**Chapter 19: To Deal With You, I’m Enough on My Own**
Yan Changfeng looked at the youth. “You found the hunting ground’s hidden combat supply pack?”
The youth remained silent, but from his expression—which he was trying desperately to hide—Yan Changfeng knew the sniper rifle in her hand had been looted from that very pack. She raised an eyebrow. “Thanks.”
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Sounds echoed again from not far away, very close this time. Yan Changfeng immediately slung the sniper rifle over her shoulder and, ignoring the youth’s dejected expression, headed toward the source of the gunfire.
At the same time, the second-year students led by Pei Shaoyang surrounded a group of freshmen from the Mech Combat Department who had just regrouped.
The freshmen looked at the blue and white school emblem on Pei Shaoyang’s shoulder and immediately grew vigilant.
“What’s your major? Why is the emblem on your shoulder from our Mech Combat Department?” Although there were over two hundred freshmen in a single major, they had mostly gotten to know each other after a month. They assumed someone from another department was posing as one of their own.
Pei Shaoyang curled his lips into a smile, a faint shimmer passing through his light gray eyes. His playful gaze swept over them. “Didn’t the instructors teach you? Don’t talk nonsense on the battlefield; just start fighting.”
The moment his voice fell, the three people behind him raised their guns in unison, firing bullets at the freshmen in front of them.
Inside the camp tent, Yan Wenzhi looked over at Xie Wanyue.
“I taught them,” Xie Wanyue said, narrowing her eyes with a dangerous glint. “I’ll give them extra training when I get back.”
Yan Wenzhi nodded. “Training must never be neglected.”
Beside them, Ren Baifeng shuddered upon hearing their conversation. “These kids’ reactions are actually quite fast. After all, none of the freshmen knew before starting that their main opponents this time aren’t the other departments, but a group of second-year students about to be selected for the Alliance assessment team.”
***
In the hunting ground, the Mech Combat Department, the Single Soldier Department, and the Command Department were in a three-way standoff.
At this moment, Chang Jiu, who had the highest mental power value in the Single Soldier Department, wiped the sweat from his forehead.
In a three-way standoff, the Single Soldier Department shouldn’t have been at a disadvantage. However, they happened to run into the team led by Jiang Qi. The girl leading the Command Department had already begun negotiating; it looked like she wanted to cooperate with the Mech Combat Department to eliminate them.
Someone beside him asked, “Brother Chang Jiu, why don’t we go negotiate?”
Chang Jiu: “…”
*Fucking look at our own freshman representative’s image in the eyes of the Mech Combat representative. What do we even have to negotiate with?*
Seeing that the Mech Combat and Command departments were about to reach an agreement, Chang Jiu shifted his eyes around, looking everywhere in hopes of finding an escape route.
The girl leading the Command Department was named Lin Shuang, with a mental power value of 88, the freshman representative of this year’s Command Department.
“Representative Jiang, what do you think about our cooperation? The conditions I’ve offered are very sincere.” Lin Shuang frowned. Her entire Command Department would act as support for the Mech Combat Department and even give up ten percent of their points just to gamble on a second-place finish. She didn’t understand why Jiang Qi was still hesitating.
Jiang Qi shook his head. “Fifteen percent of the total points.”
Lin Shuang snapped, “Jiang Qi, don’t go too far!”
Jiang Qi looked over with a cold face, his narrowed pupils showing a hint of impatience. “Representative Lin, you need to understand one thing: right now, you are the one begging us.”
Lin Shuang’s face turned red with frustration. She held back a teammate who wanted to charge forward. “Aren’t you afraid we’ll turn around and join the Single Soldier Department?”
Jiang Qi sneered, his gaze sweeping dismissively over Chang Jiu and the others. “They aren’t worthy.”
Chang Jiu and the others: “?”
*Bang—*
Just as Jiang Qi’s voice fell, a gunshot rang out. Yellow smoke exploded among the dozen or so people from the Mech Combat Department.
Jiang Qi looked in disbelief at the marks left by the yellow blank cartridge that had exploded on his arm. That single shot had passed through over a dozen Mech Combat freshmen to hit his arm directly, yet he hadn’t sensed anyone lying in ambush at all.
If that shot had been aimed at his chest, he would have been eliminated by now.
This gunshot disrupted the three-way standoff. The freshmen from the Single Soldier and Command departments quickly huddled together, wary of their surroundings.
*Click.*
Along with the sound of a bullet being chambered, a figure emerged from the shadows, a dark muzzle pointed clearly at the center of Jiang Qi’s forehead.
“Representative Jiang, care to explain what you mean by ‘the Single Soldier Department isn’t worthy’?” Yan Changfeng stepped out of the dense forest holding her gun. Although her tone carried an obvious smile, the members of the Mech Combat Department heard a chilling sense of threat in it.
Hearing the familiar voice, Chang Jiu almost burst into tears on the spot. If not for the presence of outsiders, he probably would have run over to hug his representative’s leg.
“Representative! You’re finally here! We were almost bullied!” A group of Single Soldier freshmen, who had just been holding their guns ready for a fight, were now acting like kindergarten children crying for their parents after being picked on.
Not only did the freshmen from the other two departments look incredulous, even Yan Changfeng was baffled. These guys were tough as nails during training; why were they acting “weak” now?
Lin Shuang couldn’t help but roast him. “Chang Jiu, aren’t you ashamed of yourself, acting like that?”
“Only those without a backer should be ashamed. Our representative doesn’t think I’m an embarrassment.” Chang Jiu led several Single Soldier freshmen, guns in hand, as they trotted over to surround Yan Changfeng. “Right, Representative?”
Under the watchful eyes of the freshmen from the other two departments, Yan Changfeng still gave her own people face. She tilted her head slightly and nodded. Simultaneously, her left index finger curved slightly, pointing toward the thicket behind them.
While the two were communicating, several Mech Combat freshmen exchanged looks. The moment Yan Changfeng’s gaze shifted, the boy nearest to Jiang Qi lunged to block him, while the surrounding circle raised their handguns in unison.
But Yan Changfeng’s sniper rifle was faster. Before their handguns could fire, her muzzle shifted by a tiny margin, aiming no longer at the center of Jiang Qi’s forehead, but at his shoulder.
At the same time, Chang Jiu and the others received Yan Changfeng’s signal. They rolled in unison into the thicket behind them, using the cover to hide their forms. The blank cartridges swept across the grass, and yellow smoke covered the area, completely obscuring their vision.
This kind of concealed and chaotic situation was perfect for the Single Soldier Department’s combat style.
Chang Jiu and the others immediately scattered within the thicket. Gunshots rang out continuously. Aside from the Mech Combat Department’s suppressive fire and the Command Department trying to fish in troubled waters for points, several Single Soldier students were firing without a care for ammunition to clear their own path.
Their goal wasn’t just to attack; as long as they fired, whether they hit anyone or not, the chaos was enough.
The yellow smoke only lasted for a few seconds. Yan Changfeng tossed the sniper rifle into the thicket—not caring if it hit anyone—and sprinted toward the Mech Combat freshmen surrounding Jiang Qi.
With the enhancement of her Spiritual Eyes, the smoke had almost no effect on her vision. She could even see the panicked expressions on everyone’s faces clearly. Every time she passed a Mech Combat freshman, Yan Changfeng ruthlessly delivered an elbow strike to a non-lethal area.
The freshmen, accustomed to using mechs, were almost helpless against such raw, close-quarters combat. They wanted to summon their mechs but were hesitant and timid due to their teammates’ proximity, fearing accidental injury. They could only try to scatter outward after being beaten to create enough distance to summon their mechs.
For a moment, the smoke was a scene of total disorder.
“Who’s there?”
“Quick, protect the representative!”
“She’s here!”
Yan Changfeng was incredibly fast. After kicking over five or six freshmen in a row, she charged directly in front of Jiang Qi. One shot to the arm and one to the shoulder had left Jiang Qi with only five health points. She didn’t intend to eliminate him directly; otherwise, her first shot would have hit his heart.
Her previous restraint was for the sake of negotiation, but now she couldn’t give Jiang Qi the chance to summon his mech. C-class mental power offered much stronger control over a mech than D-class; as long as Jiang Qi was there, the Mech Combat Department had a chance to turn the tables.
As Yan Changfeng reached Jiang Qi, the smoke began to dissipate. Chang Jiu led the way, poking his head out of the thicket and waving his arm, shouting loudly, “Charge! Protect the representative! Take out Jiang Qi!”
“Take out Jiang Qi!”
The Mech Combat freshmen felt their heads go numb upon hearing this. They scrambled forward to intercept, fearing Jiang Qi would be eliminated after being ganged up on.
The nearby Command freshmen were also eager to move, wanting a piece of the action, but Lin Shuang stopped them. Someone was confused and wanted to draw their gun to join the fray, but Lin Shuang pointed at a few Single Soldier freshmen who were lingering outside the main conflict.
“Don’t just charge in like an idiot. You won’t even know how you got eliminated.”
Within the battle, Yan Changfeng and Jiang Qi were already grappling. At this distance where neither could easily draw a gun, fists were the most effective weapons.
Sweat broke out on Jiang Qi’s forehead. After taking a hand blade strike to the arm, another red square on his shoulder went dark. At the same time, risking a hit to his vital zone at the neck, his right hand grabbed Yan Changfeng’s left arm, trying to lock her in place.
Yan Changfeng’s expression shifted. Seeing that he had no desire to resist the neck strike, she forcefully diverted her hand blade. Letting him restrain her arms, she bent her knee and hooked her calf around his leg, throwing him violently to the ground.
Jiang Qi, who had intended to counter Yan Changfeng, ended up becoming her backrest on the ground.
Hearing the other Single Soldier freshmen charging like madmen, Jiang Qi, sensing his imminent elimination, sneered. “Exhausting your ammunition just so a dozen people can gang up on me? Yan Changfeng, I really overestimated you. Your Single Soldier Department won’t get any advantage out of this either.”
Without the other Single Soldier freshmen to stall them, the rest of the Mech Combat Department could escape and enter their mechs. However, doing so would leave the Single Soldier Department in a dead end of elimination, while the other Mech Combat freshmen would be at the mercy of others once their mental power was exhausted.
This lose-lose situation was simply terrible. Jiang Qi’s heart sank. He knew Yan Changfeng was strange sometimes, but he hadn’t expected her to go for mutual destruction just over a single sentence.
*If I’d known, I wouldn’t have tried to act cool.*
Yan Changfeng spoke indifferently, “You flatter me. But to deal with you, I’m enough on my own.” She pressed one hand against the red square representing his health bar on his shoulder. With just a little force, Jiang Qi’s “health” would drop to zero immediately.
“You!” Having his vital point held, Jiang Qi finally realized that the Single Soldier freshmen who had been shouting about taking him out hadn’t run toward him at all. Instead, while the other Mech Combat freshmen were retreating to defend, they had closed the distance to grapple with them, turning the fight into a melee.
In a true melee, no department could beat the Single Soldier Department.
While Jiang Qi was pinned to the ground by Yan Changfeng, unable to move, the other Mech Combat freshmen were also being taken down one by one. Before they could even release their mechs, they were beaten until only one or two health points remained.
Yan Changfeng tightened her grip while glancing at the Command Department students spectating nearby.
Lin Shuang immediately shook her head and raised both hands. “I agree to cooperate. As long as the Single Soldier Department is willing, we can cooperate in any way.” She wasn’t a fool. Even the Mech Combat Department had been beaten like this; did she really expect to lead a group of Command students who couldn’t even aim straight into a fight to the death?
She didn’t want to end up like the Mech Combat Department.
Lin Shuang could tell that Yan Changfeng had held back several times, not even letting her freshmen eliminate anyone. She was likely still looking for cooperation. Since the Mech Combat Department was qualified for it, there was no reason the Command Department couldn’t be as well.