14: Chapter 14 While you were taking exams, I was buying supplies.
Abandoned Urban Area No. 09 is a dead city that has been abandoned for a hundred years.
Collapsed skyscrapers pierce the sky like the skeletons of giants; the streets are overgrown with mutated vines, and a musty smell wafts from the shattered display windows.
"Careful! There is movement!"
At an intersection, a temporary squad composed of five students from Jianghai No. 2 High School stands back-to-back, gripping their weapons nervously.
Meow—!
Immediately after, a cyan afterimage darts out from the ruins with astonishing speed, its sharp claws carving three cold beams of light into the air.
A Level 1 low-tier beast—the Wind Blade Cat!
Although this beast is not large in size, its speed is extremely fast, and its claws carry a wind-element cutting effect, making it a nightmare for beginners.
"Ah! My shield!"
The shield-bearer at the very front screams, as their sturdy alloy shield is gouged with three deep furrows.
The Wind Blade Cat pushes off for leverage, nimbly leaping to the back of the squad, and its claws slash toward the only girl.
"Help!!"
The girl is terrified, her face pale, and she waves her staff around wildly.
"Focus fire! Focus fire quickly!"
The captain yells, dripping with sweat.
The five of them are in a panic; fireballs, ice spikes, and sword lights fly everywhere. After struggling for a full three minutes, they finally manage to hack the Wind Blade Cat to the ground.
Looking at the bloody corpse on the ground, the five of them collapse, panting heavily, each of them nursing injuries.
"It's… it's too terrifying," the captain says, wiping sweat from his brow with lingering fear. "We just got in and it's already this difficult. If we run into a Level 1 mid-tier, wouldn't we be wiped out?"
Meanwhile, on another street two kilometers away.
Lin Yuan walks down the gravel-filled road with his hands in his pockets, strolling leisurely.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three cyan shadows shoot out almost simultaneously from the abandoned shops on both sides.
Three Wind Blade Cats!
If the previous squad had encountered this, they probably would have given up resistance and pressed the distress signal immediately.
But Lin Yuan doesn't even draw the black moon battle blade from his back.
Just as the first Wind Blade Cat is about to slash his throat, Lin Yuan doesn't even lift an eyelid, his right hand shooting out like lightning.
Snap!
A crisp sound of bone breaking rings out.
Lin Yuan precisely grabs the back of the first cat's neck, exerts a little force with two fingers, and instantly crushes its spine.
Immediately after, without even looking, he tilts his body slightly, his left hand sweeping out to grab the second cat's tail, and he slams it hard onto the ground like a whip.
Bam!
The ground cracks, and the second Wind Blade Cat instantly turns into a pile of meat paste.
Seeing this, the third Wind Blade Cat immediately tries to escape by using the wall.
"Running?"
Lin Yuan's lips curl slightly, and he casually flicks a pebble from the ground with his toe.
He hooks his thumb against his middle finger and flicks it lightly.
Swish—!
Pfft!
Blood blooms on the wall.
From the ambush to the end of the battle, total time taken: 3 seconds.
Lin Yuan walks to the corpses, skillfully digs out the beast cores, and throws them into his backpack.
"Points +30. Too slow."
Lin Yuan shakes his head, glances at the ranking on his wristband, and sees he is still unranked. "Looks like I need to head to the inner circle to stock up."
...
At this moment, on the square of the military base outside the exam venue.
The massive central holographic screen is divided into hundreds of small frames, broadcasting the performance of each candidate in real-time.
On the podium, Commander Lei Dong and several admissions directors from prestigious schools are commenting on the current situation.
The largest main screen displays none other than the genius of City No. 1 High School—Lei Potian.
In the footage, Lei Potian is wrapped in purple lightning, appearing like a god of thunder descended to the world.
In front of him is a ferocious Level 1 mid-tier beast, the "Iron-Backed Bear," but with a single bolt of lightning, the Iron-Backed Bear instantly turns charred and falls to the ground.
"Good!"
An admissions director cannot help but applaud and exclaim, "Deserving of being an S-rank [Thunder Sovereign]! General Lei, your Lei family has truly produced a prodigy!"
Although Lei Dong keeps a straight face, he cannot hide his smile. "Hmph, this kid still has a long way to go. He gets cocky with just a little achievement."
Though humble in his words, he has already decided in his heart that first place in this joint exam belongs to Lei Potian.
"Com... Commander! Something is wrong!"
The technician in charge of monitoring widens his eyes, pointing at the data column on the edge of the screen.
"What is it? Don't make a fuss," Lei Dong says, frowning as he looks over.
"Look at examinee number 9527…" the technician's voice trembles. "His point growth… it seems like there's a bug!"
Lei Dong and the directors lean in.
They see that the point columns of other candidates are moving like snails, slowly increasing by +10, +10, and occasionally jumping by +20, which is considered an outburst.
But the point column for number 9527 looks like it's glitching!
+30! +30! +50! +100!!
"Who is this?" Lei Dong asks, shocked. "Could it be a trump card hidden by some school? Or that elemental genius from No. 2 High School?"
"Re... Report, Commander! It's Lin Yuan from Jianghai No. 3 High School."
"Talent rank: F-rank."
"F-rank? Are you kidding me?" Lei Dong pushes the technician aside and pulls up Lin Yuan's real-time surveillance footage himself.
In the footage, it is Abandoned Urban Area No. 09.
This is a dense area for E-rank beasts and a forbidden zone for many candidates.
But at this moment, Lin Yuan is carrying the black moon battle blade on his back, moving rapidly through the ruins as if he were strolling through his own backyard.
[Gods Insight · Full Map Radar Mode]
[Three hundred meters to the front left, underground at the abandoned gas station, a Level 1 high-tier beast is lurking—an Armored Rhino.]
[Weakness analysis: Abdominal excretion point, no armor coverage.]
Lin Yuan's eyes light up. Level 1 high-tier! 100 points! Beast core value: 30,000!
His figure flashes, [Fleeting Shadow Trail] activates, and he transforms into a black phantom.
Thirty seconds later, he appears at the gas station ruins.
The tank-sized Armored Rhino has just sensed danger and hasn't even had time to turn around.
Lin Yuan has already slid under its belly.
"Sorry, big guy."
Pfft!
The Armored Rhino emits an extremely shrill scream, then collapses with a loud thud, its limbs twitching.
Vital point attack, one-hit kill!
Lin Yuan quickly crawls out, skillfully digs out the beast core, and cuts off the rhino horn; his movements are smooth and fluid.
Immediately after, the system prompt sounds again:
[Second floor of the unfinished building on the right, two Shadow Spiders are weaving webs.]
"Alright, next order."
In the monitoring room, Lei Dong and the other examiners have their mouths slightly agape, completely speechless.
Where is this taking an exam?
This is clearly stocking up!
"This is… F-rank?" After a long while, an examiner swallows and says in a dry voice.
"Then what are those so-called geniuses our schools recruited? Disabled people?"
"Not a bad haul."
Lin Yuan looks at his bulging backpack, feeling great.
The earnings from this half hour are more than what he made working for ten years outside.
Just then.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
Lin Yuan's action of wiping his blade pauses slightly.
Five figures flank him from behind a broken wall, quickly blocking Lin Yuan's front, back, left, and right.
These are five boys wearing uniforms from another school. Each of them exudes the aura of a peak quasi-martial artist. The leader has even reached the early stage of Level 1, carrying two short axes in his hands with a fierce look in his eyes.
"Lin Yuan, right?"
"Originally, Young Master Zhao only wanted us to disable one of your hands, but who would have thought, you kid are actually a fat sheep."
He shakes the short axes in his hands, closing in step by step:
"If you're smart, transfer the points in your wristband to us, and leave behind your equipment and materials. We might consider… going easy on you and only breaking your two legs."
Listening to these classic villain quotes, Lin Yuan finally finishes wiping his blade.
He turns around slowly, facing the five murderous thugs.
On Lin Yuan's handsome face, there is not a trace of fear; instead, he reveals a brilliant smile.
"Finally here."
The smile in Lin Yuan's eyes instantly turns into chill:
"Then leave your points and equipment as a greeting gift."