The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

Did Jiang Hui consider the possibility of a counterattack? Naturally, it evolved over time. After all, this is a battlefield of a different kind; everyone has their own thoughts, and nothing can be taken at face value.

The fact that she didn’t eliminate Zhou Xiuwen in one shot was already a result of her indecision. Later, after hearing his uncertain words, she chose to show some leniency, fully aware that she could be deceived by him.

Yet she still went through with it. Her decision not to take a point from him wasn’t simply because he was an acquaintance.

If we’re talking about acquaintances, she had no qualms about taking out a familiar classmate earlier when she was scavenging. Zhou Xiuwen was someone she had only seen once before.

However, he was the one who dragged her back after she fainted during the last training exercise, caring for her at the makeshift medical station. Jiang Hui felt grateful for that.

She couldn’t ignore his strong desire to remain in the game. She considered it a way to return a favor; after all, it was just one point.

Of course, she couldn’t let him leave with something that could threaten her, which was why she confiscated everything he had, effectively preventing any possibility of a counterattack.

She knew that this was no different from directly eliminating him; she was simply not taking his point. Jiang Hui felt a bit hypocritical about it… Yet, surprisingly, Zhou Xiuwen showed no signs of disagreement. In fact, he seemed rather pleased with the situation.

If this person wasn’t planning something else or lying in wait for a chance to counterattack, then he really couldn’t believe that escaping this predicament was a good thing. It was quite strange!

Did he really think he could last long in this chaotic battlefield without any weapons? If he lasted another half hour, it would be a miracle, unless he was confident he could snatch a weapon from someone else.

Thus, Jiang Hui was even more suspicious of his intentions. While allowing him to leave, she remained vigilant, scanning her surroundings and missing not a single movement. To her surprise, her worries seemed justified, but the process and outcome were different from what she might have expected.

Seeing that the kind-hearted Jiang Hui genuinely had no intention of attacking him and was actually going to let him go, Zhou Xiuwen couldn’t help but feel delighted.

He thought he might be able to stay in the arena a little longer, so he decided it was best to leave quickly.

Just as he was feeling happy, he caught sight of a dark gun barrel pointing in their direction. He swore he wasn’t mistaken—

No, was this aimed at him, or was it directed at Jiang Hui behind him?

Zhou Xiuwen felt a bit dazed and turned around to warn Jiang Hui. He didn’t know if he was being foolish or what, but he instinctively felt the urge to intervene. Did Jiang Hui misunderstand the situation?

He could already envision the scene of being attacked from both sides and eliminated.

Sigh, lacking ability was just lacking ability. He had barely made it this far by staying under the radar, and now it seemed it was just to delay the inevitable and avoid an embarrassing result. He had put himself out there, hoping a familiar face would spare him, only to find that while she did let him go, he couldn’t escape himself—and it looked like he might drag her down with him.

Zhou Xiuwen felt a bit embarrassed about the whole situation.

Unexpectedly, he didn’t encounter the scene he anticipated.

He slightly turned his body, feeling an arm steadying him at the waist. It was a slender arm that looked well-defined and surprisingly strong.

Jiang Hui, who should have struck him first, had her gun aimed in another direction, and it was the other person who was holding him. Jiang Hui’s gaze was fixed like a hawk’s, locked onto a certain direction behind him, her eyes bright and focused.

Then he heard the person mumble, “Can’t even hold your breath… and you want to ambush me with such skills?!”

Zhou Xiuwen was taken aback. He had been thinking about warning Jiang Hui to dodge the ambusher, but it turned out she had already noticed and had hit the target. He might have been blocking her line of sight and dragging her down…

After completing a series of movements, Jiang Hui quickly withdrew her arm from around him. Zhou Xiuwen increasingly felt he must have caused some trouble earlier.

Seeing that Jiang Hui had no intention of attacking him, Zhou Xiuwen figured it was best to take this opportunity to leave. Since she had spared him, it wouldn’t be wise to stick around and cause more trouble.

“Wait.” Jiang Hui, who seemed to be concentrating on checking and reloading bullets, suddenly called out.

She looked up at Zhou Xiuwen and asked, “May I be so bold as to ask, Zhou, what is your current level of mental energy?”

—————————————

On the other side,

In the spectator area at the finish line, teachers and instructors were seated in the central viewing section, surrounded by rows of stands built for this orientation cross-country event, which were now filled with people.

Amid the crowd of guests, one particular section appeared especially desolate: the special seating area for invited guests. Unlike the other sections filled to capacity, this one had sparse attendance, with barely a few people in each row.

Of course, not everyone had the privilege to sit here. This area was reserved for the board of directors and invited members from various sectors of society, with each seat assigned a specific name. The list was confirmed by the board before being finalized for this area.

These seats were quite special. If an invited guest did not show up, the seat would remain empty; no one else would take it. In essence, this was what one might call a privilege seat.

In the emptiest front row sat a very noticeable man.

It wasn’t that he was exceptionally handsome—though he was indeed rather striking—he was simply too thin, to the point of looking gaunt. His facial contours, including his jawline and cheekbones, were prominent, and his complexion was an unhealthy pale, with lips devoid of color.

Moreover, he wasn’t sitting in the soft chair prepared for him by the school but rather in a wheelchair he brought himself, with a soldier in uniform standing behind him.

“How come you have time to be here today? Why not rest at home for a while? I heard your ‘little event’ yesterday caused quite a stir,” said the man in the wheelchair.

Clearly, he was addressing the soldier behind him.

The soldier, surprised by the question, paused for a moment before replying with a hint of resignation, “What could I do? You know I was just there to make up the numbers. It seems like nothing was accomplished before it ended.”

“Did you catch anyone?”

The soldier nodded but then shook his head, his expression revealing a touch of bitterness.

In fact, it would have been better if they hadn’t caught anyone at all; everything had been blown up, along with people and equipment, leaving no details or leads. The soldiers sent to assist had also suffered needless misfortune.

However, that thing should be completely destroyed. Earlier in the morning, orders were given to everyone to stop the search, indicating that the mark engraved in the secret room by the main system had completely failed. This situation, it is said, only occurs when the engraved data is utterly damaged and destroyed, so this task can be considered complete.