Damn it…
That’s infuriating!
This is just too much bullying!
After beating the Split Rock Lizard into submission, Gugu Li showed a look of dissatisfaction as it quickly turned its gaze towards a nearby male examinee.
“Stop!” Zhang Xiaoyu exclaimed in horror, quickly stepping forward to hug Gugu Li, “No more fighting, no more, that’s enough! Really, enough!”
While speaking, he even managed to free one hand to frantically wave at the male examinee, signaling for him to take the chance to flee.
Male examinee: “…”
I would really appreciate it!
Far from feeling the warmth of humanity from Zhang Xiaoyu’s gestures, he sensed an even deeper level of mockery.
I’d rather take a couple more punches from Gugu Li!
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“You wait and see!” The male examinee said as he pushed himself up off the ground, glaring hatefully at Zhang Xiaoyu, a pale yellow light flashed as he retrieved his beast back to his Beast Taming Space, “I’ll definitely come back to settle the score with you!”
After dropping those harsh words, the male examinee beat a hasty retreat.
Not until the figure had vanished from sight did Zhang Xiaoyu slowly release his hold on Gugu Li, wiping the sweat from his forehead, his face filled with worry, “We can’t keep doing this, even though we’re getting points faster, it’s too easy to make enemies!”
“Guli? ᕕ(⊙Д⊙)ᕗ” (Do we have enough points for first place yet?)
“It should be enough…” Mentioning this, Zhang Xiaoyu looked even more distressed.
He really didn’t want to attract so much attention!
“We’ve probably got over eight thousand points by now, that should put us in first place, right?” Zhang Xiaoyu asked somewhat uncertainly.
“Guli!” (Then I’m relieved!)
“You’re relieved!” Zhang Xiaoyu covered his face in anguish, “What am I supposed to do? The six hours are almost up, and when the time comes, there will surely be many examinees coming to challenge us. I told you we should’ve just kept a low profile and hunted exotic beasts, why did you have to provoke the examinees?”
“Guli! ᕕ(´∀｀)ᕗ” (Beating them yields more points!)
“I…” Zhang Xiaoyu was about to say something more, when suddenly, the sound of war drums erupted.
Hearing this familiar drumming, Zhang Xiaoyu’s face darkened, “It’s over, the six hours are up, the first stage is over!”
He was about to be mobbed!
…
“Dong, Dong, Dong!”
Listening to the urgent and stirring war drum sounds that were spreading across the sky, Zhao Tianchen and Zhong Hao, who had just cooperated to kill two elite-ranked, leader-class exotic beasts, looked at each other and began laughing, seated near a large boulder.
“I’m just short of eight thousand points now, how about you?” Zhao Tianchen asked with a smile.
“I’m a bit lower than you, just over seven thousand.” Zhong Hao nodded his head, equally pleased with his point tally.
“I told you, both our beasts have fire attributes, and we know each other well, so teaming up in battle means higher gains,” Zhao Tianchen spread his hands, “With such a high score, we must be in first and second place.”
“In the next stage, our position is going to be revealed,” Zhong Hao frowned slightly, his tone laced with concern, “I’m afraid there will be too many examinees challenging us, and if we lose, we’ll lose half our points at once, which would be too painful.”
“No worries,” Zhao Tianchen said nonchalantly, “When our locations are exposed, the spotlights on the two of us will be together. Confronted with the combined strength of two powerful examinees, other examinees will think twice. They’ll probably prefer to challenge examinees who are on their own.”
“If someone really does challenge the two of us…” Zhao Tianchen frowned, “No need to be afraid. If he defeats one of us, the other can immediately challenge him and take the points back. We just hold on until the third stage and then figure out how to redistribute the points.”
The fathers of the two were sworn brothers, so they had this level of trust in each other.
“That’s a good plan,” Zhong Hao nodded, his eyes lighting up, “And throughout the entire exam field, there shouldn’t be too many examinees stronger than the two of us, right?”
“Don’t underestimate the others,” Zhao Tianchen’s expression turned serious, “If we come across situations where we’re at an elemental disadvantage, we could also end up in trouble.”
“No matter what, let’s get our beasts to recover their strength quickly. The next fight could be tough,” Zhao Tianchen said as he took out an Energy Cube from his backpack and handed it to his Ashen Wolf.
“Okay,” Zhong Hao nodded, also taking out an Energy Cube to feed his Molten Giant Bear, and then spoke up, “By the way, weren’t they supposed to announce the names and scores of the top hundred after the start of the second stage? Why haven’t we heard anything yet? The first stage is over, isn’t it?”
“It should be soon,” Zhao Tianchen glanced at the sky, murmuring to himself.
The two did not have to wait long; soon, an exceptionally loud voice that could cover the entire practical assessment area spoke from the sky, “Congratulations to all examinees, after the grueling first stage of practical assessment, the current number of examinees in the field is 9,114!”
“How did it decrease by over a thousand?” Hearing this, Zhong Hao murmured to himself.
“It must be because some encountered danger and sought help from the instructors. We didn’t run into such situations because we’re strong, but the same can’t be said for other examinees,” Zhao Tianchen explained briefly, before continuing, “Alright, let’s listen to the broadcast.”
Zhong Hao nodded and listened attentively.
“Now, the second stage is about to begin. Starting with the examinee ranked first in total points, I will announce the names and current total and Hunting Points of the top hundred examinees in turn,” the resounding voice continued, “As each name is announced, artificial superintelligent mechanoids will synchronize and project a tracking spotlight to illuminate each corresponding location.”
“The higher the ranking of the examinee, the brighter the spotlight and the thicker the column of light,” the loud voice paused, “Note! The spotlight is not constant. As the total points ranking of the examinees changes in real-time during the second stage, the column will also change accordingly.”
“The first place examinee in total points is…”
Zhao Tianchen clenched his fists, glanced at his Ashen Wolf beside him, then turned to Zhong Hao, “Get ready. Once the spotlight comes, we’ve got to stay alert at all times. We need to get through these next three hours!”
“Understood!” Zhong Hao nodded firmly, his expression equally solemn.
While the two were quickly conversing, the sound of the loud broadcast finally came again.
“Lin Su, total points 11,030, Hunting Points 10,950!”
Huh?
Huh?!
Zhao Tianchen blinked and turned to look at Zhong Hao, who was equally taken aback.
“What?!”