51: Chapter 51 Manipulating People's Hearts

High up in the sky, Qin Ce's indifferent voice drifted down once more, ringing clearly in everyone's ears with an undisguised hint of mockery.

"Everyone, it’s been a pleasure working with you."

"However, even though it was a collaboration, you insisted on calling it 'working for me.' Since you're all so reluctant and don't want to fight, then let's stop here."

...

Inside the jungle, a deathly silence reigned.

After a long while, someone finally spoke with a raspy, parched voice: "His... his mission... is complete!"

Someone subconsciously looked at their team badge to check the mission progress.

On the one-star Shadow Monkey mission, the completion progress had changed to (3/6).

Moreover, the newly added completion entry was clearly marked as 'over-fulfilled'.

Not only that, there was a small note in parentheses behind it: (Quantity: 87/50).

Eighty-seven!

By himself, in such a short period of time, he hadn't just met the base requirement of 50; he had exceeded it by 37 kills!

This efficiency, this kill count...

"What... what on earth were we doing?" A team member slumped to the ground, his face full of bewilderment and self-doubt.

They had rushed here to snatch the mission, thinking they could easily handle a lone Qin Ce.

In the end, they were played like puppets by a single person using all sorts of inconceivable methods.

All their efforts, calculations, and struggles became a joke in the face of the opponent's absolute strength and control.

It wasn't just a crushing defeat in points and missions; it was a total blow to their confidence and dignity.

"We..." Zhao Rui's throat felt dry. "We helped him... clear them all?"

It wasn't just him. All the captains realized the crux of the matter at the same time.

From the very beginning, Qin Ce never intended to kill fifty Shadow Monkeys one by one himself.

That would be too slow.

Even if he used Nine-Star Insight to find monsters quickly and had high attack power, killing fifty would still take a lot of time.

And time was exactly the most precious thing in the Elite Class competition—other teams wouldn't wait for him.

Therefore, he designed this trap.

He used the monkey tide to force all the squads into the fray, used precise kill-stealing to enrage them, and then used the illusion of 'area-of-effect bombardment' to make them think they had found a way to counter him...

And while they were outputting damage with all their might, thinking they had finally regained the upper hand, Qin Ce's mission progress was skyrocketing with every volley and every explosion they unleashed.

Finally, after the total chaos, he used one large-scale attack to instantly over-fulfill the Shadow Monkey mission.

"He used our hands... to kill over eighty Shadow Monkeys all by himself..." the Mountain Squad Captain muttered, the battle-axe in his hand falling to the ground with a 'clang'.

"And it was much faster than any of our teams working alone, or even two or three teams combined," the Shadow Squad Captain said, his face pale.

Only at this moment did they completely understand: from the moment Qin Ce started luring the monsters, they had fallen into his calculations. Every reaction and every counter-move had been within his expectations.

If they hadn't been greedy and hadn't tried to snatch the monsters Qin Ce lured, but instead honestly found their own monsters to kill, their speed might not have been much slower than his.

But now...

Not only had they helped Qin Ce complete the mission at an incredible speed, but they had also personally broken the unwritten 'First-Touch Principle'.

From now on, Qin Ce could rightfully snatch anyone's monsters—because they were the ones who broke the rules first.

As long as they took the same mission as Qin Ce, unless they could perfectly avoid him, they would all likely become his 'laborers'.

At this time, Qin Ce's voice came again, carrying a hint of leisurely banter:

"So, regarding the remaining one-star missions for this month, for example, that 'Clear the Snake Den' mission, has any of your squads chosen it? If I'm planning to pick it... what would you think?"

Snake Den?

That wasn't a one-star mission the Thunder Squad had selected; it was of medium difficulty with decent rewards.

Originally, several squads were considering taking it.

In fact, two squads present had already accepted that mission.

But now, Qin Ce was publicly stating he was going to choose it.

What did that mean?

After a brief moment of confusion, those with quick minds suddenly shuddered.

"He's... forcing us to make a choice," Zhao Rui said through gritted teeth in a low voice.

If they chose to take it, they would face the same situation as today—potentially being used as tools by Qin Ce to help him complete the mission quickly.

If no one took it, it would be equivalent to handing the mission to Qin Ce on a silver platter; he could leisurely complete it alone and steadily claim the points.

To take it was bad, and not to take it was also bad.

Qin Ce was already in an invincible position.

The area below was deathly silent. The cheers, smugness, and excitement from earlier had all turned into ice water, chilling everyone to the bone.

Regret coiled around them like poisonous vines.

If... if only they hadn't been greedy, if only they hadn't broken the rules...

Unfortunately, there were no 'ifs'.

"Just kidding," Qin Ce suddenly chuckled, breaking the silence. "Mission selection is your freedom; I have no right to interfere."

His tone shifted, suddenly turning cold:

"But one thing is not a joke—there are still three completion slots left for the Shadow Monkey mission."

He pointed his finger down at the five squads looking at each other in bewilderment:

"And with you all attacking in such a chaotic mess... I wonder who those three slots will eventually go to?"

Buzz—

Everyone's brain felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer.

That's right!

The mission was only 'over-fulfilled', not 'completely closed'!

There were still three teams that could continue to complete it and get points—although there was no longer a ranking bonus, the base points were still there!

And they, the five squads, were just 'allies' celebrating together.

Now, the alliance instantly disintegrated.

Gale, Mountain, Shadow, Frostblade, Watermoon—five pairs of eyes looked at each other, filled with vigilance, calculation, and a hint of barely perceptible... hostility.

Only three slots left.

Whoever was fastest could secure those 50 base points and avoid the penalty of losing points.

Whoever was slow might become the unlucky fourth or fifth, ending up with nothing for their hard work, and might even lose double points for giving up.

"Ahem," Zhao Rui was the first to take a step back. "Gale Squad, we contributed the most just now, so we should—"

"Bullshit!" The Mountain Squad Captain picked up his battle-axe. "In that last wave of concentrated fire, we killed at least eight!"

"Shadow Squad was providing control the whole time; without us, you would've been scattered by the monkey swarm long ago!"

"Frostblade Squad's frost slow was the key!"

A quarrel was on the verge of breaking out.

Qin Ce watched the five squads below, who were suddenly at each other's throats, and his lips curled into a cold arc.

"Hahaha—"

He suddenly burst into laughter, his voice carrying far into the forest.

Then, the Blue Luan Wings flapped, turning into a streak of azure light that completely disappeared into the sky on the other side of the jungle.

He left the five squads below, amidst the permeating smell of blood and the impending internal strife, staring at each other in a dilemma.

The setting sun spilled down, illuminating the lingering regret on their faces and the newly ignited hostility toward one another in their eyes.

...