Chapter 143: Assessment

David’s eyes fixed on the peculiar device at the center of the room. Countless fine wires extended from the ceiling, connecting to a humanoid metal capsule below. At that moment, with a mechanical whirring, the capsule automatically opened.

Following instructions, he stepped inside the metal capsule. It closed swiftly, and he immediately felt a faint tingling sensation coursing through his body. Soon after, he noticed an odd shift in his perception.

His awareness expanded beyond his physical form; he sensed the humanoid metal capsule as if it were his actual body.

This was the technology behind powered exoskeleton armor, though here it appeared to employ a gentler method, likely for safety reasons.

Before his eyes unfolded a vast expanse of sandy plains, and he found himself lying prone on the ground.

This was not a fully virtual environment, for he could still sense his physical body. It felt more like a sophisticated illusion seamlessly integrated with the humanoid metal capsule, creating an extraordinarily realistic setting.

David even attempted to connect his mind faintly to the external body of the shadow agent, sensing subtle energy fluctuations in every fine wire extending from the capsule.

“Mr. David, please select a sniper rifle and fire ten shots. Your score will be based on the number of hits on critical targets,” the mechanical voice prompted.

A row of sniper rifles appeared before him. As his focus fell upon any one of them, it would enlarge and manifest right in front of him.

All the rifles were standard sniper models used by ordinary marksmen. It made sense—since he was not yet a true sniper warrior and lacked access to specialized sniper rifles, the test naturally centered on weapon familiarity and feel.

Since it was an examination, David chose the rifle he knew best: a replica of the “Death’s Eye.” With a thought, the replica appeared in his hands.

The humanoid capsule provided the most authentic feedback imaginable—the texture, the weight—it was indistinguishable from his treasured “Death’s Eye” replica.

He inspected the rifle and found it already loaded with ten rounds.

“Countdown begins in ten seconds. Interval between shots: five seconds,” the mechanical voice instructed again.

A digital countdown appeared before him. He raised the “Death’s Eye” replica, fully concentrating.

10, 9, 8… 3, 2, 1. As the last digit vanished, a larva emerged from the ground 500 meters ahead.

At that instant, the larva’s head remained nearly motionless. David instantaneously calculated wind speed, direction, temperature, humidity, and more. Countless hours of training, combined with the integration of his knowledge sphere, transformed these computations into instinct.

With a thunderous crack, the first shot rang out. The bullet struck the larva’s most vulnerable eye, pulverizing the inside of its head.

Simultaneously, David felt a tremor ripple through his body—this recoil was about twice as intense as that of his usual “Death’s Eye” replica.

He quickly realized this was a test of the sniper warrior’s fundamental ability to counteract recoil.

His body trembled slightly; but for someone of his vast experience, the recoil was nullified in less than a second.

Taking advantage of this moment, he began calculating and analyzing the second target, which appeared 700 meters away. It was another larva, this time sprinting toward him, its head bouncing up, down, left, and right.

Its movement pattern was clear enough, though ordinary snipers would struggle to identify such patterns and aim accurately within five seconds.

After two seconds, David fired again. The bullet flew through the air and struck the larva’s eye with perfect precision.

Next appeared a larva at 900 meters, and with each successive target, the distance increased, along with the difficulty of the shots.

The humanoid capsule collected every piece of data about David’s body while he sniped, analyzing his potential through vast databases.

This was an immensely complex task. To accurately assess each sniper warrior’s true potential, the system considered bodily feedback, marksmanship skills, tactical techniques—rendering an impeccably precise score.

Only after years of development had such a unified standard been established, minimizing any human error by entrusting advanced intelligence to conduct the analysis.

David flawlessly hit every target in nine consecutive shots. The final target appeared at two thousand meters—nearly the maximum effective range for the “Death’s Eye” replica. At this distance, the bullet required substantial flight time.

The last target was a level-one Zerg Hunter Mantis—a speed-type Zerg.

A mere standard sniper rifle could never kill a Hunter Mantis. Such weapons could not even breach its defenses, let alone from such a distance.

The Hunter Mantis’s speed was incomparable to that of larvae. At two thousand meters, even with a high-powered scope, it appeared only as a blurry silhouette.

Yet David’s heart remained calm. Whenever he held a sniper rifle, he automatically entered sniping mode. Unless something threatened his life, he was a true sniper warrior through and through.

He refused to believe the test would present an impossible target. The only explanation was that he had overlooked something.

His superior vision scanned the Hunter Mantis rapidly. Sure enough, on the Zerg’s carapace near its heart, there was a fist-sized blemish.

Suddenly, memories of habitual movements of the Hunter Mantis flooded David’s mind. His brain processed vast amounts of data at lightning speed.

This was the culmination of a sniper warrior’s lifetime experience. As the Hunter Mantis ran, David’s mind generated dynamic trajectories and postures.

Like a reflex, he fired the last sniper round. The bullet flew the full two thousand meters, striking the Hunter Mantis’s body.

The entire process felt as though the Hunter Mantis itself had guided the bullet toward the weak spot on its damaged carapace. The round penetrated its body, destroying the heart.

“Assessment complete. Your score is perfect. Congratulations, Mr. David Kerr, you have passed the sniper warrior evaluation,” the mechanical voice announced plainly.

David exhaled deeply—the final shot had been extremely difficult. He did not have absolute confidence in achieving a perfect score, yet he had performed at his best and completed the test.

Stepping out of the evaluation chamber, David caught the concerned gaze of Furness.

“Furness, I passed!” David smiled.

“I knew you would!” Furness beamed with joy.

Had David chosen the war hammer or spear, Furness would not have worried at all. David’s mastery of both weapons was far beyond his peers.

Especially with the spear—his skill had reached a master’s level. Failing the warrior evaluation with such expertise would have been laughable.

“Mr. David, your sniper evaluation score is perfect. You are entitled to purchase sniper weapons at a quarter of the original price. Congratulations!” The staff member, glancing at the transmitted score, looked genuinely surprised but composed himself before addressing David.

“When can I see the specialized sniper rifles available for selection?” David asked eagerly.

At that moment, he paid no heed to the exoskeleton armor options, focusing solely on the sniper rifles.

“You must first accompany me to Supervisor Hobson for your warrior identity certification. After that, you can visit the equipment depot to choose the gear you wish to purchase,” the staff member explained with a smile.

“Please lead the way—I’m eager to see the specialized sniper rifles!” David said without hesitation, grinning.

“What? Mr. David passed the sniper warrior evaluation?” Supervisor Hobson’s eyes widened upon hearing the news.

But he quickly recalled Daryl’s extraordinary instructions and suspected this was a special gift prepared for David. It seemed their relationship was indeed very close, for Daryl would not have given away a cherished collection in such a manner otherwise.