Hand Of God

Chapter 25 Hunting Competition

Then, Adam and the plump old man exchanged glances, and both had the same thought.

In perfect sync, they reached out their hands to each other.

Adam: "Nice to meet you."

Plump old man: "How do you do?"

Such a tacit understanding left Diana speechless, standing by, unsure what was happening with the old and the young.

They didn't hesitate, their expressions serious for a moment, then their hands clasped together.

[Replication successful, acquired C-rated superpower – Vanishing Presence!]

[Automatically upgrading superpower rating]

[Superpower rating increased, superpower evolved – Stealth]

[Description: Can reduce one's aura and presence at any time, making it difficult for others to notice their existence.]

Adam's aim was clear, to try his luck and see if he could replicate a superpower.

He succeeded, but what surprised Adam the most was the rating of this superpower.

The person in front of him appeared to be a formidable figure, with an identity and strength that were by no means ordinary, yet his superpower rating was only C-class?

This doesn't add up, does it?!

Adam looked up, his eyes filled with surprise and doubt as he gazed at the old man before him.

The other party's handshake was clearly not innocent; although there was no significant change in expression, it was evident that he was sensing something.

But the more he sensed it, the more puzzled he became, with a look of confusion on his face, and he also looked at Adam.

The two of them looked at each other at the same time, full of doubt, with strikingly similar expressions. If it weren't for the age difference, it would be like looking into a mirror.

"Haha, good! Good!" The plump old man released his grip first, nodding with a smile at Adam, and without saying anything more, signaled to Diana that they needed to discuss something, and the two left.

Twenty minutes passed quickly, and the hall was soon empty, with everyone returning to their seats.

No one was overly hungry, not to the point of staying until the last minute like at a buffet. In fact, from five minutes ago, there were already hardly any people at the food area.

Even Adam had returned early; his goal was just to eat, not to attract attention.

As the time came, the judges of the trial in the front exchanged glances, and eventually, it was the plump old man who stood up.

He still had that amiable smile on his face, his eyes squinting, the wrinkles on his face crowding his eyes, making them hard to see, as he clapped his hands and said:

"Alright, time's up, hello everyone. My name is Thomas Freud, you can call me President Freud, Mr. Freud, or just Thomas. Next, let me tell you about the content of this trial."

"What is the identity of that old man? What is his superpower?" Taking advantage of the moment when the old man began to speak, Adam quickly squeezed over to Diana and asked.

"He is the President of Orienta University; no one knows exactly what his superpower is, the President knows a lot of things." Diana saw Adam take the initiative to come over and whispered back.

She then quickly added: "Listen carefully first, why talk about this now!"

"Ahem, haha." Thomas stood in front of the podium, coughed twice, "Although I might start with some nonsense, I ask everyone to be quiet and not whisper to each other."

Hearing this, Diana also gave Adam a sideways glance, clearly indicating that this was directed at the two of them.

Adam said nothing more, just shrugged his shoulders. The opening speeches of government officials often start with some pointless preliminaries.

For example, right now, Thomas was saying some clichéd remarks.

In summary, it was similar to the opening remarks made by a university president at a commencement ceremony, talking about the purpose and direction of the event.

However, the long-winded speech didn't last too long. Soon, Thomas moved on to explain the formal rules.

Firstly, all the one hundred and twenty-six students will participate in the trial and enter a man-made Virtual Realm to engage in a rule-free "Hunting Competition."

The ranking criteria are incredibly simple, almost foolishly so—to bring out the "energy core" from within the Realm within the specified time for point assessment, with the higher scores ranking higher.

It's important to note that those with more points and higher rankings will receive generous rewards, which will be quite beneficial for future enrollment.

However, this trial is by no means as simple as it sounds.

Firstly, there is no map within the Realm; you must navigate and determine your direction to find your way back to the entrance, as that is the only way to exit the Realm.

Secondly, you must keep track of time. If you fail to exit in time, even if you have the highest score, you will still be considered failed！

Lastly, there are no rules. If you are powerful enough, you can seize other people's "energy cores." If you lack strength, you can team up with others.

This last point makes this comprehensive trial truly "comprehensive."

It involves profit distribution, organization, team building, leadership, decision-making, and even a bit of luck.

The Top Eight Superhuman Universities use this method to have one hundred and twenty-six students quickly become familiar with the social rules among superhumans within the artificial realm, over the course of thirty-six hours.

—you can work with friends, but perhaps they might betray you for points.

—you can fight with those you don't get along with, but be wary of others taking advantage of the situation.

—Unity is strength; teaming up is a great approach, but the final profit distribution might give you a headache.

—Perhaps you are very powerful, but you might be targeted by others, seen as a fat sheep, and end up with nothing despite your hard work.

On the battlefield, there are no police or laws to uphold justice; you must weigh and judge everything for yourself.

This design tests not only strength but also, in fact, strength does not have an absolute advantage here.

Or rather, this is not a design at all; it's simply the establishment of a basic rule, with the rest being laissez-faire, with no rules.

But the absence of rules is its essence, because the world has no rules; superhumans are never tender seedlings in an ivory tower.

Everyone present, being shrewd, fell silent upon hearing what Thomas said, furrowing their brows in thought.

Some began to look around, considering whether they needed to find a teammate, while others, with arrogant expressions, didn't even glance at others, seemingly determined to act alone.

Watching the various expressions on everyone's faces, Thomas maintained a smile and nodded gently.

"Alright, the rules are that simple. Now, does anyone have any questions?"

After a brief silence, a student immediately stepped forward and asked:

"President Freud, what is this 'energy core'?"

"Oh, that. There are 'monsters' within the Realm, and the energy core is the loot you get from defeating them," Thomas replied.

"And you mentioned that this is a man-made Virtual Realm. Are the monsters real? Can they harm us?"

"Although it's a Virtual Realm, you will still suffer real harm," Thomas explained.

"But you are all valuable human resources; we won't let you die in there. If you suffer a fatal injury, you will be teleported out immediately, but in that case, your score will definitely be at the bottom."

After the questions were asked, there was silence for a few seconds. Thomas looked around, and just as he thought there might be no more issues and was about to announce the start of this "Hunting Competition," another student spoke up.