Chapter 121: Zerg!
"What's next will be up to you," Meng Ao said before leaving the five in the room. Dozens of screens were showing what was happening in different parts of Demon Island. This also allowed them to see the participants' condition.
When Meng Ao left, the five of them relaxed. They would unquestionably become the commanders of the future. This event was a form of training; it was for them to better understand the team members they wanted. Whether they were able to select their team members would depend on the old rules between them.
Lear was more familiar with this.
Achilles was very delicate-looking. This seemed like something the people of the Moon could not change. They were tall and thin, almost perfect-looking. On their mouths hung a perpetual, slight smile, making it difficult for people to hate them.
Lie Xin was wearing a set of silver clothes with a purple flame emblem in the center. Even her military garb was unable to hide her sensual body. Martian beauties were known in the Solar System for their beautiful bodies and legs. Their slightly thick lips only accentuated their hotness.
Raston was a bit more mature-looking. He was the oldest in the group. His calmness came from ample battle experience. More appropriately, although he was a student, he had already become a true soldier. He had followed the Caragal Corps in an operation against space pirates and had even personally killed people.
Taros was not very tall and was slightly muscular. He did not seem very outstanding. His head was shaped like a walnut and he seemed to be a cold person. His lips were thin and tightly pursed. A small set of eyes focused on the scene ahead of him with a greedy look in them.
The five of them were very relaxed amongst each other. It was clear that they were quite familiar with each other. Even during such a competition their relationships were clear. However, it was not clear who was the most dominant.
To be the strongest, one not only had to have ability that far surpassed the rest, they had to have leadership skills and charisma. One could not lack any. This was not to say that one merely had to find the most skilled individual, but that such a person might not be a great leader.
Calmness and wisdom were important as well.
The five of them observed the 100 or so students. On another level, Meng Ao and two others were observing the five of them.
Everyone was making their choice, but every individual was different.
Boom!
Student Wang had landed on the ground. After a brief moment where he felt dizzy, Wang Zheng quickly opened the pod's door. The loud sound from landing was not a good thing. It would be best for him to quickly leave the area.
What was fortunate was that the sky was clear and he could see clearly. It looked as though the organisers were still quite nice. If they were deployed at night, this would have been a lot more difficult.
However, this was a completely different thing for Wang Zheng due to his training. He picked up his weapons and lied on the ground, then he pressed his ear into the soil to listen for tremors before quickly climbing a tree.
Everything seemed quite peaceful and there seemed to be no danger.
However, there being no danger did not mean that there were no problems.
Everyone else had also landed. There was a period of time before it became dark, and everyone's nerves were tense. However, they realized that nothing had happened.
Some people immediately went to search for the Queen Zerg and find opponents. Some people were already ready to react.
For example, Luo Fei. This fatty had not left the launcher pod. Instead, he looked into the forest and began to convert the launcher pod into a shelter. At the same time, he set up alarm tripwires in all four directions. Some simple alarms could be set up in the local area.
For this trial, no one had any equipment other than weapons. Survival was the most important.
However, those who were as cautious as Luo Fei were few and far between.
Their judgment was still good though. The launcher pod's tough exterior could be considered to be a good form of shelter.
Throughout Demon Island were numerous caves. They were likely to be nests of the Zerg. However, the problem was that no one knew which ones contained the nest of a Zerg Queen.
In the three major generals' room was a comprehensive map of Demon Island on a big screen. It even included the layout of all the complex caves belonging to the Zerg. Plenty of little red dots moving around on it tracked the positions of Zerg.
"This time it will be pretty vicious."
"The more foreign the environment is, the more likely we can see one's potential and essence."
"Even if we are able to find some talents, it doesn't warrant us getting into such big trouble."
"Haha, if the entire army was annihilated, we would get nagged by parliament once again."
"That bunch of scumbags. All they do is argue amongst themselves. If they do not give us more funding, how can we be expected to increase our combat strength?"
With regards to the performance of the students, it was clear that in the eyes of the major generals, an ordinary performance was insufficient.
Meng Tian was patrolling her surrounding area when she plucked a wild fruit. At the same time, she took a tree leaf and bit into it. She used the juices from the leaf to cover her skin before resting on top of the tree.
Zhang Shan, on the other hand, began to carry out large scale construction. He created a large stump trap near his launcher pod.
Runan had started a bonfire. She placed her rifle on her leg as she began to eat an unnamed animal.
The Zerg was only interested in the brains of a human. They were not interested in other animals. They were also not docile creatures that could be raised as livestock.
Additionally, they had to give these kids a way out, but these wild beasts were also not easy to catch.
In short, most of the students chose to defend themselves and to observe the situation before making a decision. The first day ended without incident.
However, there were bound to be exceptions... for example, Wang Zheng was one. That brat had done nothing at all. He just walked towards the back part of the island. On that side was a sea. The Zerg did not swim, and that was common knowledge. However, this did not mean that one would be able to reach the sea. Additionally, the trainers would not be that dumb either.
Everyone made preparations for nightfall. Some were blessed with good luck and quite a few had become quite courageous.
In the control room, the five of them were changing screens continuously, choosing interesting students to observe. Without surprise, Lear had chosen to observe Meng Tian.
Meng Tian was one which he had to have on his team. It was not only because she was Meng Ao's daughter, it was also her ability.
The rest of them were the same, they were observing interesting people or potential opponents.
Wang Zheng had appeared on Achilles' screen. This brat seemed to have no brains. He did not seem to know to bide his time and had rushed forward without preparations.
As they were observing people, at the same time they were observing who the others were observing.
Most of them were observing the same twenty individuals. Lie Xin gave Achilles a glance. He was actually observing an Earthling. Furthermore, one that was a support member.
This support member seemed to be randomly walking around; it looked as though he was looking to get himself killed.
"Achilles, why have you changed your tastes?" Lie Xin smiled. She was not old, but she had an unspeakable charm to her. Young Martian ladies would develop robustly. This was as they were full of vigor and vitality.
Achilles gave her a slight smile. "This is someone that Lear has put his sights on."
"Ah. Lear. Do your eyes have a problem? Meng Tian has not become yours yet. If I was a man, I would have already killed myself by smashing my head against tofu," Lie Xin said uncourteously.
Lear acted as though he did not hear a thing.
Raston was currently observing Masasi. He was one of the central players of the Moon and was part of Achilles' team. Achilles possessed eight strong team members, each with their own strengths, which made the team very strong.
Taros was the same. It looked as though everyone was treating Achilles as the most important opponent.
Even though Achilles saw Lear favourably, Lear's weakness was obvious. Lear did not have enough team members. His only strong teammate was a person by the name of Luo Fei, that fatty. Although the Earth had a lot of people, they should have had quite a few talents. However, compared to Achilles' Eight Stars, they were just too weak.
On the Martian side, Lie Xin had quite a few helpers. However, Lear seemed to be bitterly chasing Meng Tian. The Earthling's focus on insignificant things seemed to not have changed.
Everyone knew that Meng Tian was Meng Ao's daughter. They also knew that the Meng family had influence in the military. Everyone said that Lear was trying to take a shortcut. Those who came from Earth loved to play politics but would eventually play themselves to death. Times had changed, but they still had not changed their roots.
Would it be that just because Meng Tian was Meng Ao's daughter, they would be merciful?
The answer was obvious. They were not from Earth and would not hesitate.
Earthlings were more suitable to be tyrannical landlords, guarding their own little plot of land.
Achilles also changed his screen to observe others after a brief moment. He wanted to observe Masasi, Milo, and the rest of his team. Honestly speaking, their strongest opponent was themselves. If they did not reveal any flaws, the others would not be able to beat them.
When nightfall came, just as everyone expected, the Zerg started to move. More accurately speaking, they were let out. Meng Ao and the generals were more humane. If these were experienced soldiers, they would have engaged in a fierce battle the moment they landed. This time, they gave these students a chance to prepare.
Fatty Luo Fei did not hide in his shelter. Instead... that brat actually dug a hole and buried himself underground! Was that even possible?
After a short period of time, a fierce roar pierced through the sky followed by a pitiful scream.
A green dot on the screen had disappeared. "Republic of Caragal's College, no. 26 is out."
At this point, a student was trembling on the ground. An energy shield on his body had blocked the Zerg's claws. When the Zerg attacked a second time, he instantly fainted. However, the Zerg's claws were unable to break through the energy shield. After hacking at it a couple of times, it left. However, the student had lost his qualification to go on.
The student's luck was not bad, as the energy shield had activated in time. If not, the result would not have been pretty.
This was something that they had been warned of when they entered this IG competition.
However, it was clear that no matter how much had been said, there were still some that had not made preparations.
Very quickly, numerous individuals encountered the Zerg. Even if one did not include the military college students, everyone could recognize these aliens who had brought devastation onto the human race. However, as the human race was strong, they were defeated. Yet they were not extinct and continued to exist amongst the stars. Mankind could not afford to be careless, so pictures of the most common ones were circulated for everyone to see. Some even went for Zerg dissection classes and simulated combat against them. However, it was still the first time meeting them for most people. Their ferocity was completely different from the simulated ones.
"They only released one hundred and the situation is already this bad. I can't bear to keep watching." Raston bitterly smiled.
Ten people had already been eliminated, with one having a grievous injury. Demon Island had two layers of protection for the students. One was through self protection, with the energy shield activated by them. The other was when one's life was in danger, the energy shield would activate on its own. However, this would be delayed and injuries would not be avoidable.