Competition and Challenge

"Penetration risk?"

As soon as Gao Liangwei finished speaking, many researchers in the conference room exchanged uneasy glances.

They looked at each other, some of them confused.

Seeing this, Gao Liangwei explained, "Everyone here at the Countermeasure Research Institute has access to the latest firsthand information. You should all be aware that since the Apocalypse Rules descended, dozens of countries around the world have perished."

"The demise of these countries meant the loss of not just countless citizens, but also their precious national culture, heritage, and history. Our Beixing Nation must not suffer the same fate. Therefore, if we are to train a team to fight for the country, the background of the team members must be beyond reproach."

"..."

The researchers remained silent. Their task was to study the rules, but Gao Liangwei, as the person in charge from the military, undoubtedly had more on his plate.

"I believe you all know I come from the military, so protecting our home and country is my top priority. Everyone, imagine if we poured all national resources into training someone who turns out to be a hidden enemy. How much damage and loss would that inflict upon the country?"

"For this reason, personnel backgrounds must be strictly screened. Does anyone have any further questions?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Dr. Zhang, please continue."

"Alright." Dr. Zhang organized his thoughts and continued, "Regarding the personnel requirements for this small team, I believe exceeding 100 Mind Power to achieve an Excellent rating is a necessity. I won't go into further detail on other aspects."

"What I'd rather discuss is how to strengthen this team. Based on the current three rules, since the Fire Thief screens humans through extreme methods, we can emulate it by cultivating team members through extreme training."

"In other words, in addition to facing the rule challenges, team members will also undergo survival challenges designed by us. This will not only enhance their adaptability but, I believe, also accelerate the increase of their Mind Power ceiling."

"I see," Gao Liangwei said. "The military does have quite a bit of extreme training, used to cultivate top-tier special forces soldiers. We can certainly utilize that now."

Dr. Zhang agreed, "Some of the military's extreme training methods have been validated by soldiers and are effective, so they can indeed be used."

At this point, someone else asked, "Does it have to be in a team format? We know everyone is different, wouldn't individual training be better?"

"No," Gao Liangwei stated firmly. "The '[Social]' function updated on the Personal Terminal clearly includes a 'Team Up' option. This indicates it will definitely be useful later, so we must train personnel in a team format from the very beginning."

"That makes sense..."

"There's another point," Dr. Zhang added. "Among the rewards for this third rule, there's an 'Invitation to the First Ascendant Challenge'."

"Something with such a clear competitive nature suggests that there may be direct confrontations between people in the future. The outcome of these confrontations could also have significant repercussions, so starting specialized training now is necessary preparation for competition."

Everyone agreed with this point.

Since it was called a "Challenge," it implied a competition, and competitions have rivals and winners and losers.

This was different from the Hidden Rule during the first rule. That rule, which involved knocking others out to obtain Sobering Candy, was less about competition and more like a form of malice from the Fire Thief, intended to provoke people into attacking others for survival items.

Gao Liangwei nodded. "Dr. Zhang is correct. Whether it's for the ultimate Apocalypse Operation or for the immediate situation..."