Within five minutes of distribution, all 500 freshmen had been equipped with Monster Rings. Simultaneously, data regarding their target appeared on their PDI communicators.
Magnetic Monster - Antlar.
Antlar's body is covered in gray, rock-hard skin, with a massive carapace on its back providing exceptional defensive capabilities. Its name comes from the pair of stag-beetle-like mandibles on its head and the central horn capable of manipulating magnetic fields.
* Length: 40–55 meters
* Weight: Approximately 20,000–45,000 tons
Due to the magnetic field distortions, TPC used specialized surveying methods to detect a colony of approximately 15 Antlars. They were active within a twenty-kilometer radius of the center of the Tengger Desert.
Among them, ten had an energy rating of Class B, four were Class B+, and one was Class A.
The data was extremely detailed. Aside from that single Class A entity, the remaining fourteen Antlars didn't seem... entirely unbeatable for a group of five hundred students.
After a quick glance at the briefing, the five hundred trainees, including Ye Feng, were ushered into transport planes. A total of five transports were flying toward the Tengger Desert; this was the final exam for these students who had only been enrolled for a year.
One had to admit, an alternate world was truly something else—who would believe a final exam consisted of fighting monsters? And that Class A Antlar... was that specifically arranged for him?
Ye Feng wasn't bragging, but in this year's batch, aside from Qin Yuxin, Lu Bai, and Lin Fei—who started with Class B energy and barely reached B+ after a year of training—no one else could stand a chance against a Class A Antlar.
While the gap between energy levels and actual combat power could vary, that usually only applied to veterans or the highly gifted. Ordinary people still relied heavily on their energy reserves. Otherwise, in a war of attrition, the monster would still be standing tall while you'd be completely drained.
Ye Feng strongly suspected that Director Lin had a hand in this test. This was evident from the fact that he was personally given the Ring of Light.
"Say, Ye Feng, why does your Monster Ring look different from ours?" Lu Bai, sitting next to him, noticed the ring emitting a different glow and voiced his question.
"It's an issue with the awakened power. As for what it does, you'll find out soon enough." Ye Feng didn't explain much. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but with so many people watching, it wasn't wise to reveal too much. While he didn't intentionally hide his uniqueness, that was only for a small circle of people, not a giant crowd.
"Fair enough, I won't pry then." Lu Bai realized the sensitivity and shifted the conversation to other topics.
Tengger Desert Border, Gansu TPC Outpost.
Lin Jing, Principal Jiang, and a group of Imperial Academy instructors had all arrived here to observe the operation. As for the other three regions, personnel from other nations were responsible for monitoring them.
"Director Lin!"
Upon Lin Jing's arrival, everyone became incredibly excited, as if they'd been injected with adrenaline.
"Alright, everyone sit down and keep a close eye on Antlar's movements. Remember, this plan is international in scale."
After Lin Jing spoke a few words, the young operators responded with excitement and immediately returned to their stations to begin observations.
"Director, don't you think agreeing to split the students into different regions is a bit too risky?" Once they were seated, Principal Jiang voiced his concerns. After all, those were his students out there.
"I know, but there have been too many invaders popping up in recent years. We can no longer afford the old method of slow, methodical training," Lin Jing explained, his tone laced with reluctance.
But he had no choice. He couldn't gamble with the lives of all humanity. That was why he had proposed this to the international committee. The other continental directors hadn't hesitated to agree with Lin Jing's decision because the number of strange incidents in recent years had become overwhelming.
If monsters used to appear once a week globally, now they were appearing every three to four days. And the frequency was only increasing. Some regions had even seen three or four monsters invade within a single day. If monsters began appearing incessantly, the current GUTS members would eventually burn out, and dying on the battlefield would become an inevitability.
Principal Jiang fell silent. He knew Lin Jing was right, but thinking of those 18 to 21-year-olds facing such terrifying beasts still pained his heart.
"Don't worry. We are already investigating the cause of the frequent appearances. We have locked onto eight specific sectors. I believe we'll be able to execute a neutralization plan soon."
Upon hearing this, Principal Jiang and the surrounding instructors were shocked. Eight sectors! No wonder the frequency was so high; there were that many spatial tunnels!
Spatial Tunnels. These were the source of the monster appearances. They were distributed across the globe or in outer space. In the last century, humanity had discovered a total of thirty-eight tunnels. Thirty of them had been closed using the power of monsters. The remaining eight were still being discussed, and as for whether a thirty-ninth existed on Earth, no one could say for sure. Even for tunnels in deep space that humans knew about, they lacked the means to reach them for now.
"Report! The transport planes have reached the outskirts of the Tengger Desert. Estimated arrival at ten kilometers outside Antlar's activity range in five minutes."
The operator's voice cut through the conversation, drawing the attention of Lin Jing and the others. Lin Jing knew it was time. He immediately ordered: "Activate TPC Satellites 3, 6, and 9. No. 3 will monitor the Antlar colony, No. 6 will track the students' movements, and No. 9 will stream the feed to the backup forces for emergency rescue."
"Understood. Calling Satellite T3 to relieve T2."
"Link successful. Syncing feed to secondary screen... Sync complete."
"T6 online. Combat student feed synced to main screen... Sync complete."
"T9 requesting signal access."
"Access granted. Commencing transmission. Coordinates: **°E, **°N."
"Command code: Temporary Outpost 6. Transmission finished."
Following the operator's commands, the massive 8x15 meter black screen in the front quickly displayed the relevant footage.
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
Shortly after the feeds synced, an alarm blared. This caught Lin Jing and the others off guard.
Principal Jiang hurriedly asked, "What's happening? Report!"
"Satellite T12 has detected traces of Chaos Header! Moving at high speed. Estimated descent into Tengger Desert, Mount Everest, the Amazon, and Diaoyu Islands in one minute!"
"Director, something is wrong! The Antlar colony has suddenly started charging toward the students! Estimated collision in three minutes!"
Hearing this series of disasters, the instructors cursed the monsters under their breath. They began to plead: "Director Lin, this is too sudden! Cancel the operation!"
"Yes, Director! It's too abrupt; the students aren't prepared! They can't handle the Antlar colony!"
"It's not just that—the appearance of Chaos Header changes everything. This mission is no longer standard!"
Seeing that Lin Jing remained motionless, the Chief Instructor couldn't sit still. "Director Lin, give the order! If we wait, those kids will be in danger!"
While the instructors pleaded, their eyes kept darting to Principal Jiang. Principal Jiang was about to speak when Lin Jing finally opened his mouth: "Don't worry. Before this, I already assigned missions to the Gansu GUTS team and the Defense Force. They will move out immediately in case of crisis. You just stay here and watch."
For a "first mission" like this, Lin Jing was naturally not being careless; he had prepared backup measures long ago. Hearing this, Principal Jiang and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing the Director so composed, they were internally struck by his foresight.
"Alright, sit down," Lin Jing said with a smile. He then commanded: "Transmit the movements of the Antlar colony and the Chaos Header to the students' PDIs. Tell them to prepare for battle on the spot."
"Understood."
The students had already disembarked, and the transport planes were returning. Just as they were about to organize the personnel, their PDIs rang out.
"Antlar and Chaos Header are both coming? This is going to be difficult." Seeing the message, Ye Feng's brow furrowed. This was definitely not good news.
"Holy shit! Are they kidding us? They said the monsters were ten kilometers away!"
"Dammit, I knew this training was sketchy! I'm going home!"
"I'm out! Fighting monsters? No way in hell!"
"Shut up! If you don't want to die, start fusing now, or you won't even have a chance to run!"
"Exactly! Complaining won't help; we have no way back!"
The students had been mentally prepared to an extent, but the suddenness of the news still caught them off balance. Fortunately, monsters were a frequent occurrence in this world, and they had been trained for this. While some panicked, the more rational majority quickly took control.
"Everyone, stay calm! Listen to me!"
Lin Fei stepped forward manfully. Regardless of whether they agreed, he shouted: "Monster awakeners, move out! Those who awakened as aliens and can't grow to giant size, don't worry—act as support and help the wounded. Just make sure you don't get hurt!"
With that, Lin Fei pulled out his Monster Ring. "I'll take the lead! Follow me!"
"Brutal Monster, Astrons!"
"Ultra Fusion!"
In an instant, accompanied by a unique sound and a flash of dark red light, a sixty-meter-tall giant rose from the desert floor.
"ROAR~~~"
Astrons sensed Antlar's approach and let out a furious roar toward the south, both to intimidate the colony and to warn his classmates.
"Is that monster fusion? It looks so cool!"
"Forget 'cool,' fuse now! I see the sand moving over there!"
"Right! Hurry, or we're all dead!"
"Dammit, what's happening? My energy is Class B, why can't I fuse?!"
"Sister, you're not alone! I can't fuse either! QwQ"
The drawbacks of a "first fusion" appeared. The success of Ye Feng, Qin Yuxin, and Lin Fei were rare cases. After thirty seconds, aside from Ye Feng's group of six, about 60% of the other 493 students failed to fuse. Among the successful 40%, monsters made up most, while only three students successfully grew to giant size as aliens.
Slowly, the once vast desert was filled with over a hundred giant monsters. Seeing so many giants in front of them, those who failed to transform felt a bit more at ease. At least the "big guys" were in front; they didn't have to worry about immediate safety.
Ye Feng and his group of six didn't transform yet, instead hiding in a corner to observe.
"Ye Feng, why aren't we moving out?"
"Yeah, there's strength in numbers. I'm sure we can handle the Antlar colony together."
Before Ye Feng could answer, Qin Yuxin explained: "Actually, more people isn't necessarily better. Everyone is transforming for the first time; who knows how messy the combat will be?"
"I get it! It's better to stay back and act as the... ahem, wait for an opportunity. Plus, we need to see if the Chaos Header will interfere. That's the superior strategy," Lu Bai said quickly, trying to look smart in front of his girlfriend.
"Qin Yuxin and Lu Bai are right. There's no rush. If Lin Fei and the others can handle it, great. If not, too many people will just get in each other's way. Observing is the right move," Ye Feng added.
As he finished speaking, the ground began to tremble. Those who hadn't fused stumbled, most falling onto the sand. Ye Feng remained standing, his eyes fixed on the south. "They're here."
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Simultaneously, sand geysers erupted dozens of meters into the air in every direction, forming a circle that trapped Astrons and the other fused monsters in the middle. Fortunately, Lin Fei had the foresight to lead his group a kilometer away, so Ye Feng and the others who hadn't transformed yet were spared from being surrounded.
"SCREECH~~~"
Ear-piercing, shrill cries echoed for five kilometers as the sand settled. One by one, the giant stag-beetle-like monsters emerged, surrounding the hundred student-monsters. However, the appearance of these Antlars was completely different from the records.
"Chaos Antlar. This just got complicated." The appearance of Chaos monsters was within Ye Feng's expectations, but he noticed that the Class A Antlar in the center remained unchanged.
"Not affected by the Chaos virus? Did it not attach, or is it hiding?" Ye Feng's eyes were coated in a layer of light invisible to others.
Luna Clairvoyance.
This was a technique Ye Feng had mastered over the past year as the light gradually altered his body. Because he possessed the light of Cosmos within him, he was essentially Ultraman Cosmos himself, allowing him to use certain skills even in human form.
His gaze swept over the lead Antlar and the other fourteen. He discovered that except for the leader, all fourteen had Chaos Header reactions inside them.
"Strange. Is the lead Antlar so strong it doesn't need reinforcement? Or is there not enough energy to strengthen the leader alongside the other fourteen?"
Director Lin had provided him with intel on the Chaos Header. It explained that each Chaos Header possessed a certain energy value; if the total energy of the monsters exceeded this value, the Chaos Header couldn't take them all over. To strengthen a Class A Antlar, it would likely need to pull the Chaos Header energy out of the other fourteen.
"That's a bit of good news. The worst-case scenario would be a Class A monster combined with a Class A Chaos Header. As long as the energy level doesn't reach Class S, I should have the strength to deal with it."
As he calculated his odds, Astrons, led by Lin Fei, had already begun charging toward the Antlars.
•
Today updates! You can found advanced chapter on my Patreon here—↓
patreon.com/EBBYRITH.
—feel free to visit it!↑