The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

Kent knew he had to defeat and drive this person off the field.

He was already seeing red, forgetting that he’d originally thought of this competition as just a simple school-level game.

This was also why he’d earlier lured his classmate Xierman into his team, then seized his resources along with the others. When Xierman managed to escape, Kent had a few chances to pursue and eliminate him, but he didn’t take them because he hadn’t considered him a serious threat.

Now, however, he was fully treating this competition as a real confrontation, determined to eliminate any enemy standing in his way by any means necessary.

Xierman needed to be removed from this field.

Kent was one of the few first-year students who had already completed a secondary awakening. His mental power was at a solid B+ level, with a threshold nearing A-level.

A young individual with this level of potential was already quite rare in their star system, which is why he was placed in the elite combat division when he joined Beska Intermediate Academy.

The other three members of his team weren’t on his level, which was why they hadn’t sensed Xierman’s presence behind them. And Kent’s physical strength and endurance were also superior to Xierman’s.

Kent was confident Xierman hadn’t left the perimeter of their controlled area and was instead concealing himself, waiting for them to be misled off course.

Xierman was probably lying in wait, observing them from some hidden spot.

If Kent could locate him first and coordinate with his teammates to block any escape routes, Xierman wouldn’t stand a chance of getting away.

Kent kept urging himself to stay calm as he extended his mental power field, searching for any sign of the hidden adversary.

Five meters… ten meters… sixteen meters… twenty meters… still nothing. Kent began to wonder if he might be wrong… Wait! No, pull back… sixteen meters, seventeen meters, seventeen point five meters… there was something there.

—A different presence was there.

Although it was faint, it was undeniably there. Kent focused, coiling his mental energy into a single thread, probing carefully in that direction until he felt a weak barrier—a confirmation that made him elated.

He’d found him—Xierman.

It seemed this little rat hadn’t realized the hunter had locked onto him and was still cautiously concealing his presence.

Kent knew he couldn’t make any loud calls now, so he subtly made a hand gesture toward Anuya, who was behind him.

Although the team members each had their own motives and had only agreed to travel together for a limited time, they’d managed to defeat many other competitors to last this long. They relied on more than just luck or flimsy tricks. These four acted like longtime companions, displaying an impressive level of synergy that gave them a serious advantage.

As expected, Anuya understood Kent’s signal instantly. He felt a surge of excitement, but kept his face impassive, signaling to the other two teammates who were still in the dark.

In a matter of moments, the four exchanged all the necessary information and pinpointed Xierman’s approximate location.

Sure enough, Xierman hadn’t gotten far. Even if he realized he’d been spotted and tried to run, he wouldn’t get much further.

Xierman was out of options.

A shared, triumphant smile spread across their faces, as if they could already envision their prey’s helpless struggle.

But had Xierman truly failed to notice he’d been spotted? Hardly.

He’d been tailing these four fools for quite a while, nearly leading them straight into a trap. How smart could they be if they’d only just noticed? Not that he claimed to be a genius, but he certainly had more than enough wit to take down these self-important fools.

Want to catch him? Fine. He knew he wasn’t exceptionally skilled, and his drive to survive had only lasted this long because of his own simmering anger that refused to let him give in.

But first, Xierman was determined to drag this group down with him. If he couldn’t take out all four, then… at the very least, he would take down the ringleader, Allen Kent, who’d betrayed him.

The others were one thing, but that guy was truly a snake. Xierman had even helped him before; their relationship in class had been fine.

If Kent had confronted him directly and eliminated him openly, it would have been one thing—they were all rivals, after all. But what did this guy actually do?

“…Isn’t this playing dirty? Targeting someone he knows just makes it all the more infuriating.”

Xierman couldn’t let it go. Even if it meant getting eliminated, he wouldn’t allow this scoundrel to win. Of course, he doubted someone with such questionable character could reach the top of the rankings anyway.

It was a shame, though. He’d traveled so far, encountered so many enemies and bystanders, yet never crossed paths with Jiang—the one person he trusted completely. If he had, he would’ve stuck to her no matter what and never let go.

Given Jiang’s abilities, she was probably already at the top of the leaderboard, maybe even holding one of the top spots.

Once Xierman was done with this crew and was out of the competition, he’d definitely check on Jiang Hui’s progress first thing.

But, sigh, no point in dwelling on that now—he was practically on the brink of elimination himself.

Xierman calculated how quickly the others were closing in on his position, and when the timing seemed right, he dashed in a pre-planned direction.

The moment he burst out, he felt bullets whizzing past him from multiple directions, each shot more intense than ever, trying to corner him.

Despite having anticipated this, Xierman couldn’t help feeling a twinge of anxiety, but he quickly refocused, reminding himself that he could dodge these bullets—just like before.

He had even survived being surrounded by seven people at once; what was four to him? If he could lure them into the danger zone and expose their position, even if he didn’t see them eliminated himself, it would still be worth it.

With that thought, Xierman quickened his pace, a subtle smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as the sound of gunfire grew faintly audible nearby.

—————————————

Kent was at the front, doggedly pursuing the figure ahead.

Just as he was about to grab the back of Xierman’s collar, he suddenly froze, realizing something was wrong. He instantly turned and lunged backward toward his teammates, as though some ferocious beast were pursuing him.

Anuya and the others, a bit behind, watched Kent’s sudden move with confusion, sensing that something wasn’t right.

But it was too late.

They were fully exposed to the hidden hunter’s sights.

A barrage of gunshots rang out in unison, pinning the three of them to the ground, unable to get up.

They had been eliminated.