Popularity is everything; I play a super genius

Therefore, even after being rejected by Liuli, he quickly found a new team.

However, this guy still seemed resentful about being rejected earlier, and his gaze kept drifting towards the five of them.

After Ruri recovered, Qi Ji and his group of five prepared to enter the teleportation array. At the same time, Shiraishi's team also set off.

When Qi Ji noticed this scene, he was stunned for a moment, then realized what it meant and couldn't help but laugh.

Good grief, are they treating them like pushovers?

So they're trying to time out matchmaking and pick and choose which opponents to fight?

Do they look weak?

Saki looked at the wheelchair beneath him, then at Bai Lili, who was only at the second tier, and at Huomu, whose echo had not yet awakened...

Okay, at first glance, their strength on paper seems rather average.

Of the five members of Shiraishi's team, only Arashima has a significant role in the story; the rest seem to be minor characters in the anime.

At this level, even Liuli could easily handle it alone, right?

So, knowing that they had Liuli, who was among the top in the preliminary rounds, why did they still dare to pick on them?

Saki quickly found the answer to this question.

……

The moment I stepped into the teleportation array, light and shadow swirled before my eyes.

When they opened their eyes again, the five of them were in a spacious lounge.

Low, soft sofas are arranged in a semi-circle, with a full-length window in front.

Outside the window stood a square arena, standing quietly, its edges glowing with a faint spiritual light.

Opposite the ring was another lounge with the same layout.

The five members of the Shiraishi family were standing inside, looking out through the glass.

A huge panoramic screen hangs above the arena, with icons for the five battle modes rapidly switching on it, their lights flashing.

A moment later, the large screen suddenly froze—

[One game decides the outcome!]

Liuli was overjoyed; this was undoubtedly the result she wanted most.

Without hesitation, the girl stepped forward, ready to go on stage.

However, in the next instant, one of the people in the lounge across the way took out a card and inserted it into the control panel in the lounge.

The next moment, the competition rules on the big screen changed instantly—

Best-of-five series!

……

At the last moment, Shiraishi found the team.

The key player in the team is Nagaki, a rising star in the military.

Not all geniuses from the preparatory school choose Echo Academy; some choose to join the army for a faster path to advancement.

Nagaki is such a genius.

He came in third place in the first round of the preliminary selection on Linan Island, and the trial item he received was—

【五三】.

[Note: Ignoring the existing format, the rules are changed to a best-of-five series, with the holder specifying the opponent's order of play.]

This item can be used three times.

The strategic value of this item card is self-evident.

This almost completely established the battle strategy for Nagaki's team.

Go and target those teams with extremely uneven strengths and obvious weaknesses!

We won three out of five games!

And Shiraishi happened to provide him with the information he needed most urgently.

Looking at the guy in the opposite lounge who was sitting in a wheelchair coughing up blood, Nagaki patted Shiraishi on the shoulder, feeling genuinely glad that he had made the decisive decision to kick one person out in exchange for Shiraishi joining.

This entire battle plan, from "timed matching" to "target selection," was quickly devised by Shiraishi after learning that he possessed the [53] skill.

Now, it is foreseeable that their first implementation will be a great success!

Apart from Liuli, who is third in the East Island and poses a slight threat, the rest of the opposing team are all mediocre.

This victory has been secured!

If they just follow this method twice more, breaking into the final battle will be a sure thing!

Nagaki couldn't help but sigh, "Having Baishi with me is like a fish finding water!"

Best of five games, winning three games is enough.

Moreover, he had complete control over the opponent's formation and tactics.

The advantage was too great; he couldn't imagine any possibility of losing!

To avoid any unforeseen complications, Nagaki quickly manipulated the control panel in the lounge, dragging the avatars of three people from the opposing team in succession.

The three easy targets he chose were—

A wheelchair-bound man coughing up blood, a son of a super-low-achieving fire thief, and the pampered eldest daughter of the Bai family.

He deliberately reserved the simplest battle for Shiraishi as a reward for his meritorious service.

After all, the results in major competitions will be written into one's resume, and a crushing victory naturally carries more weight than a hard-fought battle.

As for whether the person you win is a patient with one foot in the grave or something...

And no one will really delve into the details of every win you make.

……

"We will not fail in our mission!"

Bai Shi would naturally not refuse such an offer.

After revealing a rather ferocious smile, he stepped out of the lounge and leaped onto the ring.

He had approached Liuli with good intentions, sincerely intending to assist her, but that wretched woman would rather have a useless person in a wheelchair than give him a second glance.

He's going to make the other person regret it now!

Do you know what you've missed?

What you missed was the chance to enter the finals!

……

I didn't expect the selected mode to be subject to change?

Liuli and the others were slightly taken aback.

It wasn't until Qi Ji's image appeared on the arena's big screen that everyone realized what the opponent was planning, and they all looked worried.

"Saki-san..."

"Please push me onto the ring."

Beneath the mask, Qi Ji's lips were finally unable to hold back any longer.

He never imagined that he would one day be taken advantage of.

"Saki-kun, are you really sure everything is alright?"

"of course."

Misaki Saku insisted, and everyone had no choice but to believe him.

Liuli pushed Qiji towards the arena, and during the journey, she couldn't help but whisper something:

"Saki-kun, don't force yourself. If you can't do it, it's okay to admit defeat. I'll win the rest for you."

Just as Saki was about to say something, Shiraishi's urging voice came from the arena:

"Hey, can you hurry up? Time is limited, everyone hurry up!"

Liuli glared coldly at that guy, cursing inwardly, "Is he in such a hurry to be reborn?"

Then he looked at Qi Ji again, his eyes instantly changing from coldness to concern.

“Saki-san, I’m right here in the audience.”

"Um……"

Qi Ji nodded, then suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Over the past two weeks, I've gotten used to this kind of thing, so I calmly took out a tissue to catch the bloodstains, folded it neatly, and put it in my pocket.

Nagaki, who was in the lounge, saw this scene and unconsciously frowned: "Strange..."

His teammates, hearing this, asked him what was wrong, puzzled.

Nagaki opened his mouth, but couldn't come up with a coherent answer.

He just felt that Saki's movements were too relaxed.

A patient with one foot in the grave, stepping into the ring and about to fight to the death, actually has the leisure to neatly fold a blood-stained tissue.

There seem to be only two explanations for doing this:

Either he's a dense, clueless idiot.

Or perhaps he simply didn't take the competition seriously.

So, does this guy belong to the former or the latter?

On the stage, Saki quickly revealed the answer to him.

……

"So slow!"

As Saki finally stepped onto the ring, Shiraishi complained impatiently.

Before he went on stage, this guy was actually being all lovey-dovey with a pretty girl!

Shiraishi, who has never been popular with women since childhood, was very unhappy!

[Battle begins!]

This was accompanied by large characters displayed on the big screen.

The next moment, white light shone around the arena, forming a barrier that isolated the outside world.

Unless the battle ends or one side concedes defeat, the arena is a closed space where no one can disturb you!

At the same time, a timer started on the large screen above the arena.

Finally, he could get started, and Shiraishi almost suffocated from holding it in.

His first priority was to construct the circuit for his own armor!

Although he felt that it was not necessary to use special measures when facing such a sick patient, he believed in the principle of using all one's strength even when hunting a rabbit, just in case the other party really had some tricks up their sleeve.

Being careful is never a bad thing!

The circuit is rapidly constructed, and the energy flows throughout the body.

"Stop dawdling! Haven't you even unpacked your armor yet?"

However, just as Shiraishi began to conjure up images of himself in his armor, the guy in the wheelchair across the ring actually retorted with the same words he had said.

Shiraishi was so angry he laughed!

Who's dawdling here?

You, who took almost several minutes to get from the lounge to the ring, are you even worthy?!

Moreover, the fact that you can say something like that shows that you haven't mastered or understand the art of armor!

Did you think that Armor was some kind of instant-cast skill?