The temporary staging ground of D-4 Area.
As the squads returned one after another, more and more people gathered in the square.
Originally, everyone was seizing every second to rest.
Yet now, everyone's gaze, whether intentional or not, kept drifting toward a corner.
Five people were sitting there.
Team 079.
These five currently had a hundred percent turn-head rate.
Because they were simply too bizarre.
One woman carried a battered, notched blade across her shoulder, covered in dried green blood.
One man clutched an uneven, dented shield, his clothes as tattered as a beggar's.
One leaned against the corner of the wall with clothes draped over his face, snoring loudly.
Another was deathly pale, sitting blankly on a stone as if she might draw her last breath at any moment.
These four looked in every conceivable way like refugees who had escaped from a camp.
Yet, strangely enough, their squad also included Pei Linchuan, immaculate in clean clothes and carrying a heavy sniper rifle on his back.
The scene...
was like an elegant crane mingling among a pack of stray mutts.
Completely out of place.
"That's Team 079, the ones who shoved Han Zheng down?"
"Are you kidding me? A lineup like that can score high?"
"Who's that deathly pale girl? She looks like a gust of wind could knock her over."
"You don't even recognize her? That's Jiang Wangzhi, the eldest young miss of the Jiang Group!"
The surrounding freshmen whispered and gossiped among themselves.
Yet their voices inevitably carried over.
Sitting on the rock and listening to their words, Jiang Wangzhi felt wave after wave of bitterness in her heart.
Yes.
You are all so right.
I am indeed a piece of trash that even the wind could blow away.
Hurry up and report me to the Academic Affairs Office!
Report me for cheating, report me for riding coattails, and expel me right away!
Just as she was thinking this, the crowd suddenly parted.
Han Zheng walked over with a cold face, followed by his four teammates, all possessing Grade-A physical constitutions.
He had just cleared a bunch of low-level Star Beasts outside and thought first place was securely in the bag.
Only to find out when he returned and checked the points that he had been surpassed by this bunch of "trash" by over seventy points!
How could he possibly swallow this resentment?
Han Zheng stopped in front of Team 079.
Looking down at Jiang Wangzhi from above, he sneered mockingly.
"Jiang Wangzhi."
"I truly didn't expect your family to be rich to this extent."
"That even in a military academy assessment, you can hire people to fight on your behalf."
He pointed at Pei Linchuan, then pointed at Zhou Ye.
His voice was loud, intentionally projected so everyone present could hear.
"One is Pei Linchuan, ranked third in the entire academy."
"The other is a thick-skinned human shield."
"Did the two of you cast aside all dignity as military cadets for some petty cash, gladly serving as hired muscle for a useless rich girl?"
"Whatever she paid you, I, Han Zheng, will pay double!" New chapters come out on g.com first.
The moment these words fell, the surrounding freshmen suddenly understood.
So that was how it was!
No wonder this squad with such a bizarre team composition could take first place.
It turned out the Jiang Family's eldest miss paid to be boosted!
Two powerhouses carrying three deadweights, brute-forcing their way up the scoreboard.
The eyes of the onlookers instantly shifted, filled with disdain and contempt.
Listening to Han Zheng's mockery,
Jiang Wangzhi wasn't angry in the slightest.
On the contrary, her eyes lit up.
What a great person!
Han Zheng was truly such a great person!
Isn't this precisely the public reaction she had dreamed of?
As long as everyone believed she paid her way up by cheating, and as long as this blew up, the military academy instructors would definitely intervene to investigate.
When they checked the surveillance footage and found she hadn't killed a single monster, the probability of her being judged as 'lacking combat capability' and disqualified outright was practically one hundred percent!
Jiang Wangzhi was so thrilled she almost stood up to applaud Han Zheng.
Just as she was about to go along with it and nod in admission—
BANG!
A deafening crash rang out.
Tang Li leaped to her feet.
The heavy blade in her hand slammed viciously into the solid rock ground, sending sparks flying.
"What kind of bullshit are you spewing?!"
Tang Li pointed directly at Han Zheng's nose and cursed furiously.
"Which eye of yours saw us take any money?"
"You couldn't take first place yourself, so you come here flinging mud? Does your Han Family's upbringing only teach you to bark and bite like a rabid dog?"
Han Zheng's face darkened.
"Trash who crawled out of the slums, do you even have the right to speak here?"
"If Jiang Wangzhi hadn't relied on Pei Linchuan, with her pathetic E-plus physical constitution, she would have died in the mining area long ago!"
"Bullshit!"
Zhou Ye was also enraged.
He shoved his shield aside and rose like an iron tower, the rugged flesh on his face pulled taut.
"If not for Commander Jiang, I would've been trampled into meat paste by that General-class Star Beast just now!"
"Our victory was entirely thanks to Commander Jiang's tactics!"
"Try calling her trash one more time!"
Zhou Ye's voice roared like thunder, making everyone's ears ring.
Even Xie Zhi, who had been sleeping in the corner, was woken by the racket.
Xie Zhi irritably pulled the clothes from his face and rubbed his eyes.
He glanced at Han Zheng and let out a cold sneer.
"Young Master Han."
"Do you really think rushing forward with a gun blazing is the only thing that counts as skill?"
"Brains are a great thing to have. Pity you don't possess any."
Xie Zhi yawned and lay back down.
"Too noisy. The sound of jealousy is truly grating on the ears."
Having been torn into by all three of them, Han Zheng's face turned livid with rage. Get faster updates on g.com.
The teammates behind him flared up as well.
Tensions exploded between both sides, ready to come to blows at any second.
Standing in the back, Jiang Wangzhi was stomping her feet in absolute anxiety.
My dear ancestors!
Why on earth are you sticking up for me?!
Can't you just play along with what he said?
I am indeed trash! I really did pay to hire you guys!
Hurry up and admit it!
Jiang Wangzhi took a deep breath, just about to speak up and stop her teammates.
Pei Linchuan, who hadn't said a word all this time, suddenly took a step forward.
He hurled no insults.
Nor did he waste any words.
He merely raised his wrist and tapped on his personal terminal.
"Han Zheng."
Pei Linchuan's voice was frigid, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
"The military academy's micro-monitoring network records the operational data of every squad."
"Since you think our first-place score is fabricated,"
"then I will show you what real tactics look like."
Pei Linchuan swiped his finger.
A holographic projection expanded in midair instantly.
It was the system's post-battle review data from Team 079's battle against three General-class Armored Rhinoceroses at the bottom of the crater!
On the display, the data was laid out so distinctly it made one's scalp tingle.
【Member: Jiang Wangzhi】
【Weapon Kills: 0】
【Effective Damage: 0】
Seeing these two lines, Han Zheng sneered aloud.
"Look! Just as I said, she's someone who only knows how to hide behind—"
"Shut up. Keep reading," Pei Linchuan interrupted him.
Frowning, Han Zheng swept his gaze downward.
The subsequent data brought his voice to an abrupt halt.
【Tactical Orders Issued: 17】
【Order Effectiveness Rate: 100%】
【Hazard Evasion Warnings: 6】
【Severe Teammate Injury Prevention Rate: 100%】
【Team Survival Contribution: 45% (Highest on the Team)】
Dead silence fell across the entire area.
Every freshman stared at that screen hanging in midair.
Their breathing came to a halt.
A hundred percent order effectiveness rate!
A hundred percent severe injury prevention rate!
What did that even mean?
It meant that in that life-and-death bloodbath against three General-class Star Beasts,
Jiang Wangzhi hadn't fired a single shot, nor had she swung a single blade.
Yet, relying solely on her words and terrifying battlefield insight, she had forged four scattered individuals fighting on their own into a razor-sharp spearhead!
She alone accounted for nearly half of the entire squad's survival contribution!