"Zhou Ye! Drop the shield! Roll toward three o'clock!"
Jiang Wangzhi shot to her feet and shouted at the top of her lungs.
Her voice sliced through the din of the pit, striking with pinpoint accuracy into everyone's ears.
At the bottom of the pit.
Zhou Ye had no time to think.
His body instinctively obeyed the crystal-clear command.
He let go of the shield he could barely hold onto.
And lunged hard to the right.
Boom!
Deprived of resistance, the Armored Rhinoceros in the center barreled forward under its massive momentum, crashing violently into the one on the right that was about to trample Tang Li to death.
The two colossal beasts collided, tumbling over each other in chaos with shrill, agonizing wails.
Having narrowly escaped disaster, Tang Li broke out in a cold sweat.
"Tang Li! Don't space out!"
Jiang Wangzhi's words rattled off like a machine gun.
"Two steps forward-left! Step on Zhou Ye's shield and jump! There's a white patch under its chin!"
Tang Li gritted her teeth and gripped her blade with both hands.
She was no longer charging around blindly like a headless fly.
She trusted Jiang Wangzhi.
Two steps forward-left.
Right beneath her feet lay the half-body shield Zhou Ye had just discarded.
Embedded deep in the dirt, the shield served as the perfect springboard.
Jump!
She soared into the air.
The heavy blade in her hands turned into a streak of icy light, driving ruthlessly into the white scales beneath the central Armored Rhinoceros's chin!
Squelch!
Green blood sprayed out violently.
"Nice!"
Pei Linchuan lay flat at the rim of the pit, his eyes instantly lighting up.
He finally understood.
The reason this team had been in disarray was because there was no thread stringing them together.
And Jiang Wangzhi was that thread.
She might not know grand tactical schemes.
Yet she possessed a beast-like intuition for the battlefield's split-second shifts.
She could discern every minute flaw and issue the most effective action command within a tenth of a second.
This was the pinnacle of micro-control talent.
"Jiang Wangzhi!"
Pei Linchuan's voice completely steadied, carrying an unprecedented focus.
"You just focus on controlling the field!"
"Leave the rest to me!"
Pei Linchuan instantly locked in.
With Jiang Wangzhi sorting out the chaotic footwork on a micro level, he could finally orchestrate the big tactical picture on a macro level, which was his forte.
"Xie Zhi! Keep your eyes glued to the blind spot on the left!"
"Copy that." Xie Zhi yawned, tapping his fingers a few times on his screen.
Pei Linchuan peered through his scope.
"Zhou Ye, pick up your shield and take three steps back. Pull the one on the left into my line of fire."
After Jiang Wangzhi's pinpoint command just now, Zhou Ye was ready to listen to anyone.
He scrambled up, wrenched out the shield, and stepped back.
The Armored Rhinoceros on the left charged after him with bloodshot eyes.
Bang!
A muffled gunshot rang out.
Pei Linchuan pulled the trigger.
The high-explosive armor-piercing round entered the Armored Rhinoceros's right eye with surgical precision, detonating inside its brain.
One down!
The pressure at the bottom of the pit eased dramatically.
Tang Li and Zhou Ye exchanged a look.
Both caught a spark of excitement in each other's eyes.
Zhou Ye suddenly understood.
He couldn't just dash around aimlessly; he had to create space for Tang Li to deal damage.
Tang Li understood as well.
She couldn't just slash blindly; she needed to capitalize on the openings Zhou Ye held open for her.
"Big guy! Ram its left leg!"
Tang Li bellowed.
Zhou Ye got the message immediately.
"Watch me!"
He raised his shield, drove forward with explosive force, and slammed like an artillery shell into the remaining Armored Rhinoceros's front left leg.
The Armored Rhinoceros tilted off balance, exposing the vulnerable area beneath its neck.
Jiang Wangzhi didn't even need to shout.
Tang Li had already closed in.
The heavy blade came sweeping down.
Flesh and blood flew in all directions.
Three minutes later.
The bottom of the pit fell quiet.
All three General-class Armored Rhinoceroses had been reduced to corpses.
Tang Li plopped down onto the ground, panting in ragged gasps.
Though utterly exhausted to the point of collapse, she beamed with sheer delight.
Leaning against the iron cage, Zhou Ye bandaged his wounds while flashing a thumbs-up to those above.
"Brother Pei! Commander Jiang! You're incredible!"
Pei Linchuan stowed his sniper rifle.
He stood up.
He adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose.
And exhaled a long breath of air.
Looking down at Jiang Wangzhi, who was squatting beside him with a look of utter despair, a faint smile flitted across his eyes—one he didn't even notice himself.
So this was it.
This was what synergy truly meant.
Jiang Wangzhi excelled at finding a lifeline amidst chaos.
While he excelled at turning that lifeline into absolute victory.
Zhou Ye wasn't afraid of dying.
Tang Li dared to risk her life.
Even Xie Zhi, who appeared utterly useless, could pinpoint movements in the blind spot at the most crucial juncture.
These five people.
Not a single one could be missing.
"Well done," Pei Linchuan praised, breaking his usual silence.
Inside the iron cage.
The injured freshmen hobbled out, supporting one another.
Tears streamed down their faces as they thanked them.
"Thank you... Thank you so much."
"If it weren't for you guys, we would've died here today."
Jiang Wangzhi stood frozen in place, utterly numb.
Looking at this touching scene of brotherly warmth and harmonious teamwork, her heart turned completely ice-cold.
It was over.
Completely and utterly over. New chapters come out on g.com first.
She had wanted this squad to remain a disorganized tray of loose sand.
Instead, she had personally forged that loose sand into reinforced concrete.
Her terminal suddenly vibrated violently.
A cascade of system notifications rang out in all five of their ears simultaneously.
【Team 079 has successfully eliminated three General-class Star Beasts.】
【Calculating points...】
【Tier-gap kill: base points boosted by 200%.】
【Rescue operation successful. Hidden reward triggered: Humanitarian Rescue points +50.】
【Battle Review: High team coordination, low casualty rate. Perfect Tactical Evaluation achieved. Bonus points +30.】
Jiang Wangzhi lowered her head to look at her wrist.
The score on the screen was skyrocketing wildly, shooting up like a rocket, showing no signs of stopping.
【Current Team Total Points: 385】
Jiang Wangzhi's face turned as green as a moldy cabbage leaf.
385 points.
From just one messy, chaotic skirmish, they had snagged nearly four hundred points straight away!
Down in the pit, Tang Li and Zhou Ye were so thrilled they practically hugged each other.
"We're rich! We're seriously rich this time!" Stars practically sparkled in Tang Li's eyes.
Xie Zhi remained seated on his boulder.
He sluggishly lifted his wrist, glancing at the latest regional leaderboard.
Then, he turned his head toward Jiang Wangzhi.
His tone still carried that infuriatingly lazy drawl.
"Jiang Wangzhi."
"Yeah?" Jiang Wangzhi responded listlessly.
"Looks like we passed Han Zheng's team."
Jiang Wangzhi jerked her head up, her eyes widening like brass bells.
"Say that again?!"
Xie Zhi turned his terminal screen around to face her.
On the display, the real-time rankings for the D-4 Mining Area were crystal clear.
【1st Place: Team 079 (Jiang Wangzhi), 385 points】
【2nd Place: Team 021 (Han Zheng), 310 points】
Not only had they overtaken them, they had thoroughly trampled Han Zheng's straight-A squad under their feet.
Staring at that glittering golden "1st Place,"
Jiang Wangzhi felt the world spinning around her.
Her chest tightened so much she could barely breathe.
I just wanted to finish in last place, get eliminated, and go home to be a rich woman!
Why!
Why did you have to force me into first place?!
Right at that moment, Han Zheng happened to lead his squad out from Area A in the distance.
They had just painstakingly cleared out a pack of Soldier-rank Star Beasts.
Wiping the sweat from his face, Han Zheng smugly pulled up the leaderboard, ready to admire his lofty standing at the top.
The next second, his smile froze on his face.
He glared daggers at the glaring "Team 079" on the board.
Then, looking up toward Jiang Wangzhi standing at the rim of the pit, he stared as if he had just seen a ghost.
What on earth... did this bunch of trash just do?!