Chapter 52: Barren Planet Assessment 3

Zhou Yan had laughed enough, so he restrained his smile and replaced it with a false calmness.

He took a few steps closer to Lin Yao, his eyes flashing with an undisguised ruthlessness and determination:

"I will cooperate fully. After all, this concerns Guide Lin's performance. I hope Guide Lin can let go of the grudge."

As soon as these words came out, the Star Network, which was already buzzing with discussion about their dramatic encounter, instantly exploded:

[What the hell? Is Zhou Yan actively trying to show goodwill?]

Some people were worried that he would not cooperate, but it seems that they were worrying too much. Well done, Zhou Yan!

What is a pattern? This is it! Three years have passed, and it's boring to still hold on to it. Helping Lin Yao pass the assessment is the real thing.

Wait, he said 'grudge'? Even the parties involved admitted it was a grudge. So, the official announcement wasn't just a lie, was it?

It's terrifying to think about it! If it's really like what I said before, then the incident at Firefly Ferry was definitely not simple. I said it's impossible for Lin Yao to suffer mental damage for no reason. This is simply a farmer and a snake!

Zhou Yan's words were flawless, appearing magnanimous while also secretly confirming that Lin Yao held a grudge. Brilliant, truly brilliant!

The comments were posted rapidly, with all kinds of speculations and arguments intertwined.

Some people even started digging up old news from three years ago and reanalyzing it, and the topic that was about to fade away was once again pushed to the forefront.

Lin Yao looked at Zhou Yan's pretentious appearance, a smile curled up at the corner of his mouth, his eyes full of mockery: "Grudge?"

He tilted his head slightly, his tone calm but with a hint of chill, "Sentryman Zhou, you haven't forgotten that both the royal family and the White Tower issued announcements back then, right?"

He paused and said word by word:

"It's clearly written in the notice that the Firefly Ferry incident was a complete accident. It's something that's long been settled, so how come you're turning it into a 'grudge'?"

"Or," Lin Yao stepped forward, approaching Zhou Yan, his eyes piercing, "do you think the announcements from the royal family and the White Pagoda don't count, and insist on treating this accident as a grudge?"

Zhou Yan was choked by the question, and the hypocrisy on his face almost disappeared.

He didn't expect Lin Yao to directly bring up the announcements from the royal family and the White Pagoda. After all, on the surface, the official had already made a determination on the matter. Saying this would undoubtedly make the person behind the scenes dissatisfied.

"I just mentioned it casually, why is Guide Lin so sensitive?" Zhou Yan pretended to be calm and took a half step back to distance himself.

"Since you feel that everything is settled, then so be it. Let's focus on the assessment and not let it affect your grades."

As he spoke, he turned and walked towards the aircraft. His back seemed calm, but his steps were hurried with a barely noticeable urgency.

Lin Yao stood there without moving, looking at his back, his fingers unconsciously touching his chest.

The comments on Star Network suddenly changed direction because Lin Yao brought up the announcement of the royal family and the White Pagoda, and the comments supporting Lin Yao prevailed.

[That's right! Both the royal family and the White Pagoda have issued notices, clearly stating that it was an accident. The tone of the matter had been decided long ago. Why is Zhou Yan bringing it up now and talking about grudges? What's his intention?

I used to think it was great that he was willing to let go of the grudge, but now it seems that he was just pretending. He deliberately brought up the grudge just to imply that Lin Yao hated him!

I said that Lin Yao is not the kind of person who holds grudges, but he directly cited the official announcement as his argument, which makes sense.

Support Lin Yao! After all, he's the guide who passed the Desperate Mark and saved Wu Cang's chief relic. He can't be that bad! Don't let people like him affect your assessment. Give them a good score and slap them in the face!

+1! The official verdict has been finalized. If Zhou Yan continues to talk about grudges, he is questioning the official authorities. Isn't that too bold?

That’s right! That’s right! Zhou Yan’s movement of turning around and walking away was a bit embarrassing! Hahahahahahaha!

In the barrage, netizens agreed with Lin Yao's statement and questioned Zhou Yan's previous remarks.

As a candidate, Lin Yao couldn't read the barrage of comments. Looking at the direction Zhou Yan left, he also took a step and walked towards the aircraft.

No matter what Zhou Yan planned today, he was destined to fail at his hands.

-

The departure order was given via the radio. The third round of assessment will begin in 20 minutes. Set off to the assessment area now.

The aircraft carrying a large group of candidates headed to the assessment area on the desolate planet, and the atmosphere in the cabin suddenly became serious.

Although the Legion has already cleared the area and there won't be much danger, this is an assessment after all, so the usual risks will still exist.

Ten minutes later, the aircraft landed steadily on the open space in the assessment area.

The moment the hatch opened, a gust of wind mixed with rust and dust blew in his face, and Lin Yao subconsciously squinted his eyes.

The assessment area is the once busy mines and caves on this planet.

The assessment point is located 100 meters away from the entrance of the abandoned mining area, with several rows of temporary white simple houses scattered around.

Blue signs with the words "Monitoring Point" and "Medical Room" were hung outside the room, and White Tower staff in uniform white uniforms were walking around.

The detector in my hand makes a "beeping" sound from time to time.

Not far away is the main entrance of the mine, a huge cave supported by steel supports.

The edge of the cave entrance was covered with black lines, and the dark cave entrance was like a silent mouth, inhaling and exhaling damp cold air.

"Attention, candidates! The topographic map was sent to the optical computer yesterday. Please confirm the route again."

An examiner in a black uniform stood on a temporary platform. He was not the same examiner who had been at the Guide Monument.

He had a kind smile on his face, but his tone was undeniably serious.

“The assessment area for this time is mine tunnel areas one to three. Do not enter the red zone.

The radiation levels and magnetic storm intensity there are far beyond safe limits, and there are still insect eggs that haven't been cleaned up, so the risk factor is extremely high."

Lin Yao lowered his head and glanced at the topographic map that was sent to every candidate yesterday.

The red zone is marked in a striking crimson color, like a snake coiled in the terrain of the desolate planet No. 73, and is located right at the end of area No. 3.

When he raised his eyes, he met Zhou Yan's gaze. There was no warmth in the other's eyes, as if he was just looking at an insignificant stranger.

The two kept a distance of three meters from beginning to end, neither far nor close, as if there was an invisible wall between them.

Sentinels and guides should be the most tacit partners, comrades who can trust each other's backs.

But between them, there is only the seed planted by the accident at Liuying Ferry three years ago, which is so strong that it cannot be dissolved.

"It's time to collect protective clothing and masks!" The staff's shout interrupted Lin Yao's thoughts.

Although the loudspeakers here repeatedly emphasized that the current radiation values ​​were within a safe range, the candidates still lined up consciously.

After all, no one can predict the environment deep in the mine, so wearing protective clothing always provides an extra layer of protection.

After receiving their equipment, everyone walked towards the simple changing room nearby. White cloth wrapped each figure, revealing only pairs of eyes that were either nervous or determined.

Lin Yao had changed into protective clothing and was adjusting the position of the live broadcast equipment when a gentle voice sounded beside him: "Please take the emergency kit."

He looked up and saw a young man wearing a doctor's uniform with a nameplate on his chest that read "Lin Ruheng".

The other party handed over a gray emergency kit containing hemostatic spray, energy bars and a small radiation detector.

"Thank you." Lin Yao took the bag and his fingertips accidentally touched the other person's hand, which felt a little cold.

At this moment, Zhou Yan's voice came from not far away: "Hey, you! Enter the mine when you are ready."

Lin Ruheng's eyes moved between the two of them, then she lowered her head and said to Lin Yao in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Be careful."

Lin Yao was stunned for a moment, and before he could ask in detail, the other party had already turned around to hand the emergency kit to the next candidate.

The hem of the white uniform passed through the air, leaving a shallow trace.

He clenched the emergency kit in his hand and looked at the back of Lin Ruheng, who was doing her job diligently.

Zhou Yan called Lin Yao again, and then headed towards the mine.

When Lin Yao came to his senses, Zhou Yan had already walked to the entrance of the mine and was looking back at him with a hint of impatience in his eyes.

Lin Yao didn't have time to think about why a member of the Lin family gave him this reminder. He ran a few steps.

The cold wind from deep within the mine blew in with the smell of rust, as if foreshadowing something.

-

The light in the mine is dim and we can only rely on the searchlight on the helmet for lighting.

When we first entered, we could still see other teams, but as we went deeper, everyone gradually dispersed.

Lin Yao concentrated his mind, sensing the surrounding environment, while paying attention to Zhou Yan's condition and providing him with mental support in real time.

"There is something unusual three meters to the left front." Lin Yao spoke at the right time to remind him, and at the same time casually gave a mental force, very perfunctorily.

Zhou Yan didn't care about Lin Yao's perfunctory response. Instead, he quickly avoided the creature that suddenly jumped out, and seemed to be cooperating with Lin Yao's instructions.

In the next hour, Zhou Yan did as he said and cooperated with Lin Yao to complete the task of responding to the attacks of mutant creatures and avoiding dangerous routes.

Netizens who watched the two people's live broadcast on Xingwang started discussing:

"It seems like the two of them are working together quite well. I'm afraid the previous incident is long over."

"After all, the Empire and the White Pagoda also said that Lin Yao had both merits and faults. It's been three years since the incident, so there's no need to dwell on it."

"Perhaps this assessment will allow them to resolve their past grievances."]

However, just when everyone thought things would go smoothly, the screen in Lin Yao and Zhou Yan's live broadcast room suddenly disappeared.

Some sharp-eyed netizens discovered that the picture disappeared after the two people seemed to turn a corner.

The signal deep in the mine was intermittent, and the image on the screen would occasionally freeze and occasionally be delayed. Several groups had this problem, starting from the first round in the morning.

After all, a closed environment like a mine is prone to signal interference, and the audience on StarNet didn’t care too much about it. They just joked in the barrage, "This signal is worse than the communication station in the remote star area."

At first, there were intermittent sounds.

Lin Yao reminded Zhou Yan to avoid the loose rocks above his head. When Zhou Yan was dealing with the sudden attack of the mutant creatures, he could even hear the dripping sound of water falling into the accumulated water deep in the mine.

Everyone felt that after a while, once they got out of this signal blind spot, the picture would naturally return to normal.

Until a deafening bang suddenly exploded, like metal being torn apart, or like some heavy object collapsing.

The sound came through the live broadcast equipment, carrying a harsh electrical noise that hurt people's eardrums.

Almost at the same time, the screens in Lin Yao and Zhou Yan's live broadcast rooms went completely black. The signal bars that were still jumping instantly returned to zero, and even the last trace of noise disappeared.

The comments on Starnet suddenly paused for a second, then exploded:

"What was that loud noise just now?!"

"The signal is gone? Completely cut off?"

"No way, it was just stuck before, but now there is no signal at all?"

"Is something wrong? That sound is so scary."

"Where are the staff? Check the mine monitoring! Are their locations still there?"

The originally relaxed discussion suddenly became tense. Everyone stared at the two dark screens, their hearts hanging in the air.

No one expected that the signal interruption would come so suddenly and be accompanied by such a strange loud noise.

At the monitoring point at the entrance of the mine, the staff were also panicking. They repeatedly debugged the equipment, but the two red dots representing Lin Yao and Zhou Yan on the screen did not move at all, and there was only dead silence in the communication channel.

The examiner frowned, his fingers moving rapidly on the console, and finally said in a deep voice:

"That location is close to the edge of the red zone. The magnetic field interferes with all signals and the positioning is also blocked."

This was broadcast live, and the Star Network barrage exploded.

"Close to the edge of the red zone? How dare they go there? Didn't the examiner repeatedly warn them not to go there?"

"Could it be that he got lost? He was so focused on dealing with those weird things that he got lost?"

"Can the signal be restored? What was that loud noise just now? Did it really collapse..."

"Can you think of a way to fix the monitoring point? Even if the location is blocked, we can at least get a general idea of ​​the direction, right? Send for help quickly!"

"I just took a screenshot. Their route before entering the mine was towards Area 3. There is indeed a road next to the red zone."

"So this was an accident during the assessment? Is it Baita's fault?"

"Stop guessing! Let the rescue team in! If the signal isn't restored for a long time, people will be in danger if we delay any longer!"

"But the edge of the red zone is so chaotic, it's probably risky for the rescue team to go in..."

"We can't just ignore it! These are two living people! Doesn't the White Tower have a medical room? There must be an emergency rescue plan, right?"

The worry in the comments almost overflowed the screen. Some people started @ing the official account of the Central Star White Tower, and some people used the hashtag "Rescue immediately".

The comment section, which was originally just a live assessment, has become a scene of emergency help, and every comment is full of anxiety.

Yu Ze stared at the dark screen, hoping that it would suddenly light up in the next second, even if there was only a hint of noise.

-

Expedition battlefield, Red Shadow Legion headquarters.

There was a light computer in the sentry lounge. Ye Mang and the others were watching the live broadcast of Lin Yao's assessment, and they specifically clicked on the candidate's personal live broadcast room.

As I watched, the picture disappeared and only intermittent sounds remained.

Ye Mang put his military boots on the edge of the table, a nutrient tube in his mouth, his eyes wide open:

"Hey, what's wrong with this little chicken? He has a good route but he has to choose such a lousy road! Now it's okay, there's no picture."

Bian Miao pushed up his glasses and tapped rapidly on the virtual keyboard, trying to parse the last transmitted fragments of the image:

"The magnetic field distribution map inside the mine shows that the edge of this red zone corresponds to the canyon on the desolate planet. There is a natural magnetic anomaly there, and the signal shielding strength is three times that of other areas."

Xu Li leaned against the bulkhead, his knuckles white from pinching. “Just walk over there quickly, it will be fine.”

As soon as the words fell, there was a loud bang and the screen was completely silent.

Ye Mang jumped up with a jerk, and the nutrient tube almost fell onto his computer: "Oh my god! What happened?!"

Zhao Kun's face darkened instantly. He quickly took the light brain and switched to the main live broadcast room of the assessment, which was the entrance to the assessment site and the work area set up by the White Tower.

As soon as I switched over, I heard the examiner say that due to the influence of the red zone's magnetic field, the signal source disappeared and the positioning module failed.

"Damn it!" Ye Mang threw away the nutrient tube in his hand, turned around and rushed out.

He rushed into Ye Heng's office and was about to shout "Marshal, something bad has happened", but suddenly stopped.

Ye Heng sat in his office chair, revealing a rare sense of tension.

The light computer screen in his hand was lit, showing the black screen interface of Lin Yao's live broadcast room, and his knuckles turned white due to the force.

"Marshal..." Ye Mang's voice lowered unconsciously.

Ye Heng slowly raised his head, the coldness in his eyes almost freezing the air:

"Tell Old Man Fang that if he can't find him within half an hour, I will personally lead the troops to destroy his monitoring point."

Ye Mang sighed and hurried to find Lu Chen. If Guide Lin really couldn't be found, what was the point of the White Tower assessment? Even the desolate planet No. 73 would be blown up!

-

The outside world was in chaos because of this change.

At this time, Lin Yao was being threatened by Zhou Yan and was walking towards the depths of the red zone.

As soon as the assessment began, Zhou Yan walked purposefully towards the road that would be close to the edge of the red zone.

After walking for a while, Lin Yao stared at the flat map of the mine route on the computer, frowning slightly.

"This is the wrong way." He stopped and pointed at a route on the screen. "According to this trend, you should take the right channel. You've gone the wrong way."

Zhou Yanzheng kicked away a mutant lizard that was charging at him, and his boot sole crushed the remains of another one. He turned around with a nonchalant smile on his face:

"Guide Lin has the final say, and I will cooperate."

Having said that, at the first fork in the road, when a radioactive spider suddenly jumped out from the left passage, Zhou Yan rushed forward with his saber.

After defeating the monster, Zhou Yan went very far. In order to get assessment points, Lin Yao could only follow him and embark on this road.

Another fork in the road arrived. This time, three mutant bats broke through the rock layer and dived down. Bald eagles came towards them. Zhou Yan tried to change the direction of the route again using the same method.

Lin Yao stood still, "Zhou Yan," he raised his head, his eyes as sharp as a knife, "you did it on purpose."

Zhou Yan put away the bald eagle, dusted off his hands, and the smile on his face faded a little:

"Guide Lin is overthinking. I'm just efficiently solving the obstacles."

Lin Yao did not argue anymore, but silently adjusted his direction and walked towards the correct route.

As if to show his determination, Zhou Yan sped up and passed Lin Yao and walked in front of him.

But after taking two steps, Zhou Yan suddenly made a muffled sound, as if he was hit by something.

Lin Yao took a few steps forward and took a closer look at the situation.

Zhou Yan was retreating, covering his arm, while a mutant rat covered with bone spurs was blocking the correct route, hissing threateningly at them.

"It seems we can only go that way." Zhou Yan panted and pointed to the fork in the road leading to the red zone.

Lin Yao looked at the mutant rat that was obviously lured here on purpose, then looked at the calculation that could not be hidden in Zhou Yan's eyes, and suddenly laughed.

He turned around and took the initiative to walk towards the red zone, his tone calm and unwavering: "Let's go."

Zhou Yan was stunned for a moment, as if he had not expected him to be so obedient. Then a hint of pride flashed in his eyes, and he quickly followed.

When Lin Yao followed Zhou Yan onto that road, the sentry who had been making trouble finally stopped his poor acting skills.

The next section of the journey was unusually smooth.

Lin Yao even found a beacon containing a [Mental Power Stabilizer] hidden in the wreckage of an abandoned mine cart.

When he stuffed the beacon into his equipment bag, Zhou Yan was standing not far away, with his back to him, looking at the deep mine tunnel. The searchlight cast a half shadow on him, and his emotions could not be seen.

Lin Yao didn't say anything. He could feel that the magnetic field around him was quietly changing. The radiation value reading on the optical computer began to rise slowly and was about to touch the edge of the safety threshold.

The incident happened ten minutes ago, the moment the live broadcast disappeared.

They had just entered that section of road, which was close to the edge of the red zone.

There is an impact but the interference is not strong. The picture is gone but the sound can still be transmitted.

Lin Yao's reminder and Zhou Yan's fighting sounds were clearly transmitted to the outside world.

Five minutes later, just as the mine tunnel was about to fork, with the left side leading to the assessment area and the right side heading straight into the red zone, Zhou Yan suddenly moved.

The mental power around him suddenly exploded, forming a powerful shock wave that slammed into the entrance of the mine on the left and the path they came from.

There was a loud "boom" and the rock wall collapsed. Gravel, broken steel bars and dust poured down, instantly blocking the only way back.

"What are you doing?!" Lin Yao suddenly looked up at him.

Zhou Yan slowly turned around, and the disguised calmness on his face was completely torn apart, leaving only undisguised cruelty.

He raised his fingertips and a dark light flashed. When Lin Yao didn't notice, the signal indicator lights of the two people, which were still crackling, completely went out.

Zhou Yan's voice was low and cold, like the chill deep within a mine. "The magnetic field here will help us keep it secret."

He approached slowly, condensing his spiritual power into a knife, locking onto Lin Yao tightly. "Now, you only have one choice."

Zhou Yan's eyes swept to the mine tunnel on the right that led to the red zone. It was no different from the mine he had passed through before, but Lin Yao knew that the radiation there was off the charts.

Lin Yao looked at the entrances that were blocked on both sides, then looked at the murderous intent in Zhou Yan's eyes, and slowly clenched his fists.

The beacon in the equipment bag poked his palm, but the cold touch made him unusually awake.

"Do you have to do this?" he asked Zhou Yan, even though he knew that from the moment Zhou Yan deliberately led him to the red zone, this day was doomed to be unavoidable.

"You and I have no choice. Let's go! Guide Lin." Zhou Yan said and threatened again with his mental power.

"I hope you won't regret it." Lin Yao said, and walked towards the road leading to the red zone as he wished.

-

Lin Yao was in front and Zhou Yan was behind.

After walking for five minutes, we found that the mine in the red zone was in disrepair and full of monsters. From time to time, rocks rolled down and made noises.

Perhaps it was because they had not yet reached the burial place chosen by Zhou Yan for him, so along the way, Zhou Yan was helping him to clear out the mutant monsters that pounced on him. He was kind but not too much.

After walking about a hundred meters further, the mine tunnel in front suddenly widened to form an irregular cave.

Densely packed gray-black silk threads hung from the cave entrance, drooping like an aging spider web. Fine rock powder was stuck to the end of the threads, and the powder fell down in the wind created by the two people walking by.

Lin Yao turned on the helmet searchlight, and the moment the beam of light pierced the darkness, he couldn't help but hold his breath.

The rock walls deep in the cave are covered with fist-sized egg sacs.

The egg sacs were translucent milky white, covered with a sticky film. Under the film, a curled outline could be vaguely seen, like the larvae of some arthropod.

Some of the egg sacs have bulged slightly, and the membrane is stretched and shiny by the contents inside. You can even see pale purple blood vessel-like lines pulsating slowly inside, as if they are about to burst in the next second.

There were more discarded egg shells scattered on the ground. They were dark brown in color and had a texture like dry leather. They made a crisp "crunching" sound when stepped on.

The air was filled with a strong fishy-sweet smell, mixed with the damp and musty smell of the mine. Even with masks and protective clothing, the disgusting smell could not be blocked.

"We're here." Zhou Yan's voice sounded behind him, with a hint of malicious smile.

"The radiation concentration in the Zerg's spawning grounds is six times higher than outside, and the probability of mental disturbance is as high as 90%. Lin Yao, if you died here, would that be considered an 'accidental death'?"

As he spoke, he kicked the rock wall next to him.

The falling gravel hit several egg sacs, one of which burst and oozed out yellow-green mucus.

Inside, a white larva as long as an arm twisted its body, struggled a few times in the mucus, and soon became motionless.

Lin Yao tensed up instantly. He could feel that the unhatched insect eggs were emitting a weak but extremely aggressive biomagnetic field, as if they were alerting against the invasion of outsiders.

What frightened him even more was that the surrounding magnetic storm energy was being absorbed by these insect eggs, forming a strange resonance.

Shasha was getting more and more crazy in the mental picture, and Lin Yao almost couldn't hold it down.

"Are you crazy?" Lin Yao's voice was as cold as ice. "Once the insect eggs here hatch on a large scale, don't even think about killing me, and you won't be able to get out alive either."

"So what?" Zhou Yan took two steps forward, the searchlight shining on his face, his eyes flashing with excitement and paranoia.

"You escaped danger at Liuyingdu, but you won't be so lucky today!"

He raised his hand and swung it, his mental power transformed into a sharp blade, accurately cutting through a string of connected egg sacs on the rock wall.

Yellow-green mucus flowed along the rock wall, and more larvae poured out of the ruptured egg sacs.

They seemed to be particularly sensitive to the breath of living people, twisting their bodies and crawling towards Lin Yao and Zhou Yan.

There was a rustling sound coming from deep within the cave, as if more sleeping insect eggs were awakened from the darkness.

Zhou Yan looked at Lin Yao's tense back. He had thought that in this death cave full of insect eggs, under his undisguised murderous intent, Lin Yao would always show some fear and panic.

Just like the young and naive guide at Firefly Ferry three years ago, curled up on the ground in the excruciating pain of the backlash of his mental power.

But Lin Yao just turned around slowly, and the beam of the searchlight fell on his face. His eyes were surprisingly bright, without any fear, only a quiet coldness.

"That time at Firefly Ferry," Lin Yao began, his voice echoing clearly in the empty cave. "Why did you appear there?"

The expression on Zhou Yan's face froze, as if he had not expected him to suddenly bring up the old story.

He raised an eyebrow and looked at Lin Yao, as if he was looking at a fool who didn't know what was good for him before dying: "It's already this time, and you still care about this?"

"I have to die knowingly." Lin Yao's fingertips gently brushed across the protective suit, and some mucus got on it, burning a hole in the suit.

Ye Heng was right, Bai Ta's protective suit was indeed not very good.

Zhou Yan sneered and cut open another piece of insect eggs, his tone carrying undisguised sarcasm: "It seems that you are not so stupid. Since you are dying, it doesn't hurt to tell you-"

He paused, a sinister look flashing in his eyes: "I followed you all the way."

Lin Yao's pupils shrank slightly, it was indeed so.

"So that 'accident' was deliberately planned by you."

"So what?" Zhou Yan smiled even more proudly, "You thought you saved me? You just fell into the pit I dug for you. But you were lucky at that time."

Suddenly, a series of "cracking" sounds came from deep in the cave, as if countless insect eggs were bursting at the same time.

As soon as Zhou Yan finished speaking, the egg sacs stuck to the rock wall suddenly trembled violently, and the pale purple blood vessels pulsated wildly, and they were about to hatch.

"One last question, why did your mental power go into a tantrum?"

When Zhou Yan was about to say it proudly.

"Why are you talking so much nonsense?" A sharp female voice suddenly came from the entrance of the cave, with obvious impatience.

"Why not just kill him? The eggs are almost all hatching. If we delay any longer, we'll all be trapped here!"

As the words were spoken, a figure wearing protective clothing for candidates walked out from the shadows of the rock wall. It was Wen Yu, who was taking the test in the same batch as Lin Yao.

Neither protective clothing nor masks could hide those fierce eyes, which were completely different from the usually quiet and gentle popular student.

Lin Yao sighed softly, a barely perceptible hint of annoyance flashing across his eyes.

He was clearly about to get the information out of her just now. After all, people are most likely to reveal key information at the last moment after showing off.

This woman arrived just in time. Lin Yao cursed in his heart but remained expressionless.

When Zhou Yan saw Wen Yu appear, the hostility on his face subsided a bit, and he said respectfully:

"What's the rush? Let him live a few more seconds and hear the truth. What's the harm? The dead can't speak."

"The villain dies because he talks too much," Wen Yu walked to Zhou Yan, put her hand on his shoulder, and used her mental power to comfort him.

"If you keep talking nonsense to him, I won't save you if something happens later."

Zhou Yan was awakened by Wen Yu, and his eyes suddenly became fierce. The truth about his mental violence must not be revealed, as the source of the potion was involved in secrets.

"Since you are so eager to die, I will grant your wish."

Zhou Yan stopped talking nonsense and suddenly three sharp mental blades condensed at his fingertips, flying towards Lin Yao in a triangular shape.

Lin Yao's pupils suddenly shrank, and he rolled sideways to avoid the first strike, but the second strike that followed immediately grazed his left arm. His protective suit was instantly cut open, and blood gushed out.

Before he could stand firm, the third mental blade was already in front of him. He could only lean back to avoid the vital parts, but the blade still cut a deep wound in his chest that could be seen to the bone.

"Ugh..." Lin Yao groaned in severe pain, staggered backward, and his back hit the rock wall heavily.

Just as he was about to stand up, Zhou Yan's mental blade came like a rainstorm, leaving him no chance to breathe.

As he dodged, several more wounds appeared on his arms and thighs. Blood dripped down his trouser legs, forming a small pool of scarlet on the ground.

The strong smell of blood acted like a catalyst, instantly igniting the madness of the Zerg in the cave. The larvae that had just emerged from the egg sacs made a teeth-grinding rustling sound.

"Bang!" A mental blade accurately hit Lin Yao's abdomen.

He flew backwards like a kite with a broken string, fell heavily on the rubble, and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

His vision began to blur, and the severe pain in his body almost made him lose consciousness. He could feel his vitality rapidly draining away with the continuous flow of blood.

Zhou Yan withdrew his mental strength, walked slowly to Lin Yao, and looked down at him: "Now, you can shut up in peace."

Wen Yu looked at the dying Lin Yao on the ground with disdain, and a hint of sarcasm appeared on the corner of his mouth:

"Wouldn't it have been easier if you had done this earlier? You're just wasting time."

-

Both of them felt that Lin Yao was so seriously injured and would be surrounded by a swarm of insects, so there was no possibility of survival.

Without even taking another look, they turned around and walked towards the cave entrance, wanting only to get away from this damn place as quickly as possible.

But just as they reached the entrance, they were violently bounced back by an ice-blue film of light.

"Hiss--" Zhou Yan covered his hurt shoulder and looked at the barrier that suddenly appeared in front of him in disbelief.

"What is this?" Wen Yu reached out to touch it, but the moment her fingertips touched the light film, they were bounced away. "It's a mental barrier! Who set it up?"

Zhou Yan gathered his mental strength and smashed it hard, but the barrier only rippled once before returning to its original state.

His expression suddenly changed: "This strength... is at least at the level of an S+ guide!"

"Don't leave in such a hurry, both of you."

Lin Yao's voice came from behind, as calm as if he was just chatting.

Zhou Yan and Wen Yu turned around suddenly and saw that Lin Yao, who was originally dying, was slowly standing up by supporting himself on the rock wall.

The wounds on his body were still there, but the bleeding had lessened. His face was as white as paper, but his eyes were surprisingly bright, and there was even a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

"You!" Wen Yu screamed, her voice full of fear.

Before the two could react, a powerful force suddenly came from above their heads.

Zhou Yan felt his collar tighten and his body was suddenly pulled into the air. Wen Yu was also hung up with a scream. The two of them struggled in vain in the air like dolls hanging on a clothesline.

Even the released spirit bodies were tied up tightly by the vines. Only then did they see clearly that ten vines had appeared here at some point.

The vines of gold and scarlet intertwined are like snakes with self-awareness.

It precisely wrapped around their wrists, ankles, and necks, tightening more and more until the two were bound so tightly that even their fingertips couldn't move.

Lin Yao stood below, raised his hand and gently stroked a vine stained with his blood. The interwoven patterns of gold and scarlet glowed slightly under his palm.

He looked at the two people hanging in the air, his voice as light as a sigh, but with a biting chill: "We came here together, how can I let you go first?"