Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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The student lay on the ground, surrounded by four men wearing white masks.
After committing the crime, they defiantly gave the camera the middle finger, looking like they were saying, “Come and get me if you dare.”
Soon, the men dispersed, disappearing from the screen.
“Is this the ‘Masked Organization’ you were talking about?”
Sikong Xing stood to the side watching the surveillance footage. “They don’t seem that powerful.”
More footage was transmitted.
After comparing them one by one, Bai Yue made a new discovery.
These masked men immediately disappeared after stabbing the Dark Flag student. They also intentionally avoided the camera while moving stealthily.
But they were clearly not familiar with the school environment. Soon, their figures appeared in the next frame.
As he watched, Bai Yue paused the video and zoomed in.
Although not very obvious, a black headset could be vaguely seen at the junction of the mask edge and the hat brim.
—Someone was giving them instructions through the headset.
Connecting several areas, they could roughly define the area where this group of people would appear. This was completely opposite to the patrol route arranged by the vice-captain.
Sikong Xing, who had been watching from the side, naturally noticed this as well.
He said meaningfully, “Your vice-captain is really ‘watertight’ in her work.”
After joining the disciplinary team, Bai Yue had also carried out several missions. Back then, the vice-captain’s instructions were not like this.
Perhaps this time, it was due to preconceived notions, coupled with deep conflicts with the Masked Organization, that she was blinded by anger.
Bai Yue thought for a moment, then sent the defined area to the group, saying that he would be patrolling this area.
As soon as he sent it, the girl with the ponytail called.
After Bai Yue answered, he heard a stern reprimand from the other end: “What are you doing? Everyone is acting according to instructions, only your assigned route is missing. If there’s a problem, how will you take responsibility!”
Bai Yue: “I will take responsibility.”
Perhaps not expecting to hear such a reply, the woman with the ponytail was taken aback.
Bai Yue asked, “Vice Captain, if I also wear a mask, can I become a member of that organization?”
“What?” The girl with the ponytail didn’t understand the meaning of that question.
Bai Yue: “You know them better than I do; you should be able to tell quickly whether it’s a disguise or not.”
“I still suggest we watch the surveillance footage again.”
He hung up the phone without waiting for a reply.
Sikong Xing clapped beside him.
“I thought you were the type to submit easily, but I didn’t expect you to be so opinionated.”
Bai Yue sighed helplessly, “How long are you going to follow me?”
Sikong Xing laughed, “I’ve already said I’m going to help you complete your mission.”
Bai Yue didn’t really need it.
But he didn’t know how to get rid of this guy, so he could only sigh and turn to walk towards the designated area.
On the other side, Xu Chengdong was also patrolling.
He had to arrive at the scene earlier than Bai Yue, so he had been sent out ahead of time.
Seeing the message in the group chat, he scratched his head in frustration.
“The vice-captain is probably furious. If the team leader and vice-captain are at odds, which side should I take?”
He muttered to himself for a while, then turned to ask, “What do you think, Mu Sihan?”
Mu Sihan was assigned to the same route as him. However, the other rarely checked the group chat, only taking out his phone after hearing his words and silently reading it.
Xu Chengdong sighed, “Forget it, let’s just patrol obediently. If we behave well, we can plead for the team leader later.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw his teammate turn around and walk away.
Xu Chengdong was stunned: “Where are you going? We should go this way.”
He confirmed the direction the other was going and understood: “Are you going to find the team leader?”
Mu Sihan paused, turned around and said, “This side is more credible. I don’t want to miss the competition because of this.”
Hearing this, Xu Chengdong was deeply moved. He didn’t expect this seemingly cold person to actually have such a strong sense of team honor.
“Okay!” He clenched his fist and said, “Let’s catch those guys as soon as possible and go back to continue the competition!”
Mu Sihan: “…”
This person must have misunderstood something. He didn’t explain and continued walking out.
Meanwhile, the Dark Flag lounge was in chaos. The preliminary rounds were about to begin, but their “ace” hadn’t returned.
The coach scratched his head: “Where did that guy go?!”
The others exchanged bewildered glances. Someone answered, “He said he went to… pick up girls.”
“Pick up girls?”
Hearing this answer, the coach became even angrier. “Picking up girls for so long, did he just go to a hotel?”
“Coach, Coach, calm down!”
The coach then realized he’d gone a bit too far and coughed lightly.
“Did he call? When is he coming back?”
Everyone exchanged glances again.
“He said he’d come back when he finds the murderer.”
The murderer? Did he pick up girls at a murder scene?
The coach was stunned.
At this moment, the music gradually faded. The host’s enthusiastic voice rang out from the arena.
“Thank you all for your excellent performances in the preliminary rounds. The list of the top ten military academies advancing has been released. Without further ado, let’s quickly announce the rules of the preliminary rounds!”
The preliminary rounds were a 1v1 arena competition, with ten teams advancing to the top five.
The six virtual training arenas in the arena disappeared, replaced by five slowly rising arenas.
The ten advancing schools drew lots, with those drawing the same color becoming opponents in this match.
Each school sent three players, and whoever won the last one advanced to the finals.
This was not only a contest of strength between the two schools, but also a test of luck for each individual.
If the starting order in the preliminary rounds didn’t have such a significant impact on the outcome, then luck played a crucial role in the intermediate rounds.
Drawing other military schools offered a fighting chance. But drawing “Imperial First” or “Dark Flag” basically meant certain death.
Originally, this didn’t matter much to Dark Flag.
Even if they drew “Imperial First,” they could simply play their trump card early.
But now the biggest problem was, their trump card was nowhere to be found!
“Coach, what do we do?”
The coach’s face was grim. “Anyway, let’s go draw lots first. If you accidentally draw Imperial First… just try to stall for time!”
“There’s no such high probability, Coach, don’t worry.”
The player sent to draw lots went off cheerfully, unconcerned.
But when he returned a dozen minutes later, he had a long face.
Before the people in the lounge could even ask what had happened, the host’s voice came from the electronic screen again.
“Everyone, you absolutely won’t believe this!”
“I just got news from the draw team. Imperial First and Dark Flag, the most promising candidates for the championship in this sports meet, have actually been matched up in the preliminary rounds!”
“!!!”
What!?
Everyone looked at the player who had drawn lots. He hung his head, walked to the sofa, and buried himself in it. He didn’t dare to meet the critical eyes of his teammates.
The host continued.
“This means that at least one of these two schools will be eliminated in the preliminary rounds and will have no hope of reaching the finals!”
“This is just too cruel!”
Despite saying this, his tone couldn’t hide his excitement.
A commotion erupted in the stands.
“Imperial First and Dark Flag got drawn together?”
“They could have at least gotten second place, what bad luck!”
“Waaah, I don’t know who to support anymore. Anyway, cheer for me, everyone!”
The other eight schools that advanced were overjoyed. Now that their two toughest opponents were facing each other, it meant they no longer needed to worry about the draw results.
Inside Imperial First’s rest room, the students were panicked.
How could they run into Dark Flag in the preliminary rounds?
Not only was Bai Yue absent, but the other top-performing players were also nowhere to be found.
And the remaining players— once Dark Flag sent out their S-rank player, they were definitely doomed to lose!
Counselor Song reassured them, “Don’t worry, I’ll contact them and ask about the situation.”
Everyone nodded hurriedly.
Of course, neither Imperial First nor Dark Flag knew that their two schools’ biggest aces were currently together… investigating a case.
Bai Yue opened the door and went inside. The room was pitch black, with no signs of anyone entering.
He closed the door and went out, where Sikong Xing was still waiting. Seeing him, he smiled and said, “There’s no one in the next room either.”
The two had arrived near the shooting range.
Due to the sports meet, the entire school was closed, and most students had gathered at the arena. Therefore, almost no one was to be seen elsewhere.
Even the training facilities, which were usually packed with people, were the same.
Most buildings were locked. Occasionally, Bai Yue would go in to check if anyone was there. However, he didn’t find anything.
According to the footage, the masked guys disappeared in this area and never appeared in the footage again.
Either they hadn’t moved at all, or they had changed their clothes and come out disguised as ordinary students.
However, no suspicious figures like the latter were seen in the footage. So the former was more likely.
Bai Yue closed the door of the shooting range and turned to look into the distance.
The sky was cloudless and a clear blue.
From this direction, the top of the giant dome could be vaguely seen in the distance. Perhaps because it was too far away, the marching music could hardly be heard.
Just now, Instructor Song had called to ask his current location. He told him that he might not be able to make it back for the competition.
“What are you looking at? Let’s go,” Sikong Xing urged from the front.
The other man seemed even more anxious than him.
Bai Yue was about to follow when suddenly, a “thud” came from the roof.
He looked up and saw a dark shadow flash by.
Thumping footsteps echoed from the roof. Soon, the dark shadow descended from above, disappearing into the dense forest not far away.
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