Chapter 421: Chapter 419: Disturbance in the Abyssal Passage
At the same time, Yan Feijie’s group had only just finished their battle.
The sheer number of Zombies Lin Xinghai had lured over was simply too great, totaling more than 45,000.
Although Lin Xinghai had helped by killing the vast majority of the High Level Zombies, the commotion from the horde was so immense that it continued to draw in other groups of Zombies from the surrounding area.
Under these circumstances, Yan Feijie and his group had to fight for over an hour before they finally managed to eliminate all the Zombies.
After dealing with the Zombie horde, this massive alliance finally disbanded.
Top-tier geniuses like Yan Feijie, Yuan Zheng, and Hong Xiuyuan immediately began competing for Energy Balls through the night. Even if they had no chance at the top four, they still had to get into the top ten to secure their positions as Special Class Students.
As these teams scattered, word of the outcome of their attempt to corner Lin Xinghai naturally began to spread.
Unsurprisingly, this result caused a massive uproar among the numerous teams of examinees.
After all, Yan Feijie had made quite a stir when recruiting other teams. According to the estimates of some well-informed individuals, the total number of people who had gathered to take on Lin Xinghai may have been close to the terrifying figure of 3,000.
Under such circumstances, no one could imagine any way for Lin Xinghai to resist. They figured if he got caught, even for a moment, he probably wouldn’t even be able to escape.
But they had never, ever expected that the final victor would be Lin Xinghai.
As they gathered more information, they figured out exactly how Lin Xinghai had turned the tables: he had actually lured a horde of over 40,000 Zombies.
Upon learning the truth, everyone couldn’t help but exclaim that he was truly a ruthless man.
In fact, the commotion caused by the erupting Zombie horde had been so enormous that many teams in the surrounding area had seen it.
However, no team had dared to get close to the horde, so they had no idea it was actually Lin Xinghai’s method for dealing with Yan Feijie and his alliance.
As word of the incident continued to spread and develop, all the examinees, having learned of Lin Xinghai’s various tactics, came to a near-unanimous consensus.
Lin Xinghai was, for all intents and purposes, an invincible existence among his peers.
So, when 7:00 PM arrived and the Military Department synchronized the locations of the Energy Balls, everyone saw the 48 red dots of light. Though they coveted them, not a single person dared to try and make a move.
This was true even for the examinees on the verge of elimination. They knew Lin Xinghai wouldn’t dare kill them, but that didn’t mean he would let them go lightly.
From what they’d heard, if they went looking for trouble, the most likely outcome was getting their hands and feet shot full of holes.
And so, as this major storm subsided, everything seemed to return to normal.
All the teams were scrambling for Energy Balls, with no exception for the dead of night. Everyone understood that this was going to be a sleepless night.
However, as time passed, many teams were surprised to discover that Lin Xinghai, the "final boss" of the competition, seemed to have stopped vying for Energy Balls. Several hours went by, and the number of Energy Balls in his possession remained fixed at 48.
Although many teams didn’t know why, it didn’t stop them from breathing a collective sigh of relief.
As for the few top-tier teams who knew the inside story, they all kept their mouths tightly shut. They understood that if the news got out, it would undoubtedly cause a massive uproar.
If things blew up and an examiner intervened to stop Lin Xinghai’s plan, and he ultimately failed to obtain the Earth Level Martial Arts, he would absolutely blame them for it.
So, for now, no one dared to say a word.
However, since they knew Lin Xinghai had already achieved his goal, these top contenders could now compete for Energy Balls without as much restraint, quickly getting back into the swing of things.
The Energy Balls held by weaker teams were gradually snatched up by the stronger ones.
By the early hours of the morning, nearly all the Energy Balls held by the weaker teams had been taken.
At this moment, Qiu Liang looked at the four Energy Balls in his hands and couldn’t help but sigh. "My fifth-place position should be secure now. I never would’ve thought that being the first person Lin Xinghai robbed would end up being the most beneficial for me."
The weaker teams now had almost no Energy Balls left, and there was a tacit understanding among the stronger teams—they generally wouldn’t fight each other.
This wasn’t due to some mutual respect among the strong or any other sentimental nonsense. It was purely because they weren’t confident in a guaranteed win against one another and feared an unexpected upset.
After all, whether it was Qiu Liang, Yuan Zheng, Yan Feijie, Hong Xiuyuan, or Jiang Zijin, these top-tier geniuses only needed to hold onto their current gains to secure a spot as a Special Class Student.
Besides, knowing they were out of the running for the top four, their desire to fight each other naturally waned.
In the command room, Zuo Wenyao and the others also sighed with emotion, seeing that the teams seemed to have quieted down.
"In a way, this assessment is already over. At least, it is for these top-tier geniuses," one of the examiners couldn’t help but remark.
"It’s true! But what can you do? A Demon like Lin Xinghai showed up. According to our original plan, the competition was supposed to get more intense toward the end, especially the fight for the top three. We expected an all-out brawl in the final hours, but I never saw this coming..." another examiner lamented.
"Yeah! But I guess it’s a good thing. Since they’re not causing trouble, we can finally get some rest in shifts," another examiner added.
Zuo Wenyao couldn’t help but nod. "Alright. We don’t need to monitor them so closely from now on. Let’s split into two shifts and get some rest."
...
It wasn’t just the examiners who noticed this change in atmosphere; some of the more perceptive examinees picked up on it too, including, of course, Lin Xinghai.
Moreover, since nightfall, he had patrolled a radius of several kilometers each time he went out. Finding no teams that dared to approach his position, he gradually came to understand what they were thinking.
’Looks like I’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep,’ Lin Xinghai thought, rubbing his chin. As soon as the Energy Ball synchronization period ended, he quickly headed back.
...
Just as the fighting began to die down, no one knew that on the other side of East Sea City’s Abyssal Passage, a momentous event with far-reaching consequences was unfolding.
For the vast majority of humanity, the Abyssal Passage was practically synonymous with death.
The so-called "guarding the Abyssal Passage" merely meant defending its exit on their side. Even powerhouses at the Divine Demon Realm didn’t dare to venture carelessly into the passage itself.
Because once inside, they would enter the Abyssal Plane directly.
And just as Earth had an army guarding its side, the Abyssal Plane, of course, had powerful Abyssal Creatures stationed at its entrance to the passage.
