As someone in sequence 001, I also want to give up today.

Lingdang stood behind Li Yu, her mouth agape.

She saw her aunt's cutting force field every day and got used to it, so she thought it was just a "transparent line that can cut things" as simple as that.

It wasn't until this moment that she realized that the knife her aunt usually used to cut vegetables and the knife her aunt actually used to cut vegetables were two different things.

The storm lasted less than ten breaths.

When the wind stopped, the rocky beach on the west side of the valley had changed color.

A layer of dark red was splashed on the grayish-brown gravel, and a dozen giant shadows lay scattered about, all of them with the Cyclops's iconic single eye closed tightly.

Only one is alive.

It was a one-eyed giant that was noticeably smaller than itself.

It huddled at the very back, its whole body lying on the ground, its two hands covering its head, its one eye tightly closed, and its whole body trembling like a leaf.

It was probably the youngest in the group, only two-thirds the size of its kind, and hadn't fully grown yet.

The Cyclops scrambled backward until he reached the base of the rock wall, where he had nowhere left to retreat, and let out a long, thin wail.

It knelt trembling in the pool of blood, its one eye fixed on Li Yu, a weak, whimpering plea for mercy escaping its throat.

The crowd was stunned.

Some people's legs buckled and they sat down on the ground.

In the center of the valley, Li Yu withdrew her hand, a wisp of silver light still lingering on her fingertips, vanishing in an instant.

The ground behind her turned into a maze.

The area is filled with ravines and gullies, some deep enough to bury a small building. The ravines radiate outwards from her center, like a blooming silver flower.

Zang Xiao poked half his head out from under Li Yu's collar, his compound eyes reflecting a dark golden luster in the silver light, before slowly retreating back inside.

Snowflakes crouched on a rock by the stream, their red eyes fixed on the silver storm without blinking, their ears not even twitching.

Li Yu looked down at the kneeling, thin, one-eyed giant, then turned her head to look at the little girl behind her whose face was tense.

"A bell."

The bell jumped in surprise: "Huh?"

"It's up to you."

The bell froze.

She blinked.

Looking at Li Yu, and then at the thin, one-eyed giant kneeling on the ground, his brain went blank for a full three seconds.

"…… I?"

"Um."

"Auntie, are you sure?"

Bell felt a little guilty.

"It's so big! One slap from it could turn me into a pancake—"

She bit her tongue halfway through her sentence, swallowing back the words "cat pancake," and glanced guiltily at the other ability users around her who were still in a petrified state.

Fortunately, no one heard it.

Li Yu didn't explain or offer any further advice.

She just looked at Lingdang with a calm expression, but Lingdang read a meaning in her eyes: You came into this trial ground with me, so you have to do some work.

Lingdang steeled herself, rolled up her sleeves, and strode toward the skinny one-eyed giant.

"Fine! I—I'm putting my words right here!"

She took a deep breath, with a fierce determination to go all out:

"This one is mine!"

The Cyclops knelt in the pool of blood. When he saw the little girl walking towards him with an arrogant gait, the fear in his one eye had not yet dissipated, and a layer of bewilderment was added to it.

It hadn't heard what they were saying.

But it can understand the little one's expression.

That expression was exactly the same as the one the lord had before he made his move—it was the same "you're finished" tone.

The skinny one-eyed giant shuddered and tried to back away, his legs shaking.

The bell has already darted out.

Fission!

All mental energy was transformed into a single thought force, clenched in the palm of the hand, and pushed forward.

The Cyclops hurriedly swung his hand out.

The force of the palm strike sent Bell's hair flying wildly.

The bell was not caught.

She pushed off with her feet, and using her feline instincts to twist her waist, she slipped under the giant paw, skimming along the ground, and circled around to its side and rear.

The Cyclops suddenly lost sight of her, and his one eye darted around, searching blankly.

One-eyed creatures have a natural weakness.

Their stereoscopic vision is frighteningly accurate, but their field of vision is inherently limited by blind spots. They can see clearly what is directly in front and below, but the sides and rear are always a blind spot.

Bell knew nothing about Greek mythology, nor about Polyphemus.

But she was born with a knack for finding alternative routes.

She leaped to the side and behind the Cyclops, thrusting her hands forward. Her psychic power, carrying pebbles and sand, slammed into its single eye.

The Cyclops let out a miserable howl. His one eye was completely covered, and he spun around in place, clutching his face. He lost his footing and half of his body fell into the pit next to him.

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.

"That child... who is he?"

"How did she dodge that? I didn't even see it!"

"She's such a strong child? This trial is full of hidden talents..."

"Do you think she might be like the Witch of Reason, a senior figure hiding her true identity?"

"Hiss—maybe!"

The bell, however, paid no attention to any of that.

She was panting heavily as she circled the pit, looking for her next opportunity to strike.

A Cyclops is a Cyclops after all; it has thick skin and a tough body.

The slap from Lingdang looked fierce, but it only scratched the skin; the real effect was the sand getting into the eyes.

It rubbed its eyes as it crawled out of the pit, roared, and this time it learned its lesson. It stopped slapping her randomly and instead lowered its head, locking onto her position with its single eye, while its two giant paws alternately ground towards her.

Bell was forced to retreat, her heel hit a rock, and she sat down on the ground with a thud.

The Cyclops's massive hand pressed down with a whooshing sound.

Someone in the crowd exclaimed "Ah!"

Bell's pupils contracted sharply. Before she could crawl, she rolled away from under the palm shadow, her palm exploding with psychic power and slamming it hard into the Cyclops' ankle.

The Cyclops, in pain, staggered half a step, lost his balance, and his massive body swayed twice.

Seizing the opportunity, Lingdang sprang up from the ground, took three steps in two, and darted to the back of its knee. She clasped her hands together, concentrated her mental energy, and delivered another fierce blow to its leg that had just suffered pain.

A crisp "snap" sounded.

The Cyclops's leg suddenly buckled, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud, raising a cloud of dust.

The tears that had been welling up in its single eye finally rolled out, and it sobbed, its whole body trembling like a leaf.

The bell stood before it, its chest heaving violently, its face covered in dust and sweat, but its eyes shone with an alarming brightness.

She caught her breath, put her hands on her hips, raised her chin high, and was about to declare her victory—

She held back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

She glanced at the group of superhumans around her, all of them staring at her with wide eyes, as if she were some rare object.

The middle-aged man's mouth was so open it could fit a fist, and the young man with glasses had his glasses frame fall to the tip of his nose, and he forgot to pick them up.

Bell swallowed back the "This Lord" that almost slipped out, replacing it with a more measured and calmer one:

"This young lady has a slight edge."

Snowflakes bounced high at her feet, her white fur bristling into a ball: "Bell won! Bell won! I knew you could do it! Bell is the best! Bell is forever a goddess!"

The chubby orange perched on Li Yu's shoulder, slowly licking its paws, a rare hint of somewhat acceptable approval flashing in its heterochromatic eyes.

"Meow~~"

Translation: Barely an improvement over last time.

Hearing Xuehua's praise, Lingdang scratched her head shyly: "It's alright, it's not that amazing."

Then Bell turned her gaze to the one-eyed giant.

The small, one-eyed giant was still kneeling in the pit, his single eye looking at her pitifully, a weak sob escaping his throat, looking utterly pathetic as if begging for mercy.

She stared at it for two seconds, then suddenly her heart softened.

This thing looks terrifying, but it's so thin, with its ribs clearly visible, and its single eye is full of tears.

He looked exactly like a poor little thing who hadn't eaten for three days.

The bell turned around and called out, "Auntie, what should we do about it?"

Li Yu walked over and glanced at the kneeling, skinny one-eyed giant.

"Let's leave it here. The rescue team should be here soon; we'll see if we can take it back for research then."

The bell rang out with an "oh".