112: Chapter 112 The Hunter Squad

The momentum of the space collapse was intensifying crazily. High above the Chaotic Battlefield, spiderweb-like space rifts continued to spread and expand, and pitch-black space fragments fell in rustling showers; any area grazed by these fragments would instantly vanish into a void collapse zone.

Large swaths of territory on the outskirts of the battlefield were successively swallowed by the power of space, completely becoming forbidden zones for life. The surviving Awakened had no choice but to continuously retreat toward the core area of the battlefield.

Accompanying the environmental collapse, the various monsters that originally spawned in the battlefield lost their living territories and began migrating in droves toward the central Safe Zone. They would brazenly attack any lone Contestant they encountered along the way, further exacerbating the danger of the journey.

The global leaderboard, synchronized and published by the Federation, was currently in a state of frantic refreshing, its light flickering incessantly.

Even the top twenty seats were changing in an instant. Some were lucky enough to hunt opponents and see their points surge, their rankings climbing steeply; others were less fortunate, encountering powerful enemies or being besieged by monsters and eliminated, resulting in a 10% deduction of their points and the loss of their entire bounty, causing their rankings to plummet rapidly.

The rankings changed every hour.

"18th place — dropped to 21st place."

"23rd place — rose to 17th place."

"11th place — rose to 9th place."

...

Even among the top twenty, no one could sit securely in their position right now.

Because the closer one got to the central area, the more dangers there were.

Many powerhouses who had previously held steady at the top were eliminated one after another under the pincer attack of multiple crises, and the speed at which the leaderboard was being reshuffled reached its peak since the start of the competition.

Everyone knew in their hearts that the Chaotic Battlefield had truly entered its final stage.

As the competition entered its second half, most resource points had long been scavenged clean.

Continuing to search for resource points was far less efficient than directly hunting other Contestants.

A brand new survival ecology had evolved within the battlefield. To hold onto points and stabilize one's ranking, relying on searching for resources was too slow. The fastest way was to actively hunt other Contestants and plunder the points in their possession.

Batch after batch of dedicated Hunting Squads emerged, among which the most common and shrewd were the four-man elite Hunting Squads.

They would not wander aimlessly in the wilderness; instead, they would scout the terrain in advance and lie in ambush at essential thoroughfares, such as canyon entrances, mountain passes, broken log bridges, or the only remaining passages in collapse zones, patiently waiting for passing Contestants.

Once they spotted a weak team with scattered members and faint aura, the squad members would suddenly strike, launching a fierce assault with their combined strength. They would strive to end the battle within the twenty-minute time limit, plunder the points, and then immediately disperse, ending the joint combat state to avoid rule penalties.

If they sensed that those passing by possessed a powerful aura and were top-tier geniuses at the forefront of the leaderboard, they would suppress all their aura, lie dormant behind cover, and hold their breath, never acting rashly to avoid the risk of losing more than they gained and inviting a fatal disaster.

The reason why four-man squads became the most mainstream hunting configuration in the current battlefield was because the Chaotic Battlefield had strict penalties for joint combat.

For two people fighting together, the maximum joint combat time limit was thirty minutes. Exceeding this would result in a 1% point deduction every minute; exceeding sixty minutes would trigger a penalty of all-attribute decay; once the joint combat duration exceeded one hundred minutes, it would also trigger a continuous health-draining effect.

For four people fighting together, the safe time limit was shortened to twenty minutes; six people fighting together only had ten minutes of safe combat time remaining; if eight or more people grouped up to initiate a battle, the point deduction rule would be triggered the moment the battle began.

The more people involved, the shorter the combat tolerance time limit, and the penalty intensity increased exponentially.

The longer the battle dragged on, the more severe the attribute penalties received.

Therefore, after exploration by countless Contestants, the four-man squad became the hunting configuration with the highest returns and the lowest risks. Considering the overall balance of returns and risks, the four-man elite squad could ensure sufficient combat suppression while also completing a quick kill and withdrawal within the safe time limit, making it the optimal choice with the highest returns and lowest risks.

They specifically targeted weaker teams.

If they discovered top powerhouses on the leaderboard, they would hide their tracks without hesitation and let the other party pass.

After all, they were here to earn points, not to give them away.

On the forest path, Lin Yan walked steadily forward with Wen Xiaoyou, followed as always by the group of survivors who relied on him for protection.

Lin Yan couldn't be bothered to manage them and didn't deliberately chase them away; if they wanted to follow, he let them. He was no saint; if he ran short on points later, he would just send them to be eliminated.

His goal was not just to advance by making the top 100, but to take first place.

Lin Yan thought to himself, glancing at the dazed Wen Xiaoyou.

"What's going on! Why do I feel a bit cold?" Wen Xiaoyou asked, rubbing her body and shivering with goosebumps.

...

The system's rules only triggered penalties when several people were fighting together, and those people were just following from a distance without participating in any of Lin Yan's battles.

The Hunting Squads ambushing along the thoroughfares successively set their sights on Lin Yan, who was walking in front.

The first four-man Hunting Squad saw that Lin Yan appeared unremarkable and secretly felt there was an opportunity to be exploited. They exchanged glances and suddenly rushed out: "Although we can't detect his attributes, the leader doesn't feel very strong. There are only two of them, we can act!"

A fierce offensive instantly enveloped them, but in less than a minute, all four hunters were defeated and eliminated, and the points they had accumulated were all transferred into Lin Yan's pockets.

Continuing forward, the second four-man squad ambushed behind a pile of rubble launched another attack, but the outcome was identical. Before their offensive could fully unfold, they were forcefully crushed by Lin Yan and reduced to point-delivery tools.

Not long after, the third Hunting Squad hiding in the bushes, unwilling to stay quiet, intercepted him again. Still, they couldn't last more than a minute, and the entire team was defeated and eliminated.

The elite Hunting Squads, who were feared by other Contestants, suffered defeat one after another in front of Lin Yan. A continuous stream of points poured into his account, becoming the foundation for his climbing ranking.

Points accumulated rapidly, and Lin Yan's ranking on the leaderboard began to jump steadily.

"Current ranking: 19th..."

"18th..."

"17th..."

...

But there were also clever Hunting Squads.

The moment they saw the person coming, the four of them went stiff simultaneously.

"Wait..."

"He is Lin Yan!"

The air was silent for a moment, and the captain waved his hand without hesitation.

"Withdraw!"

"Let him pass!"

The four of them turned and vanished without a trace.

Lin Yan's ranking moved steadily forward, and the leaderboard changes were seen by top-tier geniuses all over the battlefield. The powerhouses who were resting or fighting noticed the change in rankings, and one after another, they felt doubt and pressure.

Which Safe Zone is this kid from? The list of people to watch out for collected by the family doesn't have him at all.

...

In the shadows, Su Lianwu, who was hiding her tracks, also saw the constantly jumping leaderboard.

When she saw that familiar name climbing again, her peach-blossom eyes froze slightly, and a strange ripple involuntarily arose in the depths of her heart.

"Lin Yan..."

She bit her lip gently, and once again, the bloody figure who had grabbed her heart with his bare hands and insisted on breaking free from her charm despite the blood gushing out, appeared in her mind.

That scene was like a brand, always unforgettable.

"This guy..."

This feeling of paying attention to someone at every moment was so unfamiliar to her, who had always viewed all living beings as ants, that it made her feel somewhat annoyed.

She furrowed her beautiful brows slightly and hummed softly.

"Don't get cocky..."

"I just want to figure out what kind of secret you are hiding."

...

Lin Yan cleared the obstacles along the way and, without realizing it, arrived in front of a long, narrow canyon. This was one of the few essential passages to the central Safe Zone.

Looking from afar, the ground at the entrance of the canyon was covered with scorch marks and bloodstains left by fighting, and broken weapon debris was scattered everywhere; it was clear that more than one fierce battle had taken place here just moments ago.

There was no movement in the surroundings, and the entire canyon area was eerily quiet, permeated with a repressive dead silence.

Lin Yan slowly stopped his forward steps, his blood-colored eyes narrowing slightly.

Deep inside the canyon ahead, someone was waiting.