A distance of one thousand meters was nothing to Lin Xinghai.

Even with the numerous zombie hordes blocking the road, he could rely on his Phantom Body Technique to virtually ignore them and pass straight through.

As he ran, Lin Xinghai kept an eye on the single-person aircraft in the distant sky.

In just over twenty seconds, it had already flown three kilometers and was about to disappear from sight.

In that brief time, the aircraft had dropped two more Energy Balls. Based on their positions, Lin Xinghai determined that it was likely dropping one every kilometer.

If this pattern held, and one person was carrying ten Energy Balls, that would be just enough to reach the edge of the city center.

’Looks like they want me to run all over the city center!’ Lin Xinghai grumbled internally, but his pace didn’t slow in the slightest.

But Lin Xinghai wasn’t the only one on the move. The other examinee teams, especially the more powerful ones gathered in the central area, had all sprung into action immediately.

However, the gap between them and Lin Xinghai was simply too vast.

Lin Xinghai could weave directly through the zombie hordes with his Speed and Body Technique. The other teams, however, couldn’t. To advance, they had to either take a detour or eliminate the hordes blocking their path, both of which were time-consuming.

Thus, Lin Xinghai’s advantage over these teams was immense.

In just over twenty seconds, he reached the first Energy Ball, snatching it up and stuffing it into his combat backpack.

He took a moment to use his Perception. Within his 600-meter Perception Range, a full four teams were heading for the Energy Ball’s location.

At least three of those four teams were massive, with over a hundred members each.

’The more people you have, the more trouble it is to move, and the more likely you are to attract zombie hordes. It’d be hilarious if they organized all these people just to end up without a single Energy Ball,’ Lin Xinghai mused. His hands, however, didn’t slow down one bit.

After stowing the Energy Ball, his figure blurred into an afterimage as he immediately rushed toward the location of the next drop he remembered.

Soon, he had the second, third, and fourth. Relying on his unparalleled Speed, Lin Xinghai snatched up four Energy Balls in just over a minute.

But the other teams weren’t slow either. They all seemed to be going all out, fighting their way through zombie hordes as they pushed forward.

By the time Lin Xinghai collected the fourth Energy Ball, the closest team was just over 200 meters away.

They could only watch helplessly as Lin Xinghai took the Energy Ball. Before they could even give chase, he had vanished.

Their moods soured as they watched the Energy Ball being snatched right before their eyes.

As for Lin Xinghai, his heart also felt heavy.

’That’s only four Energy Balls. My goal is to collect fifty. I have a long way to go!’

As he mulled this over, he rapidly approached the fifth Energy Ball.

He had only run a short distance when the Energy Ball entered his Perception Range. His expression shifted slightly; there was already a team less than 100 meters away from it.

The catch was that the Energy Ball had landed right in the middle of a zombie horde. To get it, the team would first have to clear out the zombies.

And now, only about a hundred zombies remained in that horde.

Sensing the situation, Lin Xinghai’s Speed skyrocketed once more. He had been using only 400 points of Speed, but he instantly boosted it to 500.

The team near the fifth Energy Ball was the well-known Celestial Eagle Brigade. Their numbers had reached 200, and most importantly, their captain was Qiu Liang, a famous top-tier genius.

The members of this team were quite strong. Over the past two days, they had leveraged their numerical advantage to kill zombies quickly, and more than half of the team’s members had enough Points to rank in the top 3,000.

As a result, Qiu Liang held a very high status within the team.

The members also knew that even after entering the academy, they would need the patronage of a top genius if they wanted to have an easy time.

For this very reason, everyone on the team was sparing no effort to help Qiu Liang climb the Points leaderboard.

Now, during this crucial stage of competing for the Energy Balls, everyone was trying their best to perform well and leave a good impression on Qiu Liang.

The zombies in their path fell one by one. The Energy Ball was almost within reach when, at that very moment, a figure suddenly appeared amidst the dense horde.

He seemed to ignore the attacks from the surrounding zombies as he reached out, grabbed the Energy Ball, and then shot them a smile.

Lin Xinghai was quite happy at that moment because he had finally made it in time.

With the fifth Energy Ball in hand, he had completed one-tenth of his goal.

However, the members of the Celestial Eagle Brigade were about to go berserk with rage.

Worried that another team would beat them to it, they had spared no effort in their charge. Many had even fought recklessly, ignoring their own injuries, just to kill the zombies faster.

But now, just as they were about to get the Energy Ball, the prize they’d worked so hard for had been snatched away. It would be a miracle if they weren’t furious.

The smile on Lin Xinghai’s face, in particular, looked utterly infuriating.

"You’re Lin Xinghai?" Qiu Liang, surrounded by his teammates, suddenly asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

After stowing the Energy Ball, Lin Xinghai’s figure flickered like a phantom a few times, and he retreated from the zombie horde’s encirclement. Once he was in a safe spot, he nodded and said, "That’s right!"

Hearing Lin Xinghai’s admission, a chill ran through the hearts of the Celestial Eagle Brigade members. The anger in their hearts instantly dissipated by more than half.

After all, his reputation preceded him. For these examinees, the name "Lin Xinghai" was like a colossal mountain blocking their path.

However, after their initial shock, they quickly calmed down.

As early as two days ago, when Lin Xinghai had first made his sudden appearance, they had already discussed how to deal with him.

So now, many of them began to grow secretly excited. If they could force Lin Xinghai to withdraw from the assessment, it would be a story that could earn them considerable fame in the future.

Of course, while they had a method to deal with Lin Xinghai, it required him to be within 30 meters.

Right now, that requirement was clearly not met. Lin Xinghai was at least a hundred meters away from them.

But that didn’t matter. Their original plan had accounted for this scenario.

So, without a word needed from Qiu Liang, the members immediately decided to implement Plan B: use verbal provocations to enrage Lin Xinghai and bait him into attacking them.

--------

Happy New Year! I wish everyone good health, a successful career, academic progress, and a happy family in the new year!