[Explorer Assessment Rest Hall]
Chen Kong looked at Mi Yao, who had successfully passed the assessment on the screen, but his mind was replaying the scene of Mi Yao being frantically 'chased' by the Raccoon Administrator not long ago.
Even someone of Mi Yao's strength only managed to pass with such difficulty. If the subsequent assessments were all based on this standard, could he truly pass this assessment?
Chen Kong felt very uncertain about this question.
Just then, a hand was placed on his shoulder.
Chen Kong turned his head and saw the cameraman looking at him, the lens on his face gently rotating.
"Don't worry, your Void Mark can shield Star Energy fluctuations, my detector can find traces of Star Beasts 30 seconds in advance, and Ms. An Qin's 'Listen to All' can help us know about the arrival of the pursuers early."
"As long as we are careful, the chance of passing is still quite high."
Chen Kong was momentarily stunned, and the anxiety in his heart eased slightly.
The existence elimination effect of the Void Mark was indeed his trump card, but the thought of the Calamity-Grade Raccoon's giant form and the Shadow Wolves scurrying everywhere in the ruins still made him frown.
"I still feel we can't be too optimistic."
The cameraman smiled without speaking.
Clearly, he naturally understood the difficulty of this assessment.
Just as he was about to say something more, a crisp ringing of a bell suddenly echoed in the rest hall.
The next second, the Raccoon Administrator walked into the hall with its short legs and stopped in the center.
It then looked around, finally settling its gaze on Liu Ma, Vivian, and Isabelle.
"The next group for the assessment will be you."
Hearing the Raccoon Administrator call out their group for the assessment.
Liu Ma took a deep breath, then nodded.
"Isn't it just hide-and-seek? This old man is definitely going to hold out until the end!"
Although he said that, Liu Ma was actually very nervous inside.
He had witnessed Mi Yao's desperate battle and was equally unsure about whether he could pass this assessment.
Fortunately, their assessment content wasn't fighting a Calamity-Grade entity, but merely hiding for a certain amount of time.
This gave him a glimmer of hope for passing.
During the preparation time, Vivian went to Liu Ma and Isabelle, offering her final instructions.
"Don't rush in later, we will stick to the plan we discussed earlier."
Liu Ma and Isabelle nodded, signaling that they would cooperate with Vivian's actions as much as possible.
After a brief exchange, a pale blue beam of light enveloped them.
The next second, they disappeared from the rest hall.
At the same time, the holographic screen above everyone's heads began to switch scenes.
What appeared was a scene of city outskirts ruins.
Due to the lack of civilization traces for many years, the city outskirts were now covered by towering trees, dense wild grass, and vines.
Only the occasional discarded street lamp and broken road revealed that this had once been a human residential area.
As soon as Liu Ma and the others landed, they exchanged glances and moved in different directions.
Liu Ma slipped into a patch of waist-high grass, keeping his body low and even softening his breathing, quickly disappearing from everyone's view.
Isabelle hid inside a discarded bus, laying down a faint layer of frost around the vehicle body.
Vivian, on the other hand, walked towards the center of the city ruins, seemingly with no intention of hiding.
The camera's lens followed Vivian as she moved forward.
[One Minute Later]
[Explorer Assessment, Outskirt Ruins]
"Awoo!"
Vivian had just emerged from a dense patch of woods when a Shadow Wolf darted out from behind a tree, its blood-red eyes fixed on her. It then roared toward the sky, summoning its companions to the location.
What was strange, however, was that Vivian seemed to have anticipated this situation.
Not only did she not rush to find a way to silence the Shadow Wolf, but she waited in place.
It was as if she had deliberately exposed her whereabouts.
Seeing this, the external observer, Chen Kong, couldn't help but say, "What is Vivian doing? Is she using herself as bait?"
The cameraman looked at Vivian on the screen, a reflection arcing across the large lens on his face.
"Hard to say, I have a feeling the situation is not as simple as you think."
And soon, everyone understood Vivian's purpose.
As more and more Shadow Wolves appeared around Vivian, the woman who had been standing still suddenly moved.
She raised her hand, and a special mechanical device, similar to a 'beehive,' suddenly appeared in her right hand.
[Name: Interference Swarm]
[Quality: Grade 2]
[Effect: Can probe the surroundings and release preset quantum interference signals.]
[Description: Buzz buzz buzz (Static noise)...]
As Vivian spread her hand, a large number of mechanical bees flew out, landing on the surrounding Shadow Wolves.
These tiny mechanical bees naturally posed no threat to the Shadow Wolves.
But Vivian's goal was not to have these mechanical bees kill or injure the Shadow Wolves, but rather to use their bodies as a carrier to release 'smoke screens.'
What was the biggest difficulty of the second-stage hide-and-seek?
After watching the assessment process of Mi Yao and others, everyone had a clear answer in their minds.
The biggest challenge in this stage was the Calamity-Grade Raccoon Administrator and the unknown Calamity-Grade Star Beast.
However, the latter was somewhat traceable, while the former was elusive.
The opponent could suddenly appear and capture the examinee without warning.
Therefore, the later they were discovered by the Raccoon Administrator.
The greater their chance of passing.
And in this assessment, there was a very specific setting.
That is, the examinee's location would be transmitted to the Raccoon Administrator at regular intervals.
Although this increased the difficulty of hiding for Vivian and the others.
Similarly, it gave Vivian inspiration.
Could she transmit 'false information' to the Raccoon Administrator by simulating a signal?
For anyone else, achieving this would not be easy, but for Vivian, who possessed the special talent 'Spark of All Machinery,' it was different.
Because she could attach specific Machine Souls to her mechanical devices.
The presence of these Machine Souls would generate a 'unique quantum signal' that was almost identical to Vivian's own.
Although Vivian didn't think these signals alone could fool the Raccoon Administrator.
They could, however, buy them some time.
Under everyone's curious gaze, Vivian opened the metal box in her hand, revealing the densely packed miniature mechanical bees inside.
Each bee was only the size of a thumbnail, and their wings glowed with a pale blue light.
"Go, little ones."
Under Vivian's command, a large swarm of mechanical bees surged toward the Shadow Wolves like a tide.
These mechanical bees did not attack the Shadow Wolves; they simply quietly attached themselves to their bodies, their wings vibrating slightly. By utilizing the Shadow Wolves' own life signals and distorting them slightly, they transformed them into a highly similar, nearly genuine quantum signal that resembled Vivian's own.
[Name: Spark of All Machinery]
[Effect 1. Machine Soul Containment: Can contain Machine Souls within its own quantum space and dominate them to a certain extent (Current limit: 100)]
[Effect 2. Machine Soul Adaptation: When making contact with a mechanical device, can drive the Machine Souls within its quantum space to descend upon the device, significantly enhancing its performance (Ultra-Limit State can be activated under specific conditions)]
[Effect 3. Communication with All Machinery: Can establish a mental connection with any mechanical device, regardless of whether it possesses a Machine Soul, for a certain degree of communication]