After making their decision, the group quickly headed up the mountain.
The map indicated that to reach the destination, they first needed to climb over the mountain peak before descending to the endpoint. The school’s safe zone was also located at the summit.
Along the way, they encountered several other teams. Everyone had a clear objective to set up ambushes near the endpoint first. Since their numbers were small, they formed a temporary alliance, agreeing not to shoot at each other and to go their separate ways.
However, no one knew how the school had chosen this mountain. There was only one main path leading upward, but taking it would make them easy targets. To stay hidden, they had to either find secluded trails or climb directly upward.
Lin Sui took the lead, with Song Lejin following closely behind him. The two followers trailed after Song Lejin to protect him. After all, aside from him being an Omega, the rest were either Betas or Alphas, much more physically robust than him.
Song Wangzhuo naturally took up the rear.
Actually, being the rearguard was quite dangerous. If someone suddenly appeared from behind and fired, there would be no time to react.
After climbing for a while, Shen Yuqing turned his head and said, “Let me take the rear.”
But Song Wangzhuo shook his head. “No need.”
Noticing the sweat on Shen Yuqing’s forehead, he added, “Let me carry your backpack for you.”
When they got off the vehicle, it was Song Wangzhuo who had retrieved Shen Yuqing’s backpack from the rack, and it was noticeably heavy.
Shen Yuqing waved his hand. “No need, I can handle this much.”
Besides, he had already used a bit of the system’s energy to lighten his backpack. If it weren’t for the restriction that the cheat could only be used on himself, he would have lightened the entire team’s loads.
Song Wangzhuo hesitated but still said, “If it gets too heavy, just hand it to me.”
Shen Yuqing nodded and turned his head back, looking up at the path ahead. They had been walking for nearly half an hour.
Since they weren’t taking the wide, developed main road, the journey was quite arduous.
Up ahead, Song Lejin wasn’t looking too good either. Now, the two followers took the lead while Lin Sui stayed with Song Lejin at the back.
Lin Sui had already taken Song Lejin’s backpack and offered him some water, but Song Lejin shook his head he didn’t feel like drinking just yet.
An Omega’s stamina naturally couldn’t compare to the other two genders. The fact that he had lasted this long was already impressive.
Lin Sui glanced back and said to Shen Yuqing, “There’s a relatively flat spot up ahead. Let’s rest for ten minutes.”
Shen Yuqing nodded. “Sure. There probably aren’t many people coming up right now, but ten minutes is too long.”
The announcements from the broadcast system hadn’t stopped, and nearly two hundred people had already been eliminated.
Even though no one seemed to be following them now, they still needed to stay cautious.
After walking for another ten minutes, they finally reached the spot Lin Sui had mentioned.
The moment they arrived, the two followers collapsed, muttering about how they were going insane. And indeed, they were close to losing it.
Lin Sui took out one of his jackets and laid it over a rock for Song Lejin. “Lejin, sit here.”
Song Lejin protested, “Brother Asui, your jacket will get dirty. You should take it back.”
But Lin Sui gently pressed him down onto the jacket. “I brought it specifically for you to sit on. Besides, there’s a cleaning pod in the safe zone just toss it in for a quick clean later.”
Song Lejin sat on the rock. Though he complained verbally, someone had actually placed a piece of clothing beneath him to keep off the dust, which was the only reason he reluctantly agreed to sit down.
Compared to Song Lejin, the others were much more casual, simply blowing the dust-off nearby rocks before sitting.
Song Wangzhuo took a bottle of mineral water from his bag. Shen Yuqing shook his head and pulled out his own bottle. “Drink your own for now. We’ll share if we run out later.”
Song Wangzhuo gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment, twisted open the cap, and took a long swig.
The weather was scorching today. Though the towering trees blocked most of the sunlight, the hike was still sweltering.
Song Wangzhuo remarked, “If we keep going without stopping, it’ll take at least three hours to reach the top. If we take the main path instead, it’ll only take two.”
Earlier, several teams with the same idea as theirs had also scattered through the woods to climb, but once separated, they lost track of each other’s movements.
However, two teams were clearly all-Alpha squads. Alphas naturally had greater stamina than the other two genders, so if they reached the supplies first, it would pose a serious threat to their own team.
Shen Yuqing understood Song Wangzhuo’s concern. He checked the time; forty minutes had passed.
Though the announcements kept updating the remaining participant count, some teams were undoubtedly pushing ahead nonstop. Taking the main path made them too easy to ambush.
Lin Sui, who had been listening nearby, chimed in, “I think we should consider the official route but stick to the edges. If anything happens, we can retreat into the woods immediately.”
The others all turned to Shen Yuqing for a decision.
After a moment’s thought, Shen Yuqing said, “Here’s the plan, we’ve only been climbing for forty minutes, so we’re still too vulnerable to being overtaken. Let’s keep ascending, but gradually shift closer to the main path. If it looks safe, we’ll move onto it.”
No one objected to this suggestion.
Song Wangzhuo glanced at his wristwatch. “Five minutes are up.”
At his words, his two reluctant followers stood up, dusting themselves off. “Let’s keep scouting! Move out!”
Song Lejin’s face was pale, but he still forced himself to stand.
The five-minute break had helped a little, but this was already far beyond his usual physical limits.
Lin Sui moved closer, concerned. “Lejin, are you okay?”
Song Lejin merely tugged his lips into a joyless smile. “I’m fine. Let’s keep going.”
Lin Sui pressed his lips together. “If it’s too much, I can carry you for a while.”
Song Lejin met his gaze. He wasn’t the least bit surprised Lin Sui would offer not just words, but action.
But that would only slow them down. Besides, he wanted to reach the second checkpoint as soon as possible.
His eyes drifted past Lin Sui’s shoulder to the two figures still climbing ahead.
Shen Yuqing. Song Wangzhuo.
By now, it was undeniable that Shen Yuqing was protecting Song Wangzhuo. They couldn’t act at the base of the mountain, but up here, a slip, a misstep anything could send someone tumbling down, injured or worse.
As long as Song Wangzhuo suffered, he’d be satisfied.
And time was running out. Before everything was set in stone, he had to clear away all obstacles in his path.
The six of them continued their ascent. Just as Shen Yuqing had guessed, most participants were still clustered at the lower levels, making large-scale skirmishes inevitable. They hadn’t been walking long when the announcement came nearly 800 people had already been eliminated.
This was truly unexpected. The game had just begun, and already a third of the players were out.
But it also indicated that those behind them were running low on paintballs.
Aside from confirmed eliminations, there were also misses and instances where multiple shots hit the same target.
At the very least, over a thousand paintballs had been wasted down below.
Their team, however, was well-stocked with ammunition. As long as they reached the safe zone ahead of others and scavenged supplies, the descent would be much easier.
Once they reached the main path, the going became noticeably smoother compared to weaving through the woods. The scenery along the way was breathtaking. If not for the mission, Shen Yuqing would have loved to sit down and soak it all in.
They hadn’t walked far when Song Wangzhuo suddenly said, “Wait.”
Shen Yuqing stopped and turned. “What’s wrong?”
All eyes turned to Song Wangzhuo, who said, “Someone’s coming.”
At his words, everyone tensed.
No sooner had he spoken than another team emerged from the woods.
Guns were immediately trained on each other. The leader of the opposing team seemed momentarily stunned before waving at them. “Friendlies.”
They were indeed friendlies.
But even so, no one dared lower their guard who knew if they’d be backstabbed?
Lin Sui said, “I’ll go talk to them.”
Lin Sui was something of a celebrity at school. Though everyone claimed only skill mattered, not background, some things couldn’t be ignored so easily.
As Lin Sui walked over, Song Lejin was left standing alone.
His gaze drifted to Shen Yuqing and Song Wangzhuo at the other end of the group. Though they were teammates, the two had been subtly avoiding him from the start.
Actually, it was Shen Yuqing who was avoiding him.
Song Lejin wasn’t sure if he’d slipped up in front of Shen Yuqing, but he was certain the other knew something.
Just then, Song Wangzhuo suddenly turned and looked at him.
Song Lejin froze, then offered a faint smile before resuming his stance.
From the beginning, Song Wangzhuo had sensed someone’s gaze lingering on him intermittently, but each time he turned to look, he couldn’t pinpoint who it was.
This time, the moment he felt it, he spun around only to meet Song Lejin’s eyes.
Song Wangzhuo didn’t have strong feelings about Song Lejin one way or another. As an Omega, their paths rarely crossed.
But he could tell Song Lejin harbored some hostility toward him.
Though he had no idea where it came from.
