America: The Cremator

Chapter 147 Exam Rules and Bracelet Collection!

After a brief discussion, Suron and Hannah chose rooms on the second floor, while Leah and Evan chose rooms on the first floor. Leah waved to the two on the stairs, saying, "Good night, Mr. Suron and Ms. Hannah."

Surong nodded slightly. Seeing that Leah and Evan had returned to their room, he led Hannah upstairs and opened the door to their room.

The room's layout was completely unexpected, designed exactly like a standard double room in a hotel. Two single beds covered with pure white sheets were placed side by side on the left, while on the right was a separate bathroom separated by frosted glass.

In front of the window directly opposite the door, there is a long, light-colored wooden table. On the table are neatly arranged an electric kettle, four unopened bottles of mineral water, several buckets of instant noodles, and a bag of whole wheat toast.

Hannah walked to the bedside, lay down on her back, sighed comfortably, stretched out her limbs, and looked at the white ceiling.

"I thought it was a prison, but the interior is actually quite cozy."

Su Long placed his luggage in the corner and scanned every corner of the room, from the ceiling vents and baseboards to even the back of the bathroom mirror—after confirming there were no hidden cameras or listening devices, he walked to the window and pulled the heavy blackout curtains shut, completely blocking out the outside spotlights.

Hannah rolled over, lying on her side and looking at Suron, asking curiously, "Suron, you stared at that grove of trees for a long time just now. Did you notice something strange? Could it be—that there are many monsters on this island?"

Surong pulled out a chair in front of the long table, sat down, and looked at Hannah, who had a curious expression on her face, slowly raising a slender index finger.

Hannah blinked and asked tentatively, "One hundred?"

Su Long remained calm and shook his head slightly.

Hannah's breath hitched for a moment, and she guessed again, "Could it be—a thousand?"

Su Long shook his head again, lowered his arm, and said in a deep voice, "It's an entire island! That grove of trees just now was teeming with strange creatures."

Hannah sat bolt upright in bed, her eyes wide with disbelief, her voice trembling: "How is this possible! What kind of number of corpses could breed such a massive, bizarre group on this island?"

Su Long placed his hands on the table, his expression becoming extremely serious: "I don't know, but this is enough to show that this island is definitely not simple. We must be very cautious from now on."

Hannah nodded vigorously.

Su Long turned his head, a glint in his eyes, and slowly scanned the supplies on the table, but did not find any trace of the strange black mist.

He withdrew his spiritual vision, reached for a bottle of mineral water, held it up to his eyes, and carefully examined the seams of the plastic wrapping. The sealing ring under the cap was intact, and there were no signs of punctures from tiny needles on the bottle.

After confirming that the appearance was correct, he twisted the cap open forcefully, tilted his head back, and took a small sip.

The cool water slid down his esophagus into his stomach, and he closed his eyes, quietly waiting for his body to react.

Thirty seconds passed quietly. His heartbeat was steady, his blood flow was normal, and he felt no burning sensation in his stomach.

Hannah sat on the edge of the bed, watching Surong's every move with bated breath.

A full minute passed before Su Long opened his eyes, checked the remaining three bottles of water one by one, and, confirming that he had no adverse reactions, turned to Hannah: "These four bottles of water are fine. Let's not touch the other food in the room, to avoid any problems."

"If you're hungry, eat the compressed biscuits that Dania prepared for us."

Seeing that Su Long looked serious, Hannah obediently responded and took out a vacuum-packed compressed biscuit from her tactical bag, taking small bites of it.

Surong stood up, walked to the door, and carefully checked the lock. After confirming that everything was in order, he turned to Hannah and said, "Go and rest after you finish eating. I'll keep watch tonight."

Hannah took a sip of water, swallowed the biscuit with it, looked up at him, and said worriedly, "Aren't you going to get some sleep? You've been traveling all day, and you have an assessment tomorrow. How can your body handle it if you don't rest?"

Su Long chuckled and replied, "I'm used to burning corpses. One all-nighter is nothing to me."

Seeing that Hannah was still worried, he patted the flask at his waist and added, "Besides, I still have Raphael."

After saying that, Su Long took off the wine jug, unscrewed the lid, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp of sweet red wine.

The rich fruity aroma, mixed with the spiciness of alcohol, explodes instantly in the mouth.

The cool liquid slid into my stomach, and a powerful warm current burst forth from my stomach, instantly sweeping away all fatigue, and my mind became clearer than ever before.

Surong exhaled a breath of stale air, hung Raphael back on his belt, and laughed, "See? I'm full of energy now."

Seeing that he was in excellent condition, Hannah stopped insisting, took off her heavy tactical boots, and snuggled into the soft blankets.

Su Long sat down beside her bed, gently pulled the corner of the blanket to tuck in the drafty gap, and said softly, "Sleep peacefully."

Hannah buried the lower half of her face in the blanket, her dark eyes staring intently at Su Long for a few seconds before slowly closing.

Su Long sat quietly on the edge of the bed, reached into his trench coat and pulled out "Sirius," then looked down and began to play with it.

With his thumb skillfully pressing the cylinder release button, he flicked his wrist, and the cylinder slid out, revealing six large-caliber Magnum pure silver bullets inside.

He extended his index finger and gently flicked the cylinder, the cylinder making a soft "click-click" mechanical meshing sound.

"boom""

A muffled thud came from the outskirts of the camp. Surong abruptly stopped, and Hannah sat up in fright, looking at him anxiously. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Before Sulong could answer, the heavy machine gun suddenly let out a short roar.

"It seems there's been another ghoul attack." Surong stood by the window, lifted a corner of the curtain, and looked outside.

Hannah then realized what was happening, took a deep breath, rubbed her temples in frustration, and lay back down.

However, the ghouls roaming the edge of the minefield clearly had no intention of letting everyone rest properly.

The sounds of landmines exploding and short gunshots could be heard from time to time outside. Hannah tossed and turned in bed all night, unable to sleep soundly.

The long night passed in this suffocating and eerie atmosphere.

At seven o'clock the next morning, the pale sunlight barely pierced through the thick clouds, and the humid sea breeze of the Caribbean, carrying the smell of gunpowder and blood, permeated the camp.

Beneath the steel watchtower in the center of the camp, twelve exorcists assembled on time, but most of the examinees looked listless, with light dark circles under their eyes, clearly exhausted from the continuous commotion in the minefield last night.

Zena and Hedley didn't keep everyone waiting for long and soon appeared before them.

Zena cleared her throat and, seeing that all the examinees were looking at her, said, "Everyone, after a night's rest, I hope you have adapted to the environment here. Now, I will announce the final rules for this B-level exorcist test."

She raised her hand and pointed to the deep, dense black forest outside the camp, saying, "The scope of the test is strictly limited to the entire forest outside the camp and the hillside mansion area. Your task is very simple: hunt down the monsters in the forest and obtain the markers that we have placed on specific monsters in advance."

As she spoke, Zena reached into her pocket, pulled out two ring-shaped objects, and held them up in the air to show everyone.

Upon closer inspection, everyone noticed that they were a pair of light blue plastic bracelets coated with a special reflective material that emitted a faint glow.

"These are the assessment materials you need to submit. Each person must submit more than fifty of these bracelets in order to pass the assessment and officially become a federally certified Class B exorcist."

As soon as the number was announced, several suppressed gasps came from the crowd.

Hannah abruptly turned to look at Suron, her lips slightly parted, her breath catching in her throat.

Fifty!

This means that each person must hunt down at least fifty marked monsters alone in the forest.

Moreover, no one knows how many ordinary monsters without bracelets are hiding in this forest. To accurately find and kill fifty targets would require an astronomical amount of physical and mental energy.

"Quiet."

Zena coldly glanced around, put the bracelet back in her pocket, and continued, "Next, we will distribute head-mounted recorders to you."

"This equipment will be running continuously. Your combat performance in the forest, tactical choices, and any unexpected situations you encounter will all be transmitted back to the command center in real time as supplementary information for the final assessment."

Zena emphasized, warning each word clearly: "During the exam, you must protect the recorder's integrity at all costs. If the device is damaged or lost, no matter how many bracelets you collect, your exam results will be invalid!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a Blackwater soldier carrying a heavy black engineering plastic box strode over to Zena and placed the box heavily on the ground.

Opening the box reveals fifteen sets of tactical head-mounted recorders neatly stacked inside.

The soldier picked up the recording device and distributed it to the exorcists present one by one; Suron and Hannah each received one as well.

Seeing that Hannah was still frowning and studying it, Su Long stepped forward, took the recorder from her hand, and gently helped her put it on. After confirming that it was secure, he then fastened the other set to his own head and skillfully tightened the chin strap.

He turned his head and looked at Thorne and his sister not far away. Evan was patiently tidying up Leah's hair and carefully wrapping the ribbon around the cross earring on her ear.

Leah was excitedly muttering something.

Su Long withdrew his gaze, casually sweeping across the crowd before finally settling on the very edge of the line.

The hooded man who had always kept himself hidden in the shadows finally took off his signature dark gray cloak hood, revealing a pale, thin face with sunken eyes and a head of wildly unruly brown hair that looked like it hadn't been styled for months.

He held the recording device in his hand, fiddling with it repeatedly, but he couldn't get it on properly, and the straps only got tighter and tighter.

Su Long looked at his clumsy appearance, which was completely out of place with his gloomy aura, and walked straight over.

Hearing approaching footsteps, the gloomy young man raised his head warily, his gray-brown eyes full of defensiveness.

Su Long smiled slightly, indicating that he meant no harm, and then said, "The buckle is at the back, you can't just force it on like this, let me help you."

As he spoke, he reached out and deftly pressed the locking switch on the back of the recorder, then helped him straighten the device, adjusted the camera to the best position, and then tightened the straps again.

He pointed to a small part on the side of the helmet and explained, "This knob can be adjusted to loosen or tighten it. If it feels too tight on your head, turn it half a turn to the left."

The gloomy young man stood there, stunned. He reached out and touched the device that was now firmly fixed to his head. The wariness in his eyes lessened slightly, and he spoke in a hoarse voice, "Thank you."

Su Long put his hands in his trench coat pockets, looked at him naturally, and introduced himself: "Su Long, an unofficial consultant for the Seattle Odds and Ends Bureau."

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on the black bull horn hanging at the man's waist: "And you? What's your name?"

The gloomy young man brushed aside the stray hairs that had fallen across his forehead and replied, "Isaac."

"Isaac Taylor".

Surong repeated Isaac's name and asked, "How's it going? Ready to go into the woods?"

Isaac reached up and touched the buckle on the side of his helmet. After confirming it was secure, he nodded slightly and replied, "Ready? And you?"

"I'm ready too," Su Long replied with a smile.

"Are you teaming up with others? Collecting fifty bracelets by yourself is quite difficult."

Upon hearing Su Long's question, Taylor shook his head and politely declined, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, but I'm used to acting alone. Good luck."

Finally, he added, "However, if you encounter any difficulties, you can come to me."

After he finished speaking, he took half a step back and began to check his equipment. Su Long didn't say anything more and turned back to Hannah's side.

On an open space not far away, several fully armed Blackwater soldiers were quickly setting up surveillance equipment.

The heavy metal tripod slammed into the muddy ground, creating several deep craters. A military computer core with a large antenna was then moved out and quickly connected to a huge folding screen.

After the power was turned on, the large screen flickered twice, and twelve split-screen images appeared on the screen at the same time, clearly showing close-ups of each candidate's face and the surrounding environment.

Zena walked to the screen, her sharp gaze sweeping over each split screen to confirm that the picture was smooth and without any lag or damage. Then she turned around and clapped her hands loudly: "Everyone, look over here!"

The twelve candidates immediately stopped talking and all eyes turned to her.

"Next, we will read out the supplementary rules for the assessment, which are the rules that you absolutely cannot violate."

"First, there are space restrictions. Your activity area is limited to all forested areas on this island, excluding the dock, campsite, and the hillside luxury residential area. The GPS tracker you will receive will track your location in real time. If you cross the boundary, the tracker will immediately sound an alarm, and your assessment qualification will be invalidated on the spot!"

"Secondly, regarding the ownership of spoils, during the assessment period, any form of snatching or stealing of other people's bracelets is strictly prohibited! Similarly, it is forbidden to give away the bracelets you have obtained to others."

She emphasized her words, and her gaze lingered for a moment on several of the grouped candidates.

"If you choose to cooperate in the kill, the loot will only be distributed to those who actually participated in the battle. Even if you're just standing by and watching, don't expect to get even half a bracelet. If any violation is discovered, both parties will be eliminated immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Hannah unconsciously turned to look at Su Long, a hint of worry in her eyes.

Su Long noticed her gaze, turned his head slightly, and whispered reassuringly, "Don't worry, it's just fifty bracelets, it's not difficult at all."

Hannah looked at his composed expression, and her tense shoulders slowly relaxed.

"Thirdly, and most importantly, any form of infighting is prohibited. No matter the circumstances, it is strictly forbidden to intentionally harm other candidates or maliciously attack others. Anyone who does so will have their assessment terminated immediately."

Zena paused, then said sternly, "Furthermore, the Federal Bureau of Paranormal Responsibility will permanently disqualify you from the exam and pursue legal action against you!"

The entire arena fell silent, and the wary glances exchanged between the several Mavericks softened slightly upon hearing the rule.

After the rules were read aloud, Zena took a half step back, waved her hand, and said, "Now, distribute the survival supplies."

Two Blackwater soldiers pushed a flatbed cart forward, which was piled high with uniform black waterproof tactical backpacks.

The soldiers distributed backpacks to each examinee according to the list. Su Long took the backpack, weighed it in his hand, unzipped the waterproof zipper, and quickly checked the contents.

A military GPS locator, a satellite phone, a mechanical compass with a brass casing, and a paper map wrapped in waterproof plastic film, on which large dangerous areas and insurmountable boundaries were circled in bright red.

In addition, there were two bottles of unlabeled purified water, two hard, compressed dry rations, and at the bottom was a simple red first aid kit. Su Long squeezed it; inside were bandages, hemostatic powder, and a few antiseptic cotton pads.

Most eye-catching was a signal gun with an orange plastic casing tucked in the side pocket, accompanied by three signal flares with brass primers.

"The supplies list has been sent to you," Zena's voice rang out again.

"The satellite phone can only make calls to the command center and does not provide any external communication functions. If you encounter an insurmountable and deadly crisis in the forest, you can use the signal gun at any time."

Zena pointed to the sky, where the gray-white clouds hung low.

"After firing the signal flare, stay where you are and do not move. The rescue helicopter will arrive within five minutes."

Zena's gaze swept over everyone, and she said coldly, "But you must understand one thing: once the signal flare is launched, it means that you have voluntarily given up the assessment and are eliminated directly."

After Zena finished speaking, the soldier distributing supplies loudly reminded everyone, "Everyone, check your supplies immediately! If anything is missing, report it now! We will not be responsible once you enter the forest!"

The test takers all lowered their heads and rummaged through their backpacks.

After confirming that everyone had received the supplies and that nothing was missing, Zena raised her wrist, glanced at her watch, and said, "It's 7:15 a.m. now. You have ten minutes to prepare."

"Check your weapons, organize your equipment, and we'll depart together for the forest entrance in ten minutes!"