Wei Huan lingered in this area for the better part of a day, only sending out the Undead army to check for changes ahead. However, before he realized it, he noticed that the leaves on the trees beside him had also begun to show purple spots. It was clear that these purple contaminants were likely spreading.
Wei Huan continued to retreat, backing up another three hundred li (approx 150 km), contemplating the purpose of this assessment. Was it to protect nature? To get them to find a way to discover the true nature of these purple spots and then heal the forest? While this was a very unoriginal guess, considering that all Challenge World assessments are straightforward, never playing mind games, and always using the most direct methods to advance humanity, Wei Huan felt his guess was likely close to the truth. However, asking him to risk infection and venture deep into the purple area was absolutely out of the question.
In this way, he did not stay here for long before the purple began to creep into his sight again.
This time, as he retreated once more, Wei Huan encountered the Black man he had previously chosen to ignore. He was a hunter, a Sequence Five Summoning Master. Among his summoned creatures was a Snow Ape, skilled at climbing, likely a summon from a Tier 4 world. It was this Snow Ape that effortlessly carried him to the top of the tall tree. Upon seeing Wei Huan returning, he enthusiastically waved his hands and shouted: "Hello, Colonel Wei! I am Captain Jones from Congo! My name is Jones!"
Wei Huan considered this for a moment. Dot-Mom, under his command, drifted to Jones's presence. Seeing Wei Huan approach, Jones became extremely excited, gesticulating as he spoke. Wei Huan knew the Congolese language had its own rhythm, like singing, which is why the Congolese are also adept at dancing. However, with the Challenge World providing him with a translation, Jones's movements, combined with him speaking Daxia's language, looked rather strange.
Wei Huan took his gaze away from the ape that was dancing with him and finally looked at Jones: "There is an anomaly ahead. Do you know the reason?"
He knew this was what Jones wanted to ask, but unfortunately, he did not know the truth either. Jones scratched his head: "The trees in this forest are too dense for us to move too quickly. Are you saying the reason for the anomaly is related to the red light?"
After speaking, Jones pointed to the sky, then retracted his hand, pressed it to his chest, and bowed his head as if in prayer. When he looked up again, he said: "Colonel Wei, I want to follow you. I don't want to gain anything from this assessment. It's just that when it lit up, only I was best suited to enter. This assessment feels very ominous. I only hope to survive."
The declaration of loyalty was too simple, but Wei Huan knew the other party was sincere. In the Challenge World, apart from the handful of major powers vying for power, most countries are passively involved and passively align themselves. For them, following a responsible leader is more important than becoming a king themselves. The main reason is that no matter how strong an individual is, they cannot surpass a nation. Even for Wei Huan, it was because Daxia was strong and nurtured him that he could grow so quickly. With the nation's backing when necessary, he could pursue his so-called ideals. If he had not been born in Daxia but was a captain of a small country, he would probably still be toiling in Tier 3 or 4 worlds, gathering resources, struggling to survive in the cracks between great powers, and working hard to achieve some kind of ideal.
Wei Huan, with the support of his nation, understood the simple reasons for these small countries choosing to surrender. It was not complicated, nor was it full of too many conspiracies. They simply hoped for his protection, and in return for not being sent to their deaths, they would work diligently for him.
Wei Huan had a thought, and a Burrow Beast Mother drifted over, hovering in front of Jones. Jones was overjoyed. He quickly dismissed his other summoned creatures, keeping only the Snow Ape that could dance with him, and jumped onto the back of the Burrow Beast Mother.
"Thank you, Colonel Wei. I obtained this Colossus half a month ago while exploring a ruin in a Tier 4 world. I now present it to you. May you forever be powerful." He was a sensible person, immediately offering his "letter of surrender."
Although Wei Huan did not covet the Colossus in his hand, he couldn't just offer protection in exchange for a few flattering words. The essence of protection is a transaction. Moreover, if this assessment requires collecting the Colossus fragments, this fellow had made a very correct decision in the face of possible slaughter and snatching.
Wei Huan did not refuse, taking the Colossus into his hand. Jones's Colossus was smaller than his, only the size of a fist, also spherical, and floating in the air. Wei Huan summoned his own Colossus, intending only to try. But when the two Colossus fragments touched, the seemingly solid fragments merged like two large and small drops of water. The Colossus grew slightly larger.
This scene made both Wei Huan and Jones widen their eyes simultaneously. Then, Wei Huan looked meaningfully at Jones: "Did you know this would happen?"
Jones shook his head, looking as if he were dancing, his ape providing accompaniment: "Colonel Wei, I was completely unaware beforehand. Please believe me. Too many people have died since the Challenge World descended. My parents both died in assessments, and the major battlefields are claiming lives all the time. I don't want any more deaths. I truly wish this was just a nightmare. You are destined to be the hope of our humanity. If this assessment brings any benefits, I hope you are the illuminating light. Please take me away from here after you complete the assessment. You must believe in my sincerity."
"..." Wei Huan suspected he had just listened to a rap performance accompanied by hand gestures. In any case, this fellow's way of speaking was a little relentless. After pondering the deeper meaning of his words, Wei Huan believed he was sincere.
It was... a bit absurd.
But his words certainly pointed to a direction. Was it possible that before being infected, the goal was to collect all the Colossus fragments? Thinking of this, and looking at the continuously spreading purple spots, Wei Huan knew his time was limited.
He spoke only one word: "Go."
Then the Undead army began to move at full speed in the direction they had come from.
Before long, the Undead army found another target: the third human participant in the assessment he had seen on his way over. This was a fiery woman with reddish-brown hair, hailing from the southern part of the Aosam Continent, an area that "produces" Druids, so she was also a Druid. She was traveling in the form of a hawk when she was intercepted by the Undead army.
The red-haired woman, surrounded by the Undead, looked coldly at the gesticulating Jones and said: "If this assessment is indeed like this, we should fully support the hope of humanity. The great one sits high upon his throne and can lead us to escape from here."
Wei Huan: "..."
The red-haired woman: "..."
Then the red-haired woman said: "Colonel Wei, I don't know the purpose of this assessment, but I also want to fight with all my might for my homeland. Please allow me to check the anomaly ahead. I will make a decision as soon as possible."
Jones was about to rap again, but Wei Huan raised a hand to stop him. This fellow's way of speaking was too embarrassing, so he'd better speak for himself. Wei Huan said: "If you change your mind, fly straight back. I'll give you half an hour."
"Thank you," the red-haired woman nodded gratefully. She leaped from the treetop, transforming into a red-furred hawk in a somersault, and flew quickly into the distance.
Further on, they encountered another participant in the assessment. She did not immediately make a decision either but maintained a friendly attitude, saying they needed to see with their own eyes first.
Wei Huan did not insist. In fact, he still did not know what this assessment was about, but he felt that the method of collecting all the fragments did not quite feel like an assessment. Why he felt this way, he could not quite figure out yet. Since he couldn't figure it out, there was no need to force it. This was just an attempt. It would be great if it succeeded, but if not, he could not allow himself to get stuck. Returning safely was key.
Wei Huan did not take risks lightly and continued to walk in the opposite direction of the purple spread. However, his speed was slightly slower this time, mainly because he had promised the red-haired woman he would wait for her for half an hour. But as he continued, Wei Huan did not see the fourth person from his journey back. With a summoning range of 15 kilometers, radiating 30 kilometers left and right, he still couldn't see the person. Where did this guy go?
Wei Huan didn't think too much about it. It was not absolutely necessary to find the person, and the fusion of the Colossus fragments was just a bonus. On the contrary, he was now almost back to his starting point, which sparked his curiosity. How large was this trial area? Based on Dot-Mom's speed of about 2000 kilometers per hour, it could be judged that since he decided to turn back, he had traveled a distance of about 3000 kilometers, which is roughly one-third the size of Daxia. Compared to the vast Challenge World, it was very small, but if he were to search for people to collect the Colossus fragments, it would still be like finding a needle in a haystack, even with his Undead scouts.
Wei Huan continued to walk into the distance. After about another half hour, the red-haired woman had not returned. He looked at the endless green forest ahead and simply decided to accelerate and continue in a straight line. Jones naturally did not say anything, merely following him quietly. However, his summoned Snow Ape walked back and forth on the Burrow Beast's back shell, always curious about the forest below.
In this way, after about another hour, reaching a total distance of 6000 kilometers, Wei Huan commanded Dot-Mom to stop as he looked at the scene ahead. He had reached the end.
A field of white, thick fog appeared between the sky and the earth, blocking the way like a wall. Even the red light that had extended to this point clearly stopped in front of the wall. Wei Huan commanded the Ghost Crow to try and pass through, but it couldn't penetrate. He then commanded the Facehuggers and Burrow Beasts to attack in succession, but they could not cause any damage to the wall.
After completing all attempts, Wei Huan approached the thick fog and cautiously raised his hand to touch it. It felt as soft as it looked. Pressing down hard, his hand could sink about half an inch, but he could not break through and enter. The Undead had already tried, so he did not need to try again.
Wei Huan's lips were tightly pursed. After a few seconds of contemplation, he climbed back onto the Bone Throne. "Go, continue walking along the wall."
Looking at the blood-red sky above his head, gloom shrouded Wei Huan's heart. If this trial area was sealed, they would likely have to face those purple spots eventually. Although he didn't know what they were, they were clearly dangerous. Wei Huan was not interested in experiencing the consequences of the human body being infected by the purple spots. Therefore, the immediate priority was to find the entrance and exit of this trial area. Since they could come in, they should certainly be able to leave.
Dot-Mom floated in the air, her six legs spinning like propellers. The speed was pushed to the maximum, exceeding 2000 kilometers per hour. Time passed minute by minute. Wei Huan didn't know how long he searched, but all he saw was the fog wall. At a certain moment, he suddenly came to his senses and realized that he seemed to have returned to the starting point. When he left earlier, he had tied a blue ribbon to the most noticeable tree, and now he saw the ribbon fluttering in the wind again.
Wei Huan's heart sank. Facts proved that this world was like an inverted bowl, and they were trapped inside. The most crucial point was that this was called a trial ground, but there was absolutely no information about the trial itself. Did he still have to face those ominous-looking purple spots?
Wei Huan was genuinely afraid of death. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to save humanity, afraid that his rare chance at rebirth would be wasted like this. He did not want to put himself in danger. Even though his heart told him he should go and see the place where the anomaly occurred, he did not want to take the risk.
Time passed minute by minute. Wei Huan and his Undead floated in the void for an unknown amount of time... perhaps ten minutes, or half an hour. Wei Huan looked at the reddish-purple sky and finally sighed. He had nowhere else to go, didn't he? Was he going to wait for others to create a miracle? The feeling of pinning one's hope of survival on others was terrible. Wei Huan frowned and looked at Jones: "I am going to the dangerous area. You decide for yourself."
Jones nodded, "I will always serve at your side." He knew very well that acting alone without Wei Huan would not be better for him. If anyone could win this assessment in the end, he would only bet on Wei Huan.
Wei Huan didn't mind Jones's flattery, nor was he interested in conversing with him. He issued the order in his heart, commanding the Undead army to turn back again. There was no other choice now. Since there was no retreat, he would move forward. Let him see what this assessment truly wanted to test.
This time, Wei Huan only walked about a thousand kilometers forward before seeing the purple spots that had already spread to this point. The purple spots on the leaves had a faint glow, looking like scattered starlight from a distance, beautiful and dreamy. This time, Wei Huan decided to enter directly. But just a few meters in, Sister Crow appeared in a flash, delivering the latest message to him.
After listening, Wei Huan, under Jones's confused gaze, retreated out of the purple area again and flew quickly to the left. Soon, he saw the person Sister Crow had reported: the red-haired woman was here. The red-haired woman had known from the appearance of the Undead army that Wei Huan was coming, so she calmly said: "Hello, Colonel Wei," upon seeing him.
Wei Huan nodded: "Did you discover anything?"
The red-haired woman's smile turned bitter. She raised her arm and said:
"These purple spots are contagious to the human body. It was only the size of a grain of rice when I first looked, but it has expanded a hundredfold now." Wei Huan saw that most of her elbow was now purple. It looked very bad visually, and the fact was true. The red-haired woman touched the purple area with her hand. When her fingertip was lifted, it was also stained purple, like purple oil paint, indicating that her arm had liquefied.
Jones widened his eyes: "Oh, my God." His expression became extremely terrified as he looked at the purple spots.
Wei Huan also frowned: "How does it feel?"
The red-haired woman was relatively calm: "The fact is, I don't feel anything."
Wei Huan was silent for a few seconds, then asked: "Did you see anyone else?"
"They all went inside. I wanted to come out to find you, but after my arm was contaminated, I couldn't fly anymore."
Wei Huan raised an eyebrow.
The red-haired woman lowered her head to look at her purple arm and said:
"This is my wing. It's soft now."
Wei Huan fell silent again, looking at the purple spots that were still spreading outwards. The others did not dare to disturb him, waiting silently. After a while, the result he was waiting for emerged. A group of Undead that he had commanded to venture deep into the purple area since earlier reappeared with purple spots on their bodies. The Undead were not immune either.
Wei Huan sent these Undead back to the Great Tomb. When they came out again, they still had the purple spots. Then, he chose to kill them. They were surrounded and torn to pieces by other Undead. When they were summoned from the Great Tomb again, the purple spots were gone this time.
Wei Huan's eyes lit up. The others naturally saw what Wei Huan was attempting. Jones excitedly yelled: "You've found a way to deal with the crisis!"
The red-haired woman showed a bitter smile. She raised her arm: "Unfortunately, I can't start over."
Wei Huan ignored the two of them. The Undead, free of purple spots after dying and resurrecting, gave him an idea. He commanded Dot-Mom to return to the Great Tomb and then summoned three Burrow Beast Mothers. The Burrow Beast Mothers, including the length of their legs, are 12 meters high with broad shells. In the past, Wei Huan always used the Burrow Beast Mothers as mounts. However, this time, he did not plan to ride on their backs. He chose to sit under the abdominal cavity of the Burrow Beast Mothers. The abdominal cavity of the Burrow Beast Mothers leads to a personal space that only this species can open. It is filled with Facehuggers and is theoretically a very terrifying place. However, that applies to other Burrow Beasts, not the Undead summoned by Wei Huan. Wei Huan came to the area under the abdominal cavity, located at the entrance of the passage, which is the seam between two spaces. The Facehuggers were already there, using their hands and feet to intertwine a swing-like seat.
Sitting here, Wei Huan was in a semi-spatial position and also inside the Burrow Beast's transparent bubble. This might be able to avoid the erosion of the purple spot infection. Before delving into the core area, all he needed to do was continuously replace the Undead he was using for transport.
Jones and the red-haired woman also received their exclusive mounts. However, compared to the constantly excited Jones, the red-haired woman remained despondent. She looked at her purple arm, perhaps regretting not having followed Wei Huan directly earlier.
The Facehuggers flew into the contaminated area. After a period of silence, Wei Huan said: "The purple spots are not the content of the assessment but an environment that must be dealt with. Let's look deeper for now."
This remark was met with an enthusiastic response from Jones, while the red-haired woman remained silent.
However, Wei Huan's method was effective. By continuously replacing the infected Undead, Wei Huan traveled a long distance, remaining completely clean, as was Jones. Furthermore, the purple spots on the red-haired woman had not spread during this time, which reignited hope in her eyes.
"Colonel Wei, I haven't introduced myself. I'm from Mexico, and my name is Cynthia."
Wei Huan's heart moved, and he commanded the Facehugger carrying Cynthia to approach him. Cynthia then explained her situation, saying: "It seems these purple spots do not continue to spread solely within the human body. The infected person must be exposed to that environment for the condition to worsen."
Wei Huan nodded. This was why he hadn't rushed in. By planning carefully before acting, he could maintain more control. Since the conversation had opened up, Cynthia continued: "Have you gathered any information? Could you share some of it?"
Wei Huan said: "I went to the boundary. As far as I can see, there is no exit from here, nor any clues."
"Wow!" Cynthia responded with an unrelated exclamation: "You're actually sharing information with me? To be honest, I've been very presumptuous in asking for your protection and still receiving shared information."
Wei Huan felt a slight "jolt," vaguely thinking of something, but when he tried to think carefully, he found no clue.
Just as Cynthia was trying to get closer to Wei Huan, their forward movement suddenly paused. Immediately after, Cynthia covered her mouth in shock at the sight before her. "Ah!" A sound she couldn't control still escaped through her fingers.
It turned out that two Facehuggers were carrying something, flying up from the forest. It was a person. However, this person was entirely purple and unrecognizable, making it impossible to distinguish gender. When the person was pulled into the air, the entire body stretched out like a ball of purple crystal slime, elongated for more than ten meters, looking as if it could break at any moment. The dense purple color was opaque, but presumably, the internal organs had turned the same color. This appearance was too terrifying, making even experienced challengers feel a churn in their stomachs. Cynthia, in particular, saw her future in this person, which frightened her immensely. She touched the purple on her arm, her face taut with tension.
"He's still alive," Wei Huan said. "The purple spots changed his life form, but he's still alive."
The clothes the Undead retrieved from the forest proved his identity. It was the participant Wei Huan had seen earlier but couldn't find again when he returned.
It seemed he had some special way of moving, faster than Cynthia's flying speed, and had already ventured deep here, but could no longer advance. The time was just right. Wei Huan summoned a new batch of Burrow Beasts, and everyone, including the deformed person, transferred to them. The replaced Burrow Beasts were killed on the spot, and when they were resurrected in Wei Huan's Great Tomb, they were normal.
Presumably, if the infected human were to die and resurrect, the purple spot infection could also recede. But how could a human die and resurrect? Wei Huan, temporarily without a solution, decided to save one person if he could. The fact that the person was still alive meant there was still a chance. In any case, his Undead could easily keep up with the consumption.
Also, after this person turned completely purple, his Colossus fragment fell out. The Undead army retrieved the Colossus and gave it to Wei Huan. Wei Huan fused it into his own Colossus, which grew another circle larger. This change was seen by Cynthia. She then looked at Jones, and a struggle showed on her face. Finally, she reluctantly handed her Colossus to Wei Huan, saying: "Thank you for your protection. Without you, I would probably be just like him now. If the purpose of this assessment is to collect the Colossus fragments, please do not decline. More than anyone, I hope the benevolent you achieves victory."
Wei Huan did not refuse. At present, the collectible Colossus fragments are likely the purpose of this assessment. Of course, Wei Huan still felt something was amiss, but for now, this was the only way forward. Cynthia watched as her Colossus was integrated into Wei Huan's. She bit her lip, lowering her eyes to hide her thoughts.