Chapter 337: I’ll Listen to You
「The next morning.」
At seven o’clock sharp, Ke An was already blowing up everyone’s phones, rousing them from bed and telling them to assemble downstairs.
When the student council members heard Jiang Qingli was coming too, their hearts skipped a beat.
"Sh-she’s not bringing... you-know-who, is she?"
"That guy’s a god-tier marksman. If he’s on the other team, how are we supposed to win?"
Fortunately, when Jiang Qingli appeared downstairs arm in arm with Lin Xiyue, she was only followed by one Beast Husband: Gu Nian.
Everyone instantly breathed a huge sigh of relief, all of them hoping Gu Nian would be assigned to the opposing team.
Taking down a pretty boy like him, who was nothing more than a delicate vase, would be a piece of cake, wouldn’t it?
...
When they reached the entrance at the edge of the forest, the staff had already been waiting for some time.
The female in charge, dressed in camouflage, smiled and said, "Welcome, everyone. Let me start by explaining the procedure."
"Everyone will wear a wristband. You start with 100% health. When you’re hit by a simulation bullet, the system will report the damage. The damage and health loss vary depending on which part of the body is hit. For example, a hit to the arm is a 20% loss, while a hit to the heart is 90%. When your health reaches zero, you’re eliminated."
"The wargame will last for five hours. The team with the most members left at the end wins."
A staff member counted the participants. "There are twenty-two of you in total, so we’ll have two teams of eleven."
The rules were easy to understand, and everyone was looking forward to it.
The camouflage uniforms for both teams were identical. Only the wristbands, which came in red and blue, distinguished the teams.
After they had changed into their camo, a staff member brought out an opaque box and asked them to draw for their wristbands.
Ke An, as the event organizer, drew first and got a blue wristband.
Jiang Qingli was supposed to draw second, but she suddenly realized her shoes didn’t fit well and went to change them. Gu Nian went with her, so the others went ahead and drew.
Everyone took turns drawing. Ai Li and Ai Bin both got blue. Ai Li’s Beast Husband was on the red team, while Lin Xiyue drew red, so her Beast Husband joined her on the same team.
As people drew, they automatically split into two groups. Yuan Shiyao was third to last and drew a red wristband.
"Well, well. Planning on defecting, Secretary Yuan?" Ke An said, raising an eyebrow.
Normally, Yuan Shiyao would have shot back a witty retort to such teasing, but now he was just frowning at the box, a tense look on his face.
There were now ten people on each side, which meant there were only two wristbands left in the box—one red and one blue.
Ke An followed his gaze and smiled knowingly. "Oh, so that’s what you’re worried about."
Just then, Jiang Qingli and Gu Nian returned.
"Our Secretary Yuan just drew the second-to-last red wristband," Ke An said with a suggestive smile. "Now there are only two left, one of each color. Looks like you and Gu won’t be on the same team."
Gu Nian frowned and shot Yuan Shiyao a look of displeasure, but still let Jiang Qingli draw first.
As Jiang Qingli reached into the box, both teams held their breath. ’Please, let her be on our team! Jiang Qingli got a perfect score in shooting class this year. Who wouldn’t want her on their side?!’
Jiang Qingli, however, didn’t care which team she was on. She was mainly here to experience a real jungle battle simulation, so she didn’t drag it out to keep everyone in suspense. She simply grabbed one and slipped it onto her wrist.
Seeing the flash of red on her hand, Lin Xiyue—who had barely scraped by in physical education—let out a whoop. She excitedly threw her arms around Jiang Qingli, grinning from ear to ear. "I get to ride your coattails again! I’m so happy!"
Jiang Qingli smiled and pinched her cheek. "Then you’d better hold on tight and don’t stray too far from me."
"Yes, sir! Ma’am! Sir!" Lin Xiyue giggled, pulling her toward their team’s side.
The two teams had to enter from two separate entrances, one on the left and one on the right.
Before entering, to ensure player safety, a staff member would scan them with a device. No personal weapons were allowed, and there were also devices inside to suppress Superpowers.
As Gu Nian walked over to the blue team, many eyes fell on him.
"Ugh, why are we stuck with him..." a student council officer muttered helplessly. "This isn’t a beauty contest. How many people can he possibly hit? We’re just going to end up having to protect him."
"Exactly. The other team has Jiang Qingli and Yuan Shiyao. Both of them got perfect scores in the final shooting exam..."
"Why don’t we use him as bait later? To lure out Jiang Qingli?"
"I think having Secretary Yuan distract Jiang Qingli and sabotage them from within is a more reliable plan."
"Ahem."
Ke An glanced at Gu Nian’s darkening expression, cleared her throat, and cut them off. "All right, it’s just a game. The most important thing is to have fun."
She said as much, but before they set off, Ke An still arranged the team’s formation.
There were eleven of them. The three weakest members, plus Ai Li, were sent to the front to clear the way. Ke An herself, along with the two other strongest players, would stay in the very center to conserve stamina. The rest were arranged in descending order of strength, with Gu Nian, the weakest, at the very back.
In Ke An’s view, it was the law of the jungle. When danger arose, the weakest should be the first to be eliminated, freeing up resources for the strong.
Meanwhile, on the other team, Lin Xiyue’s Beast Husband, Chi Yan, was musing, "We’ve never been to this forest before. It’s pretty big, so this is going to be a bit difficult. What’s the best way to handle this?"
It was a valid question.
The group fell into thoughtful silence.
Just then, a deferential voice spoke up. "What do you think, Chairman Jiang?"
Jiang Qingli looked up and met Yuan Shiyao’s gaze.
The dark-haired young man was smiling at her, his eyes gentle, as if he would completely defer to her wishes.
Jiang Qingli paused. For some reason, she was reminded of their shared glance at the bonfire last night and looked away, feeling a little flustered. "We can all discuss the strategy together."
"The blue team is almost entirely student council members, so Ke An will be leading them. Naturally, Chairman Jiang should lead our side," Yuan Shiyao said, seeking her approval. "Is that all right?"
Jiang Qingli thought for a moment. "Alright. While we’re getting familiar with the terrain, you, me, and Lu Yan—our stamina and shooting are pretty good—will take the lead. Yueyue and Xia Qingqing, who are the weaker females physically, will be in the middle. The rest will guard the rear. Once we get deeper in, we’ll reassess based on the situation."
Someone disagreed. "But if you’re at the front, you’ll burn through your stamina, and it’s more dangerous. Why not let the weakest take the lead...?"
Jiang Qingli said, "The condition for winning is to have the most members left."
Chi Yan chimed in, "I see no problem with that. It’s a five-hour game. If Yueyue and the others are at the front, they’ll run out of stamina quickly and become easy targets. We’d lose members fast."
Yuan Shiyao glanced around at the others, then smiled. "I don’t care what anyone else thinks. I’ll follow your lead."
With Secretary Yuan having spoken, the others naturally had no further objections.
After the security check, Jiang Qingli was the first to enter their designated entrance, with Yuan Shiyao following close behind.
At the rear of the line, two senior student council officers exchanged a look, seeing the shared speechlessness in each other’s eyes.
One of them mimicked Yuan Shiyao, mouthing the words "I’ll follow your lead," before whispering to his companion, "Holy shit. Yesterday, people were saying something was going on between those two, and I didn’t believe it. Now I do..."
"Right?! In the student council, all he does is sneer and mock people. When has he ever shown that kind of doting smile? It’s giving me goosebumps. So gross, so gross..." The companion rubbed his arms. "As a fellow male, even I can’t stand to watch..."
"Damn it! Last night, I even added five thousand to the pot, betting he wouldn’t be able to win her over. Now Ke An is going to get my money!"
"You’ve got some nerve saying that! I only raised the bet to ten thousand because I saw you betting! If we lose, you’re paying me back!"
Hearing this, the one who had started the gossip quickly wiped the gossipy look off his face and became serious. "Alright, stop whining. We need to catch up..."
The two of them hurried to follow the people in front, ducking into the undergrowth.
But they had only taken a few steps when a gunshot suddenly rang out.