What Should I Do If My Ex-Girlfriend's Pheromones Smell Too Good? - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Bait

Shu Qiong hadn’t walked many steps before she, too, spotted the drone flying toward the summit and heard the rule notification blaring in her channel.

It had been less than an hour since she entered the arena, but the high level of mental tension was draining her energy faster than expected. At the same time, she could almost imagine the chaotic scenes of the large forces rushing toward the summit, sparking fierce skirmishes.

At 8:40 AM, Shu Qiong arrived at the summit.

A quick scan revealed several mechas poised for action; most had taken cover and activated optical camouflage, showing only faint silhouettes during occasional movements. The drone hovering above the summit showed no intention of dropping the large crate just yet. Instead, it projected a floating screen—a countdown with less than twenty minutes remaining.

Most of the people surrounding the area held a wait-and-see attitude. Only small-scale fights broke out occasionally; most chose to conserve their energy for the moment the drone descended.

Shu Qiong heard the long-silent public channel become a mess of noise. Someone said in a pinched voice, “I’m beautiful and have a sweet voice, I can call you ‘big sister’ and sing songs. Seeking a powerhouse teammate to farm points together~”

“Ugh, where’s your dignity!”

“Holy crap, that works? Then I’m also seeking a powerhouse teammate. I have no other merits, but I’m incredibly obedient!”

“…”

The messages were incredibly cluttered. Shu Qiong found it tiring to listen and considered turning it off, but amidst the chaos, she captured a familiar voice.

“Calling Xinghai, calling Xinghai, this is Lianzhu!”

Shu Qiong fell silent. She recognized Chang Xichun’s voice, which was intentionally being strained as she cautiously tested the public channel, trying to confirm if Shu Qiong had reached the summit. However, Shu Qiong had no intention of speaking in the public channel; such communication was not only inefficient but also high-risk. She took a moment to observe the surrounding terrain.

The summit area had clearly been cleared and arranged by the instructors beforehand. There was a vast open space in the center, with the drone hovering at a low altitude in the middle. Surrounding the clearing was a ring of forest where numerous mechas—including Shu Qiong’s—were hidden, either crouching or standing.

There’s no way to determine Chang Xichun’s location, Shu Qiong thought with a headache.

Just then, a prompt rang in her ear, warning of “illegal teaming,” and she saw a red light flashing in the corner of her vision. At least two people were near her!

Shu Qiong immediately became hyper-vigilant but did not move. The newcomers, however, lacked her level of caution. Panicked by the alarm, one of them instinctively took a step back, causing their optical camouflage to fail instantly.

Through her viewport, Shu Qiong saw the outlines of two strange mechas—one black and one yellow—materializing behind her. She turned rapidly and launched an attack before the newcomers could make an effective response.

The distance between them was too close; Shu Qiong didn’t even need to aim. A soft “click” of impact echoed in the air, and the black mecha found to its shock that its energy light had gone out.

Immediately after, a gust of wind swept past it. Shu Qiong steered Xinghai straight toward its companion. Her left arm pressed against the yellow mecha’s chest without a gap, while her right arm pulled an extremely delicate… utility knife? out from Xinghai’s spine area.

Amidst the bone-chilling sound of scraping metal, the cadet in the yellow mecha, who had felt despair upon being ambushed, waited for an elimination prompt that never came. He realized with shock that the person opposite him hadn’t fired.

He tremblingly connected to her private channel: “W-what are you doing?”

Just as he spoke, he felt his thermal weapon arsenal vanish—or rather, a problem appeared in the mecha’s sensor department. The cadet inside the yellow mecha looked down in shock to find several utility knives of various shapes jammed into the joints and connections of his mecha’s arms and torso. On the ground lay scattered tiny parts that had fallen off his body.

Shu Qiong let out a breath: “Don’t worry, I just destroyed your thermal weapon sensing devices.”

With limited time, she only had enough to destroy a few key parts, but for a layman, it was quite the deterrent. The cadet in the yellow mecha went numb. Don’t worry? Just give him a quick death!

Shu Qiong seemed to see through his thoughts and laughed. Still pointing her muzzle at him, she commanded: “Turn around, walk forward fifty meters, then say something in the public channel.”

“W-what words?” the man asked, completely bewildered.

Shu Qiong’s tone took on a hint of amusement: “‘Calling Lianzhu, calling Lianzhu, this is Xinghai.’ Then, report your current coordinates in the public channel.”

Seeing no movement, Shu Qiong raised the gun on her left arm slightly and said in a cold, impatient voice: “Two choices. Either do as I say, or die now.”

Inside the yellow mecha, the threatened unlucky soul looked dazed. His skill level was below average among the cadets—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been too scared to respond properly—and now he felt like he was facing a demon. Finally, after a mental struggle and under Shu Qiong’s gaze, the yellow mecha, having lost its long-range attack capability, carefully turned and retreated fifty meters away from her.

In his viewport, he couldn’t see Xinghai’s figure. He didn’t know if it was standing still in camouflage or if it had moved to a safer location. Should he gamble? Running away now might have a chance of success. The yellow mecha hesitated for a long time, unable to make a decision. Once he broadcasted his position, he would surely attract the attention and attacks of others, which meant certain death.

Clang!

A silver bullet suddenly streaked out, hitting his chest ten centimeters away from the energy light. This was Shu Qiong’s final warning after sensing his hesitation.

The cadet in the yellow mecha was startled and finally switched to the public channel, saying the designated code with a heart full of shame: “Calling Lianzhu, calling Lianzhu, this is Xinghai. My current location is…”

As he finished, he heard Shu Qiong send another instruction through the private channel: “Louder. Say it again.” He had no choice but to raise his volume and repeat it reluctantly.

The entire public channel went quiet for a moment. A fellow student recognized his voice and asked in disbelief, “Old Yao, have you lost your mind and decided to self-destruct? Do you have to pee so bad you want to go down the mountain?”

The boy called Old Yao let out a sobbing “Ying.”

In the private channel, Shu Qiong was finally satisfied and said to Old Yao: “You can escape now.”

“Huh?” Old Yao thought it might be a trap and only took one tentative step.

Shu Qiong ignored him, quietly moving to a higher position and focusing entirely on the broadcasted coordinates, waiting for the possible arrival of Chang Xichun.

Within a minute, the yellow mecha that hadn’t fled far was suddenly attacked. Someone from not far to Shu Qiong’s left fired three consecutive shots at Old Yao. Unfortunately, their aim was poor; not a single shot hit the energy light, only grazing the casing.

Immediately after, another bullet spun through the air from a position about twenty meters to Shu Qiong’s right. From a hundred meters away, a single shot directly eliminated the yellow mecha.

Shu Qiong raised an eyebrow and carefully moved toward that position. Simultaneously, she spoke in her own voice in the public channel: “I see you, Lianzhu.”

“Shu, it really is you!” Chang Xichun’s voice opened with delight as she recognized Shu Qiong’s voice. “I thought that idiot just now was bait someone put out intentionally to take my head.”

Shu Qiong spent two seconds repenting to the bait, Old Yao, with zero sincerity in her heart, then said concisely: “I’m near you.”

She boldly turned off her optical camouflage, revealing her mecha’s body. A second later, Lianzhu’s silhouette leaped out from the diagonal front.

Chang Xichun immediately connected to Shu Qiong’s private channel, saying urgently: “Go, go, go! I saw a small-scale brawl nearby when I came over. It’s perfect for farming points!”

Shu Qiong nodded, and the two moved toward the skirmish zone near the center. Before they even got close, they heard the sounds of fighting. Chang Xichun made a gesture, and Shu Qiong understandingly found a suitable sniper spot. The two began looking for opportunities to fire “cold shots” from the sidelines.

The two sides initially involved in the brawl seemed to be from two military academies that had a pre-existing grudge. They had argued over training equipment a few days ago and were now clashing over a weapon supply crate. Seeing their enemies made their eyes turn red with rage. As they fought, others joined in, evolving it into a three-way melee.

“That mecha looks so familiar…” Chang Xichun muttered, then thought of something and rubbed her hands together. “My dream opportunity is here! Those are Mecha University people!”

Shu Qiong counted: “Six people, three pairs, and at least one person sniping from the sidelines.” Perhaps there were even more people like them, observing and waiting for a chance to strike.

“Kill one pair first,” Chang Xichun said with a clear smile. “You know which pair I mean.”

Before she even finished her sentence, she had swapped her shoulder-mounted submachine gun for a long-range armor-piercing sniper rifle. Despite the silencer, the barrel still made a sliding sound. A high-power, small-caliber shot went straight for the head of the Mecha University captain’s mecha.

BOOM—

By the time the opponent sensed the danger, it was too late to dodge. He was hit right in the center of his forehead, making a loud noise. The excessive impact caused him to stagger back, leaving a trail of broken parts on the ground. Unlike a human, a mecha’s head is not a vital spot; this shot was far more insulting than it was damaging.

His teammate hurried to help him block the attacks from the other two pairs of opponents. At that moment, another beam of laser particles—hardly detectable by the naked eye—streaked in, hitting almost simultaneously with Chang Xichun’s sniper shot.

The scorched energy light emitted a “sizzling” sound of circuit destruction and went dark instantly. Mecha University’s second player clutched his chest in disbelief.

Seeing this, Group A of the opponents fighting for the resource box thought it was an opportunity. They swung their large blades at the Mecha University captain—who had been headshot but not yet eliminated. In a two-on-one, they successfully secured his kill points.

However, before they could celebrate for even two seconds, they were precisely eliminated by two eerie bullets that were too fast to track.

Ups and downs, that’s life. They numbly watched their chest lights go out following the elimination prompt.

The Group B cadets already had thoughts of retreating, feeling that the person sniping from the shadows was more than they could handle. Without hesitation, they abandoned the supply crate. While Group A attracted the remaining attention, they fled the battlefield to the left and right, pushing their thrusters to the max—a perfect illustration of “every man for himself in the face of disaster.”

Shu Qiong asked: “Shall we take the box?”

Chang Xichun was still excited and hadn’t had enough: “Take it! I’ll go get it, you cover me?”

Shu Qiong agreed, propping up her muzzle and keeping a close eye on Chang Xichun’s high-speed silhouette as she leaped out.

Chang Xichun was very skilled at taking the box. From a certain distance, she fired an air cannon at the crate, blasting it toward a piece of cover she had pre-observed. Then, as she neared the cover, she ducked and dove, holding the box against her chest and rolling behind the obstacle.

During this process, someone hiding in the shadows fired at her, but Shu Qiong quickly identified their general location and met them with a warm response from her artillery. The person was blasted out of the bushes, their silhouette revealed as they dodged. Shu Qiong followed up with a shot without hesitation, watching her points panel jump once more.