The Head Examiner sneered coldly and said, "That's something you don't need to worry about!"

Snap—

He snapped his fingers.

The large door behind him opened, revealing eight mechanical contraptions being pushed out from inside. Each machine had a seat in the middle with an inverted helmet suspended above it, faint currents of electricity flickering visibly.

The Head Examiner sneered, "These devices were specially crafted by the best mechanical master in the City of Night for this stage of testing. As you mentioned earlier, pain tolerance varies greatly among individuals due to differences in race and physical constitution."

"But I never said we'd be applying pain directly to your bodies!"

"This machine can directly simulate pain sensations in your consciousness! As long as you're a creature with thinking ability and self-awareness, it can simulate pain with one hundred percent accuracy!"

Everyone was shocked.

This was practically a mother-killing machine.

Whatever creature invented this thing deserved to die!

"No more nonsense!" The Head Examiner's gaze sharpened as he sneered:

"Choose a machine and sit down. We've divided pain intensity into 200 levels. You need to reach level 50 in pain tolerance just to pass! Ultimately, we'll rank you all—the higher your ranking, the more points you'll earn. How many points you get depends entirely on yourselves!"

He sneered again, looking cruelly at the trainees.

"Of course, remember this—the prerequisite for passing is that your consciousness remains clear throughout. If you faint midway, shut down, or die, it all counts as failure!!"

"Time limit: 30 minutes! Begin!"

With his loud command.

All the trainees nervously took their seats on their respective machines.

Metal clasps instantly clamped shut around their arms and legs, while the helmets above their heads descended with mechanical humming sounds, enveloping their skulls.

The Number Three Vampire beside Lynn turned her head uneasily and said:

"Hey! Good Doctor, you're human, right? Humans should have the lowest pain tolerance among us. Aren't you scared at all?"

Lynn exhaled, furrowing his brow and shaking his head. "Scared? Of course I'm scared! I've been terrified of pain since I was little!"

The vampire finally felt relieved internally, secretly glancing at him as her anxiety gradually eased.

After all, he was human.

Although his skills seemed quite impressive, his mental fortitude definitely couldn't compare to the monsters of the Dark World.

Probably the worst pain tolerance here would be him and those two Dark Elves.

That being the case.

Even if her results were poor, at least those three would be at the bottom, so she could rest easier.

Well then...

"Machines activating! 3! 2! 1! Begin!"

With the Head Examiner's loud command.

Their machines rumbled to life, the vibrations so distinct they could clearly feel the machinery humming.

And in the next moment, a large number appeared above each of their heads.

【1】

This represented the most basic level of pain.

Basically no creature would struggle to endure pain at this stage.

As time passed, this number would gradually increase, giving the trainees an adaptation period—essentially like boiling a frog in warm water.

The Head Examiner sneered as he watched them, saying:

"Of course, if you're not afraid, you can adjust the pain level yourself—only upward, never downward. See that button in front of your left hand?"

"Just press it once, and the pain increases by one level. If you're not afraid of death, you can directly raise the pain to level 60—that would qualify you immediately!"

And just as he finished speaking.

Ding-ding-ding-ding—

The two Undead and the Mechanical Puppet instantly began pressing the buttons before them.

Not to be outdone, the two Flesh Golems also started rapidly increasing their pain levels with repeated presses.

"This is way too competitive!"

The vampire exclaimed (ΩДΩ).

Soon, the two Undead stabilized their pain levels around 30, the soulfire in their eyes flickering intensely—clearly, the sudden pain was becoming challenging for them.

The Mechanical Puppet performed slightly better.

It steadily pressed the button.

Only when it reached around 44 did it stop, quickly cooling its core.

The two Flesh Golems closely followed around level 30.

Watching those beasts quickly pull ahead, the two Dark Elves grew anxious too and began frantically pressing their buttons.

Ding-ding-ding—

Pain levels kept climbing higher.

The vampire's eyes darted around as she secretly glanced at Lynn beside her, only to see him sitting there with closed eyes, completely relaxed, showing no intention of pressing his button.

Had he given up?

Indeed.

For humans, pain tolerance was an inherent weakness.

He really didn't need to compete fiercely like those other beasts, but she couldn't afford that—no matter what, she had to make it into the top four.

With that thought.

She gritted her teeth and punched her button too.

Ding-ding-ding—

All the way to level ten.

She could already distinctly feel the pain transmitted to her consciousness—comparable to having muscles sliced, perhaps even more painful than unexpected physical impacts without any preparation!

But it was still bearable.

Ding-ding-ding—

Reaching level twenty.

She was already starting to breathe heavily.

That kind of pain felt like someone was punching your balls 200 times per second, somewhat resembling the bizarre pain of giving birth to over a dozen children consecutively.

Ding-ding-ding—

Soon.

She reached the threshold of level thirty.

(((;

꒪ꈊ꒪;

)))

God! Oh God!

What kind of pain was this?!

She was splitting apart! She felt like she was about to split open!

It was as if every inch of her muscles was being sliced, as if someone was roasting her nerves over fire—this felt even more agonizing than suffering a psychic blast!

And finally.

Right at that moment.

【Dark Elf Number 10 eliminated, pain tolerance: 37】

【Dark Elf Number 9 eliminated, pain tolerance: 40】

The two Dark Elves were foaming at the mouth, eyes rolled back, bodies convulsing with epileptic seizures—they had been completely knocked unconscious.

Competition was brutal!

Indeed! For normal creatures like humans and Dark Elves, that should be their limit!

Gritting her teeth, she checked the other trainees' status with difficulty.

Mechanical Puppet Number 1: 55

Undead Number 2: 52

Human Number 4: 18

Flesh Golem Number 7: 42

Flesh Golem Number 8: 45

Undead Number 5: 50

The Mechanical Puppet had stopped, though it didn't seem to have reached its limit. The two Undead were close behind but had clearly slowed their pace.

But they had already qualified—no need to compete so fiercely.

And she was the worst performer aside from that Human Number 4.

"No! I have to speed up! No matter what, I must surpass those two Flesh Golems!"

She clenched her teeth tightly, reached out, and began pressing the button before her again.

...

The Head Examiner stood at a distance, squinting as he observed the trainees, then fixed his gaze on Lynn who sat with closed eyes.

Was he planning to abandon this assessment subject?

Indeed.

Compared to other monsters, humans naturally had the poorest pain tolerance.

Even with post-natal training, it was difficult to match those innate monsters.

But he still felt it was a pity.

Given the surgical skills Number 3 had displayed, he really didn't want to see him eliminated like this.

But rules were rules.

"Can only wish him good luck."

He watched Lynn intently.

...

On Machine Number 4.

Lynn sat there with closed eyes, but unnoticed by anyone, one of his fingers lightly tapped the armrest as if keeping rhythm to music, clearly quite relaxed.

"Hey!"

Zuo Zuo's voice sounded in his mind.

"You're not planning to give up, are you? You're only at pain level 18—this isn't your limit. You never even blinked when cutting yourself before."

Lynn kept his eyes closed, contentedly responding:

"Not at all. I just find pain at this level really helps with relaxation. The rhythmic pulses, and not being able to pinpoint where the pain is coming from—it's kinda thrilling~~"

Zuo Zuo reacted (；OдO), "Uh..."

Lynn, still with closed eyes (❁´◡`❁), said, "Relax, no need to compete so fiercely. What's the rush to climb higher? We still have ten minutes left."

Zuo Zuo said in surprise, "You don't seem to be in much pain..."

Lynn lifted his head wistfully, eyes closed comfortably. "Mm, I used Flesh Calamity to make some adjustments to my brain. I added some... pleasure... to the pain sensations..."