When the sixth supply crate was opened, a monster finally popped out! Upon seeing the creature's type, Qi Xu couldn't help but tremble, his lips quivering for a long moment...
〖Mole Rat Monster〗: HP 133, Attack 7, Defense 22
Such a weak monster—Qi Xu hadn’t encountered anything like this in years. He’d probably have to trace it back to the very beginning of the last round of the game, and even then, he’d only seen one or two during the seven-day newbie protection period.
The mole rat monster took one look at Qi Xu, bristled all over, and seemed to freeze in terror... What the hell? Is this human player cheating?!
Am I, a lowly rat monster, really supposed to face this kind of opponent? I demand a complaint, a report, a protest!!!
I’m just the weakest of the weak—why am I being matched against this player?!
Qi Xu didn’t want to kill the mole rat monster right away. He wanted to test out the newly implanted Fiery Eyes Crystal in his vision, so he deliberately didn’t grab a weapon and instead lunged forward.
With just one motion—grabbing the mole rat—he immediately saw a health bar appear above it. Its HP dropped from 133 straight to 96...
Qi Xu flicked its forehead experimentally, and the HP plummeted to 37. Wow, this Fiery Eyes Crystal was seriously useful.
"Screech screech squeak squeak!" The rat monster cursed and flailed in protest.
Qi Xu couldn’t understand it, but he could tell it was swearing up a storm.
Bullying the weak wasn’t something to be proud of, so without hesitation, Qi Xu swiftly ended its life.
This thing was seriously amazing. During prolonged battles, it could help analyze stamina distribution and combat efficiency with perfect clarity, allowing for precise control over every move in a fight.
Qi Xu was so excited he even forgot about the dreaded school exam he had to take tomorrow.
He went ahead and opened all the remaining crates, slaughtering a few more monsters along the way. But either there were no monsters, or the ones that appeared were too weak—he didn’t even get to enjoy a proper fight.
When would there be a disaster event combining "Hundred Ghosts Rampage" and "Darkness Descends"? That way, he could fight nonstop, day and night!
Still, he did collect a ton of great loot—mostly energy stones and upgrade cards. You could never have enough of those.
He also got a bunch of plant growth potions, which he immediately fed to Golden Seed #1. As for Golden Seed #2, well, it could stay "unknown" for now and grow wild. He couldn’t even mature the first one yet.
After wrapping things up, Qi Xu settled down and gathered all the study-related items and supplies.
Survival Brand Fountain Pen—writing with this pen enhanced memory retention. Then there were study materials: Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Mock Tests, past exam papers...
Most importantly, he needed more intel on the school checkpoint. He’d only been there once and knew next to nothing about it.
Qi Xu decided to ask in the group chat first.
"Anyone been to the school yet? Taken the Chinese exam? Any tips for clearing it?"
He felt like his question sounded like a last-ditch plea from a slacker trying to wing an exam they hadn’t studied for.
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang: "Haven’t gone yet. Been grinding reputation at the bookstore lately—used up all my checkpoint cards there."
Tonsils Never Speak: "I took the STEM subjects. Right now, I’m a part-time teacher for math, physics, and chemistry, but that’s unrelated to the Chinese exam. Boss, why are you going to school?"
Invincible Black Tornado: "Don’t even ask. Pain."
Qi Xu explained the whole "Chinese Teacher Summoning Card" incident.
Old White Dragon in the Waves: "...I’ve known since childhood—slacking students shouldn’t pretend to be scholars. Karma always comes knocking."
Warwolf 009: "What happens if you don’t go?"
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang: "I know this one! You’ll probably get hunted down. Last time during the cross-region arena, I had a monster duel scheduled, and if I didn’t show up, I’d get a bounty on my head...
But don’t panic, Boss! I used to tutor students before joining the game. I know the exam focus areas—let me summarize them for you."
Tonsils Never Speak: "Since you’re going anyway, why not take the STEM exams too? I wrote the test papers—I’ll send you the questions and answers."
Qi Xu: "!!!!"
Holy crap, the STEM subjects he used to dread most were now about to become a cakewalk!
Retired Magical Boy: "I’ve got something you’ll definitely need, Boss."
Qi Xu opened the gift immediately.
"Time Compression Gem × 2: A single gem can stretch 1 hour into 10 hours of usable time."
Qi Xu didn’t bother with formalities. "You need anything in return?"
Retired Magical Boy: "Nah, nah. Go study! You got this, Boss!"
Bubbly Girl Guo Degang also sent over some Morning Brain Boosters. "Essential for all-nighters!"
Tonsils, meanwhile, forwarded all the STEM exam papers and answers. To make memorization easier, he even revised the papers overnight—all math multiple-choice answers were "A," physics were "B," and chemistry were "C."
Now Qi Xu only had to memorize the essay questions.
Warwolf 009 also contributed something useful.
"Memory Toast: Press the toast against the material you need to memorize, then eat it to absorb the knowledge. But the memory fades over time."
Qi Xu’s eyes lit up—now this was reliable!
He immediately booted up his computer, shrinking and formatting all the required classical Chinese literature until it was as condensed as possible. Then he pressed the Memory Toast against the screen and ate it!
There were ten slices in total. By the last one, Qi Xu could barely swallow—thankfully, Master Chef’s chili sauce helped wash it all down.
No doubt about it—this thing worked!
Not a single second could be wasted. The STEM exams were just bonuses—the real challenge was Chinese. Essays weren’t a problem; Qi Xu had always been good at those.
Reading comprehension and literary analysis should be manageable too—he still had some memory of those. The real issue was the foundational knowledge...
He pulled out Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Mock Tests and started grinding from page one.
Qi Xu summoned the same desperate determination he’d had during his college entrance exams, burning the midnight oil!
While his mind was still sharp, he didn’t use the Survival Brand Fountain Pen. But once his memory started lagging, he popped a Brain Booster and switched to the pen...
When time ran short, he activated a Time Compression Gem.
The last time he’d gone to school, Qi Xu had thought carefree studying was fun. Now, facing a life-or-death test, that joy had been brutally crushed...
Then again, maybe survival games weren’t so bad after all.
.........
Special thanks to reader [Sword Aura Grandmaster Like an Abyss] for yet another "Gift King"!! Absolute legend—woke up at 5 AM to this and decided sleep could wait. Extra chapter incoming!
