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Remember this for a second: it offers you an exciting novel reading experience.
"What's with the attitude?" Cui Ming thought, feeling frustrated. The group, accustomed to the service of airship hotels, found it hard to adapt to this pace. Upon entering their room, Cui Ming was infuriated. Was this a room? It looked more like a garbage dump. The floor was littered with empty bottles, the walls were covered in graffiti, and the dust on the blankets was thicker than the moss in the bathroom.
A captain who had participated in two Assessment Matches passed by and said, "This mess has been here for two years. Your room might be four years old."
"No one cleans up?"
The captain retorted, "Who would clean? Ordinary people here risk being harmed by Force boulders. Those with league seats or practitioners are all people of status; who would help you with cleaning?"
Was there any choice left? The five from Beiyue went down to collect their tents, but the staff was clearly dissatisfied. "Aren't you just adding trouble for yourselves?" They grumbled as they led the five to the warehouse to pick up tents and sleeping bags, finally saying, "After the assessment ends, take your trash with you. Tents and sleeping bags too."
Cui Ming couldn't help but ask, "President, where do the duty seats stay?"
The staff replied, "In a small town eighty kilometers away." They certainly wouldn't stay here.
At that moment, Cui Ming realized that the Force Alliance headquarters was in Hero Town, not Hero City. Hero City was purely a venue for competitions. It had previously served as headquarters, but since no one maintained it or cleaned it up, the headquarters moved to the small town eighty kilometers away. In the town, as long as you paid, someone would help you clean.
The living conditions were poor, and the food was even worse; dinner consisted of cold steamed buns. If they wanted soup, they had to fish for it in a lake outside the city. The worst part was there was no electricity. Mi Xiaonan flatly refused; she was still following her TV drama. Although she had no idea what it was about here, there had to be something. Thus, North Moon Group set off for Hero Town overnight. As for other groups, they were all participants who had been there at least once; they brought comprehensive equipment including generators.
"Beiyue, you've gathered all sorts of information; how could you miss such important news?" Li Qing asked in despair. Eating steamed buns—cold ones at that—was absolutely intolerable.
Beiyue sighed. He had come to watch an Assessment Match before but hadn’t paid attention to the contestants' living conditions at that time. However, Beiyue countered, "Li Qing, aren't you from Hero Academy?"
"I only came to Hero City for assessments; there were so many people then. I didn't notice anything wrong." Li Qing explained that his mentor lived eight hundred kilometers away in a small town and he had always followed his mentor around. Occasionally, mentors would gather together to compare their students' levels without ever going to Hero City. In fact, from an outsider's perspective, Hero City looked magnificent—unless you went into the guest rooms. Moreover, during those competition days, all food was delivered from the small town and was quite good.
Thus, the five temporarily left Hero City and arrived at Hero Town. There were quite a few people in Hero Town; its population was around seventy thousand—a typical Cult of the Gods town where almost everyone was a follower of that faith. The pace of life was slow in this agricultural town where locals were kind and hospitable. It could be said that it reached a level where nothing went missing on the streets and doors were left unlocked at night.
The large estate located five kilometers outside of Hero Town was quite beautiful; it was not luxurious but rather classic. The area was expansive, filled with numerous buildings and workers, surrounded by mountains, lakes, and waterfalls. There were green spaces everywhere. Each building had its own driveway and landscaped areas. While the place was nice, no one except the estate staff or alliance members was allowed inside.
After taking a distant glance at it, I settled into a hotel in the town, enjoyed some food and drink, and had a good night's sleep.
As June 1st approached, marking the start of the assessment period, more people began to gather in Hero Town. The alliance also dispatched personnel to maintain order during the final two days. Although Hero City had not been tidied up, hot meals were starting to be served, and generators were running to provide electricity.
On the last day, all participants in the assessment were required to stay in their own rooms or those of their teammates; no visiting was allowed. The judges officially took their posts, and all members of the Assessment Committee arrived in Hero City. The magic circle in the arena was activated, shrouded in a gray mist that obscured everything inside, even with Force.
The next morning at seven o'clock, breakfast was delivered. After eating, all participating teams headed to the third floor. From there, they could access their designated viewing platform via an external walkway. Each platform had a magic circle that would transport everyone into the arena when the time came.
At eight o'clock, spectators and committee members entered the venue. By eight-thirty, the alliance President began speaking over the broadcast; from a distance, it was hard to make out his features. The President mainly explained the rules and then invited the seventeen participating teams to draw lots for their assessment topics.
At nine o'clock, Beiyue returned and said, "It starts at ten; our difficulty level is A+."
Cui Ming asked, "Is the highest S?"
"No, the highest difficulty is A+," Beiyue replied.
During their time in Twilight City, they encountered Feng, who informed them that the head of the Assessment Committee was named Dina and was a core member of the Ding Family. They received news that difficulty would be increased for Ding Ze's group. However, everyone paid little attention to this detail. When it came time to draw lots, Beiyue fortunately drew A+. Did she manipulate it? Beiyue wasn't sure; at least she hadn't noticed anything unusual.
Li Qing remarked, "Interesting." He wore loose shorts and a tank top today, with a red cloth tied around his eyes. This was his most comfortable outfit.
Cui Ming wore a magician's outfit that had a certain flair to it and asked, "What do you mean by interesting?"
"Have you heard of 'the old man lost his horse'?" Li Qing replied. "I've watched several Assessment Matches; A+ is indeed very challenging. However, once you pass it, your base score is high, and judges tend to give higher scores as well. This means that the difficulty of the second half of the competition will be significantly reduced. Only 20% of teams are eliminated in the first half; 80% of those eliminated come from the second half."
Cui Ming fell silent for a moment before asking, "Senior Brother, did the eliminated 20% all draw A+?"
Li Qing chuckled, "Lift your spirits; don't underestimate yourself. Just because they are alliance members doesn't mean their strength is far superior to ours."
Ding Ze added, "If it weren't for A+, I would find this assessment meaningless."
Mi Xiaonan clenched his fist, declaring, "The York Hero is here; who dares to fight?"
Cui Ming looked at Beiyue and said, "Are we the only two normal people who only care about results and not the process?"
Before Beiyue could respond, a voice came through the broadcast: "All participants prepare to enter. The first scene of this assessment is Sin City."
As the words fell, the mist in the arena dissipated, revealing a small city before everyone. It was a very realistic scene, complete with cars, people, shops, and even police officers.
Dina's voice continued over the broadcast: "No participating team is allowed to communicate with other teams, make contact, or even exchange glances. Interfering with others will result in disqualification."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Ninety-Second Hero City Assessment Competition is about to begin," announced Ding Dewen, a famous Gold Medal Broadcaster from the Eastern Continent. "Seventeen teams will compete in this sinful city; only by completing their missions can they pass the assessment. We will broadcast the entire process live, but first, let's take a short commercial break."
After waiting a moment, the Teleportation Array in front of them flickered. Beiyue asked, "Are you ready?"
"Ready," the four replied as they stepped into the Teleportation Array together.
As their surroundings darkened and then brightened again, they found themselves on a city street. Nearby were two other teams; everyone exchanged glances. An envelope appeared before each team leader. Beiyue opened his envelope and read aloud: "Eliminate the Ghoul. The Ghoul is hiding in the city and has been consuming corpses from the hospital morgue and crematorium. Please eliminate it as soon as possible. The mission time limit is 12 hours; the less time spent, the higher your score. Note that the Ghoul is very powerful; proceed with caution."
After finishing reading, five walkie-talkies appeared on the ground—this was their basic equipment. They couldn't move yet; there was still one minute until the Assessment Match officially began. Li Qing remarked, "It really is A+; our first mission is to eliminate Otherworldly Creatures. Beiyue, how should we divide our tasks?"
Beiyue replied, "I and Ding Ze will head to the crematorium; Li Qing and Cui Ming will go to the hospital. Mi Xiaonan, since the hospital is more complex, you'll be responsible for supporting us there. If the Ghoul tries to escape, you need to be able to chase it down." Mi Xiaonan was fast and capable of both attacking and evading while causing distractions. Beiyue's arrangement was indeed very well thought out.
Cui Ming was about to remind Beiyue that the Ghoul was extremely powerful when the Assessment Match began. A massive shadow appeared, and everyone looked up to see a thirty-meter-long Bone Dragon flying overhead.
"Damn it, this city is doomed," Ding Ze said. "Run!"
The five of them immediately dashed into a nearby supermarket. At that moment, the Bone Dragon swooped down, its wings crashing against buildings, sending bricks flying everywhere. Another group of people clearly hadn’t reacted in time; the Bone Dragon was already upon them. The members of the enhancement team instinctively prepared to fight back, but the Bone Dragon unleashed a torrent of green flames, instantly engulfing five people, one of whom had their Life Stone shatter on the spot. Ding Dewen shouted, "Number 20 is out; Number 20 has fallen."
The other four had no time to argue; the enhancement team held off the Bone Dragon while the remaining three scattered to escape. One claw of the Bone Dragon caught the enhancement team member mid-air. However, he was no ordinary fighter; he unleashed his Force, knocking the Bone Dragon back and crashing to the ground, quickly searching for his teammates. The Bone Dragon soared in place for a moment but did not dive into the buildings; instead, it began patrolling the city from above.
Inside the supermarket, Beiyue's five members were looking for a city map when Mi Xiaonan suddenly called out, gathering everyone around. "The hospital is to the east, and the crematorium is to the west. It’ll take at least half an hour back and forth. We’re currently in between."
Beiyue said, "Let’s proceed as planned. Be careful not to attract the Bone Dragon’s attention. Let’s go, boys."
Li Qing and his three companions headed towards the hospital. They stepped outside, keeping an eye on the sky before moving quickly. Cui Ming kicked open a car waiting at a red light and dragged the driver out, calling, "Get in!"
"Mind your morals," Li Qing and Mi Xiaonan chimed in as they approached, opening doors and pulling out both the front passenger and backseat occupants.
Cui Ming turned to Li Qing and said, "Senior Brother, I can’t drive."
"Then why are you stealing a car?" Li Qing retorted; he couldn’t drive either due to innate reasons. Mi Xiaonan was even less capable; she couldn’t even reach the clutch.
Cui Ming got out and pulled the driver into the car. "Drive us to the hospital."
The driver stared blankly and replied, "I don’t know." (To be continued.)
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