[Explorer Assessment, Rest Hall]
The pale blue transmission light faded, and the figures of Liu Ma, Vivian, and Isabella appeared in the center of the hall.
All three were hanging their heads, their faces showing only unconcealed disappointment, completely lacking their previous confidence.
Liu Ma clenched his fist, Vivian frowned, and Isabella leaned directly against the wall, looking distraught.
They had anticipated failure, but they never thought their defeat would be so... "simple."
Yes, simple.
All their so-called plans and arrangements turned into a joke in the face of absolute power.
If this had not been an assessment, but a real exploration of a fallen zone.
Then, those who returned to the rest hall would not be three dejected people, but three cold corpses.
Reality always reminds everyone who underestimates it what true "cruelty" is.
"Liu Ma, are you guys okay?"
Seeing the three appear, Chen Kong hurried over to offer comfort.
But Liu Ma seemed not to hear him, staring blankly at the floor, the image of the Raccoon Administrator's claw pressing on his shoulder replaying in his mind.
At that moment, he couldn't even react, instantly pinned to the spot by an invisible force.
During the process, he was like an "infant" with no ability to resist—weak and helpless.
And Liu Ma wasn't the only one who looked utterly lost.
"So the gap between us and Mi Yao... is actually this huge."
Isabella suddenly spoke, her voice slightly hoarse.
Her words voiced not only her own feelings and those of Liu Ma and the others but also the feelings of many people around them.
When they watched Mi Yao's assessment from the outside, he only hid and occasionally counterattacked.
This gave Liu Ma and the others the illusion of "I can do that too."
But when it was their turn, they couldn't even last half the time.
It turned out that not everyone could maintain composure when facing a Calamity-level powerhouse.
And not everyone could retreat unscathed from a Calamity-level powerhouse.
It was this massive psychological discrepancy that made Liu Ma and the others feel as if their morale was shattered.
Hearing Isabella's words, Chen Kong subconsciously looked in Mi Yao's direction.
Mi Yao was leaning on the sofa with a bandage still wrapped around his left arm.
But even injured, the guy was still gripping a handheld console with his right hand, his fingers rapidly tapping the buttons, the screen flashing the "Game Cleared" prompt.
This kind of "diligence" suddenly made Chen Kong feel that he might have always been prejudiced against Mi Yao.
The fact that he could become a Heaven-rank student relied not only on talent but also on this persistence to "maintain form even when injured."
[Site 13]
'Seriously, Liu Ma and the others are too tragic... they were completely wiped out already?'
'This is the crushing feeling of a Calamity-level power. Plans are meaningless in the face of absolute strength.'
'Mi Yao is truly a high-level player; he's still persisting in playing games. Maybe this is why he's NO. 13, completely different from some lazy fish NO. 3.'
'Hey, earlier comment, our Liuli isn't slacking off, that's also part of her cultivation, okay?'
'Uh, I guess that's not wrong. After all, sleeping really is part of Salty-Fish Liuli's cultivation.'
As the bullet chat scrolled, the Raccoon Administrator suddenly shook the golden bell in his hand, his gaze sweeping over Chen Kong and his two temporary teammates.
"Alright, the next assessment will be yours."
Currently, besides Chen Kong's team, there were still Tendo Caroline, as well as Ye Shenlin, Huan Qianying, and another random teammate.
Thinking of this, Chen Kong instinctively looked at his two temporary teammates.
The cameraman brother's face was expressionless, appearing merely as an irrelevant bystander.
An Qin, however, kept her head down, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes, not raising her head once, remaining silent.
Seeing these two strangers, and unsure of their specific strength, Chen Kong was filled with worry about his upcoming assessment.
Just then, the scene on the screen cut to Tendo and Caroline.
Caroline looked at Chen Kong's trio not far away, and a data torrent flashed in her emerald pupils. She asked softly, "Tendo, do you think they can pass?"
Hearing this, Tendo first looked at An Qin, a meaningful smile curling the corner of his mouth.
"Theoretically speaking, no."
As he spoke, he shifted his gaze to Chen Kong and added, "But in this world, there are always many things that are difficult to explain by theory, especially when the issue involves complex 'humanity.'"
Tendo's words were ambiguous and included some remarks that seemed irrelevant to the current question.
But Caroline, who was familiar with Tendo, knew that if Tendo said so, there must be a reason.
After all, his eyes could see the "future" that she could not.
Humanity...
A massive data torrent flashed in Caroline's eyes.
She seemed to be analyzing the role "humanity" could play in this assessment.
But no matter how she analyzed it, she felt that in this assessment, which focused only on strength and luck.
The complexity of "humanity" could hardly interfere with the outcome of the assessment.
Unless someone was hiding their strength.
Thinking of this, Caroline's gaze swept over Chen Kong's teammates, finally settling on the one Tendo had described as "suspected of being a human traitor."
If anyone among these three was the "variable" that would be affected by "humanity," it might only be her.
An Qin seemed to sense Caroline's gaze, quickly lowering her head to minimize her presence.
In her mind, among the people most needing vigilance in this Star Dome Ladder assessment.
Tendo ranked first, and Caroline, the disciple of the President Enite and the New Federation's genius Mech-Apostle, was the second existence she needed to be wary of.
And when she originally came to participate in this assessment, she hadn't expected these two to show up.
Thinking of this, she had already decided to be "accidentally eliminated" in the upcoming assessment, thereby avoiding any entanglement with these two as much as possible.
After all, in front of these two monsters, she couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't expose any flaws.
What's more... they seemed to already know something.
"Transmission preparation. 10-second countdown."
Just as An Qin was lost in thought, the Raccoon Administrator's voice rang out.
Chen Kong took a deep breath, activating his Mark of Void, and a pale blue starlight enveloped his entire body, causing his figure to become transparent.
The cameraman brother also adjusted his camera's shooting frequency, aiming the lens at the direction of the ruins.
An Qin quietly slipped her hand into her pocket, seemingly gripping something.
The pale blue transmission light illuminated again, and the figures of the three disappeared from the rest hall.
Soon, the holographic screen above everyone's heads switched to a brand new scene.
It was a desolate ruin filled with abandoned factories. Smokestacks lay collapsed on the ground, faint black smoke still billowed from the pipes, and the air was thick with the smell of rust.
Tendo looked at the screen and spoke softly: "The show is about to begin."
Caroline, beside him, didn't reply, but watched An Qin on the screen intently.
She was very curious about what kind of surprise this "variable" that Tendo mentioned could bring her.
And the "weight" of humanity in this assessment.