The canteen was full of people, and perhaps only a few like Li Changan were there for the first time. The rest knew that the eleven bell rings represented something, which was why they had all gathered in the canteen.
They needed to prepare some food.
The trial field, as people were used to calling it, was not an empty lot but was the same as the real world, with different terrains like mountains and rivers.
That was also why Li Changan was sure the trials facility was not built by the empire. The current manpower was not capable of this level of sophistication.
The human world had it, so did the trial field. But the trial field also had things that were not present in the human world.
Unfortunately, no matter how precious, only the victor could take things out, and the size could not be too big.
The surviving participants would be sent away by a pillar of light. Items carried could not exceed the pillar, or they would be forcibly confiscated, like your head for example.
Both incoming and outgoing items had to follow this rule. That was a bloody lesson left by predecessors.
Therefore, excess food could not be brought in. Most people chose the military rations sold by the empire. They were the latest research results - a bean-sized pellet could satisfy an adult for a day, though the price was atrociously expensive.
For paranormals with greater than normal appetites, every purchase of rations was a nightmare. A tiny pellet cost three thousand! For Li Changan who needed thirty thousand a day just to survive!
Even regular hunters would buy some to bring along, let alone trial participants.
The canteen sold rations too. Capitalism at its worst cared meticulously for everyone. You could tell each person's financial ability, like a certain teenager who bought three large bottles, three hundred pellets in total...
"Should have just given him ten thousand instead of fifty thousand. That would have been enough," Li Changan muttered to himself as he bought twenty pellets at the window.
In fact, even these twenty were unnecessary. His backpack already contained a large bottle of rations. He only bought some to avoid drawing attention.
In the corner sat a few who clearly had no intention of buying rations. This was an open show of arrogance. Their gazes swept over each participant, occasionally licking their lips as if eyeing prey like perverts.
Wen Anran was targeted. Anyone would target him - young, seemingly weak, and rich. He was a fat sheep.
Li Changan shook his head helplessly. He really couldn't compare brains with this kid. Purposely attracting attention, with his Avoidance ability, these guys would only become his prey.
The game hadn't started and someone was already planning a ten kill streak.
The second floor of the trials facility was like a train station waiting hall, with rows of chairs half a meter apart and nothing else. Only the huge stone screen on the front wall.
With upper and lower levels, Li Changan estimated around five hundred seats. That meant a maximum of five hundred could participate each time. This time - the first floor wasn't filled.
He randomly picked a seat to sit on, leaning back and preparing to nap a bit, closing his eyes. Something flashed before his eyes, he blinked to look, and Li Changan smiled.
It was the pink-haired girl he saw yesterday. She probably didn't stay at the facility, which was why she only discovered it now.
None of my business, Li Changan smiled and closed his eyes, waiting for the chime.
Many closed their eyes to nap like him, while others looked left and right to observe their current opponents.
When the bells chimed, Li Changan slowly opened his eyes. A familiar pillar of light fell onto him. Though there were no lights overhead, he didn't know where the pillar came from.
[Taia Trial beginning. Please do not step outside the pillar, 5, 4, 3...]
The familiar feeling of weightlessness hit him. Li Changan stretched lazily - time to go home.
The door of the trials facility opened. The receptionist girl walked in holding a tablet as thin as a fingernail. Behind her was a middle-aged man in a dark green uniform.
"From now until the end, don't miss any names. There's no network access here, so you'll have to register everyone individually," the middle-aged man said, looking up at the screen.
The originally dim stone screen now had rows of names - registered by each person on arrival, whether real or assumed. If they died in the trial, their name would turn from green to red.
The only thing left of the fallen was their name.
The girl nodded repeatedly, not daring to be negligent.
The man's gaze swept over the names until it suddenly stopped, and he laughed, "Li Changan? Is this who you mentioned?"
"Yes," the girl hurriedly replied, nearly hiccupping from nervousness before forcing it down. She quickly added, "He looks similar to the photo you provided, but it's blurry. I didn't dare confirm."
"It's fine. The name is probably fake anyway, nothing we can trace. When there are ten left, if he's alive, let me know first." The man turned and left.
After bowing deeply as she saw the man off, the girl hurriedly started registering names on her tablet.
In a flash, over ten of the one hundred and ninety-seven green names turned red.
-------
Feeling the ground beneath his feet, Li Changan opened his eyes and instinctively rolled away before choosing a nearby cement pillar to hide behind.
After waiting a few seconds, he began surveying his surroundings.
Participants were randomly allocated to a designated area related to the trial field's total size. So it was possible for several to appear together.
He was quite lucky this time. There was no one around, at least not within visible range. But he had to watch out for paranormals with detection abilities and not stay in one place for long.
"An urban area this time?" After looking around, Li Changan could ascertain he was not surrounded by rubble, but an entire city in ruins.
Some buildings in the distance were still partially standing like a metropolis after war. But the vegetation covering them indicated - this place had been destroyed long ago.
"A city is good." Li Changan happily headed into the shadows. A city meant water and food sources. Most food would be expired of course, but scavenging would still be easy. At worst, he could eat leaves.
He moved without a sound, every muscle in his body flexing like a cat - agile yet eerie. With everyone gathered in an area, he didn't need to flee. Just avoid the first wave of combat and the rest would naturally leave this region. Where it was darkest under the lamp and all.
But after taking just a few steps, Li Changan stopped with a strange look, talking to himself while facing the corner ahead.
"There should be a deli around the right turn."
"Two steps ahead is a stone monument left before the apocalypse."
"Left is the road. Across it is a residential area."
After the ominous muttering, Li Changan looked past the corner and froze. It wasn't that he could predict the future. To be exact, he had been here before.
Not just been here, he had lived for twenty years...
This was East Continent North City!