Chapter 406: Chapter 406

The battlefield was ablaze with fierce competition.

This wasn’t the typical red versus blue clash depicted on TV screens; it was an all-out brawl among ten teams.

Like sifting sand for gold, only the strong would endure — the brutal nature of this competition was crystal clear.

At the start of the match, each team was assigned identical virtual target machines to defend. Within the limited game time, teams had to identify weaknesses in the other teams’ systems to launch attacks while simultaneously fortifying their own defenses.

From the initial scores, teams scored points by exploiting vulnerabilities in network services and capturing flags from opponents, subtracting points from the victims. Conversely, defending and patching vulnerabilities in their own systems helped avoid losses. Victory was determined by the final score.

Before the competition began, teams were granted thirty minutes for preparation and reinforcement. Each team divided tasks clearly, like Team 01: while Xu Xin reinforced the server, two teammates downloaded backup server files. Web specialist Qian Chao conducted code audits and vulnerability scans, while penetration expert Zhang Qiang dealt with reverse engineering and binary vulnerability analysis.

The competition officially started, with each round lasting ten minutes — and the chaos began immediately. In just the first round, one team that had barely acquired SSH credentials found their password changed because they were a step too slow in securing it.

This was only one minute into the match.

That team was left utterly disheartened.

Their opponent’s speed was terrifying, leaving them no time to react.

On the big screen, the PT team gained points while the Winner team lost theirs, sinking to the bottom of the rankings.

Ironically, naming themselves "Winner," they were the first team to be eliminated.

Other teams watched this unfold with unease, like a shadow cast over their hearts. Zhang Qiang instinctively turned to the mysterious boy in black, gritting his teeth and muttering, "Damn it."

Xu Xin didn’t even lift his head; his fingers danced across the keyboard as he issued commands, speaking rapidly: "What are you standing around for? Quickly use D-Shield to scan the backup files and check for planted backdoors in the target machine. Focus on defense for now!"

Forget about attacking for now — securing their own systems to eliminate backdoor vulnerabilities was the top priority.

Zhang Qiang dared not get distracted again and immediately turned his full attention back to the game.

In the audience, Cheng Fan lightly tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair, his unwavering gaze fixed on the black-clad boy in the arena, eyes brimming with intrigue.

The relentless clash on the battlefield was nothing more than an elegant, leisurely game to him, akin to a cat toying with a mouse.

On the battlefield, everyone was on edge.

The boy’s capability was truly terrifying — well-rounded in every aspect, seamlessly transitioning between defense and offense. Zhang Qiang had long abandoned his earlier bravado, now focused purely on survival.

Cheng Fan’s gaze shifted to another youth. In contrast to the enigmatic subtlety of the boy in black, this new competitor was extraordinarily flamboyant.

An assistant stepped up beside him and whispered in his ear.

Cheng Fan’s eyebrow twitched slightly, his gaze flitting thoughtfully between the two boys.

After several rounds of matches, the leaderboard showed PT still firmly in first place, far ahead of its rivals. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ NoveIꜰire.net

Second place was held by Snow, although there was a noticeable gap in points between them and PT. Snow demonstrated a cunning strategy, leeching off opportunities where PT had weakened servers and successfully attacking them, splitting the score with PT. Yet, strangely, PT hadn’t retaliated against them.

In third place was Team 01, despite suffering multiple setbacks and losing points, their overall performance was still better than several teams in the lower rankings.

This zero-sum competition mode rendered team scores and technical proficiency immediately evident on the leaderboard, exposing the ruthless nature of the game. A skilled and strategic player was like a pro rampaging through a beginner’s village, effortlessly amassing points with overwhelming technical dominance.

Take, for instance, the boy in black.

His posture seemed oddly casual — at a glance, his back almost excessively thin — yet within his slender frame lurked an incomprehensible reservoir of power.

His pale and delicate hands glided rapidly over the keyboard, akin to the legendary sword of a martial arts master, striking to kill without mercy.

The boy struck his final key and stretched his neck. Unlike his competitors, who appeared fiercely tense, he remained relaxed and unhurried.

Zhang Qiang spotted an opening and immediately hacked into the opponent’s server. A prompt flashed on the screen displaying a password.

Zhang Qiang froze, then instantly raised his hand and shouted, "I report — PT is violating the rules by using WAF illegally!"

Xu Xin tried to stop him, but it was too late. He could only shake his head in exasperation.

Zhang Qiang was reckless and impulsive — did he not consider PT’s unmatched performance in past contests? How could they not understand AWD competition rules for WAF? The challenge mechanism would detect WAF’s filtering parameters and crash the server outright.

This only proved that their WAF setup was meticulously planned, fully compliant with inspection rules. Wait, no... this might be a trap.

Qian Chao’s hand trembled: "Damn it..."

Xu Xin, powerless to turn the tide, shook his head in frustration: "They replaced the Flag using AWD-Watchbird. It’s a trap — you fell for it."