Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Time flew by, and soon it was the last day of training.
The members of the five groups were gathered together for a warm-up match.
The teacher in charge said: “The school sports meet is the day after tomorrow. Athletes from several schools will come to our school to participate in the competition, and there will be tens of thousands of spectators.”
“I have seen your performance these past few days. And I can guarantee that as long as you perform normally in the official competition, winning the championship will not be a problem for Imperial First!”
“Last year, our championship was taken by Dark Flag Protection Academy. This year, we must wash away the shame!”
“Yes!” Everyone responded enthusiastically.
Xu Chengdong clutched his heart: “What should I do? I’m getting more and more nervous.”
The teacher in charge said: “Don’t be nervous!”
Xu Chengdong thought he had been overheard and shuddered.
The team leader explained, “The competition is really about mindset. To help you adapt to this rhythm as soon as possible, we’ll simulate a match. The losing team will become reserve players.”
Reserve players were also known as “benchwarmers.”
To be on the safe side, the number of participants would far exceed the actual number needed. It was not uncommon for a team to not even get a chance to play.
This simulation was essentially a competition for the first move.
If two players were evenly matched, the official players would be sent out first.
The rules for the warm-up match were simple.
Pheromones could not be used.
Depending on the group, each team would be given ten different colored headbands, worth one point.
Points were awarded for stealing headbands from other teams; members whose headbands were stolen would be eliminated. Headbands collected from the same team did not count.
After the match, teams would be ranked based on their total score. The top three teams would become official players.
Therefore, the key to victory was— protecting your own team’s headband while stealing headbands from other teams.
The headband of the members of Group A was blue. According to the rules, Bai Yue tied it to his forehead.
After everyone had donned their headbands, the supervising teacher marked out a circle. Anyone who crossed the circle during the competition would be eliminated.
Once ready, the five groups entered the field together, without any distinction in order.
“It starts after the whistle blows, everyone get ready.”
Everyone tensed up, exchanging bewildered glances.
Bai Yue surveyed the crowd.
After listening to the rules once, he understood their meaning.
Being disqualified if the headscarf was taken away, or being eliminated if the line was crossed. Furthermore, you couldn’t steal headscarves collected by other teams.
This meant the only way to score points was to remove headscarves from other players’ “heads.”
And the later the competition, the fewer people remained on the field.
Therefore, this was a chaotic free-for-all— the first to act always won.
A piercing whistle ripped through the sky, tearing open the curtain of the warm-up match.
Hearing the starting command, Bai Yue didn’t hesitate and rushed out.
The students in Group C were still considering who to attack first. Before they could react, a dark shadow approached. Then they felt a lightness on their head.
They were startled, then hurriedly touched their foreheads. The headscarf was gone.
Bai Yue landed steadily on the ground, the light brown scarf in his hand fluttering in the wind.
Then, the referee’s loud voice rang out.
“Group A 1 point! Wu Hao from Group C is eliminated, get off the field immediately!”
Less than a second after the start of the match, the score changed immediately.
After gaining a point, the members of Group A seemed to be spurred on, quickly rushing towards other “prey”.
In just a few minutes, the situation on the field had changed significantly.
The current rankings were: Group B first, Group A second.
Although Group A had seized the initiative, Group B, with Shang Yufei and Mu Sihan, quickly snatched more scarves from the others.
Because it was a free-for-all, teamwork wasn’t necessary in the early stages. Shang Yufei alone had already grabbed five scarves.
The next second, Group B’s score increased again.
Mu Sihan had four scarves, quickly catching up with Shang Yufei’s number.
After being overtaken by Group B, the members of Group A’s mentality became somewhat unstable. In this panic, a scarf was snatched away.
Then, Group A’s ranking dropped to third.
This was the warning line; another drop would mean they’d be relegated to the bench at the sports meet.
While it wasn’t impossible for them to play, the chances were definitely much smaller than for the official team members.
Thinking this, some people panicked even more.
“Ah!”
Xu Chengdong exclaimed. He had just grabbed a headscarf, and before he knew it, his own was snatched away.
The number of Group A members remaining on the field had dwindled to four.
He walked off the field dejectedly, looking at Bai Yue, who was still fighting hard. Bai Yue was the highest scorer in Group A.
Xu Chengdong held up a microphone: “Group leader, I’m sorry! Keep it up!”
Hearing this, Bai Yue turned and smiled at him. With a light leap, he evaded the attack from the next person.
Xu Chengdong didn’t dare to distract anyone further and shut his mouth.
The team leader checked the recorded scores.
There were a total of 50 points in the score pool, and the current situation was:
Group B: 14 (Shang Yufei’s group)
Group D: 9
Group A: 8 (Bai Yue’s group)
Group C: 7
Group E: 2
Now only 10 members remained. The scores for second, third, and fourth place were very close, and anyone could overtake the other.
At this moment, Group A lost another member, and Group C caught up, tying with Group A.
Perhaps because Bai Yue snatched their headscarves at the start, Group C’s focus was almost entirely on Group A.
As for Group E, only one member remained. With only two points, they were in a relaxed, low-key state.
“Ahhhhh!”
The bearded man from Group D suddenly unleashed his power, taking down two members from Group B and tackling them to the ground.
Although he also took himself with them due to going out of bounds, his sacrifice wasn’t in vain; at least he snatched his opponent’s headscarf before going out of bounds.
The competition has become incredibly intense. The situations in Groups B and E were basically settled and unlikely to change much.
The other three groups were giving it their all, cheering for their teams.
The rankings changed once again.
Group B: 15 (Shang Yufei’s group)
Group D: 11
Group C: 10
Group A: 9 (Bai Yue’s group)
Group E: 2
After snatching another student’s headband, Bai Yue noticed the scoreboard. His team currently had 9 points, placing them exactly fourth.
To secure a top-three finish, they needed to gain two more points.
He quickly calculated the scores in his mind, but when he turned to look at the field, he paused.
Now, only three people remained on the field: him, Mu Sihan, and Shang Yufei.
In other words, to become a full member of the team, he had to snatch the headbands from these two.
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