Pre-death assessment

"Ruthless enough, but useless!"

Ling Wu said directly.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruyan frowned slightly: "It's not working yet? How can it be made useful?"

"Have you ever seen someone commit suicide because of a relationship? Who commits suicide because they know the other person's flaws?"

Ling Wu looked at Liu Ruyan and said, "At most, you'll feel surprised, angry, frustrated, and unwilling, but it's far from enough to lead to suicide."

Of course, some naive young people might indeed take their own lives because of such trivial matters.

But a man with even a little experience wouldn't be so brainless.

To commit suicide for a woman who isn't worth it is brainless!

"Many people commit suicide for love, especially those who die for love."

Ling Wu continued.

If two people are truly devoted to each other, their love is beyond words.

If one of them dies, the other might indeed choose to commit suicide out of grief.

"Forehead……"

Liu Ruyan frowned: "That seems to make sense. Does that mean I can't pass the test?"

"Most people find it difficult to pass the test by simply completing the questions."

Ling Wudao: "If we have enough strength, we can deal with the hunters much faster."

Most people are trapped in the second level because they lack the strength to kill the hunters.

Completing the test questions, while not dangerous, is extremely difficult.

That would take a lot of time and effort.

It's like cooking a grand dish; it takes time and effort to cultivate and nurture it before you can evoke the desired emotional response in others.

And everyone's emotions are constantly changing.

It's possible that you're about to succeed, but then the other party suddenly has a change of heart.

Liu Ruyan immediately let out a sigh of relief: "Wouldn't I have wasted my expression?"

You should have said so earlier; you wouldn't have pretended otherwise.

I even helped Zhou Haonan cook and wash dishes today.

"If anyone has the opportunity to complete the exam questions directly, I certainly won't miss that chance."

Ling Wu continued.

After all, fighting against hunters is dangerous.

Although completing the test was difficult, it was not dangerous.

If you have the opportunity, it would be best to complete the exam questions directly.

If there's no other option, then of course the only thing to do is to fight against the hunters.

For example, Ling Wu had no intention of completing his own exam questions.

Because his test question was: make two women fight each other because they fall in love with him, and one of them dies.

If you have enough time, completing such a test question is certainly not difficult.

However, he did not intend to waste time doing such a thing.

"All right."

Liu Ruyan let out a soft breath.

Then... let's take action against the hunters.

She wasn't actually very willing to lay a hand on someone.

After all, she didn't actually like killing...

……

The next day.

Everyone was fully armed and made ample preparations.

Ling Wu led everyone to a stadium not far from the island in the middle of the lake.

The entire stadium was dilapidated.

The dome was originally closed, but it was clear that many major battles had taken place here, leaving the entire dome riddled with holes.

Ling Wu simply glanced around the entire stadium and then smiled faintly.

He seemed to be able to see through this stadium what kind of great battle had taken place here.

It's likely that Jiang Liao and his teammates hunted down those hunters here several times back then.

Because the terrain here is the most suitable.

"Dr. Lu, add defenses to the entire stadium, but leave the dome intact!"

Ling Wu raised his hand and placed it on Dr. Lu's shoulder, strengthening his defensive capabilities.

Dr. Lu nodded, then placed his palm on the football field.

hum!

Instantly, the entire dilapidated stadium seemed to be covered by a semi-transparent defensive barrier.

The hunter can subdue the ability user by touching them.

However, they cannot control the abilities released by those with special abilities.

In this way, they can trap the turtle in a jar inside the sturdy stadium.

"Put on the walkie-talkie and follow my instructions in a bit."

Ling Wu continued.

Everyone nodded and connected the walkie-talkie.

Boom! ! !

Just then, a deafening bell suddenly rang out from the sky, reaching the ears of everyone in the city.

The hunt has begun!

Throughout the vast second city, the vast majority of people were on edge, preparing to flee.

They couldn't find those enclosed spaces made of black metal, so when faced with the hunters' probing, they could only flee.

They fled continuously for an hour.

If you wait an hour, everything will be fine.

For this reason, some people have specially created various high-speed escape vehicles, such as flying cars.

hum!

Immediately following the resounding bell, distorted spaces appeared in the sky.

Then, from within that, figures slowly emerged, like upside-down bats.

The intermediate-level hunter's entire body was still made of that moon-like white metal.

But it looks more refined and sophisticated than the novice hunter.

The mechanical skeletons are also more tightly coordinated.

Moreover, they also have a pair of metal flight wings on their backs.

It was also equipped with long-range weapons, guns, and cannons.

Inside their chests, there is an energy core that emits a pale blue light.

If novice hunters are just melee cannon fodder, then intermediate hunters are fully armed elites.

It can fly, can attack from a distance, and its combat power is off the charts.

Above the sky, after a hundred intermediate hunters appeared, they immediately began hunting.

With all detection capabilities activated, anyone within the detection range will be immediately pursued and killed.

Some simply raised their guns, aimed, and fired.

Or it could be launched directly from a small shoulder-mounted missile.

The entire vast post-apocalyptic city instantly transformed into a hunting ground…

"If these things were used in modern warfare, they would be absolutely invincible."

Li Ming and the others watched as the intermediate-level hunters began their hunt.

This is basically an enhanced version of Iron Man, and they come in large groups, making them virtually invincible.

hum!

Just then, a faint glow emanated from all of them.

It was clear that intermediate-level hunters had already discovered them.

Swish!

Sure enough, the next moment, a mid-level hunter flew down from the hole in the stadium's dome.

"Begin the hunt!"

At Ling Wu's command, everyone dispersed in all directions.

The intermediate-level hunter landed in the middle of the stadium's football field.

As soon as they landed, a group of people emerged from all directions.

They were all menacing-looking, carrying steel pipes and machetes.

They looked aggressive.

Their clothing and appearance were also different.

Some were wearing suits, some were wearing jeans, and some were shirtless, showing off their tattoos.

The leader of them had slightly long hair and a dragon tattooed over his shoulder.

Beside him, a short-haired, sharp-looking man spoke up: "Hey, my name is Mountain Chicken, the 'Chicken' of 'chicken'..."

The intermediate hunter opposite him tilted his head slightly, seemingly not quite understanding what these people were.

"Brothers, kill him!"

The next moment, under Zhou Haonan's control, the group of summoned gangsters, armed with knives, guns, and clubs, charged forward.

The intermediate-level hunter didn't take them seriously at all, and his gun suddenly spat out a tongue of fire.

Then it rotates once more.

A group of thugs were instantly killed on the spot, their bodies torn to pieces.

Upon seeing this scene, Zhou Haonan, who was hiding in the shadows, chuckled dryly.

You might as well say that your summoning ability is completely useless in a place like this.

In the modern world, being able to lead a group of followers would be quite an achievement.

But what use is a mortal underling in this pre-death assessment space?

hum!

Just then, a series of golden chessboards suddenly unfolded in the vast stadium.

"Two cars missed each other!"

Two killing lines, one in front and one behind, locked onto the intermediate hunter.

Faced with the power of chess, the intermediate hunter simply raised both hands to block.

He managed to stop the kill line.

"Again."

Just then, two more killing lines shot towards the intermediate hunter from the left and right.

But as before, he was forcibly stopped by that intermediate-level hunter.

Four killing lines formed a cross, trapping the intermediate hunter in the middle.

"Drilling dart!"

Li Ming summoned a powerful burrowing cannon and fired at it.

However, the highly penetrating shells, when they landed on the intermediate hunter, failed to even pierce through a layer of his skin.

This thing is indeed extremely powerful in terms of defense.

However, although their attack failed to harm the intermediate hunter, it temporarily restrained it.

In that instant, Li Qingxue fired her gun.

A strengthened red pulse laser suddenly shot out.

It pierced the chest of the intermediate hunter with unerring accuracy.

zizi...

A surge of electricity pulsed at the point where the hole was pierced.

The intermediate-level hunter was not dead yet.

Its gaze locked onto Li Qingxue, who was firing a gun in the distance, and it suddenly rushed forward.

"head shot!"

At that moment, Ling Wu's voice came through Li Qingxue's walkie-talkie.

Li Qingxue aimed at the charging intermediate hunter and fired again.

This time, the laser pierced directly through the intermediate hunter's head.

Its entire head was melted away.

And then, he collapsed like this.

"Why is this thing like a zombie? You have to shoot it in the head to kill it?"

Li Ming and the others all frowned.

For a novice hunter, a mere slit in the chest is enough to kill.

Just like with people, you just need to hit the vital point.

However, this intermediate-level hunter requires a headshot.

"The head is their processing core, and the energy core in their chest is their engine; both of these are fatal weaknesses."

Ling Wudao: "But we need to preserve the energy core, so we can only shoot them in the head."

As they were talking, Ling Wu walked out, then went up to the fallen intermediate hunter's energy core.

Meanwhile, the intermediate-level hunters who were out hunting down ability users seemed to have also realized that one of their companions had died.

They immediately stopped chasing and all gathered in the direction of the stadium.

Those who were fleeing turned around and immediately stopped, looking confused.

"What's going on? Why are they all suddenly heading in the same direction?"

"Could it be... that someone has killed another intermediate-level hunter?"

"Could it be Lei Zhenyu and his group again?"

"They've attacked mid-level hunters before, and since then they've had to hide from both mid-level and high-level hunters. How come they dare to do it again now?"

"Those shouldn't be them, they must be newcomers!"

"They're like newborn calves that aren't afraid of tigers. Once they kill one mid-level hunter, all the other mid-level hunters will gather there immediately."

"The collective consciousness of intermediate hunters is much stronger than that of novice hunters."

If a novice hunter is killed, only those of the same kind in the vicinity will gather there.

But intermediate and advanced levels are different; they will all join forces and attack only one point.

All eyes were on the stadium, where they saw the intermediate-level hunters flying in one by one.

Everyone immediately shook their heads, feeling sorry for the people inside.

Even when Lei Zhenyu and the others joined forces, they only managed to kill three people before barely surviving until the hunt ended.

Since then, he has not provoked any intermediate-level hunters.

These newcomers, facing such a powerful intermediate-level hunter, are probably doomed...

However, in the end, we still have to thank them.

At the very least, they drew away the intermediate-level hunters, which naturally increased the survival rate of the others.

In the gymnasium, Ling Wu led everyone to set up the chessboard.

Then, launch long-range attacks from all directions to wear down the enemy.

As time went on, more and more intermediate hunters flocked to the stadium.

Seeing that things were almost done, Ling Wu gave the order: "Dr. Lu, seal off the dome!"

Dr. Lu received instructions and activated all defensive capabilities.

Instantly, a golden shield-like barrier formed above the dilapidated dome.

Next... the real hunt begins!

……

Meanwhile, on the island in the middle of the lake...

Lei Yun, along with Lei Zhenyu and the others, gazed at the direction of the dilapidated stadium outside the lake.

"They actually attacked a mid-level hunter?"

Lei Zhenyu frowned slightly.

Their team had all fought against intermediate-level hunters before, and it took them a great deal of effort to barely take down three of them.

Can Ling Wu and the others handle it?

"To relieve some of their pressure."

Lei Yun raised the laser gun that Ling Wu had enhanced and aimed it at the sky above the stadium.

At this moment, the intermediate-level hunters above the stadium continued to attack the stadium's dome.

The dome seemed to be blocked by something, preventing the remaining intermediate hunters from entering for the time being.

"Looks like you've already made the assignments?"

Lei Yun smiled faintly.

There are still twenty or thirty intermediate hunters outside, while the remaining seventy or eighty are inside the stadium.

Ling Wu was confident that he could take down seventy or eighty mid-level hunters.

So the remaining twenty or thirty will be up to me.

If there are only twenty or thirty of them, even if they are no match for us, we are confident that we can hold out for an hour.

Without saying a word, Lei Yun immediately opened fire.

A laser beam streaked across the lake and suddenly struck one of the intermediate-level hunters.

Instantly, the intermediate hunter's shoulder was completely pierced, and a white mechanical arm hung down naturally on his shoulder.

The next moment, all the remaining hunters turned their gaze toward the island in the middle of the lake.

Then, it flew towards this place at full speed.

"Not bad at all!"

Lei Yun looked at the gun in her hand.

It seems Ling Wu's team is very well-organized; they were even able to directly produce a gun capable of killing hunters.

If we had enough guns, dealing with these hunters would be no problem at all.

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

Lei Zhenyu roared, "Today we'll leave all these intermediate-level hunters... right here!"

Since they now have a gun that can kill hunters directly, and there are only twenty or thirty mid-level hunters coming.

Then it's possible that they really have a chance to eliminate all of these intermediate-level hunters today.

The next moment, lightning crackled in Lei Zhenyu's eyes.

Under the raging lightning, his hair stood on end.

The next moment, he led his men into a fierce battle with the mid-level hunters on the other side.

The entire island in the middle of the lake instantly erupted in excitement and bustling activity…

……

The second level of the entire pre-death assessment space.

The hunting season was originally a time of escape and chaos.

But at this moment, all the chaos is concentrated on the island in the middle of the lake and the stadium.

Those who were not being hunted down immediately became increasingly frustrated.

According to their calculations, those who were besieged by intermediate-level hunters in the stadium should have died very quickly.

But after waiting for a long time, the intermediate hunters who rushed into the stadium still did not come out.

"Hiss...something's not right, why is it taking so long?"

Everyone immediately realized that the problem was not that simple.

As you all just saw, there are about seventy or eighty intermediate hunters gathered in the stadium.

The remaining twenty or thirty all went to the island in the middle of the lake.

With Lei Zhenyu leading the way on the island in the middle of the lake, even if they can't win, they can at least manage to hold their own.

Who are the people inside the stadium?

What kind of person could withstand an attack from seventy or eighty mid-level hunters for so long?

Currently, isn't Lei Zhenyu's team the strongest in the second level of the pre-death assessment space?

Is there anyone stronger than Lei Zhenyu and his group?

Driven by curiosity, people slowly approached the stadium one after another.

They really wanted to see who was inside and what the current situation was.

Many people gathered around the stadium and looked out from a distance.

At this moment, the entire stadium surface seemed to be coated with a layer of golden protective film.

A series of explosions, large and small, came from inside, but the aftershocks of the battle failed to break through the golden barrier.

After all, it was an enhanced defensive shield, and those hunters had no intention of coming out; they only wanted to fight Ling Wu and the others to the death.

Therefore, the shield will not shatter in a short period of time.

Everyone watched from afar, waiting.

At this moment, everyone is filled with anticipation.

They hoped that the people inside would actually be able to take care of those intermediate-level hunters.

"Has anyone here been here for more than a year? Something similar happened about a year ago."

At this moment, someone spoke up: "Back then, there was also a very powerful group of people who chose the stadium as their battleground to surround and kill the hunters inside."

"Whether they're novice hunters, intermediate hunters, or even advanced hunters, they'll kill them all!"

"Then, in less than half a month, they killed enough hunters and collectively completed the game."

"And their entire team survived!"

Those who are still in the second level of the pre-death assessment space are, of course, some veteran players who have been here for many years.

So I know what happened a year ago.

And that invincible team from a year ago was none other than Jiang Liao's team.

"Yeah, I remember what they were called... the Bored Squad."

Another person spoke up, saying, "The leader is a woman, and she's very capable!"

For ordinary ability users like them, even facing a novice hunter in a one-on-one situation is still quite difficult.

Even when facing a high-level hunter, the members of that boring squad can still take on a one-on-one fight.

I wonder if the team inside the stadium right now is as formidable as the Bored Squad from a year ago.

"Sigh! I thought I had some ability, so I chose to try the second level."

Someone sighed and said, "I never imagined that the hunters here could counter all ability users. If only we had known, we would have returned to the real world!"

Everyone who comes here starts out full of confidence.

They are all very confident and proud!

Everyone wants to gain more and stronger abilities before returning to the present world.

Only after arriving here did I discover that the second level contained something specifically designed to counter those with special abilities.

Moreover, once you enter the second level, you have to fight your way through nine levels to return to the real world.

If you can't even get past the second level, how can you expect to get past the ninth?

Everyone gradually goes from being confident and proud at the beginning to feeling powerless and regretful.

Curiosity killed the cat; that saying is always true.

It is indeed best not to get involved in the unknown without absolute certainty.

Once you get involved, you'll regret it!

Under the watchful eyes and waiting of everyone outside, more than an hour later…

The stadium returned to complete tranquility, and the golden defensive barrier vanished entirely.

"Is it over?"

Everyone was filled with curiosity.

Did the people inside win, or did the intermediate hunters win?

Amidst everyone's curiosity and anticipation.

A group of people slowly walked out of the main entrance of the stadium.

It was Ling Wu and his group.

They all looked exhausted and had some minor injuries, indicating that they had indeed been through a major battle.

But thankfully, they won!

And they won a great victory.

Because in their hands, carrying large and small bags, were all energy cores of intermediate-level hunters.

Seeing this, everyone understood.

Sure enough, another extremely powerful team arrived at the second level of the pre-death assessment space.

All eyes were on Ling Wu and the others, filled with envy.

I envy their ability to wipe out dozens of mid-level hunters in one fell swoop.

Some people not only envied them, but even wanted to stand up and ask to join such a team.

But I don't know how to bring it up.

After all, many people had wanted to join Lei Zhenyu's team before, but they were all rejected.

The reason is that they are too weak.

Strong teams don't need weak players.

"Phew... I'm tired, but... it feels great!"

Li Ming let out a long sigh of relief; this battle had indeed been extremely taxing.

But it was definitely a fun game.

Moreover, the harvest was plentiful.

"Looks like the battle on the island in the middle of the lake isn't over yet?"

Liu Ruyan glanced towards the island in the middle of the lake, then smiled and said, "They're still not quite up to par, are they?"

"Then let's go... and collect some more loot!"

Li Ming and his companions all grinned, now completely unafraid.

Each of them possesses a complete set of chess pieces within their body, which can be used to wear down the hunter.

In addition, there are weapons that can directly kill hunters.

Therefore, I have absolutely no fear!

Ling Wu nodded, and then planned to take Li Ming and the others to the island in the middle of the lake to provide support.

But just then, he noticed the gazes of the people around him.

Then he stopped.

"Do you regret coming to the second level of the pre-death assessment space?"

He spoke slowly, then continued, "You may not know, but this second assessment space is also known as... the Regret Space."

"The stronger your regret, the more it will benefit the owner of this assessment space."

"So... you walk your own path, so what's there to regret?"