The kill

The fish's mouth split open at a horrifying angle.

Watching the Species lunge to bite him, He Zheng's face twisted savagely.

Tiny teeth packed the fish's mouth, lining its entire oral cavity like barbs. Looking closely, he could even see intestines squirming deep in its gullet.

Less than half a meter away, he could already smell the stench from the monster's mouth.

It smelled like rotten seaweed mixed with feces, so overpowering that he nearly gagged.

Crack!

The instant the huge maw snapped down.

The flying Fire Axe wedged itself precisely into the monster's mouth.

Wood chips flew as its tremendous bite force crushed the axe's handle.

"Aaaaah!!"

Seizing the brief pause in its bite, He Zheng roared and shoved his left hand straight into the fish monster's mouth, frantically clamping onto its gullet.

The Species was too slippery and too heavy! Without doing this, he had no confidence he could hold it!

At the same time, Zhang Tie charged over with everything he had.

He flung himself like a cannonball at the Species' feet, locking both hands around the fish monster's legs.

He was scared too, but he knew He Zheng alone couldn't restrain this monster, no matter how desperately he fought.

"Got it!!"

"Ye Lin!!"

"Shoot, now!"

Seeing that they had successfully held the fish monster in place, He Zheng shouted.

Blood streamed from his mouth and nose. Pinned against the wall, he felt as though a truck kept crushing him.

The monster's strength was terrifying.

The trapped fish monster thrashed like a raging bull, pressing into him hard enough to snap several ribs.

Through the agonizing pain, he felt as though his organs were about to be crushed to pulp!

One second, perhaps two.

Just as He Zheng was about to lose his grip, gunshots rang out.

Bang! Bang!

The muzzle flashes blazed.

Two shots rang out in quick succession, the bullets seemingly forming a single straight line as they plunged into the fish monster's left eye.

Bang! Its eyeball burst, and pus, blood, and the Species' brain matter sprayed out the other side.

The bloodstained bullets spun out.

As a system announcement sounded, the fish monster stiffened, then toppled backward with a thud.

"Hah... hah..."

He had survived.

As though completely drained, He Zheng gasped for air and collapsed onto his backside.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" "I almost fucking died...!"

He swore viciously.

Seeing Zhang Tie still lying on the floor, clutching the fish monster's legs, he gave him a feeble kick.

"Fuck, it's dead already... what the hell are you still holding on for..."

He Zheng swallowed dryly, struggling to calm his racing heart.

He knew this sort of scene was far too "intense" for these newcomers.

Looking at the others, who were still shaken, he said nothing more. He merely raised his head with effort and turned toward Ye Lin, who was slowly lowering the pistol.

"Kid, your aim's... pretty damn good!"

"That fucking thing's finally dead..."

"Hah..."

"You got a point reward, right? How... how much?"

Ye Lin fell silent. After a brief hesitation, he finally spoke.

"One point."

"Only one point."

Yet He Zheng showed no surprise at his answer, as though he had expected it all along.

"Heh, figured as much. Judging by your face, you're wondering... how it could be so little, right?"

"Now you believe me when I say every point is hard to earn...? I only got zero point three... that big lug got zero point one at most. You were lucky last round. Rewards are only that easy to get in the first exam."

He Zheng managed a strained smile. For some reason, seeing Ye Lin's expression actually made him a little happy.

Ye Lin remained silent.

He knew why He Zheng had suddenly asked him that.

The monster was dead, but his heart was heavy.

When the system announced the one-point reward, it shook him far more than the Species' appearance had.

A Species worth just one point four points was already this hard to kill. He could hardly imagine how terrifying the later exams would be.

No wonder He Zheng had no hope of getting out. Failing to earn points didn't necessarily mean someone was incompetent.

"What about your arm?"

Suppressing the heaviness in his heart, Ye Lin looked at He Zheng's arm.

He Zheng's left arm hung limply on the floor like a noodle, blood dripping steadily from it.

Although it looked as though it could still be used, only a tiny strip of flesh and skin connected it to his shoulder. The slightest tug would tear it off entirely.

As the team's strongest fighter, He Zheng would be severely hampered in whatever came next.

Noticing his concern, He Zheng staggered to his feet. Amid everyone's startled cries, his face twisted as he forcibly tore off his ruined arm. Then he quickly pulled a bottle of capsules from his pocket, shook one out, tilted his head back, and swallowed it.

Once He Zheng swallowed the medicine, his wound healed at an astonishing speed, stopping the bleeding and scabbing over within seconds. The pained expression on his face also changed eerily into one of pleasure.

Seeing them stare at him in openmouthed shock, He Zheng gave them a weary glance.

"Bunch of bumpkins... never seen this before, huh?"

"Healing Capsules. They relieve pain too. System-made, five points a bottle, but you only get three."

"Fuck... last time, even with my guts spilling out, I couldn't bear to use one."

Grimacing, He Zheng reluctantly tucked the medicine behind his waist, then casually tossed the severed arm onto the floor.

"Losing my left arm won't make that much difference."

He shook out his right hand. Noticing Lin Ya and Hu Jia trembling in fear, he sneered but said nothing more.

Poor performance was normal for newcomers. Ye Lin was simply an exception.

Aside from Ye Lin, the best first-exam performance he had ever seen was only on Zhang Tie's level.

"What will you do afterward?"

Not expecting He Zheng to sacrifice an arm, Ye Lin asked with a frown.

In his estimation, He Zheng hadn't needed to sacrifice an arm, though avoiding it would have cost Ye Lin two bullets.

"It's fine. Once we're back, even my dick would grow back if it got cut off. It just costs some points."

"Fucking system. Everything costs points."

"Forget it, enough about that. What do we do next? Those other monsters don't seem to be coming?"

He Zheng picked up the Fire Axe, with only half its handle left. Finding it barely usable, he walked over to Ye Lin.

With the bleeding stopped, he was pale, but he had at least retained some of his fighting strength.

For some reason, after they encountered this Species, the previously relentless shrieks had gradually faded away.

That had given him a little breathing room.

But he had absolutely no idea what to do next.

"We can only keep moving forward for now."

"It's not that the monsters aren't coming. They might be trapped somewhere."

With no time to marvel at the mysteries of the Death Exam Space, Ye Lin nodded and spoke as he walked.

"The Species probably aren't very intelligent. They act entirely on instinct. I think they never actually detected us. The commotion on the second floor just drew their attention."

"I suspect there's something wrong with their eyesight. The others want to get here, but they're blundering around the passages like headless flies. That's why they haven't arrived."

"The one we killed just happened to be nearby."

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

He Zheng paused, instinctively asking.

Although he hoped that was true, he really didn't think the Species had poor eyesight.

With eyes that big, their vision looked as though it had to be excellent.

"Sound. They're too sensitive to sound. That Species skipped over you because of a scream, which means they're extremely sensitive to it. From an evolutionary standpoint, their hearing takes far greater priority than their vision."

"Of course, it's possible they're only sensitive to high-frequency sounds."

"And..."