Ma Hong and Hai Hu were now fourth-year students, essentially thrown into the deep end. While their combat abilities were decent, their hurried participation in the competition meant they hadn't been fully prepared mentally.
Fortunately, their usual mechs were quite good, requiring only minor adjustments from Rong Feiwen to suit the competition arena's environment.
As for the Green Jadeite, a precious material obtained from the previous match, Rong Feiwen had not yet used it.
He was still waiting for Meng Huai, Jing Yuancheng, and Hui Xingxiu. He believed these three would definitely return. Therefore, the decision on how to utilize the Green Jadeite would be made once they were back.
The competition began. Zheng Yiran could no longer maintain her listless demeanor. She galvanized the others, "We have to give it our all. Otherwise, when Meng Huai and the others return and see how far behind we are, they'll be angry!"
Rong Feiwen chimed in, picking up on Zheng Yiran's words, "That money-grubber Meng Huai bet a hundred million. If we don't win the championship and this money can't be recovered..."
Rong Feiwen's sentence trailed off, sending a shiver down everyone's spine. They had witnessed Meng Huai's strength before the league even began. And they were no strangers to Meng Huai's obsession with money.
To avoid Meng Huai seeking retribution, they had to perform well in this competition.
However, the audience found their words quite touching.
[Ten days have passed, and they still believe Meng Huai and the other two are not in trouble!]
[It seems their bond is deeper than we imagined.]
[Although Zheng Yiran and Rong Feiwen are acting normally, I can't shake the feeling they're putting on a brave front.]
[I want to cry! Wuwuwu.]
[I truly hope Meng Huai and the others are alright, but the chances seem slim.]
[Sorry, but I only noticed that Meng Huai bet a hundred million! She's so rich.]
[Meng Huai, her medicinal cuisine restaurant alone must be very profitable. So it's only natural she's wealthy. Besides, they say she's a money-grubber, so she must have some means of accumulating wealth!]
[But a money-grubber bet a hundred million? If they don't win the championship, that money will be lost. Is this a testament to her own strength, or her support for her military academy? But, wuwuwu! Meng Huai must not have imagined they'd encounter an earthquake! She'll be fine!]
While the audience discussed Meng Huai and the others, the competition was already underway. Despite Zheng Yiran's encouragement, the team's shortcomings were evident during the matches.
On one hand, only He Jun, Hui Xingxiu, and Jing Yuancheng possessed comparable strength among the three; the other two were somewhat weaker than He Jun. On the other hand, these three had not interacted with Zheng Yiran and Rong Feiwen, resulting in a lack of synergy and evident missteps in their coordination.
These issues were glaringly exposed during the beast hunting missions and would undoubtedly pose problems when facing other military academies. Consequently, Zheng Yiran opted for a cautious approach, avoiding direct confrontation and focusing on monitoring the movements of other academies to prevent encounters.
However, the Imperial Military Academy consistently held the top spot in the rankings, and other teams saw no reason to let such an opportunity pass them by. They cared little for the notion of "winning through questionable means"; on the field, fair competition was their mantra.
Thus, on the second day of the competition, just as Teacher Wang arrived at the arena, the entire Imperial Military Academy was eliminated.
Not only did they finish last, but they also failed to secure any points. The points they had accumulated from hunting beasts were all transferred to the military academies that had eliminated them.
The audience expressed their regret upon witnessing this turn of events.
[Sigh, I don't know what to say.]
[We miss Meng Huai and the others! They'll be alright, won't they? Perhaps they'll show up for the next match!]
[Hopefully!]
Meanwhile, far away in the previous competition venue, Meng Huai and the other two were "mining." Due to the "mental energy" of the audience during the competition, Meng Huai sensed something.
Meng Huai paused her work and placed her sword on the ground. She then sat down cross-legged, remaining perfectly still.
Hui Xingxiu and Jing Yuancheng were accustomed to this, as Meng Huai had been doing this periodically for the past few days.
Ten days prior, the trio had been hiding in a corner, waiting for the earthquake to subside. They had intended to wait for rescue in that safe location, but when Hui Xingxiu tried to contact someone outside, he suddenly remembered: "Forgot! Our signals are blocked!"
The Guangnaos of the participating military academy students were essentially useless. They were disconnected from the network; not only was communication impossible, but accessing the internet was also out of the question.
Sensing that the tremors from the outside were no longer as intense, Meng Huai suggested, "Since we're here, why don't we mine and find a way out at the same time?"
Thus, on the second day after being buried, the three of them began their daily routine of mining. Where to start digging was determined by Meng Huai's instructions.
Meng Huai did not employ professional divination methods, as they were too draining and could cause harm if done too frequently.
Instead, she used a simple finger-counting calculation. Although it provided a wider search area, the risk of harm was almost negligible. Following Meng Huai's guidance, the three of them began to excavate with their weapons.
"As they say, it's better to rely on oneself than on others. We don't know if they'll abandon us, so we must save ourselves!"
While mining, Hui Xingxiu would say this, partly to motivate himself and his teammates. But truthfully, his casual remark mirrored the reality of their situation.
Indeed, some had given up on the rescue efforts, but fortunately, others persisted.
Their objective in self-rescue was to dig an exit. However, as this was a mine, in the process of finding a way out, they actually unearthed a considerable amount of ore.
"What is this thing? Meng Huai, can you take a look and see if it's valuable?"
At the end of each day, Hui Xingxiu and Jing Yuancheng would ask Meng Huai if they discovered any ore, as Meng Huai was a "half-baked mech technician" and knew more about materials.
Unlike them, who were simply individual soldiers... they knew nothing! (Hahaha)
The three of them mined in separate areas. Typically, if Meng Huai heard Hui Xingxiu or Jing Yuancheng call her, she would come over to take a look. If it was valuable ore, they would excavate it carefully. If it was worthless, they treated it like ordinary stone and didn't need to be precious with it.
However, when Hui Xingxiu called out to Meng Huai, she didn't respond. Puzzled, he turned to look for Meng Huai and saw her sitting cross-legged on the ground, her palms resting on her knees.
This was the first time they witnessed this scene, on the second day of being buried.
Seeing this, Hui Xingxiu was startled, fearing something had happened to Meng Huai. He walked over to Jing Yuancheng, and seeing him still digging vigorously, he tapped him on the shoulder. As Jing Yuancheng turned, Hui Xingxiu flinched slightly from the knife Jing Yuancheng was holding.
"What is it?"
Jing Yuancheng, disturbed, asked impatiently.
Hui Xingxiu simply pointed his finger towards Meng Huai's position, signaling Jing Yuancheng to look: "I don't know what's wrong with Meng Huai! I called her, but she didn't respond."
Jing Yuancheng also looked towards Meng Huai, finding her actions inexplicable. Nevertheless, he said, "Don't disturb her. Let's observe for a while longer."
From the moment they noticed Meng Huai's stillness, Jing Yuancheng and Hui Xingxiu ceased their work. The two of them closely watched Meng Huai, fearing that she might lose consciousness at any moment.