Chapter 1639: Never Give Up

Inside the fortress, everyone wore a look of astonishment.

Especially between Hei Di and the Insect Jaw Clan, the reaction was strong.

Hei Di was surprised by Lin An's tenacity.

Looking at Lin An's current state, it's hard to imagine how this bug managed to catch up.

Severely injured and near death, yet he is at the Fourth Stage.

If nothing unexpected happens, this bug must have burned all its vitality and even used a trump card with huge side effects.

With such a performance, even Hei Di couldn't help but glance at Lin An a couple more times.

"He's... such a tough little guy..."

He let out a light chuckle, Hei Di shook his head, and a fleeting, imperceptible hint of emotion flashed in his eyes.

His will is astonishing, like an indestructible cockroach.

On Lin An, he could faintly see a shadow of his former self.

However, his surprise stopped there; he certainly didn't feel any admiration.

No matter how tenaciously the bug struggles, it remains just a bug after all.

Let alone saying Lin An exhausted his strength just to rush here.

Under the scrutiny of all the Fifth-Stage experts present, this bug has no hope of survival.

On the Star Battlefield, those who die fastest are often not the weakest, but those who reveal themselves first.

"Interesting..."

"He actually managed to escape?"

"It seems this kid might have some secret."

Compared to Hei Di's sigh, the Insect Jaw Clan's Fifth-Stage experts now feel more coldness, even killing intent.

He said he hopes Lin An can escape, so that it would be entertaining.

But from a certain perspective, Lin An's escape is tantamount to slapping his face, making him furious.

A mere Fourth Stage actually managed to break his rules? Without a doubt, this bug must have something strange about it!

Having thought this, the Insect Jaw Clan's Fifth-Stage expert, after regaining composure, coldly snorted and then gave orders to his subordinates.

"Keep an eye on that kid; seize him as soon as the mission begins."

"I'd like to see just how he managed to escape!"

After several Fourth-Stage Peak subordinates under him obeyed, the Insect Jaw Clan youth no longer paid attention to Lin An, as if his command had already decided Lin An's fate.

At the same time, the many Fifth-Stage Awakened Ones present also came to their senses.

Looking at Lin An, whose aura had weakened to the extreme, as if he had just gone through a great battle, they felt something odd in their hearts, but mostly they couldn't help but sneer.

Weak, really too weak.

In their eyes, although Lin An appears incredibly tenacious, he is actually not worthy of praise at all.

More than that, it feels absurd and laughable.

"A Fourth Stage?"

"I don't know who brought him in. Looking like this, was he just dumped here?"

"Probably."

"I reckon the Fifth Stage who brought him in is also a waste; afraid of being dragged down, he simply abandoned him."

"After all, a Fourth Stage cannon fodder, dying is just dying."

"Hah, what's there to struggle about?"

In just a few words, everyone quickly gave their judgment, their speech full of mockery.

In their view, rather than desperately rushing over to throw away one's life, it would be better to die happily under the system's erasure.

At least the former is more straightforward.

The weak should know their place; why struggle and invite suffering?

At the same time.

The Dwarf Fifth Stage who had arrived second-to-last earlier now glanced at Lin An with a rather "relieved" look, then, taking advantage of everyone's focus on Lin An, hurriedly slipped into the crowd to hide.

The despair originally in his heart also lessened considerably.

It's like when an unlucky person sees someone even worse off, his heart feels a bit better.

Having this waste as a bottom layer, at least he isn't the first to die!

The commotion soon subsided.

As the light curtain closed completely, the Black Lock in the sky above began to intertwine continuously, as if trying to coalesce into some unique rule.

Having fallen to the fortress's edge, Lin An, who had barely made it in the final second, now seemed like a magnet, drawing many Fifth-Stage experts with their subordinates to gather around him.

It's hard to imagine, but in a sense, Lin An is probably the first to attract the attention of over a thousand Fifth-Stage experts with merely Fourth-Stage strength.

Yet such treatment, Lin An would rather not have.

Looking at the gazes around him, Lin An felt a heavy weight in his heart.

Those pairs of eyes, brimming with killing intent and openly revealing hostility, were staring at him without restraint.

Some were curious, some ruthless, some mocking.

Even in the absolutely safe fortress, he could still feel a mountain-like pressure pressing down on him.

If the mission hadn't not yet started, he would already be a corpse.

Faced with such a situation, Lin An had not anticipated it.

If he participates in the Star Battlefield with Fourth-Stage strength, it is inherently extremely dangerous, akin to a desperate situation.

Then, at this moment, the difficulty he faces is no different from certain death.

With so many Fifth Stages locking on, just the overflowing rule power could instantly kill him!

His heart heavy, Lin An struggled to stay calm, forcibly suppressing all useless emotions.

"How... am I supposed to keep living..."

He slowly closed his eyes, Lin An earnestly thinking of what else he could do.

Not even at the final moment—no, even if it were the final moment, he would absolutely not give up!

He could only gamble now, betting that the mission issued by the system would give him a sliver of hope!

"The mission can't be a free-for-all!"

"If it's a free-for-all, I'd face too many enemies; if I went unnoticed it'd be fine, but I've already been exposed."

Clenching his fists silently, Lin An constantly pondered under what circumstances he could possibly survive.

Unlike the faction wars that most Fifth Stages worry about.

For him, if it were a faction war, it would actually be most advantageous!

The reason is simple.

Whether being hunted by a Fifth Stage Beginner or a Fifth Stage Intermediate, for Lin An there is basically no difference!

Compared to being chased by the most numerous Beginners, Lin An would rather face a few Intermediates!

"If it's a faction war, I might possibly be classified as a Fourth Stage... that would be the best outcome."

"Even if not, even if I have to face hostility from my own faction... what should I do?"

His mind focused on the points panel and the conversion core at his heart.

Lin An took a deep breath and quickly calculated.

"With the conversion core combined with point recovery, I can burst forth with 'triple' attributes."

"Although it's overly wasteful, at least it guarantees I have the strength for one battle."

"The premise... is that I must not encounter a rule-special Fifth Stage Beginner, nor a stronger one."

The pseudo-mythic-level conversion core is very useful; combined with the instant recovery from point exchange, it amounts to at least triple the health bar.

Of course, the premise is that I cannot be instantly killed.

No one knows how Lin An managed to hold on.

After wasting a lot of time and suffering heavy injuries, he consumed a full 183 state recoveries before reaching the fortress.

Each state recovery restores 300,000 points, replenishing the state every three seconds.

In the final nine minutes, he almost used points as fuel.

Fortunately, points were plentiful; otherwise Lin An truly wouldn't have known what to do.

"My only trump card left is mutation..."

"I still have over seventy million points."

"With the invincibility effect from point exchange, combined with state recovery and the conversion core, I should be able to survive against a Fifth Stage Beginner."

"As long as I'm not instantly killed, theoretically I can hold out for about sixty seconds."

"For each additional person, the time is halved."

"After subtracting the points consumed by my attacks, the strongest combat power I can maintain is roughly fifteen seconds."

Unlike him, who seemed to everyone to be hopelessly awaiting death.

No one could imagine that, at this moment, Lin An was still striving, even frantically thinking of how to contend with the Fifth Stages!

Indeed, he could not decipher the rules of the Fifth Stages; facing even slightly stronger Fifth Stages, he almost had no means to fight back, only able to stand there and take hits.

But there are always weaker Fifth Stages!

He lifted his head; beneath the mask, Lin An's deep gaze met the Fifth Stages surrounding him, a profound killing intent surging in the depths of his eyes.

Against those Fifth Stages with powerful rules, he truly had no power to resist.

But.

Not all Fifth Stages are as adept at spatial rules as the Insect Jaw Clan!

With sheer force pounding down, he might not be unable to wear one out!

As long as.

As long as he is given a hint of hope, a sliver of opportunity!