C18 They Were All Ants!

Lee Kai curbed his greed and silently observed the trio below from his perch in the tree. The inevitable happened, and the man on the ground was eventually taken out. He wasn't dispatched by the man wielding the iron rod, but rather by an arrow that pierced his neck during his evasive maneuvers.

Lee Kai squinted thoughtfully. "Both of them are precise and efficient in their movements. The woman with the bow is particularly vigilant; she keeps a watchful eye on her surroundings, even while taking aim." After securing her arrow, the woman approached.

"Why bother sending all these traitors from District 13 here? It's just a waste of our time," the woman complained to her companion. The man simply chuckled, "It's of no consequence. What can these fools really do? They're nothing but trash. As long as we don't get ambushed, there's no danger. Didn't you notice during the resource raid? Most of the dead were these nobodies." He then strolled over to the body, retrieved the tightly gripped knife, and swung it around casually.

"This sort of weapon is too delicate for my taste." Yet, he didn't discard it, recognizing that an extra weapon was better than none.

"Hold onto it for me; you've got no place to carry it," the woman said, taking the knife from her partner. However, just then, Lee Kai made his move, leaping from the tree. Amidst the loud rustling of branches, he descended. Mid-air, he launched his dart. The pair below had no inkling someone was above them. The woman was busy sliding the knife into her quiver, while the man had rested his iron rod against a tree, his guard down.

Fortune favored Lee Kai as his dart struck the man's shoulder. It wasn't the intended headshot, but as he plummeted from the sky, he felt no disappointment—throwing the dart was always a gamble.

Landing heavily on the man's back, the man couldn't bear the weight of Lee Kai, who tipped the scales at over 100 kilograms, crashing down on him, and he collapsed under the force. Dart-throwing was the right hand's job, while the left hand, of course, clutched another. Despite the impact, Lee Kai, ever composed, was unharmed thanks to the natural cushioning. With precision, he drove the dart in his left hand into the man's back, as if it were a dagger.

The woman's reflexes were lightning-fast. She swiftly drew the knife she had been placing into her quiver and unleashed a flurry of slashes at Lee Kai, the blade whistling through the air with a sharp screech.

Lee Kai was lucky to have been on guard; otherwise, he would have surely been wounded. Ignoring whether his dart had been fatal, he seized the trunk of a large tree behind him and yanked himself backward with tremendous force, his back slamming into the tree. It was at that exact moment that the woman's knife cut through the air where he had just been.

The pain in his fingers from gripping the tree so tightly was inconsequential compared to the value of his life, which, under the circumstances, was in surprisingly good shape. The next second, he rebounded off the tree, having evaded the woman's lethal swings. Using the momentum, he performed a forward roll and ended up at her feet. She had been crouching and swinging her knife, which made it difficult for her to pivot. When Lee Kai collided with her, she was sent tumbling backward.

But she was no pushover. After a quick roll, she knelt on one knee, propping herself up with one hand while brandishing her knife with the other, her eyes filled with deadly intent as she stared down Lee Kai.

"You scum from District 13, how dare you lay a hand on us?" Lee Kai remained silent in the face of his adversary's fury. He stepped back and grabbed an iron rod left by the tree. Now armed, he couldn't help but smile at his opponent. "We're all just insects here. Who's to say who's more advanced? Just like your comrade, who I took down. Now it's your turn. Do you really think you'll survive?"

"Hehe, that's the most amusing joke I've heard. How could a lowly peasant like you understand the sacrifices we've made for our honor? You have no idea what we've given up. How can you stand there so arrogantly, thinking you can kill me? If we hadn't let our guard down, you'd be lying dead like that other wretch..."

"You're not as high and mighty as you think. In the eyes of the truly powerful, you're nothing but a clown. So spare me the talk of your 'noble soul.' It's worthless to me, isn't it?"

Interrupting his opponent mid-sentence, Lee Kai's grip on the iron rod tightened even further. As Lee Kai had predicted, his adversary wasted no time on idle chatter and charged forward, his arms and wrists twirling rapidly to create a series of silver arcs with his blade. Yet, Lee Kai furrowed his brow in confusion. "Surely he's not foolish enough to make such pointless gestures. Is there a hidden agenda?"

Regardless of her opponent's potential schemes, she couldn't simply allow him to succeed. With a slight spread of her hands, she swung the iron rod with a whoosh, sending dirt flying in all directions. Lee Kai paused, puzzled. "Why stop? To evade my strike?" He had expected his opponent to continue the assault, as the man's speed was more than sufficient to close the distance before the rod could land. Lee Kai had even readied his counterattack, but his opponent had halted and hurled his knife straight at him.

Lee Kai dismissed the throw as harmless, but in that moment, he grasped the other's intent. Lifting his left foot, he kicked the iron rod, using the momentum to spin. After completing a full rotation, he planted his foot firmly on the ground, propelling himself into the air. "Futile. Your actions have erased any slim chance of survival you had left."

She clutched her bow and arrow, knowing hesitation was not an option. She had to escape. The knife flourishes were merely a ruse to distract Lee Kai; she was never adept with the blade. Her true skill lay with the bow and arrow. Without it, her swift speed was her only asset, hardly noteworthy. The reason she hadn't fled immediately was simple: unarmed, her life expectancy would be drastically reduced. This game was unlike any other, teeming with participants. An enemy could appear with just a few steps into the forest. It was better to fight here and now to reclaim her weapon.

Lee Kai refrained from pursuing her immediately, not out of reluctance to finish the job, but because he noticed another newcomer approaching.

Arrows whizzed through the air, emerging suddenly from the forest. They weren't aimed at Lee Kai, so he simply watched with caution, making no other move. "Could it be the main team? It looks like they've been hiding for some time. I hope I haven't said anything unnecessary," Lee Kai thought, reassuring himself after a moment of reflection.

The arrows failed to harm the woman, as she had evaded every single one. Yet, she couldn't escape her fate. Finnick emerged from behind her, piercing her chest with his spear and lifting her off the ground. He then gently laid her body down.

Katniss, seeing that the enemy was dead, stepped out from the trees. She eyed Lee Kai and asked, "Are you from District 13? Aren't all the people from District 13..." She trailed off, but her searching gaze and the unfinished question spoke volumes; she was thinking about what she knew of District 13.

Lee Kai felt overwhelmed as he faced her. He wanted to say something to earn her trust, but what could he possibly say? He wasn't from District 13 at all, and he was clueless about the identity the platform had assigned him. So, in that moment, he could only watch the group warily, careful not to show any hostility, as he cautiously backed away.

"Hey, there's no need to leave. You can collaborate with us!" Finnick called out to the retreating Lee Kai after placing the body on the ground. But Lee Kai continued backing away as if he hadn't heard a word.

Finnick seemed about to add more, but Katniss approached him, tugging gently at his sleeve before speaking, "Let it go. He probably won't trust anyone."

"No, I think he does trust you, Katniss. He wouldn't have thrown his weapon at your feet at the start of the game if he didn't. That gesture showed he wants you to survive," Finnick reasoned with her.

Katniss conceded that Finnick might be right, but Lee Kai showed no interest in speaking with them. They couldn't just beat him and bind him against his will. And Katniss was even less inclined to coerce someone who had shown her kindness.

"Be careful, all of you, especially you," Lee Kai suddenly called out from behind the large tree.

The group looked up at Lee Kai, expecting him to propose a plan for cooperation. But the words that followed were not the offer of alliance they had anticipated.

"You need to be careful; you're being watched. The majority of those who've arrived are here to take you out, Katniss. While they might target others, you are their primary focus. So, trust no one beyond your current team members. Consider this a friendly warning. I'm on board with the cooperation, but I won't stick around with you," said Finnick, concealing himself behind a tree to wait for them to leave. Finnick wanted to offer more persuasion and learn who was after Katniss, but Pita hoisted his teacher onto his back and headed off in a particular direction. Observing this, Finnick realized his ally had reached a decision and held his peace.

"It looks like the groundwork I laid at the start paid off. At least the protagonist trusts me a little, doesn't she?" Lee Kai mused with a smirk, watching their retreating figures.