Apart from the first test, the real illusion test, the following five tests were much simpler.
The five tests were age, pollution index, geno stability index, willpower, and bonus points.
The second part of the test was age. The Crisis Management Department did not have a strict age limit and gave the examiner a certain degree of autonomy.
According to the previous tests, if there were too many refugees who passed the first test, the head examiner might set an age threshold and eliminate those who exceeded the age limit to save time.
This time, although there were not many people who passed the first test, Pei Zongyan, who wanted to stop Qi Yuan from entering God's Sanctuary, still suggested setting an age threshold.
"There are so many tests. It's a waste of time to test them one by one. I suggest we set the threshold at 18 and eliminate a few people first. That way, we can save some time," Pei Zongyan suggested.
Although Pei Zongyan did not know Qi Yuan's real age, he knew that it was not easy to awaken a non-standard ability. If Qi Yuan could awaken so many non-standard abilities, he could not be young.
Sun Jia also realized this and stood up to oppose it.
Although he knew Kou Haitao would not agree to such a ridiculous suggestion, he still decided to stand up for Qi Yuan because he had shown great potential in the test. He was worth investing in.
It was just a matter of a few words. If Qi Yuan could remember the sentiments of these few words, he would have an additional path in the future.
The two of them shed all pretense of cordiality and began to quarrel with each other.
Kou Haitao was playing with a small device that looked like a flashlight. He was having a headache listening to the two of them arguing. He started to regret accepting this task. In the beginning, the two of them could still maintain a harmonious relationship. Now that they had completely fallen out, Kou Haitao was in a dilemma.
"There's no age threshold."
Kou Haitao made the final decision.
Pei Zongyan and Sun Jia stopped arguing when they heard the expected decision.
"Bring them here." Kou Haitao did not want to listen to the two of them argue anymore and started the second test.
Thunder Scorpion and the others immediately brought the nine people who were waiting.
The hunters who failed the first test did not leave. They surrounded the square, trying to observe the rest of the test.
Kou Haitao glanced at the hunters around him. As the head examiner, he didn't discriminate against refugees, but he didn't want to be watched like a monkey by a group of people.
Thunder Scorpion noticed Kou Haitao's displeasure and was about to step forward to disperse the Wilderness Hunters, but Kou Haitao shook his head.
"There's no need to dispel it."
If it was in the past, he would have dispersed the crowd long ago. However, the examination this time was different. Qi Yuan's interests were too entangled, and he did not want to involve himself in it. Having more witnesses would save him a lot of trouble.
Kou Haitao's oppressive gaze swept across the area, and the noisy hunters quickly quietened down. The deterrence of a Grade 4 Mechanic was still very terrifying.
After the surroundings quieted down, Kou Haitao walked in front of the nine people and said with a serious expression,
"I am the chief examiner of this assessment, Kou Haitao!
The next few items will be tested by me personally! "
"Being able to pass the assessment has already proven your strength. However, if you want to enter the Black Steel Shelter, strength alone is not enough!
We still need to conduct other tests. Your age, pollution index, genetic stability index, and mental strength are all necessary tests. "
"I don't care who you are, and I don't care why you want to enter the Black Steel Shelter. Since you've taken part in this assessment, you have to follow my rules. I won't make things difficult for any of you, nor will I help any of you. Everything will be decided by the results of the test."
Kou Haitao's words revealed a lot of information. Qi Yuan also realized that this chief examiner was not one of Ke Shoulin's or Tanqiu's men.
Furthermore, he didn't want to get involved in the battle between the two sides, so he showed an unbiased attitude.
Having a chief examiner like this was good news for him. As long as there was no external interference, he could definitely pass the assessment.
The few Wilderness Hunters had different thoughts. Qi Yuan silently observed the few Hunters around him through Area Detection. He found that most of the Hunters were a little nervous, and their hearts were racing. However, there were three Hunters who were calm as usual and didn't show any signs of nervousness.
Among the three, two of them had tried to target him during the first round of the assessment. The other person was also a little unfamiliar and had never appeared in the Black Steel Shelter. At least, Qi Yuan hadn't seen him in the Black Steel Shelter during this period of time.
Was he just a stranger?
Or was he their accomplice?
Qi Yuan coldly glanced at the three of them.
The assessment items of the shelter were no longer a secret. These few items were things that no Wilderness Hunter could be sure of, even the most basic of age.
Many Wilderness Hunters didn't even know when they were born.
As for genetic stability, pollution index, and mental strength, they were not things that the Wilderness Hunters could dabble in.
In the past, many Wilderness Hunters who had worked hard to pass the first round of the assessment had failed in the subsequent tests and lost the right to enter the shelter.
The two Wilderness Hunters who had tried to target him weren't nervous because their goal wasn't to enter the shelter. But why wasn't the other person nervous?
Was he confident that he could pass the assessment, or was he after something else?
While Qi Yuan was thinking, Pei Zongyan suddenly stood up and walked over.
"You're Qi Yuan?" Pei Zongyan looked down at Qi Yuan coldly.
"I am!" Qi Yuan said.
Ke Shoulin's man!
Qi Yuan thought to himself.
"You're a smart man. I think you know your current situation. Even if you're lucky enough to enter the Black Steel Shelter, Tanqiu can't protect you. If you're willing to give up the assessment, I can spare your life!"
What an annoying arrogance!
Qi Yuan shook his head in his heart. At the same time, he began to realize that his behavior might have made Pei Zongyan feel a little uneasy. That was why Pei Zongyan couldn't wait to threaten him.
Qi Yuan didn't want to confront Pei Zongyan at this time. After all, Pei Zongyan was not only Ke Shoulin's pawn, but also one of the examiners. He represented the Black Steel Shelter.
Qi Yuan just looked at Pei Zongyan without saying a word. He knew that someone would come to his rescue.
"Pei Zongyan, you're looking down on me and Kou Haitao!" Sun Jia quickly came over.
Kou Haitao looked at the two of them without saying a word.
Pei Zongyan looked Qi Yuan in the eye and said, "If you give up the assessment, you can do whatever you want.
"As long as you give up on this test, you can set any other conditions. Remember what I said!"
After that, Pei Zongyan turned and left.
Sun Jia looked at Pei Zongyan's back and smiled at Qi Yuan. "My name is Sun Jia. Tanqiu asked me to protect you. With me around, Pei Zongyan won't dare to do anything to you. You don't have to be afraid of him."
Qi Yuan smiled.
"I'm not afraid of him. I'm just afraid of scaring him!"
Sun Jia was stunned. He then gave Qi Yuan a thumbs up.
"Your performance just now really scared him. Do you know that you broke the combat division's record in the first assessment? And the non-standard abilities you displayed scared him. He's afraid that you'll enter the Black Steel Shelter, that you'll advance to Tier 4 quickly, and that you'll take revenge on him!"
He broke the record just like that?
Were the pinnacle Tier 3 fighters of the Black Steel Shelter so useless?
No, it wasn't that they were useless. It was just that the potential aptitude users of the Black Steel Shelter wouldn't awaken too many combat abilities at Tier 3. They had higher standards and would choose to awaken abilities that were compatible with each other to advance to Tier 4.
Besides, what was a non-standard ability?
Qi Yuan knew that the person in front of him was probably Tanqiu's subordinate. He asked, "What's a non-standard ability?"
Sun Jia smiled and said, "In the Black Steel Shelter, all abilities are divided into two types according to how they were awakened. One is a standard ability, and the other is a non-standard ability."
"All abilities awakened through the use of Gene Serums are called standard abilities. These abilities can be mass-produced, but there are certain side effects."
"All naturally awakened abilities are also called non-standard abilities. Although it's difficult for us to control the awakening of these abilities, they represent the potential to reach Tier 4. You've awakened many non-standard abilities. With Tanqiu's help, you'll definitely be able to reach Tier 4."
"This is why Pei Zongyan is so afraid of you!"
Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow. Although the abilities given to him by the Talent Tree were stronger than others of the same tier, Qi Yuan had never thought that there was such a thing as non-standard abilities.
According to Sun Jia's words, all of his Tier 2 abilities were most likely non-standard abilities.
If the people in the Black Steel Shelter knew about this, they would probably cut him into pieces.
Sun Jia patted Qi Yuan's shoulder.
"You don't have to worry about the rest of the test. With your score in the first round, you'll definitely pass all the tests and enter the Black Steel Shelter!"
Qi Yuan only smiled at Sun Jia's goodwill. He had already come this far. If he couldn't even enter the Black Steel Shelter, then he would really be dead.
Although their conversation was not loud, the hunters around them heard it clearly. Whether it was Pei Zongyan's threat or Sun Jia's help, it was beyond their comprehension. How could a hunter in the Black Steel Shelter be involved in so many conflicts of interest?
A few of them secretly looked at Qi Yuan, as if trying to pry into his secrets.
The age test quickly began. Although most hunters in the Black Steel Shelter did not know their real age, it was a simple matter for the people in the Black Steel Shelter.
The small device in Kou Haitao's hand that looked like a flashlight could quickly complete a person's age test.
Kou Haitao walked up to the first hunter and pointed the end of the device at the hunter's eyes. He pressed the button on the device, and a green beam shot into the hunter's eyes.
The hunter squinted his eyes, then quickly controlled his body's instincts and forced his eyes to stay open.
Three seconds later, Kou Haitao turned off the device, and the beam disappeared.
"Twenty-seven years old!
Seven points! "Kou Haitao announced the result.
Twenty-seven years old!
Seven points!
The hunters looked at him. Twenty-seven years old was not considered old in the Black Steel Shelter, but in the Black Steel Shelter, it was obviously a very young age. Seven points was a very competitive score.
Kou Haitao walked in front of the second Hunter and did the same thing. Soon, he completed the age test for the second Hunter.
"Thirty-one years old!
Five points! "
Kou Haitao walked up to the man who tried to sabotage Qi Yuan's test.
A few seconds later, Kou Haitao calmly reported his age.
"Forty-five years old!
One point! "
A few of the hunters looked at him in surprise. Although he looked older, forty-five years old was still a bit out of their expectations.
If a 27-year-old could get a relatively good score in the test, then a 45-year-old wouldn't even be able to get a guaranteed score. If the examiners were strict, they might even get a zero in this test.
Zero points also meant elimination!
Although one point did not mean elimination, the hole was so deep that it was almost impossible to climb back up.
In the wastelands, the degree of pollution was proportional to one's age. A forty-five-year-old Wasteland Hunter would probably be at the bottom of the scale of the pollution test.
The hunters watching from the sidelines began to whisper. In the past recruitment tests, no hunter over forty had ever passed!
Age discrimination was a real thing in the recruitment tests, and it was what made the hunters feel the most helpless. It cut off any hope of the older hunters to enter the shelter.
Forty-five years old meant that the hunter had been eliminated early.
The hunters were secretly happy. There was one less competitor!
The forty-five-year-old hunter looked calm, as if he was not affected at all.
"Forty-three years old!
One point! "
After testing the last person, Kou Haitao calmly reported his age again.
After hearing his age, the hunters around the square could no longer hold themselves back and started whispering among themselves.
This time, the Black Steel Shelter was recruiting five people.
Only nine people had passed the first test, and two of them were over the age limit. This meant that of the remaining seven, only two more would be eliminated!
The hunters who were watching could not help but be envious of the ratio.
Although two of the five spots were for drug testers, it was still better than hanging around in the Black Steel Shelter.
Soon, Kou Haitao was in front of Qi Yuan.
After a simple test, Kou Haitao paused for a few seconds before reporting his age and score.
"Seventeen years old!
Nine points! "
Seventeen years old!
Pei Zongyan's eyes narrowed. He did not expect Qi Yuan to be so young.
"Your two chess pieces seem to be useless!" Sun Jia chuckled softly.
"That's not necessarily true." Pei Zongyan glanced at Sun Jia.
"Don't forget, there is no age threshold this time. Even if the first test score is lower, there is still a chance to catch up!
As long as his overall score is higher than Qi Yuan's, he will not be able to enter the Black Steel Shelter! "
"Aren't you underestimating Qi Yuan? He got a perfect score of twenty in the first test!" Sun Jia said.
"Your two pawns, one of them got twelve, and the other got thirteen. The combined score of the first two tests is not even half of Qi Yuan's. What do you have to compete with Qi Yuan for a spot?"
"If I were you, I would think of a way out for myself!"
"Think about it. A seventeen-year-old aptitude user who has awakened multiple rank 3 non-standard abilities. As long as such a person enters the shelter, even if he doesn't enter the lab, he will be taken away by the Wilderness Exploration Department."
"Qi Yuan's momentum is unstoppable. Aren't you worried that he will hold a grudge against you?"
Pei Zongyan's expression changed. In the end, he said coldly, "He hasn't entered the Black Steel Shelter yet. Don't threaten me with this."
"I'm not threatening you." Sun Jia said in a low voice.
"I'm just reminding you. Is it worth it for Ke Shoulin?"