16: Chapter 16 Two Million Scholarship

[Examinee: Gu Han]

[Rating: C-Rank]

[Exam Ranking: First Place]

[Scholarship Amount: S-Rank (2,000,000 Directed Credit Points)]

Gu Han looked at the long string of zeros, his breath hitching instantly.

Two million!

He had originally expected at most a 500,000 A-Rank or B-Rank subsidy, but this was several times more than that.

Several students nearby who had craned their necks to peek gasped in shock on the spot.

"Two million? On what grounds!"

"How does a C-Rank get an S-Rank amount? That's 800,000 more than mine!" an S-Rank examinee complained aloud.

"Quiet!" Teacher Qin Lin walked over, glared at those students, and then looked at Gu Han with a complex expression.

A young woman in a crisp military uniform followed behind her.

The woman nodded slightly at Gu Han and gestured for him to follow: "Student Gu Han, Colonel Zhong Ran wishes to see you."

Gu Han's heart skipped a beat.

This two million wasn't going to be so easy to take; what was bound to come had arrived.

He immediately closed the screen and calmly followed the woman in the military uniform toward the top floor.

Along the way, Gu Han's brain raced.

He had used his C-Rank to suppress all the S-Ranks and take first place; if he couldn't provide a reasonable explanation, all his trump cards would be exposed.

Once his skill was exposed, while not life-threatening, he would definitely be directly conscripted by the state.

Either he would be locked in a research institute to act as a heartless Reproduction machine, or he would be forced to cross-breed with high-level creatures, living out the rest of his life well-fed but without any freedom.

This was definitely not the life he wanted.

He had indeed been too reckless this time.

But who told him to start with nothing? Compared to those children from truly wealthy families, his foundation for his Divine Kingdom was too thin.

If he didn't take a gamble, he wouldn't even be able to scrape together the resources to get started.

The Large Honey Badger was indeed overpowered in the early stages, with explosive combat power; it was a stat monster.

But as time passed, once others' intelligent species learned to use tools, gave birth to civilization, and advanced to transcendent levels, the advantage of these beasts that relied purely on physical strength would diminish.

Gu Han gritted his teeth inwardly, quickly refining the excuse he had prepared in his mind.

The woman in the military uniform pushed open the door and signaled for Gu Han to enter.

In the spacious room, only one person stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

The woman in the military uniform lowered her voice and introduced: "This is Colonel Zhong Ran from our Huaxia Military Defense Department, a Level 4 deity."

Gu Han's breath hitched; he immediately stood straight and saluted solemnly: "Hello, Colonel!"

This was a Level 4 deity! A being with a lifespan of up to two thousand years; it was his first time seeing one.

Gu Han stole a glance at her. Colonel Zhong Ran turned around; she looked to be only in her early twenties, wearing a sharp black combat uniform, her entire being exuding the keen aura of someone long seasoned in battle.

"No need to be nervous, sit." Colonel Zhong Ran pointed to the sofa opposite her.

Gu Han sat down as instructed, his back straight.

Colonel Zhong Ran sat in front of him and looked at him: "I've reviewed your file. F-Rank talent skill, Forced Breeding. Initial Divine Kingdom area of 700,000 square meters, C-Rank rating."

She paused, her tone carrying a hint of inquiry: "I want to know, what is your reason for choosing the War God Path?"

Gu Han met her gaze and tried to hold his ground: "The advantage of my skill is my reason."

"Oh?" Colonel Zhong Ran raised an eyebrow, "How so?"

"My skill is of the Reproduction type; it can largely guarantee the reproduction speed of species and increase their numbers. As long as the quantity is sufficient, it can satisfy my consumption in war."

Colonel Zhong Ran smiled calmly, "That's indeed a good idea. So for this exam, you used quantity to compensate for combat power?"

"Yes." Gu Han nodded and began to reel off his prepared excuse, "I have a Large Honey Badger in my Divine Kingdom. I adjusted the terrain in front of the portal to a wetland swamp beforehand and bred a large number of poisonous thorn plants around it."

As he spoke, he observed Colonel Zhong Ran's reaction.

"The Large Honey Badger has thick skin and flesh, so it isn't afraid of poisonous thorns at all. Once invading monsters fall into the swamp, their movement is restricted, and they are paralyzed and killed by the poisonous thorn plants."

Colonel Zhong Ran listened and nodded thoughtfully.

Using thorns and swamps to restrict invaders, then having the Honey Badger quickly harvest them. It was indeed a clever way to cheat, and it could certainly explain why a C-Rank Divine Kingdom could withstand so many waves of attacks.

Although this could only solve most low-level invaders and would be useless against truly high-level creatures or flying units, during the beginner assessment stage, this tactic was perfect.

As for the abnormal background data? It wasn't impossible that the examiners had manually adjusted the difficulty midway, causing system judgment delays or data loss.

Colonel Zhong Ran didn't intend to investigate further.

Everyone had their own trump cards and secrets; as long as they weren't anti-human cultists, the Military Defense Department had always encouraged students to develop freely.

"You are indeed very smart." Colonel Zhong Ran smiled approvingly, "Knowing how to utilize the environment and species characteristics for synergy is much better than many students who only know how to mindlessly pile up resources."

Gu Han breathed a sigh of relief inwardly; it seemed he had successfully bluffed his way through.

"However, I must teach you some knowledge that isn't in textbooks." Colonel Zhong Ran changed the subject, her tone becoming serious.

Gu Han sat up even straighter: "Please instruct me, Colonel."

"You can indeed take advantage of a numerical superiority. But you must understand that although transcendent creatures can give birth to transcendent offspring, their reproductive ability will be significantly weakened as their life level increases."

"Moreover, once intelligent creatures have thoughts and give birth to civilization, they will not act entirely according to the Divine Lord's oracle. They will have their own desires, fears, and calculations."

She looked at Gu Han and said solemnly: "At that time, your Reproduction skill might not necessarily be of any help. Forcibly interfering with the reproduction of intelligent creatures could even cause rebellions within your Divine Kingdom and the collapse of your faith."

Gu Han listened very carefully.

These were indeed things that couldn't be learned in school.

"This is why people who possess Reproduction skills choose to take the lifestyle path, cultivating those non-intelligent species for meat or medicine."

Gu Han could fully understand what Colonel Zhong Ran meant.

The higher the level of the creature, the harder it is to breed; the smarter the creature, the harder it is to control.

But he was different.

Regardless of whether it was transcendent or not, as long as it was locked by his skill, it would definitely produce offspring.

"Thank you for the guidance, Colonel. I will carefully consider my future development direction." Gu Han thanked her sincerely.

Colonel Zhong Ran stood up and clapped her hands: "Alright, that's all that needs to be said. Take that two million scholarship and plan it well; don't let me down. If you have any thoughts in the future, you can come to the Military Defense Department to enlist."

The scholarship amount was unexpectedly high, clearly due to Colonel Zhong Ran's appreciation. Gu Han saluted again, "Understood! Thank you, Colonel."

He turned to leave, his hand just touching the doorknob.

"Wait." Colonel Zhong Ran suddenly called out to stop him.

Gu Han froze, a layer of cold sweat instantly breaking out on his back.

He turned his head and feigned calmness: "Do you have any other instructions, Colonel?"