I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 589: Heavy Losses

This time, their search for the space node went rather smoothly. Twenty minutes later, they successfully located and destroyed it.

The two returned to Jiang Xinyu and Xie Sisi, who had not encountered any further sneak attacks. After emerging from the space node, Wang Lan immediately connected with headquarters through his wrist communicator.

This time, connecting to headquarters took an unusually long time. Normally, Wang Lan’s calls were answered instantly, but this time he waited for quite a while.

"Hello!"

"Inspector Dyson, a Different Dimensional Space just appeared in the Black Brilliance Area. Hundreds of Star Cloud Stage Exotic Beasts, shaped like spiders, emerged from it. We have now closed the Different Dimensional Space."

"Hmm! I see." Major General Dyson’s tone was very indifferent and reserved, which surprised Wang Lan.

"Do you have anything else to report?" Dyson’s voice came from the other end of the wrist communicator.

"General Dyson, you don’t seem surprised?"

"Because it wasn’t just Zone Seven where Different Dimensional Spaces appeared; the other twenty-five zones experienced the same. Obviously, this is the Hell Monarch expressing his dissatisfaction over us killing his subordinates. The International Security Council is currently assembling forces to rush over; we will meet up soon. We’ll talk more when we see each other."

"Wait!" Wang Lan suddenly called out to General Dyson again. "Please confirm if other areas were attacked by hooded figures in black."

"Hooded figures in black? Were you attacked?"

"Yes, twelve in total, all with Star Sea Stage cultivation levels, nearly causing losses to our team. However, I have dealt with all of them now."

"Alright, I’ll verify that. Contact me if there are any developments."

After ending the communication, the four of them returned to the apartment. Without authorization from their superiors, Wang Lan’s team could not go to support other areas. Of course, perhaps Wang Lan was overly concerned. The main examination headquarters was certainly monitoring the state of each zone in real time. If all of them had encountered assaults by warriors of such a high level, as Wang Lan’s team had, likely only two out of the twenty-five teams would have survived intact.

Could that be possible? Wang Lan asked himself, ultimately smiling and shaking his head.

Could the mastermind have that many Star Sea Stage experts? Impossible. Among Star Martial Warriors, barely one in ten thousand becomes a Star Sea Stage expert. It isn’t that I’m looking down on the Hell Monarch; for him to have cultivated twenty or so Star Sea Stage warriors from his hundred thousand Star Martial Warriors would already be remarkable. Huh? By that count, haven’t I just taken them all down myself?

By this point, the International Security Council’s assessment had winnowed the candidates down to one hundred elites, all top young talents from various countries. They might well be the world’s most cutting-edge combat force in ten years’ time.

Does the mastermind possess that level of capability? If so, they could nearly devastate human civilization.

"Xiao Ai, help me analyze the facial features of these people," Wang Lan said, uploading synthesized photos of several individuals into the computer.

During the encounter in the Different Dimensional Space, Wang Lan had killed all the assassins, then removed their masks to record their faces. Afterward, using a face synthesis system, he completed the combination of these faces.

Although the faces weren’t exact matches, they bore at least an eighty percent resemblance. The clues obtained from imprinting their memories were very scarce. They had been cultivated as tool-like assassins.

They struggled and fought in harsh environments. Aside from honing their combat skills, they knew nothing else, qualifying as tools devoid of emotion and thought. Therefore, they remained silent during the sneak attack, appearing as emotionless as cold machines.

They didn’t even know their own origins, their purpose, the entity they served, or the organization they belonged to. Their minds held only two things: loyalty to their master and obedience to their master’s commands.

Certainly, they couldn’t be S-class traitors. Only those brainwashed from childhood could be developed into assassins with no thoughts other than obeying orders. Thus, Wang Lan had formed a guess at the time.

"Search complete, matching faces found—" Xiao Ai’s prompt sounded, instantly displaying several children’s faces on the computer screen—boys and girls, some appearing to be mere infants, only a month old.

"Xiao Ai, are you sure the faces match?" Xu Xiangwen looked bewildered as he scanned the two rows of faces; the differences seemed vast.

"When it comes to facial recognition, I am a professional," Xiao Ai boasted.

"These individuals disappeared between thirty and twenty-five years ago. It seems our speculation is entirely correct. Over the past thirty years, the mastermind has been abducting children with Star Martial Warrior potential and cultivating them into assassins."

To raise them to the level of Star Sea Stage experts... I really hope their cultivation methods aren’t *that* brilliant, because a hundred thousand ordinary Star Martial Warriors and a hundred thousand *elite* Star Martial Warriors are worlds apart.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! As they were speaking, all four wrist communicators emitted a sound, prompting everyone to look at their wrists.

"Assembly order! All candidates must immediately gather at the designated location."

Let’s go. Put on the disguises and head out. The Hell Monarch’s retaliation this time is sharp. It seems the main examination command center is finally getting serious.

The four of them donned cloaks and masks, then vanished from the apartment in a flash.

The gathering point was at the bell tower in Zone Twelve. When Wang Lan arrived, Yulia’s Angel Team was already waiting. In the plaza by the bell tower, more than a dozen helicopters were parked.

Inspectors, wearing sunglasses and camouflage uniforms, stood still with their hands behind their backs at the foot of the bell tower, exuding an intense aura and an overwhelming readiness for battle.

Wang Lan approached and silently nodded to Yulia, then stood beside them.

St. State had five cities, with the furthest being four hundred kilometers away. Given the teams’ speed, this distance wasn’t too great; they could arrive in an hour or two.

An hour after Wang Lan and his group arrived, other teams gradually began to appear. Wang Lan observed the condition of the other teams; many had injured members, and some had even suffered casualties.

After waiting for two hours, Wang Lan couldn’t help but frown. Of the one hundred candidates, fewer than seventy now remained. Nearly a third of the candidates had perished.

This is definitely the biggest loss in the history of assessments conducted by the International Security Council and a significant international incident. Weren’t those sent to take the examination the prized talents of their respective countries? Their countries were counting on them to secure the future, but now, they had fallen here before even reaching their full potential. How could the countries let this go?

"Everyone!"

SNAP! A chorus of salutes as everyone snapped to attention.

"First, I want to congratulate you for surviving the enemy’s retaliation. At nine-twenty this morning, twenty-five areas in St. District simultaneously experienced the appearance of Different Dimensional Spaces.

"While you were closing the Different Dimensional Spaces, the enemy sent Star Martial assassins to ambush you. Quite despicable, right? Are you furious?

"I am also furious, and I also think it’s despicable, but this is war. War has no underhanded tactics, only victory and defeat, only life and death.

"Since you have chosen to become warriors of human civilization, such despicable enemies will appear around you at any time. The Demon Clan is even more despicable, more sinister.

"The reason you are angry is that you are not strong enough. If you were strong enough, or more vigilant, their ambushes would not have succeeded. Now look at yourselves—some injured, some teams suffering casualties... You shouldn’t feel angry; you should feel shame.

"In a battle between two sides, it’s never the case that one side gains an advantage without suffering losses. We just destroyed two of their bases, and they immediately struck back at us.

"The appearance of the Different Dimensional Spaces this time was clearly premeditated by the enemy. With just a bit of thought, you would realize this. And since it was premeditated, there were undoubtedly other measures in place; you should have been prepared for defense while closing the Different Dimensional Spaces.

"But what about you? The vast majority of you were not!"

Major General Dyson’s words immediately deflated the previously indignant candidates. Everyone here was an elite from their country, already warriors seasoned by battle. Did these basic principles of warfare really need to be spelled out? Just because this is an examination, has everyone relaxed their vigilance?

"In this incident, only two teams performed perfectly and received full marks: the seventh and twelfth teams. All other teams will each be docked two hundred points."

"On what grounds?" Suddenly, some protested. Earning points was difficult enough, and most hadn’t even accumulated two hundred yet. Points were earned as a team and then distributed evenly. But the Inspector was saying each *individual* would be docked, meaning a four-person team would lose eight hundred points.

"We also successfully closed the Different Dimensional Spaces and repelled the enemy! Why are we still being docked points?"

"Because you did not annihilate the enemy," the Inspector’s words immediately set the candidates off.

"Annihilate? You try it! Do you know what kind of opponents we encountered? In our team, two were searching for space nodes, two were guarding the entrance, and suddenly a dozen or more of them burst in, their cultivation all at the peak of the Galaxy Stage or the early Star Sea Stage. And you expect us to annihilate them?"

"That’s right, the examination is unfair!"

"We’ve suffered losses, even fatalities, yet instead of credit for our efforts, we’re docked points? This examination... I’m done with it!" an agitated Star Martial Warrior exclaimed, violently throwing his hat to the ground.

"You may choose to drop out. A helicopter will take you away. So, is there anyone else who wants to quit?"

With someone taking the lead, the others, fueled by pent-up anger, followed suit in a chain reaction. One by one, they threw down their hats and chose to quit. Suddenly, a large portion of the candidates had opted out.

As they left, they didn’t forget to incite the remaining candidates, either by tempting them or verbally insulting them. Their aim was clear: to make everyone forfeit and turn this selection examination into a farce. Then, naturally, their backing countries would apply pressure, ensuring the International Security Council wouldn’t have an easy day.

A few were swayed, but in the end, only about thirty-odd individuals with resolute wills remained standing, unmoved.

"Anyone else? This is your last chance. Does anyone else want to quit?"

Everyone in front of the Inspector remained still.

"Alright then. I now announce the fourth test."

"Huh?"

All the remaining candidates simultaneously lifted their heads to look at the Inspector. It was traditional for the International Security Council’s selection examination to have only three tests. Now that only a little over thirty of the original thousand were left, how could he not declare them all passed and instead proceed with a fourth test? Are they trying to select just one team or what?

"Sir! Doesn’t the International Security Council’s selection examination always consist of only three tests? Why is there a fourth?"

"The fourth test was added because your poor performance in the third test left us very dissatisfied. Hence, the fourth test. Do you have any objections? You still have the right to withdraw before the fourth test begins. However, once it starts, withdrawal means certain death."

"We will never quit!"

"Good. At least you still have courage. Now, we will reassign teams. Excluding the seventh and twelfth teams, the rest of you will form new three-person teams. Each new team will then be assigned a captain."

No sooner had the words fallen than, with a WHOOSH, ten Star Martial Warriors of diverse ethnicities and ages appeared before the crowd.

They were male and female, old and young, but what they all shared was the fierce aura emanating from them.