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Alex and Linus continue rushing toward the location of Eirini and Patricia, guided by the blips on their mobile devices. Alex's mind races, flipping between We need to hurry and This is a bad idea.

Finally, he voices his concerns to Linus: "Worst case scenario—they're already dead, and their killers are using their devices to bait us into a trap. If that's true, they'll see us approaching and be ready for us. Just a few more minutes and we'll know, but I'm not sure if we're in fact running straight into an ambush."

Linus replies calmly, "It's good you're thinking about worst-case scenarios. But it doesn't really matter what's waiting for us. The only thing that matters is dealing with whatever comes our way. If they're dead and we get ambushed? Fine, then we'll use it as an opportunity to get revenge."

Alex pauses for a moment before responding, "… I guess so." Internally, he reflects on Linus's attitude. So he's one of those "just do, don't ask" types, huh?

To their surprise, when they arrive at the indicated location, they find Eirini and Patricia perfectly fine. The two women are clumsily butchering some sort of giant animal that resembles a buffalo in the distance.

Alex exhales a deep sigh of relief, though his internal frustration boils over. Idiots, what the fuck are they doing? We don't need the whole thing—just grab a few good parts and move on! They're wasting time!

Before he can yell at them, Linus grabs Alex and forcefully drags him to the ground. "Careful! Look to the right—enemies approaching!" Linus warns, immediately firing his pistols into the air to alert the two clueless women still focused on the buffalo.

The gunfire jolts everyone into action. The approaching examinees dive into the tall grass, scanning for Linus's location. Eirini and Patricia, startled, abandon their butchery and throw themselves behind the dead buffalo for cover.

Alex quickly surveys the situation, counting aloud. "Three over there… two further behind… wait, another two up north? Are there more? There are more than five people working together—what the hell?!"

Linus grimaces. "So it's happening. This is exactly what Shalnark warned us about during our planning. Those bastards are playing the numbers game. They know only the top 10 teams will pass. If they eliminate enough teams, they'll secure a spot for themselves even if they serve raw meat. They're betting on sheer numbers to guarantee their survival. Do not hold back. Kill!"

"Fuck!" Alex mutters, finally drawing his [Mr. 5's .44 Caliber 6-Shot Revolver]. He carefully lines up his aim, looking for a clean angle on the advancing examinees.

"FUCK THIS. LET'S KILL THESE TWO BITCHES AND BE DONE WITH IT!" Alex hears someone scream. One of the examinees, seemingly having lost control, charges at Eirini and Patricia, who are still crouched behind the half-butchered buffalo.

Alex glances at Linus, who meets his gaze with a nod. Without hesitation, they both fire their guns. The shots aren't perfect at this range, but they're good enough.

You have dealt 21 damage to Examinee No. 399

You have dealt 16 damage to Examinee No. 399

You have killed Examinee No. 399

Alex watches as his bullets hit their target twice, while Linus lands at least four shots. It only takes two seconds before the examinee collapses, riddled with holes.

Alex cheers inwardly, Looks like I got the last hit, huh? No reward though, sadly!

Suddenly, the sharp crack of gunfire interrupts his thoughts. Enemy bullets zip past them, missing but revealing their general location. Alex quickly rolls to the side, using the tall grass for cover and creating some distance. He glances up and spots at least five examinees charging toward him, clearly unequipped with ranged weapons and opting to close the gap for a melee confrontation.

Without hesitation, Alex hurls two grenades toward the advancing group.

You have dealt 57 damage to Examinee No. 616

You have dealt 13 damage to Examinee No. 616

…

You have dealt 11 damage to Examinee No. 616

You have killed Examinee No. 616

…

You have killed Examinee No. 553

…

You have killed Examinee No. 514

…

You have dealt 21 damage to Examinee No. 764

You have dealt 7 damage to Examinee No. 764

…

You have dealt 14 damage to Examinee No. 287

You have dealt 5 damage to Examinee No. 287

You have dealt 8 damage to Examinee No. 287

Alex quickly reviews the combat log. Nice. Three down, two lightly wounded. Let's finish this close range, just like you wanted! He draws his [Sword of Pluto] and [Shield of Pluto], standing tall as he charges at the remaining enemies.

One of the examinees swings a large mace-like weapon at Alex, but Alex raises his shield. Thanks to its Stalwart effect, the weapon bounces off harmlessly, throwing its user off balance. Alex capitalizes on the opening, slashing at the now-defenseless examinee's chest before delivering a precise thrust to the throat.

You have dealt 46 damage to Examinee No. 764

You have caused a bleeding to Examinee No. 764

You have dealt 65 x 3 = 195 damage to Examinee No. 764

You have killed Examinee No. 764

You received Chest (White)

Alex picks up the chest but immediately turns to face another examinee, who stares at the carnage around him with wide, trembling eyes.

"Stop… I give up! Sorry!" the man stammers, his hands raised in surrender.

Without hesitation, Alex swings his sword in a wide, powerful slash, beheading the examinee in one brutal motion.

You have dealt 9999 damage to Examinee No. 287

You have killed Examinee No. 287

Alex hears a voice from his left wrist: "GOOD NO MERCY! SSSSTRIKE THEM DOWN!"

Alex flicks the blood off his blade with a sharp motion and surveys the battlefield. Eirini and Patricia have each handled an enemy on their own. Eirini is holding a deadly-looking bow, standing over a man with three arrows embedded in his gut, clearly dead. Patricia grips a large, blood-drenched axe, her victim lying lifeless at her feet.

Alex smirks, Not bad. So they can fight. Those weapons look good—probably at least Deep Green, maybe even Light Blue quality.

Looking at Linus, Alex notices that he's taken down another three enemies. Alex inspects the corpses closely, hoping for loot. His disappointment is immense when he finds no additional chests. One chest from ten dead hunter examinees? That's rough. He sighs. These examinees all had over 100 HP, meaning a PHY stat of at least 10. That's twice as strong as an average human, and some of them had stats on par with mine. This cannon fodder has insane stats, but thankfully, they lack the skills and gear to match.

Everyone gathers around Eirini and Patricia, searching the fallen examinees for ingredients. They find nothing, making Alex silently curse. Damn assholes, they weren't even trying to win by cooking. They decided to butcher other teams instead of animals for their meat.

Eirini and Patricia, looking both grateful and surprised, meet Alex and Linus's questioning gazes. Alex doesn't hold back. "Why the hell did you spend so long butchering that buffalo? We thought you were dead and sprinted here as fast as we could!"

Eirini looks down, clearly embarrassed, while Patricia tries to explain. "It took us a while to approach it without spooking it. Once we finally got close enough to kill it, we thought it'd be worth it. We'd only just started butchering when you arrived."

Linus shrugs and smiles. "This thing does look mighty tasty. Can't go wrong with a nice steak, right?"

Alex nods, though his frustration hasn't fully subsided. "Sure, but you still haven't reached your second point, have you? What do we do now—just head back? What did you find at your first location?"

Eirini pulls out a small pouch filled with spices. "We got some basic spices. I don't recognize them all, but they look pretty good."

Alex takes a closer look, recognizing some of them. "Smoked paprika, chili powder, turmeric… this sweet powder looks interesting, but it's not plain sugar. No clue about the rest. So, what's the plan? We've got bird meat, eggs, buffalo meat, spices, sauces, and fish. Should we head back now? The only things we're really missing are vegetables and some kind of starchy food for a side dish. Hopefully, Shalnark has that covered."

Patricia checks her device. "We have three and a half hours left. Let's at least collect the ingredient at the second location. Then we can decide whether to go to the last spot or return to the exam site."

Everyone nods, their confidence bolstered by the fact that their group is intact and ten fewer enemies are lurking nearby. They collect a few more choice cuts from the buffalo before leaving the area.

The group jogs to the second location originally assigned to Patricia and Eirini, only to find an open metal chest. Alex curses under his breath. "Shit. We were too slow. Now what? The last spot is only 15 minutes away. Might as well check it out."

"Let's do it," Eirini agrees.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrive at the final location. Alex surveys the area, frowning. "I don't see anything… just a bunch of trees. Let's check the devices. Maybe we missed it—or maybe it got stolen again."

Linus scans the surroundings, his tone growing more annoyed. "Damn it, this was a waste of time. Let's head back. Shalnark's already at the camp, and he'll probably laugh at us if we don't make it back soon. Worse, he might try cooking with just his few ingredients. If he wastes them, we're screwed. Let's go."

"Wait a minute!" Eirini suddenly speaks up, a confident grin on her face. "Look closely at the trees again!"

Alex takes another look, focusing harder on the environment. Suddenly, it clicks. He smirks. "I couldn't see the forest because of all the trees!"

Patricia turns to him with a puzzled expression. "That doesn't make any sense. Are you stupid?"

Alex laughs and explains, "It's just a 'local' idiom. It means you miss something obvious because there's so much of it. Look up!" He points toward the treetops, finally drawing their attention to the hidden bounty.

Patricia, now embarrassed, squints at the trees and mutters, "Damn it. I see it now."

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