Chapter 301: The Treants’ Movements
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In a corner of the camp, because of these 300 outsiders, the originally quiet camp became noisy. Beast roars could be heard from the combat assessment area from time to time.
An officer stood rooted to the ground with a serious expression. In front of him were three young men in casual clothes. The three of them were holding a portrait in their hands, and the portrait was of Chen Yingying.
The officer asked loudly, “You can’t let her get injured at all. In an emergency, you are allowed to reveal your identity. Remember that!”
“Got it!” the three of them replied in unison.
The officer nodded and said, “Let’s start now.”
“Understood.”
The three of them saluted and ran towards the area where the candidates had temporarily stopped.
These three men in casual clothes were internal personnel arranged by the military. Their mission was to ensure Chen Yingying’s safety during the assessment. Each of them had the strength of a warrior candidate.
…
“Yingying, there are so many people! What if someone tries to steal our kill?”
“That’s right. If we work hard to defeat the monsters and others jump out to snatch them away, should we admit defeat or challenge it?”
The girls gathered together and chatted non-stop.
Everyone who participated in the actual combat assessment received a map of the assessment area and information on the mutant beasts.
The rough distribution of the mutant beasts was indicated on the map, including their strength, as well as the item used to verify the results of the assessment, which was a certain part of the mutant beast’s body.
It involved a complicated set of calculations. In the disciple realm, the number of transformations would affect the final score.
This score did not represent the level of one’s cultivation, but to a certain extent, it could differentiate the potential and combat strength of people of the same level.
In addition, in order for the candidates to take it seriously, this result would be recorded. In the future, the martial arts factions could refer to the actual combat assessment scores of the candidates.
“No way! It’s said that the military will release drones to monitor the situation. Who would dare to do anything rash? Aren’t they afraid that they will be blacklisted?” Chen Yingying asked in surprise.
“What if others avoid the drones’ line of sight? The assessment area is five kilometers wide. It’s impossible for them to not miss anything!”
“We are just a group of girls, so we look like we can be easily bullied.”
“Yingying, you’re the strongest. You can’t abandon us.”
“We have to stick together too. We can’t give the perverts an opportunity to take advantage of us.”
The girls discussed various conspiracies non-stop. There were expressions of excitement, nervousness, and fear on their faces. After all, this was the first time they were participating in an actual combat assessment.
Chen Yingying nodded. She had been full of confidence before she came, but the situation was different after she arrived at the military camp. Hearing the roars of the mutant beasts coming from the assessment area from time to time, it was still a little scary.
She subconsciously looked around, trying to find Chen Yiming.
After a while, she saw a small figure on the top of a mountain in the distance. The figure noticed her gaze and waved at her.
This made Chen Yingying heave a sigh of relief. She smiled again and continued to chat with the girls.
…
Not long after, a few officers came over to announce the start of the combat assessment. It would last for a total of three hours.
There were nearly 300 people, and they were divided into four groups. Each group was brought to one of four directions in the assessment area. They entered from four entrances at the same time.
Chen Yingying and her classmates were lucky enough to be grouped together. They all heaved a sigh of relief. At the very least, they did not have to think of a way to meet up with each other after getting in.
Following this, the roars of beasts rang out repeatedly. Fight after fight broke out between humans and mutant beasts in the assessment area.
In order to obtain a higher score, most people went all out and killed or ambushed their targets in the marked areas.
Chen Yingying and her female classmates were the same, but the situation was different from what they had expected.
Chen Yingying shot out an arrow and in the blink of an eye, a pig-type mutant beast, the steel-haired pig, fell to the ground. With another arrow, another dog-type mutant beast fell to the ground.
Seeing this, the mutant beasts nearby fled in panic.
“Yingying, you’re a sharpshooter.”
“These mutant beasts are just pretending to be strong. Do they think we’re easy to bully?”
“Come over if you have the guts. Weren’t you very fierce just now?”
A few female students turned into passers-by who just stood around and praised Chen Yingying.
When the other candidates saw this, they all hid far away. No one was willing to get too close to someone stronger than them unless they were willing to return empty-handed.
Chen Yingying was a little embarrassed by the praise. Actually, she could tell the underlying reason for the instant kill.
The pig’s speed and agility were average, but its strength and defense were not bad. However, in front of the armor-piercing arrow made of special materials, its additional defense was not enough to withstand the attack and the arrow pierced right through its heart.
It could be said that using precious armor-piercing arrows to kill such weak mutant beasts was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito. However, to Chen Yingying, armor-piercing arrows were consumables for her to practice archery. She did not have any ordinary arrows on her.
Other than that, what the people participating in the actual combat assessment did not know was that the military had secretly simplified the process. They did not require everyone to use the standard weapons and equipment provided by the military camp.
Of course, this would only happen once. Everything would return to normal later on, and this simplified process would be covered up.
The team formed by the girls cut off the parts used to verify the score, then retrieved the armor-piercing arrows and continued forward.
Because Chen Yingying was already at the stage of breaking through to the warrior realm, and she had the powerful armor-piercing arrow to further increase the lethality of her attacks, wherever she passed, the mutant beasts were almost completely crushed. No mutant beast dared to get close to her.
This also allowed the three people in charge of Chen Yingying’s safety to calm down. However, they still did not dare to relax.
The girl was clearly strong, but they had still been arranged to protect her secretly. It was obvious what this meant. If she was unlucky and encountered some kind of incident, the three of them would not be able to bear the responsibility.
…
In the center of the combat assessment area, the three-headed cobra king was struggling in pain.
Its body had been pierced by more than 10 armor-piercing arrows. Each time it moved, a large amount of blood would seep out of its wounds.
“Tsk!” Not far away, someone gasped.
The beast diagram showed that this three-headed cobra king was at the level of a warrior candidate. As the strongest mutant beast in the actual combat assessment area, it was the final boss.
However, before he could do anything, it was killed by a young girl.
It was impossible to say that he did not feel any resentment. However, in the air above the central area, drones could be seen everywhere, so he could not do anything.
“Sigh! I originally wanted to get a high score by killing the cobra king, but now…”
Someone sighed and shook his head before turning to leave.
The female students praised Chen Yingying again. On the way here, they had fought a number of mutant beasts, and it could be said that they had defeated all the opponents along the way.
Even Chen Yingying was feeling a little smug. With the powerful armor-piercing arrows and the archery skills she had learned, it seemed that those below the warrior realm…
…
The days returned to normal, and in the blink of an eye, another week had passed.
The haze of war seemed to be dissipating, and the tension in the cities in Jiangnan province relaxed a little. The focus gradually shifted back to the development of the otherworld.
After his daily cultivation in the morning, Chen Yiming received a message from Wang Ronghui. He informed his sister, who was practicing archery, and left immediately.
A reconnaissance team had sent back a message. Near the cave on the other end of the space-travel passage in the strange village, an individual that was clearly much taller than the other treants had appeared.
Although the treants did not immediately invade Jiangnan province, an oppressive atmosphere had already spread throughout the Jiangnan provincial government. Orders were issued to prevent any unit from being careless.
In the large conference room, after Chen Yiming entered, he didn’t see the representatives from the various provinces. There was only Wang Ronghui, Ling Zhongyun, and Zhao Shumin.
Wang Ronghui greeted him and went straight to the point. He projected the drawings provided by the team on the screen.
A treant more than 100 meters tall was walking over from the horizon. The ground was shaking, the treants were cheering, and the weather was changing. In the end, it turned into a huge tree that reached into the sky and took root near the cave.
Chen Yiming raised an eyebrow. He didn’t know if this treant was the one who had fought with the black river, but since he had the power to change the weather, he was undoubtedly at least at the master realm.
He was not afraid of a treant at this level, but the reason was still the same as before.
It was not a problem for him to kill the treants, but would it attract the attention of the stronger treants? Would it cause the treants to launch a counterattack and invade Jiangnan province?
This was something to consider carefully.
Zhao Shumin slammed the table and stood up. “Damn it! I don’t believe that Chief Chen and the four of us combined can’t deal with that treant.”
The middle-aged man, Zhu Song, advised, “Don’t be rash. The new treant didn’t dare to enter the space-travel passage directly, which means that the treants don’t know anything about the blue planet. It might not be a good thing for us to take the initiative to attack.”
Wang Ronghui had been shocked by Zhao Shumin’s words. He looked at Chen Yiming, who was silent. It was clear that he didn’t agree with Zhao Shumin’s thoughts.
He heaved a sigh of relief and said, “We don’t know what’s going on with the treants. If the enemy doesn’t make a move, I won’t do anything either. If that treant dares to come to our side, it won’t be too late to join forces to destroy him.”
Chen Yiming nodded and said, “It’s decided then. We won’t take the initiative to attack, but we won’t let the treants who dare to enter the space-travel passage go either. It’s best if we remain wary of each other and keep things this way.”
At the end, he muttered, “After all, the cultivation environment on the blue planet is worse. Other than obtaining some territory, there’s nothing much for the treants here.”
Since Chen Yiming had spoken, Zhao Shumin sat back down and didn’t refute him. The others also agreed with his decision.
The short meeting ended just like that. Before he left, Zhao Shumin approached Chen Yiming with a red face.
“What’s the matter?”
Chen Yiming looked up and forced himself to remain calm. Although his combat style had become violent after transforming into a giant, the violent woman wasn’t the type he would fall for.
Zhao Shumin stammered as she begged for his guidance.
Chen Yiming said a few words and found an excuse to leave, even though the other party looked like a fangirl, her gentle expression moving him.
He thought to himself, “I’m someone who can control myself.”
…
“Wail!”
Chen Yiming, who was wandering along the street, suddenly heard the sound of an air raid siren. The passers-by stopped in their tracks and started discussing among themselves.
He used his spiritual power to scan the area and quickly found out the reason.
The situation had suddenly changed. In order to deal with the possibility of a war, the public security department in Jiangnan City had organized a drill to adapt to any sudden situations in advance.
Chen Yiming strolled along the street again, taking in the changes in the city.
Without a doubt, the threat of the treants had a huge impact on Jiangnan province, causing the good situation to be temporarily brought to a pause.
If humans lost to the treants, even if they could eventually destroy the treants that invaded the blue planet, their confidence in the development of the otherworld would be greatly reduced.
This was a chain reaction that stemmed from their fear of the creatures from the otherworld.
Not long after, a familiar face walked towards Chen Yiming.
Han Qiufeng was wearing a black mask and had her head lowered. There were obvious tears at the corners of her eyes. Beside her was a short and fat middle-aged woman.
A few meters behind, a middle-aged man walked out of the restaurant. He looked over with an expression that said he had everything under control.
“Qiufeng, don’t be agitated. Let’s go back and talk to CEO Zhang. I’m your manager. I’ll do my best to help you resolve this,” the short and fat middle-aged woman said anxiously.
“Really? But didn’t CEO Zhang say that we should follow the contract?”
Han Qiufeng wiped her tears and stopped in her tracks.
“Hey! That’s just both sides testing the limits. How can it be so absolute? Anything can be discussed,” the short and fat middle-aged woman said with a smile as she grabbed Han Qiufeng’s hand.
As a manager, how could the middle-aged woman not understand the hidden meaning in CEO Zhang’s words? Someone behind the scenes had taken a fancy to Han Qiufeng, and this person had extraordinary power.
The reason why CEO Zhang emphasized the contract was to put pressure on Han Qiufeng to pave the way for the next step.
As a manager, the middle-aged woman was naturally someone who knew how to adapt to the circumstances. She knew that if she did not cooperate with them to deal with Han Qiufeng, she would be the one to suffer in the future.
The two of them happened to be in Chen Yiming’s path. Their eyes met, and Han Qiufeng smiled bitterly and greeted him, “It’s you, handsome.”
The situation in Jiangnan province was serious. Chen Yiming didn’t want to bother with such trivial matters, but he thought about how Father Chen had been touched by her song ‘Tomorrow Will Be Better’.
This meant that Han Qiufeng was not completely useless. When a war really broke out, this song might be able to motivate the citizens and bolster their confidence.
Therefore, he reminded her loudly, “The person beside you is just trying to trick you! The contract involves nothing more than money. What’s money in this world? Martial arts resources are the truly valuable items. Besides, what’s there for others to covet about you? Isn’t it because someone wants a taste of your body?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged woman’s face darkened. CEO Zhang, who was standing at the entrance of the restaurant not far away, also had an ugly expression.
His plan had actually been ruined by a young man who had suddenly appeared. Although he could use forceful methods, Han Qiufeng was still popular, and Jiangnan province was in a tense situation.
At this moment, there were countless gazes on them. The person behind this did not want to cause a commotion over such a small matter, so he had set up a trap through CEO Zhang.
Han Qiufeng’s face was pale. She bit her lip so hard that it turned red. Clearly, it was impossible for her not to notice it at all. She was just flustered and did not know how to deal with it.
The middle-aged woman suppressed her anger and asked Han Qiufeng in a low voice, “Qiufeng, who is he?”
“We met at the banquet at the Star Sky Hotel.”
The middle-aged woman choked. Although she could not find out his name, how could he be an ordinary person if he was able to attend a banquet of that level?
Just like Han Qiufeng, she also treated Chen Yiming as a second generation from some rich family.
At the same time, she felt a little afraid. She had almost cursed at him earlier, but fortunately, she had not said anything.
CEO Zhang, who was at the entrance of the restaurant, also felt extremely uncomfortable. Regardless of whether the matter could be settled, he would offend someone.
He could only curse in his heart. You people from the upper echelons really know how to play. Is there any point in making things difficult for your subordinates?
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