Lin Ye suddenly felt something was off—why was he so quick to give up?

Had he done too many simulations?

This time he thought he could try again, but what about next time? And the time after that?

What about after ten attempts?

"What should we do? It can even stop bullets. We can't win this. Maybe we should surrender."

Hans suddenly spoke in a low voice beside him.

Lin Ye abruptly snapped out of it. He looked at the red-haired Caroline, who seemed to have moved closer.

"Heh... So that's how it is. What are you afraid of?"

Lin Ye grinned. He wasn't afraid of dirty tricks—what truly terrified him were enemies with overwhelming stats. Those were truly unbeatable.

"What did you say?"

The red-haired Caroline spoke for the first time, her voice carrying an unnatural grittiness.

"I said, you should've just attacked directly."

Had it attacked immediately, Lin Ye might not have reacted correctly. It probably relied too much on manipulating people with words and abilities, forgetting the most direct, efficient, and primal form of violence—the most effective kind.

Without hesitation, Lin Ye drew his twin pistols and coldly aimed them at Dr. Caroline.

Only when the muzzles turned toward her did its expression finally change.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lin Ye emptied both clips without restraint. Every bullet stopped midair before Dr. Caroline, shell casings clattering to the ground. Even from a distance, it was clear she was straining.

Swiftly reloading, Lin Ye aimed one pistol at the red-haired Caroline and the other at Dr. Caroline, firing simultaneously. This time, the bullets weren't stopped—they veered off course, grazing past them.

Lin Ye exhausted every spare clip at maximum speed before immediately drawing his longsword and charging at the red-haired Caroline.

No probing. No dialogue. No hesitation. Only an all-or-nothing assault.

Kill or be killed.

The red-haired Caroline began retreating. Its original body was nearly eliminated by the Captain, leaving it little time—yet it lacked the courage to face Lin Ye head-on.

Since its birth, it had always been the one controlling the situation, never forced into direct combat with these lower lifeforms.

Blocking the bullets had drained most of its psychic energy. Though it could still fight, victory was no longer certain.

Just a little more time—that's all it needed to crush these pesky insects.

Lin Ye chased the small figure like a madman, slashing relentlessly. Though every strike was deflected by an invisible force, he didn't slow down—he hacked faster and faster.

After a dozen full-powered swings, Lin Ye was nearing his limit. Only sheer willpower kept him going, but even that wouldn't last more than seconds.

He was just an ordinary human. In a battle of attrition, he stood no chance against a monster.

The red-haired Caroline seemed to recognize Lin Ye's exhaustion, a smug grin forming.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunfire erupted as Hans and Neil appeared on either side of Lin Ye. Though too scared to confront the monster directly, they wouldn't pass up a chance to survive. Their clips were empty, but their guns still had bullets.

Seizing the moment when the red-haired Caroline blocked the shots, Lin Ye steadied himself, took a deep breath, and unleashed one final, desperate slash.

"Die!"

The blade slowed against the invisible energy barrier—but as if responding to Lin Ye's roar, searing heat erupted from the hilt, bursting through the edge and shattering the barrier before the red-haired Caroline.

Lin Ye's blade cleanly severed its head.

"Goddammit, it's voice-activated?! You could've told me, you bastard!!!"

This was the first time Lin Ye felt genuine anger during a simulation. He wanted to strangle that idiot Captain—who hands out experimental weapons without explaining how they work?!

Lin Ye hurled the sword, pinning the red-haired Caroline's heart, then swiftly drew his pistols and emptied them into its skull.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

He'd exhausted his clips but kept a few rounds in reserve.

With that done, Lin Ye retrieved his sword and thoroughly dismembered the corpse. After such a hard-fought victory, he wasn't about to die from failing to confirm the kill.

"So? Is it dead?"

After ensuring the kill, Lin Ye returned to Dr. Caroline's side.

"I'm not sure. If the original body was destroyed by the Captain and it didn't split further, then yes."

Though she understood Lin Ye's tactics, Dr. Caroline couldn't help feeling wary of this man who'd shot at her without hesitation.

"Then it's not dead."

Lin Ye doubted it had no contingencies. But as long as it didn't interfere with his mission, he wouldn't waste effort hunting it down—that was the organization's job.

Besides, this facility was too vast for him to eradicate every trace.

Soon, the Captain arrived with several overseers. After examining the mangled remains, he signaled the overseers to collect the body.

"You did far better than expected. Truly elite D-Class personnel. You may return now and await your next assignment."

The Captain then cheerfully turned to Lin Ye:

"How was the experimental weapon? Effective?"

"You should've told me it was voice-activated. I don't usually talk while fighting. If not for luck, we'd all be dead."

Lin Ye couldn't let it go.

"Voice-activated? What are you—is the weapon voice-activated?"

The Captain glanced at an overseer.

"Ah, we were testing how to activate its power. So it's voice-controlled..."

The overseer noted this on a handheld device before adding:

"Thank you for your contribution to the organization."

'Should've kept my mouth shut.'

Lin Ye walked ahead, expressionless.

…………………

[Simulation Complete]

[Remaining Simulations: 10]

[No simulations consumed. Acquire core item?]

"Acquire."

[Obtained core item: Human Evolution Blueprint*1]

[Obtained Dr. Caroline's Gratitude*1]

[Title Unlocked: All or Nothing]

Sitting on his bed, Lin Ye stared blankly at the data on the laptop.

This was his first simulation cleared without consuming attempts. Who knew saving 10 tries would yield a core item?

[Human Evolution Blueprint]

[The organization's latest research on controlling biological evolution. Appears incomplete.]

[Note: Can be exchanged for Mutation Card #0]

The blueprint was a laptop filled with documents. After browsing for hours, Lin Ye couldn't decipher the dense, unannotated terminology and symbols.