Difficulty Rises, Nationwide Joint Examination!

All the tiny text flashed away.

Then,

a new prompt quietly appeared:

"Congratulations."

"Four consecutive light-ups have unlocked a hidden option:"

"When you earn your fifth light-up, your special reward will rise to Rare grade."

"Earn another light-up!"

"Begin!"

Xu Yuan gave it a glance, then looked away.

The battle was still going on.

And this result was only to be expected.

There was nothing to dwell on.

In fact—

this was an extremely common strategy in timed runs of many games.

Players skipped the minor monsters along the way and raced ahead.

Killing monsters cost time, energy, and mana.

If you wanted to reach your destination quickly, skipping them was the most basic strategy.

Xu Yuan had adopted that strategy.

And he had the combat skills to pull it off!

As a professional player—

no, as a king among professional players, a champion and most valuable player across multiple esports tournaments—

Xu Yuan's spatial awareness and judgment, millisecond reaction time and hand speed, moving-target accuracy and tracking speed were all at world-record level.

The battle unfolding as he intended was just the basics.

Of course, if a monster above Foundation Establishment appeared, like that Flood Dragon—

there was nothing anyone could do.

Xinzhou District Subway Station.

The moment Xu Yuan saw everyone, he finally let out a breath of relief.

The earthworms all over the ground were headache enough.

But the woman with seven or eight long black legs still had not attacked!

He had brought out his highest competitive form and had even been ready to die fighting.

Yet she had not followed him.

Was she certain that one move would kill me?

She really looked down on me.

Fine. Keep looking down on me.

Please never take me seriously.

Just let me go as some little nobody.

Please.

"Anything happen?" Xu Yuan asked.

"The ID tags and weapons have arrived," Yang Xiaobing said, pointing to a weapons case nearby.

Xu Yuan's eyes lit up. He smiled.

"Finally, some good news!"

He stepped forward, hung his ID tag around his neck, and took some submachine-gun magazines. Then he quickly picked up an anti-materiel sniper rifle and a semi-automatic shotgun, securing everything with a tactical sling.

With his firepower replenished, Xu Yuan felt a faint sense of security—or something like it.

Firearms did not consume Spiritual Power.

A pull of the trigger was enough to hurt monsters below Foundation Establishment.

The Foundation Establishment monsters in this exam probably won't attack high school seniors outright.

Otherwise, what would be the point of the exam?

Seeing who dies the worst death?

Surely not.

"Who's this kid?"

Zhao Afei asked.

The Little Boy had long since woken and was staring at Xu Yuan strangely.

He probably hadn't expected to be rescued while he was unconscious.

"A lost child. He's safe. Don't worry about him for now; give me the radio," Xu Yuan said.

Jiang Xueyao handed it to him.

"Officer Liu, this is Xu Yuan reporting in."

"The Fifth Action Team has rested and replenished its ammunition. We're standing by."

"Please advise. Over."

Xu Yuan said it all in one breath.

That's right. Looking for a lost child is something I should do.

And I did it.

But I won't say so.

Quiet dedication ought to earn extra points.

The radio soon crackled.

"Xu Yuan, calling Xu Yuan."

It was an unfamiliar voice.

"This is Xu Yuan. Go ahead," he said.

"There's a lost child in the subway tunnel, approximately 1.4 meters tall, with long hair, a red coat, and white boots. Please search for him."

"If you find him, take him to Drum Tower Street Subway Station. His family is waiting there."

"Over."

Xu Yuan looked down at the child.

1.4 meters tall, long hair, red coat, white boots.

It was this boy.

He had to take him to Drum Tower Street Subway Station?

It did not seem far from here.

Xu Yuan kept his face turned toward the boy, but shifted his eyes slightly to glance at the pitch-black tunnel.

The monster—

had not come.

But he could hear countless voices crying deep inside the tunnel.

Voices male and female, old and young, human and inhuman, voices of beings he could not identify, all erupted together. They roared toward him like a flood, piling into a terrifying howl he could not withstand:

"Who will lay us to rest—"

"Lay us to rest, lay us to rest, lay us to rest—"

"Lay me to rest—"

The voices grew louder and harder to bear.

They were like a slick, icy snake slithering closer with every cry, coiling around his body and bursting into endless wails beside his ears.

Almost irresistibly—

a fear so solid he could nearly touch it rose in Xu Yuan's heart.

It was like a bladed whip, lashing him again and again until he nearly turned and ran.

Back in his previous life,

as a world champion, he had gone on a variety show and seen something that did not exist with his own eyes in an abandoned factory.

Afterward, he had stayed at a Daoist temple for a long time before he could move past it.

Were there Daoist temples in this world?

It seemed I didn't even have a place to work through my feelings and calm my mind.

Damn it!

No. Stay calm. Calm down. Breathe deep.

Xu Yuan swept his gaze over everyone in the subway station.

Apart from the Little Boy, no one had heard it. No one had even glanced toward the tunnel.

Not one person.

At that moment,

Xu Yuan understood exactly how the Little Boy felt.

If he were the boy, dragged back into the depths of that tunnel to deal with that monster again—

he would refuse even if it killed him!

No.

We can't stay here.

Even if this was an exam, exams could still go wrong.

At first, he really had thought it was just an ordinary exam.

But that woman had appeared again.

She had started making her move.

And that was the crucial point—

this Divine Artifact could not bring in cultivators above Golden Core!

Without powerful cultivators standing guard nearby, this exam was nowhere near as safe as it seemed.

Right now, the examinees were like child laborers in nineteenth-century Britain, hired to clean narrow, winding chimneys.

It was incredibly dangerous.

And in truth, they could get no help at all.

Granted—

that terrifying monster had not done anything yet.

But if it did, it would be too late!

We have to run.

Now! This instant!

"Hey, your family—" Xu Yuan began.

The boy practically shrieked:

"I don't want to go back! Please!"

A troubled look crossed Xu Yuan's face. He paced a few steps before picking up the radio.

"Searching now. Over."

He switched it off.

Xu Yuan found all his teammates looking at him.

"What's going on?" Yang Xiaobing asked curiously.

"His family abuses him. He doesn't want to go back." Xu Yuan rubbed his hands together.

"Hey, you believe a kid? He might be lying."

Zhao Afei looked the boy up and down.

"An eight-year-old child would rather run alone through a dark underground tunnel and beg strangers for help than go home to his family. I think he must need help," Xu Yuan analyzed calmly.

I damn well have to help him!

I need to get out of here too!

"That's true," Zhao Afei said, immediately convinced.

Yang Xiaobing took the boy by the hand and led him aside. She comforted him softly, draped a blanket over him, and handed him some snacks.

Jiang Xueyao thought a little further ahead.

She said quietly,

"The Flood Dragon has disappeared. If we want to leave the city now, we can drive."

"That's an idea. I think—"

Xu Yuan stopped mid-sentence.

Clang!

A thunderous sound rang out.

A golden bead of light suddenly appeared above his head, radiating dazzling brilliance.

Someone had lit up the lamp!

Faint lines of text flashed rapidly into view:

"You have earned one light-up."

"What you just said earned the admiration of a spectator with a hidden identity."

"Her assessment is as follows:"

"Finally, someone who can think straight. If only it had been you that year..."

"You triggered five perfect scores in a row, raising your reward to Rare grade."

"Would you like to upgrade your equipment or skills now?"

No!

The audience's eyes had all turned toward him.

A Rare-grade upgrade was bound to be substantial. If anyone noticed it, there would be trouble.

Xu Yuan couldn't stop himself from glancing toward the empty space beside him.

There, in the void,

a new set of competition notices flashed wildly:

"Optional competition: The difficulty of the Eight-School Joint Examination has increased."

"Competition renamed: Nationwide Joint Examination."

"Current difficulty: Hard (variable)."

"Description: Enormous danger has brushed past you. Now you have reached the most critical moment and gained a chance to make history, change the present, and shake the future."

"Requirement: Keep the child you rescued alive for the next half hour."

"Rewards:"

"1. One Blank Historical Branch (item);"

"2. The Nightmare-grade competition 'The Road to Survival and the Revival Match I Had to Enter Because a Sword Got Stuck in Me During My Crossing and I Couldn't Come Back to Life (Second Half)' will be delayed for you."

"3. A shop sets up residence (random event)."

The difficulty had increased.

From the moment he had seen the boy, publicly declared that he would save him, and acted on it—

the competition's difficulty had risen!

And judging by its requirements, he no longer had to take first place.

That looked like the requirements had eased.

But—

didn't that mean rankings no longer mattered in the current situation?

What mattered was staying alive!

(End of chapter)