Chapter 35: Club Activities (5)

Bang! Bang — !

The distant gunfire sounded like a blunt object striking the silence of the ice plains.

Immediately afterward, a more intense burst of crossfire erupted like popping beans, echoing across the empty snowfields with a piercing clarity.

“Holy crap! Again?!”

Li Hao sprang up from his sleeping bag like a startled rabbit, all traces of sleep vanishing.

Panic was written across his face.

“It’s only the second day of the Second Phase! Why does it feel like the Final Circle has arrived early?”

For the past 1 week, they had practically indented the tent floor with their body shapes.

Besides using the restroom, hygiene was a major struggle in this godforsaken place.

Having been here for nearly 10 days, the only time they had bathed was at the end of the first week.

Under the guidance of The School, they had been taken to a large research station — like the USA’s McMurdo Station — where they were allowed specialized showers for 2 minutes each.

Lin Yu didn’t answer.

He tilted his head, brows furrowed, listening intently to the movement outside.

The gunfire didn’t sound distant and scattered like before; instead, it carried a sense of… approaching pressure.

“Something’s not right,” he said in a low voice, a cold premonition crawling up his spine.

“Listen to that sound… isn’t it getting closer?”

As if to confirm his suspicion —

Rrrrip!

The tent’s door flap was violently torn open!

The Antarctic cold and blinding white light flooded in instantly.

A figure clad in pure white, wearing a full-face visor and a mask, stood like a ghost emerging from the snow, blocking the only exit.

The intruder held a rifle, its black muzzle pointed steadily at the two defenseless men inside the tent.

‘It’s over!’

Both of their minds went blank simultaneously.

Li Hao instinctively started to raise his hands, while Lin Yu’s body tensed like iron, his adrenaline skyrocketing.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

However, the expected shot from a sedative round never came.

The attacker simply stood there, muzzle lowering slightly.

Then, a familiar, monotone, and icy voice filtered through the mask:

“The regional divisions for each club were basically finalized 3 days ago. Why are you two still here?”

It was Mu Chengfeng!

“I… holy crap! Senior Brother?!”

The breath Li Hao had been holding vanished instantly.

He slumped back into his sleeping bag like he had been stripped of his bones, clutching his chest and panting heavily.

“You scared… you scared the life out of me! I thought I was about to be eliminated!”

Lin Yu also let out a sigh of relief.

“We didn’t know what was happening outside.”

Their “lying flat” strategy had revealed a fatal flaw at this moment — information isolation.

Upon hearing this, Mu Chengfeng efficiently stowed his rifle and stepped aside to make room.

Behind him, several other members of the Feng club, also dressed in white snow camouflage, were using distant ice mounds to form a simple defensive line, vigilantly monitoring the surroundings.

He pointed toward a direction opposite to where the gunfire was coming from.

“King’s camp is to the west,” he said, his tone as flat as ever.

“This is the starting grounds and the center of the activity range. By staying here, you’re just two dishes on a plate for anyone to eat.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over their pale faces.

“Pack all your gear and move,” Mu Chengfeng suggested directly.

“What should we do? Do we really have to go back to King’s headquarters?”

Li Hao whispered, his face full of reluctance.

“Do we have a choice?”

Lin Yu looked at Mu Chengfeng’s back, which stood like an ice sculpture outside the tent, and helplessly began to roll up his sleeping bag.

The two of them slowly and reluctantly began to pack their gear.

Once a distance had opened up between the squad and the two roommates, Long Yun — the Vice President of Feng — spoke up with a playful smile.

“That’s quite devious,” she said.

“You’re even setting up your own roommates? The School just leaked news of the ‘mole’ through the supplies, and right at that moment, you’re driving them back. King’s side is definitely suspicious right now. Those two going back is like splashing water into a pan of boiling oil.”

Mu Chengfeng’s gaze remained sharp as he scanned the hazy movements of other clubs in the distance.

“Rules are rules,” he replied calmly.

“If they continue to linger here, the only outcome is being cleared out by another team. As for the suspicion…”

He paused slightly.

“That is an internal issue for Alexander to handle. It has nothing to do with me.”

“You certainly sound righteous,” Long Yun chuckled.

“Those two… they probably aren’t the moles arranged by The School, right? According to the rules, the leader of each club should know the identity of their own mole. So, who exactly is our mole in Feng?”

Silence hung in the air for a moment, with only the faint noise of the Antarctic wind and snow as a backdrop.

“The School’s arrangement is inherently strange,” Mu Chengfeng’s voice remained steady, showing no ripples of emotion.

“As for the identity of the mole…”

“I’m not allowed to know either?”

Long Yun pressed, her tone walking the line between serious and teasing.

Mu Chengfeng adjusted the focus of his binoculars.

Behind the ice-blue lenses, his gaze was deep.

He spoke slowly:

“Everyone… could be a mole.”

“Alright, alright.”

Long Yun seemed to have expected this answer, her tone carrying a hint of helpless indulgence.

***

On the other side, Lin Yu and Li Hao were trudging through the snow, dragging their heavy equipment like two clumsy penguins.

“This is such a pain,” Li Hao grumbled, panting for breath.

“If I’d known, I would have just quit after the first phase. Then I wouldn’t have to suffer like this.”

“How about we just forfeit now?”

Lin Yu had also had enough of the past few days.

“But we’ve already stayed for 2 extra days! Won’t we lose out on those 2 days if we quit now?”

Li Hao shook his head immediately, looking pained.

“Won’t all that suffering have been for nothing? We haven’t even gotten the credits yet. It would be a total loss!”

“Well, now we can go with a clear conscience,” Lin Yu suddenly said.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Li Hao froze, not understanding the sudden shift.

Lin Yu motioned ahead with his eyes.

Li Hao followed his gaze and gasped — not far ahead on their left, behind a jagged ice ridge, three figures dressed in striking pink snowsuits had blocked their path.

Just as the three pink-clad members were about to close their encirclement —

Whiz!

An incredibly faint yet sharp sound of something slicing through the air rang out.

The “pink” teammate charging in front suddenly stiffened, as if struck in the chest by an invisible sledgehammer.

A bright blue dye pack instantly exploded on his thick winter coat — the mark of a confirmed hit by a sedative round.

He stumbled two steps and fell face-first into the snow, motionless.

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound.

Standing on a high ice shelf to their rear was Fu Qiesi.

She was still wearing the signature red-themed winter gear of the King club.

She held a sleek sniper rifle, its muzzle still emitting a faint trail of white smoke.

Her long black hair whipped wildly in the polar wind, and her goggles were pushed up onto her forehead, revealing eyes that surveyed the battlefield with calm scrutiny.

A faint, knowing smirk played on her lips.

The remaining two pink-clad members froze instantly.

Fu Qiesi gave them no time to react.

Two more shots rang out, and the pair collapsed.

Watching the three fall, she leaped down from the ice shelf like a nimble snow leopard.

She efficiently pressed the Rescue Signal Devices on all three of them, then walked straight up to Lin Yu and Li Hao, her gaze sweeping over them.

“I thought you two had either forfeited or been eliminated,” she said with a hint of mockery.

“To manage to stay out here for 2 days with only the two of you… you guys are actually pretty impressive.”