Steel Heart

Taking advantage of a lull, the female examinee quietly came over to strike up a conversation with Bai Pu.

Bai Pu exchanged identities with her.

The female examinee's codename was Inkfish, while the male examinee beside her was Iron Crocodile.

Bai Pu did not want to reveal his real name directly, so he hastily gave himself a codename—Steel Heart.

Steel represented an unyielding physique, while heart symbolized an evolving heart. "Steel Heart, it's too disadvantageous to fight alone in the Red Cliffs scenario! We should join forces," Inkfish whispered. "Did you know? Overlord from the West Capital District has already recruited more than a dozen examinees into an offensive and defensive alliance! Their goal is to sweep the top ten of the Spirit Realm Exploration Subject."

Bai Pu had no objection to that. Of course, he knew the benefits of joining forces. Although they were all examinees and thus competitors, Bai Pu's rivals were not merely the two people before him, nor even the dozens or hundreds of examinees in This Plane, but tens of thousands of awakened examinees spread across other Mirror Image Planes!

A small-scale alliance could greatly improve the overall ranking of their three-person group, so why not? As for internal competition among the three, whether someone might stab the others in the back, Bai Pu had some confidence in his own intelligence.

The male examinee codenamed Iron Crocodile suddenly asked rather bluntly, "Steel Heart, are you above Level 3?"

Inkfish reproached him, "Why would you ask that? Almost everyone in our batch got full marks in virtual combat. How could they possibly not be above Level 3?"

Bai Pu knew that Iron Crocodile likely possessed some kind of scouting skill and had seen his level. He did not hide it, directly revealing his class level.

"Level 2?"

Inkfish's eyes widened. Clearly, she had not expected Bai Pu's level to be so low.

It was not that she discriminated based on level; those were simply the rules of the Spirit Realm Will! When low-level awakened faced higher-level opponents, not only was the damage they dealt weakened, but the damage they took when attacked was amplified! With one side reduced and the other increased, the gap was immeasurable.

Not to mention the threshold from Level 3 to Level 4. That was the leap from a low-level awakened to a mid-level awakened, and there would be an obvious gulf in strength! Having confirmed it, Iron Crocodile's attitude immediately changed sharply, turning somewhat cold and aloof after his previous warmth.

He cleared his throat and said, "Steel Heart, you seem to have a pretty good relationship with Physician Liu. Your Charisma must be fairly high, right? Try to see whether you can get us some room to move freely. Naturally, there'll be something in it for you."

Inkfish hesitated for a moment. Seemingly feeling that Iron Crocodile's tone was too arrogant, she added, "Steel Heart, as long as you can do it, we'll definitely bring you along when we get chances to farm points later."

Bai Pu did not care about Iron Crocodile's attitude. He said calmly, "Fine, but I'll need your cooperation. Opportunities are made, not waited for!"

"What do you mean?" The two immediately perked up.

The next morning, at dawn.

Bai Pu had read until late the previous night and slept only two or three hours. After getting up, he stretched.

A notification from the Spirit Realm Will arrived: The real-time top ten rankings for the Spirit Realm Exploration Subject among all awakened examinees in Mirror Image Plane No. 1 are now announced. Only codenames will be displayed.

First place: Overlord, 57 points.

Second place: Mad Zen, 44 points.

Third place...

...

Tenth place: Iron Cavalry, 19 points.

Your current converted score: 5 points. Please keep working hard.

"My five points should have come from changing from a rank-and-file soldier into a medic in the Wounded Soldier Camp, slightly raising my status. Yesterday's work also earned me twenty Merit Points, which could be converted into points."

Bai Pu narrowed his eyes and looked through the information.

The "codenames" on this ranking were chosen by the awakened themselves. If some attention seeker wanted to call himself "Dragon's Rampage, World Annihilator," that would be fine too, as long as it met the Spirit Realm Will's character limit.

However, those who could enter Mirror Image Plane No. 1 were basically all awakened geniuses who had scored full marks in virtual combat. Those who had broken into the top ten here were geniuses among geniuses! They would not grandstand.

Using one's usual codename to build one's reputation was the approach that better served one's personal interests.

In merely one day and one night, the first-ranked Overlord had amassed 57 points. It was terrifying.

But Bai Pu was not in a hurry. He had already vaguely guessed how Overlord had obtained such a high score.

The path Bai Pu had chosen had not yet reached the time to exert its strength! Upon entering the Wounded Soldier Camp, Bai Pu saw Physician Liu.

Physician Liu had been anxiously pacing in circles since early morning.

"What are we to do? The camp's medicine storehouse caught fire last night, and nearly half of our stockpiled medicinal herbs was burned! The fighting is urgent and medicine is in short supply. When the Commander holds us accountable, even several heads won't be enough to chop off!"

Bai Pu had prepared for this long ago. "Physician Liu, the only option now is to go to Chaisang City and purchase more medicinal herbs."

Physician Liu shook his head. "Wounded soldiers are sent here every day. How can I leave?"

Bai Pu cupped his hands. "This Lu is untalented, but I am willing to make the trip."

Physician Liu said delightedly, "You are from the Wu County Lu Clan, familiar with Chaisang, and deeply knowledgeable about medicinal properties. There could be no one better suited to purchase herbs."

Bai Pu received a notification that Physician Liu's Favorability had increased, reaching the Acquaintance level.

Bai Pu pointed behind him at Iron Crocodile and Inkfish, who were looking at him eagerly. "Purchasing supplies is a major matter. I fear I may not be enough alone. Please permit me to bring these two with me."

Naturally, Physician Liu allowed it. In any case, Iron Crocodile and Inkfish were of little use here; any random servants could do what they could do.

Physician Liu wrote a note and sent it to the main camp. The deputy general in charge of the camp approved the order, ordering a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire and dispatching a squad of fifty soldiers to sail Bai Pu and the others to Chaisang City to purchase medicinal herbs.

Before departing, Physician Liu called Bai Pu over and whispered, "If you are interested in Daoist Alchemy, you can make inquiries at Returning Dragon Temple in Chaisang City. But do not neglect your proper duties."

Spirit Realm Will notification:

You learned information concerning Daoist Alchemy from a native inhabitant.

Detected that you possess the secondary class: Alchemist. Class advancement quest initiated.

Class advancement quest: Pill Master

Quest objective: Seek out a Pill Master at Returning Dragon Temple in Chaisang City and learn Daoist Alchemy.

Quest time limit: None, equivalent to your remaining stay in the This Plane scenario.

Quest difficulty: S

Quest reward: Secondary class: Pill Master.

Bai Pu thanked him, excitement rising in his heart.

He knew why Physician Liu had not mentioned it yesterday and had only brought it up today: his Favorability had increased. The medicine storehouse had been burned, and Bai Pu had volunteered to purchase herbs. That favor had naturally turned into Favorability in Physician Liu's eyes.

To be fair, Bai Pu felt somewhat guilty. He had been the one to suggest burning down the medicine storehouse to gain an opportunity to go out and purchase herbs, while Iron Crocodile and Inkfish had carried it out.

However, awakened were in the business of exploiting loopholes and profiting from them. Their moral bottom line was extremely flexible. Bai Pu had to adapt as well, or he would be eliminated by the world of the awakened!

All he could do was purchase good medicinal herbs and hope Physician Liu would not lose his head over it.

Standing at the bow and gazing at the mighty Yangtze River, the three examinees all felt the exhilaration of a fish leaping in a vast sea.

"Steel Heart is so clever. That plan really worked," Inkfish said happily.

"We're traveling downstream to Chaisang City to purchase medicinal herbs this time. Excluding the round trip, we can stay in Chaisang City for at most three days."

Bai Pu glanced from afar at the commander of the warship, a native team leader named Zhou Yue, then said quietly, "Within those three days, I need to purchase medicinal herbs. You two can move freely, but don't forget what you promised me."

"We remember, we remember," Inkfish hurriedly said. "Whenever you need help, we'll help you and give our all once. The Spirit Realm Will has notarized it, so you can rest assured."

Iron Crocodile nodded as well. There was a squad of Sun Quan Army sailors aboard this warship, commanded by team leader Zhou Yue. However, as the person responsible for purchasing medicinal herbs, Bai Pu also had the authority to direct these sailors in non-combat matters.

Even without the Spirit Realm Will's notarization, the two would not dare break their word.

After all, when they purchased the herbs and returned to camp, they would still have to rely on Bai Pu to put in a good word with Physician Liu.

If they angered Bai Pu and he complained to Physician Liu upon returning, they would certainly suffer. The best possible outcome would be getting sent back to their original units!

If Bai Pu were ruthless enough, he could even fabricate charges and have them imprisoned. Missing the crucial final storyline of burning Red Cliffs and pursuing Cao's army would be a devastating loss.

Neither Iron Crocodile nor Inkfish noticed that their attitude toward Bai Pu had quietly changed. From originally looking down on him, they now had to carefully curry favor with him. Their small group was vaguely beginning to revolve around Bai Pu.

Seeking to ingratiate herself, Inkfish whispered, "Steel Heart, Iron Crocodile and I only caused a minor disturbance when we burned the medicine storehouse last night. But aside from that little matter, something major also happened last night!"