Compared to the relaxed atmosphere in the Individual Soldier Department, the other departments were much more tense. After all, no department wanted to be the first one “taken out” by the Individual Soldier Department, so they remained constantly focused on their situation.
Seeing the entire Individual Soldier Department sitting together in a circle, everyone had only one thought in their minds.
This must be a scheme by the Individual Soldier Department, feigning relaxation to confuse them! They wouldn’t fall for it! The Individual Soldier Department must have a trump card!
Once the freshmen from all departments had gathered, Yan Wenzhi began to announce the rules for the assessment.
The freshman assessment was a guerrilla warfare exercise with random deployments.
All freshmen would board aircraft and fly over the Jungle Hunting Ground. The aircraft would circle the entire hunting ground, dropping students at initial locations according to a randomly generated sequence. Each person started with 10 health points. The sensors on their bodies would automatically capture attacks; if a fatal area was hit, all remaining health points would be deducted.
If two people engaged in close-quarters combat, the sensors would automatically detect the strength of the attacks to deduct health points. Once health points reached zero, the student was eliminated. In other words, during this guerrilla warfare, in addition to being shot by bullets, there was also the possibility of one party being “beaten to death” by another.
Due to the differences between majors, in addition to the initial supply pack, each student in the Mecha Combat Department carried a training mecha. Each student in the Individual Soldier Department could carry three items within the rules. The Pharmacist Department possessed a certain number of healing items, the Mecha Manufacturing Department had toolkits, and the Command Department possessed a complete map and could learn the number of remaining students in each major at any time.
Beyond this public information, the scoring rules for each major were also different.
After the supply packs were distributed, Yan Changfeng immediately opened hers to check. Inside were only three pouches of nutrient solution and a handgun loaded with blank cartridges. For most people, three pouches of nutrient solution were enough to sustain them through the day and night of the freshman assessment, but Yan Changfeng was different—she really would get hungry.
Once all the freshmen had received their supply packs, the instructors of the Individual Soldier Department urged them to hand over their pocket spaces and spatial nodules. Each person could only take out three items in front of them.
Yan Changfeng dawdled as she pulled out her pocket space. Her hesitant manner drew curious glances from many teachers and students of other departments nearby. Was this representative of the Individual Soldier Department about to take out some secret tool?
Under the suspicious gaze of the Individual Soldier Department instructor and the curious scrutiny of the other departments, Yan Changfeng pulled a pile of nutrient solution out of her pocket space. They were colorful, in various flavors and brands, and many pouches even had “Special Offer” labels stuck on them.
Yan Changfeng selected three flavors she liked and stuffed them into her supply pack. “I’m done choosing.”
The instructor of the Individual Soldier Department already knew Yan Changfeng’s character and told her crossly to get back to the team. The teachers from the other departments were all stunned, seemingly unable to fathom why she needed so much nutrient solution for just one day and night.
Is she a glutton?!
In the end, the group could only brainwash themselves into believing that the Individual Soldier Department must have some other hidden plan!
…
The environment of the Jungle Hunting Ground was very different from the rest of Blue Star. It was humid and hot with very little temperature difference between day and night. The mountains were densely forested with lush vegetation, providing places to hide and ambush everywhere. Looking down from the aircraft, one could hardly see the exposed ground.
Yan Changfeng’s initial location was in a grove of trees. She didn’t have a map. Even though she had carefully observed the overall layout of the hunting ground while on the aircraft, she couldn’t find any reference points now.
[The 317th Freshman Assessment of Blue Star Academy has begun. All 1,028 freshmen are present.]
[A global announcement will be broadcast every three star hours. All surviving students, please note: There are currently 1,028 surviving students. 15 hidden combat packs have not yet been collected, 10 strategic locations have not been discovered, and 100 point flags remain.]
[The assessment has officially begun. Please strive to survive until the end.]
With a sharp siren, the atmosphere of the entire hunting ground became tense and solemn. All the freshmen sharpened their focus and constantly scanned their surroundings, immediately raising their muzzles at the slightest movement.
In the center of the Jungle Hunting Ground, on the top floor of a pitch-black high tower, a dozen youths in black combat suits were holding binoculars, watching the freshmen scurrying through the jungle like lambs to the slaughter.
“Let’s hurry up and deal with these freshmen so we can make it back for tomorrow’s training.” Someone had already put down their binoculars and slung their sniper rifle and combat pack over their shoulder. “Sister Huo, coordinates.”
On the strategic big screen in the center of the top floor, hundreds of surveillance feeds were displayed simultaneously. These feeds switched every half minute, automatically rotating to another set. Over a thousand micro cameras were distributed throughout the Jungle Hunting Ground to monitor every move of the freshmen during the assessment.
In front of the big screen, Huo Siyu was dressed in a black combat suit with an orange school emblem representing the Command Department pinned to her shoulder. She stared at the surveillance screens expressionlessly. “Three o’clock direction, 700-meter range, thirteen people.”
“Got it.” The person shouldered the gun on their left shoulder and leapt down from the window. The next second, a pair of black wings unfolded outside the tower, blending into the black walls. Without attracting anyone’s attention, they landed silently in the jungle.
Pei Shaoyang also put down his binoculars, a reckless and wild smile curling his lips.
“Alright, it’s time to let these freshmen feel some love from their upperclassmen.”
…
Bang—
The first gunshot signaled the start of this year’s freshman assessment.
Yan Changfeng was currently hunkered down on a tree branch. The location where the gunshot rang out was about 500 meters away from her. It would inevitably attract some attention. If she were to poke her head out now, the probability of being treated as a target was extremely high. It was better to see if she could snag some unlucky soul passing by.
The humidity in the hunting ground was extremely high, and the combat suit wasn’t breathable. After staying on the tree branch for only a few minutes, Yan Changfeng felt the uncomfortable sensation of the clothes sticking to her back. What was even more troublesome was that a type of unknown mutated flies seemed to be swarming around her.
Yan Changfeng reached out and crushed one of the insects that wanted to land on her to suck her blood. A foul-smelling corrosive liquid dripped onto her glove, instantly eating away a thin layer. Her pupils constricted, and she quickly pulled her hand back. The remaining liquid dripped onto the tree branch, making a sizzling sound.
The Jungle Hunting Ground had only been cleared of high-level exotic beasts; no one had said there wouldn’t be low-level ones.
Yan Changfeng’s eyes shifted as she slightly moved her position on the branch. Some of the flies followed her, while the rest circled her original spot for a moment before flying toward her.
She couldn’t stay here long.
Just as Yan Changfeng was about to leave, the nearby vegetation suddenly moved. She leaned back, using the leaves to conceal her body. A figure emerged from the waist-high grass, a green school emblem pinned to the shoulder of their black combat suit.
It was someone from the Pharmacist Department.
Yan Changfeng gripped her gun tightly. She didn’t rush to act. The only parts of the combat suit designated as fatal areas were the head and the heart. From her position, she could only hit the arms or legs, and she wouldn’t be able to land a killing blow in one shot, which would delay her evacuation.
While dealing with the flies circling overhead, she aimed her muzzle at the prey below. Once the person stepped into her attack range, Yan Changfeng fired without hesitation.
Bang—
The surrounding flies were scattered by the noise. Yan Changfeng raised an eyebrow and then leapt down, landing in front of the bewildered Pharmacist Department freshman.
A sentence echoed in the other student’s earpiece.
[Fatal area hit. 10 health points deducted. You are dead. Please wait in place to collect the body.]
The Pharmacist freshman let out a frustrated roar of indignation. “Dammit!”
Yan Changfeng: “Shh, corpses don’t talk.”
Pharmacist freshman: …
He was even angrier now.
Yan Changfeng unfastened his combat pack. Inside were two health recovery items and a fully loaded handgun, but only two pouches of nutrient solution remained. She frowned. “How do you only have two pouches of nutrient solution left?”
She robbed his combat pack and then had the nerve to complain that he was missing a pouch of nutrient solution?
To avoid dying of rage, the Pharmacist freshman closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on the ground.
Now, he was a qualified “corpse.”
Yan Changfeng didn’t have time to linger. She tore open a pouch of nutrient solution, held it in her mouth, and walked toward the direction the Pharmacist freshman had come from. Her top priority was to find a stray student from the Command Department and “borrow” their map.
…
Four star hours soon passed. In the tents outside the hunting ground, the instructors and teachers responsible for supervising and controlling the assessment were gathered in front of several large screens. Teachers from various departments were keeping a close eye on their respective students, while not forgetting to exchange barbs with their smug colleagues when their students had the upper hand.
As the person in charge of the entire freshman assessment, Yan Wenzhi stared at the numbers on the panel with a serious expression. “Only four star hours have passed, and only half of the second-year students have been deployed, yet 198 people have already been eliminated—nearly one-fifth. The elimination speed is faster than in previous years.”
Looking at the number of eliminations from the Pharmacist Department, Ren Baifeng gritted her teeth. “These second-year brats are hitting too hard. They’re even more ruthless than the third-years.”
Xie Wanyue stepped forward. “After all, there are two quasi-S-classes among them. It seems unlikely that this batch will make it to the end of the assessment.”
“Hmph, except for the last batch of freshmen, which year has ever managed to hold out until the end? If this year’s freshmen can last until the final broadcast, it’ll already be considered quite good.”
…
“Current surviving students: 830. Individual Soldier Department: 169. Mecha Combat Department: 185. Command Department: 170. Pharmacist Department: 155. Mecha Manufacturing Department: 151.”
As soon as the youth finished his report, the muzzle pressed against his forehead moved away. Before he could even retreat, a splash of yellow dye appeared on his chest. The red grid representing health on his shoulder was instantly cleared, and he entered the “dead” state.
Yan Changfeng smiled. “I let you live for an extra star hour. It was worth it.”
Based on the survival numbers the youth had reported along the way and the distribution of the surrounding gunshots, she had roughly determined the specific distribution of “deaths” across the various majors. Now, as long as she headed toward the direction where the Individual Soldier Department had the fewest “deaths,” the probability of meeting up with the main force would theoretically be higher.
But one thing was very strange.
Yan Changfeng looked toward the center of the hunting ground. In that direction, the number of eliminations was the highest, and the various majors had strangely achieved a balance. Her eyes narrowed as she turned and snatched the combat pack from the boy who was already playing dead.
The youth’s combat pack was much larger than Yan Changfeng’s. He had been hiding it behind his back, so she hadn’t paid much attention to it before.
Feeling the unusual weight in her hand, Yan Changfeng paused and immediately opened the combat pack.
In addition to a map and a handgun, there was also a Model K31 sniper rifle inside.