Ji You really didn’t hold back on that punch to herself—solid, real, not a shred of faking it, it was exactly the kind of ruthless force you’d use on a mortal enemy, and she smashed it down in one go.

In an instant, not only He Yu and the others were stunned, even the spectators outside the screen were dumbfounded.

It’s just a match, why be so vicious to yourself?

Did she really have to go that far?

He Bi?

...

Nobody could figure it out. The respect in the eyes of He Yu, Liu Jia, and Wang Xin had just started to rise when they saw Ji You grin at them and say, "What are you so shocked about? I used finesse with that punch. It only looks bad, it won’t affect my ability to eat like a champ. If I let you guys do it, you’d definitely beat my face to a pulp."

"That won’t do."

"I care about my face."

He Yu and the others: "..."

Ji You squeezed out a smile at He Yu: "Wang Rumei, your face is way too clean. How about I add some color to it for you?"

He Yu’s expression changed drastically as soon as she heard that.

But!!!

He Yu had just taken a step back when she suddenly realized she might be overreacting. So she forcibly stopped herself, squeezed out a polite smile at Ji You, and said, "No, thanks."

Hearing this, Ji You looked bored and said, "Forget it. Considering you’re the only delicate beauty in our team, I won’t make an issue out of your face." Saying that, Ji You turned to the two boys and said, "Let’s go, we’re going across the river to put on a show."

He Yu and the other two stood there without moving. Liu Jia, enduring the pain, bared his teeth and said to Ji You, "Monitor, you keep saying ’put on a show’, but at least give us a rough action plan, yeah?"

Ji You pulled back the foot she’d just lifted, then turned her head, gave the three of them a look, and couldn’t help letting out a deep sigh. "Fine, I won’t make it hard on you. Our main goal with this act is to make the enemy think we failed our surprise attack and came fleeing back in disgrace. As for how to act it out, just try to think of something sad. Like your boyfriend gets seduced away by your bestie, your girlfriend gets snatched by your bro and then she turns around and calls you a scumbag, you’ve been infertile for years and finally have a kid only to find out the real dad is Old Wang next door, your old man running off with a mistress is one thing, but he also clears out all the money at home... If that still doesn’t count as sad, then imagine you win a 10-billion lottery, only to discover the claim period has expired..."

He Yu and the other two listened and listened, and really couldn’t listen anymore. Almost at the same time, they said, "You... that’s enough."

Covering his lower abdomen, Liu Jia gritted his teeth and said, "After hearing all that, I’ve realized this little injury of mine really is nothing."

Ji You laughed. "Want to hear more sad stories?"

The three of them were speechless.

Outside the screen, all the viewers were also repeatedly speechless.

After a moment of silence—

Someone said, "Can I... can I file a complaint against this contestant? Complain that she talks too damn much and is too noisy."

"I agree."

"Seconded."

"I propose adding another point: she’s not focusing on the match, she’s out here telling killer horror stories instead. This is not the proper attitude for a competition."

...

On screen, Ji You’s goofy grin suddenly disappeared, her expression turning deadly serious. "If you really don’t know how to act, then just shut up. Stay silent, got it?"

Hearing this, the three of them finally let their expressions turn serious as well and answered in unison, "Yes."

Ji You waved her hand. "Move out."

The three followed.

Very quickly, under Ji You’s lead, the four of them crossed the river at high speed. They had just climbed up onto the bank and He Yu and the others hadn’t even had time to straighten their dripping clothes when they saw Ji You not wasting even a single second and bolting directly toward the Northwest.

He Yu and the others paused slightly in surprise. That wasn’t the direction back to the enemy camp, the Seventh Team’s base, but toward the Sixth Team’s instead.

Why were they going that way?

The three didn’t get it, but this was Ji You—

The same Ji You who squeezed onto the United University rankings relying on a 2B talent.

Trust her.

Ji You’s series of actions, plus the fact that her identity was exposed, had invisibly made He Yu and the other teammates develop a sense of trust in her. Proud as she was inside, He Yu didn’t question anything and followed Ji You at once.

Liu Jia and Wang Xin quickly followed as well.

Outside the screen.

Watching all this, the barrage went quiet for a second, then someone said, "Feels like this team suddenly grew a soul."

"Ji You’s leadership just kicked in all at once."

"They’ve all accepted her."

"So what’s next?"

...

Sixth Team.

The entire base was currently fortified inside and out like a wall of iron, solid and sturdy. Even if a shell suddenly dropped on them, it looked like they could probably withstand it for a bit. Sean Patriarch was very satisfied with this. Hands clasped behind his back, he was patrolling his base, checking for any gaps or flaws, when he suddenly heard a loud, shrill cry: "Sean!"

"Sean, help!"

"Sean!"

Sean Patriarch’s fingers paused. Standing on the watchtower, he frowned and looked through the homemade telescope, and saw a figure sprinting toward them in the lens!

A teammate gripped the crossbow in his hand and asked, "Monitor, do we fire?"

Sean’s brow furrowed tightly. "Fire!"

The teammate quickly took aim—

Sean caught sight of three people behind that short figure, all of them looking extremely bedraggled. On a strange impulse, Sean suddenly said, "Hold it."

Right then—

As if she also knew what Sean was thinking, Ji You shouted loudly, "Iron, don’t shoot! We’re on your side! Friendly! Friendly!"

Hearing that voice, Sean almost couldn’t stop himself from ordering the attack anyway. Forcing himself to hold back, Sean said, "Drop the front gate barrier, block them off, don’t let them climb up so easily."

How could he possibly allow outsiders to get onto his base so easily?

Sean was extremely vigilant.

His teammates reacted quickly to his words. In no time, a barrier bristling with sharp, backward-pointing spikes was lowered right in front of Ji You and the others. Ji You’s expression froze and she immediately said, "Iron, don’t be like that, let us up."

Sean kept his hands clasped behind his back and said nothing.

Ji You took a deep breath. "Sean, I know you’re there. I came to talk to you about something!"

Sean stood on the wall wearing an expression of icy indifference. The people behind him also looked completely cold. Faced with this, the corners of Ji You’s mouth twitched, then she seemed to think of something. She swept aside her previous proud attitude, covered her eyes, and said, "Sean, we’re all in the same faction. Even if you don’t approve of some of the decisions I made, we’re allies, part of the same camp. If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold..."

Sean frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

Hearing that he was finally willing to speak, Ji You’s spirits shot up. "Sean, the reason I came here is—I want to join your team."

Sean: "..."

Sean almost threw the knife in his hand at her.