The sphere suddenly fell silent. Qi Xu keenly observed that the expression of the number one ranked player from District 04 was also a bit strange. It seemed she had hit the nail on the head; they had indeed discussed this privately beforehand.
[Correct, their use is not permitted.]
Qi Xu first quickly sent a message to Bian, then continued her questioning. "There are 10 players in total. Being the first to win 6 matches means victory, right? If you can win 6 in a row, do the remaining 4 matches not need to be played?"
[That is incorrect. Winning 6 matches only means your team advances from the group stage, but all 10 members must participate in the matches!]
[Since you're all here, how can you not participate? A true warrior must face every battle without fear!]
Qi Xu could sense the sphere was getting a bit worked up now. She ignored its sarcastic tone and implied meanings.
She continued to inquire, "Is the order of appearance decided by the number one ranked players themselves, or is it a random draw?"
[Of course, it's a random draw.]
"I refuse. You have zero credibility with me. I suspect you'd manipulate things behind the scenes and be unfair. I demand that the sphere from our 666 District participates in this cross-district arena challenge, overseeing the fairness and impartiality of the entire event."
[Hmph, fine.]
The sphere was amused. Our spheres are all part of the same organization. What gives you the idea that your district's sphere would listen to you over me?
"What if during the match..."
"If the weapons used are..."
"I have another question..."
"There's also a possibility that..."
"It's possible that..."
Perhaps from all her practice sparring with the little demon mirror, Qi Xu had gotten good at it—finding loopholes and asking pointed questions was now her specialty. She fired off nearly a hundred questions in a row, simulating every conceivable scenario she could think of or anticipate.
Some things absolutely had to be clarified upfront. Otherwise, Qi Xu was genuinely worried it would start acting shamelessly and pulling tricks on the spot. By getting these details ironed out in advance, she could at least file complaints or impose restrictions later.
The sphere finally flew into a rage.
[Are you '100,000 Whys'? I refuse to answer any more of your questions! You are maliciously disrupting the normal proceedings of this meeting!]
"No, as a participating player, it's only right that I clarify all the details. In fact, I suspect that, given how precious survival time is, you're intentionally trying to delay my time for running mileage and developing my strength.
What about the rest of you? Don't you have any questions at all? You're making it seem like I'm the only one causing trouble."
Qi Xu smiled and looked around at the other players. Everyone kept their heads down and stayed silent, but... they were all praying inwardly, "Please, please, please don't let me get drawn against Invincible Black Whirlwind! She's unbelievable, so difficult to deal with!"
And it was completely different from what the sphere had said. They started off full of confidence, but now they were already having second thoughts.
Ignoring them, Qi Xu continued her questioning, occasionally checking the chat panel where Bian was also helping brainstorm various possible game loopholes and bugs.
Only when she had absolutely no more questions did Qi Xu finally say with a smile, "Let's continue. However, your work performance is lacking. Such simple matters, yet you failed to explain them clearly when introducing the rules, wasting so much more time.
I hope you can be more diligent, think proactively, and prepare your work properly. Don't be like this time, making a whole circle of us wait around for you."
[Suggestion received. I thank you so much.]
"Knowing to be thankful is good. You're learning."
[Fine, fine, fine.]
The sphere was so angry it couldn't think straight. It was truly blind back then to have taken a liking to Invincible Black Whirlwind!
[Next, please quickly fill in the player nicknames representing your district! Each person has only 3 minutes! Exceeding the time will result in random assignment! No player is allowed to speak or make a sound!]
Seriously, who are you trying to guard against? I wasn't planning on speaking anyway. Qi Xu openly showed her disdain with an eye-roll...
Looking at the light screen that suddenly appeared before her, Qi Xu immediately started filling in the nicknames.
"Purple Swallow A Hundred Tastes Gah", "3-Point King of the Court", "Cut Autumn My Head Hurts So Much", "Cat in the Alley", "Invincible Black Whirlwind", "Watch Me Slice You Up", "Song Peifeng", "War Wolf 009", "War Wolf 004", "War Wolf 008".
After confirming, she directly submitted the participant list.
AI can never replace humans, just like this sphere completely fails to understand Qi Xu's madness.
One could imagine the sphere's goal was to get players from District 666 killed. The main idea was: I might not be able to win this competition against you, but I will definitely kill a few of your team members to weaken your team's strength.
Your team might indeed have a few strong players, but it's impossible for all 10 to be powerhouses. Can't bear to change districts, huh? Then just watch as your teammates die before your eyes.
It just so happened that the districts merged last night. It just so happened that a few people who needed killing but hadn't been killed yet were delivered right to their doorstep.
The six people Qi Xu wrote on the list were the six with the highest chance of winning, based on a comprehensive consideration.
She agonized for a long time between War Wolf Egg Seven, Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly, and War Wolf 008.
War Wolf Egg Seven's marksmanship was phenomenal, but the arena banned firearms. Breaking Cocoon into Butterfly's fundamentals and three-dimensional stats were the most impressive, but... she was also too upright. Qi Xu worried she might be tricked.
As for War Wolf 008, although their acquaintance was brief, she was relatively more well-rounded. At the very least, she was smart and flexible. Of the three, she had the greatest hope of surviving an encounter with a troublesome expert.
That's why the final list was decided this way.
As for the first four names written on the list, they were precisely among the twelve people everyone had wanted to kill this morning. Coincidentally, these four hadn't chosen to stick together in a group, and there hadn't been time to hunt them down one by one yet.
Perfect timing, put to use. You want to kill people? Here you go. Kill these four freely. If you don't kill them, I will.
But the remaining six matches would be fought by the strongest combatants District 666 could currently field, and these were the six matches they absolutely had to win.
Qi Xu took a deep breath. Given the current situation, this was the optimal solution.
The rest... would have to be fought for on the arena stage.
Cross-District Arena Challenge Draw Results
[China Major District 01, District 03 VS China Major District 88, District 666]
Below was also attached the detailed match list for the 10 participants.
Looking at the draw results, Qi Xu had initially been somewhat worried, afraid her own people might end up facing War Wolf members. After all, only one person could successfully leave the stage, which would be troublesome. Fortunately, it wasn't that clichéd.
Qi Xu didn't know who the poor soul named "Purple Swallow A Hundred Tastes Gah" was. His name was somewhat ominous; he might really end up 'gah'-ed (dead). He was matched against District 03's number one ranked player, "Got Stabbed 18 Times in a Vice Raid."
Despite his abstract name, Qi Xu could clearly sense it—he was definitely an ability user. The fluctuation of power from him was very distinct.
.........
