The Most Powerful Brain in the Interstellar Space

Chapter 627 Waiting and Seeing
For those unlucky souls who were diverted to the outside and couldn't even get into the inner circle, those who did get into the inner circle were naturally lucky.

Therefore, humans are indeed social beings, and many activities require gathering to be accomplished more efficiently.

When people are traveling alone, they are almost always shrouded in mystery, unable to be certain of anything. When there are many people, the information becomes mixed, allowing for mutual verification and more opportunities for trial and error. People quickly figure out the rules of the game and the test for this round.

The people, who had previously been groping their way through the fog, suddenly seemed to have found their way.

What's the point of fighting like before? Everyone goes their own way, and if they bump into each other, there's no point in fighting, since nobody has a weapon and a fight is out of the question.

But once they entered the inner area, things were different; they found that the environment had suddenly changed.

The system could no longer divert them. Even with a slight diversion, a large number of candidates poured in from all directions and bumped into each other in a chaotic manner, and the number kept increasing.

Previously, the system modified the appearance of all candidates who entered the system. A basic model was used for adjustments within the same professional category; for example, individual soldiers generally all had the same appearance as Jiang Hui. The only difference lay in individual mental strength. After all, they entered the system based on their mental strength, and it wouldn't be fair to nerf everyone to fit the average level. People are inherently different.

In this situation, it's impossible to tell who's who. Especially when realizing that everyone around them could be a competitor, their vigilance increases tenfold.

In the first two areas, there were also those who tried to attack other candidates. After all, in their minds, what assessments and exams were all about? If there was an obstacle, just kill it. If you want to stand out in an assessment or competition, there is no better way than to eliminate your fellow participants.

However, after countless attempts, they discovered that the system seemed to have been configured to target them, making it impossible or more ineffective to attack other test takers; instead, it consumed their own resources. Therefore...

As a result, these ambitious individuals abandoned the simplistic and brutal "population purge plan."

For this group of people, not finding any good resources and being unable to take action against others made this standardized test rather boring. Many people felt frustrated by this, yet they had to suppress their emotions and continue.

So, it seems that Xiao A was really tricked by Jiang Hui. If the rule of "attack ineffective" holds true, then the premise of Jiang Hui's previous threat to Xiao A is completely invalid, because even if Jiang Hui had actually attacked him that way, it probably wouldn't have worked. But neither of them had attacked anyone else first, so they wouldn't have known this.

But who could have imagined that things would take a sharp turn for the worse after they entered the inner circle? Not long after they arrived, they discovered that the restriction that had puzzled them seemed to have been lifted.

People discovered that taking action could harm their peers in the exam, or even eliminate them from the competition.

Now, the situation changed drastically. The previously noisy and crowded people instantly changed their attitude, and no one dared to approach anyone else. After all, in order to get a possible point, the people around them could attack them at any time.

They consciously dispersed, or small teams that were already secretly engaged in combat cautiously kept a distance from those around them.

This is how those who entered the inner circle began to spread out, and soon they discovered some new mechanisms within the inner circle, such as the base towers and the control panel.

The former is key to the group's expansion into new strongholds, while the latter is an important tool for supporting team battles. Individual soldiers wear red inner linings, while command students wear green inner linings; only these two types of students enter the simulation arena without any equipment. Support students are equipped with professional-related tools, medical students carry basic medicines, and other professional students have various types of equipment.

The assistance provided to these two types of students comes from another aspect.

The individual soldier test focuses on endurance, so the results are only shown when items are dropped. They are more likely to pick up offensive items, and hunting alien plant monsters will also likely yield weapons such as guns.

The commanders would activate a control panel within the inner circle.

Yes, it's that game panel-like thing everyone's thinking about. Users can mark territories for base towers, view the overall battle situation, and so on—it's exactly the kind of strategy game you'd expect.

With these two things, the situation in the inner circle will change.

—And then it turned out like what Jiang Hui and the others saw from the outside.

Some ambitious individuals who had been lying low for a long time reacted quickly with the limited available information, integrated their own forces, and raised their flags at the base tower.

Those who failed were also fighting tooth and nail for the base towers as strongholds, hoping to build their own team while there was still room to survive.

Of course, many people are still observing.

After all, most of them are strangers here, and in fact, they are all competitors. You can't just pull everyone onto your boat and force them to team up, can you? Who knows if you'll pull up a powerful ally or a wolf in sheep's clothing?
However, the price of their observation was greater caution in hiding and lying low, lest they be exposed within established groups. They didn't want to be forced to join any group without choice, nor did they want to become cannon fodder, like Zhou Xiuwen now.

He was a logistics student, belonging to the support category. He carried some supplies and was quite lucky, managing to sneak into the inner circle, but he ran into trouble once he got there.

He's not the same person he was a few years ago. Back then, he was just getting by, thinking he could muddle through as long as he could, and he was always protected by Jiang Hui. Even though his abilities weren't particularly outstanding, his companions never let him get hurt.

Jiang Hui also made him realize that to protect the people or things he cares about, he needs power, a lot of power and influence, and he is far from being strong enough.

Over the years, he has come to understand his father's good intentions. He has learned from his father, his elders, and his friends, and has persevered despite the hardships and difficulties he has faced. Zhou Xiuwen knows that his efforts are aimed at enabling more people to live and have the freedom to choose... and he is willing to pay any price for it.

Faced with the chaotic situation, he hesitated to take action. He didn't want to join any group just to stay here safely. Zhou Yuanjing's teachings over the years had instilled in him the principle that he should never relinquish his autonomy to others.

Unless he himself takes command, or that other person comes—

So... where are you now?
(End of this chapter)