Chapter 338: [Gods’ Heavy Industries]
What was the point of it?
Xu Zhi immediately thought of the force backing Luzhou—[Gods’ Heavy Industries]. It was a massive organization known as a “gathering place of madmen,” infamous for doing things ordinary people couldn’t understand and for harboring ambitions that could be called outright heretical. As a team supported by them, Luzhou clearly couldn’t be judged by common sense.
In past matches, they had displayed overwhelming dominance, yet most of the time they remained silent—never engaging with commentators or accepting media interviews. Even in their first appearance at such a top-tier, high-profile league event under the banner of [Gods’ Heavy Industries], they had seemed deliberately evasive.
Strangely enough, the public accepted this quite well. Some even felt that this was exactly how a team from [Gods’ Heavy Industries] should behave.
At this moment, to most viewers, the match looked normal—intense, exciting, full of action. But in Xu Zhi’s eyes, after piecing together all the details, she reached a single conclusion:
Luzhou was deliberately making Dingchan’s members bleed—forcing injuries, drawing blood, even causing flesh to splatter.
And where was that blood and flesh landing?
On the bodies of Luzhou’s own players.
Only when nearly every one of them was smeared with Dingchan’s blood and fragments of flesh—and with Dingchan still standing thanks to support from [Heart]-attribute members—did Luzhou suddenly expose a fatal flaw.
“That was far too careless!”
The commentator shouted.
Xu Zhi noticed her teammates frowning at the ugly mistake. But to her, it looked like painfully poor acting.
After that “fatal error,” the situation reversed in a way that seemed entirely natural. Dingchan, who had been suppressed the whole time, seized the opportunity and launched a counterattack.
Xu Zhi felt that although Dingchan had appeared battered and overwhelmed, that hadn’t been their true limit.
And Luzhou had no intention of pushing them to it.
Their sole focus… was Dingchan’s flesh and blood.
Even though the match looked fierce enough on the surface, there was an undeniable sense of something being off.
Others couldn’t see it. To them, it was simply a thrilling match—bloody, dramatic, full of reversals. Entertaining. Worth watching.
“Why does it feel like Luzhou’s about to lose?”
Tong Zhou looked confused. Before the match, he had been 99% certain Luzhou would win.
“They gave away too big of an opening,” Shu Yushan explained.
“But it’s not like they couldn’t recover, right? Why does it feel like Luzhou has no experience playing from behind? The moment they’re pressured, they just fall apart?”
“Didn’t you check their records? They really haven’t played from behind before. They’ve always just charged in and smashed their opponents to pieces.”
“Then it’s over…”
Tong Zhou groaned. As a [Forge]-type himself, he naturally wanted to see a pure [Forge] team win—so long as they weren’t facing his own team.
Xu Zhi said nothing. Watching Luzhou on the screen—now seemingly “exhausted,” their mistakes compounding, their movements growing increasingly chaotic—she had already reached her conclusion.
What did [Gods’ Heavy Industries] actually do?
Put simply: they were an organization dedicated to bizarre and unconventional research.
If a team under their banner was covertly collecting the flesh and blood of their opponents on stage, what could the purpose be?
Surely not for pleasure.
Perhaps their goal had always been that flesh and blood.
Did [Gods’ Heavy Industries] also suspect that something was wrong with Dingchan, and want samples for research?
If so, did they already know what was wrong?
Or had they joined this league—so uncharacteristically—precisely for this purpose?
Had they learned something in advance?
How much did they know?
As Xu Zhi connected the pieces, she realized that Dingchan’s secret was likely far more complex than Minjiang’s—far from something so “simple.”
And was [Gods’ Heavy Industries] the only one aware of it?
On the league stage, they had openly taken what they wanted from Dingchan—blood and flesh—without anyone being able to stop them. It was, undeniably, an effective method.
Especially when Luzhou retreated step by step, and finally, after the referee घोषित Dingchan the winner, Xu Zhi became even more certain.
Luzhou had never cared about winning.
They had come for the samples.
They likely didn’t even intend to continue in the tournament. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have performed like this.
“They actually won again?”
Alongside her teammates’ disbelief came an explosion of reactions online.
Dingchan’s reputation soared to unprecedented heights. Even the Minjiang incident and the [Cup] controversy were overshadowed.
Xu Zhi glanced at Xi Min, who also wore a thoughtful expression, clearly pondering something.
She could sense a storm approaching. Once the league ended and she secured the resource rewards, she needed to make another trip to the Lost Lands—to raise the level of her lesser aberration. In the coming upheaval, she would need more methods, and greater strength.
Aside from the [Moth]-attribute spirit body she had already prepared, she would also need… an attribute-less spirit body.
In her mind, Xu Zhi quickly mapped out her next steps. As a student of Light Institute, she could maintain the identity of “Xu Zhi.” But what she planned to do next would require at least two additional identities completely unrelated to her.
No matter what, the priority remained clear—secure qualification for the Lost Lands and obtain the league’s resource rewards.
Only then could she proceed with the rest of her plans.
“Who are we facing next round?”
She rarely asked such questions herself.
“The draw says QiTu City.”
QiTu City?
Then there was nothing to worry about.
QiTu City was a regular among the league’s top forty, but they had never broken into the top ten. They shouldn’t pose much of a threat.
“And Dingchan?”
She asked again.
Her teammate, who was checking the draw results, paused. “What a coincidence.”
“Dingchan’s next opponent is Lian City Academy.”
Xu Zhi was momentarily stunned.
What a coincidence indeed.
Minjiang. Dingchan. Two problematic teams, both colliding with Lian City-affiliated teams.
Was it fate—or something else?
Either way, the draw was… remarkably convenient.
“Has the Council Academy fielded their main carry yet?”
Her teammate shook his head. “No. They’ve kept them well hidden.”
Xu Zhi smiled faintly. “Doesn’t matter. Next match, they’ll have to.”
If Dingchan truly had something going on, the Council Academy couldn’t hope to win without revealing their ace.
Moreover, as an academy under the Council, Xu Zhi doubted they were entirely in the dark.
The next match would be interesting—Council Academy, still hiding their main carry, versus Dingchan, once again facing a Lian City team.
Xu Zhi had a strange feeling.
In that match, both sides would reveal something.
After all… they both looked like they really wanted to win.
