Chapter 982: Chapter 982

"Haha, I didn’t expect to be the first one to go on stage."

At this moment, Fu Renjie walked towards the entrance with a laugh, mocking Tang Ming and the others: "Guys from the Dark Group, today I’ll show you my skills, and in the first round, I’ll leave you in the dust."

"Idiot, be careful not to die on the way."

Tang Ming sneered disdainfully, his eyes carefully observing Fu Renjie’s every move. The key to achieving a high score in this competition lay with Fu Renjie.

"Great, the order of the competition is set. Number one, Fu Renjie; number two, Meng Shuangfei; number three, Tang Xin; number four, Long Ao; number five, Qian Bujun; number six, Lin Canghai; number seven, Wu Xiaoyu; number eight, Wan Yong."

Qin Fang introduced with a smile: "Now, let’s welcome the first contestant, Fu Renjie, to enter."

The large iron gate opened, and Fu Renjie put on a smartwatch and strode into the forest, vanishing from sight.

Since the other contestants couldn’t see the competition process, Long Ao, Lin Canghai, and Wu Xiaoyu were all intensely focused on the large iron gate.

Meanwhile, Tang Ming pulled over a chair and leisurely napped, unnoticed as a small bat with red wings followed Fu Renjie into the mountains.

The people in the viewing hall could see Fu Renjie running through the jungle on the big screen, whispering among themselves and pointing at the screen.

"Fu Tianbao, it seems like the Ming Group’s jungle task setup isn’t too difficult."

Su Tianyu sneered at the smiling Fu Tianbao, "Fu Renjie can run unimpeded through the jungle; he seems quite familiar with the terrain."

"Is that so? In that case, Fu Renjie is quite a hand at jungle adventure, very good, he’s worth nurturing in the future."

Fu Tianbao laughed triumphantly.

Su Tianyu snorted coldly, knowing from Fu Renjie’s state that he was already familiar with the jungle’s layout; otherwise, he couldn’t move so smoothly through it.

Fifteen minutes later, Fu Renjie approached a heavily guarded mountain stronghold, with many armed masked bandits patrolling and standing guard inside.

Entering the stronghold and rescuing the hostage is the main objective of this mission.

How to get someone out of the stronghold is a challenge, as the pretend bandits come from both the Dark Group and the Ming Group, and neither side will let the other faction’s contestant pass easily.

Since all the bandits wore identical uniforms and masks, Fu Renjie couldn’t tell who belonged to the Ming Group or the Dark Group, so he dared not reveal his identity.

"Since I can’t tell friend from foe, I won’t bother."

Fu Renjie resolved silently, using his movement technique to charge towards the stronghold gate at top speed.

These bandits were ordinary soldiers; he intended to use the formidable power of a Six-star Martial Master to forcibly assault the stronghold and rescue the hostage as quickly as possible.

Seeing Fu Renjie choose a frontal assault, many watching the competition silently cursed him as an idiot. In reality, a Six-star Martial Master attempting a frontal rescue would have no chance of success.

In a real scenario, the bandits would have plenty of time to kill the hostage before Fu Renjie could complete the rescue.

Fortunately, this was a drill; the bandits wouldn’t kill the hostage, and were left powerless as Fu Renjie bulldozed through.

Half an hour later, at the forest entrance, Qin Fang leisurely announced, "Report, contestant Fu Renjie has successfully rescued the hostage, taking thirty-nine minutes."

Qian Bujun, gnawing on chicken feet, couldn’t help but curse. Even with a map, it took so long—truly brainless.

The expressions of Long Ao and others were grave; even Fu Renjie took so long with a map, how much longer would they take?

"Now, let’s welcome the second contestant, Meng Shuangfei, to enter."

Qin Fang announced loudly without giving contestants much time to ponder.

Long Ao quickly raised his hand, puzzled, "But Fu Renjie hasn’t come out yet."

"I forgot to mention, contestants for this round will exit through another way to the rest area after their turn." Qin Feng immediately explained with a smile.

Hearing this, Long Ao and the others were dumbfounded.

"Haha, it seems the Ming Group has fully grasped the Dark Group’s strategy, not giving us any chance to unite for the competition."

Tang Ming chuckled weirdly.

With the Ming Group’s every move being guarded and pitfalls set, winning openly for the Dark Group was almost like dreaming.

"Damn it, damn it, so unfair."

Long Ao gritted his teeth and cursed, clenching his fist.

"Brother, let it go."

Tang Ming patted Long Ao on the shoulder, then leaned in to whisper in his ear.

Long Ao’s eyes widened in disbelief at Tang Ming.

"Trust me, we’re bound to win."

Tang Ming flashed a confident smile.

"Next, let’s welcome the second contestant Meng Shuangfei..."

Before Qin Fang finished speaking, Meng Shuangfei’s almost neutral voice suddenly sounded.

Tang Ming looked at Meng Shuangfei in surprise.

The others looked indifferent, as if they had expected it.

"Now, let’s have the third contestant, Tang Xin, to enter."

Qin Fang continued without unnecessary words.

Tang Ming walked towards the entrance with a grin, turning back to Long Ao: "Remember what I said, victory is ours."

Long Ao nodded solemnly, and after Tang Ming entered, he immediately whispered to Lin Canghai and Wu Xiaoyu.

When Tang Ming started the competition, the spectators in the viewing hall were stunned.

Once Tang Ming entered, he maximized his speed, weaving through the jungle like the wind, as if merging with the surrounding environment. The complex terrain and paths didn’t hinder him at all.

In the private room, Fu Tianbao stared at the big screen with an unpleasant expression, puzzled by why Tang Xin could move so swiftly through the jungle, defying logic.

"Hahaha, perhaps Group Leader Tang is just better suited for jungle warfare."

Su Tianyu, also stunned, burst into laughter after recovering.

"Impressive, impressive. Moving like it’s on flat ground, it must have come from a long period of jungle living."

Lin Qingfeng nodded repeatedly, praising: "Seems much faster than the previous contestant."

Fu Tianbao stomped his foot, puzzled. Did Tang Xin also get an early look at the terrain map?

No... Even with a terrain map, they shouldn’t be so fast in the jungle; did that kid actually live in the jungle?

Nobody realized that for Tang Ming, the jungle seemed as flat as a field. By following the clues Fu Renjie left and with guidance from Little Red, he reached the stronghold’s outer area in just five minutes.