The person on the other end of the headset chuckled soundlessly.

"Alright, no more suspense. The location for the second phase of the trial is over the sea, 300 kilometers east of Chunming City."

"The trial site is in the sea?" Sun Hang was taken aback. He wasn't sure if he could swim. Since waking up, he hadn't been near water, apart from taking a shower. If he were thrown into the sea now, he wouldn't know how long he could last on the surface.

"There's a deserted island there," the person said.

"A deserted island? What's its name?" Sun Hang took out his phone. His personal account was restored, and he could access the internet again. He opened a map app and zoomed in on the waters 300 kilometers east of Chunming City.

The other person seemed to anticipate his action and said directly, "Don't waste your efforts. This island can't be found on any map. Even inside Dubhe Tower, information about this island is highly classified."

"Have you heard of this island?" Sun Hang looked at Candle Dragon sitting across the table.

Candle Dragon smiled and shook his head.

"This is the first time the island is being used as a trial location. Before this, its information was locked away in the archives of Dubhe Tower," said the person on the headset. "You can consider it as a part of the trial or see it as a special investigation task."

"So, it's transitioning from urban survival to survival on a deserted island?" Sun Hang joked. "You just said Dubhe Tower and the Federation Government will provide the necessary assistance. What kind of assistance are they offering?"

"You'll find out soon enough. What I can tell you is limited to this." With that, the person hung up before Sun Hang could say anything.

"Damn it." Sun Hang cursed, tossing the headset back to the researcher. "This is as good as nothing!"

"Not entirely," Candle Dragon laughed. "At least you know the trial is on an island."

"But I still don't know the island's exact location, size, or what's on it," Sun Hang grumbled. "Otherwise, I could buy some gear and supplies beforehand just in case."

"No need to worry about that; the assistance from Dubhe Tower includes those things," Candle Dragon said. "Anything you might need or think of, they'll have prepared for you... After all, the second phase of the trial is a real 'combat' exercise."

"Combat?" Sun Hang raised an eyebrow. "You mean..."

"I've signed a confidentiality agreement, so that's all I can say," Candle Dragon waved his hand. "Each trial is different in content, but the general approach doesn't vary much... Good luck."

...

...

The Puppet Master was taken back by people from Dubhe Tower, and Candle Dragon went on to continue his vacation, leaving Sun Hang standing alone on the bustling streets of Chunming City, staring at the navigation on his phone.

The first phase of the trial was over, so he didn't have to sleep on the streets anymore. Dubhe Tower arranged for him to stay in a presidential suite of a five-star hotel... However, this hotel was over forty kilometers from Sun Hang's current location. That distance wasn't too bad if it were in a straight line, but Chunming City was a "three-dimensional" city.

The snake-like navigation route on his phone made Sun Hang's scalp tingle with unease. He suddenly regretted parting ways with Candle Dragon so soon... Without a local to guide him, reaching the hotel smoothly was no easy task.

Sun Hang felt that the person at Dubhe Tower responsible for booking the hotel was doing it on purpose... Not only did they book such a distant hotel, but they also didn't provide any transportation, clearly punishing him for holding the Puppet Master hostage.

"Such petty people, their kids are bound to be..." Sun Hang cursed under his breath, then stopped a taxi on the street.

"Where to, young man?" The taxi driver asked enthusiastically as soon as Sun Hang got in.

"To the Platinum Joy Hotel."

"Where?" The driver's expression changed, causing Sun Hang's heart to sink.

"Platinum Joy Hotel," Sun Hang repeated.

"You're not from around here, are you?" the taxi driver asked.

"Why? Is there a problem?"

"The Platinum Joy Hotel you're talking about, is that the one in the Lousu District of Tianshiyuan? Our car can't reach there," the driver said regretfully.

"Can't reach?" Sun Hang was puzzled. Even though it's forty kilometers away, it's not unreachable, right?

"You're not a local, so you wouldn't know. The car license plates in Chunming City are divided by layers. Our car has a Ziwei Palace plate and is prohibited from entering Tianshiyuan. If you want to go to Tianshiyuan, you have to go down to that layer and take a taxi from there." The driver patiently explained to Sun Hang.

"…Okay, please take me to the nearest access point to Tianshiyuan," Sun Hang sighed, suppressing the urge to curse.

...

...

The next day, at five in the morning.

Sun Hang planned to sleep until he woke naturally but was disturbed by a string of urgent phone rings. Grabbing the receiver from the nightstand with a belly full of irritation, he found the call had already been hung up.

"Are you crazy?" Sun Hang muttered, putting down the phone. His gaze shifted to the other corner of the room—at some point, a gray shadowy figure had appeared silently, sitting cross-legged on the sofa.

The shadowy figure appeared the moment the phone call ended; Sun Hang hadn't detected any warning signs before it appeared.

This raised a sliver of vigilance in Sun Hang's mind.

"I called when you didn't answer, so I decided to drop by," the uninvited guest spoke, voice sounding muffled as though layers of thick soundproofing material were between them.

"Good thing I don't have the habit of sleeping naked," Sun Hang remarked, getting out of bed and pulling on a coat. "What do you want?"

"The second phase of the trial starts in four hours. I'm here to meet my teammate beforehand," the shadowy figure said.

"How did you know I was staying here?" Sun Hang asked, puzzled.

"All trialists from the first phase have been placed in this hotel," the figure replied. "I'm staying next door to you."

"Then why didn't I sense any infected aura yesterday?"

"This hotel is specifically designed to serve Hunters; each room has been specially treated to block most memetic auras," the shadowy figure explained. "Even those Hunters specialized in perception might not 'smell' the presence of other guests."

A hotel specifically for Hunters? Sun Hang recollected the details from his check-in the day before, realizing no one mentioned this.

"Then how did you get in?"

"This is just a 'projection' I created; I haven't actually intruded into your room."

"What's the difference?" Sun Hang narrowed his eyes. "Don't you find this behavior impolite?"

"Not really. Among Hunters, strength speaks for itself. Politeness is optional," the stranger said calmly, but the arrogance in his words made Sun Hang extremely displeased.

"So you're saying you're quite strong, then?"

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