Hunting the Instructors 3

With Sun Liao and his little clique dealt with, Guan Zhongli signaled to the ordinary students that they were now free to fight on their own terms—form teams or go solo, whatever suited them.

"If you want to try your luck, you're welcome to go after them. Claiming the bounty would be a real feat. But if you strike first and get hit back, don't come crying to me."

Just then, someone in the crowd couldn't help asking, "But Commander Xu and her team—they're just hiding out, not attacking us, and they're handing us points on a silver platter. What's in it for them?"

That hit the nail on the head. Their plan to ambush the instructors had to stay secret, which left a hole in their reasoning for not engaging the ordinary students. It didn't quite add up.

Guan Zhongli was mulling over how to answer when another voice cut in.

"Commander Xu has her own plans, I'm sure. Let's not overthink it. The important thing is they won't make a move on us this time. We're all enemies now, so let's scatter and get moving!"

It was Lin Xiao who spoke. Her words dissolved whatever lingering doubts the ordinary students had, and they dispersed like startled birds. Guan Zhongli sent Xu Lingqu a message: everything was settled.

They could finally leave their hiding spot. Their mission had changed—no more lying low; now they needed to map out the entire assessment ground and find the perfect ambush positions.

That task would fall largely on Tang Muwen, their analyst.

Xu Lingqu decided to split up. She had decent analytical skills herself, so she'd take one group while the three men formed another, each scouting different terrain.

The moment she said that, Xu Xiqin and Liu Zheng immediately declared they'd stick with her. The remaining three men grouped together.

Just as they were about to move out, Tang Muwen called out, "I've been wondering this for a while—did you know from the start I'd betray them and come to you?" His expression was still that cautious, timid look, as if afraid his words might irritate her.

"Mm." Xu Lingqu nodded and walked off without another word.

There was nothing surprising or unpredictable about it. The truth was, for reasons unknown, Tang Muwen always seemed to gravitate toward her, making it highly likely he'd defect from the ordinary students' camp.

Last time he'd claimed he didn't want to hold her back and that he wasn't clinging to her because she was strong, but his actions told a different story.

Xu Lingqu couldn't be bothered to figure out what he was thinking, nor did she care to. They'd been clear with each other twice already. She felt neither dislike nor fondness for him—she'd use him where he was useful, and that was that.

As the three men headed off, Jin suddenly slung an arm over Tang Muwen's shoulder, a hint of danger and warning in his tone. "What's this? Got some special thoughts about our commander?"

He wasn't doing it for Shen Shouli's sake; he just thought this guy, weak and spineless as he was, wasn't fit to wipe Xu Lingqu's boots.

Tang Muwen's face flushed red, and he couldn't get a word out. Shen Shouli spoke up, "Enough. This is the final assessment—focus on what matters."

With that cold expression and those words, his demeanor suddenly snapped back to how he'd been before the trial period—the aloof, untouchable young master of the Shen family.

Jin thought Shen Shouli's temper had actually improved during this trial, but it turned out it was all just for show in front of others.

He let go and stopped teasing Tang Muwen.

Given Xu Lingqu's personality, no amount of eager suitors or lovelorn admirers would ever get through to her, and it wasn't his place to police that anyway.

The six split up to search for the best ambush spots in the area.

Xu Xiqin followed Xu Lingqu through the forest. The girl who, during the trial, had been dumped into the fifth echelon by the instructors and taken a full day to complete the cross-country run now moved through the woods with startling speed.

She kept pace with her sister while occasionally reaching back to pull Liu Zheng along.

Liu Zheng carried a heavy sniper rifle, the AS-73, loaded with new-model rounds. The military had calculated that three shots to the same spot could punch through the weak armor of an A-class mech.

Of course, the point wasn't to actually shoot through the instructors—the training rounds were modified to do no real damage. What mattered was the rifle's extreme range. If they could find Liu Zheng a good vantage point, she'd become the biggest threat to those instructors.

Xu Lingqu scanned every inch of terrain she crossed, mentally calculating the odds of each location as a viable ambush site.

The path they'd taken offered no good positions for an ambush—some spots were so poorly concealed that ordinary students spotted them and ran off on sight.

Fortunately, the other group soon sent good news: they'd found an ideal ambush spot, with high ground on both sides and a low center—a perfect place to lure the enemy in.

But it was almost too perfect. Those instructors were seasoned military rookies; they wouldn't fall for such an obvious trap so easily.

Still, having any option was better than none.

Xu Lingqu asked them to send over the coordinates and moved slowly toward the spot. Now that they had a location, they had to figure out the ambush strategy.

On the way, they passed a few small skirmishes between ordinary students. Xu Xiqin watched one and noted, "That squad's aim—one shot went straight up into the sky."

Liu Zheng suddenly spoke, "Careful—you might get hit."

You never know when a stray bullet might come raining down from above.

Xu Xiqin didn't see the point of that remark and didn't know how to respond.

Xu Lingqu piped up, "Was that a deadpan joke?"

Liu Zheng nodded. "Yes."

For the first time in years, someone other than her parents had noticed her dry humor. Liu Zheng felt a bit at a loss.

Xu Xiqin let out a forced "Ha, ha, ha"—might as well laugh along since she had nothing else to say.

In the end, the skyward shot caused zero casualties. The squad that fired it traded one of their own for an opponent and were eliminated in the process.

A few participants exited the assessment area, and the sky was already starting to darken.

Kai Ang watched the new arrivals, patting their shoulders in encouragement as their assessment ended. But his eyes kept drifting to the smart screen showing Xu Lingqu's five-man team still sitting at zero kills, and an inexplicable unease gnawed at him.

Were they really going to hide the whole time without lifting a finger? Or had they found some corner to curl up and sleep it off?

Every time Kai Ang tried to subtly probe the eliminated students about whether they'd seen the five, they all gave the same answer: "Don't know, never saw them." Then they'd slump over and go quiet.

Instructor Chen was getting more suspicious by the minute. "Don't you think they're cooking up some scheme?"

"Of course I do—otherwise I wouldn't be asking around," Kai Ang replied.

"Think they'll dig a tunnel straight here and snatch you up alive?" Instructor Chen mused.

"...Alive? That's a bit much, don't you think?" Kai Ang was baffled. He refused to believe Xu Lingqu would do that to him.

After all, he'd given her plenty of extra points.