Pre-death assessment

"What...is this thing?"

Everyone was shocked and disgusted as they stared at the gaping maw that was biting at them.

This is a mutated zombie!

How could this stray dog ​​grow so big?

"Burn it to death!" Ling Wu gave the order.

Liu Ruyan stepped forward and raised her delicate hand: "Firestorm!"

boom!

Instantly, terrifying flames engulfed the wild dog zombie that had grown dozens of meters tall, and then it exploded with a loud bang.

The intense firelight illuminated the entire scarlet street.

The wild dog's body was instantly incinerated by Liu Ruyan's terrifyingly high temperature.

It fell to the ground and gradually turned to ashes.

"Holy crap, that was terrifying!"

Li Ming and the others all cursed.

They had barely arrived when something lunged at them, trying to kill them.

This fourth level is indeed incomparable to the third level.

At this moment, Ling Wu slowly walked up.

Then, from the ashes of the wild dog's corpse, they pulled out a crystal the size of a fist.

The crystal is completely transparent, just like ice.

Immediately afterwards, Ling Wu cut his finger and let a drop of blood fall.

hum!

Upon contact with Ling Wu's blood, the crystal made a humming sound and merged into Ling Wu's body.

It's like a blood oath.

"This... could this crystal be a fourth level of superpower?"

Everyone was curious.

Are the superpowers here different from the ones before?

"It's not a superpower, it's a tool to clear the level."

Ling Wu slowly said, "The way to pass this fourth level is... to collect the fears of others and confront your own fears!"

"What...does this mean?"

No one understood it.

"This fourth level is the real hell, the real ghost realm."

Ling Wu continued, "Here, ghosts, zombies, ghouls, butchers, all sorts of monsters and demons exist."

"They each have their own territory, and by killing the lord, one can obtain such a crystal."

"Initially, the crystal is transparent. After obtaining the crystal, you can bind it to your owner by dripping blood on it."

"The next task is... to instill fear in others."

"Any fear you create will be absorbed by the crystals within your body."

"Once the crystal absorbs enough fear points and turns scarlet, the final challenge will begin, allowing you to confront your deepest fear."

"Once you get past your own hurdle, you'll pass the fourth level!"

This is the fourth level, this is the space of fear.

This place truly is hell, a realm of ghosts!

"So...ghosts really do exist in this world?"

A hint of fear appeared on Jiang Luo's face.

She has been terrified of these things since she was a child.

I never imagined it actually existed?

"Those things do indeed truly exist in this fourth level."

Ling Wu smiled faintly and said, "Ghosts or monsters, they all exist."

"So what we need to do next is... kill the lord, take the crystal, create fear, and confront the fear!"

Li Ming and the others all had serious expressions.

This fourth level of the challenge is indeed quite different.

Moreover, it's even more difficult!

Killing a lord isn't difficult; Liu Ruyan just killed one.

That wild dog that can turn into a zombie must be a lord of this small area.

To create and collect fear, one needs to find others and frighten or intimidate them.

The hardest part is the last step: facing your deepest fears.

What one will face specifically varies from person to person.

Everyone has something they fear most deep down.

And what one fears most is something no one wants to face.

Ling Wu then slowly said, "My first fear is getting hurt, and my second fear is losing the things or people I care about!"

"So in this fourth level, don't expect to have any friends."

"Everyone is trying to instill fear in others; torture and murder... are the most common methods here."

Creating illusions of demons and monsters to scare people is probably not very effective.

People who stay here for a long time become desensitized to these things.

Therefore, slaughter and torture are the most common occurrences.

"Many people here didn't make it to the last step."

Ling Wu continued, "Many people will completely lose their minds when they face their greatest fears at the final step."

"So...you should prepare yourselves mentally, think about what you are most afraid of, and what you would do if that really happened."

To confront your deepest fears is to endure the greatest torment for yourself.

Such torment is indeed not something everyone can endure.

Many people would go insane under that torment.

In that case, of course you wouldn't be able to pass the level and continue.

Everyone nodded emphatically; this truly requires extremely strong mental fortitude!

Jiang Luo's face turned pale. She was most afraid of ghosts, and yet ghosts really did exist in this world.

What should we do?

At this moment, Ling Wu walked up and patted Jiang Luo on the shoulder.

She was the youngest of them all, and also the most emotionally vulnerable.

So this hurdle was indeed the most difficult for her.

But there's no other way; for the final step of this hurdle, I have to rely on myself.

"No matter what happens, just remember, as long as you don't die, that's all that matters," Ling Wu added encouragingly.

"Hmm...hmm!" Jiang Luo had no confidence at all, but still nodded gently.

"In this fourth level, lords are everywhere."

Ling Wu continued, "The strength of lords also varies, and besides lords, we must also be wary of hunters and the administrators of the pre-death assessment space."

The hunting time is similar to the third level; it is timed.

Hunters of different levels may appear at any time.

But... if it is a top-tier hunter with a human form, then it is possible for them to hide among everyone.

Therefore, you should be even less likely to trust others here.

"Let's take action now."

Ling Wu continued, "Kill the lord and take the crystal!"

After saying that, he turned and walked towards a blood-stained abandoned building.

Liu Ruyan and the others all followed.

The stairwell of the building was just like the outside, with walls and floors covered in dried blood and bits of flesh.

It's hard to imagine what happened in these places before.

How many people were chopped into mincemeat here?

How much fear did those people experience while they were alive?

After passing through the scarlet stairwell, the group arrived at the top of the abandoned building.

Looking around, the entire fourth level of the pre-death assessment space was also boundless.

There are cities and mountains, but it is all a desolate crimson.

The sky was always crimson, and the air was always filled with the stench of blood and rotting flesh.

Here, even fresh air seems like a luxury.

The abandoned neighborhood they were in was the territory of the stray dog ​​zombie they had just encountered.

It specializes in eating people here, and has eaten countless people over the years.

This neighborhood, stained with blood and flesh, is its masterpiece.

All the lords' favorites are the newcomers who have just arrived at the fourth level.

Because newcomers are unfamiliar with the place, they are often easily eliminated immediately.

Unfortunately, it encountered Ling Wu and others, as well as Liu Ruyan, who possessed the fifth realm of fire element.

Therefore, they had no chance to fight back at all.

"It's best not to separate now."

Ling Wu looked across the entire crimson pre-death assessment space, fourth level: "The lords here, the most powerful ones... are comparable to fifth-realm experts."

Upon hearing this, Li Ming and the others were surprised once again.

Even lords possess strength comparable to those at the fifth realm?

This is indeed a dangerous place.

Therefore, if you want to kill a lord to obtain crystals, it's best to carefully assess the strength of both sides first.

If they were to encounter a lord comparable to the Fifth Realm, only Ling Wu and Liu Ruyan among them would have a chance to fight.

Ling Wu scanned the surroundings and finally locked onto an area.

From a distance, the area was shrouded in dark clouds, and the entire neighborhood below was covered in sticky spider webs.

It looks like a giant spiderweb cave.

Which is easier to deal with, ghosts or monsters?

Of course, monsters are easier to deal with.

Because physical damage is effective against monsters, but not necessarily against ghosts.

Ling Wu immediately unfolded the chessboard, summoned a super cannon, and then fired a shot at the Spider Cave.

boom!

The shell burst from the barrel and shot towards the Spider Cave.

Bang!

With a deafening roar, the shockwave from the explosion nearly destroyed the entire neighborhood, which was covered in cobwebs.

Immediately following the explosion, countless ghost-headed spiders crawled out from within.

Those spiders were all about the size of a human, but their heads were human-shaped.

Besides the head, the pockmarked body was also covered with hideous human faces.

Bang!

Following closely behind the dense swarm of tiny spiders, a colossal creature burst forth from the ground.

It was a giant spider, hundreds of meters long, that crawled out from under the earth, causing the already dilapidated high-rise buildings around it to collapse.

"Not very strong."

Ling Wu smiled faintly, then waved his hand: "Kill it!"

After saying that, he took the lead and rushed forward.

Li Ming and the others followed.

Liu Ruyan transformed into a giant fire phoenix, and flames erupted from her.

The entire spider nest was instantly set ablaze.

What was originally a wasteland after being bombarded is now in complete chaos under the raging fire.

Li Ming followed closely behind and suddenly punched the giant spider's humanoid head.

With a muffled thud, a shockwave spread outwards.

"It's pretty hard!"

Li Ming was slightly startled. Although this giant spider looked like it had a flesh and blood body, its defensive power was no less than that of the steel beasts at the third level.

However, it's not a big problem; at most, it's like facing a beast king.

"Those little spiders are quite defensive as well."

Guan Hao swung his broadsword, and it took all his strength to leave even a slight mark on those little spiders.

"Don't waste time, finish this quickly!"

Ling Wu said something, and then his figure suddenly leaped up.

A dark red aura emanated from his body, and his entire form transformed into a dark red meteor that shot off into the distance.

With a thud, his body pierced through the giant spider's waist.

After its body was pierced, the giant spider only let out a scream, and then the pierced area actually began to wriggle and slowly repair itself.