Luo Qi took the bomb from Ye Mu's hand and chuckled softly.
Goosebumps broke out on the little captain's body. Although the school's assessment rules prohibited causing actual harm or death, Luo Qi's current expression was truly terrifying.
The little captain swallowed and spoke with a show of bravuster: "Don't mess around! If you dare to kill us, our school will hold you responsible! I... even if what I said displeased you, you can't actually kill me! My... my family won't let you off either!"
Luo Qi didn't speak, only let out a嘿嘿 laugh and took two steps closer to the little captain.
The bound individuals' foreheads were slick with cold sweat. At this moment, they wished they could cover their captain's mouth. Why did he have to provoke them and hit their sore spots? Now, they were all going to die because of that mouth!
After all, they were only eight or nine years old. Seeing the bomb, some of them were so scared they were on the verge of tears.
Luo Qi extended a finger, wiggled it gently, pulled the bomb's fuse, and tossed it into the circle of people.
The little captain screamed and shouted with his eyes closed, "Shorty, I'm not done with you!"
A "hiss" sound rang out, as if mocking the little captain. The bomb's surface sprang open, and faint smoke emerged, coating the members of the small team with a pale yellow fluorescent glow.
The little captain opened one eye: "Huh?"
Luo Qi grinned menacingly, "What did you just say?"
The little captain immediately became compliant: "I didn't say anything. We're all 'dead'!"
Luo Qi snorted, "See if you remember to speak properly next time."
Ye Mu amusingly pulled Luo Qi, enveloping him completely in his arms, and whispered, "We should leave now. Don't get angry at 'dead people' anymore."
Luo Qi calmed down, feeling his reaction had been a bit too intense. He wasn't a child anymore, yet he still got angry over a few taunts from others. He took a deep breath, patted the head of the chubby spider on his shoulder, "Let's hurry and go." The commotion here was significant, and once the fluorescent smoke dispersed, nearby teams would surely be attracted.
The sunlight slanted westward, past noon. Light filtered through the gaps in the leaves, making it difficult to tell the exact time, but it was estimated that the time for the map to appear at five in the afternoon wasn't far off. After quickly packing up tents and the like, and blindfolding the eyes of the "fallen" team members, Ye Mu piloted the mecha, carrying their luggage, and swiftly departed from the clearing.
The little captain's vision was pitch black. He wanted to hear which direction they were heading, but it seemed like footsteps were coming from all directions, so he had to give up. After just a short while, even these footsteps disappeared.
The little captain clicked his tongue, still not understanding: "We all saw that message, so why is there nothing now? Who is it?"
Unable to see anything, the little captain could only nervously ponder the assessment content of the past half-day. "Why did that information transmit directly to our terminals? And so accurately pinpointing this location. Also, how did we get so carried away and just come here? We didn't even get to use the tactics we prepared for so long." Although they had prepared for a long time, this was ultimately just like a final exam. Even if they didn't get good grades, they could consider it an early vacation. The little captain didn't take the grades too seriously and began to ponder other matters.
A team member grumbled, "Don't talk about it. It was you who insisted on coming, and insisted on mocking them. If not for that, we might not have been eliminated so early."
Another pondered for a moment, "But I feel that whoever has the ability to do something like this is definitely not targeting us. It's more like they're targeting those people just now."
"Who knows?"
...
Luo Qi and the others walked into the dense forest, recalling the map they had seen that morning, and found a spot far from the surrounding teams, closer to the direction of the sheep flock that the chubby spider had mentioned. After walking for about an hour, the sky had noticeably darkened. The group finally stopped, able to hear faint animal calls, which didn't quite sound like the sheep calls Luo Qi remembered.
Everyone sat down to rest and eat something before considering hunting. Leiva, who was most concerned about food, went with A Ming and A Liang. Luo Qi sat by the bonfire, lost in thought, thinking about something. Ye Mu gently reached out and touched Luo Qi's face, asking curiously, "Luoluo, since the assessment began, you seem to have something on your mind. Did something happen?"
Luo Qi blinked, "No..."
Ye Mu applied a little more pressure, "Tell me the truth." Luo Qi had no talent for hiding his thoughts; all his emotions were written on his face. Not only him, but his friends should have also noticed that Luo Qi had something on his mind. However, he understood Luo Qi better than anyone else. His anger just now wasn't solely because of what the little captain said, but more like he was trying to distract himself and their attention.
Luo Qi turned his face away, still stubbornly saying, "Nothing's wrong, don't overthink it." Ye Mu hadn't taken this matter seriously at first, but Luo Qi's complete refusal to reveal even a hint of it began to make him concerned.
Luo Qi shook his head vigorously, "It's really nothing, don't worry." Ye Mu pursed his lips, his mind a jumble of thoughts, and finally said, "Don't hide anything from me if something's wrong." Luo Qi nodded, "I know."
At five in the evening, the terminals of several people chimed simultaneously, and the map appeared. Besides the red dots on it, the scattered blue dots had all changed to some extent, and the dot representing the team they had eliminated earlier had turned yellow. However, Ye Mu counted carefully; apart from the team they had eliminated, no other team had been eliminated. Only a few nearby teams had moved closer, but they had temporarily stopped their movements, it was unclear if it was a coincidence or if they had stopped upon seeing the map appear. It was only the first day of the assessment, and eliminating a team so quickly was already quite surprising. For now, there were no further significant changes. The closest team to Luo Qi and the others would take about two hours to reach them, so they didn't need to worry too much for the time being.
The bonfire burned brightly, and the group sat eating roasted meat. Today, apart from them, no other team had encountered conflict, and they currently had the highest scores in their zone. However, today's events had also made them vigilant; to be the last one standing, they needed to be more cautious. Although the surrounding teams hadn't made any moves yet, they still had to be careful of ambushes. After discussion, they decided to leave the vicinity tomorrow.