People in Yu-Gi-Oh! The hyper-converged audience is also integrated

Chapter 220 The Strange Guy (Part 1)

Three hours ago.

At the Sumeru Garden Fortress, in the execution wasteland, Lin Chen and Lu Li had just dug out all the shattered symbiotic cards from the corpses.

"These raw materials..." Lin Chen slumped to the ground, his bright red hands cradling a pile of broken cards, a wildly joyful smile on his face. "They can be exchanged for a lot of supplies."

The people of the wasteland do not have supercomputing rings, cannot transfer gold points, and cannot produce negative crystals. Most of their daily transactions are barter.

“Brother, here’s another one that’s still intact. It can fetch a good price,” Lu Li said with a smile, pointing to the card in his hand.

Suddenly, a cold breath came from behind, and the two of them shuddered and slowly turned their heads at the same time.

A red and black clown face suddenly appeared in sight.

Chu Linfeng, dressed in a red suit, was squatting behind the two of them, staring at them blankly.

"Manager," Lin Chen said, trembling, at a loss for what to do.

Despite the clown makeup on the person in front of him, he still recognized the red suit and the imposing aura it exuded—it was definitely his superior, Chu Linfeng.

Lu Li was so frightened that her face turned ashen, and she clung tightly to Lin Chen's clothes.

"Don't be afraid." Chu Linfeng gently stroked Lu Li's head and said coldly, "Tell me what happened."

"Who did it?"

His gentle voice was filled with a chilling murderous intent.

Lin Chen swallowed hard and stammered, "A swordsman dressed in black, wearing a straw hat."

"Oh—" Chu Linfeng suddenly realized, "It's him."

"What a sad story."

He spoke of sadness, yet his clown makeup maintained a smile.

Chu Linfeng suddenly laughed, like a clown in a circus making children laugh. His gaze shifted slightly downwards, looking at the broken cards in the hands of the two men, which were covered in bits of flesh and blood.

Lin Chen trembled violently and quickly placed the broken card on the ground: "I...we know we were wrong, we won't do it again."

"Wrong?" Chu Linfeng suddenly burst into laughter. "What's wrong with it?"

“You did a great job!”

He gripped Lin Chen's shoulders tightly, his eyes burning with fervor: "These shattered cards are the will of your comrades. You inherited their will, so great, so right, hahahaha."

The maniacal low laughter echoed in the air, sending chills down Lin Chen and Lu Li's spines.

“Smart kid, I should give you a chance.” Chu Linfeng stopped laughing and stared straight at Lin Chen.

Lin Chen swallowed repeatedly, uttering two short words: "Opportunity?"

Before those two words arrived, he would encourage himself every day, saying that he was just missing an opportunity, and that as long as he had an opportunity, he, Lin Chen, could also make a name for himself!

But when those two words appeared before me...

He was so afraid that he dared not look Chu Linfeng in the eye.

"Hmm," Chu Linfeng said, "The written exam for the Spirit Control Division has begun, and the organization will definitely secure dozens of spots."

"I will recommend you to the higher-ups so that you can replace one of them."

"Participate in the practical assessment."

"Don't worry about your identity. We have an inside man in the Soul Control Bureau. You just need to focus on fighting well in actual combat."

"Strive to enter the Soul-Binding Division."

His last sentence was spoken in a low voice, yet it reached Lin Chen's ears clearly.

"I'm going to participate in real combat?" Lin Chen hadn't recovered from this explosive news. "After passing, I can enter the Spirit Binding Division?"

By passing the assessment, one can enter the Spirit Control Bureau, defy fate, and enjoy a comfortable life, a prestigious reputation, high-tech weapons, and be equipped with a set of work cards and exclusive domain cards.

Without a doubt, this is a tremendous opportunity.

He wouldn't even dare to dream about doing that.

"What will happen if you fail the exam?" Lin Chen asked a question he shouldn't have.

"Failure?" Chu Linfeng laughed. "We will provide you with backup support, don't worry."

Even if we really fail.

He lowered his voice and gave a cold laugh: "We won't blame you."

"after all--"

"You two are the only ones who survived in the entire park, that's already quite an achievement, right?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen's chest trembled slightly, and his breathing became erratic.

His boss became suspicious; he and Lu Li were the only two survivors in the entire park, which just didn't make sense.

Now the problem is getting serious.

The black-clad swordsman made him stay in the organization as an informant, and if he disobeyed orders, he would explode and die. Then the organization sent him to participate in the practical assessment of the Soul-Binding Division.

Are you kidding me?!

"I...I understand." Lin Chen forced a smile. "Thank you for your guidance!"

"Thank you for your trust, sir!"

He laughed loudly as he knelt and kowtowed, afraid that showing even a hint of sadness would arouse the other party's suspicion.

Lu Li held Lin Chen's arm tightly from the side, not daring to say a word the whole time.

"Very good." Chu Linfeng said with a smile, "Don't let the organization down."

Three hours later, the mechanical spaceship headed for the Youlan Islands.

"Man!" The crowd gasped in disbelief as they looked at the prices of the various items in the mall.

"A thousand yuan limit per bottle of water?"

"A D-view mirror (a lens that allows you to see other people's IDs and mission prompts) costs 30,000?" "Ten credits per second in the safe zone? Time really is money!"

"Wait, the most crucial point is, if I don't have enough 200,000 left, wouldn't I be eliminated immediately with a single shot costing me 200,000?" Someone seized on the most suffocating point in the rules, their voice trembling.

"Oh right!" Everyone finally realized that this was a naked survival challenge.

Firing a gun requires a certain amount of money, and receiving a gun also requires a certain amount of money.

How much should be reserved in the balance? This is a soul-searching question.

If you keep too many cards, your deck building will be hampered and your strength will be greatly reduced; if you keep too few, you will be eliminated immediately if hit by a high-damage bullet.

Are you betting that the other person's gun is unloaded?
"Can we team up?" Someone tentatively looked up at Langley, their tone hopeful. "Invigilator, I'd like to ask if the supplies can be distributed?"

Langley's eyes lit up, and he nodded approvingly: "That's fine. The supplies purchased during the assessment period cannot be taken by others, but the holder can distribute them freely."

"The supplies can be distributed!" Upon receiving an affirmative reply, the crowd instantly erupted in cheers.

"We must form a team!"

"Anyone looking for teammates? We're really strong, but we need a big spender."

"How about we join forces to take down the Holy King's Abode first?" Someone began to plot and scheme, a malicious smile on their face.

Resources can be allocated, and team survival is the optimal solution, which the organizers clearly encourage.

In the early stages, supplies are scarce and the pressure to survive is immense. If you team up, supplies can be shared. One person can buy water and a tent, while the other is responsible for food and ammunition. That's enough to get through the night in the wild. In luxurious places like safe zones, you might be able to rest, but spending the night there is unlikely.

Some even maliciously suggested that intelligence agents could be deployed to investigate the balances of other test takers. Anyone with less than 200,000 would be a moving target, allowing for concentrated firepower to be used to eliminate them.

Li Guanqi silently looked at the products in the virtual mall, lost in thought.

This isn't an assessment marketplace; it's like a black market, selling anything and everything.

Private duels are prohibited among examinees, yet they're openly selling medicine? Gas masks? Heat-viewing goggles? Even sniper rifles? You call this a combat skills assessment?

The more I look at it, the more it resembles a 20,000-player version of PUBG Mobile Plus.

Even more outrageous is the submarine priced at ten million! Who is this thing for? Does the test site even have an underwater area?

Sniper rifles, gas masks, medicine... these items, which clearly exceed the scope of a duel, are clearly targeted at a third-party enemy.

Violent conflict between candidates is prohibited, but there are no restrictions on dealing with third-party enemies.

"Excuse me," Li Guanqi looked up at the two team leaders, his voice steady, "who exactly is this third-party enemy?"

Deng Jun glanced at her with a sharp look and said in a deep voice, "They are the kind of people you will frequently encounter after you start working."

"You will find out your specific identities once the assessment begins."

“A serious criminal…” Li Guanqi murmured softly.

Team leaders Deng Jun and Lan Li almost instantly caught the keyword "serious criminal," and their gazes turned to Li Guanqi simultaneously, their eyes filled with a hint of inquiry and deeper meaning.

A large portion of the third-party enemies they meticulously arranged were vicious and hardened criminals.

This kid has a pretty sharp reflex.

"Um," a young man raised his hand, his movements somewhat hesitant, and asked in a polite voice, "can I take the leftover food home?"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was an eerie silence, followed by suppressed giggles and whispers.

More than 20,000 examinees, including Li Guanqi, wore expressions of disbelief: "..."

Thinking of packing it up? That's a really...unusual question.

“I’m sorry.” Langley looked at the man and replied in a formulaic manner, “The credit is a virtual shopping voucher, which can only be used for this assessment. All purchased supplies, whether or not they have been used up, must be returned to the Spirit Control Division after the assessment.”

"I see." The young man nodded slightly, a hint of disappointment on his face.

Li Guanqi thought to himself, "Dude, you're not really treating your credit limit like a gold mine, are you? Trying to take advantage of the Spirit Control Bureau?"

Just when everyone thought the incident was over, Deng Jun, who had been serious and aloof, suddenly spoke up, his gaze falling on the young man: "If it's just food, we can make an exception for you."

Langley paused for a moment, then quickly nodded in agreement without raising any objections.

This caused an uproar in the audience, with noise and commotion erupting everywhere.

"What? Make an exception?"

"Why should he? Just because he asked a stupid question?"

"Even though it's just ordering food, it's not appropriate to openly treat people differently."

The young man paid no attention to the surrounding whispers and strange looks, simply nodding and saying, "Thank you."

Li Guanqi also sensed something was amiss and looked at the young man with suspicion. He was on a temporary supercomputing ring, dressed simply, and there was nothing particularly special about him.

This "special case" is undoubtedly like a thorn in the hearts of some people, especially a small group of people who are particularly envious.

Among the more than 21,000 candidates, in addition to citizens from well-off families, there were nearly 2,000 deserters who obtained their examination qualifications through guarantees.

Citizens might disdain such food, but for the struggling refugees, those compressed jerky and purified water were real hard currency, things they could bring home to save their lives.

If people had this privilege, they would definitely use their quota to exchange for supplies, then pack up the supplies and go home after sacrificing themselves for the enemy. It would be a great deal.

If he didn't have a mission, Lin Chen would definitely be one of them.

"Why...why..." A dark-skinned, lean deserter finally couldn't hold back any longer, mustered his courage, stepped forward, and asked tremblingly, "Why is it only him who can do it? Why can't we...why can't we?"

His words immediately resonated with the other villagers, who all cast supportive glances at him.

Don’t worry about scarcity but inequality.

Langley had anticipated this question. He sighed softly, glanced at the group of agitated wastelanders, and shut them all up with a single sentence: "They got first place in the written test. Can you do it?"

She paused, then added, "If you can also get first place in the written exam, we'll give you special privileges too."

"First place in the written exam?!"

These words were like a thunderclap, plunging the entire room into a deathly silence once again.

All eyes immediately focused on the calm, even somewhat dull-looking, refined young man.

(End of this chapter)