Chapter 7: Pre-Exam Preparations

Qingyang City Suburbs · E-17 Ruins

The moment the bus penetrated the energy barrier, a pungent scent of blood flooded the compartment. Students covered their noses and frowned. Lin Ye narrowed his eyes to peer through the window. Crumbling skyscrapers loomed like skeletal remains of ancient beasts, mutated vines crawling over tilted billboards while luminescent fungal colonies flickered in the shadows.

"Alert! Ironclad Rhinoceros herd detected three kilometers to the left!" The bus AI suddenly blared, its holographic map lighting up with dense red dots. Panicked students rushed to the windows. A dust storm blotted out the horizon in the distance, where five-meter-tall rhino-like beasts slammed their bone-plated foreheads against the ruins' energy barrier.

"What? Ironclad Rhinos? Last year's beasts were just Shadow Cats, Ironhead Boars, and Gray-Eyed Hounds. Is this year's difficulty really that high?" A short-haired girl paled, her voice trembling.

The bus halted before E-17 Ruins, revealing a plaza ahead spanning ten football fields. At its far end stood an alloy podium. The ruins were encircled by electrified fences topped with barbed wire, guarded by heavily armed soldiers whose steely gazes sent chills down spines.

The plaza already teemed with examinees. Lin Ye and his classmates followed homeroom teacher Xu Haiping to Qingyang No.3 High School's designated area. Nearby stood a group of students radiating formidable energy, led by a striking figure in cyan combat gear.

"Look, those are No.1 High students. Their aura's completely different."

"See the one leading them in the cyan gear? That's Lu Tianyu."

"So that's Lu Tianyu? No.1 High's ace. Rumor says he's the top contender for this year's Qingyang martial arts college entrance exam champion."

No.1 High dominated Qingyang's academic hierarchy, its students consistently claiming over half the city's top 50 college admission slots. Both reputation and student caliber far surpassed Lin Ye's No.3 High. Lu Tianyu, their brightest star, was widely predicted to clinch the municipal number one scholar title.

"Did you see earlier? There are Ironclad Rhinos in these ruins. Never expected this year's exam to be so brutal."

"Right? Once those things charge, escape's impossible. I just pray I don't run into them..." Zhao Meng and his classmate muttered, faces ashen.

The metallic screech of amplification equipment cut through the air. On the alloy podium, a middle-aged officer in black military gear raised his hand, his voice booming across the silent plaza:

"All examinees, form ten lines! Security checks begin in five minutes!"

 "Just mere Ironclad Rhinos, and you're already trembling? If you're scared, quit now!" Lu Tianyu stood ramrod straight, his cyan-blue cape snapping in the wind as he smirked at Class Seven. "Don't block No.1 High from breaking the kill records!"

A chorus of jeers erupted from his followers:

"Exactly! If you No.3 High weaklings are so terrified, you can trail behind us. Maybe we'll let you scavenge crumbs from our table."

"Hahaha! Well said!"

Zhao Meng's face darkened like storm clouds. He opened his mouth to retort, but the crushing weight of their inferior strength choked the words in his throat.

"Enough!" A towering officer with military bearing ascended the alloy podium. His gaze swept across the examinees like a predator's, silencing the plaza instantly.

Where Lu Tianyu's presence had been merely oppressive, this man's aura radiated primal lethality - the kind that freezes prey animals mid-step.

Definitely a Tier 2+ Esper, Lin Ye analyzed silently, noting how even the breeze seemed to still around the officer.

"I am Wang Chong, chief overseer of Qingyang's Martial Arts College Entrance Exam." Behind him, a holographic screen displayed grim statistics: Last Year's Yunzhou Province Exam - 9.7% Fatality Rate, 23% Critical Injury/Disability Rate. "As these numbers prove, this trial is dangerous. Challenging. But..." His voice hardened like tempered steel. "...the rewards match the risks."

"The rules are simple." Amplifiers thrummed with his bass tones. "Survive twelve hours in this three-hundred-square-kilometer ruin. Earn points by killing mutated beasts." The holographic map fractured into four chromatic zones - crimson, amber, azure, and obsidian. "The battlefield divides into Perimeter (Red), Inner (Yellow), Central (Blue), and Core (Black) zones. Each sector contains progressively deadlier creatures with corresponding point values. Perimeter Zone beasts..."

A bloodcurdling scream pierced the air. Northwest energy barriers spiderwebbed with cracks as a six-legged lizard mutation launched two examinees skyward. Wang Chong didn't even turn. His raised hand discharged crimson lasers, reducing the creature to vapor mid-leap. "...are worth single digits," he continued calmly as charred bones rained down. "Core Zone specimens?" The hologram zoomed on blackened ruins where tentacled shadows writhed. "Over 1,000 points each. Provided you survive to claim them."

Lin Ye stood among the crowd, a faint smile playing on his lips. Had this been his former self, he'd be skulking through the Perimeter Zone hunting weakened stragglers. But now? His sights locked onto the high-value targets prowling the Core's obsidian heart.

"Regulations briefing concluded. Commence equipment distribution." Technicians circulated tactical backpacks. Lin Ye unzipped his to find three items:

Smart Watch: Embedded with holographic ruin maps and real-time ranking updates.

3 Energy Bars: Each compact cylinder containing six hours' worth of nutrients.

Defense Orb: Sphere charged with electrostatic energy. When activated, generates a one-cubic-meter lightning barrier capable of blocking Tier 4 mutations. Warning: Activation constitutes immediate exam withdrawal.

Securing the watch, he clipped the orb to his belt and shouldered the pack. Electric anticipation crackled through his veins.

After today, I'll make you all see me in a new light.

National Security Agency · Qingyang City Branch

"Second Enforcement Team's monthly performance report..." Han Guodong briefed Director Chen Mo. "Sir, today's the martial exam. If Lin Ye encounters mortal danger..."

Chen Mo tapped his pen rhythmically against the mahogany desk. "No. We observe only. Should he die so easily..." The director's obsidian eyes glinted like unsheathed blades. "...he'd be unworthy of NSA recruitment. Understood?"

"Acknowledged, Director!" Han Guodong bowed precisely at fifteen degrees.