Not sure how long it has been.
In the pitch-black surroundings, with a dull pain at the back of his head, Su Xiao regained consciousness.
Opening his eyes, Su Xiao didn’t get up immediately. Dragon Slash appeared in his hand, and he began to observe his surroundings.
The place around him was empty, a wasteland that seemed to have been a small town, flattened for reasons unknown.
Scattered across the ground were several skeletons, indicating the remains of upright creatures, lacking human features.
With elongated skulls, sharp foreclaws, spines full of sharp spikes, and most notably, a long, slender tail on the remains.
Standing up, Su Xiao’s field of vision expanded. The ruins weren’t large, about half a kilometer across, surrounded by an ocean.
It was an isolated island. Could this be Devouring Island?
Su Xiao thought it unlikely as there were too many Contractors around, with all 500 gathered here, including himself making 501.
"Damn, unlucky, it’s actually the most dangerous Devouring Island."
"Didn’t the boss say it was Terror Island? How did it become Devouring Island? What now?"
"Be careful, maybe the current batch of Contractors is strong, increasing the survival trial’s difficulty."
The Contractors discussed amongst themselves, yet no conflicts arose even with all 500 gathered.
Su Xiao found a rock to sit on; this was a peace zone, where Reincarnation Paradise forbade conflicts between Contractors.
Bubu Wang trotted over from a distance, lowering its head pitifully after reaching Su Xiao, exposing the back of its head.
"Don’t worry, this annoyance will soon go away."
Bubu Wang looked up, seemingly asking Su Xiao.
"You’ll get used to it soon enough."
Su Xiao was already accustomed to the feeling of being teleported.
[The Hunter has arrived on T12K Planet, and the survival trial is about to begin.]
Planet Difficulty: LV.14. Nightmare (Difficulty Levels: Easy, Hard, Nightmare, Purgatory, Asura)
World Introduction: Freely explore by the Hunter.
Notice: Hunters should not access the Red Soil Area, difficulty exceeds Lv.17.
Notice: Hunters should not access the depths of the Black Forest, difficulty exceeds Lv.20.
Trial Task: Survive for ten days.
Warning: Do not communicate with any Void creatures encountered, as they generally possess unstable structures and unknown dangers.
Su Xiao immediately reviewed the trial task details.
Difficulty Level: Lv.16
Task Description: Survive by any means necessary.
Task Information: Survive for ten days, during which acquiring food and water will pose a huge challenge.
Task Duration: 10 days
Task Reward: Promotion to Second-Tier Hunter
Task Penalty: No penalty. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝘯𝘦𝘵
A task with a difficulty level of Lv.16, showing how challenging survival tasks are.
Moreover, Su Xiao felt surprised after reading the task information. What’s the matter with food and water? He had a ton of supplies in his storage space.
As for the "no penalty" for task failure, Su Xiao believed it was nonsense; failing a survival task means death, what more punishment is needed?
While Su Xiao pondered the scenario with food and water, he noticed some Contractors around acting oddly.
These Contractors were pulling out weapons from their exclusive rooms, and also hauling out backpacks to pack as much food as possible.
Su Xiao’s storage space contained a large quantity of food and water. With his current attributes, the amount he ate each meal was staggering, requiring plenty of energy to exert his tremendous combat effectiveness.
Not just Su Xiao, even Bubu Wang was a foodie.
"Things are looking a bit grim."
Su Xiao didn’t seem happy. He sheathed Dragon Slash at his waist, simultaneously pulling out the Black and White Dual Guns, holstering them on his legs.
The Spider Queen Sniper Rifle was also taken out, yet its nearly two-meter length made it cumbersome for him to carry, hindering his movement.
Though Su Xiao couldn’t carry it, Bubu Wang could.
Securing the Spider Queen onto Bubu Wang’s back, Su Xiao pulled out a square backpack, loading several Alchemy Bombs and five bottles of Alchemy Secret Medicine into it.
Pausing momentarily, Su Xiao took out a sack carrying some food, sufficient for one meal for both him and Bubu Wang, no more could be carried.
The behavior of other Contractors suggested that food and water would become scarce resources.
Reincarnation Paradise might temporarily seal access to storage space, as it does in the real world.
What worried Su Xiao more was the notion that if the survival trial was as simple as surviving on an isolated island, it wouldn’t have a difficulty level of Lv.16.
A rumbling sound echoed above, with a super-large aircraft approaching and eventually landing on the ruins.
The aircraft seemed old-fashioned but was structurally advanced.
No Contractors moved, their gazes fixated on the aircraft.
"Gaba Kalou Tema (unknown language)."
A ’pilot’ jumped off the aircraft, glanced at the many Contractors, and spoke something unknown.
This pilot was petite, about 1.2 to 1.3 meters in height, with the peculiar appearance of a mouse head.
Upon closer inspection, this pilot seemed to be between a mouse and a human; mouse’s head, human physique, mouse’s limbs, tail, etc.
While Su Xiao couldn’t understand what the mouse pilot was saying, it didn’t stop him from quickly heading towards the aircraft.
[Announcement: All Contractors must board within 5 minutes.]
A blood-red announcement appeared, without stating the consequences of defiance, yet its crimson text was self-explanatory.
The mouse pilot fiddled with a wristwatch, seemingly adjusting the language setting.
"Can you understand this? Damn translation device, Old White’s repair skills are such a letdown."
The mouse pilot angrily stomped around.
The Contractors’ footsteps halted, their gazes focusing on the mouse figure.
"Hmm? Looks like you can understand."
The mouse figure nodded in satisfaction, surveying the Contractors around.
"Dear Trialists, welcome to Hell, kehahaha."
Upon hearing this, the Contractors glared at the mouse figure disdainfully. As high-level Contractors of the First Tier, they had tempers of their own.
A Contractor glared coldly at the mouse figure, sensing malicious intent.
"Who am I? Good question. I am the trial’s judge; you can call me Mr. Mouse or even the Void Thug."
Mr. Mouse’s eyes glowed red—mechanical eyes.
"This batch seems decent, hopefully, the survival rate exceeds 5%. Why is Paradise sending First Tier Contractors to Devouring Island? Something’s not right."
Mr. Mouse seemed highly knowledgeable about Reincarnation Paradise or perhaps was even a staff member within.
"I won’t waste words; Paradise has informed you of all necessary matters. One rule: do not leave Devouring Island during the trial, or face execution."
The Contractors stayed silent, although some had indeed considered it. Reincarnation Paradise did not prohibit leaving Devouring Island during the trial. If Devouring Island was as dangerous as implied, why not leave upon arrival?
"Hey, you in the red, you seem displeased."
Mr. Mouse addressed a Contractor, who maintained a composed expression.
"None of your business."
Upon finishing, the Contractor proceeded toward the aircraft.
"Not my business? Ridiculous, I’ll kill you for that!"
Mr. Mouse pulled out a laser gun at his waist, aiming it at that Contractor.
The laser gun began storing energy, filling up in a matter of moments, a beam shooting directly into that Contractor.
The Contractor exploded into a bloody mist, leaving no trace behind.
"Just so you’re aware, there are over a dozen judges like me around Devouring Island."