Upon hearing Ji You’s voice, Flying Bird paused slightly, then flapped its wings even faster.

Cheng Haoyue was still slightly confused: "It’s a drone, why do you want to shoot it?"

Ji You appeared suddenly enlightened, and said, "Ah? Is it really a drone? I thought it was a real bird and could have a meal."

There was a deep sense of regret in her tone.

Cheng Haoyue’s stomach growled loudly, but he still didn’t move.

Ji You glanced at the crossbow arrow on his back, feeling quite envious. She instantly understood that even a bit of food wouldn’t make Cheng Haoyue take the risk. Thus, Ji You casually said, "Do you think the Flying Bird might be carrying something related to the competition?"

"Hmm?" Cheng Haoyue’s ears twitched, a hint of indecision flickering in his heart, but the corner of his eye caught the Flying Bird flying farther away!

With resolve, he suddenly drew the crossbow arrow, and aimed at the Flying Bird that had become a tiny dot in the sky!

Whoosh—

A crisp sound pierced through the air, following the Flying Bird!

Ji You squinted, her expression slightly serious!

Such force, such trajectory!

It will hit!

Sure enough, the next second, the Flying Bird had already become a tiny dot, suddenly shuddered and fell straight towards the ground.

Cheng Haoyue didn’t immediately stop; he shot another arrow at the falling Flying Bird!

Crunch~

A slight sound came over, and Ji You immediately started moving toward a certain direction.

Cheng Haoyue followed.

Thunk~

The entire body of the ’Flying Bird’ fell on the charred ground; aside from being shot in the abdomen and having one wing broken, the rest was fine.

Upon arriving, Ji You halted and didn’t move.

Cheng Haoyue arrived and, upon seeing the motionless ’Flying Bird,’ couldn’t help but laugh smugly and said, "Run now!"

"Where can you run to?"

"I tell you, you can’t go anywhere!" Cheng Haoyue said proudly, "My reputation as a sharpshooter wasn’t earned easily."

Ji You was silent; she didn’t deny it. Cheng Haoyue’s shooting skills indeed surprised Ji You, presumably only slightly below her and Sheng Qingyan.

Be cautious.

Thinking this, Ji You grinned and pretended to reach for the small drone ahead of Cheng Haoyue.

Seeing this, Cheng Haoyue got anxious, lean forward slightly to block Ji You, and grabbed the drone first.

At this moment, the drone that had been quiet suddenly opened its bird beak, and then —

Poof—

Sprayed a stream of liquid right into Cheng Haoyue’s face.

Cheng Haoyue screamed: "Bleh bleh bleh! Damn, this stinks! What the hell?"

"Bird droppings," an electronic voice sounded from the drone’s head.

Cheng Haoyue: "..."

"..." Ji You mouthed: "So tragic."

The scene was a bit awkward, as Cheng Haoyue kept vomiting and didn’t bother to search for clues on the drone.

Ji You, cautious, approached slightly, she stretched out her hand to grab the drone while avoiding the bird beak. Just then, the feather on the tail of the ’Flying Bird’ drone suddenly transformed into an arrow, shooting straight at Ji You’s forehead.

Bang—

Ji You’s entrenching shovel blocked it directly!

The longest feather fell to the ground, Ji You’s face darkened, thinking thankfully she had been wary, unlike Cheng Haoyue’s naive and carefree nature.

Without saying a word, Ji You grabbed the drone and quickly removed a small piece of paper hidden inside the wings.

She glanced at it quickly and tucked it into her pocket.

Ji You told Cheng Haoyue, who was vomiting onto the ground, "Hey! Buddy, stop vomiting. Even if the competition organizers are playing pranks, they wouldn’t use actual bird droppings. At most, it’s just bird droppings shaped nutrient solutions."

"Ah!" Cheng Haoyue stopped, glaring: "Why didn’t you say so earlier?"

Ji You showed an innocent smile: "I just thought of it as well."

Cheng Haoyue stopped vomiting and said, "No wonder the bird droppings smelled somewhat synthetic. But I was just too disgusted to think about anything else."

Saying this, he looked down at the ’Flying Bird,’ and now, less reckless, he reached out with his foot to kick it. Finding that it really wasn’t moving, Cheng Haoyue began searching it.

Ji You took the opportunity to say, "Take out its energy box! Make use of it."

Cheng Haoyue slapped his head: "Why didn’t I think of that?" Every modern machine must have an energy box.

Sure enough, within 2 seconds, Cheng Haoyue found it, grinning: "Wow, it’s actually a level-2 energy box. The energy reserve is still 95%!"

Ji You further encouraged: "Pull out its feathers too! Your crossbow arrows are consumables, they’ll run out eventually."

"Hey!" Cheng Haoyue thought about it and agreed: "Perfect, I can use them as makeshift arrows."

Saying that, he started pulling feathers.

In no time, the ’Flying Bird’ was stripped bare of its simulated skin.

Then, Cheng Haoyue continued searching.

After checking thoroughly and finding nothing, Cheng Haoyue turned to Ji You, saying: "Hand it over."

Ji You feigned confusion: "What?"

Cheng Haoyue gave her a sidelong look, "Come on, I saw you hide it."

Ji You was still looking clueless: "You’re my team leader, how could I hide anything from you?"

Cheng Haoyue snapped, indicating: "The paper."

Ji You twitched slightly at the corner of her mouth, somewhat reluctantly, but she pulled out the paper.

This guy looks simple-minded, yet he isn’t lacking cunning at critical moments. Even while puking, he monitored my actions—he’s not someone to be underestimated!

Ji You unfolded the paper, stating: "Reporting to the team leader, important clue discovered!"

Cheng Haoyue reached out to take it, but suddenly, his wristband alarmed:

[Vandalism, a deduction of 1 point. Currently, your total points are: -2 points.]

Cheng Haoyue was stunned: "Why is it minus 2 points?"

Even with a 1 point deduction, it should still be minus 1 point! How did it become minus 2 points?

He couldn’t figure it out.

The wristband helpfully explained: [Second vandalism! Classified as maliciously damaging public property drone, double point deduction.]

Cheng Haoyue: "..."

Cheng Haoyue protested: "You didn’t clarify that in the rules."

Wristband: [Please refer to the details on the paper.]

Cheng Haoyue focused on reading, and indeed saw the first sentence on the paper written in big, bold font: [All forms of deliberate vandalism of public property are prohibited, offenders will be deducted 1-10 points.]

Cheng Haoyue paused, turning to Ji You: "You knew all along?" On second thought, it was her who encouraged him to shoot down the drone.

Ji You wouldn’t admit it; she quickly said, "How could I know and still let you dismantle it?"

Cheng Haoyue didn’t believe her: "You definitely knew! I feel you’re being sneaky and cunning."

Even before officially entering the competition, his score was already negative—it was hard not to suspect Ji You’s motives.

Ji You smiled bitterly, her tone filled with indescribable bitterness and melancholy, saying: "Even if I’m accused unjustly, what can I say against it?"