The Game of Wits

Everyone present held their breath at the sight. They all knew how acute an S-class combat soldier's senses were, yet Xu Lingqu had managed to trail silently behind Peng Yue without being detected.

At that moment, the camera cut to Jin and Shen Shouli, who had moved into the ambush perimeter Shaji had laid out according to plan. Peng Yue was in position at her sniper's nest. When Jin's head of red hair appeared among the green fields, she squeezed the trigger. The bullet pierced through the trees, but Jin, already on guard, dodged it by a hair's breadth.

He exchanged a look with Shen Shouli. The two had grown up together, and they shared an unspoken understanding. They split up immediately, each trying to break out of the encirclement from different directions.

Jin knew his task from Xu Lingqu was to get himself ambushed here to lower Guan Chuanjun's guard. In his typical cocky fashion, he didn't bother using cover—instead, he returned fire on the spot, drawing more of Shaji's firepower so Shen Shouli could break through more easily on the other side.

His ploy worked. Seeing how arrogant he was, the Shaji fighters all turned their guns on him and chased after him.

Peng Yue hesitated for a moment, but ultimately she trained her sniper rifle on Shen Shouli. After all, Guan Chuanjun had emphasized two targets: Shen Shouli and Xu Lingqu.

Even with an S-class sniper on his tail, Shen Shouli moved with effortless grace, showing no panic or tension. Keeping in mind the most important task Xu Lingqu had given him, he raised his gun, took out two enemies, and tore a gap in the ambush perimeter. Then, like a gust of wind, he darted through and sprinted toward Liu Zheng and Xu Xiqin.

Meanwhile, Jin had been hit inside the encirclement. The system judged him eliminated, and he exited the combat capsule.

The moment he got up, he stared at the live broadcast screen without blinking.

Would Xu Lingqu's plan work?

After killing Jin, Peng Yue reported the situation to Guan Chuanjun right away, informing him of Shen Shouli's movements and asking whether she should pursue.

Guan Chuanjun went quiet. He was sitting in his temporary command room, eyes closed, trying to figure out Xu Lingqu's and Shen Shouli's intentions.

He considered his gut reaction. If he weren't being overly cautious, he would first send a few people to follow Shen Shouli and track his location, then have Peng Yue bring the remaining ambushers back to secure the area. After confirming his own position was safe, he would send Peng Yue personally to wipe out the three of them. After all, that was Shen Shouli.

But what was wrong with that?

He stood up and paced back and forth in the small room. Suddenly, he lifted his head. He'd spotted the oddity.

In this whole show of threading through, encircling, and breaking out, Xu Lingqu had never appeared once!

And the only reason she would be hiding was to use this chaos to milk her position from Peng Yue and the rest of the ambushers!

He'd heard a thing or two recently about Xu Lingqu's performance at Moye Military Academy—how she'd taken on seven opponents by herself. She was confident enough to think she could take down the command point alone.

Guan Chuanjun braced his hands on the table, his eyes full of excitement. He'd completely seen through Xu Lingqu's scheme. She was indeed something else... That feeling of facing a worthy opponent—it made his hair stand on end and his blood boil at the same time.

Too bad Xu Lingqu was still a move short against him, Guan Chuanjun.

"Peng Yue, no need to return to the command point for defense. Stop and feel—is there someone following behind you?"

Guan Chuanjun's sudden remark startled Peng Yue. Frowning, she stopped moving and signaled the few ambushers around her to go quiet, then focused on sensing every blade of grass in her vicinity. Then, at a position to her rear-right, she felt a cold, sinister gaze fixed on her.

There really was someone tailing them!

Peng Yue was shocked. Guan Chuanjun had managed to predict this. She gained a bit more respect for the Shaji chief commander she'd previously looked down on: "Yes, Commander. What now? Do we flush the person out, or...?"

Guan Chuanjun gave a cold snort: "That should be Xu Lingqu. It's fine—let her keep following you. Don't return to the command point, and don't tip her off! Pretend you don't see her, and lead her toward Shen Shouli's direction. I'll send two more people out to tail behind her. When the timing is right, we'll hit her from both ends..."

He paused, a slight smirk tugging at his lips: "Capture her alive if possible, and bring her to my command point. I want her to be the second-to-last person from Moye to fall."

Remembering how she'd humiliated him before the match, Guan Chuanjun was determined to take Xu Lingqu alive.

Guan Chuanjun and Peng Yue's conversation was broadcast live. Before anyone could marvel at or praise his sharp counter-surveillance, the camera switched, and everyone in the room drew in a sharp breath.

Because at this moment, the person following behind Peng Yue was no longer Xu Lingqu—it was Tang Muwen.

And Jin, whose heart had been in his throat while watching Guan Chuanjun's and Peng Yue's exchange, now let out a sigh of relief.

The commander had used Tang Muwen to outmaneuver Guan Chuanjun one more layer beyond what she'd verbally instructed them.

Only now did Guan Chuanjun truly fall into the trap Xu Lingqu had set for him.

Professor Zhuang let out a sharp inhale: "Hiss—this is a major misjudgment on Guan Chuanjun's part regarding Moye's infiltration team! Though I must say, I have no impression of this Tang Muwen either. According to his files, he's just an analyst? To think he could stay behind Peng Yue undetected until now. The new generation at Moye really is hiding some dragons and crouching tigers..."

Senior Colonel Ren nodded: "When Guan Chuanjun gathered intel on Moye Military Academy, he couldn't not have focused on Xu Lingqu, Shen Shouli, Liu Zheng, Xu Xiqin, and Jin. He basically assumed the infiltration team had only those five. So this Tang Muwen, right now, has ghosted his way into the position Guan Chuanjun thought Xu Lingqu was in. The question we should be asking is: where is the real Xu Lingqu, and what exactly does she intend to do?"

In a small tavern on Desert Eagle Star, Instructor Zhang's friend had sobered up completely.

That moment—when Guan Chuanjun's and Peng Yue's conversation ended, and the screen switched to show Tang Muwen following Peng Yue instead of Xu Lingqu—felt like something out of a horror film!

"This Xu Lingqu... I feel like she's some kind of ghost," he muttered.

Instructor Zhang let out a bitter smile: "Yeah." When he'd been going to find Liu Zheng's heavy sniper position on his own and had been cut off by Xu Lingqu single-handedly halfway there, he'd thought the same thing.

"But—but," his friend shook his head, looking conflicted. "I think Moye's frontal battlefield is completely collapsing. They can't hold out much longer. Can Feng Bu survive until she shows up? And Xu Lingqu sneaking to the command point solo—what can she do? She's from the command department. Can she take down the command point on her own?"

Instructor Zhang nodded: "She can."