Pollution Intensity 5.0

The carriage was a mess, with unconscious passengers lying scattered in all directions.

Lin Baici heard a burst of hurried footsteps and immediately turned around.

Ma Yuan had arrived, his suit wrinkled and disheveled, a far cry from the elite image Lin Baici had seen him cut in the Waiting Hall.

"Xia Hongyao?"

Ma Yuan blurted out upon seeing Xia Hongyao.

"You know me?"

Xia Hongyao flicked her ponytail.

"You should be asking, in the Safety Bureau, who doesn't know you sisters!"

Ma Yuan subconsciously glanced at Xia Hongyao's chest.

He'd never seen her in person, but he'd seen photos of Xia Hongyao, and comparing the two now, he found the real thing was even bigger than the pictures.

Was this past D?

Then, Ma Yuan fixed his gaze on Black Shark III.

That fat man was clutching a wound on his ribs, blood seeping through his fingers and soaking his clothes.

Compared to his arrogant posture earlier, this core member of the Lost Coast was now much more subdued.

"Good, I never thought I, Black Shark III, would fall to two youngsters today!"

Black Shark III gritted his molars, glaring at Lin Baici with bitter resentment, stifled to death.

He'd been very careful when he came in, never expecting to walk into an ambush.

The other party was more meticulous than he'd estimated.

"Actually, I only did something trivial; the main setup was all designed by Little Lin!"

Xia Hongyao was an honest person and didn't want to take credit.

"You don't need to say it, I can see that!"

Black Shark III stared at Lin Baici, his gaze venomous.

He thought the Muscle Buddha in shorts was the killing move, but in reality, it was a feint to draw his attention; the real Trump Card was this ponytailed girl.

Why could he reach that conclusion?

Because this ponytailed girl wore her emotions on her sleeve, and with a chest that big, she clearly wasn't someone who used her head.

Of course, most importantly, when Lin Baici stood up and exchanged those few words, he was too calm, too commanding, which was also why Black Shark III had subconsciously focused on him and doubled his vigilance.

"Hongyao, this is..."

Ma Yuan had been sizing up Lin Baici the whole time, and now, hearing Xia Hongyao's words, he took the chance to ask.

When had the bureau recruited another impressive newcomer?

But wasn't this year's assessment not even started yet?

"My friend!"

Xia Hongyao didn't reveal Lin Baici's identity, worried Ma Yuan would try to poach him.

"Was my partner killed by you?"

Black Shark III's tone was icy, his eyes full of murderous intent.

"I killed him!"

Xia Hongyao immediately took the blame.

She was afraid that if Black Shark III somehow escaped, he'd retaliate against Lin Baici, so she proactively shouldered the responsibility.

"You?"

Black Shark III curled his lip in disbelief.

"What? Looking down on me?"

Xia Hongyao was displeased.

"That stab you gave me was fast enough, accurate enough, and vicious enough, but..."

Black Shark III shook his head: "Relying on that kind of knife skill to kill Octopus Ball isn't enough!"

Xia Hongyao didn't argue. She recalled the process of Lin Baici killing Octopus Ball—it was a chain of steps, shimmering with the light of wisdom.

"What? Dare to kill but not to admit it?"

Black Shark III sneered.

"Heh, listen up. The killer is Lin Baici of Haijing Institute of Technology!"

Lin Baici straightened the Kasaya on his body.

"Retaliation?"

"Think I was born yesterday?"

"Bring it on!"

Xia Hongyao and Ma Yuan's eyes lit up at Lin Baici's words.

"Badass!"

Ma Yuan gave a thumbs-up: "Want to join my squad? I can be your sponsor, vouch for you!"

God Hunters who wanted to join the Nine Provinces Divine Shield Security Agency had to pass layers of selection, but having a squad leader as a sponsor made it much easier.

"Hey..."

Xia Hongyao furrowed her brows. You think I don't exist?

This was the team member I had my eye on!

Lin Baici glanced at Ma Yuan, thinking to himself, you useless piece of trash, you can't even wear down the enemy!

He had another reason for having Xia Hongyao lie in ambush in this carriage instead of going to support—one he hadn't told her.

That was to let that Dragon Steed Squad fight Black Shark III to the death. If they won, the two of them saved themselves a battle. If they lost, he could still pick up the scraps and take down a heavily wounded Black Shark III.

But when this Lost Coast main force member arrived, he was only lightly injured, his combat power barely diminished.

"Haha, cocky enough!"

Black Shark III sneered: "You think you've got me figured out?"

"Why isn't he dead yet?"

Lin Baici frowned.

He was bantering with Black Shark III not out of boredom, but waiting for him to bleed out.

"Haha, that girl's stab was vicious. If it were an ordinary person, they'd have gone into shock from blood loss by now, but I'm a God Hunter!"

Black Shark III was proud: "Even if I don't lift a finger myself, I've got three ways to kill you all!"

[Kill him quickly!]

The God of Gluttony suddenly spoke up.

Without Lin Baici needing to urge them, Ma Yuan and Xia Hongyao also sensed something was wrong and charged at Black Shark III fearlessly, but it was too late.

This fat man, before his words even faded, quickly took out a palm-sized conch and blew hard.

Woo-woo-woo!

A transparent bubble emerged from the conch, enveloping him.

At the same time, a yellow sandstorm erupted before Lin Baici and the others' eyes, blotting out the sky and sun, blinding them as if they were drowning in a dust storm.

"Rule Pollution?"

Lin Baici summoned the Muscle Buddha at once and tried to light a torch, but the swirling yellow sand stung his eyes, leaving him unable to see anything.

Fortunately, this sudden sandstorm didn't last long—only six or seven seconds before it vanished—but the surroundings had changed.

"Where is this?"

18D was completely bewildered.

Wasn't I just in a high-speed train carriage?

This was a boundless stretch of red clay mud pond. 18D's feet sank in up to his calves, wet and slippery, extremely unpleasant.

"Damn, it's Rule Pollution!"

Ma Yuan cursed fiercely.

This was exactly what he had feared most.

"Little Lin!"

Xia Hongyao trudged through the mud pond, one step deep, one step shallow, making her way to Lin Baici's side.

"What God's Taboo Object caused this? Do you know?"

Lin Baici asked.

Besides the four of them, the passengers on the G1955 train had all been caught up and affected by the Rule Pollution.

Some lay in the red clay mud pond, still unconscious, while others were beginning to wake up, looking around in confusion.

Xia Hongyao looked at Ma Yuan.

Ma Yuan pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Xia Hongyao.

God's Taboo Number: A-025 (Temporary).

Pollution Intensity: 5.0.

God's Taboo Object Characteristics: A clay figure sculpture.

After Rule Pollution begins, it forms a muddy red clay mud pond. A clay figure monster appears and forces the polluted to mold clay figures.

Sealing Method: Black Coffin Seal.

Hazard Assessment: High.

Special Precautions: Do not attempt to flee. You will be killed and lose your eligibility to mold clay figures.

"5.0?"

Xia Hongyao saw this number and sucked in a sharp breath.

"That serious?"

Lin Baici frowned.

"Extremely serious!"

Ma Yuan gave a bitter smile.

After decades of continuous exploration and summarization, various countries had gained a certain understanding of God's Ruins disasters and had formulated a unified disaster assessment standard.

A pollution intensity of 5.0 meant that the disaster caused by this God's Taboo Object was equivalent to a Minor God Ruins.

For ordinary people, the survival rate was pitifully low.

"What is this place?"

"What happened?"

"Why are my clothes all wet? Where's the high-speed rail? Where's my luggage?"

The awakened passengers panicked, asking each other questions, their eyes full of vigilance!

"Apprentices, come over here. The Graduation Assessment is about to begin!"

A dry, raspy voice came from the nine o'clock direction, echoing across the Red Clay Mud Pond.

Everyone turned and looked over.

"Apprentices? Who?"

18D looked at Lin Baici. "Us?"

"Let's go. We don't have a choice!"

Xia Hongyao said this to Lin Baici, then clapped her hands forcefully to draw the passengers' attention. "Everyone, head over there. We've been contaminated by the rules of a God's Taboo Object. Only by obeying it can we possibly survive!"

The passengers were dumbfounded.

Many of them knew terms like God's Ruins and God's Taboo Objects through the internet and such, having heard they were terrifying, but no one had ever seen what they actually looked like.

Now, suddenly told they were contaminated, they were all terrified.

"Will we die?"

"Who are you?"

"What exactly is rule pollution?"

The passengers all stared at Xia Hongyao, waiting for an answer.

"Go over first. You'll find out soon enough!"

Even if Xia Hongyao wanted to explain, there was no time, because before she could finish her explanation, the rule pollution would kill everyone.

Lin Baici walked toward the direction of that dry voice.

18D quickly followed, pleading in a low, humble tone.

"Brother, if I offended you earlier, please forgive me!"

18D had followed Lin Baici the whole way and witnessed his impressive performance. He knew that sticking with him gave him a much better chance of survival, so he took the initiative to curry favor and latch onto his coattails.

This Red Clay Mud Pond was like a wetland swamp, extremely difficult to walk through.

After 18D had gone not far, the shoe on his left foot got stuck in the mud and he couldn't pull it out.

Many people encountered this problem.

For a moment, three-character national curses rang out one after another.

Lin Baici walked over two hundred meters and saw a circular earth platform built from red clay, about half the size of a football field.

On the platform were kilns, each over a meter tall and half a meter in diameter, shaped like half-dome Mongolian yurts, all built from red clay.

Beside each kiln was a pile of charcoal and a wooden box the size of a trolley case.

Lin Baici knew that thing was called a bellows, a tool used for cooking in rural areas back in the day.

A two-meter-tall Red Earth Clay Figure stood on the platform, scrutinizing these apprentices.

"Is killing it enough?"

18D found this clay figure incredibly lifelike.

At first glance, it looked like a real person covered in mud, and even its eyes were vivid and spirited, inspiring fear.

But upon closer inspection, you could see that the whites of its eyes were the color of earth, and as its eyeballs moved, some clay powder would rustle down.

"Generally speaking, no!"

Ma Yuan's answer was very cautious.

[Pre-meal warm-up, let's begin.]

The God of Gluttony teased: [Hope you've got a good appetite when you start eating!]

"How do I clear this God's Taboo Game?"

Lin Baici asked in his heart.

"Killing this Clay Figure Monster is useless. Follow its instructions, make a clay figure, and you'll pass."

The God of Gluttony explained.

"Graduation Assessment, starting now. Follow my lead!"

The Clay Figure Monster announced in a clear voice, then strode on its long legs into the Mud Pond.