Since Lin Xiaoran lived alone, she did not have many belongings. After a little packing, she was ready to leave with Jiang Jiayou and the others.
As for the remaining odds and ends, she could ask the apartment's landlord to deal with them later.
Just after stepping outside, Lin Xiaoran thought of something. "Looks like I don't have to go to school anymore."
That really was some good news.
Although Lin Xiaoran had lost her peaceful life, what she had gained in exchange was a chance at eternal life!
As for the dangers and hardships she would encounter on the road to eternal life, Lin Xiaoran had mentally prepared herself. At worst, she could just start a new run!
It was not as though she had never experienced death. She did fear it, but she could accept it.
In short, as a challenger now, she had no other choices. All she could do was lower her head and charge forward.
Once outside, Lin Xiaoran saw fully armed soldiers standing along both sides of the entire corridor. They all looked at her with yearning and admiration in their eyes.
Lin Xiaoran had brought glory to their country, and they shared in that honor!
Lin Xiaoran kept smiling and nodded to them one by one, thanking them for protecting her.
In the elevator, Jiang Jiayou noticed Lin Xiaoran's discomfort and said with a smile, "Hard to get used to, isn't it? Suddenly becoming a hero like this."
"Yes. I never imagined I'd have a day like this," Lin Xiaoran admitted honestly.
Being a hero was not easy. Behind that title lay the hopes of far too many people, along with responsibilities as heavy as mountains.
Especially in this world, after the National Fortune Game had appeared.
Once each chosen challenger entered the game, he represented not only himself, but also the country behind him.
They shared in glory and suffered losses together.
Therefore, no matter how frightened they were after entering, they had to work hard to adapt, strive to survive, and even try every means possible to win the game.
However, the National Fortune Game came down to strength.
Whoever had the stronger Heroic Spirit would win.
The victor was king, the defeated a bandit, and the weak were eliminated outright and died.
Country L's challengers had won and lost. Not one challenger who had entered had disgraced Country L. They were all heroes.
Even if he lost, he was not to blame. After all, if he had bad luck and summoned a weak Heroic Spirit, what could he do?
The other countries were the same. They all hoped that one day, their chosen challenger could be like Lin Xiaoran today, summoning a powerful Heroic Spirit and leading their country through victory after victory to the very end, making it the only powerful nation on Sky Blue Star!
"Lin Xiaoran! Our great hero!"
"Student Lin! You're our pride!"
"Goddess Ran! Keep it up in the next round!"
Escorted by Jiang Jiayou, Che Yisi, and the other soldiers, Lin Xiaoran had barely stepped out of the apartment building's entrance when she heard a chorus of shouts.
She looked up and saw many people standing in the street beyond the security cordon.
The most conspicuous among them was a group of students in school uniforms.
"Student Lin! It's me!"
"Student Lin! Well done! You've become our school's idol!"
"You've got this, Goddess Ran!"
That confirmed it. These were all schoolmates and classmates of Lin Xiaoran's predecessor.
Having inherited her predecessor's memories, she recalled them briefly and spotted several familiar faces.
Lin Xiaoran raised her hand and waved to them.
"Lin Xiaoran! Don't worry, I'll be cheering you on!"
"Me too!"
They were too far away, so Lin Xiaoran could only wave in acknowledgment before getting into an armored vehicle and leaving amid their cheers.
Fortunately, the National Fortune Bureau and Lin Xiaoran were in the same city, Country L's imperial capital, which made traveling back and forth convenient.
Of course, even if Lin Xiaoran had not been in the imperial capital, Jiang Jiayou and the others would have gone to pick her up and bring her over, even if they had to take a plane.
After all, Lin Xiaoran's potential was enormous. Perhaps she could keep breaking Country L's record for the number of games a challenger had won?
Or, to think a little more boldly, what if Lin Xiaoran could keep winning until the National Fortune Game ended!?
Then Lin Xiaoran would be the greatest contributor of all! The kind whose name would go down in history!
In the vehicle, Jiang Jiayou introduced the National Fortune Analysis Bureau's situation to Lin Xiaoran.
"Our main job is keeping records and analyzing the Heroic Spirits summoned by each challenger and their demonstrated strength. We hope to identify patterns in Heroic Spirit Summoning."
"Have you found any?" Lin Xiaoran asked curiously.
"Well... so far, only a tiny bit. Most Heroic Spirits are connected to each country's culture and history," Jiang Jiayou said, somewhat embarrassed.
The fact was that what they had figured out was of absolutely no help to Lin Xiaoran or any other challenger.
Furthermore, other countries could naturally discover these patterns too.
But even with that range established, each challenger's luck was hard to describe, let alone get a handle on.
Ultimately, the National Fortune Analysis Bureau's greatest use might be doing what it had done today: deploying armed forces to protect challengers.
After hearing this, Lin Xiaoran was a little disappointed. She had originally thought the National Fortune Bureau might possess secrets ordinary people did not know.
However, even if they had secrets, they would not be much use to Lin Xiaoran, because she had a system. The Heroic Spirits she summoned all came from fictional worlds. They could be powerful characters from novels, anime, film, television, games, or any other fictional medium. Whether domestic or foreign, anyone strong enough would do!
Furthermore, Lin Xiaoran had discovered that the Heroic Spirit she had summoned, Fujitora Issho, seemingly did not exist in this world at all.
Likewise, Lin Xiaoran had not seen any of those familiar stories, such as the famous Journey to the West, Investiture of the Gods, or novels, films, and television series about the primordial world and immortal heroes!
Even when something did exist, the resemblance was superficial, completely different from what she remembered!
Lin Xiaoran had learned all this while searching online for Heroic Spirit guides.
And this meant that Lin Xiaoran might be able to summon all those nonexistent characters and protagonists as Heroic Spirits through her system!
That way, Lin Xiaoran would be even more confident about facing the National Fortune Game's terrifying elimination rate.
At that moment, Lin Xiaoran was also looking forward to discovering what Heroic Spirit she would summon next when the new round began a day later.
Before long, the vehicle stopped. They had arrived at their destination.
As soon as she got out, she found a crowd standing before her. At a rough glance, there were no fewer than a hundred people!
"Haha, don't be nervous. These are all staff members of our National Fortune Analysis Bureau! They heard you were coming and wanted to see you in person!" Jiang Jiayou explained with a smile.
"Um, hello, everyone!" Lin Xiaoran was a little socially anxious. In her previous life, she had been a science and engineering guy who had never suffered society's brutal beatings, and she was still thin-skinned.
"Welcome, Student Lin!" As one person spoke, more than two hundred people applauded in unison. The sound was deafening!
"All right, Student Lin has only just come out of the game, and then she had to hurry into a car and move house. She's very tired now and needs rest. Whatever you have to say can wait! Let's break up for today!"
Jiang Jiayou waved a hand, signaling for everyone to disperse.
Everyone was understanding and waved goodbye to Lin Xiaoran before leaving.
Lin Xiaoran was not the first challenger to move into the National Fortune Bureau, but she was the first to break the Heroic Spirit strength record and the points record, and even the national fortune reward record!
That was why they were all so curious and enthusiastic. Even a brief meeting like this was enough to satisfy them!
"Come on, I'll take you to your residence here." Jiang Jiayou led the way, while Che Yisi and Han Wenju followed behind carrying Lin Xiaoran's luggage. Chang Jian accompanied them as well.
"There are three areas here in total: the daily office area, the residential area, and the area where the military is stationed. Their daily training takes place over there too."
Jiang Jiayou explained the layout to Lin Xiaoran.
"Although the residential area only has one building, it's every bit as good as the housing outside. Everyone gets their own apartment. The larger ones have four bedrooms and two living rooms, while the smaller ones have three bedrooms and one living room. They're assigned according to how many family members each employee has.
"Right now, only the tenth floor is still vacant. Those apartments have four bedrooms and two living rooms. I'll take you there."
"That big? There's no need, is there? It's just me, after all," Lin Xiaoran said.
"Right now, we don't have anything besides four-bedroom, two-living-room apartments. Don't worry, we have cleaning ladies here specifically to handle housekeeping, so you don't have to worry about having no one to clean the place." Jiang Jiayou smiled and said, "We also have a cafeteria and a small kitchen here. Whatever you want to eat, just tell us, and we'll have it prepared and delivered to you.
"Oh, and I do mean anything you want to eat!"
Jiang Jiayou winked as he finished speaking.
Clearly, Lin Xiaoran's clothing, food, housing, and transportation were all being provided at the highest tier.
And after Lin Xiaoran entered her new home, Jiang Jiayou also told her very seriously that if she needed anything, she could say so, and the National Fortune Bureau would do its best to fulfill her wishes.
Of course, the condition was that it could not violate the law or morality.
This was Country L, after all, not somewhere abroad where all rules could be ignored for her enjoyment.
As for Lin Xiaoran, because she had never seen much of the world, she did not know just how much power she now had to get the National Fortune Bureau to fulfill her wishes.
In any case, her requirements were simple. Food and a place to stay were enough.
After all, her rest period was not long. In one day at most, Lin Xiaoran would have to enter the game again. Where would she find so much time to enjoy herself?