The rain continued to fall, relentless and unending.
Today was the fourth day of the competition.
Fu Shu had left the television tower, even though he knew people were looking for him. He couldn't help it; staying inside—whether watching the rain, eating standardized rations, or staring blankly at a black screen—was simply too boring.
Lacking an umbrella or a raincoat, he charged directly into the downpour, deliberately splashing through puddles. He ran to the residential area’s playground and played to his heart's content before finally finding a building to take temporary shelter from the rain.
Within five minutes, his ability had completely repaired the skin and flesh corroded by the acidic rain.
Fu Shu took off his monitor badge and tossed it in the air, playing with it for a while. He wondered if those people were wandering the streets aimlessly or if they had confirmed his coordinates and were rushing over at top speed. He hoped it was the latter; at least then he could put on a show and pick a fight to pass the time.
Ultimately, he left the monitor’s badge in the building and carried away a broken stone from a flowerpot instead.
After two hours of wandering, he finally spotted a target for his amusement in the food street near the school district.
Several people were huddled under two nearly collapsing plastic umbrellas—likely props scavenged from a supermarket display. They were loudly discussing what they wanted to eat at the cafeteria once the competition ended.
...What was there to choose? The cafeteria food was universally terrible.
The team from the 2nd Division wasn't searching very diligently, so they failed to notice Fu Shu standing with his hands on his hips atop the roof of a convenience store. If a pebble hadn't suddenly flown down from above and precisely shattered their hard-won, flimsy umbrellas, that group might have passed by a hundred more times without glancing in that direction.
"Someone’s there! Who is it..." The captain threw off his jacket, using it to shield himself from the rain as he looked angrily toward the source of the stone.
The young man standing above held a significantly sturdier umbrella. He spoke without expression. "It was a bird. A mutant just flew by and suddenly dropped a stone."
After speaking, the boy glanced down at his feet.
Who would believe such a story?
However, when the team captain saw the person's face clearly, his own face flushed red. For a moment, he didn't know how to respond.
The most timid member of the team gasped in surprise. "Captain, isn't that person Xin—"
"Shut up, I know."
He glared at the junior member. How could he not recognize Xin Ye? He had naturally studied the information of his opponents beforehand. But facing this esper—who was only D-rank yet stood above the likes of Leng Xianye and Xing Yue—he couldn't help but feel nervous.
"Such a flimsy excuse... do you think I’d believe you?" The captain picked up the stone, intending to show off by throwing it back. However, lacking the necessary throwing skill, he only managed to hit the broken sensor door of the convenience store. The situation became even more awkward. "What... what kind of conspiracy are you plotting by coming here?"
"No conspiracy. I just saw a bird carrying a stone and thought it was interesting, so I followed it," the boy replied earnestly. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going. See you next time."
With that, he turned gallantly and jumped down. There wasn't a sound for a long time; it was impossible to tell if he had even landed.
The embarrassed captain waited for a while until a teammate reminded him that the person was gone. Only then did he snap back to his senses and start cursing loudly before leading his team away from the scene.
The boy flipped back onto the roof.
Fu Shu lifted his mangled, bloody face from a puddle. "Why did you suddenly show up? Where are the other four?"
Just as he had thrown the stone, he had been pushed down from behind.
The boy didn't speak. He simply tilted the umbrella toward Fu Shu.
At first, Fu Shu thought Xin Ye was upset about something. It wasn't until his face had nearly finished regenerating that he realized this taciturn behavior didn't belong to Xin Ye himself, but rather to his ability.
"My apologies. You're the Mirror, right? Why the sudden interest in chasing birds?"
"You are the Red Material, aren't you?" Mirror asked. "Xin Ye told me. He has other matters to handle and didn't want to waste time, so he sent me ahead alone."
Xin Ye’s decision was sound. A step later, and Fu Shu would have gone off to cause trouble for the 2nd Division.
Fu Shu smiled and nodded. "That's right. My role in this place is the 'Escaped Experimental Subject.' After all, among the monitors, I’m the only esper who was part of the Modification Project."
"It seems you successfully obtained the blue material and saw the clue? Although I never explicitly spoke about the modification, back at the shelter..."
"It seems Xin Ye remembered those two sentences, then?"
Fu Shu had mentioned that he had jumped from that height many times, and he had said that Yi Ting had extracted his pain receptors. When "experimental subject" was mentioned, it was easy to link it to an augmented human like him.
"If you need blood, hurry up. For the sake of being old friends, you can take as much as you want."
Fu Shu raised his hand, even pulling his sleeve down a bit to reveal an arm that didn't look particularly sturdy.
Mirror simply reached out and pulled him up. "He didn't say it, but I can feel that he remembers it vividly."
"So, as for the blood, we'll wait until Xin Ye gets here. At least for now, my primary mission is to move with you and protect you, not to harm you for the sake of winning the competition."
***
Before the interception plan began, Lian Muyun asked Xin Ye why he had suddenly developed a "thirst for slaughter."
Xin Ye: "When did I ever have a thirst for slaughter? Didn't I just drag you guys along to eliminate the 5th Division?"
Lian Muyun: "Well... you just radiate an aura of someone who wouldn't engage in killing and fighting."
This was a person who would even apply medicine to mutants.
Hearing this, Xin Ye drew the headquarters-issued dagger, specifically designed to deplete an opponent's virtual HP.
"Then let me change your perception now."
He did prefer to avoid combat, but mainly because fighting was a hassle, not because he couldn't win. But the situation had changed. Obtaining the blue material meant getting specific clues about the red material. If the other two teams had someone who knew Fu Shu was an augmented human, the difficulty of helping Fu Shu would increase significantly.
Since the top three were already decided and they had the materials in hand, he might as well play the villain and eliminate the other two teams quickly to reduce complications.
As for Leng Xianye’s question about why the competition would only end early once the materials were obtained—if they took out everyone else who needed the materials and brought the collection process to a halt, they would get their answer.
The others didn't know the twists and turns of Xin Ye’s mind, nor did they know why he had suddenly sent Mirror away.
Tang Qiuqiu: "I get it. Because we didn't get first place last time, the Captain is leading us to get revenge."
Lian Muyun raised his gun. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time."
Xin Ye rested his chin on his hand. That worked too.
Thus, they blocked the 1st Division at the only path leading from the Natural Zone to the Water Zone.
And so...
...
Xin Ye leaned against a tree trunk, using the flat of his blade to block a thin slip of paper. The metal actually suffered a notch from the pressure of the paper.
Tao Cheng’an moved closer, scrutinizing Xin Ye’s face. "I’ve seen your photo."
Xin Ye didn't much like having his face stared at, so he drew the pistol from behind his waist and pressed it against Tao Cheng’an’s abdomen. "Sorry, I haven't seen yours."
Before he could fire, the front of the gun was sliced clean off by a slip of paper.
Tao Cheng’an backed away, giving Xin Ye a moment to breathe. Xin Ye tossed aside the now-useless handgun. "Why back off so far again?"
The other was honest. "Afraid of a backfire."
By unspoken agreement, they stopped fighting and checked their virtual HP on their watches.
Tao Cheng’an: "What’s yours?"
Xin Ye: "89.6."
Tao Cheng’an: "Oh, mine’s 92.7."
He suddenly laughed. "I don't see you beating me, so why did you come looking for me? And... why have your teammates specifically divide the battlefield?"
Xin Ye remained silent, thinking to himself that the official website ratings praised their teamwork. He had originally wanted to improve his team's cooperation in this competition, but time was tight and there was no room for training, so he decided to go with a "divide and conquer" approach.
Xing Yue’s Unbroken Silk had woven a giant web in advance, separating the people when the two teams met. The two captains were logically paired together.
An A+ against a D+. Reasonable.
Oh, Mirror was gone, so he only counted as half a D+.
Tao Cheng’an’s ability was to create and freely control Paper Blades. After reaching A+, he could manifest paper slips from a distance; it wasn't something a single person could defend against. He was just playing with the other team's captain, while also saving some face for the other two A-ranks.
"Time’s about up. I’ve given you enough face." He spun a paper blade like a fidget spinner, stepping closer once more.
Xin Ye glanced around. Sheets of paper blades appeared directly above, severing numerous leaves that showered down on him, making him look utterly disheveled.
"Then, your virtual HP, I’ll just clear—"
Before he could finish, the attacking paper blades were swallowed whole by black energy.
Xin Ye: "Nice coordination! So you *can* do it!"
Leng Xianye, crouching on a tree branch: "..."
Ultimately, he gave a perfunctory reply: "Nice coordination." Did one-sided assistance count as coordination now?
Tao Cheng’an silently took two steps back. The son of his father’s superior appearing before him was a form of bloodline suppression. "Haha... Xin Ye, didn't you go for the 1v1 route?"
"But your team has already lost one person," Leng Xianye said, grabbing a handful of leaves and showering them over Tao Cheng’an’s head to avenge Xin Ye. "You guys are very united too. You were carrying someone who couldn't move. I cleared his HP and came back to find your captain."
Then he insulted the captain he had just helped: "I knew you couldn't beat him."
Xin Ye: "..."
With backup, his confidence surged. He mimicked the way Tao Cheng’an had spun the paper blade, twirling his dagger, and even adopted the same mocking tone: "Then, your virtual HP, I’ll just clear—"
"Wait a second." The other man suddenly interrupted him.
Twice the sentence had gone unfinished. Xin Ye thought this must be some kind of jinx; next time he fought someone, he shouldn't use this line to taunt.
"What do you want to say? At the end of your finals journey."
"Thank you for giving me this opportunity," Tao Cheng’an said, looking as if he were about to shed tears. "First, I want to thank my parents for giving me the chance to join the Department of Mutation Investigation. Second, I want to thank Headquarters for giving me the chance to participate in the competition. Finally, and most importantly, I have something to say to my opponents from the 7th Division."
"My dear opponents, though we have only clashed this once, I still want to sincerely praise..."
The two captains looked at each other politely, both wearing standardized smiles.
"Your team's coordination..."
A vibration came from beneath their feet. Xin Ye’s expression remained unchanged as he threw his dagger with all his might.
"...is truly terrible."
Before the dagger could hit Tao Cheng’an, a large hole was dug out beneath his feet. The sharp claws of a rodent-type mutant were faintly visible as he plummeted into the hole, while the dagger thudded straight into the tree trunk behind him.
Leng Xianye’s expression shifted slightly at the sudden development.
From the other end of their earpieces came Xing Yue’s anxious voice: "The one I was fighting was that girl who can communicate with mutants. She called a swarm of mutants to act as shields. I couldn't kill her immediately, and she escaped through a tunnel..."
"I know," Xin Ye said, adjusting the limiter and earpiece by his ear. "Pursue. Split into two teams. Tang Qiuqiu and Xing Yue, go to the Water Zone. The rest of you, follow me to the Living Zone."
"Our team's coordination really is bad. We need to find more people to fight."
***
