Walking into the Game Herself

"Everyone might be wondering why Xu Lingqu did what she did," Lieutenant Quan said after watching Xu Lingqu demonstrate her so-called 'word-spirit skill.' He nodded. "Although most of the highlights everyone saw were Xu Lingqu's citywide hunt, after the first broadcast, we can clearly see that Moye Military Academy was behind in total kills."

Teacher Chang also nodded in agreement. "And by now, everyone should have noticed how different Dolanston is this time. After that painful lesson in the qualifying round, Dolanston proved they can reflect, evolve, and turn shame into strength. Today, Jia Xiangying never rashly tried to kill Xu Lingqu. The mall's setup was just to observe Xu Lingqu's skills. She knows very well that Dolanston doesn't need to rush—they just need to maintain their advantage, figure out Xu Lingqu's strongest skill, and then avoid her."

"Right. It was Jia Xiangying's change in approach that led to her setup. The moment Xu Lingqu stepped into the mall, she must have picked up on that shift in thinking," Lieutenant Quan explained. "So she staged this elaborate act to make Jia Xiangying and all of Dolanston want her dead. Moye's scout, Xu Xiqin, managed to reach the News Building, but she also reported that the defenses there were extremely tight."

"In other words, for Moye to turn this around and win, the first option would be to launch a decapitation strike after the second broadcast—assault the News Building and take out Jia Xiangying. I think Xu Lingqu considered that, but she deemed it unfeasible." Teacher Chang slapped the table. "People might have misunderstood her. Last time, when she went alone to seize the energy core, it made some think she was overconfident. But that's not the case. I believe she's someone who considers every angle thoroughly."

"Exactly. She assesses the danger level of different situations. The heavily fortified News Building at Dolanston is a completely different beast compared to the energy core point in the desert arena... And in that desert map, she had already set up Moye's guerrilla tactics in advance, ensuring that even if she died, Moye could still fight effectively before she went off alone to grab the core."

Lieutenant Quan added, "So she wouldn't take that passive, high-risk path of attacking Dolanston's building head-on. Instead, she carved out a new path for herself: pretending she had a word-spirit skill that could kill anyone whose exact coordinates she knew. That forces all of Dolanston to realize they have to kill her before the second broadcast, luring them out of the News Building and turning defense into offense."

"In other words, she used herself as bait to draw Dolanston out and into her trap." Teacher Chang paused mid-summary, realizing he'd gotten off track again, and quickly corrected himself. "But Dolanston needs to stay calm right now and not be led astray so easily. They should consider: would such an overpowered skill really appear in this arena? If they can keep their cool, the scales of victory tip in their favor."

...

[Oh my god, using herself as bait... Xu Lingqu really... she's putting herself on the fire to create opportunities for everyone else at Moye]

[Right now, in the minds of Dolanston's people, Xu Lingqu has become a sword hanging over their heads, ready to fall at any moment. They have to destroy that sword before it drops]

[That woman... she's got guts]

[But Dolanston still has Hei Yingzhi and Jiang You. Their skills are pretty twisted too. The question is whether Xu Lingqu can hold up]

[Let's see what she's set up first... I think Dolanston is still skeptical about this word-spirit skill, because it's just too broken]

"She set a trap for Jia Xiangying that fast, huh." Jin Fang Taibai grimaced. After listening to the commentators' analysis, it brought back unpleasant memories.

Guan Chuanjun twirled a league souvenir coin between his fingers, tossing it up and catching it in his palm. "Honestly, in a way, Moye's students are holding her back."

He immediately felt the shift in the atmosphere and raised his hands in surrender. "I'm just making an objective observation. I'm not saying anything bad about Moye's students. If she had soldiers at the level of—well, not even your Longyuan's level—just say our Shaji people were in her place, things wouldn't be this passive."

"The regular students at Moye have already done their best this time," Li Muyi shot back. "Look at what they were like last year... And most of their participants are first-years who came straight from the trial period. Whereas most of us are experienced second-years and third-years. And in the desert map, they still had us running ragged with guerrilla tactics even without Xu Lingqu's command."

The two started arguing, and Jin Fang Taibai, caught in the middle, quickly signaled Gu Tingzhi to step in and mediate.

Gu Tingzhi let out a light chuckle. "You're both right. Holding her back and trying hard aren't mutually exclusive—they're both objective facts. But for Xu Lingqu, she wouldn't dwell on that. That's the mindset of a loser shifting blame. She only thinks about one thing: winning."

-

Inside the News Building, Dolanston was holding an emergency meeting.

"Time is tight. We need to determine whether Xu Lingqu's skill is real or fake as soon as possible, and if it's real, we have to take her down fast. Otherwise, we're in danger." Jia Xiangying looked at the others around the conference table.

Hei Yingzhi spoke up. "I was watching the drone's live feed together with the Commander. It's true—right after Xu Lingqu spoke, Hu Li'an and the others dropped dead on the spot, with no visible cause or external interference. So I'm inclined to believe the skill is real."

"But don't you think it's too overpowered? Would such a severely unbalanced skill really appear in this arena?" Jiang You, another S-class soldier from Dolanston, looked puzzled. "It defies common sense."

"That's why I think this word-spirit skill must have limitations," Hei Yingzhi analyzed. "For example, it requires precise, specific coordinates, the target must be in the same space, and it might only affect one or two people. I also suspect there's a time limit. She's doing this to intimidate us, to buy time until after the second broadcast, when she can get the Commander's coordinates and decapitate us."

His reasoning made some sense. Jiang You stopped arguing. All eyes at the table turned to Jia Xiangying—she was Dolanston's commander, and the final call rested with her.

In her mind, Jia Xiangying replayed the words she had exchanged with Xu Lingqu when they shook hands before the match.

She had told Xu Lingqu she wouldn't fall for the provocation again.

So could it be that Xu Lingqu was actually exploiting her caution in reverse, to stall for time and set up a decapitation?

No, this was all contradictory. If she had such a skill, why would she voluntarily show it to Dolanston? Shouldn't she hide it and wait until after the second broadcast to strike directly? Why go to all this extra trouble?

Jia Xiangying's thoughts were drifting toward the correct conclusion when, suddenly, something interrupted her.

The large screen in the broadcast hall suddenly displayed Xu Lingqu's figure.