bdsm-fiction Chapter 22 Rules and Goals
Chapter 22 Rules and Goals
Is it really a multi-person assessment?
Yu Jing secretly observed the people around him under the cover of his hat, his brows furrowed.
The Explorers Headquarters arranged for them to be in the same room, clearly not to host a social party for them.
Is it an elimination system?
Surely we can't let them fight each other to the death and have the final winner join the Explorers Headquarters?
Thoughts swirled in his mind, but Yu Jing remained expressionless, turning his gaze to the middle-aged man opposite him.
He had a square face, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, and a short mustache on his chin. Judging by his face alone, he looked like a hardworking professional elite in a shopping mall. However, his physique was more robust than everyone else present, exuding a strong sense of oppression. Even when he was just sitting there quietly, he looked like a dozing ferocious beast.
Judging from his position, he should be the chief examiner for this assessment.
Boom!Boom!
Once he was sure everyone was awake, the middle-aged man tapped his fingers on the table to attract attention.
"Good evening, welcome to your journey of exploring this exotic land. This is one of the teleportation rooms of the Explorers' Headquarters in the southwestern region of the United States Federation, and I am Yao Feng, the chief examiner in charge of this assessment."
After a brief self-introduction, Yao Feng got straight to the point.
"Next, I will announce the assessment content and rules to you. Please raise your hand if you have any questions, and I will answer them within the scope of the rules."
"This assessment is a collaborative task."
"There will be four participants, which means you will all be entering the same alien realm to complete the assessment tasks issued by the General Administration."
At this point, Yao Feng saw the man on the far right raise his hand, so he stopped talking and gestured for him to ask a question.
"You just mentioned a cooperative mission... If someone dies during the mission, is the mission considered a failure or does it continue?"
The man slammed his empty drink glass on the table and asked coldly.
"Of course we'll continue. The cooperative mission means that as long as the mission item is brought out, those who leave the alien realm alive will be considered to have passed the test. As for what you said about deaths occurring during the mission... alien exploration has never been a safe job, and I think everyone here is well aware of that!"
Yao Feng's reply undoubtedly confirmed Yu Jing's earlier guess: the difficulty of the Explorers' Headquarters' assessment was definitely not low.
Come to think of it, the weak would have been lost long ago, let alone appear here, when they first fell into this alien world.
Those wanderers who manage to return to the present world and learn of the existence of the Explorers' Headquarters all possess a certain level of strength.
"Great, then I don't have to worry about being a useless person holding me back. I'm fine."
The man, having received a satisfactory answer, leaned back, clasped his hands behind his head, and looked up at the machine hanging upside down on the ceiling.
"The assessment location is a fortress-type alien realm codenamed 'Ancient Castle Ruins.' The Explorers' Headquarters has rated its danger level as Level 2. The alien realm is stable, with no risk of collapse or invasion, no extreme environment, and a certain number of monsters."
The alien realm chosen as the assessment location could not possibly be an unknown alien realm.
After all, the ultimate goal of the Explorers' Headquarters' assessment is to select members, not to send a group of people to their deaths. They must control the risks while ensuring the difficulty of the assessment.
What is a fortress-type alien realm?
This time it was Yu Jing's turn to raise his hand and ask a question. He clearly remembered the number of the foreign land he had visited in the Torch Watch.
Its initial letter K is marked as "Wilderness" on the map page, which should mean a wilderness-type alien realm.
Now that a fortress-like alien realm has appeared, combined with the information mentioned in the visitor guide, Yu Jing is convinced that there are different types of alien realms, so he thought he would take this opportunity to investigate.
The other three clearly shared similar ideas with Yu Jing.
After hearing the question he raised, everyone turned their attention to Yao Feng.
"This question involves classified information from the Explorers' Headquarters and the content of the assessment. I cannot disclose any information until you pass the assessment."
Knowing the characteristics of the fortress-type alien realm in advance would allow for prior preparation for the upcoming assessment, which would undoubtedly reduce the difficulty of the assessment. Therefore, Yao Feng directly rejected Yu Jing's question, not giving him a chance to take advantage of the situation.
It's important to know that intelligence gathering ability when exploring foreign lands is one of the key assessment criteria of the Explorers' Headquarters.
"I'm fine now."
Yu Jing shrugged, having failed to obtain any important intelligence; it was just an attempt to get information out of the way.
"The objective of this assessment is to find and defeat a heavily armored skeleton in the alien realm and bring its skull, which is engraved with evil spells, back to the border. Any other gains during the exploration are yours to distribute as you see fit; the Explorers' Headquarters will not interfere."
While the assessment is dangerous, it also presents opportunities. Assuming that there are no super-sized monsters in the alien realm, as long as the examinee is skilled, they can conduct a thorough search of the alien realm to find as many valuable items as possible.
This is a new member benefit provided by the Explorers' Headquarters to those who pass the assessment, who will become future members.
How should we travel to and from that foreign land?
The first female archer on the left, wearing a demon mask, suddenly asked a question.
"The alien realm where the assessment will be conducted is not an unknown alien realm. It has been anchored by the teleportation room at the border. You will have ten minutes to prepare. After that, I will activate the teleportation device to send you to the alien realm. As for the return route... you will naturally find out after you kill the mission target."
At this point, Yao Feng moved his chair back, stood up, and added,
"The assessment content and rules have all been explained. Now, a ten-minute countdown will begin. After the countdown ends, I will return to the room to activate the teleportation device. If anyone wants to withdraw from the assessment task at that time, please let me know."
Without waiting for anyone's reply, he left the room.
When the door closed again, the atmosphere in the teleportation room froze for a moment.
Considering that this assessment is a collaborative task.
Yao Feng's ten-minute countdown was clearly intended to allow the four participants to discuss their action plan after entering the alien realm.
However, knowing is one thing, and how to discuss it is another.
The four people present had no prior interaction before tonight, so it was inevitable that they were wary of each other. Suddenly, they were about to become teammates on a mission together, and it wasn't easy for them to adapt quickly.
After a brief silence, the man second from the left broke the silence, speaking in a deep voice.
"Since this is a collaborative mission, our goals are aligned, and our core interests do not conflict. I propose we join forces!"
Yao Feng made it clear that anyone who brings out the mission item and leaves the alien realm alive will be considered successful.
This means that there is no limit to the number of people who can pass this assessment, and working together to reduce the difficulty of the assessment is undoubtedly the best approach.
"Can."
Yu Jing was the first to respond.
"agree."
The female archer followed closely behind.
"Cooperation is no problem, but let me make this clear beforehand: anyone who drags the team down or tries to slack off will not be spared. Also, how will high-value spoils be distributed if they are discovered during the assessment?"
Although the arrogant man with a full head of silver hair didn't look like a respectable person, the questions he asked were spot on.