The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

He remembered… they had been teleported here for less than an hour, right?! Yet the competition was supposed to last a full 36 hours. How could the participants be so exhausted before even reaching the first hour? Was it really necessary to be this brutal?

If he hadn’t been unable to find an opportunity to slip away from the battlefield, he would have long since wanted to leave those crazies behind. Staying any longer felt like a guaranteed elimination.

Oh, some might wonder why he, being so cowardly, could last this long in such a chaotic battlefield… Honestly, Zhou Xiuwen didn’t know either. He just ran around, relying on luck and his instinct to dodge. Whenever he sensed someone had targeted him, he would find a suitable shield to hide behind. He was just making it up as he went, but surprisingly, it worked, and he managed to carve out a path for himself.

Though Zhou Xiuwen was aware that escaping didn’t mean he was safe; he could still be seen as easy prey by others. But that was still better than lying dead in the battlefield and getting trampled! Besides… he really didn’t want to be eliminated so quickly. Someone was watching him, and no matter how embarrassing it was, he wanted to hold on a little longer—even if just for a short while.

Thinking about the unfortunate souls who had been eliminated in the battlefield and were being rescued by the ships, he couldn’t help but shiver.

Even with the protective barrier of the simulated vest, getting kicked and stepped on multiple times couldn’t feel good. He had seen a certain unlucky guy who was almost spitting blood from being stomped on, and he vowed not to get shot while in the battlefield.

Well, now he finally… uh?!

“Ah, wait! Please, don’t… can you not shoot? I’ll give you everything! I… I…” Zhou Xiuwen stammered, hugging his arms tightly as if trying to shield himself from an imminent bullet.

Jiang Hui lay in wait, ready to take advantage of any opportunity. How could such a large figure darting out from the group not be noticeable? She spotted him immediately. Normally, with Jiang Hui’s personality, she would have already fired—there was no way she’d wait for someone to say all that.

But for some reason, as she watched him stumble and flee from the battlefield, she felt a strange sense of familiarity.

In just that moment, he had already run quite a distance. Jiang Hui snapped back to reality and was about to pull her gun to take him down, but in that split second, she saw his face clearly.

Oh, no wonder he looked familiar; he was someone she knew.

Why was this guy running towards her instead of taking another route?

Come on, buddy, can’t you sense your surroundings with your mental awareness? There’s a gun aimed directly at you, yet you didn’t notice at all?

Now it was great; she didn’t even have to hesitate about whether to shoot. He had practically delivered himself right to her. All Jiang Hui had to do was gently squeeze the trigger to score a point and collect some resources without even aiming.

This wasn’t exactly how “playing dumb to eat the tiger” was supposed to work, was it? Jiang Hui suddenly found herself curious about when he would realize that a gun was pointed at his face.

Fortunately, this prey wasn’t completely clueless. He sensed a different presence in the air and finally noticed Jiang Hui, who was hidden in the shadows, watching him.

Zhou Xiuwen: …

Jiang Hui: …

What should she do? This guy was just too foolish. It might be better to send him straight to the finish line, and she could score some points from this acquaintance too.

As if sensing Jiang Hui’s intentions, he immediately began to shout—just like in that earlier scene.

Jiang Hui hesitated a few times about pulling the trigger but ultimately decided to press the gun against his chest and force him to move somewhere.

While doing this, she kept an eye on her surroundings, wary of whether he might suddenly try to fight back. Well, she really didn’t think he looked like he had the brains for that, but you could never be too careful.

With no sympathy, Jiang Hui held the gun to his heart and “politely” demanded that he hand over his supplies and the only weapon he had for self-defense. She admitted that it was a bit unscrupulous; it was no different from just shooting him directly, just that she was temporarily holding back from taking that point. But at least she was leaving him with a chance for survival; wasn’t that what she wanted?

Clearly, he understood the situation well and cooperated, pulling out his belongings without hesitation. As he did, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, as if as long as Jiang Hui didn’t shoot him, everything would be fine.

The more he acted this way, the more strange it felt to Jiang Hui, and her gaze shifted to one of suspicion. She couldn’t help but ask, “You really don’t seem like you want to compete. How about… I help you?”

The boy waved his hands rapidly. “No, no, no! Just let me go like this. Don’t worry about me!”

His reaction only deepened Jiang Hui’s doubts. Was he really just trying to avoid elimination without any weapons? He didn’t look like someone who could hold back when the opportunity arose, nor did he seem like someone who would cling to fame despite knowing he wasn’t strong enough to compete.

To be honest, his demeanor was completely out of place compared to the other students present.

Everyone around was filled with strong emotions like “desire,” “competition,” and “I want to win,” while he seemed to have a face that read, “I’m so tired. When will this end?” It was quite peculiar.

In such a life-or-death chaotic situation, someone was oddly out of place, acting as if he wanted to end it all quickly, which was a bit irritating to Jiang Hui. She often thought about just shooting him and sending him back.

He nodded at first, then seemed to realize something and shook his head, looking quite embarrassed as he softly said, “My dad came to watch my competition this time. I don’t want to let him down. He’s not well and rarely gets to go out. I just don’t want to be eliminated right from the start… Could you—” Could you spare me this once?

Jiang Hui’s face showed little expression, as if she were weighing his words. Just when Zhou Xiuwen thought he was doomed, she relaxed a bit, her grip on the gun loosening slightly.

They exchanged glances, and she took a small step back, lowering the gun slightly. Although she still had enough room to shoot, she now appeared to be allowing him to leave.

Jiang Hui wasn’t worried about him suddenly turning aggressive because she had taken everything he had. All she needed to do was watch him leave, and whether he would be targeted by someone else after being defenseless was no longer her concern.

In a battlefield, she couldn’t afford to be soft-hearted. This was a rule she had to follow, even though… she knew she had already softened her stance a bit earlier.

Surprisingly, he didn’t look cornered or upset at all. In fact, he seemed delighted, his brows lifting in surprise, as if Jiang Hui allowing him to stay in the game for even a second longer was a great stroke of luck.

Just as Zhou Xiuwen half stood up, preparing to turn and leave, suddenly—almost simultaneously—the other party whipped around, a look of anxiety flickering across his face. Ignoring Jiang Hui’s gun, which was already aimed at him, he charged toward her recklessly.

At that moment, two gunshots rang out.