The Ultimate Evolution
chapter-412

When these mutated fungus exploded, their unleashed pores had an adhesive rate a hundred fold of a Siberian cocklebur. One could imagine the taste of those pores contaminating one’s skin…...having to their utmost to remove them. Yet the true objective of the fungus, was to deploy these pores to pollinate growth in distant places.

Of course, the most thorny issue to them, were slingers they had fought against before. Thriving near the Omaticaya Clan residence, these creatures were all mutated and enhanced. Concealed inside the forest, when they erupted with sneak assaults, it was sufficient to constitute a massive threat to any contestant!

(TN recap: Slingers are those long range creatures that participated in the beast horde at the start of this volume)

Their minute venomous stings that sprayed out could easily be masqueraded within the environment, and accurate prick against any contestant…...

As it turns out, they exactly received the habitual surprise attacks of the slingers in this primitive forest. Those blow ‘arrows’ contained mutated venom pricks, smeared with deadly poison more horrifying than a black mamba! According to RDA’s report analysis, the venom could kill a blue whale in 1 minute!

During combat, when Reef was struck, he had to swiftly gouge out of the firing zone; if not the sustaining damages would even be torturing to him.

Looking back on the past day – when it was midnight previously, Sheyan’s trio had immediately stealthily sneaked out of the base; while the remaining contestants waited for 24 hours before vigilantly venturing out.

Occupying this first movers advantage, and coupled with their detailed report; undoubtedly, Sheyan and the others had accumulated loads of RDA reputation and led by a wide margin. Of course, they ingeniously concealed this fact.

Meanwhile, one had to admit that Stalo and those Growth-hunters had committed a great deed before leaving. Their elimination of those summoners had undoubtedly aided Sheyan and their party immensely.

However, Sheyan and company were still prepared that other contestants still possessed remarkable prowess. That woman Zi was actually able to forge an excellent relationship with Doctor Grace, which no doubt assisted her in acquiring natural conveniences. Although the doctor was an upright person that wouldn’t be swayed by personal affairs, she would still find time to provide solutions to Zi – whenever Zi had certain tacky problems.

As for the other contestants that had survived till now, it was hard to discount any hidden dragons and crouching tigers. In this competition for reputation, it definitely didn’t represent that Sheyan and company could let their guard down.

As time elapsed along with the pressure of their external nemesis receding, the competition amongst the contestants gradually intensified.

Fortunately, Sheyan had previously seeked out Head Administrator Parker. Moreover, in all respects he had relatively pulled the wool over the eyes of others. Thus, his confidential operations had been executed very outstandingly, while completely allowing Zi to claim all the limelight. At present, there were roughly 40 contestants that remained, and the Illume-union occupied approximately a third of them.

As the saying, ‘experiences of the past are teachers of the future’; after a former ‘cleansing’ by Stalo’s group, the remaining contestants naturally became more cautious of the Illume-union; in lieu of preventing another catastrophe. Many contradictions continued to spark between the Illume-union and the remaining contestants, while Sheyan’s plans advanced steadily without much pressure.

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Thus, time rapidly dwindled away amidst the hustling and bustling of these anxious contestants, swiftly reaching the 3rd day deadline. Sadly, the deeds that Sheyan and buddies had done, supplied them with relatively few utility points and potential points; reckoning that the main reason was to diligently raise RDA company reputation points. Following the deadline, Sheyan’s nightmare imprint initiated its notification.

[ You completed the sequel battle side mission: Hell’s Gate trust. ]

[ Mission objective: within 72 hours duration, increase your reputation in this RDA base to ‘Respected’. ]

[ Your current reputation: Respected (1471/6000). ]

[ You receive 5 achievement points as reward. (Base 2 achievement points reward, Silver prestige party leader additional +2, legend level additional +1) ]

[ Contestants who were unable to raise their reputation to ‘Respected’ will now be forcefully transported back to the nightmare realm within 10 minutes. ]

****************

[ Note: These are the first three contestants who completed the mission – contestant no.1018, contestant no.2703 and contestant no.15711! ]

[ Note: Contestant no.1018. You are the first to complete this mission. ]

[ Determining bonus rewards….…… ]

[ Please select an option beneath for your bonus reward. ]

[ Reward A: Receive 4 achievement points bonus. ]

[ Reward B: Receive 20,000 utility points bonus. ]

[ Reward C: Receive 10 potential points bonus. ]

[ Reward D: Bonus of 3 days extension in this world. ]

Facing the 4 choices; although reward A was exceedingly alluring, Sheyan still chose option D. This was something he had long been awaiting.

Yet after seeing the announcement, ‘The first three contestants who completed the mission – contestant no.1018……’, a cold chill emitted from his back. He couldn’t help sighing in his heart.

“Really deserving of a battle side mission…...with such a public announcement, isn’t this akin to igniting the fuse for an internal strife between the contestants? These competitions are really too excessive.”

Truthfully speaking, though Mogensha and Reef also completed their side mission, they unexpectedly didn’t qualify within the top 3. This was something Sheyan hadn’t anticipated. The three of them could be said to have occupied a huge advantage, and had the title ‘Outstanding Worker’ to assist them. Yet Sheyan was the only 1 amongst the trio!

(TN: Outstanding worker’s properties included receiving additional rewards when accomplishing a mission from the RDA company)

From here, one could tell how significant that +1 legend level was. That value was normally not noticeable, but during crucial moments, it was a vital game changer!

At this moment, Reef voiced into the party channel.

“Zi is second, no.12703. That no.15711 is unknown. Boss, your identity may be exposed.”

Sheyan composedly replied.

“It won’t. My perceptive sense isn’t bad like others. Furthermore, my helmet also contains a precedence nature ‘Pulse Interference’. They cannot probe out my realm serial number.”

Mogensha earnestly replied.

“Boss, many a time, the problem lies in not being able to investigate a thread of information from you.”

Sheyan laughed in response.

“If the Illume-union will dare to investigate only if they wish for both sides to suffer defeat. If I haven’t guessed wrongly, that no.15711 holds an immensely strong purpose here. Most likely, some party members were willing to accept mission failure and be penalized 10 achievement points, to guarantee he ranks top 3. Therefore, to lay hidden thus far, one’s scheme would bound to be enormous. Think about it, will that person compromise with the Illume-union at this point?”

The current situation was exceedingly subtle, like the calm before the storm. Hell’s Gate suddenly broadcasted – inviting new mercenaries who had passed the trial to gather at the second floor of the command centre. After this filtering of the battle side mission, the contestant count was halved again, leaving behind approximately 20 individuals. There were 7 Illume-union members left, and once again occupied a third of the headcount.

When they streamed into the meeting hall bit by bit, they discovered that the two ringleaders Colonel Miles Quaritch and Doctor Grace Augustine had lined up. Head Administrator Parker Selfridge was standing over the platform, waiting for everyone to settle. Then, Head Administrator Parker initiated his speech.

“Brave soldiers, we just received a report from our exploring squad. A report they released before disappearing off the radar, that they had discovered the spirit shrine of the Na'vi race - The location of the Tree of Souls. With confirmation from Doctor Grace, these tree dwelling blue monkeys share devoted faith in that existence. Therefore, if we can clarify these matters today, then we may have a way to resolve the problem of those thorny monkeys, and even convince them to assist in our mining.”

“As for what you guys need to do, it is very very simple – Confirm the authenticity of that report, and return with a stem of the Tree of Souls. I will be in base preparing champagne, fresh flowers, young girls, and a blank check for you to fill when you return.”

Sheyan and the rest consecutively received the notifications.

[ Battle side mission (Final skirmish) command: ‘Stem of the Tree of Souls’. ]

[ Mission objective: within 5 days, obtain a dangling stem from the Na'vi race’s Tree of Souls. ]

[ Description: After a period of indefatigable striving, you successfully obtain acknowledgement from the RDA base. They are currently planning to task you with a gruelling mission. The latest exploration squadron issued a crucial report – the possible discovery of the location of the spiritual shrine of the Na'vi race, the Tree of Souls. Affirm the authenticity of this report, and return with a dangling stem from the Tree of Souls! ]

[ Note: Only the first 3 who return with a Tree of Souls dangling stem will be rewarded! ]

[ Warning: If you reject this mission, you can either receive a free staying window of 4 days, or accept a fixed reward and return to the realm instantly. ]

[ Do you accept this mission: Yes / No ? ]

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Browsing through the mission specifics, many notions flashed through Sheyan’s mind. He suddenly stood up and earnestly answered Head Administrator Parker.

“Sorry to disappoint, sir. I believe my abilities are limited, and I cannot shoulder such a gruelling mission.”

Parker then casted a ‘you know it’ expression over. This old fox Parker understood it tacitly, but his face remained calm and collected.

“Ok, the RDA company has never forced our workers to comply with any task, your current contributions thus far will surely not be forgotten.”