Chapter 1246: Confrontation Match Returns

Stiffened in place.

In Andre's mind, he had considered countless possibilities, doubted every anomaly. But he never imagined that the truth would actually be this...

After a moment, he suddenly lowered his head and began to chuckle.

As if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, his trembling shoulders carried a hint of desolation.

The head that had once been proud and never bowed was no longer proud at this moment.

No wonder his emotions fluctuated so greatly.

From the moment he first discovered the remnants, he began scheming; from the first time he saw Lin An, he had the idea of using him.

For his own plan, for the overall victory, he had already expended too much effort.

No one knows what he experienced in the dungeon before the Confrontation Match.

That was an S-rank mission etched into memory, its difficulty far beyond anyone's imagination. Its unsolvability even surpassed the punishment dungeon Lin An initially faced.

No one could help him, no one could fight alongside him.

Within the military, there were masses of enslaved humans, remnants who called themselves deities.

Outside the military, the North American War Zone, led by Luo En, sought to overthrow his various factions.

He had no family, no lover, and no one regarded him as a 'person'. He knew how people spoke of him behind his back. If not for his formidable strength and iron-fisted methods, his fate would have been to become a machine devoid of even free will.

All military personnel knew he was nothing more than the most 'base' experimental subject.

An artificial product.

To break free from shackles, for the sake of free will, to survive, he had given too much, too much.

Compared to Lin An's situation, how could his be merely ten times worse?

Looking at Andre, who seemed unable to accept these things, Chu An's face showed no expression; he simply gazed at him calmly.

Indeed, it was luck.

He had remained in Xiong Hanzi's thoughts purely because, considering Lin An's weaknesses, only Zhang Tie remained.

Then it's simple—just block it.

Just like the earliest Immortal Asura, that monster's weakness lay solely in its will.

Lin An didn't need his 'protection', let alone the existence of a Second Will. It was only natural for him to serve as the Second Will residing in Zhang Tie's mind.

That silly bear, though terrifying in potential, once something went wrong, Lin An could easily lose his reason.

All that can be said is that Andre lost because he pursued the optimal solution too relentlessly—smart people think alike.

A long wait.

After a long while, Andre seemed about to laugh tears out, then slowly straightened his posture, the expression on his face gradually returning to calm.

"I admit, I lost this time."

"Next time, I will definitely win against you."

He spoke, word by word, pausing.

Gazing at Chu An before him, Andre drew a deep breath, as if once again becoming that extremely proud youth.

He would not be defeated so easily.

He was absolutely confident that he was the finest existence among humanity!

His loss was merely due to excessive confidence, to being unable to resist the overwhelming tide!

Next time, who will win remains uncertain!

"Speak, what do you want me to help you do?"

"Simple."

"In the Confrontation Match, you should have heard that an Evil God exists in the first level's power trial."

"The North American War Zone also has traces of them."

"I need... you to release them..."

Beneath the transparent lenses, Chu An's eyes flickered with an imperceptible hue as he spoke softly.

He suddenly lifted his head.

After hearing what Chu An said he intended to do, Andre's eyes narrowed involuntarily; he took a deep look at Chu An before him.

Release..

Evil God!?

The true master of those remnants!?

Capital Military Region.

In the city ruins destroyed by artillery, several agile Second Level soldiers sprinted swiftly along the broken walls.

With a graceful flip, the six moved like soundless monkeys, silently climbing to the rooftop.

"Food is growing scarcer."

"Everything's been reduced to ruins—where can we still find supplies?"

He pulled out a small knife; a crew-cut youth in the squad slowly scraped off a patch of black blood from the wall, examining it carefully.

He needed to determine when the blood was shed, to infer whether survivors or mutants were nearby.

Although, theoretically, there would no longer be any survivors.

"Stop complaining a bit. Now even the quota for first‑rank officers has been cut, and the surrounding military regions can't support us."

"If we don't go out to find something, our squad will just wait to go hungry."

Squatting on the ground, the squad leader sighed silently, replying without lifting his head.

He silently gazed at the pendant on his chest, at the photo inside, and couldn't help but show a hint of bitterness.

Since the Confrontation Match began, nearly all high‑rank personnel worldwide have entered the match. Although mutants and corpse tides have halted their attacks on humanity under system control, this does not mean their situation will improve much.

Without high-rank to lead the team, the difficulty of acquiring supplies doubles.

Starting about six days ago, as safe zones internally began to fight, trying to seize supplies before the third rank returned, everyone realized a food crisis was coming.

Without high-rank, no one leads the team.

Without high-rank, there is no order.

In the chaos no one anticipated, a humanitarian disaster erupted.

Low-rank Awakened Ones once suppressed by the third rank, like losing control, began to reveal humanity's dark side. The already scarce food was also destroyed in battle after battle.

Actually, people should have seen this coming.

High-rank Awakened Ones often prefer to maintain order, while low-rank who are only slightly stronger than ordinary people are the most dangerous.

Just as before the apocalypse, the cruelest toward their own kind are not the high-and-mighty bigwigs, nor the armies wielding utmost violence.

But rather... those who look the most insignificant, the scum.

"Captain, when will our third rank return?"

"This time in the confrontation, we should be able to win, right?"

A worried expression appeared.

As those not selected for the confrontation, they now thought of the empty military camp and couldn't help but feel a strong unease.

Human nature admires the strong; although the strong often destroy order, they are also often its creators.

Compared to the Huaxia war zone already erupting with internal strife everywhere, they hoped the troops would return soon.

"Will win!"

Firmly patting a team member's shoulder, the squad captain's face showed a hint of resoluteness.

"Believe in General Wang and them!"

"We will definitely still achieve victory!"

"Squeak-"

Under the slightly eased atmosphere, a sudden abnormal sound startled several people.

In an instant, the scout with decent combat training rushed to the window, vigilantly looking down at the ruins.

Just a few seconds later, he couldn't help but frown, discovering nothing.

Turning around, in his blind spot, a lizard-like humanoid creature silently approached them from the sewer.

From afar, it actually looked like a skinned frog.