156: Base City's Hidden

... ...

Areas outside the Base City are collectively referred to as the wilderness.

The wilderness, according to its distance from the Base City, is divided into three zones.

The Safe Zone, the Ecological Zone, and the Dangerous Zone.

Beyond the Dangerous Zone, is precisely the Old World.

The endless highway, as it moved further away from the Base City, became increasingly broken.

Fortunately, the bus carrying the Students was modified, and its speed was not slow even on difficult road sections.

His gaze remained fixed on the window.

Luo Kai's thoughts were still on the Black Robe figure from not long ago.

However, as time passed, the scenery of the wilderness brought his attention back.

Judging by the distance the vehicle had traveled, they had already driven out of the Safe Zone and entered the Ecological Zone.

The radiation meter on his wrist also began to change...

He looked around.

The vegetation here was clearly more abundant than in the Safe Zone, but it seemed that most of the plants that had survived in the weak radiation were strangely shaped and had mutated.

And in the woods by the roadside, one could occasionally see some Mutated Beasts, as well as a few Zombies wandering aimlessly.

These guys, capable of posing a threat to life, undoubtedly caused a stir among the people on the bus.

Upon reaching the Ecological Zone, the Students' destination was essentially reached.

Within a large and dilapidated airfield, many buses specifically for transporting Students were already parked.

After Luo Kai and their group of Students arrived, the candidates looked around and saw at least a thousand people!

This was where all the third-year high school Students from the entire North District were gathered.

As all the candidates arrived, a Middle-aged A Man, clad in resplendent golden armor, slowly ascended into the air, relying on his vast Star Power.

After the Middle-aged A Man appeared, all the candidates' gazes immediately converged on him.

"I am Zhang Ru Lie, the chief examiner for your National College Entrance Examination Martial Exam, a high-level Golden Martial Artist."

His majestic voice ensured that his words could be heard by all candidates.

"This year, 1008 people in the North District are participating in the Martial Exam. I want to tell each and every one of you that the Martial Exam determines your entire life. If you cannot achieve a good score today, repairing city walls or working in entertainment establishments will surely be your destiny!"

These sharp words caused a slight commotion among the candidates.

Zhang Ru Lie continued his speech: "Next, I will announce this year's exam questions."

"This year's exam will adopt a point System."

"Kill Mutated Beasts, kill Zombies, take their Crystal Cores, and use them for scoring!"

"First-tier life forms are worth one to ten points, depending on their strength."

"Second-tier life forms are worth within a hundred points. There is no upper limit to the score, so if you want to get into the university of your dreams, you need to put in more effort."

Zhang Ru Lie's exam questions were consistent with what many Students had anticipated.

However, the Martial Exam is not a liberal arts exam; even if you know the questions in advance, it won't change anything.

"The exam time is six hours. All candidates, wear your exam positioning devices, and you can go hunting now."

With these words, the thousand Students below understood.

This is the Ecological Zone. The strongest Mutated Beasts are only second-tier. They do pose a threat to the Students' lives, but it is not that severe.

Watching the Students receive their positioning devices and leave one after another, Zhang Ru Lie returned to the rest area at the airfield.

In the temporary rest area, there were seven or eight invigilators sitting on chairs.

As well as a computer team tinkering with electronic equipment.

"Lao Zhang, well said."

Inside the rest tent, A Man with long hair was lying on a rocking chair, with a fruit plate beside him.

Seeing this fellow invigilator's careless demeanor, Zhang Ru Lie frowned and shook his head.

"What's wrong? That expression?" Chang Fa Nan picked up a piece of apple with a fork and ate it as he spoke.

"Don't you feel something is wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Shen Fei, with his long hair, didn't quite understand.

"The radiation value here has changed," Zhang Ru Lie said, taking out a measurement device from his hand. "Just a few days ago, the peak radiation value was 70, and now it has risen to a peak of 130."

"Although it's only a difference of 60, which is far from the 500 radiation value that threatens the lives of ordinary people, from another perspective, this is almost a doubling of the overall radiation!"

"Doubled?" Shen Fei sat up, slightly startled. "Could it be that something has changed in the Old World?"

"That's what I'm worried about. Such a strong fluctuation in radiation value is likely due to a nuclear power plant in the Old World, not far from here, leaking again."

"Or, perhaps, some radiation source is approaching from the Old World."

These words caused several Golden-level Teacher invigilators to straighten up in their seats.

A female Teacher in the corner held up her phone: "Don't worry, I asked the Base City, and the higher-ups said everything is normal. We just need to continue invigilating as usual."

"Everything is normal?" Zhang Ru Lie suppressed the unease in his heart.

Beside them, the computer team working with the electronic equipment seemed to have encountered a major problem at this time. Looking at the dark screens, each of them looked troubled.

"What's wrong?"

Zhang Ru Lie noticed the computer team's abnormality.

Every time there is an exam, the surveillance footage from the computer team is a crucial part.

The Teacher invigilators all need to see the candidates' screens through them to determine if the candidates are cheating.

At the same time, the footage will be broadcast throughout the Base City, shared with everyone in the Base City in the form of a live stream.

Basically, the entire Martial Exam is public, which is another reason why the surveillance footage cannot be missing.

Hearing the chief invigilator's question, the computer team was very distressed: "For some reason, we can't connect to the Alliance Base City's signal at all, it's as if they've cut it off from their end."

"Without a signal, we can't even see the Students' invigilation screens."

"How could this happen?"

His brows furrowed heavily. Zhang Ru Lie's heart, which had just calmed down, couldn't help but return to its previous state of unease.

The Base City is really hiding something from them!

... ...

... ...

The Old World, completely different from the Ecological Zone.

Stepping on the radioactive rubble, Luo Lei, relying on his rich experience, arrived here without encountering any major problems along the way.

He glanced at the coordinates and nodded inwardly.

Lumu Chen said the location of that Divine Blood should be here.

"System, can you pinpoint the location?"

"Ding ~ Provide ten Crystal Cores, and the System can pinpoint the location for the Host."

Clearly, when there was an opportunity to exploit, Ye Tian would not provide it for free.

Looking at the Crystal Cores he had just collected by harvesting ten Mutated Beasts along the way, Luo Lei reluctantly took out the crystals.

As the Crystal Cores in his hand disappeared, the System's voice appeared.

"Ding ~ The location has been pinpointed for the Host."

"Friendly reminder: The pinpointed location has a certain degree of danger."

"A certain degree of danger?" Luo Lei did not ignore Ye Tian's hint.

Looking at the System's precise location, Luo Lei turned his gaze to the Back Mountain area of this lonely Town.