After sending Raymond into the open-air base, Weaver, led by a staff member from the Combat Division, arrived at the base's central control tower.
Here, one could use the surveillance system to watch every detail of the match.
However, when Weaver arrived, her two old friends were already there.
The first was Claude, the head of the Spy Division, who had previously gossiped with her about this matter over the phone—a middle-aged white man who looked to be in his fifties.
He wore a sharp grey suit, had a pair of vintage gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, and leaned on a peach wood cane. He looked like a middle-aged gentleman straight out of a fashion magazine.
Next to Claude was an Asian man who looked a bit scholarly, wearing square black-rimmed glasses. Maybe because he took good care of himself, his age was hard to tell.
His name was Vincent, head of the Communications Division.
With this, three of the four institute heads were present. Only Leonid, the head of the Combat Division, was missing—since he had personally gone to take part in the match.
Claude was sharp-eyed and noticed Weaver right away. He greeted her enthusiastically, "Agent Weaver, what took you so long? We've been waiting forever..."
"You mean you've been waiting for my intel forever," Weaver rolled her eyes.
"Good afternoon, Agent Weaver," Vincent greeted politely.
From their outfits, Claude looked more like a gentleman, but his behavior was the opposite.
"I thought only Claude would be so nosy. I didn't expect you to come too, Agent Vincent," Weaver's attitude was clearly more polite toward Vincent.
But politeness often means less familiarity. It was clear Weaver was closer to Claude, which is why Claude acted so casually around her.
Vincent gave a slight smile and said, "If it were just about Agent Leonid, I wouldn't be too interested. But when it comes to Dr. Raymond, I have to pay attention. You should know, Agent Weaver, I've been wanting to recruit Dr. Raymond to the Communications Division for a long time. I didn't expect..."
Weaver nodded, showing she understood.
Maybe because Raymond was half-Chinese, he had a good relationship with Vincent, who was also Chinese, back when Raymond was a guest professor at the academy.
If Raymond had chosen based on relationships, he definitely would've picked the Communications Division.
"Agent Weaver, at this point, are you still going to keep it a secret? Why exactly did Leonid and Dr. Raymond agree to this match? Come on, tell us," Claude pressed.
Weaver hesitated for a moment. She probably felt there was no need to keep it a secret now, especially since they would find out soon anyway, so she briefly explained the situation.
"What? The Comprehensive Combat Class?!"
Claude was stunned after hearing it. "No wonder Leonid reacted so strongly. If it were me, I'd be freaking out too..."
Vincent, however, focused on something else. He frowned slightly and asked, "Agent Weaver, are you saying that Principal Dugan had already agreed to this before?"
"Yes," Weaver nodded.
"I see…" Vincent looked thoughtful. "In that case, it looks like Agent Leonid is going to be at a disadvantage."
"???"
Claude looked at Vincent, puzzled, and even touched his forehead. "Agent Vincent, are you okay? Did you get a fever or something? Doesn't feel hot…"
"Enough nonsense, it's starting—"
Weaver suddenly noticed that the central screen in the control tower was already showing two split views: one of Raymond and the other of Leonid, both already suited up in their training gear.
The loudspeaker at the open-air base came to life.
Countdown started: "Ten, nine, eight… two, one, begin!"
The moment the word "begin" was announced, Leonid suddenly moved!
He shot off like a cheetah, heading straight for his weapon room.
He covered the 50-meter distance in just six or seven seconds, and his screen quickly switched to a view inside his weapon room.
There was a countdown on the screen. Both of them had to reach the weapon room within two minutes, identify and assemble their gun within that time, and leave the room.
If they stayed past two minutes, the door would lock, and they'd automatically lose the round.
That's why Leonid ran so fast.
But in sharp contrast, the other screen showed Raymond walking slowly toward his weapon room, not in a rush at all.
For a distance of just 50 meters, he took nearly half a minute, strolling like he was on a walk.
On the left screen, Leonid was already going through a pile of parts, picking some out—he clearly had a plan. Meanwhile, on the right screen, Raymond had just stepped into his weapon room.
Claude looked confused.
"Is Dr. Raymond giving up?"
And it wasn't just him. Even Vincent, who just said Leonid might be at a disadvantage, started to question his own judgment.
Weaver looked puzzled too, clearly unsure what to make of it.
When a full minute had passed, Leonid seemed to have finished choosing his parts and was quickly assembling them.
Meanwhile, Raymond was still taking his time, slowly picking out parts like he was shopping at a supermarket.
At the 1-minute 20-second mark, Leonid finished assembling his weapon!
He had built a reconnaissance rifle, which many watching the split screen immediately recognized—commonly known as the "Steyr Scout," a portable version of a sniper rifle.
Though it lacked the power and range of a full sniper rifle, it was much lighter—perfect for situations like fixed-point defense with few enemies.
Claude and Vincent, both once high-level S.H.I.E.L.D. agents recognized it right away.
Even Weaver, who wasn't a field agent, recognized it.
"To find the best weapon in such a short time… Leonid really is…" Weaver couldn't help but start to worry about Raymond.
"Looks like Dr. Raymond has picked his parts too—he's starting to assemble," Claude pointed out.
Hearing that, Weaver shifted her gaze to the right screen—
"A Desert Eagle?"
At the same time, Vincent's slightly puzzled voice echoed nearby.