Gong Zhushen was worried that his classmates, who were responsible for eight people each, would not be able to handle the mental strain. Was Ruan Mingchu going to manage ninety-eight people by himself?
Gong Zhushen couldn't help but look at Mu Yu, but Mu Yu had no objections at all, clearly trusting Ruan Mingchu's abilities.
Gong Zhushen was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that Ruan Mingchu had already taken off on her flying skateboard until Ruan Mingchu's voice echoed in his mind again: "Next, Zhao Qinghui."
Zhao Qinghui was pleasantly surprised when his name was called. He didn't expect Ruan Mingchu to remember such an inconspicuous Beta as him.
As the flying skateboard approached, Zhao Qinghui hurriedly stepped onto it and followed Ruan Mingchu's instructions to descend.
"Next, Gong Mi."
"Next up, Beshinsky."
...
"Next, Cui Tingran."
There were about ten people in a row, all of whom were support roles and usually had a low profile. Hearing their names called out by Ruan Mingchu made them feel valued from the bottom of their hearts.
They joined the team because of Mu Yu, but now they feel honored to have Ruan Mingchu as their captain.
Suddenly, someone among the remaining people on the spaceship said, "Among those who went down, I remember some were skilled in reconnaissance, right?"
They started discussing amongst themselves, and even those with low profiles would recognize one or two people. In conclusion, they all turned out to be skilled investigators.
"Could it be that Captain Ruan has memorized everyone's name, occupation, and special skills?"
The team only trained together every evening and on weekends. Ruan Mingchu would only mention the training schedule at the beginning of each session, and the rest of the time they trained on their own without any communication.
As each name was called out, the remaining people hoped they wouldn't be left out.
"Next, Liao Can."
Liao Can happily said goodbye to his teammates and jumped onto his skateboard.
The remaining people talked to each other.
"He's a control class, right? It's finally our turn."
"But what's the use of controlling it?"
"We are very useful!"
...
Soon, all eleven students specializing in control went down, and they learned what Ruan Mingchu was going to do.
"Next, eleven students including Liao Can will assist the remaining thirty-three students in landing. Don't worry about making mistakes, I will stay with you all the whole time."
Everyone: !!!
Just how strong was Ruan Mingchu? This question arose in the minds of every student. When they heard him say that he was sending Liao Can and others, they thought that Ruan Mingchu had finally exhausted his mental energy and was finished.
Then he said he would stay with them all the time, which was a great opportunity for them to learn and support them!
His "Net of the World" has always connected everyone, and even the scouts he sent out to investigate the environment have never truly left him.
In that instant, Nguyen Minh Thu transcended all other symbols and became synonymous with security.
In particular, after Liao Can helped the three students land, he found that his mental energy had been completely drained, and he couldn't help but admire Ruan Mingchu even more.
He was able to estimate their limits! While ensuring everyone's safety, he also provided valuable training for those in control professions.
The powerful and unfathomable feeling that Ruan Mingchu gave him was something that none of the teachers at the Comprehensive Military Academy could give him.
Liao Can had a premonition that joining the strongest team would be one of the best decisions he had ever made.
More than an hour later, the strongest team safely landed on a relatively flat platform on the south wall. However, it was only relatively flat compared to other places; there were uneven rocks everywhere, and one could easily trip and fall.
The scouts Ruan Mingchu sent out returned, reporting their findings one by one. In truth, with Ruan Mingchu's mental power, the area he could cover was far wider than the area explored by these freshmen. But if he did everything, the strongest team would lose the meaning of participating in the team competition.
The purpose of the school organizing the competition was to train the students, not to provide a stage for Nguyen Minh Thu to show off his skills.
The teacher piloting the aircraft was too cunning; the lake they chose was about fifteen kilometers away from their location. Ruan Mingchu told everyone that their goal was to reach it before dark.
Not only does it have the water they need, but it also has a supply point. Moreover, the lake is home to many aquatic creatures, so they should be able to get a lot of points there.
When they first heard Ruan Mingchu say that as long as they arrived before dark, many people felt that Ruan Mingchu was underestimating them. What a joke! A mere fifteen kilometers? They wouldn't even run there. Believe me, they could walk there in half an hour.
Half an hour later, holy crap, could this rock be any more uneven? Could this sidewall be any steeper? Could those star beasts that suddenly appeared and attacked be any more cunning?
Waaah, I shouldn't have been so lacking in self-awareness.
The first star beast they encountered on the road was a Leilei Beast disguised as a rock. Hu Yongfu, a strong attack class player, cursed inwardly as he kicked the small stones he encountered away.
One of his feet landed on Leilei Beast's tail, and the enraged beast sent him flying.
If Mu Yu hadn't been paying close attention and quickly pulled him back, he would have rolled down.
Hu Yongfu broke out in a cold sweat. Although he wouldn't die from falling, he would still have to go to the hospital and suffer for several months.
"Thank you, Brother Mu."
Mu Yu shook his head: "No need, just be careful in the future."
Almost simultaneously, Ruan Mingchu directed everyone to spread out and called out the three members of the assault team: "Cen Zhiyuan, Shu Yuanzhong, and Hong Gang, the three of you will work together."
This Leilei Beast is around level B-, which is a bit difficult for these three to deal with, but as long as they cooperate well, taking it down shouldn't be a problem.
The three whose names were called rolled up their sleeves and rushed forward, while those who weren't called were eager to try.
Nguyen Minh Thu said to the others, "Everyone will have a chance to fight, including support and healing, so don't rush. Now observe them carefully, and after the fight, each of you should find one weakness in each of the three and tell them."
Upon hearing this, the warlike Alphas stopped their restless activity and began to observe carefully.
After Cen Zhiyuan and his two companions had exhausted themselves climbing the Leilei Beast, with Xiao Cai still hanging on their bodies, and were looking at their scores on the scoreboard with great joy, their companions rushed up and started pointing and commenting.
"Cen Zhiyuan, your attack speed is too slow."
"Old Hong, you need to work on your accuracy with your punches."
"Xiao Zhong, you shouldn't have used [Wind Like a Knife] back then. You should have used [Binding] in conjunction with Hong Gang."
...
Dozens of people, chattering away, it's incredibly annoying. But they're all telling the truth, and I can't just ignore their mistakes; it's frustrating.
I'm so frustrated!
Cen Zhiyuan roared, "We will remember your kindness and repay you all handsomely!"
Everyone chuckled.
They encountered so many Leilei Beasts along the way that everyone quickly became the target of criticism. After being criticized, they observed others' battles even more closely, uncovering more mistakes and reporting them back.
A virtuous cycle.
When they arrived at the lake, everyone except Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu had experienced at least one battle and bore varying degrees of injuries.
But the gains are also visible to the naked eye. It's not just about personal improvement, but also about gaining partners who fight alongside you, get criticized together, and criticize others together.
Even Hao Youyou temporarily stopped following her brother Ruan around and chatted happily with her two newly acquainted teammates.
No one noticed that the three-person combat teams that Nguyen Minh Thu chose for everyone were either already good friends, or they had similar temperaments and complementary skills, and they all got along very well.
Only Mu Yu noticed this, and couldn't help but look at Ruan Mingchu frequently. This person was even more outstanding than he had thought; he was simply the best leader, able to remember all the information points shown by his team members, and gained everyone's trust with just one move.
The supply points are all located near the lake to provide students with water filtration equipment, since the water in the lake cannot be drunk directly.
Gong Zhushen organized people to go to the supply point to get water bottles and fetch water, while Ruan Mingchu and Mu Yu sat facing each other to discuss the next course of action.
Ruan Mingchu immediately started to expose his true colors: "I think it would be a waste to spend two days and two nights sleeping. My idea is to not sleep at all. I've observed the lake, and there are quite a few star beasts. Tonight should be enough for them. Tomorrow we'll head to another lake."
Mu Yu was greatly shocked. He swallowed hard: "Isn't it bad that I can't sleep at all?"
He'd heard that people who were meticulous about their appearance absolutely forbade staying up late, because it would damage their skin. But Ruan Mingchu's skin looked amazing—fair, smooth, and almost flawless…
Ruan Mingchu countered, "You can't hold on?"
Mu Yu shook his head: "The longest I've gone without sleep is five days and six nights."
"So, it's only been two days and two nights," Ruan Mingchu said. "When I join the army, there will definitely be a lot of night battles, so I'll just consider this as accumulating experience in advance."
What else could Mu Yu say? If Ruan Mingchu, an Omega, was acceptable, then naturally those Alphas and Betas couldn't be excluded.
Ruan Mingchu: "Then it's settled. I'll go tell everyone."
It wasn't just Ruan Mingchu who thought this way; other teams arranged it the same way. Only the newcomers felt the hardship and torment.
The school only set the competition duration at such a short time of two days and two nights, so they didn't intend for them to sleep.
All teams choose to camp near the lake at night, both because of the supply points and because of the many star beasts in the lake.
Once it was completely dark and not suitable for traveling any further, the captains of the various teams that had reached the lake gathered together to divide up the territory.
Although the lake is very large, only a small portion of the shoreline is suitable for people to stand on, and there are many people there. If everyone were to mingle together, it would be easy for trouble to break out. Therefore, dividing up the area has been a tacit understanding among everyone for many years.
Generally, people first divide the teams into large groups based on their team level, and then the captains of each team in that group further break down the teams.
But this year, the captain of the strongest S-class team is a freshman, and the team only has ninety-nine members. If we don't bully them now, they'll only be able to crush us once they grow stronger.
There's only one S-rank team here, the strongest. The captains of the other teams are united in their desire to ostracize Ruan Mingchu. They even plan to ambush him tomorrow morning and steal the strongest team's flag.
Feeling ostracized, Ruan Mingchu sighed helplessly. "These methods are too low-level."
Ruan Mingchu could easily beat all these people down by himself, or he could clear a safe haven for his teammates. He wouldn't be afraid even if all the teams here attacked him together.
But that would take away some of the fun.
Ruan Mingchu explained the exclusion by those teams and asked everyone for their choices: "One option is for me and Deputy Captain Mu to help everyone seize a piece of land. The other option is for us not to compete with them for the lake shore. There are boats available for rent at the supply point, so we can all go to the middle of the lake together."
The group, who were still lamenting that they couldn't sleep at night, were instantly enraged when they heard that the older students were "disrespectful to their elders" and had banded together to ostracize them. They were furious and thought, "Sleep is useless! Damn it!"
"We choose number two!"
Ruan Mingchu nodded in satisfaction.
The large boats at the supply depot cost one cent per hour to rent, and each boat could carry twelve people. There were ninety-nine people in total, and after deducting Ruan Mingchu, Mu Yu, and Gong Zhushen, they filled exactly eight boats.
Ruan Mingchu had the three-person group spontaneously form a larger group of twelve, while he rented a small boat to carry Mu Yu and Gong Zhushen.
The strongest team's eight large ships and one small ship were undeniably eye-catching, and they immediately garnered a wave of ridicule upon their appearance.
"Hahaha, what a foolish young calf! Does he really not know how many star beasts there are in the center of the lake?"
"Sigh, he got cocky. He thought he was invincible just because he got an S-class rating."
"If we just wait for the rescue team to come and get people, we'll definitely be wiped out."