"Congratulations to student Hiranuma Yusho for guessing correctly! Twenty points added!"
Under the gaze of everyone in the Federation, a line of golden text appeared pinned at the top of the live broadcast screen.
"Pingzhao found it!! Lead the team and run now!"
"...Where exactly are they supposed to run to now?"
"And you're still giving out points? What right do you bug creatures have!?"
"...Isn't this just blatantly toying with people like they're puppets?"
"I can't take this anymore, it feels like watching a countdown..."
More and more viewers chose to log off, unable to bear it—watching like this was too agonizing, better to just pray for them.
But plenty of others stayed glued to the broadcast, clinging to hope.
The military analysts worked nonstop, poring over every single frame, unwilling to miss a single detail.
So the bug species on Blizza were also subject to local threats—those frostbite mushrooms could be their end.
"Valk Military Academy, Squad One, twenty points added."
The point announcement echoed from the "little drone," and the four Valk members exchanged bewildered looks, all feeling like things had spiraled beyond what they'd imagined.
"...What does this bonus even mean? It's validating what the captain said about the Alpha bug?"
Barry slapped his own forehead, wondering if he was still not awake from that hard fall earlier.
Hiranuma Yusho also felt his brain short-circuit for a moment. Wasn't this competition co-hosted by the military and the education department? Even if the military really had no conscience... shouldn't the education department at least be controlling the risks a little?
Hadn't they even extended the finals by three extra days specifically to thoroughly sweep Blizza for hidden dangers before it all started?
Could it be that the whole point was to catch a few bugs and let them loose in here?
"Let's fall back for now."
If they couldn't figure it out, then stop thinking—at least for the moment.
Hiranuma Yusho gave the order, and his teammates immediately retreated as if something filthy was chasing them.
Only after they reached a more open area and meticulously confirmed there was no trace of any living creature around did they regroup.
"..."
"The organizers really went too far this time."
Barry said seriously, facing the "little drone."
Last time on Uminos, those giant tube worms were at least bugs that didn't have parasitic threats. But this time they were sending in high-tier bug species directly?
Didn't they think about what would happen if something went wrong?
Like when he'd fallen through the ice—if he'd run into an "Alpha" right then, he'd have been done for. The safety officers on the ground couldn't have reached him in time.
All four of them desperately racked their brains, trying to recall anything from the moment they'd set foot on Blizza that could have given the bugs an opening...
"Was it just that one? Or were there more?"
Taylor asked in a dry, strained voice.
If it was just the one they'd released, that was still manageable—judging by what just happened, it was clearly dead. But if there were several... At that thought, he couldn't help turning to look at the camera nearby,
"Organizers... are you serious?"
Hiranuma Yusho calmed down and his mind started racing.
He had spotted that the frost wolf's eyes looked wrong, pointed it out, and Valk got twenty points. That confirmed he'd guessed right: the star beast really had been parasitized by an Alpha bug.
But no matter how he looked at it, he felt this was an extremely reckless move.
His father had once told him that Alpha bugs were the highest known tier of bug species. They could command and mobilize any bug of lower rank, and they'd been constantly evolving for years, making them extremely dangerous.
Their tactics included, but weren't limited to, psychic attacks, parasitism, corruption... But there was one thing: in all the years since Alphas were discovered, they had never parasitized any animal other than humans before.
His father said that seemed to be because the Alpha species had its own inexplicable pride?
So then the question was—did mutated beasts and star beasts count as animals? And where exactly was the line for that pride?
Did the organizers really choose an Alpha bug for the finals with full knowledge of all this?
Thoughts tumbled through his head, but Hiranuma Yusho forced himself to ask the most critical question:
"Excuse me, safety officer, does the organizing committee know about this? And what exactly are we supposed to do next?"
After only a brief pause, the "little drone" in his cockpit broadcast another message:
"Contestants, please continue the competition."
The four students all fell silent at those words.
Having them face Blizza's climate, sudden geological events, star beasts, mutated beasts, and two other squads wasn't enough—now they were adding an Alpha bug on top?
Were they trying to brew some kind of poison in a cauldron?
After a few seconds, Hiranuma Yusho finally looked away from the live camera,
"Alright, we understand."
His voice was calm,
"Valk squad, hold position and rest up. There's no road ahead, so in a bit we'll blast a way out through here."
"...Roger."
"Copy."
"Understood."
"Wu Fangyu, go over everyone's mech suits once more, make sure there's absolutely no problem."
Hiranuma Yusho put the stress on the word "absolutely," and Wu Fangyu silently steeled himself. With the situation this precarious, there was no room for any slip-up. He had to protect his teammates from his end.
"Got it."
He agreed with a grim face and turned to check Barry's and Taylor's mechs.
There were places he'd originally thought could hold out just fine for seven days—now he wished he could seal every single connection joint with poured metal, terrified that the bugs might squeeze through any crack.
If only he'd make the filter valves before, even if it meant not sleeping for those first ten days... Ugh, he wondered if Sister Zebra and Leola knew about this situation or not?
In danger this severe, shouldn't they somehow give their two squads a heads-up? This was driving him crazy.
"Everyone, take stock of your supplies in your space buttons. Be fully aware of what we have."
"Roger."
"From today on, don't leave your mechs unless absolutely necessary. We won't set up camp anymore either—save as much energy as we can..."
Hiranuma Yusho kept laying out instructions.
Once he'd covered everything he could think of, he sat down where he was, holding his space button in his hand inside the cockpit, deep in thought.
The tactical leadership course had once taught him: if everything around you seems unreasonable, then the situation itself must have a problem.
An Alpha bug on Blizza—whether or not the organizers knew, by now the safety officer clearly did. So was the "safety officer" even still "safe"?
The contestants had no personal communicators, and the mechs couldn't contact the outside world. All they had was the organizer's word to go on.
When it came to bugs, overthinking was never too much. But one person could only think of so much. He had to meet up with Huang Yan and He Siyu as soon as possible to discuss this.
The academy bonus points didn't matter anymore. Even if this was some dirty trick by the military and the organizers, they could deal with that later.
...He just hoped those two squads were all right.
