A week later, the special recruitment examination was held as scheduled.
The five students from Mochuan, led by Secretary Huang and Teacher Su, arrived at a secret military base in the western part of Jibei, Qingzhou.
Seeing the outer city wall getting closer and closer outside the car window, Mochuan thought to himself, "Are they really going to send us to the wild to kill monsters..."
The bus stopped at a checkpoint. As soon as the group got off, a dark-skinned soldier asked them, "Hello, are you here for the special recruitment examination?"
"Yes," replied Secretary Huang.
"Okay, please present your information and either your accompanying examination permit or student ID. Please do not casually release your abilities here, or you will be responsible for the consequences." The soldier took out a tablet, and after verifying their identities, led them into the military base.
The parts of the base shown to them were quite ordinary, nothing more than the common camps, canteens, sports fields, and parking lots seen on television.
Mochuan and the others arrived at a building that looked like a fortress. The soldier left them there, telling them they would be notified to enter the examination room soon and to wait in the lobby for now.
Mochuan was observing the surroundings: the entire lobby was very large, seemingly an information processing center or a staff office for the troops. Facing the main entrance was a giant electronic screen, and on either side of the screen were corridors leading to the depths of the building.
Suddenly, Mochuan saw the five students from Linfen No. 2 Middle School whom he had encountered a week ago.
Xu Ziru, among them, also saw Mochuan, but she merely gave him a cold glance and said nothing.
"Old Zhang, why are these people from Linfen No. 2 Middle School so arrogant and seem to dislike people from Jibei?"
Zhang Hanshan shook his head and said, "The predecessor of Linfen No. 2 Middle School was Jixia Academy, and the predecessor of Qingzhou No. 1 Middle School was Qingzhou New Style School. One is a dragon in the sky, and the other is a local tyrant. They never liked each other. For decades since the spiritual energy resurgence, although both schools have undergone reforms and reconstructions, they still can't stand each other, which has also led to Jibei people and Linfen people making sarcastic remarks about each other."
"As for arrogance... most of those who enter Linfen No. 2 Middle School are from established old families whose ancestors were high-level ability users, possessing inherent noble status. Understand?"
"So that's how it is... What about your Zhang family? Why didn't you join Linfen No. 2 Middle School?" Remembering that Zhang Hanshan also came from a prominent family, Mochuan asked.
"...Brother, can we not bring this up... It's a bit embarrassing..." Zhang Hanshan looked as if he had no will to live, clearly unwilling to continue the topic.
"Alright then..." Mochuan stopped speaking and began to rest with his eyes closed.
A moment later, all the candidates arrived at the examination site. The speakers above the large screen played the examination notice:
"Written examination, first subject: Monster Common Knowledge. It will begin in one hour. Candidates, please find your seats according to the examination room number and seat number displayed on the large screen.
Repeat: Written examination, first subject..."
As the list appeared on the screen, the more than 150 people in the lobby began to move towards their respective examination rooms.
In order to allow more children with better talent to become front-line combatants against monsters and ghosts, the special recruitment examination focused more on testing basic knowledge of dealing with various monsters, as well as outdoor survival and emergency handling skills, rather than other cumbersome knowledge.
...
That night
During the special recruitment examination, to prevent candidates from cheating, everyone had to stay in the military camp.
Mochuan lay on the double-decker army bed and asked Zhang Hanshan, who was on the lower bunk, "Old Zhang, how many more subjects are there tomorrow?"
"There are only two subjects tomorrow, finishing in the morning. The ability data test will start in the afternoon."
"...It's so fast. In the blink of an eye, we're about to graduate. I still remember the time you secretly went to an internet cafe and almost had your leg broken by Old Hu."
"Don't bring up what's inconvenient. At that time, only you, kid, ran fast. Otherwise, would you be barking at me here?"
"It's about skill, you know? It's skill."
"Nonsense. It was clearly a cowardly escape."
"Heh... you t..."
"First, Yang Yuqing."
A girl with long black hair walked out of the line and released her ability towards the corporal: "Spring Breeze Body Protection."
Greenish-blue light, like a gentle breeze, enveloped the corporal, forming a shield.
Beside them, another non-commissioned officer assumed a stance and punched the shield.
Clang! Bang!
The shield was shattered by a single punch. The attacking non-commissioned officer said, "The shield is not very strong. At this stage, it can probably withstand the full force of a Tier 1 monster's attack at most."
The corporal said, "While being given the shield, there are also slight continuous recovery and enhancement effects, but they only last until the shield disappears."
"Hmm... Candidate Yang Yuqing, please release your ability again," said the female non-commissioned officer, turning her head.
Hearing this, Yang Yuqing used her ability again.
This time, the attacking non-commissioned officer did not attack. Instead, he timed it with a stopwatch. After the shield disappeared automatically, he said, "15.3 seconds. It's acceptable."
"Okay... Next candidate, Lu Meng."
...
Mochuan was awkwardly arranged to be the last one to be tested.
So when the female non-commissioned officer called his name, all the female candidates looked at Mochuan.
Mochuan did not hesitate. He directly summoned a lantern and threw it at the corporal's head. A pure white shield instantly enveloped the corporal.
The attacking non-commissioned officer still punched. With a "bang," the expected sound of the shield shattering did not occur. Instead, the non-commissioned officer let out a pained cry: "Damn it! What is this!?"
Seeing the non-commissioned officer's flushed face (from pain), Mochuan merely arrogantly rubbed his nose and said, "For men, there's only one word for being a support."
"Hard!"