the other two tried to resist together, but they couldn't hold out for more than a few seconds before being thrown off the stage.
Xu Jintang stroked his chin, a thoughtful look in his eyes, "As expected, he still had a trump card up his sleeve."
"Damn it! Hurry, it's our turn next!" Song Tianqi was suddenly jolted awake from his drowsiness and quickly got up.
Just then, a staff member came in to call everyone, "You can head to the team waiting area now, the championship match is about to begin."
Xu Jintang slowly stood up, straightened his collar, and said, "Let's go."
As soon as she finished speaking, she raised her hand to straighten the ghost mask, then turned and walked towards the entrance.
Yan Yuting and the other three quickly straightened their clothes and followed.
At the athletes' entrance, spotlights shone down from above, illuminating the entire passageway.
The first team to enter was the currently most popular Mask Squad.
When Xu Jintang and his group of five appeared, thunderous cheers erupted from the surrounding stands.
" Mask Squad! Mask Squad!"
Shouts, louder and louder, echoed throughout the entire stadium.
Xu Jintang raised his hand and waved it around.
Then Yan Yuting and the other three followed suit and waved together.
The chants of " Mask Squad " echoed wildly throughout the venue.