Chapter 200: Chapter 132: Topping the Ranks, the Shadow Scale Race

"The comprehensive threat coefficient warrants a 20% increase over the historical average."

Mr. Shi’s calculations were rigorous and meticulous. He had to arrive at a number that would convince everyone, including the other participants.

A moment later, he stopped what he was doing.

A number, precise to two decimal places, appeared on the screen.

5.21 points.

This was the final point value for each Iron-Eating Beetle in the current swarm, after a comprehensive assessment.

Seeing the number, everyone else in the conference room nodded in approval.

The score was fair and reasonable.

However, when Mr. Shi multiplied this number by the terrifying kill count...

Everyone’s breath caught in their throats once more.

5.21 x 10,887 = 56,721.27!

Adding the 1,000 bonus points specially approved by Wang Lingchuan.

Lin Ye’s total first-day score—

57,721 points!

Shi Ruifeng silently pulled up the current real-time leaderboard.

Excluding Lin Ye, the next highest score was 7,350 points.

This score had already broken the all-time record for the first day of the selection, a display of breathtaking talent.

But now, compared to a first-day score of nearly sixty thousand points, it looked like a joke.

...

DING!

「At the same time.」

Whether they were trekking through the wastelands of the fallen zone or resting at a temporary camp, all the participants’ wristbands emitted a crisp chime.

After a full day of selection, the first official leaderboard had finally been released.

Inside the camp, in a rest area established with bartered military supplies.

A few participants were gathered together, treating their wounds while exchanging information and discussing their gains from the day.

Although the selection officials had deliberately fostered opposition among the participants, some who knew each other beforehand still chose to team up to hunt and split the points.

"It’s so hard to earn points..."

"Worked myself to the bone for just a few hundred points!" 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"I can’t take it anymore. I heard the freaks at the top of the rankings all have at least four or five thousand points!"

"No way! How could anyone get thousands of points in a single day??"

"Sigh, it’s too much. The competition is this fierce on the very first day."

Just then, their wristbands chimed.

Everyone perked up and hurriedly tapped open their wristbands.

But when their eyes fell upon the top of the leaderboard, everyone fell silent.

Identical expressions of shock and stupor appeared on every face.

[First: 57,721 points (No. 37, Lin Ye)]

The air froze.

After a few seconds of dead silence.

"Am I... am I seeing things?"

"Fifty-seven thousand-plus points?!"

"They must have misplaced the decimal point, right? Shouldn’t it be 5,772 points?"

"Mr. Lei in second place only has a little over seven thousand... How can the gap be this huge!"

"It’s rigged! He must have connections! Some big shot’s illegitimate son?"

An uproar, like an exploding boiler, echoed throughout the entire camp.

Almost everyone was convinced that it was either a ridiculous mistake or a complete setup.

Someone rushed over to the military official in charge of the camp, protesting loudly and demanding an explanation.

But all they received was a single, cold reply.

"The leaderboard data is correct. The selection rules are fair. If you have any objections, file an appeal yourself."

This hardline attitude silenced the entire clamor.

The organizers actually acknowledged this absurdly high score!

For a moment, the entire camp, and indeed the entire fallen zone, every participant who saw the leaderboard was thrown into a state of massive shock.

Amid the uproar and commotion, someone silently carved the number 37 and the name Lin Ye into their memory.

...

「Meanwhile.」

In the wilderness several hundred kilometers north of the Linchuan Ruins.

Lin Ye stopped in his tracks.

His wristband had also received the leaderboard announcement.

Looking at his own score at the top of the list, a trace of surprise flashed across Lin Ye’s face.

’To be honest, I wasn’t even sure if the military would acknowledge that exaggerated kill count.’

’After all, it did sound like something out of a fairy tale.’

’I was already mentally prepared for my points to be heavily discounted, or even completely invalidated.’

Lin Ye’s gaze moved away from his score, and he continued to scroll down.

Soon, he noticed a detail.

At the bottom of the leaderboard, there was a simple electronic map.

The map itself was just a blank slate, with no terrain or details of the fallen zone marked on it.

But Lin Ye could clearly see a golden dot representing him, stationary in the upper-right area of the map.

Above the dot was a "NO. 1" marker.

In other areas of the map, nine other, slightly fainter red dots were scattered about.

These dots, scattered like stars, were each marked with ranks from second to tenth place.

Below the map, there was another line of small text.

[Map refreshes once per hour, displaying the approximate locations of the top ten members from one hour prior.]

Lin Ye’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He instantly understood the organizers’ intentions.

’Only the top ten will be chosen in this selection.’

’And I’m currently at the top of the leaderboard with a seismic lead.’

’A score like this is enough to stir up greed in anyone.’

’The appearance of this map is undoubtedly telling everyone—’

’The location of the prey has been revealed. Whether you want to turn the tables in one fell swoop and become the new leader is up to you.’

From a purely efficient standpoint, compared to painstakingly hunting mutated beasts at the risk of one’s life, it was far quicker to just plunder the points from other high-scoring participants.

As long as you could defeat your opponent, you could seize all of their points!