The newcomer wore a crisp uniform. He was Liu De, the town chief of the Underground City.
Liu De's usually genial, plump face was stretched so tight that even his jawline showed. One look was enough to tell he was truly furious.
He had suspected from the start that Jiang Ruoxue would not let the matter rest and would surely make a move against Luoluo.
So he had deliberately gotten up early, planning to personally oversee the assessment.
He thought that with him, the town chief, present, Jiang Ruoxue would at least show some restraint.
As long as Lin Luoluo obtained official certification as a First Tier Star-Hidden Contract Spirit Master,
Jiang Ruoxue would have to think twice about the Federation's rules before making another move.
Yet his phone had not stopped ringing all morning, though he was usually a town chief with plenty of leisure.
It had all been trivial matters and neighborhood gossip. He had even been asked to deal with someone's burst water pipe.
He had tried to delegate, but he had been unable to reach a single one of his subordinates.
By the time Liu De finished dealing with everything in a frenzy and reached the hall, he arrived just in time to see Chu Feng being carried out.
Thinking back to those suspicious calls that morning, how could he not understand what had happened?
The onlookers heard Town Chief Liu's blunt challenge, and the hall fell silent in an instant. Then it erupted into a buzz.
"Miss Jiang, the assessment is no child's play."
Liu De forced down the anger in his heart and said, word by word, "I demand that you stop the assessment immediately and let Lin Luoluo out."
Chu Feng was already hurt this badly.
What about Lin Luoluo, who had only formed her contract yesterday?
He did not dare imagine the consequences.
That girl had suffered enough already. If he stood by and watched her die because of such a despicable trick, his conscience would never let him rest for the rest of his life.
Jiang Ruoxue looked at the middle-aged man before her, who did not know what was good for him, and felt a little displeased.
A lowly town chief elected by the people dared to question her in public?
But her face remained expressionless as she replied calmly:
"Town Chief Liu, I already said it was an equipment malfunction.
Once the assessment begins, it cannot be manually interrupted unless the candidate's vital signs are in danger."
But her thoughts were elsewhere.
To deal with Lin Luoluo this time, she had not only had the pain feedback turned up to its maximum of 130%,
but had also raised the number and levels of the Demons in all three mine tunnels to the highest limit the simulation equipment could withstand.
That way, no matter which mine tunnel Lin Luoluo chose, she would face the most dangerous conditions.
This was what happened to anyone who offended her, Jiang Ruoxue.
She would make that lowborn wretch Lin Luoluo die in the depths of despair and agony!
Liu De's chest heaved with anger. "That's sophistry! Chu Feng and Hu Yue'er are warnings enough!"
Jiang Ruoxue's lips twitched ever so slightly, as though she had heard something amusing.
"Town Chief Liu, that's not right."
She spoke unhurriedly.
"Chu Feng and Hu Yue'er were forcibly ejected because they failed the assessment.
If I stepped in and interrupted Lin Luoluo's assessment now, wouldn't that be terribly unfair to the other two candidates?"
"You!" Liu De was left speechless by her words.
Jiang Ruoxue ignored him and turned to a trembling staff member nearby.
"Oh, right. I remember the Assessment Room can be live-streamed, correct?"
The staff member froze for a moment, then quickly nodded. "Y-yes, Miss Jiang."
Liu De's heart sank. He did not understand what trick she was up to now.
Jiang Ruoxue's voice rang out again.
"Everyone knows that, for safety's sake, the pain feedback in the simulated assessment is only fifty percent. In the end, it isn't realistic enough.
The equipment malfunctioned today. Although it was an accident, it has given us an opportunity."
She paused and looked around, her gaze finally settling on Liu De.
"An opportunity to show everyone just how brutal a real mine tunnel can be.
Since it has malfunctioned, we might as well make use of it and let everyone learn something."
With that, she gave the staff member a direct order. "Start the live stream."
"Don't you dare!" Liu De's eyes nearly split with rage.
As if tripping Lin Luoluo up behind the scenes weren't enough, she even wanted to show everyone how Lin Luoluo was being bullied! How vicious could she be!
He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, but the anger surging up his throat ultimately gave way to a sense of powerlessness.
The Jiang Family's roots ran deep and tangled throughout the Underground City. To put it bluntly, his position as town chief was an empty title; he could not budge this great tree at all.
Liu De slowly closed his eyes, unable to bear watching any longer.
Child, I'm sorry.
Blame your Uncle Liu for being too useless to protect you.
Under Jiang Ruoxue's piercing stare, the staff member stepped forward and pressed several buttons on the console.
The enormous light screen in the center of the hall, which usually displayed only the rankings, flickered and slowly lit up.
Everyone's eyes gathered on the screen that was about to show the inside of the mine tunnel.
Crackle!
A sound rang out, and the light screen lit up.
At first, the picture was pitch-black, flickering with unstable static. Only after a few seconds did it gradually stabilize.
Against the backdrop of a dark, deep mine tunnel, a frail, petite figure appeared in the center of the picture. Her back was to the crowd, and she seemed to be warily watching the darkness ahead.
"That girl... Lin Luoluo."
"No way, she's still alive..."
A chorus of surprised gasps rose from the crowd.
Many of them had heard the story of this girl from the slums, whose legs were paralyzed, and felt great sympathy for her.
Now, seeing her small, frail figure, many felt a surge of pity. Some could not even bear to keep watching.
After all, Chu Feng was a somewhat famous genius in the Underground City, and his contracted Frost Snow Leopard was a formidable fighter.
Yet even he had failed to last ten minutes before being beaten half to death, and his Contract Spirit had died on the spot.
How long could a disabled girl from the slums last, when she had only contracted a Slime with little fighting power yesterday?
They could already imagine the horrific sight of her being torn apart by Demons.
However, the bloody scene they expected did not appear.
Soon, someone with sharp eyes cried out in disbelief:
"Wait! Look! How... how come she doesn't have a single injury? She looks completely unharmed!"