Chapter 309: Heated Debate

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the academy stadium fell silent.

The spectators watching everything from the large screen could only stare with their mouths agape. No one spoke. No one commented. Everyone was frozen, watching how Haruto effortlessly eliminated his opponent without a hint of hesitation.

Even Pricilla and Luna could only gaze at the screen with expressions that were hard to interpret.

In the forest, Haruto simply smiled slightly before continuing to walk casually, as if nothing had happened.

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"What the heck?! How could that boy so easily deceive others without a shred of guilt!"

"Right! That kid is truly ruthless!"

"Hah! You don’t know who Haruto Sato is? He’s notoriously wicked! So this doesn’t surprise me at all!"

"Really? But… doesn’t Haruto care if he’s seen as a villain? Deceiving other students just to take the plants they’ve painstakingly gathered…"

"What are you saying?! This is clearly a competition at the City Academy! Any means that don’t break the rules are fair game!"

"That’s true! That kid named Haruto is quite clever, in my opinion. He’s using his brain."

"Are you all crazy for agreeing with that boy’s actions?! It’s unfair!"

"Hey! This is a competition! If you’re weak enough to be deceived and eliminated, that’s your own fault. The fewer participants, the greater the chance of winning!"

The heated debate echoed throughout the stadium. The spectators watching the Plant Gathering event on the large screens set up in various corners of the stands, as well as those watching the live broadcast from Fortress City 085, were split into two camps—those who agreed with Haruto’s tactics and those who condemned him.

On the screen, Haruto was seen walking casually among the dense trees of Secret Training Place No. 5, his face remaining expressionless without a hint of guilt for what he had just done.

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In the stadium's monitoring room, two hosts, Pricilla and Luna, sat at the monitoring table. They were tasked with overseeing the first event of the City Academy Sports Festival and providing commentary for the viewers.

On the screen in front of them, dozens of live broadcast cameras displayed various angles of the competition area. Students appeared scattered throughout the artificial forest, some hiding, some fighting, and others busy gathering plants.

However, everyone’s attention was focused on Haruto.

In the midst of the chaos of the scene that had just unfolded, Haruto did not hesitate to take advantage of the situation. With a friendly smile and a relaxed demeanor, Haruto spotted a student who looked exhausted, being chased by a wolf. Pretending to offer help, Haruto caught the student off guard. Soon after, the student began to cough and fainted.

Without wasting any time, Haruto quickly grabbed the student’s bag. Swiftly, he opened the bag and took all the plants that the student had painstakingly gathered.

As a final touch to his act, Haruto punched the student’s chest with an open palm. Instantly, a white light enveloped the unconscious student’s body. The Teleportation Device on the boy’s wrist activated, and within seconds, the boy disappeared from the scene, ensuring that he was declared eliminated from the competition.

Seeing all this, Pricilla was stunned, struggling to believe what she had just witnessed.

"This… Is the Plant Gathering competition really this extreme now?" Pricilla asked with a hesitant voice and an expression of disbelief.

After all, Pricilla was a former student of the City Academy. She had participated in this competition in the past, but what Haruto did… was very different from what Pricilla had experienced.

In Pricilla’s generation, this competition was more like a test of endurance and intelligence, not a brutal contest of cunning like what Haruto had done.