85: Chapter 85 Hunting in the Dense Forest, the Spirit Fruit is Approaching

With a loud boom.

The endless stone forest, which had just moments ago been filled with towering strange rocks and whistling cold winds, was suddenly swept away by a massive force of space.

The ground trembled slightly; rock layers shifted and soil churned. The jagged black rocks constantly sank and dissolved, replaced by stretches of towering ancient trees.

Stout trunks rose from the ground, branches intertwined and tangled, and dense canopies layered over one another, obscuring most of the night sky, making the light in the forest increasingly dim.

In just a few breaths, the entire area completely changed its appearance, transforming from a dead stone forest into a deep and vast primeval forest.

The battlefield's appearance changed once again.

With a "ding," the system notification sounded.

[Current battlefield terrain reset, plate displacement, area randomly reorganized, monsters randomly refreshed]

[Battlefield transformation impact: forcibly deals 1200 points of true damage to all surviving Contestants on the field!]

[Existing battlefield rule [10x Gravity] — — The gravity of the entire field is increased to 10 times the normal level. Movement, jumping, and dodging abilities are significantly reduced; attack speed and movement speed are decreased by 50%. Remaining duration: two hours]

[New battlefield rule added and effective]

[New battlefield rule: Healing Prohibition]

[Rule effect: All recovery effects within the area are completely banned. Healing spells, health potions, equipment lifesteal, and passive talent health regeneration are all rendered ineffective. Rule duration: four hours.]

The [10x Gravity], which had not yet ended, continued to persist with two hours remaining, its heavy pressure firmly trapping the entire forest space. Under the influence of gravity, everyone's movement and attack speed in the area were reduced by half, and dodging ability was significantly suppressed. Every time they lifted a foot or swung an arm, they had to bear a load far exceeding the norm.

Lin Yan rose from the towering tree, the tyrant armor firmly covering his body, and he held his heavy battle axe horizontally in his hands. The 10x Gravity pressed down instantly, as if an entire mountain had crashed onto his shoulders. The soil beneath his feet suddenly collapsed downward, forming two shallow pits.

His physical foundation was formidable; his body, forged by 300,000 max HP, was already capable of resisting extreme pressure. When the gravity rule descended, he adapted to this heavy weight in an instant, his figure remaining as steady as a rock.

However, the moment the Healing Prohibition took effect, the faint light of Lin Yan's Bloodthirsty Pendant completely dimmed, and the various recovery potions remaining in his backpack became useless.

For the next four hours, as long as he was in this forest, once injured, there would be no means to remedy the wounds; all injuries would truly accumulate on his body.

He lowered his head and scanned his status panel. After a short rest, his health was near maximum, and his mental fatigue had also eased significantly.

He did not linger, stepping into the deep forest, ready to continue hunting monsters to accumulate points. His footsteps were steady, maintaining a brisk pace despite the heavy pressure.

Several kilometers away from the forest where Lin Yan was located, an ancient, ruined tower stood between the gaps in the trees. The tower body was dilapidated, its stone bricks weathered and peeling. The platform at the top offered a wide view, just enough to take in the large forest area below.

A slender figure stood quietly upon it, his aura perfectly concealed, blending into the dim night and the shadows of the trees without showing any ostentation.

The man wore close-fitting, grey-black light armor, and a complete beast-hide cloak draped diagonally across his back. The fur was dark in color, nearly merging with the darkness in the night.

He was Gu Cangshou, from the Eighth Safe Zone, having awakened the A-Rank Talent [Hunting Instinct].

As if for convenience, he wore a wide belt around his waist, densely hung with various intricate items: explosive talismans, binding ropes, poison mist bottles, and several peculiar trap cores.

Gu Cangshou took out an item similar to a monocular, his narrow eyes piercing through layers of tree shadows, remaining locked onto that straight figure deep in the forest.

It was no coincidence that he had set his sights on Lin Yan.

Previously, he had wandered through several surrounding battle zones, habitually inquiring for information from the Contestants he hunted.

His hunting always emphasized target selection; powerful opponents often had abundant points and higher bounty values, making them the optimal prey.

When he casually asked if there were any top-tier powerhouses with outstanding points in this area, several Contestants he had hunted and surrounded looked at each other with lingering fear, mentioning that opponent with an incomparably strong physical body.

Everyone described it vividly, talking about how this person fought against the poetic sword prodigy Li Qingxiao alone without falling behind, his defense was unsolvable, and he swept through the monsters along the way with no one daring to block him, making him the most untouchable existence in this battle zone.

This description instantly piqued Gu Cangshou's intense interest.

He had always disdained wasting time hunting monsters; in his eyes, such a method was inefficient, boring, and uninteresting.

On this battlefield, the most interesting and highest-yielding hunting had always been targeting fellow Contestants.

Letting others try their best to farm monsters, accumulate points, and fight for resources, and then when the prey had accumulated enough value, he would strike to harvest, taking all the results into his own pocket—this was the true way of the hunt.

Gu Cangshou raised his hand to pull up the global leaderboard, his gaze falling precisely on Lin Yan's name.

Ranked 4,396th, with 100,000 accumulated points and a bounty value of 7,500.

The ranking was not top-tier, but combined with others' descriptions, plus the considerable points and bounty, he was undoubtedly an excellent prey. Especially hearing that the opponent had faced off against Li Qingxiao, who was also an A-Rank Talent, and did not fall behind, the interest in Gu Cangshou's eyes grew even more intense.

"A person who can fight against Li Qingxiao really has something."

Watching the battle between Lin Yan and the monsters through the monocular, he licked his lips, his eyes gradually growing excited.

In others' eyes, Lin Yan was a monster.

But in a hunter's eyes, the stronger the prey, the more valuable it was.

After observing for a long time, gradually.

The smile at the corner of his mouth grew thicker.

"Strength is very strong."

"Defense is very strong."

"Health is very high."

"Melee burst is extremely strong."

"Pity..."

He chuckled slowly.

"Too cumbersome."

He had been observing Lin Yan for nearly an hour.

As a professional hunter, what he was best at was finding weaknesses.

And Lin Yan's weaknesses were not hard to find.

No displacement, lack of ranged attacks, weak mobility.

Under 10x Gravity, these flaws would be infinitely magnified.

But he was different. Gu Cangshou slowly took out a silver-white badge.

[Weightlessness Badge] — — Special item; while worn, gravity effects are reduced by 90%.

This was a top-tier item he had obtained from an elite resource point yesterday.

At a time when everyone was bound by heavy pressure, only he could move almost as usual, coming and going freely. This was his greatest confidence in daring to actively hunt strong enemies.

"To hunt a fierce beast, one needs to lay layers of traps; to hunt a strong person, one needs patience and a perfect hunting ground."

Gu Cangshou put on the Weightlessness Badge properly. His aura shifted slightly, and he clearly broke free from the surrounding gravity's restraint, his figure becoming light and agile.

He looked in the direction Lin Yan was moving, a curve of certainty rising at the corner of his mouth.

At the same time.

Lin Yan was still continuing to hunt monsters.

Only he did not know that from this moment on, he had become a target in the eyes of a top-tier hunter.

However, perhaps even if he knew, he would only want to smile.

The entire Chaotic Battlefield trembled faintly again, and the airflow between heaven and earth began to stir. The originally dim horizon actually faintly glowed with a layer of soft golden halo.

Immediately following, a phenomenon covering the entire area quietly emerged, signaling that a highly anticipated special event was about to descend.

Countless Contestants looked up one after another, and the system announcement resounded throughout the world.

[Special Event!]

[golden spirit fruit Descends]

[Current refresh quantity: 5]

[Remaining maturation time: 2 hours 59 minutes.]

[Hint: Consuming it grants a large amount of points and special buffs]

The system notification faded.

The next moment.

Five golden pillars shot into the sky, illuminating the entire Chaotic Battlefield.

The whole field shook, and countless people's breathing stalled.

golden spirit fruit?

Special event?

This was the first time an announcement-level resource had appeared since the Dungeon opened!

For a moment.

Everyone's gaze changed, and Lin Yan also stopped in his tracks, looking up at the golden pillar closest to him in the sky.

At the same time.

Gu Cangshou in the darkness, however, grinned.

"What a great time."

"Before the golden spirit fruit appears..."

"Let me hunt you down first."

The night wind blew; the hunter and the prey began to act simultaneously.