Chapter 1249: Competition Match Rewards

Competition match space.

Light pillars descended from the sky one after another, the system's power continuously locking onto each remaining Awakened One.

With the constant system settlement sounds, a milky-white healing aura also seeped from the light pillars into the wounded, quickly healing them.

Compared to the trial space, this time the system seemed much more generous.

Or rather, they were no longer treated as trash.

Silently listening to the system's settlement, Lin An saw that fewer than six hundred thousand light pillars remained, and a strange color flashed in the depths of his eyes.

In this competition match, only one in ten global Awakened Ones remained; it could be said he had almost wiped everyone out by skating the system's warning line. Since Andre gave him a big gift pack, he naturally wouldn't be polite.

After eliminating the remnants, he also eliminated about half of the remaining suspected remnants and non-suspected ones.

Except for Fei Ou Na's subordinates and Luo En who stepped forward to protect them, basically no one else at the third stage remained alive.

No wonder his killing was excessive.

If he were the one who lost, the other side would do the same. Moreover, under the system's restrictions, unless they united, many would still die.

Just like in the first confrontation, once the death toll reached the limit, the system would actively end the confrontation, as if it did not allow everyone to die.

"Active healing... deliberate protection..."

"From now on, are we considered to have been selected?"

Looking at the Alien Species in the distance quickly repairing their bodies, Lin An's eyes flashed with a strange color.

Now he could no longer act.

In fact, he actually intended to leave none alive.

Under the pincer attack of Zhang Tie and the female corpse, this group of Alien Species had already revealed their true forms; he had thought they were dead beyond death, but he didn't expect they still had a trump card.

That was a hand that suddenly appeared from the void.

It was emaciated, with a dead-white eyeball in its palm.

After being summoned, that hand merely glanced at Zhang Tie and the female corpse, then instantly burst forth with an ancient, as if the void of death's depths.

Perhaps it was some kind of rule, or perhaps some incomprehensible ability.

Under observation, even the female corpse whose strength he could not judge actually "died." The large amount of mingled spiritual entities, like snow under sunlight, instantly melted away completely. And Zhang Tie was directly struck into a near-death state, triggering the death immunity effect.

The power of that strike was comparable to his own Fifth Stage state back then?

Cannot be determined.

Given the overwhelming gap in information and strength, Lin An also couldn't determine what that hand was, or whether it was Fifth Stage.

But he knew that if he faced it, his fate would likely be no better than the female corpse's.

He felt a lingering fear and unease.

If it weren't for him following Andre's plan to give up and eliminate the Alien Species, perhaps he would be the one dead now.

Moreover, fortunately that group of Alien Species seemed unable to control the hand or communicate with it; after that thing suddenly appeared, it vanished instantly like a consumable.

In the dead-white eyeball, it seemed indifferent to where it appeared, showing no sign of intelligence.

"If that hand could still be used, I would probably die..."

"However, there should be a huge cost, otherwise this group of Alien Species would have every reason to attack me early."

After warily glancing at the last few Alien Species, Lin An didn't think further.

Just in their mutual gaze, he could clearly feel this batch of Alien Species' killing intent and hatred toward him. If before there had been some concealment, now it was utterly undisguised, wishing to kill him at once. If nothing unexpected happened, once the competition match ended, this group of Alien Species would take action.

Moreover...

Casually closing the private message Lihao sent, Lin An shook his head without changing expression.

The Alien Species having been exposed, he also couldn't determine whether it was good or bad.

At this moment, the military, because of his reminder, was obviously at a loss, unable to believe this fact.

They realized there truly were monsters within their ranks; anyone with a bit of wit could naturally think of the military's various strange actions over this period.

Even recalling the high level's deliberate attitude toward Faction: Long An, many couldn't help but feel a chill.

Who exactly are they fighting for?

How many of these monsters are still within them?

After returning, what should they do!? Tell the high level? But the high level itself is the Alien Species—what then?

Should they immediately go out and fight to the death with these Alien Species upon returning, letting everyone see these monsters clearly!?

In the midst of collapse and entanglement, even though the Huaxia war zone this time finally won victory, but with heavy hearts, even to say fearful, Lihao and others were like headless flies, completely unaware of what to do!

Just like an internal venomous snake baring its fangs, after completely tearing off the disguise, these Alien Species no longer bothered to justify themselves.

That resentful, icy gaze seemed to foreshadow what they were about to do.

If it cannot be hidden, then let it not be hidden!

Time, it's about up!

"General Lihao! Lin An doesn't want to return to the capital with us; what are we to do next..."

His expression was worried.

Under the white light, a large number of military Awakened Ones all looked toward Lihao, who had been "replaced," as if returning to before the competition match, Lihao was their true commander.

Perhaps out of habit, or perhaps spiritual identification, as Lihao's strength gradually fell short of top-tier combat power, he once again became the only person they could trust.

They wanted Lin An to return with them! They wanted Lin An to lend them a hand!

This group of Alien Species is far stronger than them...

Looking at that group of Alien Species about to return with them to the Capital Military Region, everyone's faces turned pale, unable to imagine what would happen.

The best outcome is that these Alien Species are only those present now.

Upon returning, immediately eliminate these monsters and tell the military the truth!

Moreover, they might also have to change their view of Lin An! Their previous conflicts with Faction: Long An might not have been genuine!

But if it's the second type...

Zhang Yong clenched his fists so tightly he couldn't even bring himself to hear the settlement notification.

He couldn't even imagine that, upon returning to the Capital, this group of alien species might have already seized control of the high-ranking officials, turning the tables on them—what should they do? Even worse, the monsters hidden among them had launched their plan and were no longer hiding.

What were they supposed to do then?

Unable to answer the crowd, Lihao's Spirit Energy Furnace on his chest flared continuously, reflecting his turbulent, breaking heart.

Once they went into hiding and refused to lend aid, the alien species dropped the act.

Especially after that hand was summoned, every explanation rang false, and nobody could believe the former leadership any longer.

Lin An was right to refuse to go back with them.

Maybe Lin An already knew what had happened in the Capital.

Their proud Capital Defense Line may have already become a monster's nest.

No wonder Lin An sought independence; he outright refused to cooperate with the military.

All we can say is that they only noticed their own problems at this moment, thanks to the other side's hint; Lin An must have sensed that the alien species were already preparing to strike.

He no longer wanted to get involved in this matter—or perhaps it was destined to remain unsolvable.

Seeing Lihao's frequent glances filled with self-reproach and even despair, Lin An hesitated but ultimately decided not to say more.

He knew what the military was thinking at that moment.

It was simply that they realized their own internal issues were the biggest problem; only now did the military grasp how grave their past actions had been.

Lihao wanted to ask to return to the Capital together, or, if they died, to tell the military the truth.

As for this naive idea, Lin An could only express his helplessness.

Actually, if it weren't for the alien species issue making ignorance impossible, he would rather the military stay in the dark.

This kind of thing is like a disaster everyone knows about; anyone who dares to warn early finds that what awaits isn't salvation but swifter destruction.

The alien species have already planned to strike; even warning them before the Confrontation Match would be useless.

The military will only trust its own people, after all, who knows how many survivors remain among the high-ranking officials?

And what about now?

After returning, will this group of alien species suppress the news by force, or prepare to strike immediately? All he can do is wait.

Either the alien species intend to keep developing for a while, suppressing the whole affair again, or the Capital will fall and the alien species will openly appear before everyone.

Besides that, no one can prevent the disaster from occurring.

The Capital Military Region is like an old man with a terminal illness; even the strongest medicine would only speed up his death.

For Lin An, he can only quickly improve his strength now, see how far he can strengthen after the settlement reward, and then it will be a decisive battle against the Alien Species!

In the dozens of scenarios he simulated, Lihao and the others were all unsolvable situations...

Perhaps the Capital has fallen, and only some people managed to escape...

No longer dwelling on the matter, Lin An let out a long sigh and turned his gaze toward the Soviet Union.

Zhang Tie was 'rescued' back by Taylor and the others.

It must be said, Mile's scalpel is highly effective; even in this situation, Taylor and his group still didn't realize that the Ryan they rescued was actually Zhang Tie posing as him. At most, they just felt something was off.

Not to say, Miley's scalpel is very effective; even in this situation, Taylor and them still haven't discovered that the Rayen they rescued is an impostor by Zhang Tie. At most, they just feel something is off.

Moreover, since his appearance, all doubts have been dispelled.

After all, Taylor only suspected he was Ryan, but now that he's in North America, Taylor could never have imagined that Zhang Tie would come over and impersonate him.

After all, Taylor only suspected that he was Rayen, but now he's in North America, Taylor couldn't have imagined that Zhang Tie would come again to impersonate.

After a brief hesitation, Lin An still chose to give up.

He now brings Ryan back with him, and together they return to Long'an—any fool knows Ryan is actually Zhang Tie.

With the transfer order in place, Xiong Hanzi can just stay in the Soviet Union and find an excuse to run back.

Meanwhile, Zhang Tie, surrounded by the Soviet Union, felt somewhat embarrassed and silent, forced to continue pretending to be Ryan.

When no one was noticing, his eyes darted around, as if he were hatching some scheme.

Damn it... he's actually going to be taken back to the Soviet Union...

Seeing the reverent looks of those around him, Zhang Tie felt both strange and secretly pleased.

Looking at the reverent gazes of the people around him, Zhang Tie felt both strange and somewhat secretly pleased at this moment.

"Ding, settlement ended."

"In this Confrontation Match, the top-ranked theater is the Asia War Zone."

"Second theater: Europe War Zone."

"Third theater: Oceania War Zone."

These three major theaters receive corresponding rewards, which have been distributed to the individuals with the highest contribution values.

「The three major war zones have received their corresponding rewards; the rewards have been distributed to the hands of those with the highest contribution. 」

Within six hours, please have all Awakened Ones spend their points; points from this Confrontation Match cannot be accumulated or retained.

After 6 hours, everyone withdraws from the Confrontation Space!

Ding, earned points reward.

Ding, earned first Confrontation Match settlement reward.

Ding, earned disaster reduction.

Ding, earned designated set exchange permit.

「Beep, obtained permission to exchange the designated set.. 」

But this time, it's no longer facing all Awakened Ones; it's just Lin An alone.

Just this time, it was no longer facing all the Awakened Ones, but Lin An alone.

Watching the constantly flashing reward notifications, Lin An's originally suppressed mood involuntarily eased a little, and he turned to carefully examine the rewards he had obtained this time.

The rapidly jumping score numbers quickly pushed his previously empty score into the seven‑digit range.

"Six hours..."

"If I exchange everything for Rule Fragments, can I become Fourth Stage after I go out!?"

The outskirts of the satellite city of Long'an Base.

"Lao Ya Zi, I said I'd make the first move—what are you afraid of!"

"After we succeed, we'll split it fifty‑fifty! I don't believe you wouldn't be tempted!"

Pretending to be a merchant convoy exchanging external supplies, Zhao Mei looked with contempt at the young man in front of her, dressed in a neat suit with his hair perfectly combed.

The Awakened One called Lao Ya Zi was not lewd as his nickname suggested; instead, he looked rather refined and cultured.

His attire was such that those who didn't know would think he was a business elite from before the apocalypse.

Just his appearance alone could attract the affection of many girls.

"Too dangerous..."

"You say that satellite city is only the outskirts of Long An, but do you have any idea how many Awakened Ones are inside Long An's inner city!?"

"Have you seen their defensive weapons?"

"One shot from that thing would smash the mutants to pieces!"

"With just our few people, you still want to attack Long An? Are you crazy!?"

Ignoring Zhao Mei's sarcasm, the young man suppressed his anger and carefully analyzed the past.

Yes, he was very tempted by Long An's supplies.

These days, after bringing people from Wangjiang, he had been cautiously maintaining trade with Long An, and through intentional or unintentional probing, he naturally saw how much material Long An's interior had to 'consume' each day.

Moreover, there were rumors that Long An actually had psychic crops, and it was said they were preparing to take in more survivors!

In this time of food scarcity, this news was no less than a bombshell!

Now, fleeing refugees began to appear in every battle zone, yet no Safe Zone dared to take in population. In fact, many Safe Zones simply sent out troops to rob these fleeing refugees, as if scraping bone and sucking marrow.

Regardless of whether the news is true, this means that Long An's interior truly has large food reserves!

In the apocalypse, what is most important! That meaningless thing is food!

If he could seize just one‑tenth, no, even one‑percent, he could flee to any battle zone and become a local emperor for life!

Such temptation—him not being moved is fake!

Especially, Long An's high‑level combat power has all entered the competition!

But, he fears death.

"Set fire!"

"We'll pose as traders supplying goods and say we found a large batch of canned food."

"As long as we get close to their warehouse! Kill their guards, then set fire to the city! No matter what, the people of Long An will have to put out the fire first!"

"With our strength, what's a little squad going to do!?"

"What damn cannon, would he dare to fire it inside the city!?"

"Aren't they afraid that one shot would kill their own people!?"

Licking the corner of his mouth, Zhao Mei gave a cold snort, utterly unconcerned that his plan would burn more food than they could loot.

To hell with all that—what's in his own hands is the real thing!