43: Chapter 43: The Drinking Party Turns into a Flirting Scene? Sorry, this is hell on earth.

The holographic star map on the podium slowly flickered out.

Teacher Lei Yan placed his hands on the edge of the podium, watching the students below with their varied expressions.

"The upcoming midterm streaming exam." Teacher Lei Yan's voice echoed throughout the classroom, devoid of any warmth.

"Don't think that just because you've survived the live-action simulation, you can catch your breath."

"The streaming exam will determine whether you remain at Jiangcheng Third Academy for further studies, or are forcibly dispatched to the front lines to serve as logistics auxiliary troops."

"The format of the assessment is classified, and the location of the assessment is classified."

"The only thing I can tell you is that the mortality rate will not be lower than the live-action landing."

Teacher Lei Yan picked up his lesson plan and turned to walk toward the classroom door.

"Seize this remaining time and squeeze every ounce of potential out of your Divine Domains. Class dismissed."

No sooner had Teacher Lei Yan left than the quiet classroom erupted into chaos.

The pressure was too immense.

The live-action assessment had already weeded out a batch of people.

The streaming exam was even more like a guillotine hanging over the heads of all the commoner students.

Students from influential families had financial conglomerates to back them up, but if those of them who were commoners failed, they would only be able to spend the rest of their lives hauling corpses and scrap metal on the front lines.

Lin Yuan sat in his seat, his expression calm.

He raised his wrist, preparing to log out of the Star Net to return to his Divine Domain and check on the breeding progress of his Tyrant Demon.

"Brother Yuan! Wait a second!"

A chubby hand pressed down on Lin Yuan's wrist.

Fatty Wang leaned in, lowering his voice: "Don't be in such a rush to leave."

"A few friends in the class were discussing getting together at the Star Net's Mechanical Tavern before the big exam to relax our nerves."

"Everyone specifically asked for you to come and hold the fort."

Lin Yuan glanced down the aisle.

A few commoner boys who usually had very little presence in class were looking at him with eager eyes.

"No time, I still have deductions to perform in my Divine Domain." Lin Yuan refused decisively.

"Brother Yuan, do me a favor." Fatty Wang rubbed his hands together, rarely putting away his usual grinning demeanor, his tone filled with a hint of pleading.

"Everyone just wants to toast you, nothing else. It's my treat!"

Lin Yuan looked at the anticipation in Fatty Wang's eyes.

In this world of gods, Old Lin was his reverse scale, and Fatty Wang could be counted as one of his few friends.

"Let's go." Lin Yuan stood up.

Fatty Wang was overjoyed, turning his head to gesture a "done deal" sign to the few boys.

...

Virtual Star Net, Affordable Entertainment District.

Mechanical Tavern.

Heavy metal music mixed with the smell of machine oil filled the dim private room.

A holographic dancer shimmied in the center of the table, which was covered in virtual alcoholic beverages.

Although these drinks could not be brought into reality, they could simulate the neurological stimulation of drunkenness one hundred percent.

Lin Yuan pushed the door open and walked in.

The noisy chatter in the room ceased.

Everyone stood up.

"Brother Yuan is here!"

"Quick! Brother Yuan, sit here!"

Lin Yuan was pushed by Fatty Wang all the way to the central seat of honor.

To his left was Fatty Wang, and to his right was a boy named Zhou Chen.

Previously in class, Lin Yuan had always sat in the corner during such gatherings, as transparent as air.

But today, only after he sat down did the others dare to take their seats.

Awe, fawning, and awkwardness.

Various emotions were intertwined on these young faces.

Zhou Chen picked up a full glass of glowing blue spirits, holding it up to Lin Yuan with both hands. His hands were even shaking slightly.

"Brother Yuan, back in class, I followed Zhao Tianze and the others in mocking your Wasteland Divine Domain. I'm such a piece of trash!"

Zhou Chen's eyes were red, and he tilted his head back, downing the spirits in one gulp, coughing repeatedly from the burn.

"I offer this drink as an apology! I heard you were taken away alone by high-level military officials? From now on, you'll be a real big shot in the military, I salute you!"

With someone taking the lead, the remaining boys also raised their glasses one after another.

"Brother Yuan, when you make it big in the future, don't forget your brothers from Class 7 of Grade 12!"

"Exactly, I always said Brother Yuan was so low-key, he must have been holding back a big move. Sure enough, you've made a stunning debut!"

Lin Yuan picked up the glass in front of him and lightly tapped it against the table.

"I'm no military big shot." Lin Yuan's tone was flat, not taking the bait.

"I just signed a standard military contract and received some basic resource rations, that's all."

The Shadow Blade Contract was a top military secret.

Even if it weren't a secret, Lin Yuan wouldn't reveal his trump cards to this group of people.

Hearing the words "standard contract," the atmosphere in the private room didn't cool down; instead, it became even more fervent.

In the eyes of students from influential families, a standard military contract might not be worth mentioning.

But in the eyes of these commoner students, as long as one could get connected to the military, even if it were just as an external member, it was an iron rice bowl.

After three rounds of drinks, under the influence of alcohol, the boys gradually loosened up and began to discuss the development of their respective Divine Domains.

"I spent a fortune yesterday buying a batch of catalytic agents, and my Iron-Armored Rats have finally broken through to two thousand!" A boy slapped his thigh excitedly.

"As long as I don't run into poisonous monsters, I can definitely gnaw a few Bronze-rank monsters to death during the big exam!"

"That's nothing, I've mutated all the rye grass in my Divine Domain."

"Now, when my believers eat it, it increases blood and qi recovery speed by three percent. I don't fear anyone in a war of attrition."

Lin Yuan held his glass, saying nothing.

Soon, the atmosphere of the gathering changed.

Zhou Chen, emboldened by the alcohol, shifted his chair closer to Lin Yuan.

His cheeks were flushed, his eyes flickering, and after hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke.

"Brother Yuan... your current Divine Domain foundation must be unfathomable." Zhou Chen swallowed his saliva, his voice very low.

"Do you... still lack any vassal gods?"

Once these words were spoken, the heavy metal music in the room seemed to quiet down for a split second.

Everyone's gaze fell squarely on Lin Yuan's face.

Their eyes revealed undisguised longing and greed.

The Vassal God Contract.

A month ago, Zhao Tianze had used this contract to humiliate Lin Yuan in the classroom, only to be mocked and retorted by Lin Yuan.

In the world of gods, handing over a Law Node and becoming a vassal god was equivalent to handing over one's dignity, becoming a meat shield for the main god to withstand damage and a blood bag for extracting resources.

But that was for geniuses.

For these commoners who could die in battle or have their Divine Domains shattered at any moment during the streaming exam, freedom meant nothing.

Dignity meant nothing.

As long as they could cling to Lin Yuan's incredibly thick thigh, as long as Lin Yuan could leak a few scraps of his high-level kin on the battlefield to them, they could survive.

"Brother Yuan, my Iron-Armored Rats breed very quickly. As long as you take me in, during the big exam, I'll have the swarm charge to the front to clear the way for you!"

"Brother Yuan, my Divine Domain can serve as a logistics base for you! All the herbs I grow will be yours!"

Several boys chimed in, afraid that if they spoke too slowly, the spot would be taken.

Fatty Wang, sitting to Lin Yuan's left, stiffened.

The hand holding his glass froze in mid-air.

He glanced at Lin Yuan out of the corner of his eye.

A flash of extremely complicated hope crossed his fleshy face.

If he could be listed under Lin Yuan...

The fatty opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

He swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue, tilted his head back, downed the spirits in his glass, and then lowered his head.

Lin Yuan stood up and put down his glass.

The bottom of the glass tapped against the table with a crisp sound.

"Sorry." Lin Yuan said, his voice steady, neither mocking nor pitying.

"I cannot take you in."

Zhou Chen panicked: "Brother Yuan, we don't want a share! Not a single cent! The points can all go to you, just let us have a vassal spot..."

"It's not a matter of the share." Lin Yuan interrupted him.

Lin Yuan leaned back on the sofa, sweeping his gaze over the group.

"My Divine Domain is a Wasteland."

"The laws of the Wasteland are extremely violent."

"Extremely high concentrations of abyssal radiation, lethal fire toxins, and acid rain falling from the sky."

Lin Yuan stated an objective fact.

"Once the vassal contract is signed and the Law Nodes are connected, the environment in my Divine Domain will passively radiate into your Divine Domains."

"Your Iron-Armored Rats will have their bones dissolve because they cannot withstand the radiation. Your rye grass will wither the instant it touches the acid rain."

Lin Yuan leaned forward slightly, his highly oppressive gaze fixed on Zhou Chen.

"As for your believers, they will be forcibly assimilated by the Wasteland laws."

"Either they will mutate into mindless monsters and turn to slaughter you, or they will collapse genetically in extreme agony, turning into a puddle of pus."

"They won't even last a day."

The color drained completely from Zhou Chen's face, and his lips trembled slightly.

The others also looked terrified, instinctively shrinking back into their chairs.

They had only seen the glorious points Lin Yuan had on the rankings, but they had forgotten.

Lin Yuan's starting point was the universally acknowledged dead zone—an F-rank Wasteland.

The kin that could carve a path out of such an extreme hell were inherently indescribable monsters.

The weak creatures they had raised didn't even have the qualifications to get close.

Hope shattered.

A sense of loss permeated the entire room.

"I have things to do, I'm leaving first." Lin Yuan stood up.

He threw a virtual value card on the table, enough to cover all of tonight's expenses.

"Brother Yuan..." Fatty Wang raised his head.

"See you tomorrow." Lin Yuan patted the fatty's shoulder, with a heavy force.

Pushing open the private room door, Lin Yuan walked into the neon shadows of the Star Net street.

Behind him, the heavy soundproof door slowly closed, isolating those disappointed sighs and the smell of alcohol.

Lin Yuan looked up, watching the projections of starships shuttling across the virtual sky.

He didn't feel that what he had said earlier was cruel.

The Abyss War was so tragic.

Placing one's hope in others was simply a path to self-destruction.

He, Lin Yuan, could reach where he was today only by relying on the [Creation Extraction] talent.

He shouldered Old Lin's expectations and the ambition to step into the starry sky.

This path was destined to be filled with blood and loneliness.

Ordinary people could not keep up with his pace.