The principal's office.
Wang Jianshe cleared his throat, his expression grave.
"This mutated instance was originally D-rank, but after an unknown change, its difficulty rose to D+. It's now only one step away from a C-rank instance."
"Now, anyone whose stamina, strength, and speed haven't improved can leave!"
By "haven't improved," he meant that all their stats were still at their starting values.
"You've got to be kidding!"
"Please, Principal!"
"Even if my stats haven't increased, I'm still confident!"
The moment Principal Wang announced the criteria, the students erupted into wails and protests.
A chance to bring glory to their families and get rich overnight was right in front of them!
They didn't want to give it up!
"Enough nonsense!"
Wang Jianshe's expression hardened. "Do you think this is some children's game?"
"If you don't meet the requirements, go back!"
"You can still get into a martial arts school through the written exam. Don't throw your lives away!"
Old Wang commanded considerable respect at First High.
Seeing Wang Jianshe lose his temper, everyone hastily ducked their heads and left without daring to linger.
Lin Dong took a look. That single declaration had eliminated 99 percent of the students.
Its brutality was like a miniature version of the martial entrance exam.
Getting into a martial arts school had never been easy!
Wang Jianshe looked at the five remaining students, including Lin Dong, and ordered, "Show me your stats."
None of them wasted words. They did as instructed.
The first was a veritable Tarzan, standing a full two and a half meters tall.
Lin Dong recognized him: Zhou Gong from Class Three, grandson of the Ape King, Zhou Shan.
Rumor had it that his grandfather had grown close to an old ape in the [Naruto] secret realm and gained some fortuitous opportunities. Those had laid the foundation for the Zhou family's current standing.
Lin Dong examined his stats. Although Zhou Gong was also level 1, he had pushed all four stats to 10!
That was far beyond the limits of an ordinary person!
"Mm, not bad!"
Wang Jianshe nodded. "You're Zhou Shan's grandson, aren't you?"
"Go wait for me in the office."
"Yes, Principal!"
Despite his towering build, Zhou Gong wasn't the stereotypical dim-witted brute. Instead, he seemed quite slick.
The second student was a girl.
Her looks were unremarkable, but her skin was pale-so pale it was unsettling.
If she hadn't had a shadow, Lin Dong might have thought he was seeing a ghost in broad daylight.
"Hm?"
Lin Dong studied her stats. Her stamina, strength, and speed were only one point higher than an ordinary person's.
But her spirit was actually 12!
Even Lin Dong, who had lived two lives, only had 15 spirit.
For this girl to reach 12 without leveling up was genuinely impressive.
"Your name is Bai Ruoxue, right?"
Wang Jianshe rubbed his chin. After a moment's consideration, he nodded. "Go wait in the office with Zhou Gong."
Bai Ruoxue nodded. She hadn't said a single word from start to finish.
"You two don't qualify."
After giving Bai Ruoxue her instructions, Wang Jianshe glanced at the other two students' panels. "Go back to class."
"Yes, Principal."
The two students who hadn't been selected left with their heads hanging.
When his turn came, Lin Dong wasted no words and opened his stats.
"Kid, which class are you in?"
Wang Jianshe glanced at Lin Dong's entirely unchanged stats, his face darkening. "You think you can make a fool of your principal?"
"Don't get angry, Principal!"
Lin Dong stopped Wang Jianshe before he could lash out. Then, under the principal's furious gaze, he quietly took a bottle of pure white potion out of his backpack.
Pop!
As the bottle opened, an unimaginably rich fragrance wafted out!
With a smile tugging at his lips, Lin Dong tipped his head back and downed it in one gulp!
But he wasn't finished!
Lin Dong pulled two more bottles from his bag, one red and one blue-green.
"Holy shit! This guy's that loaded?"
Standing at the office door, Zhou Gong couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement. "Those three bottles cost close to five million. He really knows how to spend!"
Bai Ruoxue watched without a word.
Wang Jianshe frowned.
Lin Dong drained both remaining bottles in one go!
Boom!
With all three potions in his stomach, Lin Dong felt a raging force surge wildly through every part of his body!
His muscles, bones, and even his cells were being bathed in energy!
Every surge of that energy made Lin Dong feel a little stronger!
[Ding! After your body underwent purification, stamina +8!] [Ding! Your strength has greatly increased. Strength +8!] [Ding! Your speed has significantly increased. Speed +8!]
Notifications kept ringing in Lin Dong's mind, and his stat panel had undergone a complete transformation:
[Awakened: Lin Dong] [Level: 1 (0/10)] [Stamina: 13] [Spirit: 15] [Strength: 13] [Speed: 13] [Learning points: 0] [Skill: Breath Concealment Art] [Bound world: Battle Through the Heavens] [Items owned: Tiger Demon Strength Pill!]
"Holy shit! You can do that?"
Staring at Lin Dong's stats, Zhou Gong cried out in shock. "Plus eight to every stat! What kind of bullshit luck is that?"
Under normal circumstances.
A potion providing an increase of anywhere from two to eight points was perfectly normal.
But getting eight three times in a row was ridiculously lucky!
Zhou Gong muttered, "With luck like yours, it'd be a waste not to buy a lottery ticket."
Ignoring Zhou Gong, Lin Dong smiled at Wang Jianshe. "Principal, do I qualify now?"
"You..."
Wang Jianshe was stunned by Lin Dong's bizarre stunt as well. After a brief pause, he finally nodded. "Come with me."
Inside the principal's office.
Wang Jianshe looked at the three students before him. He paused, then spoke with the utmost seriousness.
"What I'm about to tell you is still top secret. It absolutely cannot be leaked!"
"Anything you hear or see-even a single punctuation mark-must not leave this room!"
"Otherwise, you'll die, no matter who comes to save you!"
"Do you understand?"
Lin Dong and the other two had never seen Wang Jianshe this serious. Not daring to joke around, they hurriedly nodded to show they understood.
"Good!"
Satisfied that he had made his point, Wang Jianshe nodded and continued, "Have you heard of Train to Busan?"
"Train to Busan?"
Zhou Gong and Bai Ruoxue shook their heads in turn, indicating that they hadn't.
Only Lin Dong's eyes widened.
Wang Jianshe caught that reaction immediately. "You've heard of it?"
"I-I've only looked into it a little."
Realizing he had betrayed himself, Lin Dong hurriedly composed himself. "It should be an instance over in Korea."
"An instance in Korea?"
Understanding dawned on Zhou Gong's face. "No wonder I've never heard of it."
Wang Jianshe nodded. "You're right. It is an instance over in Korea."
"And the instance where things went wrong this time is Train to Busan!"
"Something went wrong in Train to Busan?"
Lin Dong couldn't understand it. What else could go wrong on a train full of zombies?
Could there be something even scarier than turning into a zombie?
Brimming with curiosity, Zhou Gong asked outright, "Principal, what happened in Train to Busan?"
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