Cloud Thinking

A week later, the long-awaited first round of the competition finally began. Unlike the good weather on the opening day of the team competition last week, today the sky was a bit gloomy, with no sunshine, only heavy clouds pressing down on the head, and the occasional cool breeze could not blow away the slightly depressing clouds.

The rules of the competition were also changed this year, and the changes were particularly major. After everyone read the rules of the competition, they were once again divided into four major groups and sent to the competition venue.

Each venue will place a designated item at a location, and the participating teams will start from the starting point every one minute based on the ranking of the previous game, and use the map issued by the organizer to find the designated item as quickly as possible. The four competition venues will be ranked according to the time it takes for the first team to get the designated item in each venue, and the first, second and third places will be determined.

This is completely different from previous competitions. In the past, there was only one winner, but now because there are too many people and they need to compete separately, the rules have to be changed. However, there are only three winners in the four competition venues, so even if you try your best to grab the designated items first in your venue, you may not get points because you may be slower than the first place in the other three venues, and there is no bonus for the fourth place.

In previous competitions, there was no need to spend effort on finding the designated item. The organizers would place the item in a particularly conspicuous position so that all teams could see it at a glance. What each team needed to do was to prevent others from getting the designated item before them. To put it bluntly, it was to find things to do for the people around them and harass them.

But this year, the organizers gave everyone a map and only gave a very vague indication of the location of the designated items. It was clear that they wanted everyone to spend some time looking for the designated items. This can indeed test the team's ability to work together. After all, you must first figure out where the things are, and then choose the appropriate route according to the map.

Even if you are the first one to start in the game, you will still be overtaken by others as long as you don't choose the right route. This can reduce the impact of the previous game's results on the current game, so as to avoid the winning team starting one minute earlier and leaving the other team with no chance of a comeback, which would make the game boring.

As the first team, the mixed team has the right to start first. The map and the tips about the designated items are given five minutes before departure. The environment of the four competition venues is different. All the participating teams are unfamiliar with the environment. Those who don’t know may think that they are playing a survival game.

The hint given by the competition venue where Helia was regarding the designated item was: it cannot be opened with both hands.

Mixed team: ???

What the hell? What the hell is this! Is it a crossword puzzle? Or something else? No, this is a race against time. You want me to use my brain? Saifang, come out for a moment, I promise not to hit you!

"It's a riddle." Drummond confirmed. Except for Britney who was looking at the map, everyone else was lost in thought.

"Guess, no." Lydia was the first to give up thinking. She couldn't even speak fluently, so there was no need to embarrass her by thinking about this kind of question.

"I can't push away... the tree with my hands? I really can't push away the tree! I can't push away the stone! I can't push away the wild beast! There are too many answers to this riddle!" Helia was so annoyed that she scratched her hair wildly. She could even see the few white hairs she pulled out floating in the air.

"It's almost time to set off. We can think about it as we go." Britney handed the map to Helia and expressed her opinion: "Based on the previous competitions of Carter College, the things should not be placed in any corners. Let's go to the center first, and we will definitely see it on the way."

The location they were in was a valley, with steep cliffs on both sides of the map and a dense jungle in the middle. But generally speaking, there was only one way to go. We couldn't let them climb the cliffs, right? Unlike the next game, they were randomly in a desert terrain, a vast desert, and it felt like they would get lost if they walked. Another game was in a snowy mountain, and it was difficult to steal things on flat ground, not to mention that they had to climb the mountain.

In comparison, Helia and the others were considered lucky.

"Miscellaneous team, you can set off now." The teacher at the side looked at the time and reminded.

"Let's go, let's go first!" Helia stuffed the map into Drummond's hand, and she and Britney walked in front to lead the way. The two of them had looked at the map and had a rough idea of ​​the route.

Haha, I thought they only needed to play a chase game, but I didn't expect that the organizers would add so many challenges to enrich the game experience. I really want to thank him and his whole family. [Smile]

After seeing the terrain and tips before departure, almost all the teams silently greeted their relatives in their hearts, but they could only say it verbally. They couldn't just not compete, right? This was the most competitive race that could widen the points gap. If they didn't work hard in this game, they either didn't want to win at all, or they wanted to put pressure on the last survival game.

"I can't push it away with both hands... Is it water?" Beavis thought for a moment and came up with the answer. According to what he said, Gena searched on the map and finally clicked on the upper left corner. This was the largest water source in the valley - a lake.

"This should be it. We can go straight through the forest." Gena drew a line from their starting point to the lake.

They were the thirteenth group to set out. In the last match, because three of their main players were eliminated by Helia, they didn't grab any positions or flags at all. But fortunately, they kept their initial positions, otherwise their results would have been at the bottom.

As soon as they entered the venue, they heard the sound of fierce fighting not far away, but they did not intend to intervene. Instead, they went around and moved quickly towards the goal. They started late, and if the team in front of them guessed the answer before them, they would probably be there soon. If they wanted to win, they had to speed up.

But things went against their wishes. Halfway through the journey, they ran into Helia, the protagonist of their nightmares. At the moment, the mixed team was entangled with another team, and the fight was so intense that those who didn't know would think that this game was a head-on fight.

Both sides were "as fierce as tigers, but the record was zero to five". After playing for a long time, no one was eliminated. The audience seriously doubted whether they were part of their play.

Beavis didn't plan to join. This game was about speed. Even if he hated Helia so much that he wanted to bite her to death, he was more unwilling to give up the team's current advantage. The mixed team was the first team to set out, but they ran into them. What does this mean? They must have taken a detour or got lost. Maybe they haven't guessed the answer yet, otherwise they wouldn't stay here to tangle with other teams.

Gena also held back and led the team to the side. Now that they had caught up with the first place, they had completely narrowed the gap from the previous game. Fighting with Helia here would only vent their anger even if they won. It was completely useless. It would be better to get to the destination quickly, win the championship, and then humiliate her. Then we'll see how she can still be so arrogant.

Helia was actually quite annoyed. None of the five of them could think straight, and they had been running for more than ten minutes without finding the right direction. On the way, they met the second team that set out. The other team should be the team that she had bullied in the last game. Sparks flew when they saw each other, and they came up to beat her up without saying a word.

She was also very angry because she couldn't find the way. Once the fight started, it would never end. Neither side knew where the designated items were. Instead of wandering around, it would be better to settle the grudge on the spot first.

Because the Mixed Team unexpectedly won first place, the other teams paid attention to them and carefully studied each of their members, from their grades to their usual performance, leaving no trace of them, and checked everything out.

If Claude hadn't been so reliable, I guess she and Britney would have been exposed before the second game started...

As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy ensures victory in every battle. Although Helia and the others were so strong that they would not be easily beaten, they were thoroughly analyzed and most of her attacks were blocked, especially the magic she often used in the last game, which basically did not hit a single one! It was like punching a piece of soft cotton. Not only did the anger in her belly not get out, but it accumulated more and more.

Moreover, this group of people were targeting Karlzer, and it was obvious that they knew he was a loophole in the team and wanted to break through him, but fortunately, Britney and Drummond were very strong, and the cooperation practice they had practiced these days was not in vain. Even when they were under concentrated fire, they managed to protect him.

Helia had never expected the rules of the competition to be changed like this. Everyone was preparing according to the previous rules, but who knew that the competition would give them a huge shock! She failed to fulfill her promise to Karlzer, and she became even angrier. The magic she used was more fierce than the other. If the competition did not allow the use of killing magic, she would have taken ruthless action long ago.

Beavis wanted to run, but the sharp-eyed Helia spotted him immediately, turned around with Theodore in her hand, and unceremoniously sent him ten rounds of fire bombs.

"Ah, isn't this an acquaintance? In the last game, he said that he would make me suffer the consequences if he saw me, but why is he running away when he sees me now?" Helia mocked, and then cast another spell. A row of fire pillars rose from the ground, blocking the way of Beavis' team.

"Only a fool would get entangled with you here." Gena actually held back! He drew his sword and waved away the flying fire bombs, covering his teammates and continuing to move forward.

However, Helia sensed something else in his short sentence. She turned her head sharply to look at Karlzer and shouted, "They know where the things are. Follow them!"

Beavis & Gunnar: ???

What the fuck? Be a human being!!!

"Ah, there seems to be a lake over there. The thing should be there." Britney recalled the map in her mind and roughly guessed their destination. She immediately followed them with Kalzer.

The other team also heard what Helia said, and stopped fighting with her. They turned around and chased after Beavis and the others.

"Oh, there are still a lot of kind-hearted people in this world. I was just worrying about where to go, and someone came up to me and offered to lead the way. It's all because I'm too charming. Other teams are rushing to show their courtesy!" While harassing another team that was chasing after them, Helia put mental pressure on Beavis.

Beavis: [veins bulging] [clenched fists] She is just provoking us, wanting us to fight her and slow us down. For the sake of the team, I will endure it!

Gena was so angry that his head hurt. Damn it, they were making things easier for others! If they hadn't passed by here, neither team would know where to go!

Helia used Theodore to stop the people from other teams beside her, and approached with a malicious smile, saying, "Hey! Have you spent a lot of effort to study us these days? Did you spend a lot of money to buy our information in the bazar?"

There are merchants in the bazar who specialize in intelligence business. As long as you want to know something, they can find out for you. Of course, the more valuable the information is, the more money they ask for. Many intelligence merchants sell information starting at four figures. If you want to find out the identities of the five people in the mixed team, the price will be even higher, because the identities of three of them are protected by Claude's subordinates, so it should not be easy to find out.

What Helia said really deserved a beating. The man had a grudge against her in the last battle, and he didn't get any advantage from her just now. In addition, he couldn't stand the provocation, and the fire in his heart was burning more and more. He didn't care about the team at all, and turned around to fight with Helia.

But who is Helia? How could she be bullied by him when she was chased and beaten by more than a dozen people in the last battle without any injuries?

A minute later, they heard a scream and turned around to see Helia chasing after them with Theodore in her arms, smiling. Behind them was the guy who had been knocked to the ground by her and was being teleported away.

"He was just joking with me. Now that he was tired, he went home first." Helia explained with a smile.