CH 43.2

“I wasn’t saying dogs are bad, I’m a dog lover, you know… I’m just biased towards my own students. Can’t tell, huh? I taught them ideological and political classes for a semester and turned the whole class into rebels. Their political consciousness kept getting worse.” The director chuckled, “Si Di pulled off too many stunts in the exam halls. His classmates from that year all know he’s a tough one. Destroying surveillance cameras? That’s nothing. He even implanted a virus program in those cameras. It made several batches of students want to follow in his footsteps, and Tower had to undergo a technical overhaul overnight.”

“Then there was this territory-grabbing game, basically turning the exam hall into several areas, planting your own camp’s flag in a fixed spot to claim it. Si Di became a legend, guarding a flag all by himself and owning an entire zone.”

“When he was younger, Si Di had a much fiercer temper than he does now. It was only after he joined the union that he toned it down a bit. Besides, he did things like assassinating examiners, blowing up the examiner’s rest area… it’s just that none of the same-year sentinels could beat him. He found it too boring to bully his fellow students, so he and his gang of buddies started targeting instructors. What’s funny is that those lower-year rookies who hadn’t been bullied by him actually voted him the most calm sentinel. They said sentinels were all a bunch of hotheads, naturally hot-blooded, but if you had to pick an exception, it would be Si Di.”

‘Can’t believe there’s no mention of Si Chu’s name?’ Xiao Zhenyun complained for his silly, adorable little dog.

The director got more and more excited as he spoke. “Speaking of that, he had a hyena, and a fox sentinel by his side. The three of them worked together seamlessly, and they were called ‘the best of mankind…'”

Suddenly, he paused, and the conversation came to a halt.

Xiao Zhenyun curiously put down his chopsticks and, upon seeing the unusual look on the director’s face, suddenly realized that sentinels who got along so well with Si Di that even instructors praised them couldn’t have ended up anywhere else but the brutal battle that opened the World Hard Shell Book.

It was only now, through the director’s regretful tone and the sympathy in his heart, that Xiao Zhenyun finally felt a real connection to the events that had been described in mere words. Even if it was just a few sentences, in this world, they had actually happened. There were many living people, vividly existing in memories, who had met a tragic end in those two brief lines.

…And he had saved a person from the cold and cruel words.

The description of Si Di in the novel was simple and one-sided: a S-rank sentinel, loyal and reliable. It didn’t even reveal his true personality in private. Even his unique spiritual body hadn’t been mentioned.

Xiao Zhenyun couldn’t describe the emotions he felt in that moment. A mix of various feelings, wanting to light a cigarette but afraid of shattering his image as an isolated immortal who didn’t indulge in worldly pleasures. He endured and peeled three pomegranates in a row.

Later during dinner, he saw pomegranate juice at the drinks area and even spotted a bizarre dish concocted by the kitchen team – pomegranate stir-fried eggs.

Of course, in the novel, Si Di had another setting: his combat power was out of this world. Probably because he would die early in the story, they figured it didn’t matter how exaggerated they made it. Anyway, according to Xiao Zhenyun’s observation, Si Di was a bug in this exercise, a typical militant, possibly due to pent-up frustration over the past few months because of his spiritual domain. On the first day of the military exercise, wherever he went, he’d sweep up the scoring coins. No one was spared, not even the other examiners. His reason was that he didn’t trust them to supervise properly.

According to the director, a few days ago, the competition committee readily agreed to open a ‘green channel’ to temporarily allow Si Di to become an examiner. This decision was made due to the exceptionally strong candidates this year, including an additional S-class sentinel in the fifth-grade group. Due to these students, known as geniuses, the number of examiners who had signed up and were willing to take part was 20% lower than in previous years. The purpose of letting Si Di in was to balance the various forces and to teach these students, who had become more and more arrogant in recent years, about the fact that there was always someone better out there.

After dinner, Xiao Zhenyun wanted to work overtime to check if Si Chu had stopped ambushing and started taking action. He intended to take some normal photos, but the members of the publicity team were worried about this ‘royal relative’ made of glass. They continuously came to remind him to take care of himself, not to stay up too late, and to finish work early.

Being interrupted three times within half an hour was getting on Xiao Zhenyun’s nerves, so he decided to return to the hotel early and rest.

Outside the window, the night was dark and windy. Si Di, Si Chu, Ye Feiran, and Xiao Jiali were out there somewhere in the exam area, living like hermits. To ensure the fairness of the exams, students, examiners, and everyone else had been cut off from the outside world. Currently, Xiao Zhenyun could only contact Xiao Nian. The problem was that today, seeing that the plotlines were stable, Si Di and Si Chu having no interaction at all. Xiao Nian, surprisingly, felt secure enough to go to bed early at 8 o’clock, using the excuse that there was a school outing tomorrow. That left Xiao Zhenyun, the night owl, staring at his terminal in confusion.

He played games uninterestedly for a while, thinking on how to find some fun for himself tomorrow. Otherwise, the next two days would be really difficult…

Perhaps due to his ‘handsome looks and kind heart,’ wishes indeed came true. The following day, a member of the competition team urgently approached the publicity team just before lunchtime. “One of our examiners is sick, and his task is quite important. Is there anyone here willing to take his place? No gender restrictions, and there’s a cash reward.”

Most of the members in the publicity team were the kind who preferred not to move much, lazily claiming they were busy. It was only the second day of the competition, and joining meant spending night outdoors enduring the cold wind. They wouldn’t go, no matter how much money was offered.

Xiao Zhenyun quietly set down his water cup, having already gotten bold enough today to claim his iced cola was traditional Chinese medicine. He peeked out from the farthest corner of his workspace and asked loudly, “Hello, do you have any specific requirements for the replacement candidate?”

The once bustling publicity team office fell silent, and everyone looked at him in shock.

The competition team member also recognized Xiao Zhenyun and awkwardly called the vice-chairman, “No specific requirements, anyone will do. Chairman, do you have a recommended candidate?”

“Will there be strenuous physical activity?” Xiao Zhenyun asked, “Like mountain climbing or tree climbing…”

“No, none of that,” the person quickly shook his head, “Having a weaker physique is also fine, or maybe we need someone who isn’t good at sports.”

“Then, do you think I can do it? In the forest, my spiritual body can carry me,” Xiao Zhenyun said. No one could have a weaker physique than him, after all, he didn’t even have legs.

The competition team member, “…”

He was silent for a few seconds, then it was as if he had opened the door to a whole new world. His eyes lit up, “If you’re willing – it’s perfect!”

The members of the publicity team, “…” You’re crazy!!!

They watched in shocked silence as Xiao Zhenyun packed up his personal items, greeted them with a gentle smile, and left with the competition team member. More than one person tried to stop him and offered to replace Xiao Zhenyun, but the vice-chairman firmly refused, stating that they were all essential members of the publicity team. Everyone knew, in reality, Xiao Zhenyun didn’t contribute much to the team and caused more trouble than anything. With him around, everyone was too cautious, and it was better to leave in advance and do their best on the field.

The vice-chairman was truly a good person! These words were written all over everyone’s faces, and they were deeply moved.

Only Xiao Zhenyun himself was secretly happy, thinking that he had finally found some fun for the next two days. Sitting idly in the hotel would have been a waste of time.

The arrival of Xiao Zhenyun at the competition team caused the same shock on their faces. Next, they gave thumbs up to the member who brought him here, thinking he was an incredible recruiter to have convinced Xiao Zhenyun to join.

Two heavily built tall sentinels, one with the spiritual form of a wild yak and the other a crocodile, walked up to Xiao Zhenyun. They stood on either side of him and said in unison, “Sorry for this.”

Xiao Zhenyun, “…”

I have a very bad feeling about this.

In the next instant, his premonition came true. His eyes were covered with coarse cloth, his hands were bound, and the wild yak sentinel lifted him onto his shoulders.

“Is it too late for me to quit now?” Xiao Zhenyun regretfully asked.

The crocodile sentinel burst into laughter, “Chairman Xiao, once you’re on our pirate ship, getting off won’t be so easy.”

The second day of the competition, 1:25 PM.

All surviving candidates in the examination area received the same additional mission prompt:

Two extremely dangerous criminals on the run have kidnapped a ‘beautiful and innocent civilian.’ Rescue the civilian and protect him until the end of the examination.

Mission Points: Rescue 250; Safeguard the civilian until the end 2500.

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