Chapter 264
An Xinran the first to relent, "It's possible, but haven't you already partnered with Clifford?"
Xu Jintang smiled, "It wouldn't hurt to bring a few more teammates."
"Then... how do we cooperate?" An Xinran asked tentatively.
In any case, being able to cooperate with the First Military Academy is not a bad thing, and she felt a glimmer of hope in her heart.
Xu Jintang's smile deepened slightly as he pointed to the token at An Xinran's waist. "During the cooperation period, the team will act together, sharing both danger and opportunity. Furthermore, before the final competition, all of your tokens will be kept in my custody."
An Xinran's face immediately turned ugly. "Can you call this a collaboration?"
Once the token is broken, the token's owner will be immediately eliminated. This means that during the cooperation period, Xu Jintang held the lives of all the members of the Red Star Military Academy in his hands.
Xu Jintang shrugged, still smiling, "If you don't intend to cooperate, then we're enemies."
Chapter 264
An Xinran's complexion worsened.
Xu Jintang's words clearly meant that he was threatening him, and openly so. If he didn't accept it, then he would have no choice but to take action.
"I accept the cooperation." An Xinran nodded in agreement.
The difference between cooperating and not cooperating is simply a matter of being eliminated sooner or later.
However, since there are more opportunities to be eliminated later, cooperation is definitely a better choice.
The other team members had the will to resist, but lacked the power to do so, and could only remain silent.
Soon, Xu Jintang took away the tokens of the five students from the Red Star Military Academy.
A radiant smile immediately spread across her face. "Xinran, right? Come, warm yourself by the fire."
With her life completely in someone else's hands, An Xinran breathed a sigh of relief.
Since things have come to this point, there's no other choice but to stick with Xu Jintang; it'll actually be easier that way.
She nodded. "Mm."
Seeing their captain like this, the other team members also gathered around the fire.
The two groups then harmoniously started warming themselves by the fire together.
"Now that we're in a cooperative relationship, may I ask about your next steps?" An Xinran tentatively asked, raising her eyes.
Xu Jintang shook his finger mysteriously, "Let's wait and see."
An Xinran nodded thoughtfully.
Everyone is new to the simulated battlefield and probably hasn't fully grasped the rules yet, so waiting and seeing is definitely the best strategy right now.
Silence returned to the cave, broken only by the crackling of burning firewood.
As time passed, the outdoor temperature dropped even lower, and the temperature inside the cave also began to decline continuously. The heat generated by the fire was no longer enough for everyone to keep warm.
The group could only use their mental energy to cover their bodies and maintain their body temperature.
An hour after the game started, the familiar broadcast sounded again:
"The survival zone is shrinking. Survivors, please prepare. The survival zone is shrinking. Survivors, please prepare..."
The people inside the cave were awakened.
Xu Jintang looked up at the cave entrance and stood up first.
An Xinran, a hint of nervousness flashing across her face.
The broadcast repeated three times before disappearing, and at the same time, a flood of information rushed into the minds of all the survivors.
Xu Jintang closed his eyes, and a complete terrain map simulating the battlefield appeared in his mind.
At this moment, the green square area representing the survival zone began to slowly shrink towards the center, and in a short while, the green square area shrank by one-fifth.
Their location was exactly outside the green square area.
"A new survival zone has been formed, and the first round of indiscriminate bombing of the abandoned zone will begin in five minutes," the broadcast announced again.
After listening to all the broadcasts, An Xinran spoke first, "The green areas on the terrain map should represent the survival zone. We're not currently in the green zone, and we'll be indiscriminately bombed in five minutes. We must get to the survival zone as soon as possible."
Xu Jintang also realized what was happening, stood up and stretched, "Everyone, get ready, we'll set off immediately."
"Yes!"
Half a minute later, Xu Jintang led two teams out of the cave and began their sprint toward the new survival zone.
They weren't the only ones doing the same thing; other teams also outside the new survival zone were racing against time to make the final push.
On their way to the new survival zone, Xu Jintang and his group encountered other teams, but everyone was focused on getting there and there were no conflicts or collisions.
Time passed by, second by second.
The audience outside the venue watched the live broadcast screen intently.
"This format change is interesting. The survival zone will get smaller and smaller over time, so in the end, all the teams will be forced to squeeze into the same place, making it hard to avoid fighting."
"If that's the case, cooperation would indeed be more beneficial. Going it alone is too easy to fail."
"Leikedasi, Clifford, and Red Star Military Academy are in one team. Combined, these three teams are probably pretty much invincible in the simulated battlefield."
"Not necessarily. If the other three of the top five military academies were to unite, along with several other military academy teams, their strength might not be inferior to theirs."
Within a simulated battlefield.
All teams are rushing towards the new survival zone in the center from all directions.
Four minutes have passed since the broadcast announcement.
"Look! That green barrier ahead is probably the survival zone barrier!" Song Tianqi, who was leading the way, pointed ahead, his voice tinged with excitement.
Xu Jintang and the others all looked up.
The green barrier flashed intermittently, making it quite eye-catching.
"Everyone, hurry up, it shouldn't be long." An Xinran pursed her lips, her eyes fixed on the green barrier ahead.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the broadcast blared again from the horizon.
"The bombing of the abandoned area is about to begin."
Immediately afterwards, without any warning, all areas outside the green barrier were instantly shrouded in dark clouds.
A deafening roar of thunder echoed through the sky, and bolts of lightning struck randomly across the abandoned area.
"Holy crap!" A bolt of lightning struck directly at Song Tianqi's head. Startled, he quickly dodged to the side and summoned Scarlet Flame to retaliate.
The attack ended, but the bombing continued.
This time, it was Xu Jintang who suffered.
Two bolts of lightning struck her head with deadly accuracy.
Xu Jintang raised his hand and summoned his supernatural power.
Centered on her, within just two seconds, layers of ice continuously rose from the ground around her, enveloping her and forming an impenetrable ice sphere.
A fierce thunderbolt struck, but the ice hockey puck remained unharmed.
After dodging the bombing zone, Xu Jintang immediately put away the ice puck, calmed his mind, and continued running towards the green barrier.
The others were also hit by the thunder to varying degrees, but everyone reacted quickly, dodging the attack and continuing towards the survival zone.
After the bombing of the abandoned area began, all sorts of thrilling scenes unfolded, keeping the audience entertained. Unbeknownst to them, most of the staff on site had already disappeared without their knowledge.
The VIPs in the audience were all intently watching the broadcast screen, seemingly oblivious to the changes taking place on-site.
Or perhaps, they noticed it but didn't take it to heart.
"Finally in." Xue Zhongqi was the first to rush into the survival zone, was panting heavily, his hands on his knees.
Yan Yuting, who followed closely behind, relaxed slightly.
After their intense sprint, An Xinran and the other four were now calming down on the sidelines.
Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps approached.
Another team that had just rushed into the survival zone came over.
When the three teams met, they immediately became alert.
An Xinran took the initiative to defend herself, and her teammates also stepped aside one after another, watching the new group of people warily.
"They're from the Milky Way Military Academy," Yan Yuting whispered, standing behind Xu Jintang.
Xu Jintang turned his head and glanced in that direction.
Just then An Xinran looked over, and their eyes met in mid-air.
Xu Jintang immediately made a hand gesture.
An Xinran recognized that it meant she should take action directly.
Without further hesitation, she summoned her magical longsword and shouted, "Attack!"
The combined power of the five members of the Red Star Military Academy and Xu Jintang's group was something that no ordinary team could withstand.
Before long, the five members of the Milky Way Military Academy were being driven back in defeat.
An Xinran had experience.
After completely overwhelming the five members of the Milky Way Military Academy, she immediately captured their captain and brought him before Xu Jintang. "Captain Xu, this is the captain of the Milky Way Military Academy."
"Hello, hello." Xu Jintang smiled and stepped forward to shake hands. "I hope I didn't hurt you when I attacked you earlier."
His warm and amiable demeanor stunned the captain of the Milky Way Military Academy.
When they attacked, these people showed no mercy at all. He was prepared to be eliminated, but he never expected it to turn out like this.
"What... do you mean?" The captain of the Milky Way Military Academy stared at Xu Jintang warily.
Xu Jintang smiled slightly, "Actually, we are very sincere in wanting to cooperate with you."
The captain of the Milky Way Military Academy twitched his lips. "... Cooperation?"
This time, before Xu Jintang could even speak, An Xinran, standing to the side, effortlessly recited the rhetoric of coercion and threats to cooperate.
"Simply put, the cooperation means that Captain Xu will temporarily keep your tokens. During this period, you must resolutely obey Captain Xu's orders and ensure accurate execution in the face of any difficulties."
"This is also..." The captain of the Milky Way Military Academy didn't dare to say the rest of the sentence.
After all, they were already defeated by the opposing side. If they didn't agree to cooperate, they might be eliminated by Xu Jintang. It was better to agree, so at least they could stay in the simulated battlefield and continue to look for opportunities.