The Art of Persuasion
"I'm listening. What's wrong with that? Not allowed to listen? Is Moye some kind of secret squad?" Jinfang Taibai rambled off-topic in a fluster.
"Nobody's stopping you from listening. It's not like I can do anything about you right now anyway," Xu Lingqu said with an open-palmed shrug.
It was a show of weakness on the surface, but Jinfang Taibai still felt something was off about her tone.
[Jinfang Taibai turns into a small animal in front of Xu Lingqu, all bark and no bite.]
[Oh wow, Shaji and Du'e actually formed a secret alliance. How did Xu Lingqu find out?]
[She's so bold, just pulling both of them in and saying it straight to their faces.]
[For some reason, these three squads together have a weird comedic vibe.]
[I'm a Moye fan, and yet I don't feel any sense of crisis right now...]
...
"I know you've already formed an alliance. That's your right, and I'm not here to break it apart," Xu Lingqu said coolly. "I just want to remind you that there's something more important on your plates right now."
Guan Chuanjun and Li Muyi exchanged a glance across their screens but stayed silent, neither speaking up directly.
"In this map, the Empire's three academies are stronger than the Federation's three. For the Federation to win, they have to prioritize hunting down the energy core based on the map mechanics. That's their only choice. The Empire's three don't need it, do we?" Xu Lingqu adjusted her comms earpiece. "As I see it, this core energy mechanic is designed to favor the weaker academies. As long as you secure it and keep it hidden, you can't lose. For the stronger academies, teaming up to wipe them all out first is the most profitable move."
Li Muyi and Guan Chuanjun had both initially considered going after the energy core first, their minds constantly weighing the options. After Xu Lingqu laid it out, they suddenly understood what had been holding them back.
In a direct fight, the Empire's three academies would clearly have the upper hand. But if they switched to an item hunt, everyone would be on equal footing. Out there in the vast yellow sands, finding that energy core point might come down more to luck than skill anyway.
"And take a look at your current scores—one's at three points, the other at four. If I remember correctly, Zhicheng from the Federation is ahead of you both in the top eight with five points." Xu Lingqu glanced at their expressions before continuing. "If you want to make the top eight, your best bet is to pin Zhicheng to dead last in this match and send them out with zero points. I already have intel on Zhicheng's squad movements. Jinfang Taibai, you heard that too, right?"
At those words, Li Muyi and Guan Chuanjun both felt a stir. They'd done the score math before the match and agreed that once inside the map, their first priority would be taking out Zhicheng, then Moye. The first half of Xu Lingqu's statement was obvious filler—the real meat was the latter part.
Li Muyi turned to Jinfang Taibai, who nodded at him. Xu Xiqin had indeed just reported Zhicheng's movements on the channel, along with a jab about Shaji's scouts being too slow on the uptake.
"Guan Chuanjun, your scouts should have noticed it too, but they probably reported Dongwen's position instead of Zhicheng's, because the two groups have converged," Xu Lingqu continued. "Seems like the system's danger rating on the energy core point scared the three Federation academies into grouping up. If we push them toward the northeast corner of the map and form a large encirclement, we can trap them in the quicksand terrain and wipe them all out in one go. If you have doubts about the quicksand, you can ask Guan Chuanjun—Shaji's people should have a good read on it. Don't worry about me setting a trap for you."
With that, Xu Lingqu cut the comms, giving Guan Chuanjun and Li Muyi plenty of time to confer privately.
"Everything she said checks out. She's not deceiving us," Guan Chuanjun said to Li Muyi with a nod.
Li Muyi rubbed his chin. "Then it's worth considering an alliance with Moye for now. Wiping out all three Federation academies costs us nothing."
Guan Chuanjun hesitated, then added, "But knowing how cunning Xu Lingqu is, she might claim the energy core isn't important while secretly splitting off a team to hunt for it. We should request a headcount when we meet up—confirm all three of our academies are at full strength before we execute the encirclement."
He still had a psychological shadow from Moye's flanking and outflanking tactics. Even if Xu Lingqu's splinter group wasn't hunting the energy core, there was a strong chance they'd try to ambush Shaji or Du'e from behind after the Federation academies were eliminated. So confirming the numbers was a must before launching the big encirclement.
Li Muyi nodded. Guan Chuanjun was thorough—Admiral Wan's grandson was no fool after all.
Once that was settled, it was their turn to send a comms request to Xu Lingqu. When she picked up, Guan Chuanjun laid out their condition. Unexpectedly, she agreed readily.
"I was worried you'd already sent out a squad to go looking. The fact that you're bringing this up means you haven't—good, that puts my mind at ease. Thank you."
Shaji provided a scout to guide the three academies to a rendezvous point. Jinfang Taibai kept monitoring Moye's channel the whole time. Xu Lingqu continued directing as usual, seemingly unbothered by his eavesdropping. Though she didn't say much to begin with—her commands came in terse two-word bursts.
Once the Empire's three academies had assembled, Guan Chuanjun got out of his vehicle to personally scan Moye's forces. They'd mostly disembarked from their armored vehicles, making it easy for Guan Chuanjun to count while also letting them tally up Shaji and Du'e's numbers in return.
One armored vehicle in Moye's formation was clearly under concentrated protection. That had to be Xu Lingqu's command vehicle.
Shaji and Du'e had been quietly conspiring against Moye, yet Moye had willingly offered them a candid partnership. A twinge of guilt pricked at Guan Chuanjun, and he didn't feel right about going over to say hello. After finishing the count, he went straight back to his own vehicle.
The Empire's three academies were now gathered, ready to close in on the Federation's three.
"In convincing others, Xu Lingqu has a knack for finding the thing the other party values most," Professor Zhuang commented from the broadcast booth. "I imagine Guan Chuanjun and Li Muyi both braced themselves for Xu Lingqu to approach them about prioritizing the elimination of the Federation three, maybe even steeled themselves not to be led around by the nose. But in the end, things still went exactly the way Xu Lingqu planned."
"Indeed. And what she offered wasn't just empty talk—she did her homework, gathered real intel, and used that to persuade Guan Chuanjun and Li Muyi. Jinfang Taibai's eavesdropping actually became an unwitting witness for her cause." Senior Colonel Ren nodded approvingly. "But... has Xu Lingqu thought about what Moye will do once the joint encirclement wipes out the Federation three, with Shaji and Du'e still standing?"