Chapter 690: Trial Mode

Ant this place is..."

"Trial Tower?!!"

On the endless bronze-colored ground, ten thousand Awakened Ones stared in shock at the scene before them.

Consciousness briefly lapsed.

In an instant, they were transmitted from the real world to the Trial Tower.

Appearing vast and numerous, the group of Awakened Ones was extremely large.

On this boundless, vast square, they were like a grain of sand in the vast sea.

The canopy above resembled a massive whirlpool rotating in deep sea, emitting a dim light from the gray-black mist.

As if immersed in the abyss.

Before them, at the center of the square,

stood a towering stone tower that reached the clouds and pierced the canopy.

Gazing at the pitch-black giant tower, a dark purple pattern flashed and vanished.

Lin An's eyes involuntarily rose with a hint of doubt.

How familiar the pattern...

The tower before them almost occupied the entire field of view.

Just like the Tower of Babel in ancient legend.

The desolate, ancient aura evoked a strong sense of disorientation.

For some reason, although it is clearly an ancient structure, each brick and stone is extraordinarily regular, as if crafted by top-tier technology.

Precise, perfect.

After the brief loss of consciousness, many Awakened Ones had not yet had time to ponder the meaning of the patterns on the tower.

A system prompt sounded instantly:

"All players have entered the Trial Tower area."

"In 30 minutes, the trial will officially begin."

"Note: Before the death match begins, fighting is prohibited inside the Trial Tower; the system will automatically activate protection mode."

"Under protection mode, any attack methods and negative effects will be prohibited."

"This protection effect will be gradually lifted inside the tower."

In an instant, a blinding milky-white light shot from the tower's peak, piercing the thick vortex.

Such a shocking scene truly left many people stunned.

After a brief pause, the system continued to announce information after activating protection mode.

"Note: This trial will proceed in sequence."

"Strength-Agility-Constitution-Will."

"After the strength trial ends, the agility trial will open, and so on."

"All participants will join the corresponding trial according to their abilities."

"Note: The trial is divided into solo and team modes; please choose carefully."

"Warning: Players may freely choose trial types, but for each additional trial ability added, difficulty increases by 20% and rewards increase by 20%."

"After each trial is passed, the gene lock will automatically solidify, promoting to three Fourth Rank."

"After all trial types are completed, the death match will be opened."

"The player with the highest death match score will obtain the first three Fourth Rank title and receive the unique reward!"

The system explanation is not short.

However, everyone present is a powerhouse who fought their way out of the apocalypse, and they understood the system's announcement in an extremely short time.

"Unique reward!!"

Eyes blazing.

Many people were eager to move.

This sounds far more mysterious than previous rewards.

Nordic War Zone

"Our Strength System is the first trial!!"

"Solo!? Team!?"

Bare-chested, his muscles bulged ferociously.

An Awakened One from the Nordic War Zone, carrying heavy artillery equipment, exclaimed in surprise.

His muscles twitched; his stature was nearly comparable to a small mutant, and his expression showed some worry.

The reason was none other than...

As he spoke, the pitch-black giant Trial Tower suddenly opened a red portal at its base.

The aura emanating from within was filled with a bloodthirsty intent; merely looking at it was terrifying.

The first batch of trials, undertaken without knowing anything, was undoubtedly the most dangerous.

Should I choose solo mode or go in as a team?

Hesitating.

Standing not far away in the same war zone, an Awakened One shaped like a meat mountain sneered and glanced at him.

"Kulunsi, what are you afraid of?"

"Strength System Awakened One! Fear nothing!"

"Never mind what the trial is; just smash it with one punch!"

Having said that, he suddenly erupted with his innate talent skill, his whole body turning into a monster full of hatred.

In the eye sockets deformed by squeezed facial muscles, a pair of gray-white eyes stared fixedly at Kulunsi.

Although the two were in the same war zone, they belonged to different factions.

Or simply put, their war zone was pieced together from multiple countries.

He despised from the bottom of his heart Awakened Ones like Kulunsi who wielded psionic-tech weapons.

Power-type Awakened Ones should be the embodiment of violence!

Hiding in the back and firing artillery—what kind of power type is that?

After being mocked, Kulunsi's face suddenly darkened.

He did not retort against the hateful Awakened One.

Simply because the other's methods were too terrifying.

Standing beside him, the agility-type Awakened One who followed him into the trial tower couldn't help but clench the dagger in hand.

"Hatred, a Second Level power-type Awakened One."

"This bastard devoured half of our armored regiment alive!"

The two sides have been enemies for a long time.

If the system's protection hadn't been activated, a firefight would likely have broken out by now.

Seeing the members of Kulunsi's Safe Zone bearing a look of suppressed anger, the man who had transformed into Hatred let out a sneer.

A boring little mouse.

Afterward, he scanned the entire arena with eyes full of arrogant pride.

Power type, combined with his shapeshifting talent.

This granted him strength comparable to that of a Second Level mutant.

Plus, he could wear equipment and use skills.

For human Awakened Ones, it was undoubtedly overwhelming.

"I! Will be the first!"

"I am Hatred! No one is stronger than me!"

Taking advantage of the trial not yet having begun, he looked around, and his reason seeming not entirely clear, he let out a domineering roar.

In the Northern Europe War Zone, he was also notorious.

"Oh?"

On the originally quiet plaza, a sound of slight doubt rang out.

Hatred turned his icy gaze toward the sound, only to discover that the speaker came from the Huaxia War Zone.

He appeared to be an ordinary soldier, except for the oversized war hammer he held, which was truly exaggerated in design.

Gripping a hammer as large as a vehicle, the soldier's right hand swelled likewise like a monster's.

At a glance, it was extremely incongruous.

He was slightly wary.

Just as Hatred was about to speak mockingly, he caught sight, out of the corner of his eye, of a man floating in midair within the Huaxia Military.

His pupils contracted after he got a clear look at the man's appearance.

He instinctively let out a low growl:

"Lihao!?"

Among the few who could float in midair, Lihao's pupils were as blinding as the sun, and he expressionlessly glanced at Hatred.

"Put away your little schemes."

One sentence laid it bare.

Although the man known as Hatred had a poor reputation, in the Apocalypse, as long as he had strength, he could still occupy a high position.

As a leader of a Safe Zone in the Northern Europe War Zone, he naturally had heard rumors about other war zones.

Don't let his appearance of provoking everyone fool you; his mind is actually quite meticulous.

The more arrogant the Hatred man acted, the more people were willing to cooperate with him.

In the trial mode, Hatred had already decided—he would definitely choose the team option.

Finding a few cannon fodder to scout ahead for him was, by any measure, far stronger than going solo.

But he hadn't expected that, just as he was trying to establish his prestige to recruit members,

he was singled out without mercy by members of the Huaxia War Zone.

Upon seeing the Huaxia War Zone, where hundreds of Awakened Ones could appear at any moment, he wasn't provoking anything either.

His arrogance was just an act.

He certainly didn't want to enter the tower only to be besieged by the Huaxia War Zone.

Especially the North American and Huaxia War Zones.

The combined number of Awakened Ones in those two war zones actually reached as high as over a thousand.

In astonishment, he involuntarily shut his mouth.

Damn yellow-skinned monkey!

Cursing quietly, Hatred, whose thoughts were meticulous, scanned the entire arena.

The situation he had created couldn't just be thrown away.

He knew full well how weak the Awakened Ones he had brought were.

Idiot, unworthy of surviving in the Apocalypse.

In his peripheral vision, he unexpectedly saw a masked Awakened One.

It's different from gathering together with everyone.

This Awakened Ones, standing at the edge of the crowd with a bald man beside him, looks 'frail as a breeze'.

Oh, there is also one person just like the masked man.

That is the edge of the North American war zone, a grim-faced first Second Level, Colonel Ron.

Myself...

Who should I cause trouble for to assert myself?