Chapter 65: Escape? Let the Bullets Fly for a While! Fear Spreads...

Whoosh!

The oasis had erupted into a battle that the candidates couldn't comprehend. The rhythm of the fight was spiraling towards the worst possible outcome. After the initial chaos, many were directly eliminated by the bombs secretly planted by Zheng Mu. The remaining elite, though battered, managed to counterattack.

An arrow, accompanied by a sharp sound and intense force, aimed at Zheng Mu's back. Yet, Zheng Mu, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, sidestepped effortlessly. The arrow exploded into the ground, creating a small crater. To Wu Chungang's horror, Zheng Mu's twin guns were already aimed at his head.

Bang! Bang! Bang!...

The barrage forced Wu Chungang to retreat. His hastily cast defensive skills were rapidly depleting. As Wu Chungang activated his Elven Archer skills to dodge at twice his speed, Zheng Mu's guns seemed to have a tracking mechanism, always hitting Wu's arrows.

Both were marksmen, but in this duel, Wu, an S-level archer, was suppressed by Zheng Mu.

"Are you really a Mechanic?" Wu gasped, only getting a breather when an A-level defender stepped in front of him.

Zheng Mu smirked, "Guess."

Suddenly, a roar came from behind Zheng Mu. "Kid, die!" A heavily armored man, wielding an exaggeratedly large sword, aimed at Zheng Mu's head. Wu's eyes lit up with hope. The man was an A-level Executioner, a powerful variant of the infantry. But to everyone's shock, Zheng Mu turned and blocked the mighty blow with one hand.

The ground trembled from the force, but Zheng Mu's arm showed no sign of injury. The Executioner gaped, his worldview shattered. Before he could react, Zheng Mu's gun was shoved into his mouth.

Bang!

The Executioner's defense activated, and he was kicked aside like a bowling pin.

"Activate your defenses and retreat if you don't want to die!" Cai Shengkun, hiding behind a Terminator, sniped fragile mages and priests with glee. Suddenly, a Terminator blocked an attack from an unseen enemy. "Hahaha, awesome!" Cai laughed as his rifle morphed into the devastating Fire God Cannon.

"Watch out, Bingyue!" Cai warned. A tearing sound overshadowed the battlefield. "I can't hold on!" "Where's the healer?" Even shield-bearing warriors struggled against the onslaught. Candidates outside the battle zone watched in shock.

"Where did they come from?" "Didn't he say he's a Mechanic? That useless class?" "That woman is fierce. She activated my defenses before I could even cast a spell..." "Look at those robots! No one dares to resist that firepower." "They seem to counter stealth. I sneaked up, and a gun was pointed at my forehead. Without my defense, my head would've exploded."

The battle was ending at an incomprehensible speed. With Wu Chungang surrounded and targeted by a dozen T-800s...

The surroundings were almost devoid of anyone left to resist.

Bang!

"Ouch!"

Hearing a soft cry, Zheng Mu turned to see Leng Bingyue. She had just knocked Wu Xueqian, a young woman, to the ground with a kick. Although Wu hadn't activated her defense charm, a long knife was already pressed against her throat.

"Don't be rash! Don't be rash!"

"We surrender!"

Upon seeing this, Wu Chun just raised his bow and arrow in surrender without any hesitation. Zheng Mu gave Leng Bingyue a speechless look.

"At least she's a girl. Shouldn't you, being of the same gender, be a bit gentler?"

Leng Bingyue shot Zheng Mu a sidelong glance. Although she had been fighting, her attention had never left Zheng Mu. The twin guns in his hands had been "tasted" by hundreds, including some fairly attractive girls. Yet this man, who preached about cherishing beauty, shot at their mouths with lightning speed, not worrying about their defense charms malfunctioning.

Feeling a bit disheartened, Zheng Mu turned to Wu Chun, who was nearby, and spread his hands in a gesture of 'I told you so.'

"See? Wouldn't it have been better to hand over your stuff? Why waste everyone's time?"

Wu Chun gritted his teeth in frustration. As an S-level professional, he never imagined he'd face elimination. The thought of not even making it to the Professional University was unbearable.

"If I offer you a condition in exchange for releasing my sister and me, what would you say?"

Unfortunately, Zheng Mu shook his head and pointed to the sky.

"Heh, seems like someone else is in a bigger hurry than you."

Everyone then saw over a dozen flying cloud boats descending rapidly from the clouds.

"Stop! Everyone, stop!"

Director Wang from Tianji University was sweating profusely. Before the cloud boat could stabilize, he jumped down and rushed in front of Zheng Mu.

"That's enough! There's no need for further violence."

Director Wang feared Zheng Mu might command his T-800s to obliterate Wu Chun, their only S-level professional this year.

Zheng Mu chuckled, "Which eye of yours saw him being eliminated? Did his defense charm activate?"

"As long as the defense charm isn't activated, even if I kill him, it's within the rules."

He seemed ready to order an attack when a voice from the side cried out, "Don't! Don't kill my brother! We surrender!"

Zheng Mu looked down, then at Wu Chun, who nodded in agreement. Only then did Zheng Mu let him go.

"Surrender accepted. Hand over all your scorecards and storage backpacks. According to the assessment rules, these are my spoils of war."

Director Wang's face twitched. He wished he could slap Zheng Mu right then. But feeling the intense gaze from the cloud boat, he had to accept the situation. They couldn't give up on Wu Chun, their only S-level professional. However, they would surely be targeted by Southwest Military Academy for breaking the rules.

As the students handed over their belongings, Cai Shengkun, armed with the purple weapon Zheng Mu gave him, cheerfully told everyone, "Remember my name, Cai Shengkun, from Southwest Military Academy. If you have any grievances, come find me."

He added, "Well, if you can even enter our campus."

Everyone: "Damn, he's so annoying."

With thousands of scorecards, Zheng Mu earned at least 3 million points. His name would soon spread across the entire Bone Swallowing Desert and even throughout Dragon Nation.

"Boss, many sneaked away during the fight. The number of assassin professionals doesn't add up," Cai Shengkun said, looking concerned.

Zheng Mu laughed, "Don't worry. I let them go. Otherwise, under my ​1​, they'd be as exposed as if they were streaking."

Seeing the puzzled looks, Zheng Mu smiled mysteriously, "Guess what would happen if the other examinees knew about us and our combat power?"

Cai Shengkun exclaimed, "An alliance?"

"Exactly," Zheng Mu nodded. "I want them to form an alliance. The more people they gather, the easier it'll be for us."

After the battle, everyone returned to the base vehicle and headed to the next area, where the Golden Sea University examinees were gathered.

In the leisure area, Zheng Mu enjoyed a massage from Tifa while gleefully transferring points from the scorecards. When he saw the final number, he smiled contentedly.

"Heh, that's 4.1 million. And this isn't even the central area. The examinees from Holy Clear University and North Martial University in the central area surely have more points. With this pace, 20 million doesn't seem too hard."

Meanwhile, on the cloud boat, both the supervisors and the heads of the major universities were stunned by the score leaderboard.

"Mechanic Zheng Mu currently has 4,106,429 points, ranked first."

"Wind Mage Sang Luo currently has 5 points, ranked second."

"Beast Imitator Wang Long currently has 5,277 points, ranked third."

"Curse Witch Jiang Lanlan currently has 5,001 points, ranked fourth."

"Drunk Swordsman Gu Ming currently has 4,995,791 points, ranked fifth."

"Spirit Summoner Ge Feng currently has 4828 points, ranking sixth..." Qin Zhi's face was now beaming uncontrollably. Not just him, everyone from Southwest Military Academy seemed to have hit the jackpot.

"Hahaha, General, we've truly struck gold this time!" one exclaimed.

"An S-class professional and several others teamed up, yet they were all taken down by Zheng Mu. He's truly mastered the Mechanic profession!" another chimed in.

"Hahaha, and did you see the faces of those from Tianji University? They were so smug before, and now they've all been silenced!"

The Southwest Military Academy was filled with laughter and joy. Zheng Mu's concentrated harvest had them ecstatic. Originally, over 11,000 students had applied to Tianji University. In the first week, about 1,000 to 2,000 were eliminated. After Zheng Mu's targeted hunt, another thousand were out. Now, with the Oasis gathering point taken by Zheng Mu, their numbers had sharply decreased.

As Zheng Mu approached the Jinhai University area, Qin Zhi saw on the screen that dozens had escaped from the Oasis during the battle. It was clear that soon the entire Bone Swallowing Desert would know of Zheng Mu's actions.

Days passed quickly, and the hunting activities in the desert had significantly reduced. Most shifted their focus to other professionals. Earning points from others was faster and easier than hunting on their own. However, a shocking piece of news left all the exam takers stunned.

In the central area of the Bone Swallowing Desert, Wang Long, with anger in his eyes, stared at a thin figure surrounded by his men. "Do you know what you're saying? Three people eliminated over a thousand of you? Are you saying you're all useless, or do you think we're idiots to believe such nonsense?"

The man hurriedly shook his head. "No, I'm not lying. His name is Zheng Mu, an A-level Mechanic with dozens of mechanical creatures. I have a video."

Upon hearing the Mechanic profession, Wang Long narrowed his eyes, recalling a certain individual. Before he could ponder further, the young B-level Tomb Raider Thief in front of him projected a 3D video. The moment Wang Long saw Zheng Mu and his team, his face turned cold. "So, it's them..."

He was about to speak when a frantic shout interrupted him. "Boss, the gathering point at Jinhai University has been taken! It's that Mechanic. They're heading towards Hanlong University now."

"What?!"