Chapter 177


    “Let''s check it out,” Jonathan said and walked away.


    At that moment, he looked like a leader, and he definitely had the aura of one.


    N?velDrama.Org holds ? this.


    The others followed him and walked over to the body.


    When they neared it, Jonathan realized who it was.


    It was Walter Norris.


    Walter was not the most outstanding person, but he was the leader of a group he established with four


    other candidates.


    Jonathan''s expression turned somber.


    There was definitely a reason why Simon murdered Walter - he wanted the remaining three candidates


    to be left without a leader.


    Walter''s bodyy lifelessly on the beach. His eyes had been pierced right through and were covered in


    blood.


    It looked like Simon had punctured it with his fingernails.


    Walter was a handsome man. However, after this attack by Simon, he looked terrifying. His death


    caused an invisible weight on Jonathan and the others'' hearts. What happened to Walter may one day


    happen to them.


    At that, they could not help but feel sorrow and fearful.


    Jonathan quickly recovered from his misery. He knew that Chester was right to be wary of Simon.


    Especially since they were in this situation, Simon showed how heartless and malicious he was. The


    rules of the jungle suited him.


    “What are you doing?” At that moment, Elijah suddenly called out in surprise.


    Chester had bent down and was holding Walter''s head like a watermelon. He appeared very strange


    doing that.


    Chester looked up at the sound and said, “The rules say that we have to collect all the heads of the


    other members. Since he''s already dead, naturally, we will need to keep his head safe.”


    As he spoke, Chester moved and twisted Walter''s head off his neck. The scene was too gruesome to


    watch.


    Jonathan was used to scenes like this. Hence, he did not show any reaction. All he thought about was


    to be wary of Chester. Though he looked like a tactful person, he might be even crueler than Simon.


    Catherine was also unfazed by it.


    However, Elijah could not stand the horrendous scene. He looked away and vomited.


    At that moment, all of them finally realized how insane the rules were.


    Chester held on to the severed head and said, “You guys go ahead and find some food. We have an


    advantage now. Because Simon did not have the time to take his head, he will need to return for it to


    win. I''ll go and hide it somewhere for now.”


    “Let''s go, then,” Jonathan agreed and gestured for everyone to follow him into the jungle.


    Elijah nced at Chester before looking back at Jonathan and Catherine. He suddenly felt afraid of


    Chester.


    Before this, Elijah thought of Chester as a big brother who always took care of him.


    Right now, his earlier disy of cruelty made Elijah shudder.


    Instead, Elijah felt that Jonathan and Catherine were more trustworthy now.


    When Elijah noticed how Chester was still fiddling about with the head, his heart gripped with fear, and


    he quickly caught up with Jonathan and Catherine.


    They went into the jungle.


    When Elijah finally caught up with them, his face was pale. “Jonathan, we won''t be able to find the


    head if Chester hides it. Why would you allow him to do so?”


    Jonathan looked over at him and smiled. “Do you find the rules of the Divine Realm''s assessment


    reasonable?”


    “Not at all,” Elijah replied. “But what can we do about it? The rules have already been set in stone. We


    have no choice but to abide by it,” he continued in confusion.


    “Divine Realm recruits people every year. What do you think their aim is?” Jonathan asked.


    “To recruit talented professionals,” Elijah replied immediately. “What are you trying to say?”


    Jonathan said, “You''re right. They''re looking for talented individuals. But it looks like they are trying to


    kill everyone with how absurd their rules are. I was just thinking if they really wanted to recruit us, and if


    thest man standing did not manage to collect nine heads, would Divine Realm reject the winner


    simply because of that?”


    “I don''t think so?” Elijah replied in a doubtful voice. “So, are you saying that we will be fine even if we


    don''t collect nine heads?”


    “Actually, I''ve thought of another possibility. Maybe, in order to win the assessment, you don''t need to


    be thest man standing. I''m guessing that as long as we fight as well as we can, winners will definitely


    emerge from battles. The ones who manage to survive will be qualified. Maybe the actual criteria to


    victory are to break the rules?” Jonathan said thoughtfully.


    “But this is all just your spection. What if you''re wrong?” Elijah asked worriedly.


    Jonathan replied, “I''m just mindlessly thinking about it. Not everyone will believe me anyway. They will


    still ughter each other like animals. After all, no one in their right mind would take their lives lightly.”


    The atmosphere in the jungle was moist and smelt like wet soil.


    As they walked, there were some poisonous bugs and scorpions crawling about.


    Some of the trees nearby had poisonous snakes wrapped around the bark. They hissed at the group of


    humans as they walked past.


    The three of them were elite fighters, which exined why they were unfazed by it. As they walked


    around, nothing came to disturb them.


    Soon, Jonathan and the others found a peach tree. They climbed up the tree and plucked nearly all of


    the peaches.


    After a while, Elijah spoke up. “So, what are we going to do now?”


    “Didn''t Chester ask us to find food? Since we''ve found some, we should head back,” Jonathan replied.


    Elijah looked at Jonathan. “I don''t get it, Jonathan.”


    “Get what?” Jonathan asked calmly.


    “You''re a smart guy,” Elijah started. “I''ve noticed that the moment we met. But why are you listening to


    Chester? The three of us can form our own team and kill Chester right now. I''ve already seen how


    selfish and cruel he can be. He can no longer be trusted,” he said in a breath.


    Jonathan only smiled at Elijah''s worries. “Actually, I have a better idea. I''ll just kill you now, then kill


    Chesterter.”


    Elijah''s eyes widened in shock as he staggered backward. He looked at Jonathan in fear.


    Jonathan chuckled at his reaction. “Don''t worry. Why would I tell you that if I really wanted to kill you?


    Furthermore, I had so many chances to do so just now. Yet, you''re still alive, aren''t you?”


    “Why don''t you do it, then?” Elijah asked curiously as he slowly let his guard down.


    “It''s simple. Even if Chester is a despicable person, I''m not. I made a promise to him when we were on


    the ne. Therefore, I will stick by my words unless he breaks his side of the promise first.”


    Elijah looked at him with a weird expression. “I can''t believe there''s still someone like you in this world.”


    Jonathan dropped the conversation and walked toward the beach.


    In a few minutes, they reached their destination.


    Chester had already thrown Walter''s body into the sea. Furthermore, he had hidden Walter''s severed


    head well. No one would be able to find it anytime soon.


    When the three of them emerged from the jungle, Chester was sitting on the sand with his legs


    crossed.


    He opened his eyes and got up when he heard the sound of their footsteps approaching.


    “Food is here,” Jonathan said as he passed some peaches over to Chester.


    In truth, they did not have to worry about starving to death in the jungle.


    Moreover, Jonathan had a lot of experience living in jungles. That was why he was so calm.


    Chester took the peaches over and said, “We can''t survive on fruits forever. Let''s do this instead. Let''s


    split up and work together. Elijah and I will go to collect some firewood. See if you and your wife can


    catch some fish from the sea. Grilled fish for dinner sounds good.”


    “All right,” Jonathan instantly agreed.


    Chester took a bite of the peach and looked at Elijah. “Let''s go, Elijah.”


    Before he left, Elijah looked back at Jonathan before scurrying off.


    Both of them soon entered the jungle, leaving Jonathan and Catherine on the beach.


    The sunset was beautiful.


    The golden rays of the setting sun shone on Catherine''s beautiful face. She looked just like an ice


    princess.


    After all that had happened, Catherine still remained expressionless.


    Jonathan could not help but feel a little sad inside.


    Naturally, he did not actually go to catch some fish. He sat down on the beach instead. Jonathan patted


    the spot beside him and looked up at Catherine. “Have a seat, Catherine.”


    Catherine obediently sat down next to him.


    Jonathan reached out and took her small hands into his own. Her soft hands were still as cold as ever.


    Catherine looked at Jonathan in confusion.


    Thetter forced a smile in response and noticed that a piece of hair had fallen in front of her eyes. He


    reached out and put it behind her ear.


    “You seem unhappy,” Catherine pointed out.


    “Catherine, will you be sad if I died one day?” Jonathan asked instead of replying.


    Catherine shook her head. “I don''t know what sadness feels like.”


    Jonathan smiled bitterly and looked away.


    Why am I putting so many expectations on her? I must not forget that she''s a cold-blooded person.


    “I''m going to catch some fish. Wait here.” Jonathan took a deep breath and stood up.


    An hour had passed when Elijah and Chester finally returned.


    They managed to collect a lot of firewood.


    Jonathan also managed to catch quite a number of fish.


    “Start the fire, Elijah. I''ll cook the fish,” Chester instructed with a smile. “I''m really good at grilling fish,


    Jonathan. Stay tuned for the best meal you''ll ever have.”


    Jonathan smiled and responded, “All right.”


    And Chester started doing just that.


    After an hour, he had finished grilling four fish.


    The delicious aroma wafted through the air.


    Chester served Catherine first. He gave arge fish to her, which she tly epted.


    Chester then passed one to both Jonathan and Elijah before taking thest for himself.


    “Eat it while it''s hot,” Chester said as he bit into his fish.


    Jonathan was about to start eating when he noticed that something was up.


    Chester kept looking at him.


    He looked like he was anticipating for Jonathan to eat.


    Although Chester had concealed his thoughts well, he always wondered who Jonathan was. On the


    other hand, Jonathan was no fool. He instantly sensed that something was wrong.


    Soon after, he realized what was going on.


    However, he pretended not to know about it. He brought the fish to his lips and acted like he was about


    to eat it.


    At the same time, he secretly tugged on Catherine''s clothes.


    Although Catherine did not have emotions, she was not dumb. She instantly understood what Jonathan


    was trying to say.


    Right at that moment, Elijah suddenly shouted at Jonathan, “Stop! It''s poisoned!”


    Instead of freaking out, Jonathan looked over at Elijah calmly and smiled. “What are you talking about?


    Why would it be poisoned?” he asked.


    Chester visibly paled as he red at Elijah. “What do you mean, Elijah? I grilled these fish. Are you


    using me of poisoning Jonathan? I was the first to eat it.”


    Elijah instantly stood up and rushed over to Jonathan''s side.


    Both Jonathan and Catherine stood up as well.


    Of course, Chester followed suit.


    Suddenly, everyone had their guards up.


    “Chester caught a poisonous snake in the jungle. He extracted the venom from its fangs. He told me


    that you and Catherine are a team and that this would be putting him and me at a disadvantage.


    Chester suggested to poison you to death, Jonathan, and then capture your wife and take advantage of


    her before killing her off,” Elijah exined.