Soon, Chen Yu's second attempt began.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
Instead of taking the initiative, he observed first, just like Zhou Yuxuan.
He noticed that the commander would deploy the Source Warrior teams in the areas under the most pressure, while the soldiers' firepower was responsible for filling in gaps and suppressing ranged attacks.
When the beast tide arrived, Chen Yu strictly followed the commander's orders and guarded his assigned defensive zone.
He no longer squandered energy recklessly, and his attacks became more purposeful.
When facing low-level Abyssal Beast, he condensed his source energy at his fingertips, forming a thinner and sharper blade, aiming for a one-hit kill and minimizing energy consumption. He began to learn to immediately enter a recovery state during the intervals of battle, even if it was only for a few seconds, and try to recover his energy.
At the same time, he took the initiative to communicate with other Source Warriors.
"Bro, I'll focus on the elite on the left. You cover for me on the right!"
"Good!"
"This is a fierce attack! Let's take turns tanking it. I'll count to three, you retreat, I'll go in!"
"Clear!"
Simple tactical coordination yielded unexpected results.
The second time, they managed to hold out until the eleventh wave.
In this wave, they encountered Stardust level Abyssal Beast for the first time. Although it was only a low-level one, its powerful strength instantly put enormous pressure on the defensive line.
The Stardust level commander roared and charged forward, engaging the Stardust level Abyssal Beast in battle, unable to spare a moment for himself.
Another Leader level Abyssal Beast seized the opportunity to lead its elite forces in a fierce attack on the flank.
Chen Yu was appointed to take charge in a time of crisis, replacing the injured leader of the Source Warrior group, and commanding the remaining seven or eight Source Warriors and a group of soldiers to hold off the attack from the flank.
He recalled the commander's previous deployment, shouting himself hoarse as he mobilized the personnel, while he himself stood at the forefront, bearing the greatest pressure.
Ultimately, the flank held, but on the main battlefield, the commander was also "severely injured" after killing the Stardust level Abyssal Beast and was unable to fight any longer.
In the twelfth wave, the defenses completely collapsed.
Chen Yu was submerged after exhausting his strength.
"Challenge failed. Wave hold: 11."
Although the wave count only increased by 3 waves, Chen Yu felt he had gained a great deal.
The third time, the fourth time.
Chen Yu was completely immersed in the Endless Mode.
He no longer viewed this place as a simple "game," but as a real, brutal training ground.
He learned to observe the entire battlefield situation with the corner of his eye during battle, to predict the focus of the Abyssal Beast's attack, to unleash the strongest attack at critical moments to open up opportunities for the team, and to retreat without hesitation when exhausted, trusting that his teammates could hold his position.
Zhou Yuxuan also adjusted himself through repeated failures.
He realized that simple control and precision had limitations in Endless Mode.
He began experimenting with more threatening attack methods while maintaining energy efficiency.
For example, he tried to use his strong control to compress the source energy a second time, changing it from a blade shape to a cone shape, increasing the penetration power of the attack.
His fighting style remains calm and efficient, like a meticulous chess player, but his moves have become more flexible and varied, combining offense and defense.
I don't know how much time passed; it felt like a moment, yet also like a long day.
Almost simultaneously, their consciousness was forcibly withdrawn.
The scene before my eyes shifted; it was no longer a bloody battlefield or a pure white space, but the cold metal walls of a virtual training room.
The helmet emits a soft "beep" sound to indicate that the usage time has expired and the connection will automatically disconnect.
The two men removed their helmets almost simultaneously, exhaling a long breath. Their faces showed exhaustion from the intense battle and a hint of dazedness from the endless carnage they had just witnessed.
They turned to look at each other and saw the same traces of their shared experiences in each other's eyes.
There was a moment of silence.
Chen Yu wiped his face and spoke first, his voice a little hoarse. "How many waves did you manage to finish?"
Zhou Yuxuan stretched his stiff neck and asked, "Which wave have you reached?"
After saying that, they both paused for a moment, then burst into laughter at the same time.
While Chen Yu, Zhou Yuxuan, and other trainees were struggling and experiencing failures and growth in the Endless Mode of the virtual space, Lin Yi was leisurely leaning back in his chair in the Principal's office of the East Peak Military Academy.
A screen was projected onto the desk in front of him, displaying the lively interface of the military academy's internal forum.
The pinned posts are almost all related to [ Endless Mode ].
[Title: Endless Mode Beginner's Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls! A Summary of Hard-Won Lessons Learned! (Continuously Updated)]
The poster, " Zhao Gang," detailed his painful experience of rushing in too aggressively in the early stages, which led to his energy being depleted too quickly, and he couldn't even survive the first ten waves. He then began to summarize how to conserve energy, how to identify the weaknesses of different Abyssal Beast, and how to cooperate with NPC allies in a basic way.
The replies below are densely packed:
"OP, you're so kind! I just got back from being wrecked by that boss beast in wave eight."
"I agree, energy control is extremely important, we can't afford to be careless!"
"Any experts out there who can share their strategies after reaching Stardust level? How do I defeat the Stardust level Abyssal Beast in wave 11? I feel my attacks are too weak before I've learned the Stardust level moves."
[Title: Rant! Has the Principal ever been tortured by a tower defense game?! This difficulty curve is insane!]
This post is full of joyful resentment. The students share all sorts of bizarre ways they died, as well as the despair they felt when facing multiple Stardust level Abyssal Beast charging at the same time. Although they complain, their words reveal a spirit of becoming more courageous in the face of setbacks.
Lin Yi lightly swiped his fingertips across the screen, browsing through these vibrant and thoughtful posts, a faint smile unconsciously curving his lips.
The students' pain, struggles, reflections, and progress are all clearly presented behind these words.
Some students, with their keen intuition, have already vaguely grasped the essence of his original intention in setting up the [ Endless Mode ].
Most people believe that Endless Mode is specifically designed for the Abyssal Tide, but that's both true and not true.
Lin Yi's gaze pierced through the office window, looking towards the distant horizon, as if penetrating the atmosphere to see the boundless, deep starry sky.
What he prepared for and what he needed to deal with went far beyond these seemingly terrifying but actually "beginner-friendly" abyssal Abyssal Tide on Blue Star.
More importantly, it's for that distant future, for the harsh reality that the Blue Star Civilization must face when it successfully advances, leaves its cradle, and truly steps into the vast universe— the Species Battlefield.
At that time, Blue Star would inevitably be conscripted into a protracted and bloody interstellar war.
It could be on the surface of a barren planet, in the complex asteroid belt, or inside a massive starship.
The forms of combat vary, but one thing is common: a fierce and protracted war fought under conditions of scarce energy resources.
A civilization that only knows how to launch reckless attacks or is disorganized and unable to conduct long-term, efficient, and coordinated operations will only become cannon fodder on the racial battlefield, or even drag down the entire front.
The [ Endless Mode ] hones the fundamental qualities needed to survive and fight in that environment: a tenacious will, sustained endurance, efficient teamwork, and the ability to quickly adapt to and command complex battle situations.
In fact, it wasn't just him who mixed his own agenda into the Endless Mode; even the Civilization Advancement Assessment was highly purposeful.
The assessment method for the Civilization Advancement Assessment.
The content of the assessments may vary greatly across different star sectors, but the core concepts are surprisingly consistent.
The content of the assessment is often closely related to the characteristics of the alien races that are near the star sector where the civilization being assessed is located.