[Explorer Qualification Assessment, Rest Hall]
As the scene of An Qin standing alone to block the main entrance of the factory appeared on the holographic screen, Huan Qianying couldn't help but frown.
She nudged Ye Shenlin, who was still dozing beside her, and asked with confusion, "Lin, what do you think they're doing? Have they forgotten this is an assessment?"
Ye Shenlin, awakened by the nudge, rubbed his heavily dark-circled eyes. His gaze fell on the screen, where Chen Kong was shielding the children as they crawled into a ventilation duct, and he spoke slowly.
"They haven't forgotten. It's just that for them, some things are more important than passing."
"More important than passing?"
Huan Qianying was puzzled.
As a member of the Moon Shadow family, she was educated with the belief of 'efficiency first, mission paramount.'
The family manual stated clearly that any factor that could interfere with a mission should be discarded without hesitation.
They only completed core tasks and never wasted time on 'unrelated people.'
But Chen Kong and An Qin on the screen were putting themselves in danger for the sake of four 'illusory NPCs.'
In Huan Qianying's view, this was simply putting the cart before the horse and utterly foolish.
Seeing that Huan Qianying still didn't understand, Ye Shenlin suddenly sat up straighter, the laziness in his eyes replaced by seriousness.
"Ying, sometimes, what you abandon is not the so-called 'burden,' but the person you once were."
"Because once a principle is broken, the difference is only between zero and countless times."
"Chen Kong and the others, who are sticking to their principles, obviously feel that 'abandoning the weak' is more unbearable than failing the assessment. That's actually quite rare."
Hearing this, Huan Qianying opened her mouth, wanting to argue but unable to speak.
In the years since leaving the base, she had lived in an environment where 'mission priority' was everything, and she had never experienced an abstract concept like 'principles.'
Yet, looking at Chen Kong shielding the children and An Qin gripping her Star Energy weapon on the screen,
She somehow felt that Ye Shenlin might be right.
Perhaps in the eyes of Chen Kong and An Qin, those 'children holding them back' were never 'NPCs,' but rather themselves—the 'selves' who once needed protection.
Regarding this conclusion, the dimension bullet screens on Site 13 were also intensely debating.
'I feel Huan Qianying has a point! The most important thing in an assessment is to pass. Bringing children along is too risky!'
'The person above doesn't know what they're talking about! Chen Kong and the others are defending their principles! If it were me, I couldn't abandon those children either!'
'That's just the Moon Shadow family's philosophy: mission above all. But Ye Shenlin can understand Chen Kong. Sure enough, NO.5's perspective is different from NO.30's!'
[Explorer Assessment, Outside the Abandoned Factory]
"A little interesting."
The little raccoon squatting on the rusted chimney stack, its short legs dangling, its golden bell emitting a clear 'ding-a-ling' sound in the wind.
It looked down at An Qin not far below, a hint of surprise flashing in its round eyes.
It had initially thought Chen Kong and the others would abandon the 'burdens' to pass the assessment.
But the actual situation was completely different from what it had expected. An Qin chose to stay and block the beast tide.
Chen Kong and the Camera Star Emissary were running into the woods with the children, completely deviating from the 'script.'
Black mist coiled around the little raccoon, slowly condensing into three translucent phantoms.
Upon closer inspection, the faces of these three phantoms were exactly the same as Chen Kong and the two others.
If things had gone according to the normal script, the phantoms of Chen Kong and the others would have been covered in cracks and exuded an atmosphere of decay by now.
But at the moment, Chen Kong and the others were emitting a faint, warm light, with no sign of dissipating.
"Fear is human instinct, but courage is also humanity's hymn. You've stumbled upon the only solution to break the 'Nightmare.'"
[Domain: Eternal Nightmare]
[Characteristic: The more people gather, the firmer their 'belief,' the harder it is for fear to breed in their hearts; conversely, those who are alone will have their fear magnified by the unknown and solitude, eventually being swallowed by the Nightmare.]
An Qin currently seemed isolated, but because of her 'guardian' belief, fear could not approach her.
Chen Kong, leading the children, found that the children's reliance and trust became the 'light' that drove away the black mist.
Therefore, although it seemed that Chen Kong and the others were helping the children right now,
In reality, they were the ones who were truly being helped.
It was precisely because of the children's presence that the little raccoon administrator had been unable to reach the 'Fear Critical Point' necessary to approach Chen Kong and the others.
While under normal circumstances, it would still be able to approach even if Chen Kong and the others had not succumbed to 'fear,'
The assessment, after all, was not reality. It still had to abide by certain 'assessment rules' set long ago.
However, even if they had found the solution to the Eternal Nightmare, the little raccoon administrator had more tricks up its sleeve.
It suddenly waved its little paw gently.
The next second, the Shadow Wolves surrounding An Qin suddenly grew frantic, roaring as they lunged at her.
In response, An Qin leapt up, her beast-transformed hands turning into sharp claws that sliced through the air, leaving deep scratches on the Shadow Wolves' fur.
Black blood splattered on the ground, making a 'sizzle' sound of corrosion.
Although she managed to take down one Shadow Wolf, more wolves surged forward, surrounding her completely.
The little raccoon sat on the chimney, watching the scene with interest.
It could sense that the 'light' in An Qin's heart had not diminished due to the dangerous situation. Instead, it grew brighter during the fight, stabilizing the warm light around Chen Kong in the distance as well.
If this continued, let alone amplifying their fear, they might truly walk out of the Eternal Nightmare carrying their 'light.'
"Looks like I need to add some ingredients."
The little raccoon's lips curved into a playful smile, and its paw waved again.
This time, it didn't increase the strength of the beast tide, but quietly changed the scene in the woods.
The small path that was supposed to lead to the safe zone slowly twisted into a dead end. Black mist began to seep from the surrounding trees, and the faint roars of unknown creatures could be heard.
Looking at Chen Kong and the others, who had abruptly stopped due to the sudden change, the little raccoon murmured softly, "No matter how strong your principles and beliefs are, how long can they last when facing the fear of 'death'?"
"This is trouble,"
Outside the abandoned factory, Chen Kong's expression was grim as he looked at the dead end that had suddenly appeared before him.
He had just seen that there was a passage here leading to the area outside the factory, but now, several walls had suddenly appeared.
This undoubtedly meant that someone had forcefully altered the environment here.
And the only person capable of doing this was clearly the little raccoon administrator.
What puzzled Chen Kong was why the little raccoon administrator hadn't appeared yet, even though it clearly knew their location?
Or was this assessment not purely a game of 'hide-and-seek' from the beginning?
In an instant, a flash of inspiration shot through Chen Kong's mind, as if he had grasped some extremely crucial information.
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