Metamorphosis, the Power of a Leader!

Sailing days are dull and monotonous.

This feeling is amplified, especially when one is unable to go to sea and is confined to a restricted space.

The previous ten days of sailing included all the crew members brought from the Tundra Shelter.

They had almost reached their personal limit under pressure.

In the last two days, many people had nowhere to vent their energy and suffered from insomnia night after night.

This explains why, after the Hope stopped, these people were so overjoyed that they went to sea to vent their emotions.

These people thought that this new journey to the New Continent meant the end of their oppressive lives.

But the reality was far beyond their expectations.

April 1st.

The fourth month since all of humanity arrived in the wasteland.

The Hope was on the seventh day after it departed from the depression.

Dormitory 135.

Just after seven o'clock in the morning, Chen Kai reflexively got out of his hard bed.

Unlike his insomnia on the first day he boarded the ship, he slept very well last night.

After lying in bed at 11 o'clock, he seemed to die and "fainted".

Eight hours of sleep.

If a sleep monitoring device were in operation, it would be astonishing to discover that his deep sleep time could reach about 4 hours.

This is nothing short of a miracle.

As Chen Kai woke up, the others in the dormitory gradually got up and slowly rubbed their eyes.

"Yuanzi, Pang Fu, you two go get us some food."

"Da Liang, Xiao Liang, go and get today's training materials."

"Luwei, Ke Ke, hurry up and wash up. After you're done, go upstairs and save us some seats. We'll bring you food later."

Chen Kai quickly arranged each item one by one.

Surprisingly, the people below did not immediately move around; instead, they relaxed and continued to sit on the bed, chuckling to themselves.

"What's wrong? Hurry up and go, or else..."

Su Yuan looked up. "Brother Kai, today is the seventh day. Our training is over, and today is the awards ceremony!"

"Ah?"

Only after Su Yuan said that did Chen Kai realize what was going on.

Immediately, a feeling of being in another world inexplicably arose in his heart.

"Seven days? That fast?"

Thinking back to the first day we boarded the ship, everyone was excited and looking forward to seeing what the training would be like.

They guessed that it was possible to gather everyone on the deck and conduct various drills, similar to military training.

It's possible that, like in the military, they'll undergo intense physical training to push everyone to their limits.

Or you could set up some challenging problems, submit them, and complete them one by one.

Due to the size limitations of the Hope spacecraft.

Everyone took the percentage-based assessment that Su Mo mentioned seriously, but no one dared to imagine how it would be conducted.

Until the assessment actually begins.

As the group of people sitting in the dormitory put on the wires on their heads as instructed, the world changed! To their surprise, the 15-square-meter room in front of them suddenly disappeared, replaced by a towering snow-capped mountain of unknown height.

Beneath their feet lay pristine white snow, which made a soft, squelching sound when stepped on.

Behind them were rows of small houses, radiating a warm and comforting light.

This kind of amazing change is fine for some people who have never been exposed to cutting-edge technology, but for the previous S-Class Talents.

But that made them go crazy immediately.

"My God, is this some kind of simulation technology? It can simulate a complete scene based on brainwave signals?"

"I can actually feel pain here, it's amazing! This must involve deep neuronal activation, and I can even feel the signals from my muscles being transmitted completely!"

"This snow is actually cold, and it feels just like real snow. Even the warm light is amazing!"

"As expected of the director, he actually possesses such top-notch technology."

Exclamations of admiration rose and fell.

Although most people don't understand what these technical terms actually mean.

But that doesn't prevent them from understanding the essence of this technology.

"Simulation, reality, willpower, physical fitness!"

"Target: 5000 meters!"

In the outside world, Su Deben is a robot, but in the simulation, he is a mighty and powerful instructor.

By focusing on four key words, Su Deben explained the situation and highlighted the crucial aspects of the first day's test.

It's very simple: climb a snow-capped mountain! As long as you can climb to 5,000 meters, you can become S-Class Talents without taking any tests.

In the small hut behind everyone, there is a complete set of ski equipment. You can bring as much as you can carry, as long as you can carry the weight.

At the same time, food and drink are plentiful, but you can't take them out of the cabin, otherwise it will be considered a failure and you'll have to start over.

Here, you won't really die.

All pain sensations are reduced by 50%, and there is protection in critical moments to prevent sudden death or other phenomena caused by external bodily changes.

Upon hearing this condition, everyone was almost driven to madness with excitement.

Half an hour later.

Once the first person put on their ski gear, grabbed their things, and started climbing, the others followed suit, rushing out in a similar manner.

This snow-capped mountain.

I don't know exactly how high it is.

However, in terms of realism, it achieves almost the exact same level of accuracy as reality.

The higher you go, the steeper it becomes, and the more dangerous each step will be.

The higher you go, the thinner the oxygen becomes, and the stronger the howling winds become.

If not conducted under simulated conditions, this would be a terrifying challenge with a casualty rate exceeding 90%.

But knowing that he would not die.

Everyone was very enthusiastic.

This situation continues until the first person dies!

Sometimes, losing consciousness at the moment of death is not a bad thing.

Considering the fall from the mountain, resulting in multiple fractures throughout his body, accompanied by massive bleeding, and the fact that he had to endure until the end of his life.

Even if it's reduced by 50%, this feeling is no less than torture.

Screaming loudly, the first person to fall down only entered the resurrection phase after their blood was slowly drained from their body and their brain was in excruciating pain.

A flash of light.

He reappeared in front of the cabin, but this time, the excitement on his face was gone.

Instead, there was a deep sense of awe.

Respect death, respect every life.

With the death of the first person, one after another, the 1,400 villagers began to die.

Some fell and died instantly, some fell into ice caves and froze to death, some were pierced through the heart by icicles, and some were attacked and killed on the spot by wild animals that roamed the mountains.

In 58 minutes, 1,405 people died.

There are no exceptions.

Even Li Hu, Qi Qin, and others who boasted of their own strength could not escape death.

This time, the most impressive climber reached a total height of 1482 meters.

"What's there to be afraid of? It's not like I'll really die. I'm not going to believe you. This wolf killed me the first time, but it can't kill me a second time. I'll beat this son of a bitch to death!"

"Charge! If they're already chickening out in this simulation, they'll be even more scared when it comes to a real fight!"

"That's right, I'll walk slowly this time. Even if I die, I'll freeze to death on the road!"

Whether one person, ten people, or a hundred people die, it all brings fear.

A thousand people, all of them, died, but what they brought was a surge of heroic spirit and courage.

After a few bold individuals voiced their concerns, looking at the small house behind them and considering the treatment of S-Class Talents, everyone gritted their teeth.

They quickly returned to the cabin and began resupplying.

Another half hour passed, and all the villagers began their second wave of attack.

But this time, the deaths happened even faster; just thirty minutes later, 70% of the people were back at the Starting Point.

Use your brains. Climbing a snow-capped mountain isn't about Brute Force or courage.

"I want to see your minds, your willpower, and your physical strength working together, not just brute force!"

"Chen Kai, when you were facing the wolf pack, you could have easily moved to the ice behind you to keep your back out of their attack range."

"Xiong Jin, climbing a mountain isn't about how fast you can go in an instant, it's about endurance."

The timing of Su Deben's first appearance was perfect.

He spoke with facts, and in just a few words, he pointed out the shortcomings that most people had made.

Furthermore, his actions rekindled the slightly demoralized morale.

Another half hour passed, and most people set off again.

This time, the record was broken to 1860 meters.

The fourth time, 2109 meters.

The fifth time, 2455 meters.

The sixth time, 2541 meters.

The higher you go, the greater the resistance to breaking records, and the smaller the range of change in each record becomes.

But the more times it happens, the deeper the shadow of death looms over everyone's hearts, and the deeper the fear brought about by the accumulation of that pain.

Until the eighth time.

Compared to the seventh time at 2560 meters, the eighth record dropped sharply to 2103 meters.

The reason is quite simple.

This time, a storm swept through the snow-capped mountains. Without any resistance, everyone was blown to pieces and fell off the cliff to their deaths.

And this time, it just so happened that everyone's defenses were broken.

"Five thousand meters? How is that possible? Who could climb that? This is a test beyond human capabilities!"

"Even with a 50% pain simulation, I suffered five comminuted fractures all over my body while dying repeatedly. It was excruciatingly painful!"

"My intestines were ripped out, and these wolves were tearing my body apart right in front of me!"

"Impossible! Absolutely no one could climb that high!"

A wave of doubts erupted in front of the wooden house.

Under the oppression of suffering, even though these people were already quite capable of enduring hardship compared to others in the wasteland, they still couldn't bear it.

Noise.

riot.

Resistance.

As the situation in front of the wooden house grew increasingly intense, Su Deben, standing in front of everyone, slowly shook his head.

The next second, with a wave of his hand, a figure appeared in front of the crowd.

"Chief, what brings you here!"

"Director, are you also going to participate?"

"This test isn't for humans, it's for those above!"

"."

As I listened to the growing complaints from the crowd, I stood at the front of the group.

Su Mo simply smiled and offered no explanation.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he walked straight through the crowd and entered the cabin to resupply and put on his equipment.

Like a lone warrior.

In front of everyone, Su Mo marched headed towards the snow mountain Go Forward Courageously.

In front of everyone, a live broadcast screen with a screen size of over 200 inches was simultaneously displayed, showing Su Mo's location and current situation.

This is because not all body data can be transmitted.

Everyone's physical condition is the same, with only slight differences.

But precisely because of this similarity, Su Mo's subsequent actions greatly shocked everyone.

Five hundred meters away, a pack of wolves found Su Mo, but he cleverly used the terrain to his advantage and killed them.

They also obtained two jugs of warm wolf blood, as well as fur and flesh.

At 1,300 meters, a blizzard struck, but Su Mo quietly lay flat on the ground, using his fur to cover his body and weather the storm.

At a height of two thousand meters, on a cliff, Su Mo spent a full twenty minutes carefully climbing, finally making his way up to the top in everyone's sight.

At three thousand meters, another pack of wolves appeared, even more numerous, but they were still defeated by Su Mo's fighting skills.

At 3,500 meters, the temperature plummeted.

But after finding a cave, they were able to replenish their food supplies.

Su Mo's strength was restored, and his body temperature did not drop significantly.

At 4,000 meters, Su Mo, whose physical strength was at its peak, climbed the mountain with almost no stumbles.

And in the next kilometer, he demonstrated in front of everyone what it means to combine wisdom and courage.

It wasn't until they reached 5,000 meters, when the red number turned green, that everyone came to their senses with bitterness.

"The director... is too strong..."

"This isn't just a sigh, it's the gap between us."

"I admit it, I have to admit it!"

"We're still too weak; all of these are just excuses. This simulation is meant to give us a learning opportunity, not to make us rush in with brute force."

"I did find a hunting guide and climbing techniques in the cabin, but I was focused on summiting and had no interest in learning them."

"Well"

A mixture of amazement and remorse.

Seeing that all those who had lost their fighting spirit and were complaining had regained their energy, Su Deben nodded to himself and prepared to call Su Mo down the mountain.

But the next second, like the villagers below, his smile froze.

At 5,000 meters, Su Mo did not give up and continued his assault!

Upon reaching this point, every ten steps or so, Su Mo would stop and kick wildly to relieve the pressure on his heart and lungs.

On the cliff, every time Su Mo reached out, he had to gather all his strength to successfully smash the ice axe into the ground.

But he was like a warrior.

It never stopped under the watchful eyes of 1,400 people.

Six thousand meters.

7,000 meters.

8,000 meters.

Nine thousand meters. Unbeknownst to many, the snow-capped mountain has already surpassed the height of Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth.

Amidst everyone's numbness, Su Mo steadily climbed to the 10,000-meter peak.

He knelt on the mountaintop, a smile on his face, and closed his eyes.

There were no wounds on my body when I got here.

Su Mo was exhausted! "He's a monster! I can't even match his willpower!"

Seeing Su Mo reappear in front of the wooden house with a smile, Su Deben felt a bitter taste in his mouth and for a moment forgot his next lines.

Before he could say anything more, the 1,405 villagers went mad.

Learn, climb, die, start over, never give up.

It wasn't until the six hours outside and the 36 hours inside ended.

The villager with the highest death toll died 92 times.

The villager who climbed the highest point reached 4689 meters.

The average climbing height for all villagers is 4018 meters.

As expected, no one reached the 5,000-meter mark.

However, contrary to expectations, this average altitude far exceeded the 2,600 meters that Su Deben had estimated based on experience.

"That's doubled! These ordinary people actually have stronger willpower than my elite soldiers!"

From initial relief to shock, and finally to understanding, Su Deben was filled with mixed emotions.

In the end, he made peace!

At first, he didn't understand why someone could die sixty times, but after just one glance at Su Mo's 10,000-meter record, he could grit his teeth and continue charging forward.

But in the end...

He understood.

This is the power of a leader.

Hope Village is undergoing a transformation, a painful process for all its villagers.

But under their leader's guidance, they held on.

They embarked on the path of transforming from a cocoon into a butterfly.

We're just waiting for the right moment!

Because I wanted to capture the feeling in this chapter, the descriptions are a bit more detailed. The extra thousand-plus words are free and given to all the readers who support the official version. Love you all!