It didn't look artificially excavated.
They fell for about a hundred meters before their bodies suddenly jerked— the downward momentum sharply reduced as a massive net caught them midair.
With the help of the Purple Demon Eye, Gu You could clearly see that once their bodies stabilized, surrounding the large net were numerous circular holes of varying sizes. The largest had a diameter of nearly ten meters, while the smallest were still over two meters wide. Their shapes were irregular, as if carved out by some unknown creature.
The female major climbed along the net toward one of the holes and beckoned to Gu You. Holding his rifle, Gu You quickly followed.
Once he stood beside her, she said:
"From this moment on, we may encounter danger at any time. Your task is to protect me while pushing deeper inside. The distance you manage to advance will determine your evaluation score. Understood?"
Gu You nodded and immediately took the lead.
"Stay behind me and don't die. I'll clear the way."
"How ignorant."
Watching Gu You charge forward recklessly, the major shook her head.
The hole she chose was about three meters in diameter. Inside, it was pitch black, impossible to see what lay ahead. Gu You narrowed his eyes. Though he couldn't use soul power, his spiritual power remained unaffected. Combined with the vision enhancement of the Purple Demon Eye, he could barely see about thirty meters ahead—already remarkable in such darkness.
If only I had an infrared imaging device, he thought to himself. That would make navigating such an environment much easier. As it stood, he could only rely on perception.
Suddenly, a current of air approached from ahead. Almost instinctively, Gu You raised his rifle and unleashed a burst of fire.
Bang! Bang!
The flashes from the gunfire illuminated the creature briefly.
It resembled a bat— not especially large, but with tremendous impact force, likely weighing several hundred pounds. It wouldn't trouble Gu You, but an ordinary person would be knocked down instantly.
Despite being struck multiple times, the bat-like creature did not die. Instead, it let out a shrill scream, rebounded, and lunged again at Gu You, all four claws aiming for him.
Gu You responded with a rifle-elbow strike.
With a soft puff, the bat was blasted away. In the next instant, its body exploded midair. This was pure physical strength. Even a ten-thousand-year soul beast would suffer serious injury from such a blow.
Behind him, the major's eyebrow twitched slightly. In the darkness, Gu You couldn't see her expression. After a brief pause, he continued forward.
Passing the shattered corpse, he crouched slightly and focused his vision.
Gu You frowned. When the bat had exploded earlier, it seemed like a cluster of energy had dispersed.
Unlike in the Ascension Platform, this energy did not benefit his body nor enhance his soul ring power.
He continued forward.
Another airflow came—this time not one, but several streams simultaneously.
Gu You remained calm. The butt of his rifle flicked lightly.
Puff, puff, puff!
Three soft sounds rang out as three bats burst apart midair, their remains slowly dissipating on the ground.
He didn't stop. The bats appeared one after another. Sometimes only one, sometimes six or seven at once, nearly filling the entire tunnel with their bulk.
But none could break through Gu You's elbow strikes. Their bodies shattered one by one.
After advancing about a hundred meters, faint light began to appear ahead. The number of bats gradually decreased. The light wasn't strong, but compared to total darkness, it was a relief.
The tunnel reached its end and turned left.
After rounding the corner and taking only a few steps, Gu You suddenly stopped.
Shock filled his face.
Before him lay a cavern of enormous scale—its area comparable to a stadium. Along one massive wall were over a hundred holes of varying sizes. The cavern stood nearly a hundred meters tall. At least a hundred of those four-clawed bats were flying inside.
From the opposite side, even more bats poured out of other tunnels. The faint light came from those openings—dim but sufficient for Gu You's Purple Demon Eye.
So the test is just killing bats?
His eyes flickered thoughtfully.
At that moment, the major stepped up beside him and suddenly looked up at him with a smile.
It was the first time Gu You had seen her smile.
But no matter how he looked at it, he felt her smile was filled with ill intent.
She leaned closer and whispered:
"Protect me, alright?"
As she spoke, she abruptly dashed forward—straight into the cavern.
Gu You twitched at the corner of his mouth.
So this is what they call artificially increasing difficulty?
Though he grumbled internally, his movements were swift. With a push of his toes against the ground, he instantly followed behind her.
In midair, he grabbed onto her from behind—who knew where exactly he grabbed—then used the recoil force to fling her back upward.
"You—!"
The major's face flushed red.
"You said protect you. Using some tactics isn't too much, is it?"
Gu You landed steadily. His soul-guided rifle began firing.
This rifle didn't use bullets condensed from soul power, but modified soul-powered ammunition that could be stored in advance. Even ordinary people could unleash at least Soul Ancestor–level firepower with it.
The magazine capacity seemed unknown. In this simulated world, it appeared to be infinite.
Sensing an intruder, the bats shrieked collectively. One after another, they descended from above, attacking Gu You from every direction.
But what greeted them was an endless storm of bullets.
The astonishment in the major's eyes grew increasingly obvious.
She had overseen many new recruits during assessments. Some were sharpshooters who stabilized the situation with precise aim. Others relied on sophisticated manipulation of various soul tools.
But Gu You's combat style was something she had never seen before.
Pure strength combined with technology.
Just thinking about it was interesting.
The reason she personally chose to conduct Gu You's assessment was simple. After directing him to meet the lieutenant earlier, she had accessed hidden surveillance footage from the snowy mountains...
(End of Chapter)