In the real world, combat isn't about comparing numerical attributes displayed above heads.
If a powerhouse doesn't make a move, no one knows he's terrifyingly powerful.
If a weak person puts on a show, they might even scare off a top expert.
Intelligence.
In real combat, it's always an incredibly important factor.
The Hunter Families hide behind the world, possessing countless pieces of intelligence that ordinary people could never access in their entire lives.
Every contestant's weaknesses, abilities, techniques, even family background, personality flaws…
The descendants of the Hunter Families have a clear grasp of them all.
They aren't arrogant second-generation heirs doing brainless deeds like in cheap novels.
Each one of them is a hunter who uses a lion's strength to catch a rabbit.
After wiping his hands clean, Steele changed into a pair of black gloves.
He searched the 'Hidden Killer' Chen Sen's body for a while and pulled out a gleaming golden token.
Generally, collecting at least 5 tokens in the advancement round was considered a stable entry into the finals.
For Hunter Family descendants, they needed to hunt at least 10 prey to barely meet their family's requirements.
Steele was no exception.
He lightly pressed his right hand on his watch, and a virtual screen appeared before him.
Data models of over a thousand advanced contestants were neatly displayed before him.
"Wait, pause on this person."
However, when the data scrolled past a certain person, Steele's pupils abruptly contracted sharply, and he frowned lightly.
Swish…
A data model enlarged before his eyes, displaying over a dozen detailed subcategories.
Contestant: Hattori
Age: 29 (suspected forgery
Identity: Construction worker (suspected forgery
Address: Unknown
Superpower: Unknown (suspected wood-elemental ability
Physical Skills: Unknown
Special Abilities: Unknown
Personality: Unknown
Weaknesses: Unknown
Background: Unknown
Unknown, unknown, unknown...
All the information about this person provided by the AI was completely unknown!
"Impossible!"
Steele's eyes contracted sharply, his face full of disbelief.
"The Time's Eye satellite monitors the entire world. Apart from fellow Hunter Family's members who can conceal their own information, how could an ordinary mortal leave behind so little information?"
"Does he have no registered residence? Never been to an internet cafe? Never stayed in a hotel? Never watched a single superpower match? Never taken planes, trains, ships, or any other transportation?"
Steele refused to believe it.
In today's modern world, apart from Hunter Families who had the ability to erase their own traces, no one else could possibly conceal themselves so thoroughly.
'Could he be a newly emerged Hunter Family's descendant? Has a new hunter entered the dark forest?'
Steele's pupils contracted sharply as he thought of a terrifying possibility.
Just then…
"Warning! Warning! A super energy life form is approaching! Extremely dangerous! Evacuate immediately!"
The AI in his mind instantly issued an extremely urgent alarm.
Almost instinctively, Steele snapped his right fingers, activating his time domain ability.
World, stand still.
He quickly walked out of the manor and looked in the direction the AI had warned about.
Instantly, his pupils contracted sharply.
What appeared before his eyes was a terrifying wooden colossus, tens of thousands of meters tall, covered in vines and greenery!
With one step, it flattened half of London's urban area.
Its head soared above the clouds, making it impossible to see what being stood atop it.
'An existence of this level could absolutely not be controlled by a mortal.'
'A hunter, another hunter!!!'
Steele's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
He pressed a switch with his right hand. Within 0.5 seconds, a shimmering silver-gray device rapidly extended from his back.
This was his lifesaving trump card, the 'Spatial Jump Device' prepared for him by his family.
Once activated, it could instantly jump him to a pre-set coordinate within 3 seconds.
Combined with the 5-second time stop, it was a completely invincible escape plan.
"Phew, I must inform the family. The birth of a new hunter is enough to shake the entire structure of the dark forest."
Steele breathed heavily, his heart gradually calming down.
The time stop ability was absolute; the spatial jump device's activation couldn't be stopped by anyone.
Although encountering a strong enemy so suddenly felt somewhat unexpected, at least this time...
"Oh? Time-based ability? It seems the intelligence I have is indeed too little. I almost missed such a rare fellow like you."
A ghostly voice suddenly echoed by Steele's ear.
'How is this possible?!'
Steele's entire body trembled violently as he looked in shock at the second hand on his watch.
Only 3.13 seconds had passed!
Subtracting the 0.5 seconds for device activation, and nearly a second for charging time...
That meant…
Boom!
A terrifying, immense force, at a speed Steele couldn't possibly react to, sent him flying over a hundred meters away.
The nano-tech armor on his body instantly formed a shield.
This technological product excavated by the Clock Family from a super-ancient ruin was capable of resisting impacts from 1000-ton blunt instruments and burns from 1000-degree high temperatures.
However, faced with this indescribably immense force, it was still as fragile as paper.
Hattori's fist easily pierced through the nano-tech armor.
Then, he quickly retracted his strength.
Using a precise fist wind that severely injured Steele but wasn't fatal, he sent him flying.
Steele crashed through dozens of buildings before finally embedding deeply into a steel wall, vomiting blood.
"Your ability is very strong, pity the range is too small."
Hattori instantly teleported, appearing immediately before Steele, lifting him from the wall with one hand, shaking his head with a light laugh.
The time domain's range was five meters around him.
But the wooden colossus was tens of thousands of meters tall.
Even if Steele time-stopped the colossus's leg, because it was a single entity, its entire body would be immobilized.
But Hattori, standing on the colossus's head, was completely unaffected.
The reason for the two-second pause was to let Moyan see the future and analyze Steele's trump card.
Hattori was cautious to the bone, and even with a wood clone and an immortal body, he absolutely refused to take risks lightly.
"That device can make Steele instantly disappear."
Moyan said so.
After obtaining this intelligence, Hattori performed the subsequent series of actions, interrupting Steele's spatial jump.
So now, he looked amiably at Steele, outlining a 'kind' smile, and said plainly,
"Two questions. Answer me, and you can die quickly."
"First question: Do you know any intelligence about hidden ruins?"
As Hattori's words fell, Moyan's eyes beside him began to flicker, starting to predict the future seconds ahead.
Steele's pupils contracted slightly, his Adam's apple bobbed as he was about to speak.
But Hattori stopped him.
"No need to answer. Second question: Where is the Clock Family located?"
A smile curled on Hattori's lips as he asked solemnly.
During a period of research, he had developed a way to use abilities.
By combining Nightmare's ability with Moyan's, even without speaking, he could obtain information from Moyan spiritually.
This 'spiritual sharing' could minimize intelligence loss and maintain the organization's mystery.
In the dark forest where everyone was a hunter, this was an ability countless people desired.
"…"
Steele's eyes contracted sharply but then slowly calmed. He sighed lightly.
"The family was right. Every hunter in the dark forest has unpredictable methods."
"I thought you were prey, but you are the hunter."
He closed his eyes, resigning himself to his fate as he shut his eyelids.
"No need for me to answer, right? You should already know the answers to the questions. Do it."