A solitary compartment full of Question Marks.

The iconic burlap mask and a suit stained with some saliva hang on a nearby coat rack.

Mr. Question Mark stands by the window in a rare posture, observing the "grand melee" outside.

The sleeves of his white shirt are rolled up above his elbows, secured with sleeve garters. His exposed forearms are pale and hairless, marked with a birthmark in the shape of a Question Mark.

The top button of his collar is undone, revealing a delicate collarbone and a necklace in the shape of a Question Mark.

Above a slender neck is a face slightly leaning towards masculine, yet with a hint of "prettiness," giving no sign that he was already over thirty before becoming a Pseudo-Person.

Despite such a visage, he is unwilling to show it to others, which is truly strange.

Medium-short hair with an inky greenish hue, with a few strands of bangs hanging in front of his eyes.

Eyes structured like Question Marks are observing the new students, immediately spotting the Carnivorous Family and perceiving the issues therein.

"Jia Wen, what do you think?"

Originally engrossed in watching the physical combat, Jia Wen suddenly freezes. He knows well that Mr. Question Mark's words are not asking for an overall evaluation, but rather where the problem lies.

The virus rapidly proliferates within him, constructing a peculiar neural protein to acquire enhanced vision, quickly spotting the anomaly, noticing the stationary Hunter.

"This guy is clearly vegetably mature, yet his aura is frighteningly weak... Rationally, such a person should be focused on and attacked. Is it because he contributed something in the classroom that no one ambushed him?

The quality of these students is surprisingly good?"

"Look a little more carefully."

"Alright."

When the snake-scaled youth's head was bitten off, and pieces of flesh spat out from the person's mouth, Jia Wen's expression changed dramatically.

"Boss, this person..."

Mr. Question Mark gives the person's detailed information: "[One of the Eight Evil People] in the Carnivorous Family. Hunter.

This guy had barely arrived at the Corner, and because of 'Hundred-Eater,' he gained the qualification to become one of the Eight Evil People, and in a short time killed the predecessor and took their place.

Taking advantage of the local authority granted by the Eight Evil People, his appetite grew larger and more picky, having visited the City of Sin for meals many times.

Unfortunately, he doesn't like games much and hasn't visited our company.

Such a being born, raised, and sustained by flesh, now refuses to eat meat. Jia Wen, you should know the implications of this better than I do, right?"

Jia Wen appeared somewhat worried, "I know, Boss... If we let this person encounter the original students in the subsequent assessment, would it be too dangerous? Losing core personnel due to infighting doesn't seem ideal, does it?"

"I only handle external management. Internal matters are mainly handled by Teacher Guo. I trust he values the students more than we do."

Jia Wen posed another question: "Among the remaining eight students, is anyone capable of contending with this guy?"

Mr. Question Mark casts a look at the stage, "Luo Di is somewhat of a pity. Given more time to mature, he might have a chance. As for now, he's still lacking a little.

That naturally born monster is the same.

The remaining personnel are outstanding, but none can compare to this guy... Wait, there seems to be one who might just barely make it. It gives me a rare thrill of anticipation!"

...

Just a few minutes into the grand melee, the entire playground was dyed red.

Being an unrestricted free-for-all, withdrawal and retreat were also allowed.

Most monsters would save their strength, decisively withdrawing when judging they might advance or face life-threatening danger, resulting in few deaths.

As for Hunter, he simply stood on the edge of the field, showing no intention of making a move, having only killed the snake that initially attacked him.

Thus,

the number on the field dropped sharply from the initial 36 to 11, with the elimination rate slowing, leaving three elimination spots remaining.

Having been active in the intense center from the start, Mia was attacked due to excessive stamina expenditure, leaving a huge opening on her back, with what seemed like something parasitic inside.

She had to release decay to clear the impurities from her body, quickly retreating to Hunter's side.

"Boss... I may have charged too aggressively~ I should be more cautious in such melees in the future; several of them aren't simple."

"Hmm."

Mia's severely injured state presented an excellent opportunity for elimination.

The duo that performed a pincer attack on her followed closely, looking like twins, with identical appearance and attire.

Sports shirts tucked completely into their waistbands, revealing floral socks from slightly short pant legs.

Slightly outdated slicked-back black hair, overly smooth and shiny as if wearing a hard plastic cap.

Both attire and appearance of the twins induced discomfort, and their movement was almost entirely synchronized.

However,

the seemingly clean twins were in fact packed with a peculiar type of parasite inside them.

The neural connection between the parasites kept their thoughts highly synchronized, requiring only a touch to pass the parasites to the target.

They fixated on Mia, who was hiding behind Hunter, slowly recovering.

The twins spoke in unison, their voice frequencies aligning perfectly: "Mr. Hunter, thank you for your leadership and support in the classroom area.

We do not want to hurt you, so we hope you can step back when we make our move,

or persuade your friend to withdraw from the match, as she's already severely injured and unable to continue in this organizational assessment."

Hunter remained motionless, his gaze not turning towards them, simply staring at the lawn as if in a daze.

Seeing this,

the twins chose not to wait any longer, needing to eliminate Mia before she recovered.

Moreover, they had their own desires.

By taking down a member of the Eight Evil People, they could perhaps become students in Vortex Town, and maybe even assume the identity of one of the Eight Evil People—killing two birds with one stone.

Simultaneous action, a pincer attack.

The brother in front collided with Hunter,

while the brother behind focused directly on Mia.

As they were about to approach their targets, the twins' synchronization broke; the brother in front turned into some sort of soft-bodied creature, trying to slip past Hunter.

The brother behind launched a preemptive strike, attacking Mia directly.

Smack!

Mia, seemingly weak and powerless, suddenly burst forth, using "Undead" to temporarily restore her body to normal, grabbing the brother's neck firmly.

However,

the brother, who should have slipped past Hunter to attack from behind, never came.

When the brother behind sensed this, he found only half a body lying on the ground.

Being a twin, he clearly felt the horror his brother experienced before dying.

He was about to choose to forsake...

Mia swung her hand, splitting him in two with an axe, as the scattered parasites were immediately devoured by the rotten creatures, a foot crushing the crystalline pituitary resembling eggs.

And right after the twins died,

an elderly woman facing Yu Lu promptly forfeited, leaving half a life behind.

With this, only eight remained on the field.

Teacher Guo did not verbally announce the end, but instead drew a circle counterclockwise in the air with his finger,

an inverse vortex forming out of nowhere,

Buzz!

The severely damaged and blood-stained playground suddenly returned to its pre-melee state, no blood, no rifts, as if nothing had ever happened.

The eight new students scattered across different areas returned to their initial positions in line.

Hunter, who seldom showed much change in his expression, now wore a look of shock, involuntarily raising his head to look at the teacher on the stage.

"Time has changed, Boss Hunter!

Not only the scene but all my injuries have healed, reset to the starting state... Who is this person? How come we've never heard of him in the Corner before?"

"To be granted such authority by the Corner is naturally quite a presence."

"Boss, it feels like you've changed a lot too... The meat smell has dwindled, and it seems your family is all asleep; seems like you're the only one here."

"The household couldn't provide anymore, they all went to sleep."

As the two chatted, Teacher Guo's voice came from the podium:

"The remaining eight will soon undergo the final assessment.

The assessment method is simple, drawing lots to select your corresponding senior student.

In a one-on-one format, engage in a fear duel.

We, the teacher panel, will observe, record, and evaluate your performance from the stage, and once qualified, the duel may end early.

Since this is an academic duel, it's best to avoid any deaths.

The students who have come this far are talented individuals, favored by fear. Even if they do not develop here, they will surely explore deeply and touch the source of fear."

As soon as the words fell,

a box embossed with a Question Mark descended from the sky, landing in front of everyone.

Hunter intended to go last, but a curious Mia pulled him to the front, reaching in to draw a copy of a student ID.

"This is..."

Seeing the name and face on it, Hunter's expression changed slightly.

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