Lear coldly glanced at Meng Tian and Zhang Shan before walking to the lounge without saying a single word.
The laughter of the other teams could be heard, and the laughter at this time seemed to be particularly harsh.
Achilles sighed in relief. The medical staff took Zhang Shan away and Zhang Shan, who was lying on the stretcher, caught his eye. At that moment… he was scared. He was afraid that his teammates would leave him. While he was not afraid of death, he was afraid of being abandoned. But at that moment in time, he should have insisted on staying.
Lie Xin patted Meng Tian’s shoulder. When things had come to this, there was no point in speaking further. “We’ve tried our best. Maybe Wang Zheng and the rest have already arrived and can give us a surprise.”
Lie Xin was smiling, but the smile seemed to be forced. The Lie family was also extremely ambitious, especially regarding the improvement of their Lie Flame technique. She had gotten her hopes up, yet had failed at this hurdle.
Hope was obviously a beautiful thing, but it was fragile like a soap bubble.
Wang Zheng and others still did not arrive until evening, ten days and fifteen hours later, right before the competition had ended. Luo Fei and Taros were in good condition, indicating that their medical care was fine. However, it did not matter one bit, as they had already been eliminated.
When he got the news, Wang Zheng’s heart sank. After listening to the situation from Meng Tian, he was even more awkward. They had just missed the time limit by a tiny bit. Although Lear and Achilles were strong, their luck simply was not there. They could also not have anticipated the Zhang Shan would be injured. However, there was still a path forward. The revival round was still a chance for them.
When he saw Zhang Shan, the reconstruction of his leg muscles had been completed. Zhang Shan, who was still in the capsule, saw that Wang Zheng remained quiet, seemingly depressed. With Zhang Shan’s pride, the one thing he was the most afraid of was dragging down his teammates. However, the worst had occurred: the cause of elimination of the team was all his fault.
Wang Zheng knocked on the capsule and said into the communications device, “Hurry up and recover, there’s still a chance. IG has the revival round for the captains!”
Zhang Shan slowly opened his eyes and nodded. He was unable to say anything, as the chances were far too slim.
On the way back, Wang Zheng met the Thunder team’s Le Gadamer, who too had teammates who were injured. This time around, the number of contestants who were injured in combat was significant, but most of them were just light injuries. If Zhang Shan’s injury was not on his leg, it was unlikely that the Solar System squad would have been eliminated.
Le Gadamer apparently knew about the situation of the Solar System team. “I heard that you guys were unlucky. Just work hard next time.”
“Le Gadamer, is there really a revival round?” Wang Zheng asked. This was not the time to pursue who was responsible. As the team captain, it was his responsibility.
Le Gadamer said, “Yes, it’s true. They should contact you shortly. But… sigh, I won’t say too much, you’ll find out soon.”
It was hard for him to be excited. He was leading his team to participate in IG to maintain the standards of their planet, and ensure that his team members were brought back safely. As for reaching the top eight, he had not even thought about it.
This was being realistic. However, the Solar System team was obviously not satisfied. Being eliminated may not have been a bad thing.
In the camp, they were separated into two groups. 32 teams had entered the losers group, and amongst them three had arrived on time, but as they had the worst performance, they had been included. The remaining contestants were to wait for the follow-up tests and obtained precious time to rest and recuperate.
Meng Ao walked into the Solar System team’s room. It was absolutely silent inside, as everyone had lost their desire to speak. The pressure of their failure hung above the heads of the team. It was fine if their technique did not match up to others. However, they obviously had the skills, yet had failed to get through the round, and this had led to a mix of angry and depressed emotions on all their faces.
When Meng Ao came in, the atmosphere got even heavier. Everyone quickly stood up, while Meng Ao surveyed the room. “Where is Wang Zheng?”
“He went to see Zhang Shan,” Zhang Runan said.
“Reporting in, I’m back.”
“Return to the team,” Meng Ao said coldly, and then just looked at the crowd silently.
“This defeat, the main responsibility is on Wang Zheng, secondary responsibility on Meng Tian. You will accept the military’s punishment after returning,” Meng Ao said, every word making Meng Tian’s face paler and paler.
“General, I am also accountable. I took the initiative to carry Zhang Shan,” Lie Guang said.
Meng Ao glared at him and coldly snorted, “If Lie Wuqing was here, he would have immediately slapped you. Your punishment will be dealt with by the Lie family.”
“General, I don’t think there is anything wrong with rescuing teammates!” Zhang Runan stubbornly said, causing Lear on the side to sneer. Such idiocy and naivety.
“There’s nothing wrong with assisting your friends. But you have to first realize your identities. You all are soldiers. Do you know what you have done wrong? You’re a soldier, yet you are still afraid of death. You’ve shamed everyone in the Solar System!”
Meng Ao’s voice was not loud, but it stabbed directly into their hearts. Luckily, Zhang Shan was not here, else he might have suicidal thoughts. Taros, on the other hand, did not have much of a reaction. The heck, being alive was the most important, while Luo Fei simply lowered his head.
“This time, Lear was the most mature, and he will be awarded!” Meng Ao said.
In the end, Lear was the best person to be a leader. Unfortunately, everything was too late. Lear was also unable to smile. This was not what he wanted. Such an important chance in the IG competition, yet it was ruined by a group of idiots.
“General, give me another chance to take responsibility as captain,” Wang Zheng said. Whoever was right or wrong was no longer important, and no matter how they had planned the outcome, nothing would be accurate. At the very least, Zhang Shan, Luo Fei, and Taros were still alive, and a slim chance still remained. Wang Zheng did not regret his actions. If Zhang Shan and the others had died, there would be no purpose, even if they had been promoted.
Seeing the calmness and self-confidence in Wang Zheng’s eyes, there was some anger on Meng Ao’s face. “Very good, you haven’t disappointed me. Follow me!”
This was obviously opposite to what had been said. A final chance. Did you think that this was your house? Would IG give you another chance?
“Wang Zheng, don’t be stubborn,” Zhan Runan said. Although they were participating in the IG, Zhang Runan was not overly ambitious. In her view, people’s lives were more important. Meng Ao was simply taking the perspective of the military. However, this was not a war, and they were also not attempting to save anyone, but simply training. In her mind, it was not right to sacrifice her teammates for honor and prestige.
This matter would not have a simple conclusion.
Along the way, Meng Ao remained silent. Upon arrival, the captains of the other teams in the loser group also arrived. Thirty-one people, one of the captains had died, said to have been killed by the Arbiters.
A lieutenant who had a head of silver hair yet look spirited walked out. “I’m Akerlof of the Allied Command, responsible for the IG selection. As the captain of the loser group, you have a chance to save the team. At random, you will select a task. You may choose to accept or decline, but you may not abandon it midway. The tasks are split into four grades: A, B, C, D. It all depends on your luck. The first team, come up.”
The captains of the teams entered the room in their assigned order, though nobody knew what they were waiting for.
Inside was a spacious hall filled with people. They were the personnel in charge of this IG competition, as well as the militaries of various countries. Of course, some of them were not present, as the general choice for most of these teams were to simply forfeit. Even if the choice they had randomly picked was poor, most were simply here to test out their luck.
The A class difficulty was almost impossible. No one had completed it so far. There had been eleven attempts in history, and all of them ended in death, as there were no escape routes once the mission was accepted. The percentage of participants who had gotten an A class mission was almost 90%.
B class missions had a slight possibility of success, but it required a certain degree of skill and a little luck. There had been five successful cases in history, but first the captains had to draw the mission, which comprised of only 6% of the lot.
C class missions had a fifty-fifty chance of completion. There had only been a single success story, as there was only a 3% chance of getting it.
If one received a D class mission, congratulations, they’d won the lottery. Basically, you were able to complete it once it was selected. As there was only 0.01% of a chance to get one, no one so far had been lucky enough.
The captain of the team, under the eyes of everyone, pressed the button nervously. To be honest, under the gazes of the entire group of military generals, being able to breathe calmly was already an achievement.
An A class mission popped up on the screen. Choose a mech, and kill 500 zerglings within ten minutes.
The face of the captain turned ashen. This was simply a joke, absolutely impossible.
“Accept or forfeit?”
The gazes of the generals present were calm. Accept or forfeit?
Would it be a test of courage, and would he qualify once he accepted it?
This idea simply flashed by, but it was not the first time someone had thought that. It was obvious that this would not be child’s play. Once the mission was accepted, it would only mean his death.
A class mission, forfeit…
A class mission, forfeit…
The people outside were unable to detect what was going on, and were also unable to hear anything. They could only see the ashen faces of those that were exiting, and thus suffered yet another blow.
When they were making their choices, elimination had always been hanging at the back of their minds.
The captain of the Sword Cloud federation was crying as he walked out, not knowing what to say to his teammates when he got back, as they were awaiting the good news.
B class mission, accept or forfeit?
This fella was truly lucky, able to get the mission with just a 6% chance!
Max, the captain of the Clark Star team, did not hesitate and immediately chose it. Even if it led to his death, it was still worth a try. Such an opportunity was rare!
Everyone was also whispering, “Would you like to take a look?”
“B class difficulty, nothing much to look at. I thought that some people would have the courage to accept to the A class difficulty, but it seems that the courage of each generation is getting smaller and smaller.
“Even if they were brave, this is not the time.”
“That’s true too. It is fine to be weak. Nowadays even the military guys aren’t bloodthirsty anymore.”
“Solar System squad captain, Wang Zheng.”
Wang Zheng’s name was called, and he walked into the room. For a moment, everyone’s eyes were on Wang Zheng, but these gazes were more akin to watching the animals in the zoo. It was a miracle that the Solar System could come this far, but this was the end.
Meng Ao was also inside, and both his palms were already sweating. Just pick a B class mission. With Wang Zheng’s capabilities, Meng Ao had confidence that he would be able to clear it!
Wang Zheng lifted his hand, and a red light shone out.
Suddenly, the whole hall was silent.
“S class mission, accept or forfeit?” The AI voice sounded out.
Meng Ao felt all the energy in his body leave him. Was this his destiny???