The two quickly struck up a conversation. With Leilin's knowledge and experience, stringing along a young man was the easiest thing in the world.
Soon, Shavier had dispelled the faint jealousy in his heart, deciding that this Mr. Lei was truly a talkative and humorous person.
When he learned that the other party's rented house was right next to his own, Shavier's attitude improved even further.
"Hmm… so you have a sister too! I recall that the little bear cookies from Wanxiong City are every girl's favorite. Looks like I'll need to bring some next time I come visit…"
Leilin said with a smile.
"Having Mr. Lei come visit is already enough—you really don't need to be so polite…"
Shavier replied, but before he could say anything more, a shrill ring of bells cut off their conversation.
Under the urgent ringing, crowds of people surged toward the gates like an endless ocean.
"Mr. Lei… the exam is starting! We'll talk later…"
Even with Shavier's constitution, he was helplessly swept along by the tide of people, separated from Leilin.
"Of course!"
Leilin smiled. This kind of scene actually brought back a faint sense of nostalgia, and he entered the examination hall as well.
"This examination consists of two parts: the written test and the field test! Candidates with exam numbers as1 through sd100, please proceed to Examination Hall Three…"
A mechanical broadcasting voice echoed throughout the entire examination venue. Following the instructions, Leilin made his way to his assigned hall.
Before him stood rows of silver-grey nutrient pods, their metallic surfaces reflecting streams of light, giving everything an extraordinarily sci-fi appearance.
"Your upcoming written examination will be conducted inside the nutrient pods. Please find your assigned positions…"
A staff member wearing an examiner's badge entered the hall, his hawk-like gaze sweeping across the room.
"The examination will be lengthy, but don't worry about your bodies—we will prepare sufficient nutrient solution…"
Under the watchful eyes of the examiners, Leilin found his nutrient pod.
*Ding! Scan complete. Welcome, Candidate g87!* Cold, hard… that was Leilin's first impression of the nutrient pod, followed by the nauseating sensation of nutrient solution flooding in. For an ordinary person, it would have been absolute torture.
Suddenly, Leilin's vision brightened, and a virtual examination hall materialized before him.
The virtual hall stretched out to seemingly infinite dimensions, yet contained only a single hardwood desk. On it lay an examination paper along with pen and paper.
"A virtual environment? This technology can indeed minimize cheating—each candidate doesn't even have to receive the same set of questions. Unless someone breaks through the entire pod's security, cheating would be absolutely impossible!"
Leilin sat down and scanned the questions on the desk.
His rate of information absorption was nothing short of terrifying. After just one night of cramming, none of these questions posed any challenge to him now.
"They call it a written test, but in a virtual environment, there's actually far more that can be assessed—it's definitely not as simple as just answering questions…"
Leilin smiled and began answering rapidly.
In this environment, ordinary candidates had no way of perceiving the passage of time—except for Leilin.
After completing dozens of exam papers, the surrounding scenery shifted, and he found himself in an operations workshop.
*Exam Question 35—Use available materials to repair a [Swift Shadow]!* Leilin looked at the workbench. A damaged [Swift Shadow] wristwatch sat before him. The screen was mostly shattered, and various tools like electric repair pens were scattered around it.
"This level of simulation is already comparable to the field test, isn't it?"
Leilin rubbed his chin. "Unless… in the actual field test, they'll directly grant permissions… and assess the casting of intermediate-level spells?"
To simulate spells using virtual reality technology—the current Empire didn't seem to possess technology that advanced. The only one capable of that was Leilin's Chip.
After all, the soul and the body were the spiritual and the material. Fully merging the two and deciphering all their secrets was simply too difficult a task.
Only Leilin's Chip—which had shed its physical form during the crossing, influenced by the fabric of spacetime, merged with his soul as one, and undergone numerous upgrades since—could accomplish such a thing.
Wuyan had by now changed into a crisp uniform and entered the main surveillance room of the examination venue.
"Hey! My dear Bodie, found any promising candidates?"
Upon spotting a blonde beauty, his eyes lit up instantly, and he stepped forward to greet her.
"Your current duty should be inspecting the exam halls! Examiner Wuyan!" the blonde beauty Bodie scolded without hesitation, drawing ambiguous smiles from the surrounding examiners.
"Alright, alright! I'm just eager, that's all. If we spot any outstanding technicians, there are bonuses for us…"
Wuyan looked at Bodie pitifully. "I think we need to have a talk…"
"Five minutes…" Bodie glanced at the surveillance screens, then at her wristwatch, and finally agreed.
Under the unsurprised gazes of the other examiners, Wuyan immediately put on a lovesick expression and followed Bodie out.
Though on the surface it looked like some melodramatic courtship scene, through covert channels, all manner of information was being exchanged.
"Bodie… how about we go out for dinner together tonight? There's a new restaurant that just opened on the Champs-Élysées…"
Wuyan rattled on ceaselessly, his behavior making the other guards frown and look away.
Covertly, however, Wuyan transmitted a message to Bodie: "I've checked—ty13 and ui99 are both excellent. They're worth recruiting and cultivating for our organization…"
"I don't have time tonight…"
Bodie maintained her cold expression and replied in kind through coded signals: "Make sure to protect them. Ideally, have them fail the written exam or be expelled from the venue—don't let them reach the second round of field testing. Also… you seem to have left one out…"
"Shavier is my responsibility! Don't interfere!"
Wuyan's expression shifted.
"I know, I know… isn't it just…"
"As long as you know—that's enough. Don't say too much. The surveillance from the Central Intelligence Brain and the Magic Net is no joke…"
After sending his final message, Wuyan threw himself to the ground and let out a heartbroken wail: "Oh… Bodie… my Bodie…"
The blonde beauty Bodie responded with a cool, detached smile and returned to the main surveillance room under the watchful eyes of the gathered guards.
"What's wrong?"
Bodie, who had expected a crowd of gossipy onlookers, was somewhat stunned to find all the examiners clustered around the screens, completely ignoring the spectacle that had just unfolded.
"Has my acting gotten worse? Or am I under suspicion?"
Bodie's thoughts raced, but then she saw another examiner approaching, his expression extremely serious yet tinged with barely concealed elation: "Bodie! Come take a look at this…"
"Hmm?" Bodie leaned over with a curious expression, secretly breathing a sigh of relief: *It's not me who's been found out!* Then she saw the dozens of flawless exam papers displayed on the screen.
"Hiss… could it really be a top-tier prodigy?" Bodie drew in a sharp breath, then checked the candidate information field. "The name is Lei? Every single answer correct… that's just too…"
"Everything needs to be compared. Come look at this…"
The examiner pulled up another record—the footage of Leilin repairing the [Swift Shadow] wristwatch. Every movement flowed like drifting clouds and running water, filled with a unique aesthetic beauty.
"His movements show absolutely no hesitation, and at this age he's already mastered two-dimensional pinpoint technique… His grasp and use of materials is almost bestial in its intuition…"
Bodie didn't hold back her praise.
"Mm! Compared to him, the other outstanding candidates—like this Shavier, and Rambo—don't seem quite as exceptional…"
The examiner stroked his chin, his eyes practically shining.
"What do you intend to do? Recommend him directly to the Empire?" Bodie asked.
"No! The written test is only the foundational part. What we need are talents with sharp Spiritual Power and wills strong enough to control high-level spells…"
The examiner's reasoning made sense—after all, there were far too many cases of candidates with excellent fundamentals who turned out to be a complete mess at actual spellcasting.
"Then let's wait and see…"
Bodie said with a smile, though a hint of doubt lingered in her heart: "This Lei… there were no anomalies at all before. Even Wuyan didn't notice anything, yet he possesses this level of intelligence… highly unusual…"
…
After a brutal round of elimination, very few candidates had passed the first round—fewer than a hundred remained.
Shavier was among them, his face full of curiosity and excitement as he looked around eagerly.
"Hey! Shavier!"
Leilin walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
"Oh! Mr. Lei, you passed too?" Shavier said with a smile on his face.
"Just luck, that's all! Haha…" Leilin touched his hair and replied politely.
"You're too modest—you're the one who got first place on the written exam, after all!"
Wuyan, dressed in his examiner's uniform, walked over, causing the other candidates to part to both sides.
"Brother Wuyan! Let me introduce you—this is Lei… wait, what did you just say?" Shavier's mind was a bit muddled.
"I said your friend here is no ordinary person—he scored first place on the written exam!"
Wuyan shook Leilin's hand with a smile, though the warning in his eyes was impossible to conceal.
*Such tension, and a similar aura of bloodline…* Leilin looked at Wuyan, then at Shavier, and the smile at the corners of his mouth grew ever wider.
"Oh! That's really incredible…"
Shavier exclaimed loudly, only to be forcibly restrained by Wuyan: "Maintain exam hall order!"
"You're the one who least respects order…"
Shavier protested, though his voice quickly grew quieter.