With two hours remaining until midnight, Shen Qi's sudden announcement caught the students off guard.
Lu Zhi hadn't expected Shen Qi to suddenly become 'kind,' even giving the students a warning in advance, but it had also ignited their competitive spirit.
Though it was a provocation, if spoken by someone else, it might have had the opposite effect.
However, Shen Qi, as the number one powerhouse in China, had used such a dismissive and disdainful tone to openly mock those who withdrew, calling them weaklings and cowards. For a group of students who viewed Shen Qi as a role model, admired, looked up to, and revered him, this was undoubtedly a massive blow.
Lu Zhi, who thought he understood Shen Qi somewhat, felt a sense of unease. Gazing up at Shen Qi's familiar profile across the vast night sky, his eyes held a look that Lu Zhi couldn't comprehend.
What was Shen Qi trying to do?
"What are your plans?" Xia Zhi asked Lu Zhi and the others. "More precisely, do you plan to withdraw?"
"Why do you think we would withdraw?" Jiang Yue asked, crossing her arms and glaring at him unhappily.
Xia Zhi pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and replied honestly, "While your team's strength is indeed good, ranking among the top in the freshman teams, it's still not even close to Team Three."
They were accustomed to referring to the team ranked third in points as Team Three. All students participating in the assessment had noticed the news of Team Three's complete elimination, and their injuries were even announced at noon that day.
Although they had all survived, the injury reports were enough to dissuade many students. Students with B-class abilities or thereabouts had almost all withdrawn upon hearing the news.
Now, with the entire exam area having concluded, there were probably only about a hundred or so candidates left. Those who dared to stay were either elites or students full of confidence, though perhaps some were left out of impulsive bravado, spurred on by Shen Qi's words.
Team Three's leading the charge had sounded an alarm, giving all students an extremely dangerous signal.
The school had gone too far with this assessment; people could genuinely die.
Shen Qi had also said earlier that once it started, withdrawal was not allowed, 'regardless of life or death.'
"There are 98 remaining candidates in the exam area, which is more than I anticipated," Luo Shiyu closed his optical computer and looked at Xia Zhi. "Your team is ranked fifth in points. After Team Three's elimination, you should now be fourth."
At this moment, teammates who had been waiting for Xia Zhi and Wang Cao Tian to return approached. They mentioned that while hunting a level 4 aberrant creature, a beam of red energy, like a scanning line, had swept across the entire area, and the aberrations were cleared as if with a single command.
"It seems there's no hope of earning more points within these two hours," Xia Zhi said with a regretful shrug, then changed the subject. "So, what's your decision?"
Lu Zhi looked at Jiang Yue, Gu Weiyu, and Lan Yushan.
Lan Yushan spoke truthfully, "Although I don't want to admit it, my strength is not up to par. I will withdraw."
Gu Weiyu pondered for a while before saying, "If an A+念力值 (nian li zhi) only barely qualifies for challenging a special-grade boss, then I am also not qualified. I withdraw."
Hearing Lan Yushan and Gu Weiyu withdraw, Lu Zhi felt a sense of relief for some reason. He said slowly, "Withdrawing doesn't mean surrendering, nor does it mean weakness. It's simply choosing a more stable path of growth."
Lan Yushan chuckled and slung an arm around Lu Zhi's shoulder like a buddy. "Lu Zhi, why do you always sound like an old man when you talk?"
Gu Weiyu let out a wry smile. "He really does sound like a little old man who likes to lecture."
Lu Zhi rubbed his nose. "Stop teasing me. I just had a sudden thought."
There are countless paths to growth. Choose the one you believe is right and walk it. No matter what the future holds, you will be true to yourself.
Lan Yushan and Gu Weiyu applied to withdraw on their optical computers and were instantly teleported away by the elimination device on their wrists.
"Senior Jiang, what about you?" Lu Zhi asked the last person in the team.
Jiang Yue was currently in an ungraceful squat, as if about to light a cigarette, her face etched with indecision. "I'm agitated, I'm troubled, I want to try too, but I'm also afraid of dying."
Lu Zhi: ...
The others: ...
Jiang Yue looked up at them. "Actually, I do want to participate, but I feel like I've done everything in my life except find a romantic relationship. If I were to die in this assessment, it would be a major regret in my life."
Lu Zhi: ???
The others: ???
Jiang Yue stood up and sized up the few boys in front of her as if she were choosing a groom. She suddenly leered at a robust male, nearly 1.9 meters tall, standing behind Xia Zhi. "Classmate, do you have a girlfriend? With two hours left, want to try it out with me? To fulfill my life's last wish?"
The 1.9-meter-tall male looked bewildered, then embarrassed and terrified, casting a pleading look at the others.
Lu Zhi covered his forehead and burst into laughter. "Senior, you can't just act like a hooligan."
"How am I acting like a hooligan? Am I not asking for his opinion?" Jiang Yue put her hands on her hips, then raised one hand to flick her high ponytail, puffing out her chest confidently. "I'm not bad either."
Though that might be the case, standing next to the 1.9-meter-tall male, Jiang Yue truly looked like a father and daughter.
"Ahem, let's get back to the point," Luo Shiyu steered the conversation back on track. "With Yushan and Weiyu withdrawing, our team will also disband."
"Same here, three people from our team are also withdrawing." Xia Zhi nodded at his teammate, the 1.9-meter-tall male. The latter seemed to have received a signal of salvation and nimbly applied to withdraw on his optical computer, being teleported away by the elimination transmitter on his wrist in a flash.
Lu Zhi even saw the relief on the other person's face, as if he had narrowly escaped death.
Senior Jiang, with your height of 1.5 meters, you actually scared away the 1.9-meter-tall guy. Did Senior Jiang forget this was still a live broadcast?
The answer was, most likely.
Otherwise, Jiang Yue wouldn't have dared to tease him so boldly.
In the livestream, a flood of "hahahaha" comments and "This senior is so fierce" occupied the entire screen.
Lu Zhi silently turned off his optical computer. It was better not to let Senior Jiang know for now, otherwise, she might want to set herself on fire on the spot.
"Alright, I'll participate too." Jiang Yue swept a regretful glance over the remaining few, pouting slightly.
Wang Cao Tian instinctively said, "Is she looking down on us?"
Xia Zhi: "Don't use a question mark, use an exclamation point."
Lu Zhi: ...So Xia Zhi also likes telling bad jokes.
Jiang Yue ignored Wang Cao Tian's flailing body language. "There's one hour left until midnight. What do we do next?"
Lu Zhi looked up and said, "Someone is gathering students."