Strongest Soldier King

After the banquet, Luo Zheng helped the slightly tipsy team leader back to the guest house to rest. The night passed without incident, and early the next morning, Luo Zheng was led by a guardsman to the meeting room, where competitors gradually arrived. After exchanges of nods and greetings, everyone took their seats. A Colonel then entered the room, sat at the head of the table, and with a stern look swept over the five people, saying, "Gentlemen, I am here to preside over this meeting by order of the Commander. The agenda is to oversee a public election for the team captain of this competition."

"Huh?" A flash of surprise crossed Luo Zheng's eyes, not expecting the Commander to make such a move by having everyone publicly elect the team captain. The best candidate, as chosen by his peers, would indeed receive their support, a thoughtfully arduous decision indeed. The captain's role was a valuable one; any achievement would yield the greatest credit. However, Luo Zheng knew his place; the position of captain was irrelevant to him. He continued to focus inwardly.

The other team members hadn't expected the captaincy to be open for election rather than appointed as rumored. This left everyone momentarily out of sorts until the Colonel continued, "Given your unfamiliarity with one another, a fair election may not be feasible. After deliberation by the staff, and approved by the Commander, you five will spend two days in gaming combat. This will allow you to become familiar with each other's combat styles and to select the strongest among you for the role. Do any of you have objections to this proposal?"

"No," everyone responded. It was a decision from the staff, approved by the Commander—who would dare object?

"That's good. Follow me," the Colonel said as he stood up and walked outside.

Luo Zheng also left the meeting room, finding the method of using gaming to enhance understanding among teammates and select the team captain quite clever. The role of captain was no trivial matter; it concerned the honor of the entire team. Given that all the competitors were elite with strong capabilities, none would easily subordinate themselves. Adopting a competitive method seemed to resolve these issues.

Having an internal competition before the main contest was also a good idea. Luo Zheng followed everyone to the information center, which was cleared of its original staff. Five computers were turned on, displaying the main page of a military tactical training game—obviously prepared in advance. Luo Zheng had played it a few times and wasn't very familiar but found the game quite good.

To the other competitors, the military combat simulation game was also not unfamiliar. Everyone picked a spot to sit and looked to the Colonel, who surveyed the group and said, "Today, you will attack each other to get acquainted. Tomorrow, you will take turns as team captain in a team-based online confrontation, judged by your scores."

"Understood," all responded in unison. Following the Colonel's command, everyone quickly registered their accounts using nicknames, then entered the game. Luo Zheng, having no nickname, registered under his full name.

The game began swiftly, with everyone initially launching tentative attacks. Luo Zheng, not very familiar with the game, couldn't last five minutes on the virtual battlefield before getting headshot. Indifferent to the captaincy, he let everyone thrash him, dying and restarting without fuss—his main focus was to learn the combat styles of the others. He ranked last in points, not far ahead of others, but Luo Zheng neither knew nor cared about his standing.

After an hour, even with everyone holding back, Luo Zheng began to understand their tactics. Scholar displayed a balanced offense and defense, meticulous in defense and overwhelming in attack, only striking with lethal moves. Seeing such tactics, Luo Zheng thought him very suitable as a captain.

Looking at the others, their overall strengths were formidable. Yue was tactically nimble, excelling in offense with unpredictable moves. Monk was good at defense, almost impregnable; getting past his defenses was not easy. Inside that shell, there were deadly counters ready to trap one. As for Farmer Luo Hai, he was very sly, excelling in surprise attacks, striking when least expected and difficult to guard against.

Throughout the game, Luo Zheng's performance was mediocre; anyone needing easy points would pummel him before moving on to other challenges. It seemed unfair to keep bullying Luo Zheng, didn't it? He was indifferent, focusing instead on observing others' tactics to adapt and improve. After all, the captaincy wasn't his concern; why bother?

Every national Special Forces competition, the Northwest Military Region ranked at the bottom. Within the participants from the Large Army Group, Luo Zheng's military region was the lowest, seen by others as merely making up numbers. If not to maintain morale within the military region, this spot might have been given to another.

Luo Zheng didn't want to contend with others at this time, preferring to let performance on the battlefield do the talking. This was an excellent learning opportunity, better to absorb more knowledge. However, Luo Zheng didn't realize that next door in another meeting room, stars gathered as everyone watched a live broadcast. The screen showed the ongoing confrontation.

Seeing Luo Zheng's uninspiring performance made the team leader's face burn a shade of embarrassment, but he refrained from explaining. Some things are better shown than told. Speech is not the language of soldiers; action is. However, not everyone felt the same way; some glanced at the team leader with a smile that everyone understood the meaning of.

The Commander of the Large Army Group was there too, his expression calm, no trace of emotion in his eyes. No one could guess what the team leader was thinking. Another hour later, without a word, the Commander left with his entourage, leaving others puzzled but reluctant to speak out.

Both lunch and dinner were delivered; the team ate heartily and continued the confrontation without rest, until ten at night when the Commander came to watch for a while. He made no comments, only instructing the teams to rest for the night and to prepare for the competition the next day.

When Luo Zheng returned to the guest house room, he saw the team leader with a troubled expression and cautiously asked, "Team leader, was it because I didn't perform well enough today that I embarrassed you?"

"It's both yes and no," the team leader frankly said, and after a moment of thought, asked, "Putting shame aside, from today's engagement, you must have grasped their combat styles, while they know little about you. It's both good and bad. You're smart, manage the balance well here. Tell me, if you were to take on the captain role, how confident are you of achieving a place in the competition?"

"Me?" Luo Zheng asked in surprise.

"Just hypothetically, don't take it as certain," the team leader clarified.

"Oh?" Luo Zheng pondered for a moment before responding, "Fifty percent confidence."

"Fifty percent? Tell me, what are your thoughts," the team leader inquired, his interest piqued.