Chameleon: My True Face 190 Challenge

Just as Wuxing and Dongmei finished another challenge, their cards began to buzz. They were not the only ones as everyone's cards were the same. 

They pulled out their cards and saw an announcement.

'The time to gather points is over. Please gather on the plaza for the Daily Challenge.' 

It was a simple message, ending today's grind but at the same time, it was a almost a life sentence for many who scored last. They could see the horror in some participants' faces. 

"It's a shame we couldn't meet the last instructor as he went to eat," Dongmei muttered, checking out her card. "I didn't expect to win but it's always a good experience." 

"Mhmm, true," Wuxing nodded. "But how long can he fight. He has already been through tens of battles so his rest is well deserved." 

They planned to defeat all five instructors and claim twenty five thousand points but after winning against two of them, the last one happened to be the world champion in martial arts. Claiming he was exhausted, he took a break for the last thirty minutes of the allocated time. 

Naturally, no one complained. 

They were forced to attend other boring challenges but they only gave them a few hundred points. 

"How much points did you get?" Wuxing questioned as he peeked at Dongmei's card.

"Silly, you can see the ranking. I have thirty one thousand five hundred," Dongmei said playfully as she showed him the number on the card. "I have six hundred more than you because you paid for everything during dinner. You should still end up first after the challenge." 

"Well, we don't know what the challenge will be so don't be so sure. What if I suck and take the last place?" Wuxing muttered, hugging her from behind while placing his head on her shoulder. 

Dongmei only pinch him on the arm and scolded, "My man doesn't suck. No matter what challenge, he will take the top spot. If he scores well, his future wife will definitely reward him handsomely." 

Dongmei quickly got him interested. 

"What reward?"

"Hehe, you will only find out if you score well," Dongmei replied with a giggle and turned behind, kissing him lightly. 

They didn't have any problems with displaying her affections publicly but some people found it a nuisance. They received nasty glares by everyone around them but why would they care?

"Let's go to the plaza. I'm curious what's the challenge will be," Wuxing decided, pulling her by the hand. 

It was best to arrive at the scene first before it got too crowded. 

_____________________ 

Name: Chameleon 

Current Ranking: 3

Number of Points: 30900 

_____________________ 

He checked his profile on the way before taking a glimpse at the ranking. Just as he expected, the other eight was closely behind them, all having from twenty-five to twenty-nine thousand points. 

If the challenge went bad for either of them, they would lose one spot in the top ten. Although they wouldn't suffer much as they could still share one, but he still didn't want to lose. 

"I honestly can't think of anything they can do with such a massive amount of people," Dongmei commented as they saw many were already gathered on the plaza behind the dinning platform. "Will they do a battle competition or maybe a physical test?" 

Wuxing couldn't figure it out either so he didn't comment. Seeing Katherine and Anna in the distance, he pulled Dongmei in their direction. They were standing with other instructors on the field but when they saw them, they walked away, meeting them half-way. 

"Anything you can tell us before the Challenge starts?" Wuxing asked the two, going straight to the point but Katherine shook her head. "Nope. We also don't know anything. Ash will come soon and explain the challenge to everyone. We just asked other instructors yet they also don't know anything." 

"Why so secretive? No one knows anything until the last moment," Dongmei muttered, looking really curious. 

"It's so that no one can create strategy before the challenge. Because Katherine and Anna are our friends, it would be unfair to know the details before the Challenge. It's alright," Wuxing assured and suddenly glanced at the distance, hearing a quad. "I think Ash is coming." 

She was driving a quad with a semi-trailer that carried neatly stacked gun suitcases. Behind her General Clark followed with another two instructors, each bringing out guns. 

"Interesting…" Wuxing muttered, seeing his favorite pistols but when Ash began her speech, he realized how wrong he was. 

"Everyone! It's time for the Daily Challenge that will either make you win a lot of points and lose some," Ash announced through the megaphone, waiting for everyone to turn silent. 

She began distributing the guns across the instructors as she explained the challenge mysteriously, "Each of you will soon receive a notification on your cards that will assign you to a certain group. You will stand in line in front of your instructor and be placed in front of a choice." 

Beep, beep. 

Wuxing received a pop-up on his card right after Ash finished. 

_____________________ 

You got assigned to Team Red.

Would you like to proceed with the challenge?

Yes   No

_____________________ 

"You all probably received a notification, asking if you want to join the challenge. Don't hurry with your decision. We will show you the details of the Challenge and you can then decide if you want to take part in it or not," Ash explained further, seeing everyone's confused faces. 

General Clark walked up in front of Ash and she pulled out two guns from the suitcase. It seemed as they were already prepared beforehand. 

"Although those two guns look the same, they are not. One of them contains sharp bullets while the other doesn't, having an empty magazine. You will be required to pick one on random and then extend your hand to the side. General Clark? Which one do you choose? Number one of two?" Ash asked, showing both guns. 

"Number one please," General Clark chose one fearlessly and extended his palm to the side. 

Ash smiled and aimed at his hand with the gun he chose and pulled the trigger. 

Click. 

The gun didn't fire, having no bullets inside. 

"General Clark chose number one which happened to have no bullets inside. Let's see what would happen if he chose number two." Ash said with a smile and aimed the second gun in the sky. 

Bang! 

The powerful gun fired, making everyone's ears hurt. 

"If he chose number two, his palm would now have a hole inside of it. He had fifty percent chance to pick the right gun and succeeded," Ash described, just before the arrival of the paramedics. Each instructor had one next to him, carrying a med-kit.

"What the hell?!" Someone cursed in the crowd. "What kind of challenge is that?! Isn't it just based on luck?" 

Ash heard it but she didn't get mad this time, replying, "You probably wonder what is the point of this challenge so let me tell you. If you join Seven Stars Special Forces, you will be sent on many missions where you are sometimes required to make unexpected decisions. Your available options might have an even lower success rate than fifty percent yet you are still expected to risk your life to complete the mission.

"Anyone who wins this challenge will receive ten thousand points and anyone who declines the challenge will lose five thousand. Are you convinced you can keep your spot in the selection if you decline the challenge? If everyone accepts the challenge and you reject, you will most likely fall behind, dropping to the bottom. As risky as it sounds, you need to make a decision, just like in your future missions." 

Putting the gun away, she beckoned at other instructors and informed, "You have one minute to decide on your strategy. After you have decided, please stand in line in front of your instructor. Order doesn't matter." 

Chapter end