National destiny: Global tower climbing skills have decreased by 10,000 times.

The second round of the competition has ended, and the final rankings have been displayed on the spectator screen.

Jin Ying is first, Lin Xi is second, Du Feiyang is third, and Lü Si is fourth.

Only seven people advanced to the third round of the speedrunning competition.

—The other three either fell to the elites on the third floor or to the boss, failing to survive to the end.

Coach Lu stood up, took the microphone, and announced:

"The second round has ended, and the list of students who have advanced has been displayed on the big screen. The third round of the speedrunning competition will begin at 2 PM this afternoon."

"We are now in the halftime break. All players who have advanced, please return to the competition area on time."

The trainees took off their headphones one after another; some clenched their fists excitedly, while others packed their things in frustration.

The seven who advanced stood in a row, waiting for the coach to register their information.

Du Feiyang stood in third place, arms crossed over his chest, his face full of resentment. He kept his head down, trying his best not to look in Jin Ying's direction.

But Kim Young will not let him go.

"Hey, you boar, why aren't you saying anything?" Jin Ying strolled over slowly, her tone relaxed and casual.

"You played really well in the first round, saying you were going to crush someone, make them beg for mercy on the ground!"

Du Feiyang's face turned bright red. He turned his head away, wanting to say something but unable to, his fists clenched tightly.

"Hmph, all you've got is some kind of potion? Just you wait," he muttered to himself.

"Hey? Why aren't you saying anything? I still prefer your rebellious side." Jin Ying walked around to face him.

"I'm first, you're third. There's even number 27 sandwiched in between. You can't even beat number 27, so what right do you have to talk back here?"

The henchman beside him quickly stepped forward to protect him: "Brother Feiyang was just giving you face and letting you off the hook, what are you so smug about?"

"Give me a hand? Haha!" Jin Ying laughed. "That's a funny thing to say. Ask him yourself, do I need him to give me a handicap?"

When the lackey tried to argue further, Du Feiyang grabbed him, slammed his hand on the table, and turned to leave.

As he was leaving, his gaze passed over Jin Ying and landed on the small, thin figure not far away—number 27, Lin Xi.

The man was packing his things with his head down, seemingly uninterested in what was happening.

Du Feiyang memorized the name "Lin Xi" deeply.

"Hmph, just a noob about to be fired, he got away with it by luck, what's he pretending for!"

Lin Xi packed up her mouse and headphones and was about to leave when she looked up and saw a familiar figure at the corner of the corridor.

"Teacher Ye!?"

Ye Fei didn't come over, but just glanced at him from afar and exchanged a look.

Lin Xi was stunned for a moment, then a warm feeling welled up in her heart.

The teacher arrived. It turned out he had been watching the whole time. He had seen my entire performance in the second round.

He nodded vigorously at Ye Fei to indicate that he understood. Ye Fei didn't linger any longer and turned to leave.

Lin Xi took a deep breath, her confidence surging like a tide.

……

The door to the small office at the end of the corridor was locked.

Lu Si stood in front of the table, head down. Coach Wang sat in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table, and remained silent for a few seconds.

"Lu Si, you know why I called you here, right?"

Lu Si whispered, "I'm sorry, Coach, I didn't meet your requirements and someone else overtook me."

"Sigh, good to know." Coach Wang's tone wasn't stern, but it wasn't exactly gentle either.

"But now is not the time to blame you. There's a third round this afternoon, a speedrunning competition, which is all about speed and decision-making!"

"If you get overshadowed by that Lin Xi again, or if another 'Zhang hope' or 'Li Xi' comes along, your spot might really be in jeopardy."

Lu Si lowered her head even further.

Coach Wang stood up, walked to the door, confirmed that the door was locked, then returned to the table and took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket.

"Third round map and seeds, preview: coming soon, stay tuned! I've already seen it."

Lu Si looked up, somewhat surprised.

Coach Wang lowered his voice and pointed to several key points handwritten on the paper:

"On the first floor, the first shop will give you 'Expansion,' so you must choose 'Golden Pearl' at the start and go down this route..."

Lu Si stared at the words on the paper, taking careful notes.

"For the second level, just take the left-hand route; don't take any other routes."

"There are two question marks on the left side connected together. The second question mark is 'Full of Cheese.' Remember to choose the first option, and you can get 'Heat Repair' and 'Ball Lightning'. Then you can play 'Balanced Ball' this time."

"...The ancient people on the third floor are the 'Nonupep'. Don't choose anything else, just choose the 'Fur Coat'."

"After you choose, this, this... and this elite will all be marked, and then you can just follow this route, understand?"

Lu Si nodded, recited it to himself a few times, and looked at the map again.

"Yes." Coach Wang put the paper away.

"Play well this time and don't let anything else affect your mindset. Some students barely made it through the second round by luck and are temporarily ahead."

"But in reality, it was just random play, a lucky break, and it doesn't mean he'll be so lucky in the third round."

"If you just do as I say, you're guaranteed a top-three finish, understand?"

Hearing Coach Wang say that, Lü Si regained a little confidence:

"knew!"

"Okay, go ahead and prepare well."

As soon as Lü Sigang stood up, Coach Wang pulled him back and whispered instructions:

"What happened today should be known only to the two of us. It's better for me, and better for ourselves, understand?"

Lu Si nodded: "Yes, I understand, Coach Wang."

The lunch break went by very quickly.

Lin Xi didn't go to the cafeteria. Instead, she bought a bottle of water from a vending machine, sat on a bench in the corridor, and opened her "State Machine" notebook.

He read a few pages, then closed the book, shut his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and let his heartbeat gradually calm down.

Du Feiyang and Jin Ying sat at opposite ends of the rest area, with several empty seats between them.

Du Feiyang's henchman leaned over to say something, but was pulled away by him. Jin Yingze, wearing headphones and with her eyes closed, tapped her fingers lightly on her knees, as if simulating some kind of rhythm.

Du Feiyang's gaze occasionally swept over Lin Xi at the other end of the corridor. The petite number 27 was resting with her eyes closed, looking completely calm and collected.

"Hmph, pretending! You think you're worthy of making it to the third round? Let's see how long you can keep up this act." Du Feiyang cursed inwardly and looked away.

Lu Si sat in the corner, clutching the half-finished bottle of water. He silently repeated the key points Coach Wang had mentioned over and over in his mind.

— Choose the first one: 'Golden Pearl' or 'Cheese All Over the House'; 'Fur Coat'...

"The first floor has an 'Expansion' option... The second floor has a question mark on the left... The third floor has a 'Fur Coat' option..."

He repeated it to himself several times until every word was etched into his mind before letting out a long breath.

Two o'clock in the afternoon arrived quickly, and the trainees returned to the competition area one after another.

The coaches returned to the spectator room and took their seats. Da Kun sat in the first row, holding a freshly brewed cup of tea, his gaze sweeping across the screen.

Coach Lu stood beside the spectator screen, holding a microphone in his hand.

"The rules for the third round of the speedrun are as follows—" His voice echoed throughout the spectator room through the speakers:

"A5 difficulty, same seed, all starting at the same time. The top three finishers, ranked by completion time, will qualify to represent the academy in the regional competition. Understand?"

"Understood," the students answered in unison.

Coach Lu nodded: "On your marks. One minute countdown."

The students put on their headphones and placed their hands on the mouse.

Lin Xi took another deep breath, rubbed his palms on his pants, and gripped the mouse.

The countdown has reached zero.

The third round begins.

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