Chapter 40

Chapter 40

"You've acquired a three-thousand-mu offshore fishery. Please select an appropriate location for deployment."

"..." How minuscule.

Perhaps due to opening too many bronze chests, the reward felt utterly unimpressive. Compared to JiuZhou's vast coastal area suitable for nearshore fisheries, this was akin to a sesame seed on a pancake—barely noticeable.

A three-thousand-mu fishery could barely support some crabs and mussels. Ji Xinghai wasn't well-versed in JiuZhou's coastal conditions, but in his estimation, this was on par with what a typical large-scale aquaculture operation would lease.

After all that effort battling monsters, only to receive a mere aquaculturist's plot of sea—it seemed the Hungry Academy was becoming increasingly stingy.

Without any anticipation left, Ji Xinghai haphazardly chose a natural fishery in the north for deployment. He then packed away everything else except for the plushie and pizza.

The meat pizza was fresh out of the oven, topped with spiced beef slices, thick layers of cheese, sliced mushrooms, onions, pineapple, and other ingredients—a rich, high-calorie feast, steaming hot and perfect for a late-night snack.

Ji Xinghai returned to his car, placing the Arachne spider girl plushie next to the Skinwalker one. He savored the fragrant, delicious, and string-pulling high-energy bomb while fiddling with the shotgun and bullets he had previously obtained.

It appeared that the "things" he would encounter wouldn't be few. He needed to upgrade his gear; the demon blade's appearance was too limited, and he lacked another suitable tool.

So as soon as he finished the pizza, he meticulously carved onto the shotgun and bullets with the miniaturized demon blade.

"What did Brother Hai engrave on the gun barrel and bullets? I didn't understand."

"It's a relatively uncommon Western demon-expelling incantation, written in Latin. Its effects are similar to our JiuZhou's thunder talismans, dealing significant damage to demons and monsters."

"Wow, is Brother Hai enchanting the bullets? Why not silver-plating them? Silver is also a natural bane to Western monsters."

"You wish. Out here in the wilderness, where would you find silver plating? Might as well get a cross. Although crosses in movies often fall short, they're still universal demon-repelling items. But does Brother Hai believe in religion? If not, carrying a cross might be useless?"

"Useful if it works. The ocean can hold a hundred rivers, and we embrace pragmatism."

"Nice."

"The third chest has appeared." A sudden announcement caught many people's attention. While numerous students had encountered monsters, few could retaliate swiftly. Who had claimed the second spot?

"Who?"

"Zhang Ziqing. He just killed a monster, only seconds after this incident."

"Bronze?"

"No, it was wooden."

The JiuZhou audience felt a peculiar sense of victory, feigning generosity: "Really? Well, that's alright then."

Unlike Ji Xinghai, who was often unlucky, Zhang Ziqing had good fortune. He had quickly obtained the 'One-Day Motel Experience Ticket' but chose not to check into the motel, opting instead for adventure.

Many officially dispatched students made similar choices, like the Federation's other student, Jace. They were willing to take risks. If they couldn't rapidly develop early on, they would be at a disadvantage later.

In the previous scenario, they had been one step behind, leading to a series of setbacks.

These students made the right choice.

This scenario seemingly tested physical strength but actually evaluated students' mental fortitude, knowledge reserves, and response capabilities—areas where official students excelled.

And these were precisely Zhang Ziqing's strengths.

Even those who disliked him couldn't deny this.

Zhang Ziqing was indeed a materialist, but he was always adaptable. Since this world contained non-scientific entities, he approached them accordingly.

As a top student who had emerged from fierce competition, he had some understanding of Western monsters. When the little demon disguised as a human deliberately approached him, Zhang Ziqing sensed something amiss. He chose to play along while cautiously probing until he confirmed the creature's identity, then immediately struck.

Viewers supporting Zhang Ziqing said that the reason he was slower than Ji Xinghai was because he was too cautious, spending too much time testing the waters. It wasn't that his abilities were inferior to Ji Xinghai's.

Ji Xinghai's fans scoffed. After all, Ji Xinghai could identify the Skinwalker's identity with just a few newspapers within minutes, acting swiftly and decisively, leaving the Skinwalker powerless to defend itself.

Not inferior to Ji Xinghai? Don't come crying about being one-shot.

Regardless, Zhang Ziqing was undeniably capable. He quickly realized that this monster originated from a specific film, a little demon that had escaped from hell, afflicted with the compulsion—or weakness—to pick up beans dropped on the ground.

Knowing the weakness made dealing with it straightforward.

Thus, he secured a wooden chest for the Federation and gained a quarter of a ship ticket.

"He's checking his mission watch. It seems killing monsters grants additional points. Wonder how many."

"This is obvious, isn't it? Though it won't be as high as Ji Xinghai's. This is a wooden chest, whereas Ji Xinghai's first was bronze."

"Both are from JiuZhou. Imagine how formidable their training camp must be."

"Ji Xinghai is a JiuZhou-trained prospective student, and Zhang Ziqing was once their student. JiuZhou-trained students excel, able to handle any type of scenario. JiuZhou must have mastered advanced training methods for students."

Smaller countries, lacking in capability, began to consider sending their own prospective students for training there. Even if they couldn't match these two, being able to fend for themselves in scenarios would be a significant improvement.

The JiuZhou audience, however, felt differently. Seeing Zhang Ziqing secure a chest stirred up old grudges, reminding them of the pain and turmoil of betrayal, and the dire situation JiuZhou faced back then.

Thus, watching Zhang Ziqing fight for the Federation only fueled their rage, wishing they could burn him in the scenario as well.

The betrayal would never be forgotten!

Fortunately, JiuZhou still had Ji Xinghai. With such a shining example before them, they could view Zhang Ziqing's achievements more calmly.

"Well, despite his character, he does have skills."

"Don't jump to conclusions about Zhang Ziqing's certainty of success. Ha, even my Brother Hai wouldn't dare say that. It's just the beginning, and everyone hasn't shown their full strength yet. What's the rush?"

"Brother Hai, charge ahead! Upgrade your gear and achieve greater glory!"

As Ji Xinghai upgraded his gear, the other cadets who had encountered monsters finally began to rally.

Leaving aside the proactive cadets sent by the government, most of them were sufficiently mentally prepared; even if they couldn't handle the situation, they could at least protect themselves.

The main focus here is on those unfortunate randomly selected cadets.

Their previous mission was too easy, with all the storms and trials shielded away, leading to a lack of understanding about the Hunger Games. It wasn't until they met monsters at night that they received a rude awakening - the Hunger Games weren't child's play where one could simply collect resource boxes to pass through.

One must face death head-on, with the determination to succeed or perish, to have any chance of breaking out of this cage.

Cornered, the randomly selected cadets finally understood how to confront these monsters - they were just anomalies, not something they hadn't encountered before. Dead or alive, they might as well fight!

Killing one wouldn't be a loss, killing two would be a profit!

So the resident of the discount room, whose seal was broken, leaped up, picked up the complimentary machete, and swung it at the ceiling.

The sharp machete sliced a seam into the bulging ceiling, dark red blood oozing from the wound, seemingly startling the row of small black footprints.

"Hahahaha." This cadet, pushed to the brink of fear, became wildly aggressive, grabbing the fallen machete with disheveled hair and charging at the footprints, "Let you sing, let you scare me, do you think I'm easily frightened?! Brats deserve a beating!"

A cadet attending the bonfire party also managed to squeeze into a small car at a critical moment. He locked the doors, revved the engine to full power, and burst through the monsters' encirclement.

The speeding car collided with several of them, leaving their fate uncertain, but there was no time to look back. The cadet slammed on the gas pedal, racing through the darkness.

He glanced in the rearview mirror, seeing the previously lively young people transformed into monstrous forms, now chasing his car at incredible speeds.

Though still vaguely humanoid, each one bared shark-like teeth, their eyes like red light bulbs, devoid of the traditional elegance and beauty associated with vampires, leaving only horror.

The cadet's fear level spiked to nearly thirty before quickly dropping back to twenty.

They didn't catch up.

Perhaps these vampires were mere pups within their clan, lacking sufficient supernatural powers. Though their speed surpassed that of ordinary humans, they couldn't outrun a car traveling at 120 kilometers per hour.

They pursued him until a certain point, then stopped, their red eyes fixated on the fleeing car.

Inside the car, the cadet laughed and cried as he watched the shadows recede in the rearview mirror. He laughed at having narrowly escaped, but cried because his arm had been bitten multiple times, unsure if he would be transformed into a monster.

If he turned into a monster or died, his hometown would suffer an anomalous disaster. It was a small country, unable to withstand such calamities.

Similarly, the cadet who encountered the violent clown on the roadside was also covered in blood. Despite having escaped the murderous clown and the endlessly repeating street corner, the creature continued to follow him at a leisurely pace.

Every time he looked back, he found the murderous clown closing in, and the remaining fuel in the tank wouldn't last much longer. Forget about counterattacking; maintaining his sanity was already a testament to his mental fortitude.

"Damn it, I'll take you down!" He stopped the car, picking up the machete provided by the mission.

More and more cadets took up arms voluntarily to face this catastrophe.

Thanks to the Federation's films sweeping the world, most cadets had some knowledge of the Federation's or Western monsters, knowing more or less how to deal with them.

Those who fled from monsters, those who stood their ground, and those who utilized props around them... each student's actions were distinct. Among them, the ones with the smoothest operations were likely the official students endowed with special talents.

The first game ended too swiftly, leaving little room for the official students to showcase their abilities, rendering their life-saving special talents unnecessary. But now, two official students, cornered by formidable foes, had no choice but to employ their unique gifts.

All countries' Command Units paid particular attention, ready to divulge this information to their own students when the time was right.

The JiuZhou Command Unit was especially concerned, as the special abilities of their students were widely known. It was safe to assume that many official students were now aware of these powers, but the special abilities of official students from other countries remained a mystery.

One of the two official students possessed the power to 'enhance tools in hand.' An ordinary bench, after being fortified, could easily shatter a monster's arm; a fire axe, once strengthened, became an even more formidable weapon.

After several strikes, the alien creature with a lobster head met its end as the fourth minor boss, and a wooden treasure chest emerged from its remains.

The student leaned against the wall, breathing steadily, while the golden glow on the fire axe gradually faded.

The other student was even more remarkable. She forcibly kissed Bloody Mary, who had just peeked out from a mirror, turning her into a willing captive.

"Come with me to slay monsters."

"Yes, Master~" Bloody Mary's eyes sparkled with hearts, showing utmost respect.

Binding a notorious monster as a teammate, making it wholeheartedly work for her—this move was worthy of a one-handed thumbs-up.

The special ability 'Love Captive' was terrifyingly effective.

The Command Units of various countries immediately classified this individual as 'Dangerous': one should keep a distance upon seeing her, lest they become mere tools.

"I wonder if this ability works only on monsters or if it affects all living beings, including humans," a staff member at the Command Unit suddenly expressed concern. Their student had just turned eighteen, inexperienced in the ways of the world. What if they were tricked into becoming a tool?

What? Only the exterior is tender, but the core is deranged?

They refused to hear it.

"We don't yet know the limitations of this ability—the number of captives allowed, or how long the effect lasts. But if you're worried about Ji Xinghai falling prey to it, I don't think there's any need."

"Why not? He's so strong, someone might have designs on him."

"He has less interest in humans than he does in monsters. Worrying about this is less pressing than worrying about him being lured by a monster."

"...What blunt honesty?!"