This villain is too popular.

Chapter 391 Bottom Lines and Beliefs Are Not Necessarily 'Achilles' Heel'

[Explorer Qualification Assessment, Rest Lobby]

As soon as the image of Anqin standing alone in front of the factory's main gate appeared on the holographic screen, Huan Qianying couldn't help but frown.

She nudged Yagami Rin, who was still dozing beside her, her tone full of confusion: "Rin, what do you think they're doing? Have they forgotten that this is an assessment?"

Awakened by being poked awake, Yagami Rin rubbed her dark circles and gazed at the scene on the screen where Chen Kong was protecting the child as they crawled into the ventilation duct. She spoke slowly.

"They haven't forgotten, it's just that in their hearts, some things are more important than passing the level."

"More important than clearing customs?"

Huan Qianying was puzzled.

As a member of the Moonshadow family, she was taught to prioritize efficiency and missions.

The family manual clearly states that any factor that might interfere with the mission should be discarded without hesitation.

They only complete core tasks and never waste time on 'irrelevant' people.

But Chen Kong and An Qin on the screen put themselves in danger because of four 'illusory NPCs'.

In Huan Qianying's view, this was utterly putting the cart before the horse and extremely foolish.

Seeing that Huan Qianying still didn't understand, Yagami Rin suddenly sat up straighter, the laziness in his eyes fading and replaced by a more serious look.

“Rin, sometimes what you’re discarding isn’t some so-called ‘burden,’ but your former self.”

"Because once the bottom line is crossed, there's only the difference between zero and countless times."

"And Chen Kong and his team, who adhered to their bottom line, clearly felt that 'abandoning the weak' was more painful for them than failing the assessment, which is actually quite remarkable."

Upon hearing this, Huan Qianying opened her mouth, wanting to refute but unable to utter a word.

In the years after leaving the base, she lived in an environment where 'missions come first' and never experienced something as abstract as 'bottom line'.

But looking at the screen, with Chen Kong protecting the child behind him and An Qin gripping the star energy weapon tightly,

She inexplicably felt that what Yagami Rin said seemed to be true.

Perhaps in Chen Kong's eyes, those 'children who dragged us down' were never 'NPCs', but rather 'ourselves' who once needed protection.

This conclusion has sparked heated debate among the anime-themed bullet comments on 13 websites.

'What Huan Qianying said makes sense! The most important thing in the assessment is passing it; bringing a child along is too risky!'

"Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand! Chen Kong and the others upheld their principles! If it were me, I couldn't abandon these children either!"

'That's the Moonshadow family's philosophy: missions come first. But Yagami Rin understands Chen Kong; indeed, the perspective of No. 5 is different from that of No. 30!'

[Explorer Assessment, Outside the Abandoned Factory]

"interesting."

The raccoon perched atop a rusty chimney, its short legs dangling, its golden bells jingling crisply in the wind.

It looked down at Anqin not far below, a hint of surprise flashing in its round eyes.

It originally thought that Chen Kong and the others would abandon their 'burdens' in order to clear the level.

However, the reality was completely different from what it had imagined, and Anqin chose to stay behind to block the beast tide.

Dust and Camera Star Envoy led the child into the woods, completely deviating from the 'script'.

Black mist swirled around the raccoon, slowly coalescing into three semi-transparent phantoms.

Upon closer inspection, the faces of these three illusory figures were exactly the same as those of Chen Kong and his companions. If things were going according to the normal script, by this time, the illusory figures of Chen Kong and the others would already be covered in cracks and exuding an aura of decay.

But right now, Chen Kong and the others are emitting a faint warm light, showing no signs of dissipation.

"Fear is a human instinct, but courage, which is also a hymn to humanity, is the only solution you have found to break the 'nightmare'."

[Domain: Eternal Nightmare]

[Characteristic: The more people gather, the stronger their 'belief' becomes, and the harder it is for fear to arise; conversely, those who are alone will have their fear amplified by the unknown and loneliness, ultimately being consumed by nightmares.]

Anqin may seem alone right now, but her belief in 'protection' keeps fear at bay.

Chen Kong brought the children along, and the children's dependence and trust became the 'light' that dispelled the black fog.

Therefore, even though it seems that Chen Kong and others are helping those children at the moment.

But in reality, it was they who were the ones who truly received help.

It is precisely because of their existence that the raccoon administrator has been unable to reach the 'fear threshold' of Chen Kong and the others.

Even under normal circumstances, it could still get close even if Chen Kong and the others were not caught in 'fear'.

But assessments are not reality; they still have to follow some established 'assessment rules'.

However, even if a solution to the Eternal Nightmare is found, the Raccoon Administrator's methods are not limited to these.

Suddenly, it gently waved its little paw.

The next second, the shadow wolves around Anqin suddenly became frenzied, howling as they pounced on her.

In response, Anqin leaped into the air, her beast-like hands transforming into sharp claws that slashed through the air, leaving deep scratches on the Shadow Wolf's fur.

Black blood splattered on the ground, making a 'sizzling' corrosive sound.

Although she dealt with one shadow wolf, more shadow wolves swarmed over and surrounded her.

The raccoon sat on the chimney, watching the scene with great interest.

It could sense that the 'light' in Anqin's heart had not diminished because of the dangerous situation, but instead became brighter during the battle, and the warm light from the distant Chenkong had also stabilized considerably.

If this continues, not only will they amplify the fear in their hearts, but they might actually be able to walk out of their eternal nightmare with 'light'.

"Looks like we'll have to add some spice."

A playful smile appeared on the raccoon's lips, and it waved its paws again.

This time, instead of strengthening the beast tide, it quietly altered the landscape of the forest.

The path that originally led to the safe zone slowly twisted into a dead end, and black mist began to seep from the surrounding trees. The roars of unknown creatures could be faintly heard.

Looking at Chen Kong and the others who had suddenly stopped in the face of the unexpected turn of events, the raccoon murmured softly, "No matter how strong your bottom line and beliefs are, how long can they last when faced with the fear of 'death'?"

"Trouble"

Outside the abandoned factory, Chen Kong looked at the dead end that had suddenly appeared in front of him, his expression somewhat grim.

He had just seen it not long ago; there was a passage leading to the area outside the factory, but now several walls had suddenly appeared.

This undoubtedly means that someone forcibly altered the environment here.

The only person capable of doing this is clearly the raccoon keeper, who is also the 'hunter'.

What puzzled Chen Kong was that since the raccoon manager already knew their location, why hadn't it appeared yet?
Or was this assessment never just a simple game of 'hide-and-seek' from the very beginning?
In an instant, a flash of inspiration struck Chen Kong, as if he had grasped some crucial information.
(End of this chapter)