184: Trial Rules 2

“Cheng Xiao, are you feeling that it’s getting harder and harder? Are you worried about Lord Pan?” Mo Li had known their relationship was unusual for a long time, so he looked at her with a smile.

“To be honest, Mr. Mo, I am a bit worried,” Cheng Xiao suddenly said, blushing.

“Miss Cheng Xiao, there’s at least one piece of good news I can tell you first. For this Trial, we allow each participant to bring one assistant.”

“Oh? Why is that?” Pan Han asked after hearing this, holding Cheng Xiao’s hand. Both of them were quite excited.

“If you get injured, someone needs to take care of you!” Mo Li chuckled.

Damn it!

Their tightly clasped hands suddenly separated. Both felt that Mo Li was teasing them.

“How about we talk about the second stage instead?” Qin Zhong, seeing the awkward atmosphere, quickly tried to smooth things over.

“Alright, I’ll explain now.” Mo Li took a sip of water and lit another cigarette.

“The second stage is simple and direct: a Arena match. Two people form a group and fight each other. After all, we still need to select those who are physically strong and have superb combat skills.”

“Reasonable, very reasonable.” Everyone listened and had nothing to say. How could you get a promotion opportunity if you couldn’t fight?

“Mr. Mo, how are scores calculated in this stage?”

“Before this stage begins, everyone has an initial score of 20 points. For each round played, the win or loss is 5 points, and everyone must play at least 4 rounds. The winner does not lose points, while the loser loses 5 points.”

“So, it’s still possible to get 0 points?”

“Exactly!”

“What if there’s a tie?”

“Haha! Lord Pan, your thinking is quite broad. However, there are no ties. The winner and loser are decided by the judges.”

“Alright then!” Pan Han shrugged.

It was clearly a fight to the death, similar to a boxing match where even if you don’t knock out your opponent, you can still win on points.

“Then let’s continue with the third stage. As you may have noticed, the first two stages tested zombie-killing skills and combat skills respectively. What do you think the third stage should test?” Mo Li suddenly became cryptic.

“It wouldn’t be testing mental fortitude, would it?” Qin Zhong stroked his chin, deep in thought.

“Heh heh! Qin Laoda, you got it right.” Mo Li patted Qin Zhong, nodding in agreement.

“Ah? How do you test willpower?” Cheng Xiao was puzzled. In her opinion, everyone who had survived until now in the apocalypse was a person of strong will.

After all, if your nerves weren't tough, you would have died in the past few years.

“The willpower test is also divided into 4 small checkpoints, and this stage is also the most time-consuming.”

“Mr. Mo, please elaborate.” Pan Han felt that the third stage should be the most interesting one after hearing this.

“The 4 small checkpoints are extreme cold, extreme heat, torture, and temptation of beauty.” Mo Li threw away his cigarette butt and lit another one.

Seeing Mo Li’s heavy smoking habit, Pan Han took out two more packs.

“There’s even temptation of beauty?” Cheng Xiao’s eyes widened, and a very sensual scene instantly flashed in her mind.

“Exactly! If the Trial participant is female, we will provide men. Heh heh.” Mo Li couldn’t help but slap the table.

“Is that very difficult?” Pan Han didn’t understand. The temptation of beauty is easy to resist, isn't it? Is there a need for an assessment?

“Hahahaha! Lord Pan, you might still be young. If you were to drink our secret aphrodisiac, how would you resist?” Mo Li burst into laughter.

“Ah? There’s an aphrodisiac to assist?”

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other. Who didn't know the Twelve Palaces' ability to develop potions? In the apocalypse, they still had the leisure and resources to develop such a potion; they were absolutely devoid of conscience!

“Miss Cheng Xiao, you’re not regretting letting Lord Pan participate in the Trial, are you?” Mo Li turned his head and asked.

“No, I wouldn’t. I’m not that petty.” Cheng Xiao said this, but she felt a little uncomfortable inside. After all, this wasn’t a mutual agreement. If Pan Han fell in love with another woman, Cheng Xiao would naturally have nothing to say.

“Don’t worry, Cheng Xiao, I will resist the temptation.” Pan Han quickly reassured her, but he also felt a little nervous inside.

“Mr. Mo, are these 4 small checkpoints still 5 points each?”

“Yes. Failing one checkpoint deducts 5 points. The third stage will last about a week in total. During this period, you will get a maximum of one day’s rations. For the rest, you’ll have to endure it yourselves.”

So, the most difficult part was here. Seven consecutive days of intense, harsh assessment. If they couldn’t replenish energy in time, their bodies would suffer irreversible damage. And, obviously, the temptation of beauty was placed in the last round, when the participants’ minds would be most broken. By then, a beauty might just pour you a glass of wine, and you’d surrender.

“Okay, Mr. Mo, I understand. Please tell us about the fourth stage.” Pan Han didn’t care; he had his space, so eating and drinking were easy for him.

“The fourth stage is the most dangerous one, called Treasure Hunt, because you could die at any time here.” As soon as Mo Li said this, the scene fell into a moment of silence.

“Mr. Mo, you seemed to say before that there was no risk to life in the Trial.”

“Lord Pan, you remembered incorrectly. I said we wouldn’t set up checkpoints that are guaranteed to kill you. For example, in the fourth stage, although you might die, you can forfeit and only lose 20 points.”

Pan Han sighed, “Anyway, the rules are set by you, so you can say whatever you want. Mr. Mo, just tell us how the scores are calculated.”

“Haha, Lord Pan, don’t be disheartened. The fourth stage allows you to use your own weapons. Think about the mechs from before; doesn’t that make it feel a bit better?” Mo Li sensed Pan Han’s slight dip in mood, chuckled, and casually encouraged him.

“Oh, that’s reasonable then.”

“As for scoring, it’s very simple. We will place hundreds of treasures in different locations. Different treasures have different scores and correspond to different difficulties. However many treasures you collect, that’s how many points you get. But the maximum is still capped at 20 points.”

“So, getting 20 points and then withdrawing is the most cost-effective?” Cheng Xiao had undertaken various tasks in the apocalypse and had some experience with treasure hunt types, so she was quite interested.

“Heh heh heh.” Mo Li didn’t deny it, but he seemed to be holding back something.

“Seventh Sister, Mr. Mo has another meaning.” Qin Zhong’s eyes lit up, and he suddenly thought of something.

Pan Han also smiled slightly; he too had figured out the true essence of this stage.

“What do you three mean? Just say it! Am I the only one in the dark?” Cheng Xiao wasn’t stupid, of course. Seeing their expressions, she knew she had only seen the surface.

The three men looked at each other. No one spoke, but they all seemed to understand.

“Seventh Sister, let me explain.” Qin Zhong, seeing that Pan Han and Mo Li hadn’t spoken, had to step forward to explain.

“Big Brother, hurry up and tell me.”

“If in this stage, you can only get a maximum of 20 points, what would you do to expand your advantage?” Qin Zhong didn’t directly tell her the answer but posed a question instead.

“Huh? I hadn’t thought about that! Just getting 20 points myself is enough, right?” Cheng Xiao hadn’t yet grasped Qin Zhong’s meaning.

“Not so. While getting 20 points yourself is important, the key is how to make others get fewer points!” Qin Zhong said earnestly.

“Holy crap!!” Cheng Xiao slapped her thigh, suddenly realizing.

So, the secret of this stage was here.

While getting enough points for yourself, collecting as many treasures as possible to reduce others’ chances of scoring was the way to go!

“In that case, we’ll have to team up! One person can’t do it.” Cheng Xiao thought for a long time before finally understanding what this checkpoint was truly testing.

“Hahahaha! Miss Cheng Xiao, you’ve understood!” Mo Li burst out laughing after hearing her, instantly becoming much happier.

“Exactly. At that time, you’ll need to discern on the spot who would be better to team up with. It really tests team leadership.” Pan Han looked at Cheng Xiao with a smile.

“This stage is so awesome! Some Trial participants might end up with 0 points because they couldn’t form a team!” Cheng Xiao finally, completely, and unreservedly understood!