Chapter 61

"Classmate Li Yao, I didn’t expect we would meet like this on the vast Demon Dragon Island!"

Helian Lie was initially stunned, then slowly twisted his facial muscles into a sinister smile.

"Is he your classmate? How strong is he?" Several of the Blue Team members, not daring to be careless, all assumed defensive stances and asked with caution.

"Very strong!"

Helian Lie gritted his teeth and admitted, "Not only is he very strong, but his methods are despicable and filthy, shameless and low. He will stop at nothing to win, using every means possible. He is the most terrifying opponent!"

"No wonder he was able to single-handedly ambush and kill four of our patrol teams in a row. Everyone must be extremely cautious and not give him the slightest opportunity!"

The seven Blue Team candidates all raised their vigilance to the highest level. One of them stepped back and began to contact nearby teammates.

"Helian Lie, Demon Dragon Island is vast, yet small—this is also what I want to say to you. There are indeed some conflicts between us, but if you are still a man, let's settle everything here, one-on-one!"

Li Yao crossed his arms, drew out the black vibrating dagger, and licked his lips.

Helian Lie laughed in disbelief, his face becoming calm. He said slowly and deliberately, "Li Yao, you don’t need to provoke me. I won’t fall for it. This is a competition, and everything must follow the rules. I want to bully you with numbers, dozens against one! If you want a one-on-one, I’ll be happy to oblige after the competition!"

"Fine, you wait and see!"

Li Yao said fiercely, then blinked and lightly jumped back, leaping into the bushes like a large ape, disappearing from sight.

He actually ran away!

Helian Lie and the others were stunned, not expecting this boy to sound so righteous one moment and then slip away faster than an eel the next!

Helian Lie was furious, feeling as if he had been thoroughly tricked by Li Yao again. His handsome face turned red, and he was about to chase after him when Gao Ye’s voice came through the communication channel:

"Helian Lie, don’t chase him. The enemy’s goal is to anger you, break up your formation, and then pick you off one by one—don’t fall for it!"

Gao Ye’s voice carried an inexplicable authority, and even the rebellious Helian Lie barely suppressed his raging anger. He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, saying, "Gao Ye, you’re right. What should we do now?"

Gao Ye’s voice came after a moment, as if he had done some careful calculations: "Helian Lie, this is your classmate. How strong is he really?"

Helian Lie hesitated for a moment and said, "A month ago, he was just a mediocre waste. But he must have had some strange encounter, and his strength has skyrocketed in the past month. He’s still below me, but not by much. I don’t know if he has any hidden strength."

He paused and added, "By the way, this guy was born in a landfill and grew up in a very complex environment, giving him a lot of practical combat experience!"

Gao Ye said calmly, "Alright, let’s assume he’s stronger than you, even 1.5 times as strong, and that he’s an expert in jungle warfare—yet it’s impossible for him to silently and instantly kill four of our patrol teams. So, something must be off!"

"Based on my calculations, he must have some secret weapon we don’t know about!"

"Before we fully understand his trump card, I don’t recommend launching a pursuit. That would just be sending people to their deaths one by one!"

"Right now, I order all combat units to raise their vigilance, strengthen their defenses, and stay put. If the enemy appears, don’t attack proactively; focus on defense and promptly notify nearby combat units!"

"And Helian Lie, your patrol team should immediately return to the command center. I need detailed information on this Li Yao to figure out what his ‘trump card’ is!"

"Fine, let him be arrogant for half a day more!"

Helian Lie didn’t hesitate, leading his patrol team away. After more than half an hour of trekking, they returned to the Blue Team command center, set up in a dense forest in the middle of Demon Dragon Island.

Half an hour later.

A somewhat short but sharp-eyed boy sat cross-legged on the ground, tapping a tree stump thoughtfully. He was the tactical genius, Gao Ye.

"Based on the information you provided and the battle traces we observed, what can you deduce?" Helian Lie asked, somewhat impatiently.

Gao Ye’s eyelids drooped, and his eyes sparkled like a supercomputer pushed to its limits.

After a moment, he said calmly, "The problem lies with the magical artifacts. The enemy is an expert in artifact refinement. The artifacts we have are all assembled by him, and he must have set some backdoors inside them—this is a common technique in battle, but I didn’t expect it to appear in civilian circles. This Li Yao is quite remarkable!"

"Magical artifacts?"

Helian Lie was stunned and quickly threw the chainsaw sword he was holding to the side, as if it were a venomous snake.

Gao Ye smiled slightly and said calmly, "You don’t need to worry too much. Based on my calculations, the damage from these backdoors won’t be too high. They can only cause a momentary stiffness in the user, and the range won’t be too large, unable to be remotely controlled."

He paused, and his eyes sparkled, "We don’t need to abandon all our magical artifacts. We can select a group of elite soldiers, armed with ordinary swords and knives, to form a hunting team to pursue Li Yao—once we kill him, we can use the magical artifacts with peace of mind!"

Helian Lie frowned and said, "The number of people must be enough; too few will just be suicide."

Gao Ye nodded, "Don’t worry. I won’t underestimate any opponent, especially such a terrifying one. I will design a specific tactic to hunt him down, not overlooking any detail!"

Helian Lie urged, "Gao Ye, where do you think he is hiding now?"

"Let me calculate!"

Gao Ye closed his eyes, and his eyeballs under his eyelids trembled rapidly.

Thirty seconds later, he opened his eyes and said thoughtfully, "I’ve analyzed it. There’s a 47% chance that Li Yao is hiding in the northern swamp area of Demon Dragon Island. It’s full of mud and swamps, making it difficult for large forces to advance, making it the best guerrilla battlefield!"

"Additionally, there’s a 33% chance that he has already crossed our defenses and is heading south to join the Red Team’s main force!"

"There’s also a 19% chance that he is hiding in the western waterfall area of Demon Dragon Island, planning to stay hidden until the end of the competition, relying on the points accumulated early to secure a good ranking!"

"Finally—"

A hint of surprise appeared on Gao Ye’s usually calm face, as if a crack had suddenly appeared in a clay statue, "There’s a 1% chance that he is right above us!"

Before he finished speaking, a dark metal ball suddenly fell from the branches above them, and with a "pop," a fireball brighter than the sun exploded!

Everyone’s vision turned white, and they couldn’t see anything!

"It’s a flash array!" someone screamed, covering their eyes.

Almost simultaneously, a powerful wind descended from the sky, heading straight for Helian Lie with unstoppable force.

"Helian Lie, die!" Li Yao roared, his daggers turning into two black lightning bolts!