Knov looked at Luke for a moment. "But I can say this, there's more than one exit point."
"And the exit point is not called the extraction point."
"Is that so? Sorry, I'm just used to calling it that."
Luke said, adding silently in his mind, 'Yeah, back when I played Delta.'
The exam mode and rules Knov had just announced were exactly the same as the Delta Force game.
You gather supplies, then head to a designated extraction point to leave.
Supplies came in various colors: white, green, blue, purple, red, and so on, each color representing a different value.
The location they were in, some kind of dam, was probably just like the Zero Dam map.
Luke was already familiar with this kind of setup.
Now that Knov confirmed there were multiple extraction points, Luke couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
"I was hoping to camp at one of the extraction points and take all their loot as they came through..."
Hearing that, Knov looked at him again.
Indeed, according to the rules he had just announced, he never once said that applicants couldn't rob one another.
Which meant, if you couldn't gather enough supplies yourself, you could always start taking them from others!
This test wasn't just about observation and scavenging ability.
It also tested one's awareness, counter-awareness, the ability to defend against ambushes, and the skill to evade human-made crises and escape successfully!
Only those who could survive the chaos, collect resources, and retreat safely had the right to become true hunters!
Without a doubt, in this first round, the real challenge wasn't collecting supplies; it was competing against the other applicants.
First came the competition for shared resources.
If two or more groups came upon the same stock of supplies, who would get them? No one could say.
Even if someone suggested dividing them evenly, no one would listen.
Anyone who made it here to take the hunter exam was prideful by nature.
They would never accept an equal split.
What's more, Knov had stated clearly, the more resources you gather, the greater your advantage in the next round.
With that as a condition, even those who didn't care about getting ahead would still fight tooth and nail to avoid being at a disadvantage.
Whenever supplies appeared, they would fight over them immediately.
Besides, in this environment, no one knew how many supplies were hidden around.
If someone else took them, and you couldn't find any replacements, you would fall into a disadvantageous position.
And then, you might have to fight again later just to catch up.
So rather than give up and risk failing later, many decided to go all out now. If you see supplies, take them by any means necessary.
That was one source of conflict.
The other came from those with the same ideas as Luke's; some people didn't plan to search for supplies at all.
Instead, they would find a retreat point early, set up an ambush, and rob those who passed by with their hard-earned loot.
Many confident applicants shared the same mindset as Luke.
They planned to rob as many applicants as possible to secure a strong advantage for the second round.
Driven by this ambition, many immediately sought out the retreat points.
And since there was more than one, these ambitious individuals split up strategically, each staking out a different location.
Thus, a fierce battle for resources broke out across the area.
Time passed quietly.
All across the factories, dams, and other structures, sudden bursts of fighting would erupt out of nowhere and vanish just as quickly before the conflict spread.
Small-scale, lightning-fast clashes.
After all, neither side wanted to waste effort and become someone else's prey.
As the saying goes…
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
There were plenty of other applicants lurking, waiting for their chance to swoop in and claim the spoils.
And so, the entire testing ground became a strange rhythm of brief skirmishes and swift endings.
Before anyone realized it, the twenty-four-hour time limit had already passed.
On one of the routes leading to an exit point…
"These should be enough now, right?"
A tall, thin man with a sharp, dangerous aura looked down at the pile of loot before him.
"Tank model, respirator, premium coffee beans, golden compass..."
Each item's label had a string of numbers showing its value in Jenny, numbers that made the thin man grin with satisfaction.
"Not sure why a bag of coffee beans is worth so much, though."
"But with this much material gathered, it's probably worth several million jenny."
"In fact, it might even reach ten million jenny."
"With that, not to mention passing, I'll definitely rank among the top in the next round!"
A fiery gleam flashed in the thin man's eyes.
All these supplies were things he had taken from other applicants passing through here.
And he had strict standards about who he hunted.
If an applicant looked strong or hard to deal with, he would never make a move.
Instead, he targeted those who had gotten lucky and gathered good supplies and were visibly relaxed and joyful as they neared the departure point.
Those were his prey!
"Alright, I think I've collected enough."
"If I drag this out any longer, something unexpected might happen."
"At this point, the remaining applicants are mostly those who barely managed to collect goods worth about a million."
"There's not much profit to squeeze from them."
"And if any desperate applicants who still don't have enough supplies decide to risk it all and attack someone like me, with plenty of resources..."
"If I get targeted, then that would be a huge loss..."
The thin man understood clearly: quitting at the right time was the only way to keep this business going longer.
Of course, by business, he meant the hunter exam.
He intended to pass round after round, until he got that hunter's license!
Just as he wisely decided to withdraw and head for the exit with his supplies…
"Oh? Didn't expect to find such a big fish still lingering here."
That playful voice behind him instantly made every hair on the thin man's body stand up.
He leaned forward sharply, rolling on the ground in an attempt to dodge whatever danger might come from behind.
His reaction was correct, but unfortunately, in the face of absolute power, no amount of tactics would make any difference.
Whoosh!
Bang!
Before the voice even finished, a small pebble shot forward at high speed, striking the thin man squarely on the back of the head.
Thud.
The tremendous impact sent him flying.
It's a tiny stone, yet it carries immense force.
"Didn't expect that in the end, I would still end up serving as someone else's stepping stone..."
That was the thin man's final thought before losing consciousness.
Indeed, once he chose to hunt other applicants, he should have been prepared to become prey himself someday.
"This is the most rewarding mantis I've caught so far."
Luke smiled, calling the fallen man a mantis.
The thin man was the mantis catching the cicada, and naturally, Luke was the oriole behind them.
Up to now, this was the fourth mantis he had caught.
"If I'm not mistaken, there should be about ten exit points in total."
"I've already caught four mantises, that's more than enough."
Luke counted the supplies in front of him while calculating.
During these twenty-four hours, he hadn't gone out to collect supplies himself.
Instead, he waited patiently, waiting for the mantises to catch enough cicadas.
Then, near the deadline, he played the role of the oriole swooping in for the harvest.
"This world works like that, small fish eat shrimp, big fish eat small fish."
"Don't you think so, examiner Knov?"
After storing everything, Luke smiled at Knov, who had quietly appeared behind him.
Knov: "..."
He simply watched the scene calmly, his gaze also falling on the badge number Luke had picked out from the loot, badges stained with traces of blood.
No need to ask, those were from the applicants hunted by the thin man.
And as for what happened to those applicants after being hunted… the bloodstains made it clear enough.
"When pigs and sheep are raised fat and strong, they naturally become the farmer's next meal."
Knov remarked flatly.
"Evildoer will be punished by another evildoer."
It was all darkness devouring darkness; Knov had no intention of commenting further about the thin man.
After all, this was the applicants' own battle.
As an examiner, he would not intervene.
The only reason he appeared here was that this particular exit point was under his supervision.
And upon seeing such a peculiar applicant like Luke show up, he couldn't resist coming over to take a look.
Indeed, Luke had left a strong impression on Knov from the start of the exam.
Back then, Luke had said he planned to lie in wait at the exit.
At the time, Knov thought Luke meant to ambush careless applicants.
But who would've thought Luke's real targets were those ambushers themselves?
He hunted the applicants who hunted other applicants.
Luke's thinking and strategy were clearly a level above the rest.
They were on the third floor while Luke was on the fifth.
"I'll be looking forward to your performance in the second round."
Knov said after giving Luke a deep look, then he turned to leave.
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it too."
Luke smiled as he watched him go.
"Besides, I haven't even used any of my inventions in this round yet..."
This first phase, operation Delta... Ah, no, the supply-collection test hadn't been difficult for Luke at all.
He simply found an exit point and took the supplies from the mantises lying in ambush there.
Without much effort, he had already found four mantises.
The supplies they had gathered combined amounted to…
"About twenty million in total."
Four people, each having taken down four or five other applicants.
That was no small number.
After all, among the hundreds of participants, only a few could fight their way out and gather over a million's worth of supplies.
Those who made it to the exit point were one in dozens, rare exceptions.
"That should be enough."
After collecting materials from four mantises in a row and seeing that time was almost up, Luke didn't bother catching any more.
He leisurely walked toward the designated exit point.
When he arrived at the nearest one, there were only a handful of people waiting there.
They all looked tough and dangerous, with fierce, intimidating auras.
These were clearly the same kind of people that the thin man from before hadn't dared to mess with, the strong ones he had let go.
There were about ten exit points for the first phase of the Hunter Exam.
Luke counted the people who had already arrived.
If nothing unexpected happened, if they weren't ambushed on the way…
"Then each exit point should have about 15 people."
"In that case, roughly 150 people will pass the first round."
Out of just over 400 participants, more than half would be eliminated in the first round alone.
Only the hunter exam could have such a brutal elimination rate.
But with all those mantises around and Luke acting as the oriole behind, the number of survivors would shrink even further.
Finally, when the 24-hour deadline came to an end…
"Those of you who passed the first round, please follow me."
A staff member in a neat suit and black sunglasses appeared.
"I'll be taking you to the venue for the next round."
"But before that, please hand over the resources you've gathered in this round for verification."
"The value of your resources will determine the advantage you hold in the second round."
As soon as he finished speaking, some applicants stepped forward to submit their supplies.
The staff member pulled out a calculator and began tallying the prices and quantities.
"Applicant No. 37, total resources: 1.27 million. Passed."
"Applicant No. 257, total resources: 2.13 million. Passed."
One by one, the applicants stepped up and handed over their collected goods.
As they listened to the totals being read aloud, their expressions changed; those whose totals were higher than others' smiled with satisfaction, while those who were clearly lower looked gloomy.
A mix of emotions filled the crowd.
Then, when it was Luke's turn, he was the last one to step forward.
Clatter!
He raised his hand and dumped out a huge pile of supplies that covered the ground.
"Huh?!"
Not only did the staff member freeze, but everyone else at the exit point turned to stare.
"These things..."
The other applicants' eyes twitched while staring at Luke with wariness and fear.
It was obvious that with this much loot, applicant No. 404 hadn't gathered it all by himself.
He must have taken it from other participants!
If he had hunted that many applicants… then this man's strength was far from ordinary, and he's incredibly dangerous!
While the others were quietly intimidated, the staff member looked at the pile of materials in silence, though his hands didn't stop moving.
His calculator clicked rapidly, much faster than it had for anyone else before.
The speed of his calculations made the nearby applicants' faces grow darker and darker.