Beam swords clashed in the night sky, sparking white like exploding fireworks.
Gu Ya intentionally held back, aiming to practice his skill of instantly discerning people.
"This guy's movements are sluggish, his reactions a beat too slow!"
"No, that's not right. It's not about observing their movements, but their emergency responses!"
Gu Ya gradually corrected his attitude and thoughts towards combat.
He searched for subtle differences in the opponents' actions.
Two mechs attacked Gu Ya one after another, but he handled them with ease.
On the small battlefield, the hum of beam collisions was constant, and the bursting white sparks illuminated the night forest.
As the combat progressed, Gu Ya slowly grasped their characteristics.
The first person's movements were simple and direct, without many unnecessary tricks. His skills weren't refined, and his reactions were slow. He was likely a rather lazy person, content with just getting by in his studies and life, and not good at taking care of himself. His family background was probably decent, but not exceptionally so. Relying on a bit of diligence and talent, he had managed to get into Class B.
The other person's movements were fierce, but he had many superfluous actions, and he liked to pause briefly after attacking to strike a cool pose.
He was probably a very confident, even narcissistic individual, conceited, fond of showing off, and attentive to his studies and life. He also pursued trendy things. However, his family background wasn't necessarily better than the first person's; he might be pretending to be richer than he was. This kind of person must have had a very happy childhood.
Alright, analysis complete. Time to end this.
Gu Ya got slightly more serious, wielding his swords with both hands and instantly cleaving one of the mechs, damaging it.
Then, Gu Ya spun around eerily, thrusting with both swords, and brought down the other mech.
At the camp, Qian Min nodded and said, "Gu Ya has strength, but not to an absurd degree."
Zhang Xindan agreed, "Yes, the skills of these two students aren't particularly outstanding. Although Gu Ya could win, the engagement time was clearly longer. It seems Gu Ya was a bit strained dealing with two opponents."
After their analysis, the two teachers felt slightly more at ease. In the upcoming matches, as long as the other teams coordinated well, the chances of defeating Gu Ya were still quite high.
Little did they know, Gu Ya was deliberately holding back.
Gu Ya emerged from his mech and walked up to the three Class B students.
The three of them looked at him as if they had seen a monster, astonishment clear on their faces. One of them exclaimed, "You—you're Gu Ya from Class A? What are you doing here!"
Gu Ya shrugged and said, "It was the school's arrangement. They had us Class A students set up traps. Let me ask you a personal question, how much pocket money do you usually get?"
The boy suddenly clutched his pocket, defensively stating, "I—I'm telling you! There are three of us here, so you trying to rob us is impossible!"
Gu Ya was almost amused to the point of exasperation. He waved his hand and said, "I don't lack money. I just want to understand your family situations."
The other party still didn't believe him and adopted a fighting stance.
Gu Ya chuckled softly, then pulled out his wristband and displayed his savings, only a small portion of it, of course. "Do you believe me now?"
Upon seeing Gu Ya's savings, the three of them cast envious glances and their tongues loosened.
They chatted briefly, and Gu Ya returned to his mech.
"Hmm, more difficult than I imagined. I got the first person's family situation right, but he was too tired, which is why his reactions were slow."
"I didn't get the second person's family situation right. His family is very wealthy, but I got everything else correct."
Gu Ya hadn't asked the third person in detail because he was instantly defeated.
"Looks like I need to keep working harder!"
"Next, I'll find the other groups! Go! Work hard!" Gu Ya shouted to encourage himself, then activated his mech and disappeared into the jungle.
...
Within the area of Ye Ying's group, south of the jungle, Liu Feng woke up from his sleep and called out, "Ye Ying, Ye Ying! You sleep, I'll keep watch."
After a long while, Ye Ying quietly replied, "No need, I'm used to it."
"That won't do. If you don't sleep, you'll age much faster. You don't want to look old before your time, do you? Gu Ya doesn't like women with withered faces," Liu Feng said groggily, rubbing his eyes.
Ye Ying didn't respond this time. Liu Feng assumed she had fallen asleep, so he braced himself and scanned their surroundings with wide-open eyes.
After an unknown amount of time, Ye Ying suddenly asked, "Gu Ya doesn't like ugly women?"
Liu Feng was startled, clutching his chest and sighing, "I thought you were asleep. I didn't mean it like that. I brought up Gu Ya to get you to sleep well."
Ye Ying continued to ask, "If I get old, Gu Ya won't like me anymore?"
Liu Feng quickly explained, "How could that be! Gu Ya is devoted to you; he'll always like you."
Afterward, Liu Feng added, "Even if you become an old and ugly woman, as long as Gu Ya likes you, he'll never abandon you."
Ye Ying fell silent again. Liu Feng couldn't understand what was going on in her mind.
After another long pause, Ye Ying asked somewhat shyly, "What... what kind of makeup does your girlfriend use?"
"Huh?" Liu Feng couldn't believe his ears. Ye Ying was actually asking him about makeup!
My goodness, Gu Ya, did you hear that? Ye Ying is starting to worry that her appearance won't attract you!
Ye Ying shyly whispered, "I... I was asking what kind of makeup your girlfriend uses."
Ye Ying's voice grew quieter and quieter, eventually becoming almost inaudible.
Liu Feng took a deep breath and gently reassured her, "Don't worry, the Gu Ya I know isn't fickle.
"Trust me, you're naturally beautiful even without makeup.
"Gu Ya likes natural beauty like yours."
After hearing Liu Feng's words, Ye Ying paused for a few seconds and said softly, "It's not for him. It's just that there are always advertisements recommending makeup online, so I..."
Liu Feng thought to himself, no need to argue now, haha! But he couldn't say that, so he continued to comfort her, "When we get back, I'll ask my mom. She's an expert."
"Thank you!" For the first time, a hint of happiness could be heard in Ye Ying's voice.
Heh heh, Gu Ya, if you could hear Ye Ying say that, what would you be feeling! You'd be ecstatic!
I'm so envious of you two.
Avon, where are you? How are you? I hope you're safe...
...
Fu Yafang stood in the dark control room, her hands on the helm, gazing into the pitch-black night.
Suddenly, a faint beam of light appeared in the far distance. It was a searchlight!
Immediately afterward, the light disappeared, only to reappear three seconds later.
Subsequently, the light flashed with a pattern of three seconds, two seconds, one second, and three seconds.
That's right, it's the contact!
However, Fu Yafang wasn't overly excited. It would be bad if it were an enemy ambush.
Huang Yaohui, standing beside her, also noticed the light and quietly asked, "Should we respond?"
Fu Yafang said, "Let's wait a bit longer."
The ship maneuvered in circles on the sea for a while, while the lights on the opposite bank continued to flash.
Fu Yafang said to Huang Yaohui, "It's time, respond."
Huang Yaohui immediately rushed to the deck and began to flash a patterned response with the ship's bow searchlight.
They used a special method of communication through light flashing, which any competent Xinxia agent would know, but it required extensive preparation for each communication.
They would send the flashing method and a coded phrase a month in advance.
Only when both parties understood the rules and gave an accurate flashing response was the contact considered successful.
Fu Yafang gazed at the lights on the opposite shore, a smile growing wider on her face.
They had succeeded in their first trial in the Black Star Empire!
Next, greater challenges and tests awaited her.