Chapter 333: Cup!
Countless possibilities flashed through Xu Zhi’s mind in an instant. The most likely one was this: either a high-level [Cup] had infiltrated the event organizing committee, or someone had colluded with [Cup]!
And it couldn’t just be members of the organizing committee alone. They were bound by the [Oath Circuit] and couldn’t make overly excessive moves. There had to be other forces stirring trouble behind the scenes.
There was no time to think about who else might be involved. She couldn’t obtain that much information right now. At this moment, she and her teammates were standing opposite five [Cup]-attribute enemies. She had no energy to think about off-field matters anymore.
Their own side definitely wouldn’t intervene in the match immediately. They might even want to see how the students handled a crisis.
As for the organizing committee, someone there would probably deliberately prevent referees from entering the field right away.
The purpose?
Most likely — “live broadcast.”
“What’s going on?”
Su Ran’s expression was grave as she stared at the five “blood-soaked” figures across from them.
Xu Zhi shook her head. “I don’t know. But we might be in trouble. Don’t treat this as a match anymore. Try not to let their blood splash onto you. You saw it too — something’s wrong with that blood.”
Xu Zhi wasn’t sure whether the [Life Rewind] grand formation could reverse extraordinary users who had been polluted by [Cup], but she was inclined to believe it couldn’t.
The others nodded.
In just a few seconds, the Minjiang team members — who had still been normal extraordinary users — were fully transformed by [Cup], completely fallen into [Cup]’s believers.
Through her [Eye of Secrets], Xu Zhi once again saw the familiar [Cup] attribute circuits and crimson extraordinary energy on them.
But none of these newly transformed believers were low-level.
Almost all maintained the strength they had before transformation.
Some had even improved.
What was this?
Xu Zhi’s eyes widened slightly as she instantly realized what it meant to display this scene under the league’s cameras — to show extraordinary users gaining power after being transformed by [Cup].
This was practically solid proof that today’s conspiracy involved [Cup]!
The archbishop imprisoned in the Federation had suddenly attempted to break free probably because the time had come. The fact that it wasn’t the archbishop who emerged must have exceeded [Cup]’s expectations, slightly disrupting their plan.
But it wouldn’t make [Cup] abandon it.
Now, [Cup] had likely adjusted the plan and begun executing it.
She just didn’t know what that plan was.
It didn’t matter.
She already had an idea — perhaps a way to uncover [Cup]’s objective.
Xu Zhi stopped thinking further. The five [Cup]-attribute believers were already charging toward them. She drew her blade and prepared to fight.
Commentary Booth
The two commentators were visibly at a loss.
They had worked together to commentate many league matches and had seen all kinds of unexpected situations.
But this?
This was a first.
Anyone with eyes could see that something serious had happened on the field. The match shouldn’t be continuing.
Yet neither the director nor the referees made any move.
Looking at the monitoring data, it only showed rising extraordinary energy concentration.
Was this really fine?
“It seems something unexpected has occurred on the field. We can see that Minjiang’s five members have experienced increases in extraordinary energy density and rank. Their bodies have also undergone changes. Despite being heavily injured before, they’ve recovered and are launching another counterattack against Lian City Light Academy.”
There was no choice. The match hadn’t ended. Even if they didn’t understand what was happening, the commentators had to grit their teeth and continue.
The barrage exploded:
[What the hell? Weren’t Minjiang’s people completely crushed earlier? How are they suddenly full of life again?]
[Did they take banned drugs?]
[No way! That stuff ruins you! Who would take it unless it’s life or death?!]
[And they already made top 80. Exposure and fame maxed out. Is it worth destroying themselves like this?]
[They look weird. Kind of scary.]
[Wait, did Minjiang have this ability before?]
[How did they suddenly get stronger and gain new abilities? This is too strange. Shouldn’t this be investigated?]
Amid the flood of comments, several inconspicuous IDs posted:
[This is really weird… what attribute behaves like this? Their new ability feels off.]
[Feels… kind of like what our teacher suddenly lectured about before. Can we even say it?]
[Wasn’t Minjiang City under scrutiny because of that thing? Could they also…]
[Are you talking about that attribute that disappeared and suddenly reappeared?]
[What are you all talking about? Why so cryptic?!]
[They mean… Cup!]
[Cup?!]
[Cup! Yes! It looks just like it! Look at their regeneration speed, the new abilities, their eyes, their expressions — doesn’t it resemble what teachers described about Cup believers?!]
[And that blood — disgusting. It’s exactly the same!]
[Oh my god?! Minjiang claimed innocence, and now they send these things to the league?! This is provocation!!]
[They should kill these monsters immediately and thoroughly investigate Minjiang!]
Public opinion exploded instantly. Keywords like [Minjiang], [Cup], and [Monster] shot to trending.
The commentators clearly saw the shift and decisively adjusted their focus to only describe Lian City Light Academy’s actions.
“We can see that Lian City, who previously could suppress the opponent, is now evenly matched. For some reason, Chu Xiaoyue has withdrawn her domain and is no longer using it.”
“This is dangerous. The opponent seems more aggressive toward Su Ran and Xu Zhi! That’s different from their previous tactics. Are they planning to eliminate the healer and the weakest one first?”
Of course not.
Because [Lamp] was what they hated most.
And [Heart] was what smelled the best — the most delicious.
— Bang!
A believer attempting to rush Xu Zhi was kicked sideways by Shu Yushan with full force. It was a sudden strike; the crack of breaking bones could even be heard.
Yet in the next moment, the opponent climbed back up as if nothing had happened. When it looked at Xu Zhi, its eyes were filled with disgust as it charged again.
“What the hell are these things? Can’t they feel pain?”
They couldn’t let the blood touch them. That meant avoiding creating wounds that would cause blood splatter unless it was a guaranteed killing blow.
A war of attrition wouldn’t work.
The opponent’s regenerative ability was far too outrageous.
“How do we fight this?”
Shu Yushan exhaled sharply and looked at Xu Zhi.
Even as a sixth-year senior, he had never fought [Cup] before. Seeing that Xu Zhi seemed to have realized something, he directly asked her how to deal with them.
“Shatter their circuit cores.”
That was currently the fastest method.
