Needless to say, Lear initially had the intention to cooperate with other teams, but after assessing the strength of the Solar System team, he concluded that they did not have the strength to do so.
If they did not carry out the deed, it did not imply that others would follow their decision. The teams from Arbiter, Manalasuo, and other countries all had already acted. The Manalasuo team was even crueler than the Arbiters, having snatched the bracelets of two teams before moving towards the destination, obviously being rather experienced in the act. In fact, some of the newcomers had never dreamed that they would be mercilessly backstabbed by their 'own guys'.
Within the area of the Milky Way, there were numerous ethnicities and minorities, and every countries' laws were different. As long as it was allowed under the Milky Way Charter, they were able to make their own rules. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. There were some civilized countries like Atlantis, and also other brutal ones like Ghana. Additionally, slavery and slave trafficking could still be found on most planets. While the Milky Way Alliance had always wanted to put an end to it, they could only guarantee the basic rights of slaves, unable to take any further actions.
This was the compromise reached by the entire Milky Way Alliance to maintain the peace. After all, the duration of the galactic alliance had not existed for a long period. It would still take a long time for human interplanetary navigation to reach a relatively stable stage of perfection. During this period, it was no surprise that the superpowers would create laws that were advantageous for them.
Some people have said that political struggle was the most interesting art form produced by the human race.
Everything was going well, but an accident still happened. Taros and Luo Fei, who were on the frontline as scouts, screamed at almost the same time. The crowd rushed over and found that the two had collapsed on the ground.
"Don't... come here!" Luo Fei shouted in agony.
"Help me!" Taros tried to beckon towards them, but he just collapsed on the ground.
Wang Zheng quickly motioned everyone to stop moving forward. His eyes quickly swept the surroundings, but there were no bugs to be seen. Here... the plants seemed to be different from the rest, slightly thicker and heavier.
Wang Zheng slowly extended his hand, and instantly his arm trembled... A gravitational field!
Gingerly, he stepped into the field, and couldn't help but frown. This was about ten times more than the standard gravity. Taros and Luo Fei must have rushed in, and had seriously damaged their bodies.
Wang Zheng carefully dragged Luo Fei and Taros out of the area. Once they left the gravitational field, both of them coughed out a mouthful of blood. It was evident that they had damaged their lungs.
Meng Tian hurriedly applied some first aid. After injecting them with a needle, both of them collapsed onto the floor, panting.
Lear had also tried entering the gravitational field. A ten-fold gravity normally would not have intimidated them, but as they had rushed in unprepared, their bodies were unable to adapt to such a sudden change, and hence had been injured.
Unfortunately, the two most agile members had been injured.
They were unable to judge just how large this gravity field was. If the area was too large, they might not be able to exit after entering. The most critical thing was that two people were injured. Ordinarily, they would have just carried them on their backs, butt both of them were currently not able to withstand the pressure, and probably could only hold on for ten minutes.
Lear frowned. "According to conventional knowledge, the gravity field zone varies according to its strength, and it generally should range between two to five kilometers."
When humanity was exploring the world, it was not the first time they had met with such a situation. However, the current situation was a bit extreme.
Detour?
The terrain of Planet No. 9 was rather complex, and their current path was the only one that was relatively easy to traverse. The path on both sides of their current location was even worse, and regarding their timing, they had already been delayed.
"What are you thinking about? Detours? Do you want to kill us both!?" Taros couldn't help but cry.
"You've already explored the surrounding area. If we were to change our path, we would probably waste up to half a day. Additionally, there are signs of the bugs in the other two directions," Achilles said, and then looked directly at Wang Zheng.
This was a tough decision to make.
"If it's only two kilometers, can you tolerate it?" Zhang Shan asked.
"Tolerate your face! What if it's more than two kilometers?" Taros immediately scolded.
The rest of the team remained silent. This was precisely the messy situation that no one had wanted to see. Everyone looked towards Wang Zheng, throwing the problem at him.
"Achilles, Lear, Lie Xin, Lie Guang, Meng Tian, Zhang Shan, form a group and follow our original path. Masasi, Raston, Zhang Runan, you guys are with me. Let's carry Luo Fei and Taros and proceed forward." Wang Zheng promptly decided.
It was not possible to abandon Taros and Luo Fei at this stage.
"Wang Zheng, I want to go with you!" Zhang Shan pleaded.
"Wang Zheng, have you considered it carefully? Our original strength was never that great; if you split the team, I'm afraid both sides might not make it," Lear coldly stated. Taros and Luo Fei were considered his people, but no one expected that the first to suggest 'abandoning' them would be Lear.
Taros's face darkened, and he clenched his jaw. While he was well aware of how cruel Lear was, he had not thought that it would be to this extreme.
"Lear's right. We're not here for a vacation. We have to reach the destination on time. I suggest leaving one person to look after them both, while the rest of us continue on," Lie Xin said.
However, none of them had a reply. As long as more than five people arrived on time, they would be considered to have cleared the round. However, those that did not reach would be considered to have been disqualified. This also meant that the person who remained here would be out of the competition, thus none of them would willingly stay behind.
Who would stay behind?
Additionally, with the Solar System team's strength, if they did not have enough members, even if they managed to complete this round, the subsequent rounds would practically be impossible.
Wang Zheng did not hesitate. "We should just follow my previous plan and split up. Lear, Achilles, all of you go on ahead and reach the destination punctually. Try to buy us some time!"
Everything would be fine, provided that five people were able to arrive on time. As for other members, as long as they were not the last to arrive, this was the only choice, and it was still better than simply giving up.
Looking at how decisive Wang Zheng was, the rest also had nothing to say. Lear and Achilles led the team, commenting that this was 'the benevolence of women'.
After saying that, Lear immediately set off. Now was not the time to argue with the rest.
There was a reason why Wang Zheng had chosen Raston, Masasi, and Zhang Runan. One was that they had the physical abilities to keep up with the rest, and also that their personalities were more able to accept the gravity of the situation. After all, carrying two wounded teammates was a significantly higher burden.
Wang Zheng was carrying Luo Fei, and Raston lifted Taros on his back. They had chosen to take a detour.
"Fatty, you really should lose some weight." Wang Zheng laughed. "Don't worry, we will definitely make it."
Fatty could only laugh sullenly, while the expression on Taros's face seemed to be slightly better. He had not expected that Wang Zheng would make such a choice; however... this was indeed not a wise method. If he was the team captain, he would definitely have chosen to abandon his teammates. However, since he was the one being saved currently, he simply chose to keep his thoughts to himself.
"Believe in the abilities of Achilles and the rest. They will definitely reach the goal on time. We just have to arrive safely," Masasi said.
"Alright, stop thinking too much. Taros, you must treat me to a good meal when we get back, and stop being such a miser," Raston quipped.
Masasi and Zhang Runan were responsible for clearing the path. After changing their path, the terrain had become rather complex, and the vegetation was too thick, requiring their titanium blades to cut through.
On the other end, Lear and Achilles were silent. This was undoubtedly the most depressing choice, but they simply had no other methods. Now the only thing they could do was to reach the destination on time.
Lear was indeed cold-hearted. While he was leading from the front, his speed was rather quick. No one would be able to stop him from entering the IG competition finals. In order to achieve his goals, everyone else was disposable.
On the battleship, the generals were watching as the soldiers below them took in every move. Meng Ao, as the representative of the Solar System, was also present. However, watching Wang Zheng splitting his troops, he could not help but disapprove of it. He was able to clearly view the performance of the other competitors. Although the Solar System team was weak, they could still have had a chance if they had arrived together. However, once they separated, their battle strength immediately plummeted. Needless to say, when it came to making decisions, Wang Zheng was by far much weaker than Lear. On the battlefield, it was necessary to be resolute.
All the teams who were not resolute enough had already been finished off. On the other hand, teams like Aslan and the rest had remained unobstructed all the way. With the emergency bracelets firmly in their grasp, they were in an invincible position.
Perhaps it was a mistake to appoint Wang Zheng as the captain. He was a talented soldier, but not a leader.
For the current lineup, it would be an unprecedented glory if they were able to make it to the top sixteen. It would be such a pity if they had to give up halfway, especially due to such a reason.
Nobody was paying any attention to Earth, as everyone's eyes were on the ten or so superpower countries. However, due to the 'excessive' actions of Arbiter and Manalasuo, the generals were almost on the brink of fighting, but were separated by the IG staff. These actions were in line with the IG rules, but it had been a long time since such elimination rules were allowed, and they definitely were not accustomed to it.
The only expression on the face of Arbiter's Troy was one of mockery. Only the weak would make a fuss over this.
The progress of the both sides of the Solar System team remained steady. On Wang Zheng's side, they were taking turns in carrying Luo Fei and Taros. Although the terrain was complex, it did not hinder their speed by too much. On the other hand, Lear's speed was much faster, but Zhang Shan and Meng Tian were having trouble keeping up. These high speed maneuvers may be able to be maintained for a few hours, but both of them were surprised that Lear was not slowing down the pace.
The reason that Wang Zheng wanted to split his team up was because he believed that the endurance and strength of Lear, Achilles, and the rest would allow them to arrive on time. This was something that even Lear and the rest were not aware of, even as they had hidden their true capabilities.