Life Game In Other World
Chapter 143: Perform A Set of Punches, Let Me See. (Long Chapter, Please Subscribe, Favorite, and Vote for Monthly Pass)

Chapter 143: Chapter 143: Perform A Set of Punches, Let Me See. (Long Chapter, Please Subscribe, Favorite, and Vote for Monthly Pass)

The pollution resistance test took place in a circular hall. Zhang Ansha took out a silver mithril box, placed it at the center of the hall, then opened it to expose a clump of dark red iron inside. At that moment, a distorted murmur reached everyone’s ears.

This murk had no logic, yet it carried with it a sense of brutal madness, destroying the will of all those around.

Zhang Ansha instructed everyone to approach the box at the center of the hall to see how much they could endure, the closer they got, the more intense the madness they felt.

Feng Ling went out and did not return, the other few struggled to step forward, taking steps toward the center of the hall.

"Ah!"

A piercing scream suddenly sounded. It was from the ’conciliator’ woman who had tried to disturb He Ao’s emotions earlier. She had barely taken a step when her body twitched, and her expression gradually twisted into ferocity. Zhang Ansha immediately knocked her unconscious and handed her over to the workers in silver protective suits standing afar.

Everyone was somewhat surprised, except for He Ao.

The ability of this conciliator clearly related to the mind, and she should have been the one with the strongest mental strength there, aside from He Ao. The fact that madness had affected her so quickly made everyone’s hearts race.

"As for resistance to pollution, it’s not that the stronger your mind, the better. Those who are more mentally sensitive perceive madness more acutely and are thus more prone to falling into it. When facing this kind of infectious madness, the only solution is to enhance one’s willpower," Zhang Ansha said, glancing at everyone before softly explaining.

Then, he gestured for everyone to continue walking.

Many eyes converged on He Ao, curious about his next move. However, He Ao seemed to show no desire to proceed. They waited a while, but when no movement came from He Ao, they withdrew their gazes and moved forward on their own.

He Ao had no desire to end this round of testing so swiftly. For these pampered special appointed researchers, coming into contact with pollution was likely a rarity in real life.

The energy Dawn brought today was much more than usual.

The world was changing gradually, so He Ao didn’t mind spending a few extra minutes to show these people the real world.

About five minutes passed, and everyone had stopped, unable to go any further. The one who went the farthest was a man armored in a suit of plate—he had traveled about half the distance to the center before stopping, holding his head in apparent pain.

Some tried to withstand the pressure and force themselves forward, but they were soon overcome by the twisted madness and then restrained by Zhang Ansha and led to the back.

Watching everyone reach their limits, He Ao took his first step.

Then, three steps, four steps.

Almost in the blink of an eye, he reached the very center of the hall, picked up the silver box containing the red-black iron, closed it, and casually tucked it into his bag.

"You little punk, what are you doing?!!" Zhang Ansha immediately became anxious, reached out, and snatched back the box, "I have only a few things like this, what would I do if you took it?"

"Oh, it’s yours?" He Ao shrugged, "I thought it was a prize left here by the Research Institute."

This kid really had some nerve...

Zhang Ansha tapped the dust off the box and stepped back cautiously to put it away.

The selection was unsurprising, ending with maximum scores for He Ao in all three rounds.

After announcing the results, Zhang Ansha knew the other special researchers had anticipated this outcome; many hadn’t entertained hopes of winning in the last two tests and participated merely for the experience.

After everyone had finished, Zhang Ansha took He Ao and walked towards the exit of the venue,

"The ruins will open the day after tomorrow at around two or three in the morning. Over the next two days, most areas will finalize their selections for those who will go to the ruins. The day after tomorrow at seven in the morning, come to the Research Institute. We will have a special plane to take you to the passage where the ruins will open. There, you will be issued weapons, equipment, and detection instruments and taught how to use them."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "You can rest up tomorrow and do whatever you want to do. Although I believe in your capabilities, I still have to tell you that the ruins are very dangerous,"

"What is inside the ruins?" He Ao asked Zhang Ansha quietly, glancing at him.

"You can imagine it as a world many years after human destruction," Zhang Ansha seemed to fall into some recollection,

"Everywhere are ruins of cities, the branches of towering trees piercing through the buildings, their roots spreading across the entire city. Rust-covered intelligent robots wander aimlessly in the streets, savage transcendent beasts and bizarre transcendent plants hide among the rubble.

It’s a silent world, and even now, there are many superhuman creatures whose abilities we do not fully understand. Some of their abilities even exceed common understanding. So once you’re in there, you’ll be facing a strange, terrifying, and dangerous environment; you need to be mentally prepared."

He patted He Ao’s shoulder, "If you want to back out, let me know before six o’clock tonight."

"Brother Zhang, do I look like someone who would back out?" He Ao smiled and then asked, "By the way, after I join as a researcher, who will have access to my information?"

"No one, unless you reveal your identity or commit some atrocious crime," Zhang shook his head, "Even the head of the Research Institute cannot access your identity information without your consent. From today onward, a mercenary is a mercenary, and He Ao is He Ao. I will send you your intranet account and password in a while."

"It’s kind of like a spy, one-on-one handover."

He Ao laughed. If the Research Institute really maintained the information that way, then only Zhang Ansha and Ni Yu knew He Ao’s identity.

Zhang was a man whose character could be trusted, and if Zhang had Ni Yu follow him, then at least for the moment, Ni Yu should be trustworthy too.

Thus, this ’mercenary’ identity actually had some leeway to manoeuvre.

"After all, many Transcendents do not wish to expose their identities. Many people’s abilities aren’t particularly useful, and they still want to lead ordinary lives. If it’s too easy to access their information, then secrets would no longer be secrets," Zhang Ansha said with a smile.

As they talked, the two of them arrived at the entrance of the venue.

The young man in practice clothes was still kneeling at the entrance while Feng Ling squatted beside him playing a game.

"Fighter, what’s going on with you...?"

Zhang Ansha looked at the young man with some curiosity.

"It’s nothing, he’s having an epileptic fit, Brother Zhang, don’t mind him," Feng Ling said, playing her game without even lifting her head, "I’ll take him away once he’s feeling a bit better."

Zhang Ansha smiled at He Ao and said, "Alright then."

He had seen the scene where the young man in practice clothes had knelt before He Ao on the arena, and although he didn’t know what He Ao was planning to do, he didn’t intend to interfere. As long as He Ao abided by the law, whatever he did was not his responsibility.

Besides, he had quite some trust in He Ao’s character.

"Zhang," He Ao passed by the young man in practice clothes and asked softly, "Is that firearms experience hall over there open? I’d like to try out some firearms."

After achieving basic firearms proficiency, the knowledge he acquired was all about the firearms from the Copy World, whereas the firearms in the main world all required some adaptation. He had seen many firearms on display at that experience hall on his way here, and he planned to take this opportunity to familiarize himself with the main world’s firearms.

"It’s all open," Zhang Ansha nodded, "Since that’s the case, then I’ll go back first to tidy up."

"Okay."

He Ao bid farewell to Zhang Ansha and headed towards the hall where he had seen many firearms displayed.

After He Ao left, Feng Ling glanced at the young man in practice clothes and said while playing her game, "See, he didn’t even glance at you. Do you have a movie theater in your head? Imagining a bunch of scenes that don’t exist in reality. Let’s go, let’s go; if we head back now, we can still make it in time for lunch."

The young man in practice clothes watched He Ao’s retreating figure, his gaze flickering, but in the end, he remained kneeling there, unmoving.

"Sigh, hopeless."

Feng Ling slapped her forehead.

——

On the road, He Ao took out his phone to check the time, 11:50, with two unread messages.

Liu Nan: [I passed.]

Liu Nan: [See you at the relic (victory)]

He Ao smiled and replied with a single word, [Good].

Immediately a message came back, [Did you pass?]

[I did]

He Ao typed as he walked.

Liu Nan: [Emoticon: Yay]

Liu Nan: [Wait for me]

Then there was silence on the other end.

About five minutes later, Liu Nan made a call, and He Ao answered it.

"He Ao, my dad is willing to swap that unsellable broken villa for a small bar on the pedestrian street in the city center, along with the shop’s property rights and the hotel, worth about twenty million in market price. Since the property is owned outright, the annual profit is around three to five million, and the property rights last for forty years. What do you think?"

Liu Nan’s voice, tinged with excitement, came through the phone.

Compared to that villa, He Ao indeed preferred something that would bring in real cash every year. He replied softly, "Thank you."

"You make it sound like I’m ungrateful. I haven’t even thanked you for saving me so many times," Liu Nan chuckled softly, "Are you free tomorrow? The transfer might require you to be there in person."

"I’m free tomorrow."

He Ao responded, and by then, he had arrived at the entrance of the firearms hall.

——

The sun was plucked from the sky as the hands of the clock turned, and brooding clouds blanketed the heavens.

He Ao was inside the hall, assembling a new type of automatic rifle he had seen.

A torrential downpour began.

By the time He Ao left the hall, the sky had grown dark with night, yet the curtain of rain did not cease.

He Ao purchased an umbrella from the hall’s supermarket and moved slowly through the pouring rain, gradually approaching the hall where he had just tested his resistance to contamination.

The young man in practice clothes was still kneeling at the entrance, his cheeks drenched by the falling water.

He Ao quietly watched the young man, observing the rainwater sliding down his cheeks.

Feng Ling stood beside him with an umbrella, wanting to shield him from the rain, but he gently pushed it away.

The falling raindrops paused at this moment, and the young man looked up to see a black umbrella blocking the rain from him. Beneath the umbrella, a man holding a paper bag quietly watched him.

"Sir..."

He opened his mouth, a feeble voice emanating from it.

"Perform a set of punches for me; I want to watch."

He Ao looked at him evenly.