How Do We Play If This Boss Isn't Nerfed?

Zhou Qiming could no longer hold back. Veins bulged on his neck as he roared, "Bullshit! Your people cheated! They poisoned us!"

"We demand they be severely punished and disqualified from the competition!"

A few other students joined the clamor, their voices filled with grief, indignation, and resentment.

A middle-aged man presiding over the judges’ panel raised a hand, signaling for them to be quiet.

His expression was serious and his voice was steady. "Please, everyone, calm down. We are currently retrieving all surveillance footage from the relevant areas. We will have results shortly."

"Before the footage is ready, I ask the students of Ningke University Affiliated Middle School to please explain the situation in detail."

"Rest assured, the competition’s organizing committee will make the fairest possible ruling."

At the mention of reviewing the footage, the color instantly drained from the faces of Zhou Qiming and the others, who had been filled with righteous indignation just moments before.

The fire in their eyes was instantly replaced by a flicker of panic and terror.

’They’re reviewing the footage?’

’Doesn’t that mean their plot in the plaza to lure a beast tide and wipe out the other competitors is... also going to be exposed?’

Wang Zhengguo caught this subtle change in expression.

A sense of understanding dawned on him. He found a chair and sat down.

"Well then, let’s wait and see the footage."

A slight smile appeared on Wang Zhengguo’s face as he looked at the group of students opposite him, their expressions shifting uneasily.

"My friends from Ningke University Affiliated Middle School, please calm down."

"It’s a competition; accidents happen. If one of our students truly broke the rules, you won’t even need the judges to say anything. We will punish them severely, without exception!"

A supervising teacher from Ningke University Affiliated Middle School, who had clearly noticed his students’ strange behavior, darkened his expression. He lowered his voice and demanded sharply, "Zhou Qiming! What exactly happened?! Tell me everything, from start to finish!"

Cold sweat beaded on Zhou Qiming’s forehead. Steeling himself, he began his account, carefully omitting the incriminating details.

He made no mention of what happened in the plaza.

He jumped straight to how Zhang Yuqing had appeared furtively, and with malicious intent, tried to forcibly trade a few pieces of roasted meat for their precious T-3 Exoskeleton Armor.

He finished his story.

Before the judges could speak, Chen Meng spoke up again.

"So you’re saying that a delicate little girl from our school went all by herself into a camp of seven or eight big, strong men like you, and said she was going to forcibly take your equipment."

"And then, she held obvious poison right up to your mouths, and all of you battle-hardened geniuses, without a shred of doubt, just opened up and ate it?"

"I get it now."

"You weren’t killed by mutated beasts. You died of stupidity!"

"PFFT..."

At the judges’ panel, a young records clerk couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. He quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, his face turning beet red as he tried to suppress it.

He had professional training; normally, he wouldn’t laugh.

Unless he really couldn’t help it.

Wang Zhengguo shot Chen Meng a harsh glare and snapped, "Chen Meng! Mind your surroundings!"

Although he was scolding him, he couldn’t hide the amusement in his eyes.

’It sure is nice having a mouthpiece!’

The faces of the teachers and students from Ningke University Affiliated Middle School opposite them had turned utterly grim.

Just then, a staff member walked in quickly and nodded at the chief judge.

"Chief Judge, all relevant footage has been retrieved, and the key clips have been edited together."

"Good, play it immediately!"

The massive light screen at the front of the adjudication room lit up. A clear image, accompanied by the on-site audio recording, began to play.

The first scene was the city plaza.

Zhou Qiming’s arrogant voice came through loud and clear.

"...The monster density here is practically tailor-made for us! Everyone, split up and lure all the mutated beasts from the surrounding blocks to this plaza for me!"

"We can wipe out all those injured, straggling losers in one fell swoop!"

On the screen, a beast tide that swept across the entire plaza unfolded before their eyes.

The faces of the two teachers from Ningke University had turned completely black, like the bottom of a pot.

The way they looked at Zhou Qiming, it was as if they wanted to eat him alive.

Zhou Qiming himself was ashen-faced.

’A public execution!’

The video didn’t stop.

The scene switched, the camera now focused on Lin Ye and Zhang Yuqing in an alley.

Lin Ye, like a War God, charged against the tide into the edge of the beast swarm, beginning his hunt with ruthless efficiency!

After that, the footage showed Lin Ye leading Zhang Yuqing to high ground and skillfully dissecting the massive mutated spider.

Lin Ye began to roast the spider legs.

Then, it showed Zhang Yuqing, having been completely bamboozled by Lin Ye, heading off to make the trade.

The entire trading process, including Zhou Qiming threatening Zhang Yuqing and then snatching the food, was played out.

Meanwhile, Lin Ye’s actions were shown on a split screen.

The Lin Ye on screen seemed to have "accidentally" stumbled into a pack of mutated wolves’ territory.

Then he began to flee in a panic, but his path just so happened to lead directly toward the temporary camp where Zhang Yuqing and Zhou Qiming’s group were.

Wang Zhengguo watched these scenes unfold.

He couldn’t suppress the grin on his face anymore.

’What a mind. Did he even predict that these "victims" would report them?’

’One second, he was slaughtering mutated beasts like livestock, and the next, he was being chased into a panicked retreat by a pack of wolves.’

’But you just couldn’t find any concrete evidence that Lin Ye had "intentionally" led the beast tide.’

’He could easily claim he was exhausted and that since the monsters were in a pack, his first priority was to escape. What’s wrong with that?’

The video ended, and the light screen went dark.

You could hear a pin drop in the adjudication room.

Zhou Qiming’s lips trembled as he tried to make one last, desperate argument.

"Your person really did poison us! She’s the direct cause of our elimination! How do you explain that!"

The smile on Wang Zhengguo’s face was no longer feigned. He remained seated, calm and composed, but his eyes shone with a sharp light.

"Young man, I believe you’ve misunderstood something."

"From beginning to end, our student, Zhang Yuqing, merely wanted to make a trade with you—food in exchange for the right to use your equipment."

"As I recall, there are no rules in this competition that prohibit trades between contestants, are there?"

Wang Zhengguo paused, his gaze sweeping over Zhou Qiming’s flushed face.

"On the contrary, it was you who, after the trade fell through, used your superior numbers to threaten and attempt to steal the items our student Zhang Yuqing was using for the trade."

"If you hadn’t chosen to snatch the food we offered, you would not have been poisoned."

"No matter how I look at it, it seems to me that my student is the real victim here."

At these words, Zhou Qiming looked as if he’d been struck by lightning. His face turned beet red, and he was utterly speechless.

SLAP!

The crisp sound of a slap echoed throughout the adjudication room.

One of the supervising teachers from Ningke University, trembling with rage, viciously slapped Zhou Qiming across the face.

"Haven’t you embarrassed us enough!"

he roared. Then, he turned to Wang Zhengguo and Chen Meng, forced a smile that was uglier than a grimace, and bowed deeply.

"Mr. Wang, Mr. Chen, I’m so sorry! We didn’t investigate the situation properly. We’ve caused you trouble!"

After speaking, without even waiting for the judges to make their final ruling, he dragged the crestfallen Zhou Qiming and the equally dejected group of students and scurried away from the adjudication room in disgrace.

The judges exchanged glances.

’Lin Ye scouted the area, knew the spider legs were poisonous, and still proposed a trade.’

’It was clearly intentional.’

’If they were to really assign blame, he would certainly share some responsibility.’

’But then again, the main fault lay with Ningke University. And just as Wang Zhengguo had said, if those people from Ningke University hadn’t had malicious intentions, they never would have been eliminated.’

Since the people from Ningke University had given up pursuing the matter, the judges decided to turn a blind eye.

...

Out of the adjudication room and walking down the corridor.

Wang Zhengguo glanced at Chen Meng, who was also smiling beside him.

"That kid..."

"He’s really something else."

The two of them returned to the spectator hall.

Inside the hall, the atmosphere was at a fever pitch.

The supervising teachers from the high schools of all the surviving contestants were gathered in front of the giant light screen in the center, buzzing with discussion.

Because just a moment ago, a massive leaderboard had appeared on the screen.

The first day of the competition was over.

Chen Meng and Wang Zhengguo exchanged a look and both looked up at the leaderboard.

The top ten were all names of geniuses who had long since made a name for themselves in Dongjiang, with terrifyingly high scores.

Finally, not far below tenth place, they saw a completely unexpected name!

[Fourteenth Place: Lin Ye, Dongjiang First Middle School, Hunt Points: 331!]

They had all thought that with Lin Ye’s strength, he should perform well in this competition, perhaps even breaking into the top one hundred.

But they had never imagined he would do *this* well!