Chapter 50

Assessment?

As Lin Yue's words fell, the crowd below immediately began to chatter.

"It's definitely about who has the most strength! For this kind of task, going without strength is just sending yourself to death."

"It's over, it's over, my physique definitely has no chance..."

In the crowd, Liu Kun and his few companions exchanged a glance, the corners of their mouths curling with a cold smile.

In their view, this was nothing more than Lin Yue playing mysterious, just to screen out a batch of die‑hard cannon fodder willing to work for him.

"Brother Kun, what trick is this kid up to again?"

A tall, thin figure asked in a low voice.

"Hmph, what else could it be? Nothing more than picking simple‑minded, brawny fools."

Liu Kun snorted disdainfully, curling his lip,

"We'll just watch and see what tricks he can pull."

He sat with the calm composure of someone fishing, as if he had already seen through everything.

However, the first selection criterion announced by Lin Yue froze his smile on his face.

"First criterion: honesty."

He scanned the crowd and spoke slowly:

"I want only those who have sincerely contributed to Xuanwu City. Those who were assigned tasks but slacked off, those who gathered to sneer, those who still harbored their own little schemes… you're all eliminated."

As his words fell, everyone's gaze snapped to Liu Kun and his few companions!

It was these few, relying on their strength, who kept delaying the tasks assigned by Wang Gongtou and sneered at those who worked hard as 'idiots'.

Everyone saw it, but none dared to speak out in anger.

Yet no one expected Lin Yue to be fully aware of it!

And he made it the first selection criterion!

"This… this is unfair!"

Liu Kun's face instantly turned the color of pig's liver,

"We… we're just feeling unwell, we need rest! On what grounds do you say we're not honest?"

"Right! We worked yesterday too!"

His companions nearby also started shouting.

"Is that so?"

Lin Yue's icy gaze, like two sharp swords, pierced Liu Kun and his companions.

"I… I…"

Under Lin Yue's stare, Liu Kun felt a chill surge from his soles to the crown of his head, unable to utter a complete sentence.

"Take them away."

Lin Yue couldn't be bothered to waste more words, and calmly said to Han Ya not far away.

"Yes!"

Han Ya, holding a short blade, led two capable youths who had just joined the Public Security Bureau, walking over expressionlessly.

"No! You can't treat me like this! I… I'm talent! I'm the HR director! You can't…"

Liu Kun's struggles and wails, before Han Ya's icy gaze, appeared utterly feeble.

He and his frightened companions were dragged away like dead dogs.

Lin Yue watched the effect of killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, nodding in satisfaction.

That's exactly the effect he wanted; otherwise, how could he tolerate Liu Kun and his ilk still lingering in Xuanwu City? He would have tossed them out long ago.

"Second criterion: discipline."

Lin Yue's voice rang out again; this time, no one dared to voice the slightest doubt.

"Although the Black Tortoise exists, this mission's danger isn't as high as imagined, but you all must obey orders without question. Any action must be unconditionally subordinate to the on‑scene commander's orders. Those who can't may withdraw now."

His gaze fell on Han Ya.

"Han Ya, you will serve as the on‑scene commander for this operation."

Han Ya stared in surprise, then straightened her chest,

"I guarantee mission completion!"

"Very good."

Lin Yue's gaze swept over the remaining crowd,

"The last, and most important, criterion is a small test."

As his words fell, the ground on a nearby open space suddenly began to writhe and shift!

"Boom—..."

In everyone's astonished gaze, a muddy obstacle field riddled with complex structures, puddles, low walls, and trenches sprang up in just a minute!

"This test is very simple."

Lin Yue pointed at the obstacle field and said calmly,

"Everyone, form teams freely; the goal is for all members to pass through this area within the allotted time."

"Remember, I'm not watching who reaches the finish first, but which team has its last member cross the line."

"The assessment begins now."

The test's content exceeded everyone's expectations.

Some survivors who trusted in their own strength spontaneously teamed up, then charged in without thinking, only to quickly sink into the mire or get trapped by the complex terrain, ending up in a sorry state.

Meanwhile, Han Ya didn't rush out; instead, she quickly surveyed the entire field's layout, then loudly divided the remaining people into four five‑person squads and promptly appointed temporary leaders.

"A Qiang! You take a team, responsible for the left flank's trench area! Build bridges with planks, don't charge head-on!"

"That big brother in blue clothes! You're agile, lead people to break through the low wall area in the middle! Watch out for mutual cover!"

Under her orderly command, the survivors who were originally a scattered mess miraculously displayed astonishing teamwork and cooperation ability.

They helped each other wade through the mud, jointly lifted planks to build a simple bridge, and used a human ladder to climb over the low wall over two meters high…

Although the process was arduous, everyone gritted their teeth, no one fell behind, no one complained.

Finally, before the allotted time ended, these twenty people organized by Han Ya all successfully reached the destination!

Lin Yue stood on high ground, taking it all in, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

What he wanted was just such a team that understood unity, obeyed orders, and possessed strong execution ability.

As for those who fought individually and were eventually eliminated, Lin Yue did not blame them, merely assigning them to the logistics group.

That night, Wang Gongtou found Lin Yue.

"Lin Yue, you really want to send them to scavenge for supplies? But those people… after all, they're all outsiders; we know their faces but not their hearts."

In the wasteland, what's most frightening has never been the mutant beasts, but the unpredictable human heart—that's what Wang Gongtou worries about most.

"I trust Han Ya, and I trust my own judgment."

Lin Yue's voice was very calm,

"Old Wang, today's test filtered out not the weak, but those who are selfish and lack team spirit. Those who remain are the ones we can trust and cultivate."

"Furthermore…"

Lin Yue's mouth curled into a meaningful arc,

"I don't believe they'll give up their current lives to choose a precarious day-to-day existence."

Wang Gongtou still wanted to say something, but seeing Lin Yue's confident expression, he swallowed his words.

As the night deepened, the Black Tortoise giant turtle, like a moving island, steadily advanced across the wasteland's wilderness.