Apocalypse Gachapon Chapter 1858: Shocking scenes

"In one hour, the second phase of the trial will conclude. All new participants must cease attacking one another right away and locate a nearby open space to await collection."

"Those who violate this will face execution."

"Current hunts can proceed as normal. Newcomers holding the bottom one thousand spots on the points leaderboard, make haste to accumulate more points. Once this phase wraps up, eliminations from the lowest ranks will total one thousand!"

"Newcomers occupying the top one hundred positions on the points leaderboard, take note: should you hold your rank through the close of the second phase, an extra two percent points bonus awaits you. Newcomers in positions 101 through 1000, pay attention: if you keep your standing until the second phase finishes, you'll gain an additional one percent points bonus."

"These bonuses will be handed out immediately after the phase ends."

Messages like this flashed across the recorder, alerting every survivor among the newcomers that the three-day second small cycle was drawing to a close.

Ye Zhongming glanced at Aimusi, positioned no more than a hundred meters from him, and let a chilling grin spread across his face.

Since dispatching Hawkins, he and his group had kept moving without pause.

This movement wasn't mere flight, for lacking the mechanical speedboat, Ye Zhongming and his Sea King-marked companions outpaced Aimusi's group substantially in the water. Had Aimusi not lost her mind after her husband's demise and doggedly pursued Ye Zhongming, any other would have abandoned the chase ages ago.

Ye Zhongming had timed it precisely. He kindled a fire on a tiny islet, grilled some captured game for a meal, and lounged there observing Aimusi's distant advance. Then, as she neared within a hundred meters, the device's rules halted her.

The Cloud Peak King secretly wished Aimusi's rage would overwhelm her enough to strike at him. Yet this woman, whose son and spouse he had slain, merely fixed him with an icy, venomous stare, slumped on the earth, drenched through, a stark departure from her earlier imperious queenly demeanor.

Wade and Yaka positioned themselves behind her, equally bedraggled. The hours of relentless chase had drained even nine-star evolved beings like them.

Meanwhile, deep in their minds, a profound dread toward the man across from them took root.

Did he truly stand no chance against them? No, Wade and Yaka rejected that notion.

A nine-star evolved person's regenerative powers were downright horrifying. Ye Zhongming ranked elite among them, and with a Changxu Water Tribe ally, they doubted his fighting strength had waned.

Naturally, nobody relished confronting a berserk, potent nine-star evolved fighter, a fact they conceded. Ye Zhongming likely shared that sentiment. Should battle erupt, all recognized that Aimusi, already unhinged, would disregard her own survival. What if she succeeded in a fatal exchange? That fear probably gnawed at those on the other side.

Wade and Yaka regarded Ye Zhongming with intricate expressions, for this fellow stood in vivid opposition to Aimusi. He valued his comrades' well-being far more, unlike the Hawkins pair, whose bond revolved purely around gains.

Yaka planted her long-handled blade nearby, checked her standing on the recorder, and sensed deep unease.

Four thousand seven hundred and fifteen.

She believed her prowess warranted better than this. In her view, cracking the top fifty might elude her, but the top hundred lay well within reach.

Yet now, everything stood postponed.

The urge to depart surged uncontrollably within her.

This woman, Aimusi, had descended into madness, consumed by vengeful fire. Wade harbored an unbreakable vendetta against Ye Zhongming too; his sibling lay dead by his hand. But her own stake?

Yaka pondered thus. No personal grudge bound her, so why persist in this futile deathmatch alongside them? Merely because they hailed from Gold-Silver Island?

The diminutive woman resolved firmly: once this cycle concluded, she would abandon Aimusi.

Aimusi paid no heed to others' deliberations. She understood her life's lone purpose now burned to slay the man before her.

She recognized her insanity yet retained her wits. She would keep bolstering her power until she ended him!

She set down the withered remains of the child, strapped to her back, beside her legs on the ground, then retrieved a bundled package. Even unopened, the bloodstains visible on it spoke volumes.

With that, she rose and strode straight toward Ye Zhongming. As Jie Kui and the rest tensed slightly... she snatched a flaming log from the fire, stepped aside to fell a tree with swift chops, and in under a minute, ignited a fresh blaze.

"Should I go..."

Wade intended to suggest scouting for nearby prey—low-level, feeble sorts easy to snag. But midway through his words, horror struck him as Aimusi unveiled the blood-soaked bundle, seized chunks of meat, and thrust them straight onto the flames.

The fire's heat posed no threat to her gauntleted grip, scorching only that twisted flesh.

Ye Zhongming too stared in stunned disbelief at this harrowing spectacle.

This woman was grilling her husband's remains!

Soon after—perhaps just one or two portions seared—Aimusi withdrew her arm, lifted it to her lips, crammed those largely uncooked morsels into her maw, and gnawed them down successively. As she masticated, her eyes locked on Ye Zhongming, a smile twisting her features.

This sight sent shivers through all.

Could loathing truly warp a person so? Beyond the first jolt, Ye Zhongming observed in silence as Aimusi devoured her husband's flesh and gore, piece by piece, into her belly.

The retrieval craft descended, signaling the small cycle's closure and the ignition of an enduring grudge.

……………………………………

"Welcome back." Zizi Kaba materialized over the novice camp. Oddly, on this occasion, he skipped assigning tasks to the returned survivors and instead drew their collective gaze to him.

"I promised to ramp up the challenge for you lot. You may trust my word, but mere numerical tweaks feel uninspiring to me. Thus, I figured letting the bottom one thousand perish right before your eyes ought to jolt you awake, eh?"

Grinning broadly, he clenched his right fist sharply into the void. The thousand lowest-ranked newcomers on the points tally—freshly returned and tasting survival's hope—burst apart with resounding blasts, their forms erupting in unison.

All surmised some implanted gadgets must have triggered during pickup; nothing else explained the carnage.

Bloody vapor from the detonations splattered onto nearby survivors.

"Mmm, splendid. Your faces delight me. Right, you've got twelve hours free now. Savor them, for prior to the next cycle's start, I've got tidings far grimmer to share."

With those words, Zizi Kaba vanished, his loathsome arrogance lingering.

The second respite cycle commenced.