Chapter 1554 Prepare for the Battle

March 20th, zero o'clock, the S3 tournament registration closed on time.

The vast majority of teams had submitted their applications days ago, with the last teams finishing up during the day of the 19th. Teams that waited until after eleven o'clock on the 19th to accumulate enough Hidden Points to qualify simply didn't exist.

By 0:10 AM, all participating players received a system notification informing them of the number of teams in the first round and the match pairings.

A total of 26,705 teams successfully passed the "Hidden Points" threshold and registered for the competition.

Therefore, in the first round, 26,704 teams would engage in matches, with 13,352 teams being eliminated. There would also be one lucky team receiving a bye, advancing to the next round with the remaining 13,352 teams.

The competition would begin one day later, at zero o'clock on the 21st. After the first round, there would be a one-day rest, and at zero o'clock on the 22nd, the official pairings for the next round would be announced. The second round would then begin on the 23rd.

Each subsequent round would follow the same rules until a champion was crowned.

Ignoring the possibility of byes, a rough calculation showed that to win the championship... one would need to win fifteen consecutive matches within a thirty-day period. Conversely, losing any match before winning fifteen would result in immediate elimination.

From a competition system perspective, this type of fully random-matched elimination tournament required no point calculation and made it impossible to predict advancement routes, which saved the data teams of many studios some work.

Of course, their intelligence analysis couldn't stop. Even if the next round's opponents were a team of unknown casual players, they couldn't be careless; they still had to investigate... after all, the other team's total Hidden Points exceeded 500, so they couldn't be too weak.

...

Evening of the 20th, Sorrowful Pining's meeting room.

Hell Front was ready to go.

[Please note that the first round of the Pinnacle Melee S3 will begin in ten minutes (game time).]

At that moment, everyone received a dual notification, both audio and visual.

Because the time ratio in sleep mode was 1:10, players in the game world only received this message when it was already 11:59 PM in the real world.

One minute of game time later, another system message popped up: [Players acting as team captains have nine minutes to submit their team's lineup for this round. If the relevant information is not submitted within the specified time, the team's lineup will be randomly sorted by the system.]

"Hmm..." After hearing this, Feng Bujue pondered for a moment, scanning his teammates. "Then, I'll submit the lineup we discussed earlier."

He quickly received confirmation from his teammates and then submitted the starting lineup for the first round—

Vanguard: [Snow]

Midguard: [Wasted Sigh][Sorrowful Spirit Laughing Bones]

Sergeant: [Sorrowful Pining]

Lieutenant: [Like Rain Like Separation][Flower Between Rocks]

General: [Madness Awakened]

Because Hell Front's first-round opponent was a team of unknown casual players, the strength and characteristics of each member were unknown. Therefore, Brother Jue used a relatively safe and conventional lineup for this battle.

According to Feng Bujue's analysis, casual player teams usually had only two types of arrangements. The first was the "conventional balanced type," where they sent out players from weakest to strongest, ensuring stable combat power in each match. The second was the "top-heavy type," where they sent out the third, second, and strongest members in the first three matches, respectively, aiming to end the game with a 3:0 score.

From a tactical perspective, the "top-heavy type" arrangement was obviously more of a gamble. If the opponent used the "conventional balanced type," they could easily be overwhelmed by this "Tian Ji horse racing" style of suppression (a strategy where one uses weaker units to defeat stronger units, and vice versa, to gain an overall advantage).

But this "cheap shot" tactic naturally came with corresponding risks. If anything went wrong in any of the first three matches, the "top-heavy type" team would basically be finished, because the players they arranged for the last two matches were the weakest and definitely couldn't deal with the opponent's strong players responsible for holding the line.

In addition, it was also very likely that two "top-heavy type" teams would encounter each other, making it no different from two "conventional balanced type" teams facing off.

In the most extreme case... there might even be a third type of arrangement specifically targeting the "top-heavy type." This would involve putting their strongest player in the first match to defeat the third strongest player of the "top-heavy type" team, then intentionally losing the second and third matches, and finally using their second and third strongest players in the fourth and fifth matches to defeat the opponent's two weakest players.

In short, when the strength of the two teams was close, the difference in arrangements could indeed determine victory or defeat, and the game within this... not only relied on psychological warfare, but also on intelligence and luck.

Feng Bujue was a cautious person. He placed Sorrowful Pining in the key position of "Sergeant" because he had considered that... even if there was a one in a billion chance that they encountered an unknown hidden strong team, with all first-rate experts, and they arranged a "top-heavy" lineup, defeating Hell Front in the first and second matches... that wouldn't matter too much.

Because, looking at the entire Thriller Paradise, the number of people who had a chance to beat Sorrowful Pining in a one-on-one fight could be counted on one hand. Brother Jue knew all those people, and they weren't on today's opposing team.

Considering this... even in the worst-case scenario, their odds of winning were still greater than fifty percent.

But in reality, for Hell Front's opponents, the "worst-case scenario" had already arrived when they saw the first-round pairing list.

Where were there so many hidden experts in this world? They were just a team with an average Hidden Points score of around 75. A few friends got together to participate in a competition, and their enthusiasm was initially quite high. But when they saw their opponent—the previous champion—their mood... their feelings... truly echoed the line, "The mission was not accomplished, and the hero died before his time, leaving those who remain to weep for him." If it weren't for the chance to fight against Goddess Sorrowful, these guys would have probably forfeited.

...

Ten minutes passed quickly. At zero o'clock, the system voice announced, [The match is about to begin. Please prepare to be transported.]

Then came a ten-second countdown. After the system finished the countdown, the players disappeared from the meeting room in a flash of light.

This could be said to be a major reform implemented in this competition.

Previously, players had to return to their elevator rooms to be transported to any scenario space, but this time, they could teleport collectively from the meeting room.

Unfortunately... such a service was not supported during normal instance queues.

[Loading complete.]

[Pinnacle Melee S3, First Round.]

[Venue: Cell Games Arena.]

Compared to the previous two tournaments, the loading voice this time was much simpler. When the voice faded, Snow was already standing on a "ring."

This was a square ring with sides of thirty meters, composed of many square bricks each measuring one meter, resembling a chessboard from above. At each corner of the ring stood a pillar, shaped like a Western knight's lance, but much thicker than a real knight's lance.

The area surrounding the ring was basically a wasteland. As far as the eye could see, there were only rolling hills and some weeds. The sky was blue, with white clouds, and the sun was shining brightly.

[You have entered spectator mode.]

Seconds later, everyone except the two combatants in this first battle heard this prompt.

At this time, the members of both teams were teleported into two transparent rectangular containers, which were suspended in mid-air on both sides of the arena, perfectly positioned to see the duel on the ring from a bird's-eye view.

[Note: The spectator space and the battlefield are not on the same phase layer. Players in the battlefield cannot communicate with teammates in the spectator space in any form.]

This meant that the person fighting couldn't see, hear, or touch the transparent box. Therefore, those in the box didn't need to try to help their teammates by shouting or any other means.

[The match will begin in thirty seconds.]

Immediately afterward, the system provided the next prompt.

On the ring, Snow and his opponent, [Red King], were already warming up, preparing to fight.

This "30-second preparation time" was naturally useful. During this time, the two participating players would be separated by a transparent barrier. Neither the players themselves nor any other objects could pass through the barrier, but... taking advantage of this time to release some "skills" in advance was possible. This was especially valuable for players like Snow, who specialized in machinery and summons.

Snow wasn't slow. He instantly understood the meaning of the preparation time. As soon as the system voice finished, he took out a pile of materials from his bag and tinkered away with his [Sandbox Dweller's Hammer] and [wjQ-308 Military Shovel], making clanging sounds.

Although his summoning skills were also good, his main focus was on machinery. The only passive skill he had equipped, [Artisan's Spirit], had the effect of "improving the capabilities of creations made with the Machinery Specialization and increasing the speed of creating such creations."

In less than half a minute, Snow had created something from a pile of metal, parts, bonding adhesives, and some strange materials.

[Name: Construction Technique—King of the Mountain Road]

[Skill Card Attributes: Active Skill, Permanently Mastered]

[Skill Category: Machinery]

[Effect: Creates a high-performance manned land vehicle]

[Consumption: During the creation process, lose 5 Stamina every 10 seconds, no less than ten kilograms of metal, no less than five bonding parts, other parts can be added as needed]

[Learning Requirements: Machinery Specialization A]

[Remarks: I have a friend who owns a car repair shop. Every time he finishes repairing a car, he has a small box of parts left over that he doesn't know how to put back.]

[One day, I told him that when he accumulates enough parts, he can build a new car.]

[So, he really started storing those parts, until one day, he finally collected enough parts, and then... he was arrested.]

[So, I often say that modifying vehicles is risky.]

[—A low-key veteran driver.]

Although this skill seemed ordinary, it had a lot of room for operation and potential in actual use.

Given the skill's consumption requirements, Snow could create things ranging from small skateboards, unicycles, and bicycles to larger cars, sports cars, and trucks; and even larger tanks, maglev trains, and mobile fortresses…

This skill had no cooldown limit. As long as he had enough Stamina and materials, he could start building at any time, and he could build things of any size. He could also complete the same item in multiple stages.

Right now, Snow used twenty-odd seconds to create a strangely shaped motorcycle.

[Five… four… three…]

When there were five seconds left until the start of the battle, the system voice began the countdown. At this time, Snow had already straddled the motorcycle, facing the opposite direction from his opponent… and started the engine.

The Red Brother with the ID [Red King] on the other side was also dumbfounded, thinking, "This guy... is he planning to run away?"

[Two… one… fight!]

With a "fight" sound, the barrier between the two disappeared. But two seconds before the barrier disappeared, Snow had already ridden off on the motorcycle…

It could be said that he fully understood the meaning of the "30-second rule." Why did the system only set up a barrier between the two players and not restrict them from going to the area behind them? It was simple: to give players with "stealth ambush" or "long-range sniping" combat styles, as well as those who wanted to use other flanking tactics, some time to create distance.

Of course, although the "battlefield" was large, it still had boundaries, and there was also a "passive play" judgment. Without these two restrictions, if the side with superior mobility "ran endlessly toward the sunset," the match would never end.

"This…" Watching Snow's departing figure, Red King thought to himself, "I didn't expect this…"

He just stood there, waiting blankly. It wasn't that he didn't want to pursue, but he really couldn't catch up.

Red King was a very traditional melee specialization player with considerable combat power, but he had a weakness… his slow speed. It was already hard for him to chase someone, let alone a motorcycle.

"Hmm... will he be judged as passive play like this?" Looking at the standing figure in the arena, Little Sigh couldn't help but say.

"If anyone should be judged, it should be the one running away, not the one standing still," Feng Bujue replied.

"That's right." Little Ling also said, "It's obviously disadvantageous to pursue an opponent riding a vehicle on foot. Even if you can catch up, you'll consume a lot of your Stamina. Therefore, it's the correct judgment and response for the other party to stay put. It would be unfair if that was considered passive play."

As they were talking, Red King in the arena had already sat down and muttered, "Hmph... then I'll just wait here. Anyway, you're the one who ran first. You'll have to come back eventually. If I do nothing, you'll be the one to be judged for passive play first…"

His idea was correct, but… Snow, who was planning to build a missile launch site, didn't seem to need to come back at all…