The Crimson Abyss is named after the red moon in the sky, the only natural light source of the abyss, which never changes, never rises or sets.
As for why it is a 'moon' and not a 'sun'... just look at the intensity of the light in the Crimson Abyss.
The abyss is a closed space, with a frosted-glass-like spatial membrane at its edges, and usually only a few places allow passage through it.
Rustle... rustle...
Li Xinyue held a shotgun in both hands, treading on the dead leaves on the ground as she moved forward, her eyes hidden behind tactical goggles continuously observing the surroundings.
Suddenly, the light ring that had been following her gaze abruptly marked a lifeform, startling Li Xinyue into raising her gun, aiming at a pile of fallen leaves.
With Li Xinyue's gaze, the light ring outlined the silhouette of the lifeform, which was about the length of a finger, a lizard.
Even so, Li Xinyue didn't let her guard down, releasing the grip of the shotgun, she quietly picked up the hand axe hanging by her thigh, weighed it, and threw it out.
The hand axe neatly chopped that lizard, not deflected by the lizard's deflection shield.
Seeing this, Li Xinyue let out a sigh of relief.
The more powerful a demon is, the stronger its deflection shield. Judging from the situation of that lizard, it should be a harmless-level demon, not even reaching the ordinary level.
Allowing her slightly accelerated heartbeat to calm down a bit, Li Xinyue walked towards where the hand axe had landed.
"Foolish!"
The instructor following Li Xinyue from a distance let out a cold snort, offering a critique for her current actions.
The instructor had already taken down the short-barreled shotgun hanging at his back, prepared to rush forward and assist Li Xinyue.
Yan Luo also drew out a long-barreled shotgun, lowering his body and adjusting his legs into the best position for exerting force.
At this moment, Li Xinyue, who was preparing to bend down to pick up the hand axe, suddenly stopped, cold sweat breaking out from her forehead.
She had been too tense earlier, not reacting for a while.
Now it came back to her, the teachers in training had taught that some demons could evade infrared scans and even millimeter-wave radars couldn't detect them.
In the abyss, one must remain extremely vigilant.
Li Xinyue gently inhaled a breath, activating the sonar scan through the non-invasive brain-machine interface control system of her exoskeleton.
The instructor's more advanced exoskeleton sensed Li Xinyue's sonar scan, exhaling a breath, he murmured to himself, "At least her mind is still quick..."
The smart brain of the exoskeleton collected the sonar data, automatically calculating and presenting a dynamic image before Li Xinyue's eyes.
Just as she suspected, above her head on the tree branch lay a demon resembling a lizard but with two horns on its head.
Li Xinyue didn't hesitate for a moment, immediately raising the shotgun in her hand and aiming at the demon.
Bam!
A loud echo reverberated through the forest, disturbing many demons.
The lizard demon on the branch was unscathed, its deflection shield deflecting the pellets, but the branch it was on wasn't so lucky.
Li Xinyue's shot broke the branch, causing the lizard demon to fall along with it.
Li Xinyue was using a semi-automatic shotgun, which, although less reliable than a pump-action, could unleash all its firepower in a short time.
Since the lizard demon was knocked down, Li Xinyue decisively pulled the trigger continuously before it could leap back onto the trunk, firing several more shots to disrupt the lizard demon's movements.
Even as it fell to the ground, the lizard demon had no opportunity to leap back to the trunk.
Li Xinyue reversed the safety, hanging the shotgun behind her while drawing a metal short rod with the other hand; pressing the release button, the ends of the short rod sprang out, forming a long spear.
The lizard demon wasn't large, only a meter long, but its body was extremely tough. Li Xinyue thrust with the spear, only managing to shatter the scales on its head, driving its head into the mud but unable to inflict any flesh wounds.
Seeing this, Li Xinyue's heart sank.
This is a dangerous-level demon!
The lizard demon was small but powerful.
Li Xinyue held onto the spear tightly, pinning it to the ground, intending to reach for her defense pistol when she suddenly felt a pain in her grip; the lizard demon, bracing against the spear tip, dashed away from its spot.
When Li Xinyue pulled out the handgun, the lizard demon had already escaped into the bushes nearby.
Her finger on the trigger, Li Xinyue bit her teeth unwillingly, but in the end, she chose not to shoot.
The magic shield on a dangerous-level demon is very strong, requiring a general-purpose machine gun to fire for four seconds to completely deplete it.
Even if she pulled the trigger and hit the lizard demon, she wouldn't be able to kill it. Firing more shots would not only waste bullets but also complicate matters.
Putting away the handgun, Li Xinyue transformed her long gun back into a short stick, then started moving, changing her position while reloading her shotgun.
Seeing this, the instructor nodded and commented, "The previous battle was a bit rushed. You should have shattered the branch directly, so the 'Mind-touch Lizard' had no foothold and couldn't lever itself onto the trunk. Then you could have finished it off with one shot as it fell. But you did follow the Hunter's Code properly, knowing to move immediately after a fight."
The gunfire had already revealed Li Xinyue's position. If she didn't want to be besieged by dangerous or even deadly demons, the most urgent thing she needed to do was relocate immediately.
Even though this is the outer edge of the Crimson Abyss, where deadly demons rarely appear.
That Mind-touch Lizard was also a dangerous-level demon. If Li Xinyue could successfully hunt it, she would have passed the exam. Unfortunately, she didn't seize the opportunity.
Li Xinyue was annoyed with herself too, but she quickly composed herself and arrived at the location marked on the map by the instructor.
The instructor had only drawn a large circle on the map for her, indicating the range of activity of a dangerous-level demon. As for the precise location of the dangerous-level demon, Li Xinyue needed to find it herself.
Searching for demons was Li Xinyue's specialization; she had specifically studied this in school.
Thus, she quickly found her target this time—the Knife-winged Bird.
This demon looked like a chicken, but was large, over a man's height, and had blade-like wings capable of slicing a person in half vertically.
When Li Xinyue found her target, the Knife-winged Bird was lying in a nest of grass, asleep, surrounded by scattered leaves that would crunch underfoot.
Having found the target, Li Xinyue didn't act impulsively. She carefully observed the surroundings, her gaze landing on the scattered leaves on the ground.
She drew out the metal short stick, transforming it into a long gun, and used the gun as a broom to gently sweep the leaves aside, quickly clearing a path she could walk on.
After finishing this, Li Xinyue didn't immediately stash the long gun. Instead, she placed it on the ground, silently took out her shotgun, and stealthily approached.
When she was five meters from the Knife-winged Bird, Li Xinyue suddenly quickened her pace, stepping on the scattered leaves.
The Knife-winged Bird abruptly opened its eyes, only to be met with the black muzzle of a gun.
The [Breeze] engraving, combined with the lightweight exoskeleton's sprint module, boosted Li Xinyue's speed to an extreme, covering the five-meter distance in an instant.
Bam!
The muzzle of the shotgun pressed against the Knife-winged Bird's head, and a burst of flame erupted, blasting its head apart in an instant.
After blasting the Knife-winged Bird's head, Li Xinyue's foot pushed against the ground for a rapid stop and quickly retreated.
Headless, the Knife-winged Bird didn't die immediately. Its body struggled violently, its blade-like wings slashing wildly, shredding the surrounding bushes and leaving deep scars on the towering ancient trees.
Standing afar, Li Xinyue took deep breaths of air, her eyes wide open, her heart still pounding incredulously.
After a while, seeing the Knife-winged Bird's body start to dissipate, she finally came back to her senses, clenching her fist in excitement.
"This hunt was quite something."
The instructor and Yan Luo approached from behind Li Xinyue, and as they walked, the instructor gave a passing evaluation of Li Xinyue's hunting operation this time.
After taking a picture of the Knife-winged Bird's half-remnant body, the instructor turned to Yan Luo and asked, "Kid, what about you? Which one do you plan to choose?"
Yan Luo replied without hesitation, "I apply for the 'Freedom Hunt'!"
The instructor's demeanor instantly turned serious, "Freedom Hunt? Are you sure?"
Yan Luo nodded firmly, "I'm sure!"
At this point, Li Xinyue, looking a bit dumbfounded, couldn't help but ask, "What's the Freedom Hunt?"
As soon as she said this, both the instructor and Yan Luo turned to look at her.
Li Xinyue shrank her neck slightly, "Is the Freedom Hunt... very famous?"
The instructor sighed, shook his head, and said, "You obviously haven't read the registration exam's guidance manual thoroughly—'Freedom Hunt' is the most prestigious method of testing in the real-world test. Once completed, regardless of what demon is hunted, you will directly receive full marks. Don't blame me for not warning you; instructors will not proactively suggest a Freedom Hunt to candidates, as it is a regulation, but candidates are allowed to apply for it proactively to the instructor.
"The instructor won't give any hints; it's all up to the candidate's own knowledge and ability to track a dangerous-level demon and hunt it. That's Freedom Hunt. A candidate who can complete a Freedom Hunt is equivalent to being a Hunter already!"