After the written test finished, the examiners collected the examination papers. The second test, physical test, started shortly after. This time, Tang Yu didn't want to use the written test to eliminate the candidates; that's why he put common sense questions. But the test this time was an experiment. In the future patrol recruitment test, he needed to add deeper and harder questions into the test, such as demonic beast characteristics and weakness, or a hunter's ability.
For now, he could only eliminate candidates during the physical test. Besides, as the Lord, Tang Yu didn't feel like the written test was just a formality. There were some important topics inside the test, and they're pretty useful. For example, the first question, he could see whether the candidates only just arrived recently or if they had stayed in the shelter for some time. He smirked at how clever he was.
...….
Shortly after the written test, the candidates came to the open space outside the hotel. Most of them were nervous about the test, but some were eager, and others were curious about the test.
Ma Jiafeng raised his eyebrows; he was confident with his strength. In the written test, he couldn't get it all right, so he would make up for it during this physical test.
"Jiaze, we must perform well in this physical test and show these people the strength of the Iron Hammer Brothers."
Ma Jiaze, the chubby one scratched the back of his head, "But brother… you said we should maintain a low profile and not showing our strength so that the patrols won't recruit us?"
Ma Jiafeng, the tall man, stiffened, "Forget it." then he thought of something and asked, "How was your written test?"
The chubby man just looked at his brother and didn't answer. Ma Jiafeng asked again, but Jiaze remained silent. The older Ma brother sighed. He dragged his younger brother forward into the next test area.
In front of the candidates, Chen Haiping was explaining the rules of the test. Roger stood beside him and just nodded from time to time. "The physical test is a battle, but not between hunters, but…" He pointed to a puppet with a round body and sturdy arms. "I believe most of you had already seen this puppet. They will be your opponent this time."
"The number of puppets you will face differs according to your level of strength. For an ordinary person, you will form a team of three and defeat one single puppet. The puppet will be armless, as long as you defeat it, you will pass the test. A first awakening hunter will face an armless puppet. A double awakening hunter will face three armless puppets, and a triple awakening hunter will face five armless puppets. You have to defeat all puppets to pass the test."
The hunters exchanged a glance with one another.
Those puppets they usually saw during the weekday weren't weak. And most of them heard stories from early survivors that those puppets could take down a hunter in one-on-one combat. Even if the puppets didn't use any weapons, their bodies were made with solid metal, so their defense must be high. Even if the puppets didn't resist, it would take a lot of effort to defeat the puppets with the hunters' current ability. Furthermore…
Seeing the candidate's worried eyes, Chen Haiping immediately continued, "In order to make the test fair, aside from firearms, you may use weapons of your choice. You can use your own weapons or use the weapons provided by the shelter." He opened the curtain beside him; a weapon rack appeared in the candidates' field of vision. There were various weapons in the rack, including knives, swords, spears, axes, kali, etc.
The candidates' expression brightened. Those weapons worth 30 spirit stones in the shelter shop. One of the reasons they wanted to join the patrol team was because they would get a set of such precious equipment! Most people felt relieved; with these excellent weapons, they could take down the puppets easier.
Chen Haiping finished explaining, he looked around, "Is there any problem?" Soon, the candidates asked a few details such as the standard for defeating the puppet, whether to completely destroy the puppets or just disabling them until they lost power. Chen Haiping answered the stream of questions one by one. "Any more question?" he finally asked.
A fragile voice comes from the crowd, "What would happen if I get injured during the fight?" the questioner was a young boy with a pretty face. His face was timid, worried, and a little bit afraid. After asking the question, he lowered his head.
Chen Haiping glanced at the boy. He shook his head. "Injuries are inevitable, the doomsday is not a fairy tale, and the patrol team is not a charity organization. Every patrol members must fight the demonic beast. Injury, or even death, might happen. If you're not ready for such responsibility, you should withdraw and participate again in the next recruitment."
The other candidates burst into laughter.
Nearby, Tang Yu also shook his head. This kind of person who could still live normally was very rare during the doomsday, even if he's a hunter. The physical test was designated to eliminate candidates. Not just the teenager, other candidates who looked courageous and strong might not pass the test.
Tang Yu focused and observed the territory map in his mind. Most of these people are yellow, yellow-green, and green dots. Most of them are just yellow dots, if they had just arrived in the shelter, then it's not a problem, but most of them had stayed long enough in the shelter. Even someone with yellow-reddish dot applied to join the patrol team! Don't even think about it!
Most of the candidates are hunters; after all, they would be fighting demonic beast in the future. There were only three ordinary candidates. These three people were confident with their combat skills and experience. They didn't feel inferior just because they're not a hunter. Even if they couldn't awaken, they wanted to join the patrol and become stronger.
Their team was the first trial. With their weapons of choice, they stood guard around the puppet. With Chen Haiping's order, the puppet started moving. This basic fighting puppet with a round body and short, thick legs looked kind of slow, much slower than the hunter candidates had expected it would be.
Its short legs quickly ran, approaching one of the three people. It raised its arm and was about to hit him. For an ordinary survivor, this single blow could knock them unconscious. But the man didn't just stand idle; he dodged the blow and rolled on the ground. The puppet's strong-arm hit the ground instead. The rest of the team immediately seized the opportunity to attack the puppet. They managed to leave several cuts along the puppet's body.
They didn't move aggressively, they waited for the puppet to attack one of them, and the other two would charge. The battle lasted ten minutes. When the puppets were disabled, the three of them were exhausted.
The observers who were initially full of confidence were stunned. This puppet, although slow, but it's strong!!! Especially its punch. The hunters weren't sure their body could withstand its direct hit. The three people had successfully defeated the puppet, but they worked together as a team!
If they were to face their fellow candidates, a hunter could barehandedly defeat three ordinary armed people. Their awakened physique could resist the fist of an ordinary person, but they couldn't resist the weapon produced by the shelter. If they were knocked down, it would be their demise! In this case, three ordinary survivors with good combat skills working together as a team were even stronger than one hunter! The three of them attacked in turns. The hunters hesitated, wasn't sure of their power.
Someone even thought a deeper conclusion. They said the mysterious shelter leader created these puppets with his own special abilities. There were so many puppets in the entire shelter; once they were equipped with weapons, those puppets could crush a hunter.
In other words, the present hunter candidates' combined strength couldn't defeat leader Tang alone! Even leader Tang could just sit down and relax while commanding the puppets to beat them down. No wonder he could build a fast-developing shelter from these ruins. They determined that they had to pass the test to become a patrol team member!