Kai glanced at the people behind Qi Feng.
The girl with twin ponytails was Ayiya, a freshman this year.
She came from an ethnic minority and had a naturally pure, charming beauty.If the apocalypse hadn't hit, she would've probably been crowned the campus goddess of the year.
Her ability was unique—a C-rank talent called Blood Gu Arts.
At the start of the Slaughter Game, no one really understood what her power could do.
But Kai had plans. Big ones. And those plans required her blood gu worms—lots of them.
The tall guy next to her was Qiao Kun, a junior like Qi Feng.
His awakened talent? The most basic of the basic—F-rank Scouting.
People like that? Usually overlooked, not worth recruiting.
But Qi Feng, thanks to his A-rank "Intuition," sensed Qiao Kun's hidden potential.
And he was right.
Qiao Kun would go on to become the first person in the world to uncover the secret connection between skills and talents.
You see, in the Slaughter Game, there's a hidden mechanic:Every talent—no matter how weak—has a matching skill.
Qiao Kun was the first to wonder:"What happens if I actually learn the skill that matches my talent?"
Turns out… insane things happen.
But it came at a huge cost.
Skills were stupidly rare.
First, the drop rate for skill books was criminally low.
Second, even if you got one, you needed Skill Points to learn it:
F-rank skill → 1 skill point
E-rank → 2 points
D-rank → 3 points
…
S-rank? A whopping 7 skill points
But if your talent matches the skill?
You pay TEN TIMES the cost.
That's right—if Yuan Feng wanted to learn the A-rank skill Dragonfire Burst, which matched his own talent, he'd have to cough up 60 skill points.
Sixty. Freaking. Points.
It was practically hopeless.
In contrast, low-tier talent holders like F- and E-ranks could more realistically learn their matching skills.
Still… most people thought, "Why bother? I already have this talent. Why waste points on the same thing?"
But Qiao Kun was different.
He grinded his ass off, saved up 10 points, and finally learned the F-rank skill: Scout.
And that's when he discovered the truth:
When a gifted person uses the skill that matches their talent, the result is off-the-charts powerful.
For example, Luan Yuling had a mere D-rank talent: Wind Blade.
But once she learned the D-rank Wind Blade skill?
Her attacks hit with the force of a damn forbidden spell.
This twist in the game mechanics gave weaker talents a real shot at outshining the so-called elites—at least in the early game.
Because the higher your talent rank, the harder it was to find the matching skill. And the longer it took to gather enough skill points.
But Qiao Kun?
He was the first to unlock this advantage—and he profited immensely.
His scouting skill became like the Eye of Truth.He could see through hidden effects on items that normal people completely missed.
His biggest contribution?
Uncovering the Dead Doll Trap.
Most thought Dead Dolls were like revival tokens—they'd take a fatal hit for you. Super valuable early on.
But Qiao Kun discovered through scouting:You could only use them three times.
On the fourth, your soul would perish, and your body… would become the doll's puppet.
That discovery saved countless players.
Qiao Kun also uncovered dozens of other game secrets, which Qi Feng's group—Zhi Pavilion—compiled into guides that made them famous.
In Kai's past life, he had no idea that both Ayiya and Qiao Kun were recruited by Qi Feng on day one.
It really drove home how powerful Qi Feng's Intuition talent was.
Kai pulled his gaze back to Qi Feng's outstretched business card.
He smirked."President Qi Feng, recruiting right in front of Lord Yuan Feng? Bold move. Not worried about disrespecting him?"
Yuan Feng was already irritated, and Kai's comment gave him the perfect excuse to glare at Qi Feng.
But Qi Feng's talent let him feel the truth: Yuan Feng was basically a walking corpse—he wouldn't live long.
He didn't take Yuan seriously at all.
Still, he knew he wasn't strong enough to fight Yuan Feng right now, so he put on his best fake smile:
"Lord Yuan, you misunderstand. I just thought… with someone as powerful as you, Kai might not even be worth your time.Kai and I go way back. I figured I'd just lend him a hand."
Before Yuan Feng could respond, Kai grinned and shot back:
"Wow, President Qi Feng, you've really mastered the art of diplomacy.Trash-talk me while making yourself look noble?You seriously think I'm dumb enough to fall for that?"
Qi Feng's face stiffened slightly, and for a split second, a flash of murder gleamed in his eyes.
But his gentlemanly persona didn't allow for public killings.
So once again, he swallowed his rage, mentally added Kai's name to the Qi Family's kill list, and replied smoothly:
"Seems like you've still got some misunderstandings about me."
Yuan Feng couldn't care less about their drama.
As a jock, he naturally hated fake-smile pretty boys like Qi Feng.
So he scowled and said coldly:
"President Qi, unless you've got more to say, get out of the way.I've got monsters to kill and levels to grind."
But Qi Feng didn't budge.Still wearing his smile, he offered:
"Lord Yuan, you probably just came from the gym and don't know the current map layout.Let me help."
"There are three dimensional rifts around campus:
One in the North Cafeteria
One on the North Field
And one in the South Dorms."
"Faculty teams are handling the North side.The Student Council is in charge of the South Dorms."
"If you want efficiency, the South Dorms are your best bet."
"My team's heading there too. Why not tag along?"
Yuan Feng paused, thinking.
He found Qi Feng annoying, but… the guy clearly had info.
After a moment, he nodded."Alright. I'll come with you."
Kai didn't object either.
In fact, that was exactly where he wanted Yuan Feng to go.
Because the South Dorms… were part of his plan.
And waiting there?
Two S-rank gifted players.
The group headed out in force.
The South Dorms consisted of seven buildings, arranged in a semi-circle.
Qi Feng, used to leading, naturally started assigning tasks:
"Wang Ziheng's team, take Dorm 1.Yang Fan's team, go to Dorm 2.Lord Yuan, your group, handle Dorm 4…"
He finished assigning the others and added,"Qiao Kun and I live in Dorm 3, so we'll clear that one.If anyone has objections, speak up now…"
Most teams were here to grind monsters—didn't really care which dorm they cleared.
But Kai knew better.
Those two S-ranks?
Both lived in Dorm 3.
So Qi Feng's Intuition was spot on again.
In the previous life, he must've recruited one of them on day one too.
That S-rank was the reason Zhi Pavilion became a world-class powerhouse.
But this time…
Kai stepped up with a smile:
"I live in Dorm 3 too.I want to help clear it.What do you say, President Qi?"