Accompanied by a slight tremor, the transport plane landed on the runway of the Floating Port.

At the end of the runway, the ground slowly descended, bringing the entire aircraft into the hangar within the Floating Port. Meanwhile, the port itself returned to its original position, once again merging with the Taiwei Palace.

"The headquarters of the Dubhe Tower is located in the Haotian·Beixiu District on the west side of Chunming City, spanning the four layers of 'Houtu', 'Zodiac', 'Heavenly Market', and 'Ziwei'. It is the largest building in the city besides the Federation Parliament Building," Yang Qi said to Sun Hang. "We're currently in this Floating Port located in the Yangtian·Yixiu District. We probably have to cross most of Chunming City to..."

"No need for you to go to the Dubhe Tower," said a staff member who came to receive them. "According to the upper management's arrangement, the trial has already started from the moment you stepped off the plane."

"What did you say?" The tall Hunter turned his head in astonishment. "But we don't even know what the trial is about!"

"In actual combat, mysterious creatures won't wait for you to be fully prepared before appearing," the staff member said expressionlessly. "However, as a newcomer benefit, I can inform you of the first phase of the trial—survive in this city."

"Survive?" Yang Qi frowned. "What does that mean?"

While the other Hunters were all puzzled, Sun Hang stealthily took several steps back and began to scrutinize the internal structure of this Floating Port hangar.

He had already guessed what the other party was going to say next.

"From now on, your identity codes will be disabled, your personal accounts and all your permissions frozen. You are no longer registered Hunters under the Federation, but humanoid mysterious creatures infiltrating Chunming City. The whole city will be your enemy, and you must survive the relentless pursuit for seven days and nights," the staff member continued. "Your photos and personal information have been uploaded to Chunming City's wanted network. You will face the mysterious creature Hunters, military forces, sheriffs, and various civilian hunting organizations and mercenary groups. Good luck."

Before he finished speaking, the staff member's figure began to fade away—he wasn't a living person but a virtual image generated by a holographic projection.

"There are a few points you must pay attention to. Do not harm citizens; avoid causing medium-scale destruction or greater to city buildings; you may engage with those pursuing you, but killing is prohibited; do not leave the range of ten kilometers outside Chunming City. Violating any of these four points will be considered a direct elimination." The voice continued to echo within the hangar. "Additionally, there are two more things to note: first, the direct leaders of the Hunters are not involved in this trial, and no contact with the Hunters or aid is allowed during the trial. Violators will be eliminated directly. Second, the real-time location function of your Hunter wristbands has been disabled, but your precise coordinates will be uploaded to Chunming City's wanted network every two hours. Violators who forcibly remove the wristband will also be eliminated directly."

Sun Hang looked down at his wristband, and the panel that originally displayed time and body status had disappeared, replaced by a virtual sundial. The shadow of the gnomon was cast on the stone plate, inching close to the mark of "Noon".

From the exit of the Floating Port came the sound of hard-soled boots stomping on the metal floor.

"Yang Qi! I have something to ask you!" Sun Hang turned and shouted to Yang Qi.

"What?"

"What is the criterion for medium-scale destruction or greater?" Sun Hang asked.

"The standards differ for each city-state. In Tianfu City, a damage degree of over 5% for one block, and above 20%, is considered medium-scale destruction. Besides, some city-states define the damage by monetary conversion values," Yang Qi replied. "Why are you asking this?"

"So if I drill a hole in the Floating Port, it shouldn't meet that standard, right?" Sun Hang asked again.

"It probably... wouldn't," Yang Qi said uncertainly. "What are you planning to do?"

"Of course, to leave this place first!"

Before he finished speaking, Sun Hang leapt to the top of the hangar with the help of fungal filaments, placing his right hand on the heavy alloy roof.

The next moment, the alloy roof weighing several tons melted like a plastic pierced by a red-hot iron tong, opening up a hole over a meter in diameter.

Simultaneously, a group of elite soldiers in exoskeletal armor rushed into the hangar, raising their weapons to the Hunters, who were still confused about the situation, and opened fire.

Several Hunters too slow to dodge were hit by bullets, but instead of bleeding, the impact released bursts of pink smoke. Yang Qi, having inhaled just a bit of the pink smoke, felt dizzy like a drunk, spun around twice on the spot, and collapsed unconscious.

Those directly hit by bullets had no chance to resist, and in the blink of an eye, a heap of people lay strewn next to the transport plane.

...

Dubhe Tower, a control room.

"The fourteenth batch of trial participants has arrived at the G57 Floating Port. Tsk, they must be the ones coming from Tianfu City, right?"

"How did they perform?"

"A total mess, the battle ended before it even reached the melee stage."

"That bad? No way, were they wiped out?"

"Not exactly, one guy managed to escape."

"Oh? Who?"

"The one Mr. Pei has been keeping an eye on, the Taotie Meme infected. At the start, that voice said, 'He seems to have devoured a mysterious creature with the ability to control metal and tore open a hole in the hangar roof.'"

"Seems like Mr. Pei's judgment is sharp. Can we track his position?"

"After he left the hangar, he immediately destroyed six surveillance cameras above the Floating Port. He doesn't look like someone fleeing indiscriminately. Just four and a half minutes until the noon location update; soon, we'll know his position... hmm, let's pay extra attention to him."

"Wouldn't it be too targeted? If he gets eliminated, how are we going to explain to Mr. Pei?"

"Trust Mr. Pei's judgment. If this guy gets eliminated so easily, he wouldn't be worth such attention from that big shot."

...

...

Chunming City, the Yangtian·Yixiu District, G57 Floating Port.

Sun Hang stood on the runway where the transport plane had just landed, glanced back at the ground staff he had knocked out, and scratched his head helplessly.

Merely knocking them out shouldn't count as "harm," right?

And clearly, this Floating Port is a military port, so those doing ground work here should all have military backgrounds, possibly excluding them from the ordinary citizen category, right?

However, what Sun Hang didn't know was that the ground staff had tried to capture him not because of the trial but because the "escape route" he created had directly destroyed a flight runway worth over four billion.

Sun Hang climbed over the outer safety railing and walked another twenty meters forward—he was already at the edge of the platform now. Although the Floating Port had returned to the base of the main framework at Taiwei Palace, the distance to the nearest "ground" was still four or five hundred meters.

Sun Hang glanced at his wristband again; there was exactly one minute left until the next location upload.

He took a deep breath and leaped.

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