*Chapter 65: Escape? Time for a Bullet Storm! Fear Takes Hold...

"Whoosh!"

In the oasis, the sudden eruption of battle spiraled into chaos that left the participants baffled.

After the initial upheaval, a large number of people were eliminated by Zheng Mu's secretly deployed bomb beetles. The remaining elite candidates, though disoriented, launched a counterattack.

A sharp arrow cut through the air with a powerful force, aimed at Zheng Mu's back.

However, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, Zheng Mu nimbly sidestepped. The arrow struck the ground, blasting a small crater. Wu Chungang was stunned to find the muzzles of Zheng Mu's twin guns pointed at him.

"Bang bang bang!"

The barrage forced him backward. His hastily deployed defenses were depleted in mere moments.

As Wu Chungang used his elf shooter skills to dodge at double his normal speed, Zheng Mu's guns seemed to track him relentlessly.

"Are you really a mechanic?!"

Only when an A-level defensive support stepped in front of him did Wu Chungang get a breather.

Zheng Mu merely smiled at his question. Suddenly, a roar came from behind him.

"Die, kid!"

A heavily armored man, wielding an oversized broadsword, lunged at Zheng Mu. Wu Chungang's eyes lit up. He recognized the man as an A-level executioner, a powerful variant of the heavy infantry class.

Yet, to his disbelief, Zheng Mu turned to face the attack, raising a hand against the descending blade.

"Boom!"

"Crack!"

The earth trembled under the force, but to everyone's shock, Zheng Mu blocked the lethal strike with a single hand.

"How is that possible?!"

The executioner gasped, staring at Zheng Mu's unscathed arm. His worldview crumbled.

Amid his horrified screams, the dark muzzle of a gun was thrust into his throat.

The next moment, after experiencing the deafening blast of the muzzle, the executioner was eliminated as his defensive talisman activated. It took just three seconds.

Turning to the stunned onlookers, Zheng Mu gave a light smile and casually shook his arm. There was not a scratch on it.

"How did you do that?" Wu Chungang was speechless.

Aren't mechanics supposed to be like Summoners, Gunners, and the like, classes that tend to be squishy?

How could someone block a heavy sword strike with their body, without any protective gear, and remain unscathed?

Zheng Mu chuckled, "Take a guess."

As his words trailed off, he used his Phantom Step, floating above the crowd as if weightless, dancing in the air. His twin guns, poised and ready, targeted the professionals below still fighting.

"Bang bang bang..."

Like fireworks, gunshots and flames erupted overhead. The professionals, steadily pushed back by the onslaught of mechanical creations, were still struggling to comprehend the situation.

"Anyone whose defense charm is activated, leave the battlefield now if you want to live!"

Cai Shengkun, sheltered behind a Terminator, was gleefully picking off the more vulnerable classes, like mages and priests.

Just as he finished speaking, the Terminator abruptly fired at an empty spot.

"Boom!"

An assassin, who had been sneaking up on Cai Shengkun unnoticed, was sent flying backward by the defensive charm.

"Hahaha, that's awesome!"

Ecstatic, Cai Shengkun readied his rifle, which morphed into the crowd-ravaging Vulcan cannon.

"Boss, fire!!"

The battlefield was soon filled with the sound of a tear, drowning out all other noise.

"Ahhh! I can't hold them off!"

"Medic! Where's the medic?! Ah!"

Seeing even a Shield Warrior, with all defenses deployed, barely holding on for two seconds, the spectators were dumbfounded.

"Where did these guys come from!"

"That guy said he was a mechanic, and now he's besting Boss Wu?"

"That woman is brutal. I saw her charging at me, and before I could do anything, she activated my defense charm with a few strikes..."

"Those robots are insane! Nobody can withstand that kind of firepower."

"They must have anti-stealth technology. I tried sneaking up on them, and the next thing I knew, there was a gun to my head. I'd be dead without my defensive charm."

The battle was swiftly ending in a way no one could comprehend.

With Wu Chungang surrounded by a dozen T-800s, the guns trained on him, there were very few left who could put up a fight.

"Boom!"

"Oops!"

Hearing a cheeky shout, Zheng Mu turned to see Leng Bing, who had pinned Wu Xueqian to the ground. Although her defensive charm hadn't activated yet, she had a knife pressed to her neck.

"Easy now! No need for anything drastic!"

"We surrender!"

Upon seeing this, Wu Chungang didn't waste any time. He promptly raised his hands, bow and arrow in tow.

Zheng Mu looked at Leng Bingyue, a bit baffled.

"Given you're a woman, shouldn't you be showing a bit more mercy?"

Leng Bingyue simply shot Zheng Mu a sidelong glance. Her focus never strayed from him, even during the fight.

She knew that his twin guns had downed hundreds, some of them attractive females. Yet, when it came to his target, his trigger finger was as quick as lightning. He didn't care if their defensive charms were faulty, leading to their premature exit from the fight.

Zheng Mu, now bored, glanced at Wu Chungang who was standing to one side. He shrugged, grinning.

"See, I told you it would be easier to just surrender. Now look at all this wasted time."

Wu Chungang clenched his teeth. As an S-rank professional, he never thought he'd face elimination. He couldn't help but make a proposition.

"If we surrender now, would you be open to a negotiation?"

Unfortunately, Zheng Mu shook his head. He pointed to the sky, where a dozen airships were rapidly approaching.

"Looks like someone else is in more of a hurry than you."

Before the airships could even stabilize, Director Wang from Tianji University, drenched in sweat, jumped off and rushed over to Zheng Mu.

"Enough! There's no need for more bloodshed. We're eliminated!"

He feared Zheng Mu would order the T-800s to obliterate Wu Chungang, their only S-rank professional.

Zheng Mu just laughed.

"Who said he's out? His defensive charm hasn't activated yet."

He was interrupted by a plea, "Don't kill my brother! We surrender."

Zheng Mu looked down at the source of the voice, then at Wu Chungang, who was nodding in agreement.

"Fine, you surrender. Hand over everyone's scorecards and your storage packs. As per the rules, those are my spoils of war!"

Director Wang's face twitched, and he couldn't help but wish he could smack Zheng Mu.

However, feeling the intense stares from the crew on the nearby airship, he finally caved in, gritting his teeth in acceptance.

He knew he needed to report this to the university heads as soon as possible. Even if Wu Chungang, an S-rank professional, was eliminated today, these top-tier universities could not afford to back down.

Yet, making such a move would surely attract the attention of rivals from Southwest Military University.

Some rule-breaking was inevitable, and it always came with a cost.

Cai Shengkun was grinning from ear to ear as he watched the defeated examinees line up to hand over their belongings. He proudly carried the purple weapon given by Zheng Mu.

Every time he met someone, he'd throw out a challenge.

"Remember, my name's Cai Shengkun! I'm from Southwest Military University! If you have any issues, come find me!"

He'd add, "That is, if you can even get on our campus."

The others muttered, "What a jerk!"

With thousands of scorecards collected, Zheng Mu had raked in at least 300,000 points.

His name was bound to become well-known throughout the Bone-Tuning Desert, and soon, all across the Dragon Kingdom.

"Boss, I bet a bunch of people slipped away while we weren't looking. The number of Assassin-type occupations doesn't add up," Kui Shengkun pointed out as they watched the people board the airships.

Zheng Mu just laughed it off.

"Don't worry. I let them go. Besides, with our [Nano Magnetic Field Scanning], they couldn't hide if they tried."

He looked at the confused expressions of his team, a knowing smile on his face.

Looking at the airships lifting off into the distance, he asked, "What do you think would happen if candidates from other places knew about our team and our combat strength?"

Cai Shengkun gasped, "An alliance!"

"Exactly!" Zheng Mu nodded. "I want them to form alliances. The more people they bring together, the easier it'll be for us!"

As the battle ended, everyone returned to their base vehicle, heading to the next area where Haitian school candidates were gathering their forces.

In the relaxation area, while enjoying a massage from Tifa, Zheng Mu was happily tallying his score. The satisfied smile on his face grew wider when he saw the total on his scorecard.

"410,000 points. Not bad for being outside the central area. Candidates from Shengqing University and Beiwu University in the center must have even more points."

With that thought, reaching 2,000,000 points didn't seem as daunting.

Meanwhile, on the airship, everyone from the Supervision Office to the heads of the major universities stared in disbelief at the ranking list in front of them.

"Machinist Zheng Mu, currently with 4,106,429 points, ranking first"

"Wind Mage Sang Luo, currently with 5,491 points, ranking second"

"Beast Master Wang Long, currently with 5,277 points, ranking third"

"Spite Wizard Jiang Lanlan, currently with 5,001 points, ranking fourth"

"Boozing Swordsman Gu Ming, currently with 4,991 points, ranking fifth"

"Spirit Guide Ge Feng, currently with 4,828 points, ranking sixth..."

Qin Zhi's smile was now irrepressible. Not only him, but everyone from the Southwest Military University felt like they had hit the jackpot.

"Hahaha, General, we hit the jackpot this time!"

"Who cares about S-rank professionals? Our boy Zheng Mu can take on a team of them by himself. He's really giving the mechanic profession a new spin!"

"Hahaha, and you should've seen the looks on those guys from Tianji University. They were all high and mighty before, and now they don't know what hit them!"

The Southwest Military officers were in high spirits, their laughter filling the air. Zheng Mu's success had them over the moon.

Originally, Tianji University had over 11,000 candidates. More than 1,000 to 2,000 were eliminated in the first week. Then, thanks to Zheng Mu's targeted hunting, another thousand were sent packing.

Now, Zheng Mu had taken over the oasis gathering area, drastically reducing the numbers.

As he moved towards Gimhae University, it was clear more victories were on the horizon.

Qin Zhi glanced at the screen in front of him. During the chaos, dozens had escaped from the oasis.

It wouldn't be long before the entire Bone-devouring Desert would know about their operations.

Days flew by, with fewer hunting operations in the desert. More people were targeting other professionals, finding it easier and faster to earn points.

However, when explosive news hit, everyone participating in the assessment was left stunned.

In the central area of the Bone-devouring Desert, an incredulous voice rang out.

"Do you expect us to believe that three of you wiped out over a thousand? Are you showcasing your incompetence or do you think we're idiots to buy your nonsense?"

Wang Long glared at the scrawny figure surrounded by a few lackeys, his eyes burning with rage.

"No, I swear! That guy, Zheng Mu, claimed to be an A-rank mechanic. He's got dozens of mechanical creations. I've got a video to prove it!"

At the mention of a mechanic, Wang Long's eyes narrowed. A particular figure came to mind.

Before he could think further, a holographic projection materialized from the Tomb Raider's device.

As Wang Long's eyes fell on the figures of Zheng Mu and his team, his expression hardened.

"So it's them..."

He was about to speak when an urgent voice interrupted.

"Boss! Gimhae University's base has been taken over! It's that mechanic again! They're moving towards Hanlong University now!"

"What?!"