193: Chapter 193 Yun Zhuo's mouth has never suffered a loss.
Under the guidance of Sister Su, the three of them arrived at the entrance to the examination hall.
The examination hall was in the Underground City.
According to Sister Su, the school had two Underground Cities. One was located outside the city for student trials and was open all year round.
The other was the one before them, specifically for the freshman placement exam, which opened once a year.
She had never been inside, but she had managed to find some information for Yun Zhuo in the school's archives.
After the passage opened, one would have to traverse a maze that was one hundred kilometers long before reaching the Underground City.
The first part of the exam was a race to see who could reach the Underground City first, and only the top two thousand would be accepted.
The top ten would receive five hundred points, the top twenty would receive four hundred ninety, and after the five hundred and first place, there would be no points.
In other words, the moment the passage opened, the exam had already begun.
Upon reaching the Underground City, the Mutated Beasts inside would drop a type of crystal ore called peach crystal. Scores would then be calculated based on the number of peach crystals obtained, with each one worth one hundred points.
However, not every beast would drop one, and they could be stolen. Casualties were the responsibility of the individual.
Furthermore, as long as one obtained a peach crystal, leaving early would still count towards the final score.
That was why so many freshmen were desperately doing tasks before the exam to exchange for uses of force field shields.
When there was only one use left, one should stop thinking about ranking and immediately withdraw from the exam; that was the most correct choice.
If Chen Qi were to make a move, the Underground City was where it was most likely to happen.
To be honest, Yun Zhuo had arrived a bit late, and the area near the entrance gate was completely packed with people.
Yun Zhuo stood on the outermost edge and stood on tiptoes to look ahead. He had originally wanted to see Young Master Chen and the Thirteen Protectors, but he couldn't see anything except heads.
Just then, Chen Qi's voice came from behind, "Why are you only just arriving? If you hadn't come, I would have thought you didn't dare to show up."
Yun Zhuo turned around and saw Chen Qi, along with Piao Xiuying, but he didn't see her two daughters.
Chen Qi's expression was calm, with a smile at the corners of his eyes. He didn't look like an enemy who had sworn to kill Yun Zhuo and steal his wife; he looked more like a good friend.
"Oh, it's Young Master Chen. You scared me." Yun Zhuo's gaze then fell upon Piao Xiuying, "Young Master Chen, I really have to say a few words to you."
"Say what about me?" Chen Qi laughed.
"This is a university exam, not kindergarten. Why bring a parent along? Is this your mother? She looks so young."
Chen Qi frowned, "She is my War Princess."
"Oh, Piao Xiuying?"
"You know her?"
Yun Zhuo nodded, "I heard people mention her before. Didn't they say she had already shut off the water and electricity and pulled the plug?"
"What do you mean?"
"A saline-alkali plot, obviously. What else could it mean?"
Piao Xiuying, standing behind Chen Qi, was grinding her teeth in anger, but because Chen Qi hadn't let her speak, she didn't dare to say anything.
Yun Zhuo looked at her in confusion, "Auntie Piao, what do you want to say?"
Chen Qi snorted coldly, dropping the act, "You sharp-tongued brat, cherish the time you have left to live. If I say I want you to die in there, you will absolutely not be able to come out alive."
"I return those words to you." Yun Zhuo patted Chen Qi's shoulder and said earnestly, "Take a good look at this colorful world. You won't live past the Acquired stage. That's what I say."
"Then let us wait and see."
Following a cannon blast, Yun Zhuo thought it was thunder.
He instinctively looked up at the sky, and just as he saw the clear blue sky, he heard a "Hiss—"
A sharp sound of pressure release from an air valve; the massive metal door blocking the cliff wall in front suddenly shook and opened a crack.
Grayish-white gas poured out from the crack, forming a hazy mist under the sunlight.
Immediately after, a "creaking" sound of heavy weight came from the rusted tracks, and the metal door swung wide open. A gust of damp, cold, eerie wind erupted from inside.
The hair of the people in the front row was instantly blown backward, standing on end. The bone-chilling cold seeped into their collars and cuffs. Everyone's teeth chattered uncontrollably, and they hugged their arms tightly, shivering on the spot.
Yun Zhuo looked at the sun in the sky. It was fortunate that he hadn't squeezed to the front; looking at those in the very front, their hair and eyebrows were already frosted over.
No teacher announced the start—or perhaps they had, but Yun Zhuo was standing too far away to hear.
The moment the white mist dissipated, the War Princesses all activated their First Form, carrying their War Spirit Masters as they rushed inside.
"Aren't you going?" Yun Zhuo looked at Chen Qi.
"No rush." Chen Qi lifted his eyelids leisurely, his fingers casually stroking his cuffs, his voice flat without a hint of fluctuation.
"Then I'll go first."
As he spoke, Teacher Su activated her First Form, a light-wing flying device.
Yun Zhuo jumped on, and with a swoosh, he turned into a streak of light, leaping over the crowd and disappearing into the giant gate.
Chen Qi was stunned, staring in the direction Yun Zhuo had disappeared, unable to react for a long time.
Piao Xiuying said, "His speed is so fast."
Chen Qi knew he had just been too pretentious. He glared at Piao Xiuying, "Transform already!"
Piao Xiuying instantly activated her First Form, turning into a black mechanical spider.
Chen Qi jumped onto the black spider's back, but Piao Xiuying didn't move because there were too many people in front, and as a spider, she couldn't fly like Yun Zhuo.
Chen Qi gritted his teeth and said sternly, "What are you still standing there for? Ram through them."
The eight mechanical legs suddenly exerted force, and the examinees in front were instantly sent tumbling.
With that move, many freshmen hadn't even entered the exam hall before their exams were effectively ended by Chen Qi.
One second, Yun Zhuo was still outside the venue; the next, he was in first place.
After entering, the tunnels here branched out in all directions.
The gray-black metal walls had green light strips at regular intervals on the top and bottom, illuminating the entire tunnel with a greenish glow.
"Xiao Zhuo, you said earlier that Chen Qi's War Princess having her water and electricity cut off meant she was a saline-alkali plot. I bet he didn't even understand at the time. If it were me, I would have just said she was a barren, drought-stricken wasteland."
"Hey, whether she's a barren wasteland or not, I haven't seen it. Besides, if you say it like that, wouldn't you be insulting Sister Su and Sister Zhenzhen as well?"
"My sister? Pfft, how vulgar."
"Hey, you're the one who said that, okay?"
"Alright, alright. We're about to reach an intersection ahead. Do you know which way to go?"
"Didn't Sister Su say? Look for the pattern markings."
This maze was alive; the path to clear it was different every time.
But every intersection had various patterns: some looked like humans, some like animals, some like plants, and most looked like insects.
But these weren't important; what was important was finding the Braille inside certain patterns that looked like dice pips.
The correct route started from one and ended at one hundred to clear the level.
For example, at the first three-way intersection Yun Zhuo encountered, the options were one, three, and sixteen. The correct route was to enter through the number one entrance on the left.
Although number sixteen was further along, after entering the number sixteen entrance, the subsequent intersections might all be number one entrances, forcing one to turn back.
Now that Yun Zhuo's Mental Energy had been greatly improved, he could see these Braille markings hidden in the patterns from a long distance away.
Therefore, he didn't need to stop here to identify the correct intersection; he just drove Teacher Su and rushed forward blindly.
Chen Qi rushed in; at first, he could still see his taillights, but after two intersections, he couldn't even see the taillights anymore.
If he hadn't known that Yun Zhuo was in front, he would have thought he was in first place.
Just as he stopped to calculate which direction Yun Zhuo might have gone, Chen Tianfang's voice came through his earpiece, "Go straight."
Chen Qi drove Piao Xiuying forward while pressing his earpiece, "Uncle, can you cause some trouble for that brat?"
"No, but after the number thirty intersection, there is a spiral. You can jump off the cliff to the left of number thirty to reach number seventy directly."
"Tell Gong Lei and the others to follow. When that brat arrives at the Underground City, I want him to lose a layer of skin first."