62: Chapter 62, Third Assessment: Defense and Counterattack

At this moment, after finishing, the other party also looked over here.

Gu Changming met his gaze.

The opponent was a young man in his early twenties, somewhat delicate-looking with slightly long hair. Right now, he was tilting his head to look back at him, his gaze carrying a hint of arrogance, and a satisfied curve still hung on the corner of his mouth from his recent performance.

Then, the other party jerked his chin up, as if saying: Your turn.

Gu Changming showed no expression. He only met the man's gaze for a brief moment before calmly shifting his eyes back to the ten floating metal parts in front of him.

Mental Power spread silently. Under the guidance of his consciousness, the ten parts rotated slowly, adjusting their angles.

Gu Changming was in no hurry to chase speed; instead, he aimed to display everything as comprehensively as possible, bringing them closer and fitting them together step by step.

The metal components made subtle "click" sounds as they fitted together, one after another, perfectly seamless.

Two minutes and eleven seconds.

The final part clicked into place.

A perfectly round metal sphere silently took shape in front of him, hovering quietly.

At the same time, a "ding" notification sound of success came from the pillar on Gu Changming's side.

Gu Changming raised his hand in a loose grip, and the metal sphere fell lightly into his palm.

He then glanced at those who had been staring at his movements just now.

Swept by Gu Changming's gaze, those people no longer stood dazed and hurriedly returned their attention to the metal components in front of them.

...

Just now, at the same time Gu Changming finished, Zhou Qilin, who was not far away, also glanced at the countdown.

Over two minutes... A silent curve hooked at the corner of his mouth.

Time continued to pass.

Eight minutes was not considered long.

While some people's movements weren't fast, they were steady enough; others had sweat on their foreheads, and the parts floating before them trembled incessantly, as if they might scatter all over the floor at any moment.

The time limit approached minute by minute, second by second.

Finally, the countdown reached zero.

"Ding!"

As the notification sound rang out, those who had not yet finished seemed to have their strength drained instantly, slumping directly to the ground.

Immediately after, their figures flickered and disappeared from this pure white space.

Gu Changming took a look; the number of people eliminated this time was even greater. By a rough count, at least over a hundred people were gone.

However, compared to his previous life, it seemed that twenty or thirty more people had managed to stay.

Above the space, the light blue subtitles lit up again:

[Second Assessment Passed.]

[Reward: primary mental strength enhancement potion × 1]

As soon as this reward appeared, the crowd immediately began to discuss it.

"primary mental strength enhancement potion? What is this? Does it increase Mental Power? As expected of a Mentalist Assessment..."

"I think I've seen it before. Isn't it the one the Mall sells for three hundred points?"

"Yes, that's it! I looked at it before, but it was too expensive, so I couldn't bear to exchange for it..."

Excitement appeared on everyone's faces.

If they were given three hundred points directly, without knowing the specific effects, they really wouldn't be willing to spend three hundred points to buy it.

But if given the item directly, then they wouldn't be reluctant to use it.

Watching the crowd's discussion, Gu Changming raised his hand and tapped the air, extracting his reward from the space.

A greenish potion bottle appeared out of thin air in his hand.

This item of his also drew the gazes of many people nearby.

In the next second, Gu Changming pulled out the cork, tilted his head back, and drank it down.

The surroundings went quiet for a moment.

Everyone stared at him blankly, seemingly not expecting someone to use the reward right here.

But soon, someone reacted.

They were currently in the middle of an Assessment; by drinking this potion, the enhanced Mental Power could be used in the next Assessment, and it might even help them complete another round.

In the next second, the crowd became restless.

One after another, everyone took out their potion bottles and gulped them down.

Clear mental fluctuations continued to emanate faintly.

After drinking the potion, they could all clearly perceive that their control over Psychokinesis had indeed become stronger, and the previously somewhat sluggish control had become much smoother.

Just then, on the pure white wall ahead, that light blue light screen emerged again.

The subtitles followed:

[Please proceed to the next Assessment area.]

Looking at the crowd feeling the changes in their Mental Power, Zhou Qilin felt inexplicably displeased. He then frowned, took the lead, and walked straight toward the light screen.

With someone leading the way, the rest followed one after another.

Gu Changming remained unhurried, moving forward with the flow of people.

...

A soft and moist sensation came from under their feet.

Everyone looked down and realized they were no longer in that pure white space, but standing on an open plain. The soil was slightly brown, carrying the scent of wild grass, and sparse low shrubs could be seen in the distance.

The sky was a uniform grayish-white, with no sun, yet it was bright all around.

This realistic sensation made many people look dazed; it was as if they had been transported to another world.

Without giving them much time to adapt, light blue subtitles had already emerged in mid-air:

[Third Assessment: Please endure for five minutes under the attack of the 'Attack Units', or kill them in return.]

Seeing this, everyone's hearts tightened.

Has it finally reached the actual combat stage?

And those 'Attack Units', what are they?

Gu Changming's gaze swept across these words. With a thought, a more detailed rule panel expanded before his eyes:

[Mentalist Basic Assessment · Third Round]

[Content: Dynamic Defense and Counterattack]

[Description: After the Assessment begins, the 'Attack Units' will start attacking the examinees indiscriminately. These units will continuously fire high-speed metal fragments. Examinees must use Psychokinesis to defend or dodge; surviving for five minutes counts as passing. If the Attack Units can be destroyed within the time limit, it is also considered a pass.]

[Tip: Dying in the Assessment will result in being directly transported out of the Assessment grounds with no additional penalty.]

Before everyone could get ready, ripples appeared in the air ahead.

Immediately after, silver-gray mechanical bodies emerged out of thin air, hovering about one meter above the ground.

They were composed entirely of metal, with irregular shapes—mostly distorted cubes or hexagons—with smooth surfaces that gleamed with a cold matte finish. They had no obvious heads or limbs.

A countdown emerged in mid-air:

[Assessment Begins]

[Preparation Time: 10 seconds]

The countdown began to tick down.

Ten, nine, eight...

Everyone's first instinct was to dodge, but standing in the middle of an open plain, there was absolutely no place for them to hide their figures.

After realizing there was nowhere to hide, some people began to mobilize their Psychokinesis, condensing translucent barriers in front of them.

A few others had a fierce look flash in their eyes. They summoned weapons like Flying Needles and Short Blades from their bodies, pre-charging their strength and aiming at the still-immobile 'Attack Units'.

They intended to strike first, planning to destroy those hovering metal creatures the moment the Assessment began.

Time continued to slip away.

Three

Two

One

"Swoosh!"

Almost the instant the countdown hit zero, a sharp sound of breaking air tore through the silence of the plain.