Vol 14: Chapter 9-1.
The scouts chosen by WangXia located the possible bug traps, such as hollow undergrounds. Xuan assigned WangXia to carry out this task using the troopers.
Though since this was on the Arachnid’s planet and the scout’s team only had a little more than a dozen people, WangXia had to rely on Lan’s scan to avoid the bugs’ ambushes. That in turn raised his prestige among the scouts. Before long, he had gained complete trust among the scouts.
Kampa experienced the same situation in the gunner team. He and WangXia’s trainings were hellish compared to what these troopers went through, which made them elites in this high tech era.
Xuan controlled the whole army’s positioning and movements. WangXia led the scouts in the front and Kampa covered the back. They became an irreplaceable part of this army. Zheng and the others had not much use aside from Lan. She was in a way, a human communication device.
“It might be the case. I know there are a lot of bonus missions in this world but…” Zheng said with a bitter smile. “Don’t you feel that we are attracting too much attention? The whole army almost see us as saviors. The movie didn’t mention how they escaped but there was also no such saviors. Wouldn’t this make the other team notice us?”
Xuan replied calmly. “It has to be done due to the situation we are in. Our first priority is to survive and in order to do so we have to join the mobile infantry and head back to the starships together, which is what we are doing. Based on the movie, this group is the most likely to return alive. We have no reason to continue hiding before we reach safety. And commanding this whole army to fight guarantees our safety.”
Zheng sighed. “I know. I know what you mean due to the mistakes we made in the beginning. This army is no match for for the bugs so our plan of following the plot to go back with them without doing anything else only leads to death. Yet if we take actions by ourselves, another round of hoppers will be able to kill us. God had changed the plot so the only thing we can do is make use of all the potentials of our talents and powers. Always such precise calculations by God. We never get to go through a movie or two at ease even after becoming stronger. A change of plot can threaten us easily. So are we going to face the other team once we head back?”
Xuan smiled slyly. “Not quite. There are benefits to what we are doing. We are the strongest of the three teams after all. When we reveal four of our members, they will hesitate to attack instead. A team has at least seven people. So where are the other three? How strong are they? What are their enhancements and abilities? They have no idea. When we reveal ourselves without fear, they will be hesitant before confirming every member in our team.”
“In the meantime, we can use use the achievements in this battle to join the higher ups of the military, which will give us advantage in any following plans. Maybe even find the other team through traces. When we assimilate into the crowd, neither sides can be distinguish players from natives unless someone diverge from the plot. After we head back to space and before the second battle begins, is a battle of wits between us and the other team. The first to find out the other team wins!”
(If it’s a battle of wits, does that mean we won already?)
“To conclude it, the battle of wits begins after they come back from Klendathu. The first to find out the other team wins!”
A huge fleet was traveling in space. This fleet were the rescue ships sent from Earth. In the resting area for officers of one of the larger starships, nine men and women sat on the sofa, chair, floor, or bed. A blonde man said as he took a bite of chocolate. He snapped the chocolate in half. His eyes shining with ferociousness.
The others looked at each other then smiled leisurely. A middle age man slapped on the sofa and said. “Well Neos, doesn’t a battle of wits mean we won? Haha.”
Neos gave a cold smile. He grabbed another chocolate bar from the desk, tore off the wrapping and took a bite. “Things aren’t so simple. We have only confirmed these four members belong to team China. Where is the other team? Southern Flame should be near South Africa judging by its name. As the weakest team, where is their location? Looking from analysis…”
“The third team might be inside the bugs. If that’s so, then things are getting interesting. In the movie, there’s another battlefield, Planet P. How is the third team going to get from one planet to another? God won’t allow a team to stay out of a team battle. There’s only one possibility, transport bugs. Then my previous conclusion is confirmed.”
“We will be attacked by transport bugs. Time unknown. But the result is definitely a battle to death between the three teams. God still hasn’t given us the real mission. Just surviving? That’s simple by staying on Earth. However, it violates the rule of danger equals rewards. God will likely change the plot to attack us with meteorites if we stayed.”
“Let’s wait. The real mission is going to appear soon, along with the ambush by the bugs!”
“That’s basically it.” Xuan was as calm as always. It seemed as though he didn’t care about anything. “Based on previous conclusions, the bugs have a species that can travel in space, and likely to have powerful attacks. Once the bugs begin their attack, the real mission of this movie will appear!”
Zheng laughed. “Don’t worry. No use thinking so far ahead. Let’s discuss a more practical problem. What do you think we should do after finding them out in the battle of wits? Kill them for points and rewards or exchange information. I think…”
Xuan didn’t say anything for a while. Then he expressed a sense of resignation via the soul link and said. “It is unwise to consider events after victory. Don’t underestimate anyone. Anticipate every possible situation so you will have the mindset for every difficulty. If the other team came up with the plan to obtain a high position in the military at the beginning, they should have decent ability to react.”
Zheng continued laughing and interrupted Xuan. “It’s reasonable to worry about everything else but if it’s a battle of wits, we will definitely win. I never doubt it. But you are right. We will consider the next step after finding them. Every team experiences many different movies. Aside from team China’s special circumstance, they should have gone through many movies before reaching team battles. We might be able to get information about the movies out of them.”
Xuan said in agreement. “Correct. In comparison to the points and rewards from killing them, information about the rules of magic or quest items can be more valuable. The road to the top of the mountain is in view.”
Zheng looked ahead. Far away, a road leading up the mountain was visible in front of him.
