Chapter Thirty-Three: Devil Mode

The Tong family was a respected name in District 16. Though their influence could not compare to the three great clans whose power spanned far and wide, their foothold in the Western City was unshakable, and their position, pivotal.

Ultimately, under the watchful gaze of the audience, Xiao Xueluan lived up to all expectations. After sixteen grueling hours, she finally cleared the Tong family’s new hunting ground. Although the hunting ground failed to withstand the hunters’ assault, its layout was unanimously praised by the council. In the end, it received an ideal F+ rating and an impressive score of 85, which left the Tong family’s representative quite satisfied. After all, compared to the Xia, Jin, and Xu families, their strength was indeed somewhat lacking.

Following them, the Xiao family stepped onto the stage. Their chosen hunter was Han Jue from District 10—a seeded participant. It must be said, the Xiao family had remarkable skills in constructing mechanical devices. The vast array of contraptions in their hunting ground caused the hunters a good deal of trouble.

Yet, fate was not on their side. Han Jue himself was a professional mechanic for his own hunting team—an expert in precisely those very contraptions. Under his guidance, the temporary party they assembled cleared the hunting ground in just eight hours. The Xiao family’s hunting ground received a score of only F, with 76 points—an even worse result than the Jiang family, who lacked seeded participants.

At this, Xiao Xuefeng’s face was dark with rage. Their family had monopolized an entire industry, and yet here they were, bested by an unseeded family. For a moment, Xiao Xuefeng had nowhere to vent his frustration except upon his employees, whom he berated soundly.

With all the minor matches concluded, it was finally time for the most anticipated hunting ground of the tournament’s fifth day: the latest masterpiece by Jin Jindao, the young genius of the Jin family’s construction division, titled “Restraint.”

Even before the contest began, the Jin family’s hunting ground was predicted to be the hottest of the event, with many media outlets forecasting “Restraint” as the likely champion. Since the Jin family’s ground was designed for solo hunting, only one seeded participant was chosen to attempt it: Li Jian from District 12.

Li Jian was a formidable figure, feared and respected in his district, nicknamed “Lone Bear” for his prowess in conquering solo hunting grounds. Aside from Fang Jie, he was considered the strongest of all the hunters present.

Yet, astonishingly, even he failed to complete the challenge. The audience erupted; cheers and applause thundered through the arena. The Jin family had defended their ground, preserving, even if indirectly, the pride of District 16.

The council ultimately awarded a high rating: 90 points and an E- grade. Though it fell short of a full E, the Jin family found it acceptable. After all, in District 16, a hunting ground rated E- was already considered top-tier.

Jin Jindao, though slightly disappointed, had anticipated this outcome and was content. After receiving the official certificate from the committee, he deliberately flaunted it before the Xia family, brazenly inviting their enmity.

But as soon as his eyes met Fang Nian’s disdainful gaze, all joy vanished. He probably hadn’t realized that, unconsciously, he’d come to regard Fang Nian as his lifelong nemesis.

Next came the Xu family. Compared to the Jin family, with their multitude of outstanding constructors, the Xu family’s technical skills were relatively weak, even inferior to the Xia family in some respects. However, thanks to their financial power, the Xu family had hired many external experts.

Amazingly, Li Jian from District 12 was chosen again, and once more he failed to pass the trial, resulting in an awkward scene. Soon, the Xu family's results were also announced, and, to everyone’s surprise, they too achieved 90 points and an E- grade.

The arena buzzed with excitement—no one had expected the two leading families to receive identical scores. Would this year’s tournament see two champions?

Clearly, in the minds of 80% of the audience, the Xia family was simply making up the numbers. After all, with the hardships they’d endured lately, few believed they could work any miracles.

Fang Nian knew his moment was near. Resolutely, he pulled up the system menu and entered the mission panel.

Mortal Difficulty: Participate in the construction of a hunting ground rated F or above, with personal contribution exceeding 30%. (Complete)

Having added his concept “Fear Platform” to “Class 3-3,” Fang Nian had successfully fulfilled the mission, though he hadn’t yet collected his reward, being too busy collaborating with Xia Moyan.

Now, with his turn approaching, Fang Nian was certain he’d use his mysterious skill “Invasion” to enter the hunting ground. Any extra skills would only help, so he immediately clicked to claim his reward.

Yet the prize caught him off guard—it was…

“Congratulations, you’ve received a Mission Reward: One spin of the Fate Lottery Box.”

Fang Nian was delighted. He’d been curious about this feature for a long time, but never had the chance to try it.

“Fate Lottery Box: Contains astonishing rewards as well as abyssal demons. Enter at your own risk. (1 spin available. Use now?)”

Fang Nian hesitated. This was clearly a gamble. If he won, the reward would undoubtedly be tremendous; if he lost, it could mean disaster. An abyssal demon? Could it be… that?

After a moment’s thought, Fang Nian decided his luck had been decent lately. More importantly, his curiosity was insatiable—he couldn’t resist. Without further ado, he hit “Use,” and a huge roulette wheel appeared, spinning slowly.

Observing the distribution of spaces on the wheel, Fang Nian grinned.

“Say what you will, this system is pretty generous—ninety-eight percent of the wheel is reward spaces. Only one narrow, sinister red sliver, no wider than a fingernail. Even with bad luck…”

He hadn’t finished his inner monologue when, without warning, the wheel stopped—right on the red space.

“Congratulations, you’ve won the Devil’s Gift Pack. Please click to confirm and open.”

Fang Nian could have cursed. Was the system toying with him? But there was nothing for it—he had to accept the consequences of his gamble.

When he opened the gift pack, a cloud of black mist engulfed his mission list, only to dissipate moments later. Upon looking again, he found his entire task list had been transformed.

Pedestrian Difficulty: None.

Mortal Difficulty: None.

Hell Difficulty: (Does its presence weigh upon you? Continue to seek its traces.) Use “Invasion” to enter an F+ or higher hunting ground of your own design and attempt to communicate with it. The hunter’s success rate must not exceed 5%. (Special Mission Reward) *** (Mission difficulty upgraded to Devil’s Trial. Please click to claim.) ***

Nightmare Difficulty: Temporarily unavailable.

Fang Nian’s heart pounded, but he couldn’t help clicking to claim the mission.

“Devil’s Trial accepted: Use ‘Invasion’ to enter the ‘Class 3-3’ themed hunting ground as a hunter and complete the hunting task. The ground will upgrade to Devil Mode. Upon clearing, in addition to the original rewards, you will receive the ultimate prize. Good luck.”

His mind buzzed. He had intended to enter the hunting ground as a constructor, enjoying the omniscient vantage of a creator, ready to teach a lesson to those arrogant hunters. Never had he imagined he’d be forced to become a hunter himself.

Fortunately, he’d helped design the ground—he knew the mechanisms, the traps, and all the methods for clearing it. So long as he didn’t show off, passing shouldn’t be an issue. But why did he need to clear his own hunting ground? Was the system malfunctioning? For a moment, Fang Nian was utterly bewildered.

“Xiao Xi, Xiao Xi, explain to me what Devil Mode is?”

“Devil Mode is an upgraded form of the hunting ground. All who enter will temporarily lose their memories of the real world and fully assume the roles assigned within the ground. Hunters must complete a specific objective to succeed. (Note: The hunting process may cause neurological harm to the hunter. Enter at your own risk.)”

Memory loss? Wouldn’t that strip him of all advantages? Fang Nian shivered.

“This time... I’ve really gone too far.”