Chapter 253 - Where is R256?
“That… that’s impossible?!”
In the instructor’s seats, teachers from various departments—Combat Infantry, Command, even Mecha and Recon—almost unanimously voiced the same doubt.
It was just a training laser gun. Even though it could fire projectiles, its functionality was nowhere near that of a real firearm. ‘How did they do it?!’
For comparison, standard interstellar rifles typically have a range of 10 to 13.5 kilometers. This is the benchmark for the latest models of interstellar-standard rifles. With a particularly skilled shooter or additional support, this range could even extend by another 1.5 kilometers at the upper limit.
Training laser guns, while varied in models, are generally similar in design. They are manufactured to replicate about 90% of the structure of real firearms, providing realistic handling. However, to ensure student safety and simplify weapon control, their performance is heavily scaled down to about 1/10th or less of a real gun’s capabilities, with additional restrictions on potential harm.
In other words, hitting a target 1.5 kilometers away with a training laser gun is already considered an impressive feat.
Yet Jiang Hui and Huan Xian, through their combined efforts, managed to use such a training laser gun to hit targets two to three kilometers away.
The most astonishing part was their final clash with Team T376. The enemy was not just two kilometers away but closer to three kilometers. And in this round, Huan Xian didn’t even assist directly—he practically left everything to Jiang Hui, who singlehandedly resolved the situation.
And this kind of operation wasn’t just a one-time thing.
In less than twenty star minutes, they watched as this duo eliminated five consecutive teams using “incredible” tactics.
During this period, Jiang Hui and Huan Xian often couldn’t “see” the enemies with their naked eyes. Everything was done by locking onto targets with their mental powers.
The other three teams that made it this far didn’t escape the clutches of Team R186 either. Two of the teams were taken out by Clarens alone, and one was dealt with by Xierman and Zhou Xuwen, who casually took care of it together while chatting.
All eight teams that made it this far were eliminated.
If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, the people present wouldn’t have believed that this was the level achievable by first-year students who had yet to undergo proper training. These were monsters, right?!
Lin Qi and the others, who had been surprised at first, were now somewhat accustomed to it.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, said nothing. Instead, he quietly asked the silent figure not far away, “Captain Stark, is the mental power level of this student from your class really only A-level? Isn’t it a little too much beyond the limit? Could the test have been wrong? Maybe… they’re S-level,” Lin Qi mentally added.
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“R36, R321, R98, R129, T376… A total of eight teams were eliminated one after another. The common factor is that they all passed through L4 not long ago,” Aris murmured as he looked at the map.
From the pace of their movements, he deduced that they should have been eliminated on the edge of the L6—L11 line, and judging by their motivations, it was more likely they were eliminated by the group around L11. Although there was no concrete evidence, Aris still felt this way. His intuition was always spot-on, rarely wrong.
None escaped?
Of the ten teams that passed through L4, except for the two that showed up at other resource points, the remaining eight were eliminated almost in the order they left L4. He figured they were killed within a short time frame from each other.
If all these teams were eliminated by the L11 group, it could be roughly deduced that R186 eliminated each team in an unbelievably short amount of time, possibly even with zero time lag.
The next score reading is still over thirty star minutes away, and by then, the results will make it clear which team was responsible for eliminating these teams. However, other than that group, he didn’t expect anyone else to be involved.
“Brother! What are you still looking at? Hurry up, this path is very dangerous. A slight misstep or delay could bring dangerous enemies down on us. It’s better to leave here as quickly as possible,” Pavla reminded, looking at her brother, who was still staring at the map.
Actually, she didn’t want to disturb him. Although her brother’s mental power level was lower than hers—he was only B-level—his intellect was far sharper than hers, probably developed even in the womb. She usually listened to him a lot.
Since the start of the competition, the command of the entire team had almost entirely fallen to this slightly weaker member in terms of physical abilities, energy, and mental power. Yet, their performance was no worse than the more powerful teams. Aris always managed to lead them along a relatively safe and calm path amid the dangers.
Unknowingly, the team members had come to trust and rely on their leader more and more.
Although she knew he was likely observing the situation and contemplating what to do next, as she mentioned, the situation at each energy point was now chaotic, no longer as clear as it had been at the beginning. This was their third energy point, but unfortunately, both of the previous ones had been low-tier energy points that couldn’t meet the charging needs of their simulated breastplate. They had no choice but to seek another path.
At this point, they were only 40% short of completing the charging — just one more energy point and they would be done. They hoped the next one wouldn’t disappoint them. Therefore, they didn’t want to make any mistakes and certainly didn’t want to run into anyone who was killing recklessly.
Aris looked away, ready to continue on their journey, when he heard Pavla look up in surprise and say, “Hmm? L11… L11 is empty!”
The young man suddenly looked up. “They’ve left… or…” They all looked at the nearby scoreboard, and saw the members of team R186 still holding bright ranks. Whether it was disappointment or a sigh of relief, no one was sure.
They must have finished charging and left… They thought the battle would end without them knowing.
Although they would never actually see the outcome, the awareness that they had missed such an exciting event made them all feel a sense of loss.
However, speaking of it, team R186 had been stationed at L11 for quite a while. They must have accumulated over forty star points, roughly the same time it took them to reach L11… Hmm? Aris seemed to remember something, his eyes widening slightly.
That’s right, Jiang Hui and the others had accumulated about forty star points at the L11 charging point, attracting many prey and drawing attention.
But before team R186 made their appearance, what about the other team that had been sweeping through the training grounds? What about R256? Where did they go?
Jiang Hui and the others had been charging at L11 for about forty star minutes, while R256 had simultaneously disappeared for just as long—maybe even longer, with a full star-hour of time not appearing on the map.
If they were looking for an energy point, they must have found one by now. For example, they had already switched to three points during this time. So why hasn’t R256 appeared at the second energy point yet?
There’s only one explanation — they headed straight for L11, crossing half the energy point region from L7 to L11.
Now that team R186 has already exited L11, what about Huo Qi and the others? Considering the time, it should be about right… will they miss each other, or will they run into each other?