NOVEL WEB Chapter 129 - Team Competition 1
Bai Zhizhi’s hostility towards her was even stronger now than when they first met. Mai Dongzi couldn’t figure out the reason, and since it was impossible for her to spend more time “observing” Bai Zhizhi, she decided to leave a trace of spiritual “seed” in Bai Zhizhi’s mind.
Bai Zhizhi was less than ten meters away from her, and Mai Dongzi easily left a spiritual “seed” in her mind.
This was a technique she used in her past life to deal with murder suspects. After the apocalypse, in the struggle for resources and power, human nature, devoid of moral and legal constraints, could become unimaginably evil for those who hadn’t witnessed it.
People like Mai Dongzi couldn’t kill indiscriminately without evidence of a crime. They lacked the time and manpower for investigations, but if they did nothing, they couldn’t know how many people might die at the hands of those suspects.
After much thought, Mai Dongzi finally came up with a solution. After practicing many times, she successfully “planted” her spiritual power like a seed in the minds of suspects.
Because that bit of spiritual power belonged to her, within a certain range, she could sense their strong emotions—likes, pain, hatred, and murderous intent.
Mai Dongzi ignored other emotions, but as soon as she sensed murderous intent, she would immediately bring someone to confront it, often catching the perpetrator in the act.
Thus, planting a spiritual “seed” in Bai Zhizhi’s mind was a simple task for her.
Moreover, over the past few months, with General Su’s guidance, she had gained a nearly complete understanding of the various abilities of spiritual power users in this world.
She was confident that no one—at least not openly—would use this ability, as she had been forced to develop it herself.
If it weren’t for Bai Zhizhi’s deep-seated malice toward her, Mai Dongzi wouldn’t have resorted to this tactic; she hadn’t even considered it before.
Moreover, this spiritual “seed” would only lie dormant in Bai Zhizhi’s mind, allowing Mai Dongzi to monitor her actions whenever she sensed hostility, without intending to cause her any harm.
Outsiders believed that her spiritual ability was merely at the late stage of level six, but in reality, she was already at the mid-level of seven.
Thus, “planting” the spiritual “seed” in Bai Zhizhi’s mind was an easy task for her, one that would go unnoticed by others.
As long as she didn’t activate this fragment of spiritual power to disrupt Bai Zhizhi’s mind, she believed even General Su would be unable to detect it.
Thanks to ample energy potions, Mai Dongzi’s spiritual abilities recovered quickly. A month ago, she had already regained her previous level.
Since starting military school, Mai Dongzi had learned how to conceal her presence, ensuring that others wouldn’t notice her true skills.
Once her spiritual ability reached level five again, she could suppress her aura, making it difficult for anyone to accurately gauge her spiritual power level.
As a result, the instructors at the school all believed that Mai Dongzi’s spiritual ability was only at the late stage of level six. They had no idea that, due to her rebirth, her spiritual power was far stronger than that of other practitioners at the same level.
Having temporarily dealt with the issue of Bai Zhizhi, Mai Dongzi shifted her focus back to the competition stage, as the vice principal and the judges, who were members of the organizing committee, had appeared.
In previous individual competitions, members of the organizing committee had never appeared on the field; all competition rules were announced through the internet or broadcasts. Therefore, Mai Dongzi felt that the vice principal might be up to something.
“All members of the competing teams, please come up to the stage,” the vice principal said, his voice sounding unremarkable.
However, Mai Dongzi noticed that when the vice principal spoke, one of the judges standing nearby had a somewhat “malicious” smile.
She quickly led the members of the Phantom Team toward the stage, using her spiritual power to communicate, “When we get on stage, let’s try to stand in the center, and you five gather around me.”
The members of the Phantom Team looked surprised, as they clearly heard the captain’s voice, but she hadn’t turned around to speak. They quickly realized what was happening.
Understanding the situation made them uneasy, and their expressions showed concern.
Thanks to Mai Dongzi’s quick response, the Phantom Team was the first to step onto the stage.
The vice principal deliberately glanced at Mai Dongzi, nodding at her with admiration.
The members of the Wind and Cloud Team were also sharp; seeing the Phantom Team move, they immediately followed suit.
Once the Phantom Team settled in the center of the stage, the Wind and Cloud Team positioned themselves right beside them.
Other teams were not slow either, and within two minutes, all eight teams from the first to fourth years of the Command Department had gathered on the stage, standing in a line.
However, the competition stage was quite large, and with over forty people standing on it, they only occupied about half of the space.
Once everyone was in place, they looked at the vice principal with innocent expressions, waiting for his next statement.
“Today’s competition is a team free-for-all. The scoring criteria are based on how long any team’s members stay on the stage and how many remain; the more you have, the more points you earn,” the vice principal announced.
The crowd was momentarily confused before they realized what the vice principal meant, and they began to whisper among themselves.
“Captain, this format is disadvantageous for us,” Zhuang Huiya said quietly to Mai Dongzi.
“Think about how we should respond and what situations we might face,” Mai Dongzi calmly replied.
After announcing the new rules, the vice principal smiled at her, making Mai Dongzi suspect that this new rule was aimed at her.
After two minutes of whispering among the competitors, the vice principal raised his hand to signal for silence, indicating that he still had more to say. The crowd immediately quieted down, awaiting his words.
“I’ll give you five minutes to discuss your strategy,” the vice principal said.
After speaking, he glanced at Mai Dongzi again, and this time, she sensed a hint of malice in his eyes.
Although all eight teams on the stage were from the Command Department, the first-year students were still considered newcomers and had little interaction with the upperclassmen, let alone any camaraderie.
Not to mention the second-year students, the third and fourth years were experienced and had likely built familiarity over the years, making it clear that they would band together to deal with other teams first.
Although the second-year students were still newcomers, they had at least interacted with the third and fourth-year students before, as they had already participated in a team competition once.