You went on a blind date and presented an A-level wanted criminal as a meeting gift?

At 2 p.m., the military jeep finally came to a stop after bumping along the winding mountain road for forty minutes.

Lin Chen jumped out of the car and glanced at the buildings in front of him.

The selection base is hidden deep in the mountains in the northwest suburbs of Beijing. From the outside, it looks like a desolate wilderness with no road signs.

But once inside the barbed wire fence, underground bunkers, simulated buildings, and tactical training grounds appeared one after another, on a scale comparable to a small military base.

Su Qingge did not come along.

As a contact person, she could only stay on the outskirts of the base, waiting for news at the transit station at the foot of the mountain.

When we parted, she only said two words: "Be careful."

Lin Chen walked into the base gate carrying a black tactical backpack.

The sentry at the gate verified his identity and gave him a look that suggested he was an outsider.

A local criminal investigation consultant managed to get into a national-level selection process.

This kind of thing has probably spread throughout the base by now.

The rendezvous point is an open area in the center of the base.

Thirteen people have arrived.

Lin Chen glanced over at it.

These people stood there, each with a different temperament, but they all had one thing in common: a sharpness that came from years of high-pressure tempering.

There are special forces soldiers with buzz cuts and muscles as taut as steel cables.

There are skilled technical personnel who wear gold-rimmed glasses and have slender fingers.

There was an intelligence analyst in his early thirties with a reserved and discreet demeanor.

But the most conspicuous one among these people is the one standing right in the middle of the field.

He was a little over 1.9 meters tall and weighed over 110 kilograms; his muscles were so muscular that his camouflage training uniform looked like it was about to burst.

His neck was thicker than most people's thighs, and an old scar running from his left eyebrow to the corner of his jaw made him look fierce, like a brown bear just released from its cage.

Xiao Kuang.

Lin Chen had seen this name in the file Su Jianguo had given him.

The core competitor promoted by the Xiao family was a former explosives expert and close combat instructor in a special forces unit. After retiring, he was recruited by the Xiao family and did all sorts of shady work.

Xiao Kuang was surrounded by three or four people who were very respectful and addressed him as "Brother Kuang" repeatedly.

Lin Chen walked to the edge of the open space, found a spot to stand, and put his backpack down beside him.

He didn't go to see Xiao Kuang.

But Xiao Kuang had already seen him.

"Wow."

A mocking sigh came from the crowd.

Xiao Kuang pushed aside the people around him and strode over.

The ground seemed to tremble slightly with every step he took; his military boots were at least size 47.

He stopped in front of Lin Chen, looking down at him.

The height difference between 1.9 meters and 1.83 meters wasn't particularly intimidating, but the murderous aura emanating from Xiao Kuang, mixed with the smell of gunpowder and blood, was undeniably real.

He looked down at Lin Chen's expression as if he were looking at a house cat that had wandered into a tiger's den.

"So you're the lowly policeman from Jiangcheng that the Su family hired?"

His voice was so loud it sounded like he was using a megaphone, deliberately making sure everyone present could hear it.

Lin Chen didn't say anything.

Xiao Kuang extended a finger as thick as a sausage and poked it directly into Lin Chen's chest.

One strike, two strikes, each strike carrying a hidden force.

"I heard you wiped out that good-for-nothing from the Chu family, and you even dared to ruin the plans of our Xiao family and the Sky Dome Group?"

The force was noticeably increased on the third poke.

"Kid, this is a national-level selection base, not a place for you to play house in Jiangcheng."

Xiao Kuang's face drew closer, his scars contorted, and his lips parted in a wide grin.

"In the first test, I'll make you crawl out like a dog."

Several of his henchmen around him let out low, coordinated chuckles.

The other candidates didn't laugh, but none of them spoke up either.

This is a dog-eat-dog world; no one will stand up for a stranger.

Lin Chen stared at Xiao Kuang's face.

[Master-level micro-expression analysis] runs automatically.

A five-second observation provides a complete psychological profile.

Xiao Kuang's arrogance is real, but not genuine.

His eye muscles contracted unnaturally twice while he was trash-talking, and his pupils were not focused properly.

He wasn't observing Lin Chen's reaction, but rather confirming the field of vision in a certain direction behind Lin Chen.

He was playing a supporting role for someone else.

Lin Chen caught a glimpse of a support vehicle parked on the east side of the open space out of the corner of his eye.

Two men in work clothes were standing next to the car, carrying equipment boxes.

They were moving the boxes incorrectly.

With a low center of gravity, consistent strides, and a rhythmic carrying pace, the movement of objects is quite impressive.

These are labor actions performed by people who have undergone military training.

In a medical tent in the southwest corner of the base, a man in a white coat is organizing medicines.

He was organizing too slowly, his eyes glancing towards the meeting point every few seconds.

Three assassins on the dark web.

Everything is in place.

It perfectly matched the information he tracked on the computer yesterday.

The guy with the temporary pass, disguised as a military doctor, was inside the medical tent.

The other two, who used fake identities from the car rental company, infiltrated the logistics team.

Lin Chen turned his gaze back to Xiao Kuang's face.

Xiao Kuang was still waiting for his reaction.

This thing is just a cover.

The Xiao family pushed him to the forefront to challenge them, diverting attention; their real killer move was those three people.

Once you understand that, there's nothing to be nervous about.

Lin Chen looked down at the spot on his chest where Xiao Kuang had poked him, and casually patted his clothes.

The gesture was so casual, like brushing off dust.

"Are you finished speaking?"

Xiao Kuang was stunned for a moment.

Lin Chen raised his eyes and looked at him.

"Is this all your last words?"

The air was silent for two seconds.

Xiao Kuang's face turned a deep brown.

He clenched his fists, and the veins on his arms bulged like earthworms.

"What the hell did you say?!"

"Buzz!!"

The base's public address system suddenly went off.

A mechanical female voice, devoid of any emotion, exploded from the loudspeaker overhead.

"Attention all participants, the first round of assessment will officially begin in fifteen minutes. Please proceed immediately to the simulation pod in area A."

"Those who are late will be considered to have automatically forfeited their participation."

Xiao Kuang's fist froze in mid-air.

He stared intently at Lin Chen, his chest heaving violently, but ultimately he didn't make a move.

The broadcast is an order; causing trouble in the base is tantamount to immediate elimination.

"Wait."

Xiao Kuang squeezed out two words through gritted teeth, turned around, and strode away.

His henchmen followed behind, glancing back at Lin Chen as they walked.

Lin Chen bent down to pick up the backpack and walked towards Area A.

On the way, his gaze swept over the direction of the medical tent again.

The man in the white coat is no longer there.

Lin Chen checked the inner pocket of his backpack.

Jiang Tingxue's titanium alloy medical kit and the emergency communication card given by Su Rui are both still there.

The titanium EMP ring on his finger pressed against his skin, its cool touch making his thoughts clearer.

The three assassins will not make their move in the first level.

The base's surveillance was too dense; they needed to find a chaotic moment, one that wasn't covered by surveillance.

The final urban warfare drill is the best opportunity.

Lin Chen curled the corners of his mouth slightly.

The hunters have entered the arena.

The prey has already entered the arena.

It all comes down to who bites whose throat first.