Chapter 59 - 59 47 Gifts and Actual Combat

59: Chapter 47: Gifts and Actual Combat 59: Chapter 47: Gifts and Actual Combat Amid the long line of vehicle traffic, a police car was also caught in the middle. Its lights were off, indicating that it wasn’t on an emergency mission. The people inside had the time to chat. “Do you know why the entrance exam to Ancient City University is arranged in such a troublesome way? First, there’s a practical exam, then an interview, and finally another round of practical exams.” “I know the joke. It’s because many people don’t need to go to the interview after the first round of practical tests. Sёarᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. This arrangement can reduce the workload of the teachers…..” In the traffic jam, Lu Ping’an, who was brought to the exam by Xia Qin, casually picked up on this established joke of the Ancient City University. Many people who think they can handle it, often learn the hard way once they are actually put to the test. The first round of the test is relatively simple, but it makes most of the casual candidates give up directly. This joke, however, has a second part that Lu Ping’an added casually. “… And if you go to the interview after the second round of practical tests, you may not be in human form at the time of the interview.” The first round of practical exams tests hunting skills, high scores are hard to achieve, passing scores are not difficult, and one can give up at any time. The second round after the interview is an almost unlimited practical exam with unpredictable opponents and outcomes. If you push too hard, you might not be in human form after the exam, you could go straight from the examination hall to the hospital. The fragmented examination mechanism is there to ensure that the candidates don’t look too pitiful during the interview. “How did you know? Have you become friends with the new students? It’s different from what I heard.” “I asked a senior brother to help me practice. He’s in his second year.” Lu Ping’an casually replied, not believing that Captain Xia Qin was completely unaware of his latest developments. How could someone who can serve as the Captain of the Special Service Team be a true simpleton? “By the way, I heard you did well.” Lu Ping’an did more than well on the exam. Out of a total of 750 points, he scored 730, with the main deductions being for the essay and writing mistakes. In addition, with his nearly perfect score on the taboo knowledge exam, after conversion, his total score for the first round was 9.73, which appeared to rank him within the top 100. There’s no help for it, there are so many immortals and monsters, some of them scoring 10 points. “Congratulations on passing the first round. Here’s a little gift.” As she spoke, Xia Qin handed over a brand new light blue police baton without looking around. It even had a blue silk scarf tied into a butterfly knot. Immediately, Lu Ping’an’s expression became very subtle. “… A celebration gift, and it’s this?” “Isn’t this exactly what you need? If you don’t want it, I’ll take it back. It’s troublesome to apply for police equipment.” “I want it, and thank you.” The Punisher Type 2 military police baton, also known as the 2nd Generation Blue Electric Baton, is quite useful as special military equipment. It’s not a taboo item, nor a common police baton. More accurately, it’s a lower level of contaminated items, modified by controlled contamination and enchanted. Due to its weak pollution, it cannot become a new source of pollution. While the effects are relatively weak, it also means that the cost is very low, perhaps even non-existent. Lu Ping’an had come across such items before; those so-called “novice sets” that cost two or three thousand apiece. However, those who carelessly exploit novices are not good. Those single-use, “soaked” contaminating enchanted weapons are incredibly unstable. Short-term, the effects are too strong, but after a little bit of use over time, they completely “fade”, often wasting more than half in just two or three months. The materials are also inferior, deliberately becoming unreliable in key moments. They can only scam novices with these “novice sets”. “Use it like a normal police baton. When you press the switch it will discharge electricity, it has a special enchantment and is effective against spiritual entities and magic monsters. It’s very powerful, so don’t use it on ordinary people.” This is a batch of new equipment just obtained by the Bureau of Anomaly Management, much more effective than the previous version, and can be considered one of the benefits of reform. Xia Qin, as a captain-level officer, was directly equipped with it, while Lei Huoren, as an ordinary team member, was still waiting for distribution. She already had two taboo weapons and didn’t need it, so she simply gave it to Lu Ping’an. “…Isn’t this a bit against the rules?” “Hahaha.” The female captain laughed lightly, not bothering to explain or waste words… If you really don’t want it, boy, just let go. However, Lu Ping’an was already firmly gripping the police baton in his hand, while humbly putting it into his bag. “Don’t count on it for killing power if you’re not shocking people with it. Its advantage is that it’s exceptionally sturdy, even a train can’t break it. It can be used as a jack and a crowbar if necessary. By the way, don’t charge it at my house, I don’t want to see an astronomical bill. If it runs out of power give it to me, I’ll take it to the police station to charge.” Lu Ping’an was somewhat joyful as he grasped his new toy. It’s hard for boys to reject such things as knives, guns, and clubs. Actually, men can’t resist them either. It’s just that some of them play with bigger toys. Big ships, Gao Da, monster girls, and whatnot, some people probably can’t quit for a lifetime. At this time, Lu Ping’an was indeed in urgent need of a weapon. The optimal use of quasi-contaminated enchanted weapons is that they can inflict damage on certain polluting monsters that don’t take physical damage. It’s a kind of necessity. “Why go unarmed when you can use weapons?” When everyone else has something you lack, things can get rather interesting. When the second round of the practical exam comes, Lu Ping’an will probably be facing other armed examinees or invigilators. Being unarmed at that time, he would undoubtedly be at a disadvantage. Temporary procurement? Not only would it be costly, but it would also be unreliable. The weapon in front of him was a controlled armament. Its quality couldn’t be compared to any random item you could pick up from the streets. The only problem, probably, was that it was a “short stick” and could only benefit from the all-weapon bonus and not from the specialized enhancement. But now, with the all-weapon bonus, Lu Ping’an felt he could handle it just fine. Aside from magic plants, he now had more options and could save quite a few points. “Thank you.” “No need, just do well in the exam and do me proud.” This woman was straight to the point. She had helped Lu Ping’an out so many times recently, that her reputation was now tied to this man’s performance in the eyes of many acquaintances. From the perspective of experienced individuals, it wasn’t much that Lu Ping’an was troublesome. After all, who didn’t have any issues to deal with? However, if his performance was too mediocre, it would bring shame upon her, the Captain of the Special Service Team. “…Don’t worry, I won’t disappoint you.” Lu Ping’an got out of the car. The rest of the journey wasn’t far—only a mountain road lay ahead. The practical exam wasn’t conducted in Ancient City University’s Secret Realm because they had to make use of the rules of another Secret Realm. “…If you find you can’t endure or are about to be seriously injured or even dead, just silently chant ‘Rust Knight’ and then give up mentally. If you’re afraid it’s too late, shout out ‘I forfeit’ or ‘I quit’, and the fight will stop instantly. You’ll be kicked out immediately, though it may be a bit embarrassing.” In the grand square, there were hundreds of giant sculptures and tall stone pillars. In one corner, the leading Director was giving a final orientation to the examinees. Lu Ping’an originally thought they would borrow the Secret Realm of the Lady of the Forest. After all, for a practical test, there was nothing more straightforward than a fight to the death. But that Secret Realm was only first-tier, low-level professionals of the third-tier and above could not enter, and the maximum level of magic monsters that appeared inside was too low for an appropriate examination. “The passphrase to enter the Secret Realm is ‘I swear, my battle is for the light, following justice.’ After going in, everyone will have a separate room. When a magic monster appears and is killed, the entrance to the upper floor will appear. If you can still go on, go up. If not, give up and come out.” “The final score is based on the time it took and the number of floors you managed to advance up. Remember, do not overestimate your abilities. Every year, many people die in the ‘Knight’s Trial’, they die because they think they can still hang on.” The Eternal Knight’s Secret Realm, the Secret Realm of the Knight and the God of Justice ‘Rust Knight’ in the ancient city, is probably about the third or fourth-tier and is quite well-known among the Secret Keepers in the Ancient City. It is used year-round as a trial ground for Secret Keepers, so it is only natural to use it for exams. Those waiting in line for the trial were not only Ancient City’s examinees. Lu Ping’an saw several other school emblems from pile to pile. It seems, several training institutions have turned this place into a free examination room as well. “…Why are there so few people? I don’t see anyone from the preparatory class?” “They don’t take this exam. It’s like letting them voluntarily absorb pollution. If too many people die, it would be difficult to explain.” Alright, that was a pretty realistic answer. But now, as examinees enter and exit one after another, the ranking and point system outside also continues to update. In the middle of the square, there were numerous stone pillars. On them were large and small screens. These screens were showing real-time broadcasts of the exam takers fighting inside the rooms of the towers in the Secret Realm! The teachers were busy manipulating the system, recording the excellent performance of examinees using personal devices. In some ways, it also affects the third test, the interview score. There were many people watching each screen outside. But Lu Ping’an noticed that the subjects on the screens were constantly changing. Usually, the better the performers, the larger the screen they appeared on. “The Mad Lion has reached the tenth floor already! That’s quick!” “This time the Science and Technology University has struck gold, such a young 2-tier operative…” Various universities were also subtly competing with each other. It seems like the total number of examinees was limitless, but as irrelevant people had missed their time, they didn’t interfere in the subtle competition among the few universities… Normally, no one would want to be watched by so many people, it would reveal too much. “It seems hard to keep any secrets in this Secret Realm.” This is probably the difference between the Deities after all. The Rust Knight, aka the God of Justice, highly values a fair duel in public. Outside on the big pillars in the square, the day’s best and fastest records were being continuously updated, as the schools were testing each other’s recruitment quality indirectly. “Within one day, you have three test opportunities at most, and the highest score among those is calculated.” When Lu Ping’an was ready to go, the quickest record had reached the 13th floor by someone called the Mad Lion. Suddenly, the big screen switched abruptly, and a new record also appeared. “It’s Li Dao’an, he’s now on the seventeenth floor!” Lu Ping’an glanced over briefly and only saw a figure tearing apart a magic monster, that was the third-tier candidate? That was really impressive. The line advanced quickly, and Lu Ping’an took a deep breath, stepping forward. “I swear, my battle is for the light, following justice.”