Surviving the Apocalypse Death Exam - Chapter 98
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Chapter 98: A Bountiful Harvest! The Second Question!
Translation by: WeebsreadπΉ
The three Chiliarchs standing beside Lu Zhenguo threw back their heads and laughed, their voices echoing off the battered city walls. The rank-and-file soldiers, oblivious to the secret operation that had just unfolded, exchanged puzzled glances, minds swirling with questions. But when their general and the upper ranks laughed so heartily, they understood—whatever had happened, it was good. The details didn’t matter anymore.
What mattered was that every last monster had vanished, and their general was laughing.
They had won.
What else was there to say?
Centurion Black Bear raised his broadsword high and bellowed, “We did it! Victory is ours!”
The blood-soaked, battered survivors—some barely able to stand—leaned against the city wall and roared as one, “We won! We won!”
Their cheers seemed to breathe new life into the land itself.
Far away, in two other cities teetering on the brink of collapse, countless soldiers and ordinary citizens stared in disbelief as the monsters charging at them crumbled to ash and vanished. For a heartbeat, everyone was stunned—then realization dawned. The eyes of every powerhouse turned to the horizon, brimming with tears of relief and gratitude.
As the sun’s last golden rays dipped below the horizon, Lu Zhenguo paced at the city gate. He looked up to see a group approaching, bathed in the fading light, striding slowly from the edge of the sky.
They had left with just over fifty. Now, fifty-one returned. Lu Zhenguo’s nose stung, and he had to force himself not to let his emotions show. At the center of the returning convoy, surrounded like the brightest star among lesser lights, walked Lin Mo.
Lu Zhenguo laughed, striding forward with heavy steps.
“Good lad, good lad! I knew my instincts about you were right.”
He checked Lin Mo over, then glanced at Chen Badao and his old comrades, joy shining in his eyes.
“Alive. That’s all that matters. You’re all alive.”
When he had seen them off, he had steeled himself for the worst. Now, it was over.
“Come, come—let’s get back and throw a victory feast!”
News that the Monster Matriarch had been slain spread swiftly, reaching every survivor in this ruined world. The gloom that had shrouded the land was swept away by a tide of jubilation.
In North Frontier City, the lights burned all night. People drank, sang, and celebrated without rest.
To Lin Mo’s surprise, Li Quan was still alive.
He had never expected that. Given Li Quan’s combat ability—even with the ten Tentacles he’d gained from trading with the Severed Finger—he should have died a hundred times over in that slaughterhouse.
Watching Li Quan lurking at the edge of the crowd, Lin Mo frowned. Something was off.
Li Quan’s eyes were gone. His ears were gone. The aura he gave off was no longer even human—closer to an Abomination, or a Monster.
“He’s been trading his own body parts—and even pieces of his soul—to that mysterious Severed Finger for new powers,” Lin Mo thought.
Now, the aura radiating from Li Quan was stronger than most Sequence 9 Awakened at their peak.
Li Quan, drinking alone, seemed to sense Lin Mo’s gaze. He looked up, the black holes where his eyes had been brimming with malice and something unearthly.
Lin Mo could see it: Li Quan wanted him dead. Hell, he looked like he wanted to eat his flesh and gnaw his bones.
So the Severed Finger and those who’d gained power through Sacrifice were still bound together by something deeper.
“Looks like when we get back, Wu won’t be the only one I have to take out. Li Quan’s on the list too.”
The night passed without further incident.
When the time came, Li Quan—having earned no Military Merit in the war—didn’t hesitate. The moment the timer ran out, he gathered the weapons, armor, and gear left by the dead and let the Game System teleport him out of the Death Exam, not wasting a second.
After he reappeared, Wu looked him up and down, grinning at how much less human Li Quan now seemed.
“Brother Li Quan, interested in teaming up to take down that brat Lin Mo?”
Li Quan raised his head, paused when he sensed Wu’s Sequence 8 aura, then grinned back, his expression twisted.
“Fine. I want Lin Mo dead.”
He turned away, gaze fixed on the Death Exam’s accelerated Projection.
Everything he had become—this grotesque blend of man and monster—was because of Lin Mo.
The Next Day: Rewards
On the second day of the Death Exam, it was time for rewards. Lin Mo, seeing the guilty look in Lu Zhenguo’s eyes, understood the situation at once.
North Frontier City’s War Merit Shop was all but empty. Honestly, even the Heaven’s Spirit Milk left in the vault wasn’t enough to match Lin Mo’s contribution.
Lu Zhenguo, embarrassed, offered up the last bottle.
“Kid, you know how it is. After years fighting these damn monsters, the Human Race is flat broke. This is all we’ve got left. Take it. If we get anything else in the future, we’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
Lin Mo didn’t hesitate. He tipped the Heaven’s Spirit Milk straight into his mouth.
It was sweet—almost floral.
Lu Zhenguo’s eyes bulged.
“Hey, kid! You just downed it like that? At best, that’ll push you up to Sequence 9 peak—no more!”
But seeing Lin Mo had already finished the priceless elixir, he could only sigh.
“Fine, fine. Next time we get some, it’s yours again.”
But Lin Mo knew—time was short.
A forced Transmission prompt from the Death Exam Game appeared before his eyes.
As the Countdown ticked down to its final second, it suddenly froze.
Then, a special message popped up:
“Esteemed Death Exam Candidate Lin Mo, the world bestows upon you a special Gift: a personal storage space of 10 cubic meters, and 1 point of Destiny. Do you accept and embrace the world’s Gift?”
Here it was.
Lin Mo’s breath quickened. He silently accepted.
A message flashed:
“You have received a 10 cubic meter personal storage space. You have received 1 point of Destiny.”
He could feel it—deep in his mind, a new space had opened up. Anything non-living could be stored or retrieved with a thought.
But the so-called Destiny? He felt absolutely nothing. No change at all. As if nothing had happened.
“General Lu, until we meet again.”
Lin Mo gave Lu Zhenguo a nod. The world seemed to freeze—and he was instantly transmitted away.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back at the Exam Desk.
As Lin Mo reappeared, Wu, Li Quan, Ying Zhu, Lu Chuan in the distance, and more than thirty Test Slaves all turned their attention to him.
Lin Mo’s aura surged.
The Heaven’s Spirit Milk was transforming him, pushing his Sequence higher and higher. He broke through three minor Sequence realms in quick succession, finally stabilizing at Sequence 9 peak.
His physical strength soared. His Sequence Power, Heaven’s Thunder, and everything else—both in quality and quantity—skyrocketed.
Most importantly, he gained a new ability—
Thunder Judgment!
With a thought, a black cloud appeared above the thirty empty desks, swirling and coiling for fifty meters around.
Within, thunder rumbled—Thunderclap gathering.
Wu and Li Quan, who’d been watching him like hungry wolves, both flinched.
Li Quan’s fear was pure instinct—the Heaven’s Judicator’s Heaven’s Thunder was the bane of Abominations.
Wu, though, remembered all too well the scene when Lin Mo, using the Jade Talisman to briefly reach Sequence 5, summoned a Judgement Cloud and wiped out hundreds of thousands of monsters—and the Monster Matriarch—in a single strike.
Don’t panic, Wu told himself. It’s still the Death Exam period. Candidates can’t kill each other inside the Examination Grounds.
Sure enough, as soon as Lin Mo revealed his power, the Death Exam Game issued a warning. With a snap of his fingers, Lin Mo dispelled the Judgement Cloud.
“Congratulations,” Ying Zhu said quietly.
Lin Mo looked at her. “You got plenty of good stuff from the War Merit Shop too. Congratulations to you as well.”
Ying Zhu thought for a moment, then nodded. “Thank you.”
Lin Mo patted the Thunderclap sword at his waist.
“A fair trade, that’s all.”
Watching the awkward exchange, Lu Chuan closed his eyes. Lin Mo hadn’t managed to reach Sequence 8 with this windfall, but he was close—very close.
The Test Slaves, still trembling from Lin Mo’s earlier display, finally let out a collective sigh of relief as the cloud faded. They wanted desperately to curry favor with him, but with Wu now at Sequence 8, and Li Quan—who’d sacrificed his own body to the Severed Finger—both gunning for Lin Mo, none of them dared say a word. If Wu and Li Quan couldn’t kill Lin Mo, they could certainly squash any of the rest for fun.
Meanwhile, outside the small town, a group of Awakened watched the Death Exam’s Projection through a special Artifact, observing Lin Mo and the tangled web of grudges in his Convoy.
One of them remarked, “That Lin Mo is ruthless. Sent more than a dozen of his own to their deaths with a single command.”
A sallow-faced Awakened smirked in approval.
“In this dog-eat-dog world, it’s kill or be killed.”
A girl chimed in, “The hatred between the Awakened in that Convoy has reached the point of no return. Once this round’s over, we can split them up, then swallow them whole. Lin Mo’s Sequence is powerful, but his methods are too extreme. We need to think carefully before bringing him into our group.”
Their voices dropped to a murmur as their discussion continued.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo and the others received their rewards for clearing the latest Death Exam.
On his desk appeared a roast goose with plum sauce, white-cut chicken, and a marinated duck. Lin Mo didn’t stand on ceremony—he dug in immediately.
Since the Wasteland began, he’d not only never tasted such delicacies—he’d barely even seen them.
His only complaint: the white-cut chicken didn’t come with dipping sauce. What a waste.
But, considering the state of the world, he made do—dipping it in plum sauce was good enough.
Watching Lin Mo eat with both grace and speed, the Test Slaves nearby swallowed hard, their stomachs rumbling with envy.
Another day spent wishing they could be Master Lin.
“Master Lin, can I have the bones when you’re done? Please!”
“You spineless idiot, stand up! Don’t kneel!” someone scolded.
But at that moment, the giant Exam Sheet in the air shifted. The second Death Exam question appeared.
“Question Two: You are given a custom-built Awakened vehicle. You choose to—
A. Spend a pleasant weekend with your wife.
B. …”
Translation by: WeebsreadπΉ
The three Chiliarchs standing beside Lu Zhenguo threw back their heads and laughed, their voices echoing off the battered city walls. The rank-and-file soldiers, oblivious to the secret operation that had just unfolded, exchanged puzzled glances, minds swirling with questions. But when their general and the upper ranks laughed so heartily, they understood—whatever had happened, it was good. The details didn’t matter anymore.
What mattered was that every last monster had vanished, and their general was laughing.
They had won.
What else was there to say?
Centurion Black Bear raised his broadsword high and bellowed, “We did it! Victory is ours!”
The blood-soaked, battered survivors—some barely able to stand—leaned against the city wall and roared as one, “We won! We won!”
Their cheers seemed to breathe new life into the land itself.
Far away, in two other cities teetering on the brink of collapse, countless soldiers and ordinary citizens stared in disbelief as the monsters charging at them crumbled to ash and vanished. For a heartbeat, everyone was stunned—then realization dawned. The eyes of every powerhouse turned to the horizon, brimming with tears of relief and gratitude.
As the sun’s last golden rays dipped below the horizon, Lu Zhenguo paced at the city gate. He looked up to see a group approaching, bathed in the fading light, striding slowly from the edge of the sky.
They had left with just over fifty. Now, fifty-one returned. Lu Zhenguo’s nose stung, and he had to force himself not to let his emotions show. At the center of the returning convoy, surrounded like the brightest star among lesser lights, walked Lin Mo.
Lu Zhenguo laughed, striding forward with heavy steps.
“Good lad, good lad! I knew my instincts about you were right.”
He checked Lin Mo over, then glanced at Chen Badao and his old comrades, joy shining in his eyes.
“Alive. That’s all that matters. You’re all alive.”
When he had seen them off, he had steeled himself for the worst. Now, it was over.
“Come, come—let’s get back and throw a victory feast!”
News that the Monster Matriarch had been slain spread swiftly, reaching every survivor in this ruined world. The gloom that had shrouded the land was swept away by a tide of jubilation.
In North Frontier City, the lights burned all night. People drank, sang, and celebrated without rest.
To Lin Mo’s surprise, Li Quan was still alive.
He had never expected that. Given Li Quan’s combat ability—even with the ten Tentacles he’d gained from trading with the Severed Finger—he should have died a hundred times over in that slaughterhouse.
Watching Li Quan lurking at the edge of the crowd, Lin Mo frowned. Something was off.
Li Quan’s eyes were gone. His ears were gone. The aura he gave off was no longer even human—closer to an Abomination, or a Monster.
“He’s been trading his own body parts—and even pieces of his soul—to that mysterious Severed Finger for new powers,” Lin Mo thought.
Now, the aura radiating from Li Quan was stronger than most Sequence 9 Awakened at their peak.
Li Quan, drinking alone, seemed to sense Lin Mo’s gaze. He looked up, the black holes where his eyes had been brimming with malice and something unearthly.
Lin Mo could see it: Li Quan wanted him dead. Hell, he looked like he wanted to eat his flesh and gnaw his bones.
So the Severed Finger and those who’d gained power through Sacrifice were still bound together by something deeper.
“Looks like when we get back, Wu won’t be the only one I have to take out. Li Quan’s on the list too.”
The night passed without further incident.
When the time came, Li Quan—having earned no Military Merit in the war—didn’t hesitate. The moment the timer ran out, he gathered the weapons, armor, and gear left by the dead and let the Game System teleport him out of the Death Exam, not wasting a second.
After he reappeared, Wu looked him up and down, grinning at how much less human Li Quan now seemed.
“Brother Li Quan, interested in teaming up to take down that brat Lin Mo?”
Li Quan raised his head, paused when he sensed Wu’s Sequence 8 aura, then grinned back, his expression twisted.
“Fine. I want Lin Mo dead.”
He turned away, gaze fixed on the Death Exam’s accelerated Projection.
Everything he had become—this grotesque blend of man and monster—was because of Lin Mo.
The Next Day: Rewards
On the second day of the Death Exam, it was time for rewards. Lin Mo, seeing the guilty look in Lu Zhenguo’s eyes, understood the situation at once.
North Frontier City’s War Merit Shop was all but empty. Honestly, even the Heaven’s Spirit Milk left in the vault wasn’t enough to match Lin Mo’s contribution.
Lu Zhenguo, embarrassed, offered up the last bottle.
“Kid, you know how it is. After years fighting these damn monsters, the Human Race is flat broke. This is all we’ve got left. Take it. If we get anything else in the future, we’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
Lin Mo didn’t hesitate. He tipped the Heaven’s Spirit Milk straight into his mouth.
It was sweet—almost floral.
Lu Zhenguo’s eyes bulged.
“Hey, kid! You just downed it like that? At best, that’ll push you up to Sequence 9 peak—no more!”
But seeing Lin Mo had already finished the priceless elixir, he could only sigh.
“Fine, fine. Next time we get some, it’s yours again.”
But Lin Mo knew—time was short.
A forced Transmission prompt from the Death Exam Game appeared before his eyes.
As the Countdown ticked down to its final second, it suddenly froze.
Then, a special message popped up:
“Esteemed Death Exam Candidate Lin Mo, the world bestows upon you a special Gift: a personal storage space of 10 cubic meters, and 1 point of Destiny. Do you accept and embrace the world’s Gift?”
Here it was.
Lin Mo’s breath quickened. He silently accepted.
A message flashed:
“You have received a 10 cubic meter personal storage space. You have received 1 point of Destiny.”
He could feel it—deep in his mind, a new space had opened up. Anything non-living could be stored or retrieved with a thought.
But the so-called Destiny? He felt absolutely nothing. No change at all. As if nothing had happened.
“General Lu, until we meet again.”
Lin Mo gave Lu Zhenguo a nod. The world seemed to freeze—and he was instantly transmitted away.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back at the Exam Desk.
As Lin Mo reappeared, Wu, Li Quan, Ying Zhu, Lu Chuan in the distance, and more than thirty Test Slaves all turned their attention to him.
Lin Mo’s aura surged.
The Heaven’s Spirit Milk was transforming him, pushing his Sequence higher and higher. He broke through three minor Sequence realms in quick succession, finally stabilizing at Sequence 9 peak.
His physical strength soared. His Sequence Power, Heaven’s Thunder, and everything else—both in quality and quantity—skyrocketed.
Most importantly, he gained a new ability—
Thunder Judgment!
With a thought, a black cloud appeared above the thirty empty desks, swirling and coiling for fifty meters around.
Within, thunder rumbled—Thunderclap gathering.
Wu and Li Quan, who’d been watching him like hungry wolves, both flinched.
Li Quan’s fear was pure instinct—the Heaven’s Judicator’s Heaven’s Thunder was the bane of Abominations.
Wu, though, remembered all too well the scene when Lin Mo, using the Jade Talisman to briefly reach Sequence 5, summoned a Judgement Cloud and wiped out hundreds of thousands of monsters—and the Monster Matriarch—in a single strike.
Don’t panic, Wu told himself. It’s still the Death Exam period. Candidates can’t kill each other inside the Examination Grounds.
Sure enough, as soon as Lin Mo revealed his power, the Death Exam Game issued a warning. With a snap of his fingers, Lin Mo dispelled the Judgement Cloud.
“Congratulations,” Ying Zhu said quietly.
Lin Mo looked at her. “You got plenty of good stuff from the War Merit Shop too. Congratulations to you as well.”
Ying Zhu thought for a moment, then nodded. “Thank you.”
Lin Mo patted the Thunderclap sword at his waist.
“A fair trade, that’s all.”
Watching the awkward exchange, Lu Chuan closed his eyes. Lin Mo hadn’t managed to reach Sequence 8 with this windfall, but he was close—very close.
The Test Slaves, still trembling from Lin Mo’s earlier display, finally let out a collective sigh of relief as the cloud faded. They wanted desperately to curry favor with him, but with Wu now at Sequence 8, and Li Quan—who’d sacrificed his own body to the Severed Finger—both gunning for Lin Mo, none of them dared say a word. If Wu and Li Quan couldn’t kill Lin Mo, they could certainly squash any of the rest for fun.
Meanwhile, outside the small town, a group of Awakened watched the Death Exam’s Projection through a special Artifact, observing Lin Mo and the tangled web of grudges in his Convoy.
One of them remarked, “That Lin Mo is ruthless. Sent more than a dozen of his own to their deaths with a single command.”
A sallow-faced Awakened smirked in approval.
“In this dog-eat-dog world, it’s kill or be killed.”
A girl chimed in, “The hatred between the Awakened in that Convoy has reached the point of no return. Once this round’s over, we can split them up, then swallow them whole. Lin Mo’s Sequence is powerful, but his methods are too extreme. We need to think carefully before bringing him into our group.”
Their voices dropped to a murmur as their discussion continued.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo and the others received their rewards for clearing the latest Death Exam.
On his desk appeared a roast goose with plum sauce, white-cut chicken, and a marinated duck. Lin Mo didn’t stand on ceremony—he dug in immediately.
Since the Wasteland began, he’d not only never tasted such delicacies—he’d barely even seen them.
His only complaint: the white-cut chicken didn’t come with dipping sauce. What a waste.
But, considering the state of the world, he made do—dipping it in plum sauce was good enough.
Watching Lin Mo eat with both grace and speed, the Test Slaves nearby swallowed hard, their stomachs rumbling with envy.
Another day spent wishing they could be Master Lin.
“Master Lin, can I have the bones when you’re done? Please!”
“You spineless idiot, stand up! Don’t kneel!” someone scolded.
But at that moment, the giant Exam Sheet in the air shifted. The second Death Exam question appeared.
“Question Two: You are given a custom-built Awakened vehicle. You choose to—
A. Spend a pleasant weekend with your wife.
B. …”
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