Hunting the Instructors 5
After about five or six seconds, the eliminated instructors finally snapped out of it, realizing they'd walked straight into a trap.
They'd been taken out by students they'd never considered worthy opponents.
The five of them staggered to their feet, none of them knowing what to say at first. It was Lin Xiao, who had escaped alongside Guan Zhongli, who spoke up.
"Instructors, per the rules, since you've been eliminated, you should leave the assessment grounds immediately and not contact anyone, right?"
By now, the assessment base should have received word of their elimination through the AI, and was probably still reeling from the shock—no surveillance drones had been dispatched yet.
Afraid they might tip others off or leak what had happened, the two students steeled themselves and said their piece.
Losing to students was embarrassing. Losing to students and then cheating was even worse. The five instructors looked up with bitter smiles, exchanged glances, and one of them spoke. "We'll leave according to the rules. But I just have to ask—it was Xu Lingqu and her group who did this, wasn't it?"
Guan Zhongli and Lin Xiao nodded.
It really was them.
The five left the assessment grounds in a daze, and one of them couldn't help but remark as they went.
"I just remembered my sophomore year, when our Du'e got crushed by Longyuan in the elimination rounds. The feeling I had leaving that day is exactly how I feel right now."
A tangled mess of emotions, impossible to put into words.
The other four felt the same, and couldn't help adding, "I think this year's military academy league is really going to change. The new Moye is no longer the old bottom-feeder."
When the five returned to the gathering area outside the assessment grounds, the scene had already gone through one wave of shock. Their appearance drew another round of gasps.
"Holy crap! Instructors actually got eliminated!"
"What did Vice Principal Su say? How many points for eliminating an instructor? A hundred!"
"Who's this brave?"
"Who else? Who else could it be?"
"Even at that, Commander Xu, next time can you please take me along? Even if I'm just cannon fodder charging in, I'd do it with full enthusiasm."
Vice Principal Su's face had been ashen at first, but by the time Kai Ang and Instructor Chen finished briefing her on the five eliminated instructors, her expression had improved considerably.
"Is that hundred points still counting?" Kai Ang asked her.
"Of course it counts. Absolutely counts. When have I ever gone back on my word?" Vice Principal Su shot him a glare. "I'd be thrilled to have students this impressive."
Kai Ang grinned happily. Xu Lingqu and her five had clearly set out to surprise everyone, and if this group entered the league, they were really going to turn things upside down. At the same time, a wave of dread washed over him—if he hadn't listened to the advice and had gone in with them, he'd probably have been captured alive by Xu Lingqu.
That would have been humiliating!
Outside the grounds, there was shock and delight. Inside, the instructors felt shock and fury.
"They actually dared to attack us... these little brats."
By now, Instructor Zhang had led his men to the hiding spot where Xu Lingqu's group had initially been. It was truly well-concealed—even Instructor Zhang, with his extensive combat experience, had only just spotted it.
"They were hiding here at first. It's concealed enough, but not suitable for an ambush, so they moved," Instructor Zhang said. He'd been stunned at first when he received word of the five eliminations, but he quickly began deploying countermeasures against the five students.
"We'll regroup first. Those five got eliminated too fast—they must have walked into an ambush. It's safer if we move together and watch each other's backs while we hunt for their ambush point." His tone was icy. "We can't actually lose to these little brats."
"They probably split up into groups at first—five per group, four groups total—so their first ambush opportunity could only catch that one group of five," Xu Lingqu was sharing intelligence with Guan Zhongli and the others over the AI. "Now that they've received word of five instructors being eliminated, they'll regroup to find the ambush point."
Of the five, Liu Zheng had taken one, Shen Shouli had taken one, Xu Xiqin had taken one, and Xu Lingqu had taken two herself.
Jin complained bitterly. "I'm never targeting the same mark as our commander again. Her shot's too fast."
"Hmph, don't make excuses for being bad," Xu Xiqin shot back as usual.
"Quiet." Before they could start bickering, Shen Shouli ended it.
Xu Lingqu was still coordinating with Guan Zhongli.
"Right now, scattered targets won't draw them in much. Try consolidating into a single group."
Guan Zhongli: "Won't that make them suspicious?"
The students should be hiding separately; grouping together was too abnormal.
"That's exactly the point—make them suspicious and lure them in one direction." Otherwise, if they crept in from another angle, it would be far more dangerous and unpredictable.
"Understood." Guan Zhongli immediately carried out Xu Lingqu's orders. Thirty-plus students assembling made quite a commotion.
Instructor Zhang and his men spotted them quickly.
"What are these students doing? Gathering up to chat and bond?"
"That's way too relaxed. Are they looking down on us? Watch this—"
"Quiet." Instructor Zhang's voice was cold. "They're definitely bait sent by Xu Lingqu, trying to lure us into an ambush."
"...Damn, that's sly. Then let's ignore them and get out of here."
"Leave?" Instructor Zhang cut him off. "With these people leading the way, we don't have to keep searching all over."
This was a golden opportunity to find Xu Lingqu's group directly, though it carried some risk. But they had the numerical advantage—fifteen of them. Sacrificing one or two to confirm the ambush point was nothing.
"Follow them. Stay as concealed as possible. If something feels off, stop immediately. And when moving, stay close to cover," Instructor Zhang ordered, and no one argued further.
Guan Zhongli led the group toward the ambush site, nervously updating Xu Lingqu: "I don't know if they're actually following."
"Don't worry. Just keep walking."
With her reassurance, Guan Zhongli let himself relax, and the main force gradually reached the spot where he and Lin Xiao had just been.
The instructors obediently kept their presence subtle, and the students pushed forward despite their nerves.
Instructor Zhang surveyed the area and gritted his teeth. "Push a little further."
A few figures emerged. Then gunfire rang out, and in an instant, three instructors dropped.
The main body of students scattered like startled birds, fleeing deeper into the area to hide.
Guan Zhongli had warned them beforehand—all they needed to do was hide and survive. Don't interfere in the fight between the instructors and Xu Lingqu's group, because they'd likely just get in the way.
"We've confirmed several firing positions. Except for the heavy sniper, which is further forward, keep an eye on those obstacles—fire the moment anything shows even a hint," Instructor Zhang told his men. "But don't advance on your own. They have a heavy sniper. I'll go find that position first."
He didn't bring anyone else, because his current position was the furthest back—the least likely to be spotted when moving, and he could take out the sniper before they were ready.
With that, he looped far around, weaving through the forest, searching for the heavy sniper's position from the flank.
When he was halfway there, a bullet whizzed past him. Instructor Zhang broke out in a cold sweat but quickly steadied himself, taking cover behind a tree.
Someone among them had quickly realized the heavy sniper's position might be exposed and had come to protect her.
Who was most likely?
Instructor Zhang already had an answer.
"Is that Xu Lingqu?"
The only reply was the whisper of the night wind.
He gritted his teeth and pressed on. "Student Xu, if it's you, could you put the gun down? To be honest—"
"I've wanted to test your hand-to-hand combat skills for a long time."