Alloy Puppet Alley

One-Eye slammed both hands onto the Alloy railing and leaned forward, radiating a terrifying pressure:

"In the first major exam ten days ago, the Gravity Well weeded out the weaklings among you whose bodies couldn't even withstand the pressure!"

"But the Empire didn't spend a fortune training you just so you could be durable punching bags for the Zerg and heretics on the battlefield!"

One-Eye's voice rose like a thunderclap. "The Empire needs war machines that can rip off an Exotic Beast's head and kick it around like a ball! Butchers who know how to kill!"

"So the rules for this second exam have changed!"

"Today, we're not testing how much pressure you can withstand! We're testing only two things—your ability to inflict damage in combat and your physical endurance under extreme pressure!"

As One-Eye finished speaking, he swept his mechanical arm through the air.

Behind the square, the vast metal complex normally designated a restricted zone erupted with the violent grinding of machinery.

The ground shook wildly. Thick Alloy armor plates slid apart, and a sealed Corridor a hundred meters long and roughly ten meters wide, built entirely from pitch-black Special Alloy, slowly rose from beneath the ground before the recruits.

Blinding scarlet warning lights flashed at the entrance to the Corridor.

From deep within the dark passage came the faint, hair-raising sound of metal gears turning and a cold synthetic voice.

"This is your testing ground today—Alloy Puppet Alley!"

Pointing at the dark passage, which looked like a meat grinder, One-Eye announced the brutal rules:

"The alley is a hundred meters long. Obstacles run its entire length, and inside are ten Level 1 Combat Puppets programmed by the Military to kill without discrimination!"

"These lumps of iron feel no pain and never tire. Every one of them has armor and striking power comparable to a recruit who's just become a Quasi-Martial Artist!"

"The rules are simple!"

"You have five minutes to get from this end to the other!"

"Fight your way through or run for your lives—I don't care how you do it. Your performance affects your final ranking, not whether you pass."

"As long as you're still breathing, reaching the halfway point within the time limit counts as a pass! But if a puppet beats you so badly you can't stand, or you run out of time before reaching it, you're eliminated!"

One-Eye bared his teeth in a vicious grin. "I won't repeat what happens to those who are eliminated. Now, first group, enter the alley!"

The brutal exam gave no one a moment to prepare themselves.

The thousand recruits whose numbers were called in the first group turned deathly pale. Urged on by the Supervision Team, they gritted their teeth and rushed into the pitch-black Alloy Puppet Alley like livestock driven to slaughter.

Bang!

The heavy Alloy doors slammed shut behind them, turning the Corridor into a sealed meat grinder.

Less than ten seconds passed.

"Aah! My leg!"

"Help! Somebody help! I can't break this thing!"

Agonized screams, the sharp crack of breaking bones, and dull metallic impacts pierced the thick walls of the Corridor and reached the more than twenty thousand recruits in the square.

The large screen overlooking the square immediately switched to a live infrared feed from inside Puppet Alley.

The scene was horrifying.

The Level 1 Combat Puppets were like tireless gods of death, swinging Alloy fists as they slaughtered the recruits without mercy!

Many recruits who had received Gene Enhancement Serum in the first exam had seen their strength surge to five or six hundred kilograms. They had gone in full of confidence.

But the moment they faced the puppets, a fatal weakness became clear!

They had brute strength, but no idea how to apply it or manage their Blood Energy!

On the screen, a recruit who had injected a Gene Potion roared and swung his fist wildly into a puppet's chest armor.

Bang! He did leave a dent in its chest, but the recoil instantly dislocated his wrist!

Before he could scream, the puppet, immune to pain, drove a cold mechanical elbow into his temple.

The recruit's eyes rolled back and he collapsed unconscious. The puppet trampled him, and a conveyor belt ejected him from the Corridor like trash.

Panic spread through the Corridor.

The recruits didn't know how to defend themselves, use Force Unloading, or destroy a puppet's Power Core with a single blow.

Those who could do nothing but throw wild punches burned through their limited stamina in moments. Then the puppets surged over them like a tide.

In just half an hour,

the first group, the second group, the third group...

Thousands of recruits were driven into Puppet Alley, but the pass rate was appallingly low!

Hundreds upon hundreds were eliminated. They wept and screamed as Logistics Robots loaded them directly onto transport ships bound for the underground Mining Star.

Even most of those who barely reached the finish line a hundred meters away within five minutes were covered in wounds and had broken ribs. They lay dying across the line like dogs dragged from a pool of blood.

This was more than a test of strength. It tested how a Martial Artist managed his Blood Energy and fought on instinct under extreme pressure, locked in a desperate battle for survival!

On the raised platform, chief examiner Iron Wrist watched the elimination figures climb without a trace of pity on his cold face. "They have several hundred kilograms of strength, but fight like street thugs.

"Trash who can't turn strength into effective killing power would only feed the Exotic Beasts on the front lines."

Instructor One-Eye said nothing. His remaining eye swept the Square Formation of recruits waiting below like a precision radar, then fixed unerringly on Jiang Yue in the middle ranks.

"That kid made a name for himself at the underground Black Boxing Arena. He's proven he can hurt an opponent in a real fight."

One-Eye waited with quiet anticipation. What will he show me against this Military meat grinder, where his combat foundations will truly be tested?

Meanwhile, down in the square,

"Seventh group, enter!"

The cold electronic announcement finally called Jiang Yue's group.

"Brother Jiang, be careful! There's something wrong with that alley!" Xu Bo was sweating with nerves, his lips trembling.

"Jiang Yue, don't try to fight them head-on. If they surround you, use the footwork I taught you to slip away. Save your strength for the finish line," Shen Qing warned him in a low, grave voice.

Jiang Yue listened to them and looked at Alloy Puppet Alley ahead, a dark, cavernous passage like the maw of some colossal beast. Screams kept pouring out of it.

He felt not the slightest fear or urge to retreat. He merely took a deep breath.

Dodge? Save my strength and run through?

No!

For an ordinary recruit, this was a deadly path of elimination.

But for Jiang Yue, the hundred-meter combat corridor, packed with high-strength Alloy targets and relentless pressure...

It was the perfect place to test the terrifying transformation his body had undergone over the past three days!

The perfect place to test the killing efficiency of the Six Harmonies Breathing Method!

"Crack, crack..."

Jiang Yue rolled his neck, interlaced his fingers, and pushed his hands outward. A dense series of dull pops, like beans bursting in a hot pan, came from the bones and connective tissue he had honed to their limits.

He unzipped his Training Uniform, revealing the close-fitting black combat vest beneath, and paid no one around him another glance.

Instructor One-Eye watched expectantly, while Chu Lin and the other young prodigies of the Aristocratic Families observed him coldly from the corners of their eyes.

Like a fierce beast finally freed of every shackle, Jiang Yue strode forward with steps as steady as Mount Tai. A tangible pressure radiated from him as he entered the steel Corridor, where death awaited amid the roar of metal.