Chapter 409: Chapter 409: The Situation Escalates
Hearing Zuo Wenyao’s words, the expressions of the examiners in the room turned even grimmer.
None of them had ever imagined they’d be racking their brains like this over a single examinee.
Of course, regardless of how they felt, it was happening, and now they had no choice but to deal with it.
Soon, from the rooftop of the Dong’an Great Xia in the city center, individual flight units took off one by one, speeding toward the assembly point of Yan Feijie’s large group.
Watching the command room suddenly empty by more than half, Lü Wei couldn’t help but give a wry smile. "Instructor Zuo, do you think we should issue a notice? Tell the other examinees to lay low and not stir up any more trouble. If we concentrate our forces over there and something else happens elsewhere, we’ll be stretched dangerously thin."
Zuo Wenyao pondered for a moment before shaking his head slightly. "That wouldn’t be right. As long as the examinees aren’t breaking any rules, we shouldn’t impose any restrictions on them. Besides, this lack of foresight is our responsibility."
"Er... what about the horde?" Lü Wei asked, worried. ’Seeing the speed at which Lin Xinghai is gathering this horde, I’m afraid even our examiners won’t be able to control the situation when they get there.’
"Don’t worry," Zuo Wenyao said. "If it becomes necessary, I’ll go myself."
His words were like a potent tranquilizer, instantly putting Lü Wei’s anxious heart at ease.
After all, Zuo Wenyao was a powerhouse of the Divine Demon Realm. Experts at this level already possessed certain inhuman abilities. For instance, if he stood in the middle of the horde and unleashed his Divine Demon Realm aura without restraint, all the Ordinary and Intermediate Zombies would be crushed to the ground.
Even the High Level Zombies would lose more than ninety percent of their combat strength.
Lü Wei may have been relieved, but Zuo Wenyao’s brow remained tightly furrowed. Lin Xinghai’s speed at attracting Zombies was still somewhat beyond his expectations.
When other people lured Zombies, attracting all the undead on a single street was considered an impressive feat.
But Lin Xinghai? He was using his advantage in Speed to pull Zombies from several surrounding streets. On top of that, he was cleverly using the scent of blood to keep the horde’s attention firmly locked on him.
The trail of blood he left behind allowed even the stragglers to follow the scent and catch up.
’At this rate, ten thousand Zombies is probably the most conservative estimate,’ he thought. ’With Lin Xinghai’s methods, attracting a horde of twenty or even thirty thousand isn’t out of the question.’
At this thought, even Zuo Wenyao’s face began to turn a little green.
If their job was simply to eliminate the horde, it would be relatively easy. But their mission was to rescue the examinees at the critical moment *without* interfering with their test!
That was the hardest part. After all, if they intervened too early, the examinee in question might have been able to escape on their own. Stepping in would mean revoking their eligibility to continue the assessment.
But if they were too slow, the student would be dead for real.
The level of situational control required was simply too high. And the most terrifying possibility was several examinees being threatened at once—that would be the ultimate test for the rescue team.
Of course, regardless of what Zuo Wenyao was thinking, as time went on, the horde trailing Lin Xinghai just kept growing larger.
In just ten minutes, the horde Lin Xinghai had gathered already exceeded ten thousand.
Zuo Wenyao, his expression darkening, zoomed in on the map. Lin Xinghai was still a full five kilometers from the massive, three-thousand-person group, and the number of Zombies along that route was by no means small.
Zuo Wenyao ran a quick calculation on the computer, and his face went green.
31,250 Zombies!
That’s right. If Lin Xinghai continued like this, luring every group of Zombies along his path, the final horde would exceed thirty thousand.
More importantly, Zombies were herd creatures. In other words, once a horde reached a certain size, the commotion it created would attract even more distant Zombies. Even if those Zombies had no idea what was going on, they would instinctively join the tide.
By the time the horde finally reached Yan Feijie and the others, its numbers might swell past thirty thousand—forty, or even fifty thousand was possible.
At that thought, Zuo Wenyao could no longer remain seated.
"I’m heading out. You’re in charge here. Notify me immediately if any emergencies arise," Zuo Wenyao said in a grave tone.
Lü Wei nodded, his expression pained. He watched Zuo Wenyao walk toward the exit, hesitating for a long moment before finally speaking up. "I think... next year, your East Sea Academy shouldn’t run this kind of comprehensive assessment."
Zuo Wenyao paused, half exasperated and half amused. "I wouldn’t say that. If a ’Demon’ of this caliber appeared every year, those old geezers back at the academy would probably be fighting tooth and nail to come here themselves. Would we still have to worry about security then?"
Lü Wei, of course, knew who "those old geezers" were, and he had to admit, the man had a point.
...
While the entire command center was being mobilized because of Lin Xinghai, Yan Feijie and his group were in high spirits.
Since Lin Xinghai still hadn’t appeared after all this time, it was clear proof that he wasn’t confident enough to face them alone.
This naturally put them in an excellent mood; they felt their plan was already halfway to success.
This was especially true for the five teams that had successfully brought their Energy Balls; they finally felt like their prizes were secure.
"Everyone, pick up the pace! Find Lin Xinghai’s teammates quickly!" Yan Feijie shouted. "We’ve already contacted the nearby teams and laid a dragnet. They have no way to escape!"
"Yes!" the assembled examinees responded.
Even though they knew Lin Xinghai’s Energy Ball wouldn’t be enough to split among everyone, this large-scale search operation offered another benefit. They could clear out Zombies along the way without restraint, never having to worry that the noise would attract nearby hordes.
For the vast majority of the examinees, this was a perfect opportunity to rack up points. As such, they put their all into slaughtering Zombies.
Just then, one of the members on aerial watch flew down.
Seeing him approach, Yan Feijie’s expression immediately turned serious. The members on watch were the team’s eyes; for one to come down now, he must have discovered something.
"What is it? Did you spot something unusual?" Yan Feijie asked in a low voice.
The lookout hesitated before answering. "There’s something. I detected some strange movement in that direction, but it’s too far away. Plus, with all the tall buildings blocking the view, I couldn’t see anything clearly."
"What kind of movement? And how far out?" Yan Feijie pressed, frowning at the man’s vague report.
"About four or five kilometers from here," the lookout replied quickly. "I don’t know what the movement is exactly, but for me to be able to detect anything at this distance, it must be something major."
