The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

“Hey, can you move over a bit? You’re crowding me.”

“No, can you be reasonable? You clearly came in later; I just moved over for you.”

“What’s there to argue about? It’s all the same. We’ve been charging for so long, and we’ve only gotten this much energy. Besides, we can only charge up to 40% at most. What are we supposed to do…”

“What can we do? Just go for it; having something is better than nothing. God knows I came in with only 3% energy left, which scared the hell out of me. One of the teammates next to us was unlucky; they didn’t even wait for the energy from the supply point and was completely eliminated… If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have known that this simulated vest has such a feature; we charged in here without a second thought.”

“Wait a minute, you crafty guy! Damn it, it seems like you’re charging faster in that spot. I just charged for ages in the other place, and I was stuck at 16%…”

“Hurry up! You guys need to move over there; those of us on the outside are about to die here!”

“Hey, hey, watch it! We got here first, so why should we move for you? Don’t you know first come, first served? Don’t push your luck!”

“Who’s pushing their luck now?! How long have you all occupied that spot? I’ve tolerated you for long enough. Do you think we don’t have a reason? Don’t forget, offline, guns don’t work. We can still fight with our fists. Do you want to give it a try?”

“Try if you want! Who’s afraid of who! Look at how arrogant you are! If this were outside, my brother would have already eliminated you. You think you can jump around in front of us here?”

…

It was clear that the few people stirring up trouble were not to be underestimated; their commotion was causing the ten or so others present to become restless. The previously calm atmosphere was shattered in an instant, and the tension in the air thickened.

Of course, the vast majority of people were not satisfied with this tense atmosphere. Such tension would ruin the hard-won win-win situation they had created, and most of the people present had not yet completed charging their simulated vests.

To be honest, the reason everyone could coexist harmoniously was not only because guns and ammunition were temporarily useless in this space but also due to this situation. Otherwise, how could so many people fit together so harmoniously without trying to grab things from each other? Just managing to avoid conflict was already quite impressive.

Of course, they might think about how to grab or cause trouble later, or whether they would turn against each other, but that was another matter. For now, no matter what they thought inside, they still needed to maintain a relatively friendly relationship on the surface.

So, the urgent task was to calm down these troublemakers to avoid disrupting the good situation… They might as well wait until they were charged up before taking action. After all, they had been eyeing some of the “wealthier” individuals for quite some time.

Amid this little chaotic interlude, there were also some voices that did not follow the crowd.

“Tch… You think you can fight like this? If you want to die, don’t drag others down with you. And still watching the excitement… I really don’t understand what these people are thinking,” a boy murmured quietly.

“… Is there anywhere else to go? I can’t stay here with these idiots; I’ll get killed sooner or later.”

…

After murmuring to himself for a while, he finally spoke up towards a certain direction, asking, “Are you also alone? I wonder if you’d be interested in going somewhere else.”

Not far from him sat a figure, but the other person did not respond for a long time, as if they heard him but also as if they didn’t.

After the boy murmured to himself again, he finally caught the other person’s attention. The girl turned her head and looked at him with a puzzled expression, as if she didn’t quite understand the situation.

“… Was you talking to me?” she asked, pointing to herself.

Without hesitation, he nodded.

Is he really talking to her?! Hey, do I know you?

Jiang Hui half-raised her finger, unsure whether to put it down or not; she was a bit confused.

Does this guy mean to invite her to team up and explore a new map? Are people nowadays so friendly? The problem is, she had never seen this person before, and he clearly didn’t know her either. How can they form a team with such a relationship?

Well, considering the current situation… it could work, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

If they were outside in the training field, there was no way this would be possible. After all, even if she ran into Xierman on the road, she wouldn’t dare to trust him if they hadn’t teamed up. Not to mention this stranger who came up to her; who knows if he’s just pretending to want to team up while actually trying to grab resources…

But the situation right now is special.

As soon as she entered the supply point, she had ended up in a place resembling a maze of tunnels. After wandering around for a long time, she finally found an area with some people, but what she saw next left her stunned.

This chamber was quite large, seemingly over a thousand square meters, with a high ceiling. Coming out from the narrow, long tunnel made her acutely feel the drastic difference in height.

But that wasn’t the main point. The main point was that not only were there people in this chamber, but there were also many of them—hundreds bustling around, filling the large chamber with a cacophony of noise. All of them were wearing simulated vests, either sitting or standing, forming circles from inside to outside as they appeared to be engaged in some unknown activity.

Jiang Hui’s pupils contracted sharply. What on earth is happening… What could possibly bring together a group of people who would rather shoot each other than get along, like a bunch of cats rolling around together after sniffing catnip? This scene is just too bizarre!

Jiang Hui began to wonder if she had stumbled upon some massive team’s resting area… No, no, she knew there were joint teams, but those typically consisted of three to five teams, maybe a dozen or twenty people at most. She had never heard of a gathering of over a hundred people.

Over a hundred people, with dozens of teams together—how can they manage that? Who could play the role of the commander and manage them all?

In that moment, Jiang Hui thought of many things. It was so chaotic that her instinct to run away came a beat too late.

Her arrival only drew a curious glance from the crowd before they quickly looked away. After all, Jiang Hui was just one person—thin, short, and covered in dirt. She carried an inconspicuous standard assault rifle, and her nano military pack was the most basic model, likely indicating she had little to no resources. They concluded she was definitely not a formidable character.

She wasn’t even worth robbing, they decided among themselves.

Jiang Hui had no idea she had been labeled so quickly. She was still puzzled by the situation in front of her. Although her body and senses didn’t give her any warnings of danger, the circumstances felt far too strange.

“Beep beep, total charging energy block A3 has been found. The simulated vest is now entering charging mode, with a charging limit of 40%.” A mechanical electronic voice announced, coming from the electronic screen on her simulated vest.

Jiang Hui: ???