Escape!

The four of them were busy when seven or eight classmates emerged from the street opposite.

"Jiang Xueyao!"

"It's Yang Xiaobing and the others!"

The students' eyes lit up, and they rushed over.

"Those are guns!"

"Finders share!"

"Give us some!"

They were still talking when the police officer blocked their way.

"Who are you? Don't interfere with my duties. Move along!"

The officer's voice was stern.

One student protested, "They got guns, so why can't—"

"They helped me kill two Demonic Beasts. Who are you, and what have you done?" the officer said with disdain.

Only then did the students realize.

That was right.

This was an exam!

How could they expect a boost in firepower without doing anything, as if they could reach heaven in a single step?

The teachers must have set it up this way!

They looked at the officer again.

His hand was already resting on his gun.

If they kept causing trouble, things might not end so simply.

During a demonic assault on the city, if they not only failed to help but made things worse...

They might not even earn a passing grade.

"We were wrong."

"Sorry."

The students apologized awkwardly, backed away, and vanished into the darkness, heading off in another direction.

Once Xu Yuan had finished equipping himself, he smiled at the officer.

"I'm Xu Yuan. May I ask your name?"

"Liu Shanxing," the officer said.

"Officer Liu, is there anything else we can help with?" Xu Yuan asked.

Yang Xiaobing, Jiang Xueyao, and Zhao Afei were ready to leave. Hearing him ask that, they all froze.

Xu Yuan shook his head at them, signaling them to be patient.

They were still students. Naturally, they didn't know this was the time to raise someone's "favorability" and gather intelligence while they were at it.

Don't miss a chance when it passes right by.

Veterans would do anything to explore a storyline.

And in this particular situation—

Offering to help keep the city safe seemed perfectly natural.

Even from the perspective of the exam, it made complete sense.

Officer Liu looked surprised.

"Didn't you have something else to do?"

"We're grateful you provided us with weapons and equipment. Our business isn't that important. If you need support, we'd be glad to help," Xu Yuan said.

A faint smile appeared on Officer Liu's face.

"You're remarkably capable. You really could help me."

"Just say the word," Xu Yuan said.

"Patrol Chaoyang Road for me. I need to head back and arrange for people to deal with things here. How does that sound?"

Officer Liu waited for an answer.

"No problem!" Xu Yuan agreed at once.

Officer Liu nodded, removed his police badge, and took a police radio from the car. He handed both to Xu Yuan.

"The badge and radio are proof enough that you're assisting me. Go on!"

"We'll get it done," Xu Yuan said, taking them.

He looked back.

Zhao Afei was brimming with excitement, Yang Xiaobing's eyes sparkled, and even Jiang Xueyao nodded at him.

They had gained official status as assistants to the investigation!

That would make everything they did from here on much easier!

Xu Yuan was beginning to understand the basic logic of the exam.

Contribute to the city.

The city would give back, helping them go further in the exam.

For instance—

The four of them had just saved Officer Liu.

Now they had permission to assist an investigation and help enforce the law during public-security incidents.

The exam itself tested students' ability and contributions during the crisis.

This would definitely earn them points!

So they're judging students' abilities and character by what they contribute...

Xu Yuan pondered silently.

Then he saw Yang Xiaobing run to a distant bus stop to check the city map posted there.

Officer Liu had already left.

Xu Yuan was about to join Yang Xiaobing at the map when he sensed something and looked up.

He wasn't the only one.

Jiang Xueyao, Yang Xiaobing, and Zhao Afei looked up at the sky at the same time.

Deep in the night sky.

Within those layer upon layer of leaden clouds—

Something was moving.

What was it?

Yang Xiaobing drew a talisman from her sleeve, aimed it at the sky, and called softly:

"By decree! Capture Form, Calculate Shadow!"

The talisman instantly turned into a sheet of white paper. A string of numbers flickered wildly across it before stopping at "3100."

3100 points!

"The stock market's taken quite a dive lately," Xu Yuan remarked.

"That measures the strength of the enemy's energy fluctuations. Generally, a reading like this surpasses the peak of Foundation Establishment. It belongs to something above the Golden Core Realm," Yang Xiaobing explained.

Above the Golden Core Realm!

The education director had said the Divine Artifact was still unstable. Only teachers in the Foundation Establishment Realm and students in the Qi Refining Realm could enter.

Then—

While Xu Yuan was still thinking, all the clouds in the sky suddenly scattered.

A black Flood Dragon hundreds of meters long appeared before everyone's eyes.

"A Flood Dragon... ah..."

They said it in unison, drawing out the final sound in disbelief, as though the sight would remain a dream rather than reality if they never finished speaking.

That was a Flood Dragon!

It was a monstrous demon beast whose fighting strength could not be measured by numbers.

It was born with all manner of divine abilities, and its body was as formidable as a magical treasure.

Only a cultivator of a higher realm could fight a Flood Dragon in the Golden Core Realm.

And even then, victory was far from certain!

At that moment.

Every student taking the exam stood stunned.

A Flood Dragon!

How was that possible—

How could a Flood Dragon appear in a high school exam?

"Let's go. The exam has officially begun."

Xu Yuan spoke.

"Wait, where are we going?" Zhao Afei gripped the bus-stop sign with both hands. His legs felt so weak he couldn't take a step.

The Flood Dragon was still circling overhead, and no one knew what it was going to do.

What was it going to do?

That was right.

Soon, this city would be destroyed!

The Flood Dragon was going to wipe out the city!

The more Zhao Afei thought about it, the more frightened he became. A sudden crash beside him made him jolt.

He turned to look.

Xu Yuan had already righted the overturned police car.

Xu Yuan climbed into the driver's seat, fastened his seat belt, and turned the key—

The engine started!

"Everyone in. We're running for our lives."

Xu Yuan shouted.

It clicked for the others.

That was right.

Expecting high school students to face a Flood Dragon was a pipe dream.

So this had to be a survival exam!

They had to run!

As long as they survived, they should meet the exam's requirements!

Jiang Xueyao leaped onto the roof of the car and said:

"I'll keep watch from up here."

"Good. You two, in the back," Xu Yuan called.

Yang Xiaobing and Zhao Afei climbed into the back seat.

Zhao Afei pressed a hand against a pouch at his waist, craned his neck, and kept staring at the Flood Dragon overhead.

"On our last monthly exam, we drove off a Rat Demon that was harassing the farmland."

"And this time, it's a Flood Dragon..."

He muttered, dazed.

The car took off, racing down the road like the wind.

More and more monsters appeared along the way, in residential areas, supermarkets, and parks.

They spotted students here and there, too.

Yang Xiaobing nudged Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan glanced back.

Zhao Afei's forehead was covered in sweat. He seemed so tense he was close to losing control.

"Afei, watch our surroundings and tell me what's happening."

Xu Yuan shouted.

"Ah—okay—"

Zhao Afei sprang up and hit his head on the car's ceiling. He barely seemed to feel it. He opened the window and looked around.

"Liu Hao and the others from Class Three have hidden in a supermarket."

"Two groups of students are building defenses in the street!"

"We've entered Chaoyang Road—wait! That's Zhang Yang from our class. His group's fighting a Wolf Demon. Xiaobing, can you check the Wolf Demon's combat strength?"

As Zhao Afei kept reporting what he saw, he seemed to recover little by little.

"A Wolf Demon?"

Yang Xiaobing raised a talisman, about to activate its power.

But Xu Yuan shouted:

"Hold on tight!"

The car suddenly swung into a sharp fishtail.

The tires shrieked against the road.

Yang Xiaobing grabbed the handle.

Zhao Afei cried out and clutched the car window with both hands.

On the roof, Jiang Xueyao rapidly shifted her footing and asked in surprise:

"What are you doing?"

Xu Yuan snatched a pistol from the passenger seat and thrust it out the window as the car swerved and fishtailed—

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

Hundreds of meters away.

The Wolf Demon froze mid-pounce, staggered a few crooked steps, then fell to the ground and lay still.

The bullet had entered through its eye socket and pierced the back of its skull.

It was dead.

Illusory gold coins rose from its corpse.

The total had reached 33 coins!

"Wolf Demon killed while patrolling Chaoyang Road. Over."

Xu Yuan spoke into the radio, then floored the accelerator. The car roared away from the battlefield.

Zhao Afei stared in disbelief and couldn't help shouting:

"When did you learn to use firearms?"

"I found some time to learn," Xu Yuan said.

"Wait—we're together every day, and I've never seen you touch a gun!" Zhao Afei said.

"Because you don't work hard enough. You've clearly never seen Los Angeles at four in the morning."

"What's that supposed to mean? Forget it. I'm learning too when we get back!"

Zhao Afei kept shouting.

On the car roof.

Jiang Xueyao's eyes lit up.

Three to zero. Looks like I'll have to get serious too.

She thought it over in silence.

Yang Xiaobing had already looked away. She pulled a talisman from her pocket, swiftly folded it into a paper crane, and flicked it out the window, whispering:

"Go scout the road ahead."

The paper crane fluttered its wings a few times in midair, then suddenly transformed into a white crane. It flew ahead of the car, constantly scanning their surroundings.