NOVEL NEXT Chapter 279 - Covering
It’s not just arrogance…
The senior’s evaluation was still too mild. Perhaps he didn’t want to impose too high of a moral standard on the young, and he was also aware of how an unintentional comment in such a public setting might impact a young person. That’s why he chose a more neutral way of expressing it.
But Min Hao was clear—what the senior probably meant to say was that the student was overconfident and heartless.
As Lin Maowu’s class instructor, Min Hao naturally knew him well. He was one of the top students in Class Two. Apart from Huan Xian, who was a unique case, Lin Maowu was probably second on the list.
He was an exceptionally talented commander-in-training, almost without any flaws.
Min Hao had been thoroughly satisfied with him—until that incident happened.
Huan Xian’s exclusion was truly unfortunate, and what was even more unfortunate was that, aside from the few students who had violated the rules, both sides had their own positions. Min Hao couldn’t resolve the conflict between them.
But he would never forget that, at the beginning of all this, aside from Huan Xian revealing his own abilities, there had been another figure involved.
When Huan Xian first joined the class, the first person to extend a hand to him was Lin Maowu. The friendship between children can be quite simple. Both of them could sense a similar, almost intangible aura from each other.
Although it wasn’t as if they became close friends in just two or three days, Min Hao clearly remembered that they got along very well during their initial training, sharing a mutual respect. It seemed like Huan Xian also had the sense of wanting to gradually integrate into the group.
However, during their first mental power conduction training, an accident occurred. At the time, Min Hao didn’t know what conflict had arisen between them, but he noticed that after that, they stopped standing together, and their relationship even started to deteriorate.
It was from that point onward that Huan Xian’s situation in Class Two rapidly declined, and, over time, his position began to spiral out of control.
Although Min Hao later learned that Lin Maowu hadn’t interfered or taken advantage of the situation, he was the first to publicly distance himself. It was as if their previous friendship had been a mere illusion, with no regard for any past kindness.
Following Lin Maowu’s lead, the others also distanced themselves from Huan Xian. Whether it was due to fear of his abilities or the influence of the group’s attitude, one thing was clear: a web of rejection was cast, and the sensitive, out-of-place young man was shut out.
Min Hao had spoken with Lin Maowu about it, but the latter’s attitude was resolute and indifferent, so Min Hao didn’t press the matter any further.
Now, watching his behavior during this competition, Min Hao finally caught a glimpse of the heavy sentiment he had unknowingly developed at that time.
His student seemed to be quite different from what he had imagined.
Min Hao sighed deeply. None of the students he was teaching were easy cases. It felt like this batch hadn’t even properly started their training, yet he was already feeling weary.
“Well… I guess we’ll just have to teach them slowly.”
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“…” He’d fallen for it. Huan Xian slipped and fell to the ground, and in the next moment, he felt a strange sensation of his body and voice being sealed off. His hands and feet wouldn’t move, his throat couldn’t make a sound, but for some reason, whether it was because he couldn’t control his expression or couldn’t suppress it, a strange smile lingered at the corner of his mouth.
Zhou Xiuwen felt his body instantly go numb. Hearing the situation, he couldn’t help but feel a mix of frustration and amusement, but he couldn’t make a sound, so he silently thought, “Friend, this isn’t the time to laugh. We’ve just been hit by the enemy.”
A cold sweat instantly appeared on Clarens’s forehead. His back slid down the trench wall, his hands hanging limply on the ground, yet his eyes flickered with a defiant fire.
It was him… It was him!
Without the official team’s opportunity to survive, he had no chance against Huo Qi now. That person was just too terrifying.
Whether it was shock or expectation, the three of them were forced to endure the blank period of half a star minute’s worth of time in this locked-down state.
And while half a star minute might seem short, in such a situation, it felt incredibly long. Because in just half a star minute, a lot could happen— the enemy could take this opportunity to fire again or cover several hundred meters, getting closer to their defensive line.
No matter which scenario it was, it was clearly very unfavorable for them.
This was an unavoidable situation. The official team always carried such a meaning— one for all, all for one. A loss was shared by all, their fates intertwined.
The others were also affected and had their movements locked down. This was the first time they had experienced this “treatment” since the start of the competition.
Fortunately, they were all hidden in the trench at the moment. During these crucial moments, their bodies, weak and uncontrollable, slid into the trench, naturally providing an extra layer of protection, hiding them from Huo Qi’s line of sight. They were also unable to pursue any further.
Huan Xian rarely found himself in such a constrained position. Though stunned for a moment, he quickly regained his composure.
While his movements were restricted, his mind was still working. His first reaction was that the enemy had been about 1.4 kilometers away earlier. Half a star minute was enough for them to cover a distance of 1.2 kilometers, and if they were fast enough, they could reach nearly a kilometer in that time.
A kilometer would be enough to assess the situation here, and things were looking bad.
The moment Huan Xian realized he could move his body again, he immediately jumped up from the bottom of the trench and quickly activated his mental power to assess the situation ahead.
Sure enough, the enemy had anticipated this as well. During the half-star minute they lost, the enemy had already run over a kilometer away and seemed to be closing in even further.
If they got close enough to discover the trench, it would be disastrous. They would certainly make a snap decision to abandon their firearms and switch to close combat… and by then, it would be just the three of them against five. Would they be able to win? Even Huan Xian didn’t have that kind of confidence.
The situation was too passive. They needed to end this quickly.
Despite the unexpected setback, the other side should be about ready, right?
Huan Xian briefly looked to the east and north.
He glanced at the silent Clarens and signaled the other two with a gesture: ‘…’
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Mu Kun’s eyebrows twitched. Although it seemed a bit childish, she couldn’t suppress the excitement in her heart.
Finally, they had made a comeback, and it was her shot that hit the target.
Even though they were far away, Xiao Li could still feel her pride and excitement. He curled his lip but didn’t say anything. After all, she did have real skill. It felt great to see that annoying R186 team finally get a good hit.
Otherwise, one side only had one opportunity left, while the other side was still unscathed. It looked hopeless, but now at least they had regained some distance.
1.13 kilometers… 1.09 kilometers… 0.97 kilometers… 0.9 kilometers!!
Huo Qi suddenly stopped ahead, halting in front of a patch of low, dense shrubs. The young man signaled to his teammates to take cover.
The two quickly adjusted their emotions and got back into the right mindset, not letting the earlier victory go to their heads. They knew that what had happened was just a warm-up, and now the real battle was about to begin.
Who lives and who dies will be decided this time.
Feeling that familiar mental energy spreading around him once again, even more domineering and straightforward than before, Huo Qi’s finger tightened slightly on the trigger as he silently counted —
“One, two…”