Knov looked at Luke for a moment. "But I can say this, there's more than one exit point."
"And the exit point is not called the extraction point."
"Is that so? Sorry, I'm just used to calling it that."
Luke said, adding silently in his mind, 'Yeah, back when I played Delta.'
The exam mode and rules Knov had just announced were exactly the same as the Delta Force game.
You gather supplies, then head to a designated extraction point to leave.
Supplies came in various colors: white, green, blue, purple, red, and so on, each color representing a different value.
The location they were in, some kind of dam, was probably just like the Zero Dam map.
Luke was already familiar with this kind of setup.
Now that Knov confirmed there were multiple extraction points, Luke couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
"I was hoping to camp at one of the extraction points and take all their loot as they came through..."
Hearing that, Knov looked at him again.
Indeed, according to the rules he had just announced, he never once said that applicants couldn't rob one another.
Which meant, if you couldn't gather enough supplies yourself, you could always start taking them from others!
This test wasn't just about observation and scavenging ability.
It also tested one's awareness, counter-awareness, the ability to defend against ambushes, and the skill to evade human-made crises and escape successfully!
Only those who could survive the chaos, collect resources, and retreat safely had the right to become true hunters!
Without a doubt, in this first round, the real challenge wasn't collecting supplies; it was competing against the other applicants.
First came the competition for shared resources.
If two or more groups came upon the same stock of supplies, who would get them? No one could say.
Even if someone suggested dividing them evenly, no one would listen.
Anyone who made it here to take the hunter exam was prideful by nature.
They would never accept an equal split.
What's more, Knov had stated clearly, the more resources you gather, the greater your advantage in the next round.
With that as a condition, even those who didn't care about getting ahead would still fight tooth and nail to avoid being at a disadvantage.
Whenever supplies appeared, they would fight over them immediately.
Besides, in this environment, no one knew how many supplies were hidden around.
If someone else took them, and you couldn't find any replacements, you would fall into a disadvantageous position.
And then, you might have to fight again later just to catch up.
So rather than give up and risk failing later, many decided to go all out now. If you see supplies, take them by any means necessary.
That was one source of conflict.
The other came from those with the same ideas as Luke's; some people didn't plan to search for supplies at all.
Instead, they would find a retreat point early, set up an ambush, and rob those who passed by with their hard-earned loot.
Many confident applicants shared the same mindset as Luke.
They planned to rob as many applicants as possible to secure a strong advantage for the second round.
Driven by this ambition, many immediately sought out the retreat points.
And since there was more than one, these ambitious individuals split up strategically, each staking out a different location.
Thus, a fierce battle for resources broke out across the area.
Time passed quietly.
All across the factories, dams, and other structures, sudden bursts of fighting would erupt out of nowhere and vanish just as quickly before the conflict spread.
Small-scale, lightning-fast clashes.
After all, neither side wanted to waste effort and become someone else's prey.
As the saying goes…
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
There were plenty of other applicants lurking, waiting for their chance to swoop in and claim the spoils.
And so, the entire testing ground became a strange rhythm of brief skirmishes and swift endings.
Before anyone realized it, the twenty-four-hour time limit had already passed.
On one of the routes leading to an exit point…
"These should be enough now, right?"
A tall, thin man with a sharp, dangerous aura looked down at the pile of loot before him.
"Tank model, respirator, premium coffee beans, golden compass..."
Each item's label had a string of numbers showing its value in Jenny, numbers that made the thin man grin with satisfaction.
"Not sure why a bag of coffee beans is worth so much, though."
"But with this much material gathered, it's probably worth several million jenny."
"In fact, it might even reach ten million jenny."
"With that, not to mention passing, I'll definitely rank among the top in the next round!"
A fiery gleam flashed in the thin man's eyes.
All these supplies were things he had taken from other applicants passing through here.
And he had strict standards about who he hunted.
If an applicant looked strong or hard to deal with, he would never make a move.
Instead, he targeted those who had gotten lucky and gathered good supplies and were visibly relaxed and joyful as they neared the departure point.
Those were his prey!
"Alright, I think I've collected enough."
"If I drag this out any longer, something unexpected might happen."
"At this point, the remaining applicants are mostly those who barely managed to collect goods worth about a million."
"There's not much profit to squeeze from them."
"And if any desperate applicants who still don't have enough supplies decide to risk it all and attack someone like me, with plenty of resources..."
"If I get targeted, then that would be a huge loss..."
The thin man understood clearly: quitting at the right time was the only way to keep this business going longer.
Of course, by business, he meant the hunter exam.
He intended to pass round after round, until he got that hunter's license!
Just as he wisely decided to withdraw and head for the exit with his supplies…
"Oh? Didn't expect to find such a big fish still lingering here."
That playful voice behind him instantly made every hair on the thin man's body stand up.
He leaned forward sharply, rolling on the ground in an attempt to dodge whatever danger might come from behind.
His reaction was correct, but unfortunately, in the face of absolute power, no amount of tactics would make any difference.
Whoosh!
Bang!
Before the voice even finished, a small pebble shot forward at high speed, striking the thin man squarely on the back of the head.
Thud.
The tremendous impact sent him flying.
It's a tiny stone, yet it carries immense force.