Outside the Explorer Assessment Cave
Bang!
The enormous body of the Gray-line Ground Lizard slammed heavily onto the ground, and the dust kicked up made Chen Kong cough violently.
He slumped onto the ground, blood still seeping from the wound on his arm. The Starlight Energy within him flickered precariously, like a candle in the wind, sometimes bright, sometimes dim.
At this moment, he barely had the strength to even clench his fist.
After all, to suppress the backlash from the 'Dreamer' within him just now, he had virtually exhausted all his Starlight Energy. Now, let alone facing the unknown Calamity-level Raccoon Administrator.
Even if another ordinary Star Beast showed up, he might not be able to hold out.
Fortunately, after all this time, there was very little left until the end of the assessment.
If he could just hold on for a little longer, he would successfully pass the assessment.
"Big brother, are you okay?"
Seeing that the crisis was over, the little girl whose eyes had mutated due to radiation from the contaminated zone timidly approached him.
She gently touched Chen Kong's arm with her small hand, her milky-white pupils filled with worry.
"Will that big lizard not get up again?"
Hearing this, Chen Kong first glanced at the corpse of the Gray-line Ground Lizard, then turned to look at the little girl. Suppressing the tearing pain in his body, he forced a smile, patted her head, and said, "Don't worry, it won't get up."
However, just as Chen Kong finished speaking, a familiar 'ding-a-ling' suddenly echoed from outside the cave.
The few children inside the cave didn't understand what the bell sound meant, but Chen Kong knew very clearly.
It was the golden bell on the Raccoon Administrator's neck, and its appearance meant that the Raccoon Administrator, acting as the 'Pursuer,' had arrived nearby.
Hearing the iconic, chillingly oppressive sound of the bell getting closer and closer from outside the cave, Chen Kong's heart instantly leaped to his throat.
He struggled to stand up, but his legs felt heavy as lead, and he couldn't lift them for a long time.
With no choice, he braced his body and looked out through a crack in the cave wall.
Before long, he saw a small figure slowly walking toward them inside the cave.
As the camera zoomed in on the Raccoon Administrator, everyone saw the changes in its appearance.
It was shrouded in thick black mist, its formerly cute face now glowing with a faint, eerie red light, and the golden bell was particularly blinding within the black mist.
When it reached the cave entrance, the Raccoon Administrator unexpectedly stopped.
Its voice, carrying a hint of mockery, slowly emerged from the surrounding black mist.
"Not bad. You actually managed to defeat a Quasi-Calamity-level Gray-line Ground Lizard. What a pity, though..."
Seeing the Raccoon Administrator pause mid-sentence, Chen Kong struggled to stand up and asked curiously, "A pity about what?"
The Raccoon Administrator in the black mist slowly raised a paw and condensed a black energy ball in its palm.
"A pity that your good luck ends here. After all, there's less than a minute left until the assessment ends, but you clearly won't last until then."
Looking at the 'ferocious-looking' Raccoon Administrator, the little girl was frightened and hid behind Chen Kong, tightly clutching his clothes.
Chen Kong first looked at the Raccoon Administrator, then glanced at the children not far away, gritting his teeth. He tried to use the minimal Starlight Energy left in his body to activate his Star Core and Star Source.
But the fatigue in his body and the exhaustion of his Starlight Energy prevented him from even accomplishing this most basic task.
At this moment, he was no different from an ordinary person without Starlight Energy.
Was he really going to be eliminated here?
In a daze, the image of An Qin blocking the beast tide flashed through Chen Kong's mind, and the sight of the cameraman punching the Shadow Wolf also appeared. His heart was filled with unwillingness.
If he hadn't had hope from the beginning, Chen Kong wouldn't have thought much of it.
But since he was so close to success now, he was naturally reluctant to give up.
Seeing that Chen Kong seemed to be out of options, the Raccoon Administrator apparently had no intention of continuing the conversation. It raised its hand and threw the black energy ball toward his location.
Just as this mysterious energy ball, filled with a nightmarish aura, was about to hit Chen Kong.
A figure suddenly lunged in front of him.
Bang!
In the fierce explosion, Chen Kong only felt a wave of heat wash over him, and he instinctively shielded the little girl's eyes.
When the smoke cleared, Chen Kong finally saw the scene before him.
An Qin was standing in front of him. Her original hoodie had been torn to shreds, revealing shoulders covered in faint purple scales.
Her eyes had transformed into the vertical pupils unique to snakes, gleaming with a cold light. When her tongue darted out, it was forked and gently licked the corner of her mouth. Her lower body had completely become a thick serpentine tail, the scales shimmering with a metallic luster in the sunlight.
Transparent venom dripped from the tip of her tail, instantly corroding small pits where it landed on the ground.
Her right hand was covered in scales, and the tips of her fingers were stained with the black blood of a Shadow Wolf, clearly indicating she had just burst out from the beast tide.
"Your Star Source..."
Looking at the greatly changed An Qin, Chen Kong subconsciously asked.
He distinctly remembered An Qin saying that her Star Source was the special type, Omniscient Listening, but the form before him was clearly that of a Transformation-type Star Source.
An Qin didn't turn back. With a gentle flick of her serpent tail, she swept away the surrounding debris, her voice containing the distinct hiss of a snake.
"We'll talk about it after this is over."
As her words fell, An Qin looked at the Raccoon Administrator not far away and said in a calm but undeniable tone, "I'm your opponent. If you want to eliminate him, you have to get past me first."
Almost simultaneously, the cameraman's voice came from the other side. He was dragging his injured left leg. The left leg plate of his mechanical armor was deformed, revealing the metal gears inside, yet he still quickly ran to An Qin's side.
He didn't speak but activated the 'Omnidirection Lens' and firmly locked its range of action.
"Count me in."
"You guys..."
Seeing this scene, Chen Kong was stunned. He hadn't expected that at his weakest moment, these two temporary teammates would disregard the danger and return to save him.
Looking at the two who had suddenly appeared, the Raccoon Administrator tilted its head, a strange smile curling its lips.
"The prey dares to run right in front of the hunter. But I think you've forgotten..."
As it spoke, the black mist around the Raccoon Administrator suddenly surged wildly, and its body visibly swelled.
Its original half-meter height instantly grew to three meters, five meters, ten meters... finally becoming a behemoth as tall as a building!
The gigantified Raccoon was covered in black fur. Its paws were larger than door panels, and with every step, the ground cracked open into deep fissures.
The golden bell also enlarged, hanging from its neck, its sound shaking the surrounding trees.
Its eyes turned blood red, fixed intently on An Qin and the cameraman, its voice like thunder.
"...The rule of this assessment is that I am the Pursuer, and you... are merely prey, hiding and running!"