Pre-death assessment

It's like a marathon with many participants.

You're in the lead.

You have left all your competitors behind.

You're at the very front, and you can't see anyone else in front of you; you're the leader.

However, when you reach the finish line, you suddenly discover…

A competitor you once left behind is already waiting at the finish line.

You thought you had left everyone far behind.

But in reality, there's another person ahead of you who's left you far behind.

Your competitors can't even see you.

Just as you can't see that there's a true master rushing ahead of you.

This is how Jiang Liao feels when he sees the four big characters "boring nothing".

She thought she was always at the forefront, so she kindly left a trail for Ling Wu behind her.

Hopefully, Ling Wu can catch up as soon as possible.

When she arrived at the final level of this pre-death assessment space, she discovered that Ling Wu had already been there.

Moreover, Ling Wu shared the same idea as her and left the same mark here.

"Hahaha, hahahahahaha..."

Jiang Liao couldn't help but burst into laughter, looking up at the sky: "So that time, did I scheme against you, or did you scheme against me?"

"Who lost to me, you or I?"

Ling Wu is very smart, and she is certainly smart too.

In everyone's eyes, she and Ling Wu were the pinnacle of achievement.

After that incident, she schemed against Ling Wu, believing that she was actually a little ahead of him, as if she were standing on a rooftop.

But at this moment, when she saw the mark left by Ling Wu here, she realized...

Ling Wu was actually... in the atmosphere!

She thought she and Ling Wu were evenly matched, rivals.

They also appreciated each other and even liked each other.

They are both far beyond the average person!

But now I realize that, yes, they are indeed far beyond the average person.

But Ling Wu is far superior to her.

Looking at those four big characters, Jiang Liao took a deep breath.

Then she couldn't help but say something she shouldn't have: "Ling Wu, you're really awesome!"

She now has every reason to suspect that Ling Wu deliberately lost to her that time.

Then, using this method, he encouraged himself to fight his way to the ninth level!

"So what exactly are you planning to do?"

Jiang Liao's gaze was deep: "You came here alone before, but found it very difficult to get past this final hurdle."

"So, you've returned to the starting point, and you're going to find people with sufficient ability and bring them into the pre-death assessment space."

"Then, let them come to this final stage!"

"Those who can come here are truly exceptional individuals."

"And you need these exceptionally capable individuals to join forces with you to overcome this final hurdle!"

"Hahaha, so that's how it is! So that's how it is!"

"So... in the mortal world, I actually died at your hands?"

She suddenly remembered something.

She died in this world from an accidental car crash that should never have happened.

Ling Wu and she came from the same place, the same city, and died in the same car accident.

Then everything becomes clear and obvious.

Ling Wu had his eye on her in the mortal world, wanting someone like her to come to the pre-death assessment space and to this ninth level.

Therefore, Ling Wu killed her, and he killed himself in the process!

"Tsk tsk tsk... Impressive, truly impressive!"

At this moment, Jiang Liao couldn't help but admire Ling Wu's arrangements.

Everything up to this point has been within his plan and calculation.

I thought I was very good at scheming.

In the end, his own calculations were actually part of his calculations as well.

My own calculations... didn't transcend his circle!

She had no choice but to admit defeat!

"team leader……"

Seeing Jiang Liao looking somewhat dazed, her teammates all frowned.

They certainly knew something about her relationship with Ling Wu.

Seeing the mark Ling Wu left here, she was naturally somewhat affected.

She had always thought that she was the one leaving marks for Ling Wu along the way to help him.

But to his surprise, Ling Wu didn't need any help at all.

On the contrary, Ling Wu helped her when she needed it most!

Ling Wu had even anticipated that once she reached the ninth level, she would inevitably need help at some point.

Right now, they are being hunted down by two rulers, and they are indeed somewhat helpless in the face of absolute power.

Ling Wu, just when they were at their wits' end, left a mark.

This marker will definitely help them!

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Liao wasted no time and led his teammates directly to the foot of the mountain.

There is a cave at the foot of the mountain.

At the deepest part of that pit, there is a strange tunnel that goes straight down.

The tunnel emitted a distorted, ghostly light, making it look very mysterious.

Without saying a word, Jiang Liao leaped down, and his teammates followed suit.

Since there are markings left by Ling Wu here, this tunnel must be a place where one can escape.

Sure enough, as they swooped down, the two rulers behind them caught up and stopped right at the tunnel entrance.

Looking at the tunnel that emitted a ghostly light, they frowned and did not pursue it.

Because this tunnel possesses a unique ability to manipulate time and space.

This ability to manipulate time and space is specifically designed to target rulers like them.

If an ant jumps in, nothing will happen to it, but if someone with too much power jumps in, it will cause a spacetime distortion.

It's highly likely that even they will be torn to pieces!

"A bunch of rats!"

Both rulers had somber expressions.

These time-space tunnels exist everywhere in this ninth layer of space.

Ants can move about freely inside, but they cannot.

Of course, it's impossible to catch up with that group right now.

"So boring..."

The two rulers then emerged from the cave.

Then, looking at the four large characters on the stone mountain, he wondered, "Was this left behind by that guy back then?"

"That guy... even after being reduced to his original form, is he still going to leave us with this kind of trouble?"

"He deserves to die!"

……

The first level of the pre-death assessment space.

Early the next morning, Ling Wu led Li Ming and the others to the municipal center.

There are a lot of people here today.

Almost everyone who could come has already arrived.

Because Ling Wu had already made it very clear that anyone who didn't come would be killed without exception.

Moreover, all the pieces are already in Ling Wu's hands, so what else can he do if he doesn't come?

You either die now, or you die when the assessment period ends!

There is actually no one in this world who is not afraid of death.

Those who clamor that they are not afraid of death, when death comes, are still thinking about living one more day as long as possible.

Thousands of people gathered in the spacious square of the municipal center.

However, it was unusually quiet.

In fact, when they came here, they were also afraid that they would be wiped out by others.

Therefore, right now, everyone around them is afraid of Ling Wu.

"Everyone, the assessment is over!"

Ling Wu led Li Ming and the others to the front of the stage.

A dozen or so novice hunters stood on either side of them.

"Although when you all came here, it seemed like you all had a chance to leave alive."

Ling Wu's voice continued, "But I'm sorry, you actually had no chance in the first place."

As he spoke, he took out a box.

Open it up, and inside are all sorts of chess pieces.

This was the time it took for their hunters to search for the chess pieces throughout the night.

Everyone stared wide-eyed when they saw so many chess pieces.

So all the pieces are already in his hands?

Of course, not all the pieces are in Ling Wu's hands; some have not yet been found.

Some have already been bound to another person by blood.

Those few who didn't come today are precisely those who have one or two pieces in their hand.

That's why I didn't choose to comply with Ling Wu's arrangements.

That's good, because now Ling Wu has a legitimate reason to get rid of them.

"By killing people, you can indeed let a few people leave alive."

Ling Wu continued, "But... I won't attack you. If I wanted to kill you, I would have the chance to make sure you all die a horrible death right now."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent and did not say anything.

Yes, now that they've gathered in thousands, anyone who wants to complete the level by killing a thousand people has a chance.

Especially those who have cannons can easily kill a thousand people with a single shot.

But Ling Wu did not do that.

This undoubtedly made everyone trust him even more.

He wouldn't do what Alice did, deliberately gathering a thousand people and then blowing them all up!

It is indeed safe to follow him.

"Although...everyone wants to keep living, everyone has to accept their fate."

Ling Wu continued, "You don't have that kind of strength or luck, so you can only accept your fate. If you die, you die."

Just like in the real world, everyone wants to get rich overnight, and everyone wants to rise to prominence.

But if you don't have that kind of ability or luck, you have to admit that you can only live in this world as an ordinary person, eating three meals a day and going to work and coming home.

"Everyone, living in peace and enjoying these last moments is the most correct and only choice you can make."

Ling Wu continued, "From now on, I will be fully responsible for the personal safety of all of you."

"Now that you've come here, it's my duty to protect all of you."

"From this moment forward, anyone who harms another, commits a crime, or kills another—will pay with their life, just as they did in the real world!"

"As for those who didn't come, don't worry, I'll take care of them all soon."

"So, you are all safe."

"You can spend every day here in peace."

"Look at the people around you, everyone has a hard time living."

"Why make things difficult for each other when we're already here?"

"It's actually a beautiful thing for everyone to enjoy these last rays of light in a peaceful and harmonious way."

"So for the foreseeable future, the rules and order here will remain the same as in reality!"

"The only difference is that you will no longer be poor and destitute, and you will no longer have any economic or material difficulties."

"I will gather all the available resources in the city to ensure your quality of life."

"Everyone, live your lives well."

Living a good life is so simple, yet so difficult.

In this world, many people struggle to make ends meet because they lack money and other necessities.

But it won't be like that here.

Many people in this world are so poor that they have to carefully budget their money if they want to eat something good.

But it won't happen here.