Qing Cai had not returned all night, and there was no movement from Room 402 next door.
Zhao Shang opened the study exchange group chat. Only the group admin had posted a message five minutes ago about the exam location and rules. None of the other mentors who usually reminded the students to study diligently had spoken up.
About ten minutes later, a player finally replied with a "Received" in the group.
Only the three male players from their Room 404 remained, so the reply was likely from one of the four female players staying in the girls' dorm.
This response seemed to break the silence in the group, as other players quickly followed with their own "Received," briefly livening up the chat.
But still, none of the mentors spoke. Something was clearly off.
"Shang-ge," Zhang San said with a grave expression, staring at the chat log. "Something doesn't feel right."
"The two who went out last night still haven't come back," Wan You added, stepping out of the bathroom with a towel slung haphazardly over his shoulder. "Maybe they caused trouble, and now the mentors are unhappy with all the players."
This was how dungeons always went. No matter how friendly the atmosphere seemed at the start, players and NPCs would eventually end up on opposing sides.
Like black and white pieces on a chessboard, forever locked in battle.
He picked up the exam supplies he had prepared the night before, unsure whether he felt disappointment or numbness.
How pathetic—he had actually hoped to regain his confidence and a sense of fairness in life through a dungeon exam.
A notification chimed in the group chat.
[Zhao Zhao Mu Mu: There's still an hour before the exam starts. Don’t stress, everyone. Eat breakfast properly and enter the exam hall in your best condition. Wishing you all ideal results.]
It was that annoyingly good-looking man.
Wan You stared at the message for a long moment before pulling out the book hidden under his pillow.
Well, since he was already here…
Might as well try.
"I'm so tired," Chao Musheng muttered, chewing on a bun Eldest Brother had brought back from the cafeteria. Lately, the number of nights he'd been forced to stay awake seemed to be skyrocketing.
Last night, he had spent nearly two hours in the academic affairs office assisting with the school and police investigation. By the time he got back to the dorm, dawn was almost breaking.
"You don’t have class this morning, so why are you up so early?" Old Third mumbled from under the covers, showing no intention of getting up.
"The school scheduled an exam for the visiting students this morning. I need to go check on it." Chao Musheng finished his breakfast in a few bites and splashed cold water on his face at the sink. "You guys sleep. I’m heading out first."
"Old Fourth is always running around," Second Brother said, poking his head out from the blankets and looking sympathetically at the already-closed dorm door. "Seems like being too outstanding has its downsides."
Even dogs weren’t as busy as him.
The exam hall for the visiting students was set up in a small conference room in the academic affairs building. As soon as Chao Musheng reached the building, he saw four female students rushing toward him.
Judging by their heavy dark circles, they had probably been studying all night.
"Hello, Chao-xuezhang," the four female players greeted in unison, stopping abruptly when they recognized him, not daring to walk past him.
"You go ahead," Chao Musheng said, stepping aside. "Good luck on the exam."
"Thank you." The four of them were a mess of nerves, completely unprepared for the test.
Relieved that Chao Musheng hadn’t given them any trouble, they hurried inside. In previous dungeons, an NPC would have blocked their way, trying to prevent them from reaching the exam hall on time.
The conference room was on the 8th floor. When they entered the building and saw the elevator packed with people, they immediately turned toward the stairs.
"Are you here for the exam?" someone in the elevator called out, noticing the transparent exam pouches in their hands. Several people stepped out to make room. "Hurry in, don’t be late!"
Under the intense gazes of the elevator crowd, the four didn’t dare refuse and hesitantly stepped inside.
Would this elevator suddenly plummet to the basement or have monsters crawling out of the vents halfway up?
But the elevator smoothly reached the 8th floor. Dazed, they stepped out, even hearing someone inside wish them good luck on the exam.
Was there some kind of positive buff in this dungeon for examinees? The lack of unexpected disasters felt strangely unsettling.
"Come here and take your seats," two mentors called from the conference room entrance, waving them over. "Find your assigned spots. The exam papers will be handed out in ten minutes."
Exchanging glances with the three male players already inside, the four girls quickly found their seats. Just as they sat down, a system notification chimed.
[Ding! Players Qing Cai and A Tu have been detected as anomalies by NPCs and have been eliminated.]
Two more dead.
The players looked up at the expressionless mentors by the door and shivered.
This conference room might seem calm, but danger lurked everywhere—even the air felt icy.
"Why is the air conditioning set so low?" Chao Musheng asked, walking in through the back door and immediately hit by a blast of cold air.
Seeing the examinees shivering, he adjusted the temperature and joined the other mentors. Noticing how exhausted they all looked, he whispered, "Seniors, did you eat breakfast?"
"Couldn’t stomach it," one of the senior girls replied, sipping a bitter coffee drink—though not as bitter as her mood.
Just get through today, and it’ll be over.
A biology senior arrived with the exam papers and handed them out. "Different majors have different tests. Distribute them to the students you’re responsible for."
Chao Musheng pulled out the papers for Zhang San and Zhao Shang and handed them over. "Do your best. Don’t stress."
With so many multiple-choice questions, they could at least guess a few right.
Leaving one senior to proctor, the other five mentors slipped into the room next door.
"If they score well, will the school really grant them auditor status?" a junior girl asked. "What’s the passing threshold?"
"Ninety-eight percent accuracy," the senior girl replied, downing more coffee. "But honestly, even passing will be a stretch unless we help them."
"True," the junior sighed. "Might as well give them a hand. No point being strict here."
The school had given the mentors grading discretion precisely because these visiting students’ knowledge was so lacking—it was easier to turn a blind eye.
Midway through the exam, they peeked into the conference room again. Some examinees were drawing lots, others were rolling dice made from erasers, and a few looked deep in thought, as if pondering how to land on the sun.
With only seven people, the scene was as chaotic as a barnyard brawl.
The senior girl clutched her chest and retreated. She couldn’t take it—after last night’s lack of sleep, watching any longer might give her a heart attack.
An hour and a half later, the examinees handed in their papers, and the six mentors stayed behind to grade.
"This answer is wrong, but the handwriting is nice. One extra point."
"The true/false section… how did someone manage to dodge every correct answer?"
The junior girl stared at the paper for five seconds before discreetly using her pen to change a checkmark into an X.
Great, another two points added.
Rip!
The senior student next to him trembled slightly, accidentally tearing off a corner of the exam paper.
"Senior, are you okay?"
"I'm perfectly fine!" The senior forced a smile.
Multiple-choice questions—the correct answers were A and B, yet the examinee somehow managed to pick C and D. Even if the cat senior were to take this exam, it wouldn’t make such outrageous mistakes.
After grading all the papers, everyone felt as though they had endured an intense interrogation, too exhausted to speak.
The senior took a deep breath as he looked at the lifeless group. "I have a perfect-scoring exam here."
They stared at him in disbelief, even Chao Musheng couldn’t resist asking, "Whose exam is it?"
"Wan You."
"That guy who trips over flat ground?" A junior gasped. "He’s actually that good?"
"According to school regulations, Wan You qualifies as an auditing student." The senior turned to Wan You’s guide. "Why don’t you ask for his opinion?"
"I’m not going." The guide felt mentally drained just thinking about Wan You—tripping every three steps, crying every five sentences. "My guiding duties ended with the exam. Don’t involve me in anything else."
His tone was harsh, but no one blamed him—they’d all had enough.
"I’ll go." Chao Musheng knew the seniors were physically and emotionally exhausted. "I’m familiar with the academic office staff, so it’ll be easy to help Wan You complete the auditing student enrollment."
"Then we’ll leave it to you, Musheng." The senior was relieved that Chao Musheng willingly took on this troublesome task. "The school has Wan You’s personal information. Tell him to hurry—if he doesn’t report by 3 PM, he’ll forfeit the auditing student qualification."
"Understood, Senior." Chao Musheng marked Zhao Shang and Zhang San’s scorecards with impressive grades before handing them over. "I’ll contact Wan You right away."
The senior glanced at the scores—85 and 78. Compared to the other students barely scraping by with 60s, these were outstanding.
Chao really went easy on these two.
The players were in despair—they knew exactly how poorly they’d performed.
Huddled on the grass, they did nothing but curse the damned System Master.
Wan You sat silently to the side. When his phone rang, it took him a few seconds to answer.
The other players watched as he abruptly stood up and sprinted toward the field exit, his movements so agile it was like he was a different person.
"Where’s he going?"
"No idea."
The sunlight was blinding, but Wan You didn’t feel the heat. He dashed past building after building until he stood before Chao Musheng.
"I… got first place?"
It had been so long since he’d ranked first—he only remembered the pitying, condescending looks from those who did.
"Yes, congratulations." Chao Musheng handed him a bottle of water, noticing how he hadn’t even wiped his sweat. "The school has a support policy for underprivileged students. Those who meet the exam standards can qualify as auditing students. If they excel in all subjects within a year, they can earn a Jinghua University student status."
"Do you want to give it a try?"
Wan You’s mind buzzed. He mechanically took the water and gulped it down.
[Congratulations, Player. Consumption of purified water detected. HP +10.]
The cold, robotic system voice was like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head, snapping him back to reality.
This was a game world. He was a player.
After midnight tonight, Wan You would cease to exist here.
The thing he’d longed for was nothing but an illusion.
"Too happy to speak?" Chao Musheng waved a hand in front of him. "Do you want the auditing spot? If yes, I’ll take you to the academic office."
Wan You wanted to say it was pointless—he didn’t belong here.
Beautiful things were never meant for him.
But he nodded anyway. Even if it was just a dream, he wanted to see it through.
He didn’t remember how he followed Chao Musheng to the office. The teachers’ words blurred into noise—all he saw was the red stamp pressed onto printed documents.
"We need two copies of your ID." The administrator asked, "Do you have your ID card?"
ID card?
Wan You turned to Chao Musheng, his mind exploding with the realization—this was the game’s cruel joke.
A player like him wouldn’t have an NPC’s ID.
"Your ID fell out." Chao Musheng picked up a card from the floor near Wan You’s pocket and handed it to the teacher. "Keep it safe. Replacing it is a hassle."
Wan You stared at the unfamiliar card in the teacher’s hand. That wasn’t his!
"The enrollment is complete." The teacher returned the documents and ID to Chao Musheng. "Xiao Chao, if he wants to transfer his household registration, take him to the security office."
"Thank you, Professor." Chao Musheng guided the dazed Wan You out. "Snap out of it. Let’s go."
The cold ID was pressed into Wan You’s palm.
[Warning… System under attack…]
[Failed to exit instance. Error report failed. Beep—]
His mind reeled as the system let out a long screech before vanishing entirely.
The system… was gone?
Wan You looked down at the ID, then sharply up at Chao Musheng. Was it because of him?!
"You look pale. I’ll walk you back to your dorm." Chao Musheng remembered Wan You as delicate when he first arrived, yet today, despite his ghostly complexion, he hadn’t complained once.
Wan You remained silent. Back in Dorm 404, he saw Zhao Shang and Zhang San with packed bags.
"Chao." Zhang San forced a smile. "We just got our qualification certificates. Our train’s at 3 PM—no need to see us off."
There was no train. They just wanted a proper farewell before their mission failed.
"So soon?" Chao Musheng checked the time—already noon. "At least eat first. I’ll call a cab later."
Zhao Shang and Zhang San didn’t refuse.
They returned to Canteen 5, Window 8. This time, Zhou Yi piled their plates high—even more than Chao Musheng’s.
Other classmates who’d attended lectures with them were there too. When Zhang San reactivated his favorability tool, he realized many of them had surpassed 70 points.
Chao Musheng’s head still showed no numbers, but it didn’t matter anymore.
Zhang San ate mechanically, finishing every bite. He couldn’t help thinking—if only this were a real world, free of player missions.
Chao Musheng could now focus on making games and robots, realizing his life's dreams in the future, living happily and freely.
After finishing their meal, Chao Musheng accompanied the two to Dormitory Building No. 4: "Go get your luggage. I'll wait here for you."
Zhang San smiled. "Eldest Brother Chao, you waited for us here the day we first arrived at school too."
[Ding! Only 11 hours remain until the mission deadline. Players, please complete the hidden task as soon as possible to obtain generous rewards.]
[Players, please complete the hidden task immediately!]
The system's prompts grew increasingly urgent, and even in its emotionless mechanical tone, Zhang San could sense impatience.
"I was responsible for welcoming you here, so I should also see you off safely," Chao Musheng replied with a smile. "You're unfamiliar with this place—how could I let you leave without making sure you're alright?"
Zhang San's throat tightened, and he quickly turned to head upstairs.
Back in Room 404, Wan You was reading a book. The three exchanged glances, but no one spoke.
They were all players, after all, and they knew the consequences of failing the mission.
"Hey!" As Zhang San and Zhao Shang carried their luggage out the door, Wan You called out to them. "Take care of yourselves."
His system had vanished, and everything granted by the main god's space disappeared with it. From now on, he was no longer a player—just another part of this world.
They would probably never meet again.
"Goodbye."
When Zhang San and Zhao Shang went downstairs, Chao Musheng was holding two bags, and a small cat was playing at his feet.
"Meow, meow, meow."
The orange kitten, Xiao Ju, wagged its tail at the two carrying their luggage.
Congratulations on going home.
Chao Musheng had already called a car. The trip from the school to Beijing West Station would take less than an hour.
Standing inside the station, Zhang San and Zhao Shang felt an awkward sense of being rushed.
They hadn’t expected the station in this world to be so vast—so large that they couldn’t see the end at a glance. The shops inside were dazzling; if an escape mission were set here, players might not even find their way out.
Chao Musheng handed them the gifts he had prepared—for Zhao Shang, a set of publicly available textbooks on physics and computer science, and for Zhang San, some Beijing specialties. "I wasn’t sure what to give you, so please take these back with you."
"Thank you, Eldest Brother Chao." Zhang San took out a puppet doll from his inventory. The doll had a blessing that could ward off misfortune. He didn’t know if items like this would work on NPCs, but he hoped Chao Musheng could avoid all future calamities.
Another keychain doll?
Remembering the keychain Xiaoyou had given him, Chao Musheng accepted Zhang San’s farewell gift. "Thank you."
A badge was then placed in Chao Musheng’s palm, looking especially small in Zhao Shang’s broad hand.
"Is this for me too?" Chao Musheng picked up the badge. "It’s lovely. Thank you."
"Yeah." Zhao Shang nodded. The badge granted a permanent +10 to constitution.
"Only passengers can go past the security checkpoint, so I can only see you off this far." Chao Musheng carefully stored their gifts and walked them to the security line. "Stay safe on your way back."
"Eldest Brother Chao." Zhang San stopped. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Chao Musheng waved cheerfully. "Message me when you get home so I know you arrived safely."
"Passengers, please line up for security checks..."
Zhao Shang lowered his head, unable to meet Chao Musheng’s smiling eyes. "Okay."
Chao Musheng would never receive their messages.
As they passed through the security gate, Zhao Shang couldn’t resist looking back. Chao Musheng was still there, waving at them.
A cold wind blew, stirring up dust from somewhere, making his eyes sting.
When he opened them again, the security gate was gone. He and Zhang San stood on a bustling street, holding only the gifts Chao Musheng had given them—nothing else.
"Shang-ge." Zhang San shook his head. "I think… my system is gone."
The usually composed Zhao Shang frantically pulled out his phone.
Everything related to the missions had disappeared, leaving only familiar yet strange names—friends from the real world. He had been in the infinite world for so long that he had nearly forgotten them.
"We’re back."
"Back where?" Zhang San was still patting his head, trying to clear his mind.
"Home." Zhao Shang clutched the heavy books in his arms. "Zhang San, we’re home."
++++++++++++++++++++++
Not long after Zhang San and Zhao Shang left, Chao Musheng received a message from them—a photo of the two standing on a crowded street, their faces filled with the joy of returning home. Someone must have taken it for them.
After that day, he returned to his usual school life.
Once final exams ended, he received an internship offer from Kunlun Enterprises and prepared to join the company.
At 8 a.m., Chao Musheng arrived at Kunlun’s headquarters to report on time.
In the lobby, aside from him, over twenty other young men and women stood waiting.
Some looked wary, others confused. A few quietly asked which schools the others were from, as if trying to uncover every detail about their competition.
But everyone kept their composure—no one made a scene.
[Congratulations, players, on successfully arriving at Kunlun Enterprises. Please conceal your identities and avoid alerting the NPCs around you.]
Ze glanced around the lobby. Among the twenty or so people, most were players—only a few had data values floating above their heads.
Though he had only cleared two or three missions, he knew this much: those with data were NPCs; those without were players.
[Player, your random task for today has been generated: Pluck a leaf from the money tree by the entrance.]
"Hey, buddy, do me a favor." Ze turned to the player closest to the money tree. This guy was really good-looking—why was the gap between players so big?
Chao Musheng turned in confusion at the young man approaching him. The guy had a likable face, with round eyes that reminded him of the energetic huskies in his neighborhood.
Ze ducked behind him, stretching a guilty hand toward the innocent money tree—yanking once, then twice.
Nothing came off.
As Ze prepared to try again, Chao Musheng sighed. "Dude, stop. That thing’s plastic."
Trying to destroy the company’s money tree on the first day of the internship—was this guy sent by a rival company to sabotage them?
