"...If we at this moment—"

Ji You paused, giving Shaun space to think.

Upon hearing this, Shaun didn’t look enlightened; instead, he seemed troubled and said, "I know what you mean; you want to make a sneak attack after this fact."

But who knew.

Ji You shook her head and said, "It’s not a sneak attack."

Shaun was taken aback, asking, "Not a sneak attack?"

Ji You squinted her eyes and looked ahead, "It’s going over for a walk, to take a look."

Shaun didn’t understand the meaning, frowned, and said, "Could you speak a bit more plainly."

"Ahem..." Ji You cleared her throat, unchanged in expression, and said, "On the battlefield, what is most important?"

Just as Shaun was about to answer, Ji You raised her hand to stop him, saying, "You surely think it’s combat power, and you’re right! Combat power is extremely important. You could say combat power plays a decisive role. However, there’s another very important thing that can give combat power wings, make it even stronger..."

Shaun tilted his head, his blue eyes full of confusion, "What is it?"

Ji You said, "Intelligence."

Shaun had a sudden realization.

Ji You said, "I believe there’s no need for me to explain further just how important intelligence is, right? If we know nothing about the enemy, it’s as if we’re blind. When facing the enemy, lacking intelligence support is like a warrior rendering themselves handless. The outcome is uncertain."

Upon hearing this, Shaun fell silent.

Ji You never looked at him, her eyes always fixed on the direction of the distant enemy camp, and continued, "With our strong combat power as a premise, we have an 80% chance of winning, so why reduce it to 50%? With a 99% chance, why settle for 80%? Why gamble the warriors’ lives on such a low probability? In my view, materials, equipment, weapons... they are treasures, but the comrades beside you are the most important treasures if possible. I would give anything to increase the survival chances of the comrades around me!"

Ji You seemed to be speaking to Shaun, as well as questioning herself. She clenched her fist tightly, a flash of sadness in her eyes, then forcefully said, "That is the most profound lesson I learned in the competition!"

"With the lives of my 5 teammates, a lesson learned." Ji You’s voice grew lower and softer, gradually fading to silence.

Shaun and others were silent.

Standing behind Ji You, He Yu, Liu Jia, and Wang Xin were also silent:

[The words must be lies, but the emotions are evidently sincere.]

He Yu and others thought.

Then—

Outside the screen.

Xia Bingbing, Xie Xin, and others among the five of them: [Your sister—]

Nonsense!

Outrageous!

Only a fool would believe you!

...

The five of them thought this and then watched as the faces of Shaun and others on the big screen changed for a moment, and they looked at Ji You with an unexpectedly approving gaze. For a moment, Xia Bingbing and others felt a wave of despair:

[Could it be that the entire arena lets her deceive them back and forth?]

[Is there no way?]

...

After about 30 seconds of silence, Ji You spoke, "Shaun, there’s a saying that in war, speed is of the essence. I’ve crippled squads seven and eight on the enemy’s side. They must be in chaos and will need at least 30 minutes to recover. For them to manage this, there are only two paths: first, like me, they could seek to join the neighboring squad; second, they await instructions from above to reset their goals and action plans."

"Neither of those is what we want to see." As Ji You spoke, every word fell clearly into Shaun’s ears and heart.

"Allowing the enemy time to rest and recover, and then accumulate powerful combat strength to attack us, is certainly not a good thing." As Ji You spoke, she pointed into the distance and said, "Forgive me for being blunt, but with your combat power and mine, facing them after they regroup would make us no match."

Shaun frowned and said, "I understand your point, but deploying troops now is not my wish." Shaun always believed that attacking the enemy camp now was mistimed and not a good strategy. He leaned towards a more conservative approach.

"No!" Ji You shook her head and said, "You didn’t understand."

Shaun tilted his head, dazed, "Didn’t understand?"

Ji You nodded, "I’ve said that intelligence is extremely important, especially when the gap between us and the enemy isn’t too vast. In such situations where both sides are evenly matched, intelligence plays a crucial role."

What is the highest skill of deception?

Circling!

Keep circling, around and around, until you’re dizzy!

Not dizzy yet?

Circle a few more times.

Ahem...

Thinking this, Ji You looked even more serious. She pointed to "Jiangshan" and even portrayed an image of grandeur and power, "With two enemy teams nearly wiped out, the area they guarded is essentially left open, a blank spot. It is completely accessible to us, an opportunity. We should take this time to immediately send out our scout team, delve deeper into the enemy camp to gather information, at the very least determine how many small teams are distributed on the land closest to us, roughly where they are, and their possible plans going forward..."

Find out all clearly."

Upon hearing this, Shaun felt like the fog in front of him was cleared away, and his vision became clearer: "So that’s it!"

Ji You raised her hand, pointing to the fortress-like outpost that Shaun built, "Forgive me for saying, but the fortress you’ve built is sturdy and solid, it has its defensive use against the enemy, but now it more confines your hands and feet, limits your thoughts!"

Shaun was startled.

Ji You smiled and said, "It’s okay, I’m here. Now, I’m here to help you break it down."

Shaun opened his mouth.

Ji You waved her hand with dominance and said, "I want to break down this shell and return it to its defensive purpose!"

Shaun pursed his lips, unsure of what to say for a moment.

Indeed.

He only thought of guarding here, building here, and striking the enemy hard when they come, so they dare not invade again. However—what if the enemy doesn’t come according to our expectations?

If the enemy uses various tactics, making slight changes, it might leave me here unable to respond.

A change of thought is needed.

One should be even more active, making oneself, one’s comrades, and one’s base more flexible, with stronger mobility.

Shaun thought for a while and suddenly asked, "According to your plan, how many people should we send over?"

Ji You said, "Two."

Shaun apparently also had this in mind. Two people are more flexible, and if unexpected situations arise, they can adapt more easily.

So Shaun said, "Alright, let’s send two people over."

He pondered who to send, and suddenly heard Ji You say, "You choose one teammate, I’ll send one from our side. Our people after all have experience and certain familiarity with the enemy camp, which can help avoid dangers better."

It met Shaun’s thoughts, and Shaun said, "Agree."