"Secretary Zhang, didn't you take the test assessment?"
After hearing that, Zhao Hu performed another carp leap inside the Virtual Game Pod, utterly stunned.
"No, I've been very busy. How would I have time for that test assessment?" Zhang Qingwei found it rather strange. "Do you have to pass that test assessment before you can enter this game?"
"..."
For a moment, Zhao Hu found himself completely speechless.
High Martial Descent's official announcement had indeed never said that one had to pass the test assessment to enter the game. Passing it merely gave one a higher chance of getting into the game; it never said that those who did not take the assessment would not be selected.
In other words, he had died over a hundred times in the test assessment and spent more than twenty thousand.
Yet he still could not compare to Zhang Qingwei, who had done absolutely nothing...
"Elder Zhao, is there anything else you need me to pass along?" Seeing Zhao Hu remain silent for so long, Zhang Qingwei felt it would be inappropriate to strike him again. She asked politely.
"No." After remaining silent for quite a while, Zhao Hu suddenly asked, "Qingwei, what do you think of the Liya Villa I'm living in?"
"It's excellent. That is a high-end villa the guild specifically built for meritorious guild members. There isn't a better villa in all of Huxin City." Zhang Qingwei nodded.
"Here's the thing. I want to exchange this Liya Villa for the High Martial Descent slot in your hands." Zhao Hu gritted his teeth. "If you agree, this Liya Villa will be yours today!"
"Elder Zhao, are you joking?" Zhang Qingwei felt as if her brain was no longer enough to process this.
Tianyage Residential Area was located in the center of Huxin City. Any random villa there sold for over a hundred million, let alone the Liya Villa Zhao Hu lived in. It was a grand villa countless wealthy people in Huxin City dreamed of, a luxurious residence that she, a mere secretary, could never afford in her lifetime.
Yet Zhao Hu was willing to trade such a mansion for a game slot. If word got out, probably no one in the entire world would believe it.
"I'm not joking. As long as you agree, I can transfer it electronically right now." Zhao Hu seemed to have made up his mind, without the slightest hesitation.
Although Zhao Hu had only experienced the test assessment for High Martial Descent, he understood that High Martial Descent possessed enormous potential. Other virtual games would likely find it difficult to contend with it. Even Pilgrimage, which had been glorious for several years now, was far inferior.
If he could enter High Martial Descent ahead of everyone else, it would undoubtedly be immensely beneficial to his future development.
"This..." Zhang Qingwei was utterly bewildered.
At that moment, she felt that either Zhao Hu had gone mad, or she had. Or perhaps playing High Martial Descent's test assessment had already driven Zhao Hu mentally unstable.
"So you're unwilling after all?" Seeing that Zhang Qingwei had little reaction, Zhao Hu could not help sighing. "Fair enough. If it were me, I probably wouldn't agree either. In any case, tell Vice President Luo that I'll catch up soon."
After saying that, Zhao Hu did not wait for Zhang Qingwei's reply. He hung up, lay back down in the Virtual Game Pod, and directly selected the test assessment once more.
Although the seven slots were already gone, the official statements made it clear that more slots would definitely be opened later. If he wanted to compete for those future slots, passing the test assessment was essential.
"It just hung up? My villa is just... gone?" Zhang Qingwei stared at the silent phone, immediately feeling some regret. She regretted how slowly she had reacted.
If this had been before the car accident, she would definitely have made Zhao Hu regret it until he cried for his mother.
Still, regrets aside, Zhang Qingwei turned her gaze toward the Virtual Game Pod beside her.
"I have an early shift tomorrow. I need to get to the venue before the guild president and Blade Saint Su Wuming discuss recruitment. Should I play or not?" Zhang Qingwei hesitated.
But her body was honest. She lay down inside it without hesitation.
"I already promised Elder Zhao that I would pass the message to Wu Shang. A person must keep her word. I'll just play for a little while and come out. It shouldn't affect tomorrow's work."
As Zhang Qingwei clicked on the High Martial Descent icon, her view suddenly changed.
A dim little room, swaying lights, waves of icy wind blowing in from the corridor, and six people clad in dark gray long T-shirts. At that moment, the expressions, actions, and movements of those six people were all different.
One person was rubbing his face against the floor for some reason, growing more excited the longer he rubbed.
Another was frantically feeling himself all over, from head to toe, not missing a single spot. As he did so, he grinned foolishly and shouted that it was real, that it was real.
But the craziest among them was a stern young man constantly doing squats. As he squatted, he kept yelling, "It's coming, it's coming! I can feel it coming!"
"I really was influenced by Elder Zhao. My mind isn't normal anymore." Looking at the room full of lunatics, Zhang Qingwei felt certain something was wrong with her mind. "Could it be because I haven't rested well lately? That must be it. I only slept ten hours yesterday, and the doctor told me to rest more. Now there really is a problem."
Just as Zhang Qingwei was drowning in self-doubt, a discussion drifted directly into everyone's ears.
"Why does this batch of newcomers seem not very bright?"
"I think there are still smart ones. Look at that one—he's already doing squats. He'll definitely have a future!"
"Indeed, there's still one smart person. I wonder if he's felt it yet."
As the two spoke, everyone inside the iron bars turned to look. They saw two men: one was a somewhat bashful college student, while the other was an unshaven middle-aged man.
The way the two looked at everyone was like they were looking at beautiful women. Especially when they saw the stern young man still doing squats, their gazes were so scorching they seemed ready to spill over.
"How can you two say that? Who says he's the only smart one?" The lean young man rubbing his face against the floor protested indignantly. "How could doing squats compare to what I'm doing? What could be faster than getting up close and personal with the ground? Give me an hour at most, and I'll definitely feel it!"
"You really have a point there! How did I not think of that before?" The unshaven middle-aged man stroked his chin, suddenly struck by a flash of enlightenment. "Little brother, let's be friends. I like making friends with smart people most."
"What a miscalculation! I actually failed to account for that." The bashful college student could not help pushing up a pair of nonexistent glasses, looking deeply shaken. "If I had done this earlier, maybe I'd be feeling it by now too."
"Have I been locked up in a mental hospital?"
Looking at the two outside the iron bars, Zhang Qingwei suddenly felt she was beyond saving. Her mind even seemed to become much sharper, allowing her to clearly sense every movement of all eight people present. This was practically the rhythm of growing a brain.
"Alright, everyone has only just arrived in High Martial Descent. Given enough time, sooner or later you'll feel it." At that moment, a valiant woman with shoulder-length hair and a shovel slung over her shoulder strode forward and introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Wu Shang, the vice president of the Heavenly Might Guild. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me later."
"High Martial Descent?" Zhang Qingwei stared at Luo Wu Shang before her, completely dumbfounded. "This is a game?"
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