The heavy door was pushed open from the outside, and the sound of dense footsteps entered the room.
Lu Zhi opened his eyes, adjusting to the light, and saw that besides Director He, there were two unfamiliar faces. Judging by their attire and demeanor, they appeared to be school instructors.
One of them, a tall and thin middle-aged woman with a particularly stern expression, ordered someone to carry away the three collapsed trainees and announced, "The test is over."
Lu Zhi observed the complexions of the other trainees; they were all pale, and two of them had legs trembling.
"My surname is Hu. You can call me Teacher Hu. Trainees who have passed the first round of the test, please stand up when your name is called," Teacher Hu said, holding a tablet and looking up. "Zhang Xueqing."
"Here, here," Zhang Xueqing, one of the boys with trembling legs, responded.
Teacher Hu's tone was calm yet stern. "Resistance to pollution level D, barely qualified."
Lu Zhi's eyes flickered with surprise. He couldn't help but think, this was indeed a school that cultivated key national personnel. They had discovered one of the hidden attributes of the "longgan" so early on: mental pollution.
So-called mental pollution was the subtle, imperceptible spread of fear within a person's heart, igniting their strongest desires. Most people affected by mental pollution either died or became eerie beings attached to the "longgan."
"Luo Shiyu, resistance to pollution level A. Very good." Teacher Hu, who had maintained a stern expression, finally showed a hint of approval.
Lu Zhi looked at Luo Shiyu's retreating back, feeling that the name sounded somewhat familiar.
"Heh, as expected of someone from the Luo family," said a man wearing frameless glasses beside Director He, his demeanor scholarly and refined. "His elder brother, Luo Shiqian, was also an A-level back then, and is now a top-ranking S-level supernatural ability user."
Lu Zhi suddenly understood. Luo Shiqian, the captain of Team Three, was Luo Shiyu's brother.
"Last one, Lu Zhi, resistance to pollution level: Unknown?" Teacher Hu read out, then paused in confusion.
Lu Zhi: ???!!!
Unknown? Did that mean he hadn't passed the test?
"Teacher Hu, you must have misread," Director He approached to check, saying, "His brother is an S-level demon hunter."
"Let me see." The scholarly man picked up the tablet and scrolled through it. Time passed in silence.
Lu Zhi nervously observed the expressions of the three of them. The scholarly man suddenly raised his hand, pushed his slipping glasses up his nose, and smiled gently. "Teacher Hu misread. His level is A, the same as Luo Shiyu."
Lu Zhi immediately relaxed and walked to stand beside Luo Shiyu, his peripheral vision catching Luo Shiyu's resolute profile.
"What are you looking at?" Luo Shiyu turned his head to look at him, his eyes sharp and his expression unapproachable.
Lu Zhi replied, "At you."
Luo Shiyu was clearly taken aback and stopped paying attention to him.
After the scholarly man and Teacher Hu left, Director He said to the group, "It's getting a bit late. The test ends here for today. I'll have someone take you to your dormitories to rest. You'll be notified of the next test."
A girl with a high ponytail appeared at the door, her voice full of energy, "Director He, I'm here to confess my mistakes!"
Director He chided her a few words unhappily, then said, "You're here at the right time. Take these two juniors to the dormitories."
Jiang Yue's eyes lit up, and she patted her chest, "Mission guaranteed! You two, follow me."
Not far after following Jiang Yue, Lu Zhi heard Director He instructing another student to take the other qualified trainees to the temporary dormitories.
Lu Zhi thought to himself, was it because he and Luo Shiyu had reached A-level that they could enter the school even if they failed later? Otherwise, why would Jiang Yue specifically be asked to take them to the student dormitories?
"What are your names, juniors? Let me introduce myself first. I'm Jiang Yue, a second-year student and your senior. My supernatural ability is fire control," Jiang Yue introduced herself enthusiastically.
"Luo Shiyu."
"Lu Zhi."
Jiang Yue exclaimed in surprise, "Luo Shiyu? Is Luo Shiqian your brother?"
Luo Shiyu grunted in response. Lu Zhi sensitively noticed his lips subtly tighten, as if he were slightly displeased.
Jiang Yue's eyes sparkled, "Then you must be A-level, right? You are too."
Lu Zhi asked curiously, "Why are you so sure we are A-level?"
Jiang Yue chuckled, her expression proud and knowledgeable. "Need I say more? I'm the school's gossip expert, ah, no, the omniscient little news outlet."
Lu Zhi: ...Little news outlet phone?
Jiang Yue explained, "For the entrance test, each level is a mountain that is very difficult to climb. The first test you took today is called resistance to mental pollution. As long as you reach A-level, regardless of whether you pass the subsequent tests, you can stay at the school."
Lu Zhi's eyes flashed, and he understood instantly. "Support staff?"
Some supernatural ability users, though powerful in output, had low resistance to mental infection. After being polluted within the "longgan," support staff could carry out rescues, like combat medics on the battlefield.
Jiang Yue: "Clever."
As they chatted, the three arrived at the male dormitory building.
Jiang Yue said, "Here are your room cards. Our school is vast and wealthy, and every student gets their own dormitory. I have to go now. Call me if you need anything."
With that, she waved goodbye潇洒ly and left. Lu Zhi's expression was peculiar as he turned to Luo Shiyu and asked, "Vast and wealthy isn't an idiom, is it?"
Luo Shiyu: ...
"Let's go." Luo Shiyu was the same age as Lu Zhi. Although he appeared difficult to get along with, Lu Zhi found that no matter what he said, Luo Shiyu would still respond politely.
It was past three in the afternoon, and there were few people in the dormitories. Their room cards were for the fifth floor. Lu Zhi was in 525, and Luo Shiyu was in 526.
They both entered their respective rooms. Lu Zhi saw the spacious living room and floor-to-ceiling windows and immediately understood the meaning of "vast and wealthy."
The rooms were large, the equipment advanced, truly a small suite.
"I didn't expect they'd even prepared clothes," Lu Zhi murmured, seeing two sets of clothes placed on the bed. "Do they know my size?"
There was a card on the clothes stating that once worn, they would adjust their size according to the wearer's physique.
"High-tech stuff, amazing," Lu Zhi exclaimed.
His phone suddenly rang. Lu Zhi saw that the caller was Lu Chengxuan and was a bit surprised. "Hello, Brother, you've reached the Northwest Sea region so quickly?"
"Little Six, can I ask you for a favor?" Lu Chengxuan's tone was rather serious.
Lu Zhi heard the sound of water pouring in. Could it be that Lu Chengxuan was calling him from underwater? Had something happened?
"Brother, tell me."
Lu Chengxuan gave an address, his voice taut, "Little Six, she's your future sister-in-law. I'm counting on you."
Lu Zhi didn't ask why Lu Chengxuan was asking him and not Li Mei or the others; it was likely they were all tied up with their own matters.
"Okay, I'll go there now." Lu Zhi hung up and immediately ran out of the dormitory.
He thought with a heavy heart, in the novel, didn't Lu Chengxuan go to the Northwest Sea region because the person he liked was in trouble?
So, Chan Sui was very likely in the ancient city of the Northwest Sea region.
Lu Zhi arrived at the hospital address and breathlessly asked the front desk nurse. He then heard a female nurse nearby call out, "Qin Huai, wait up."
Lu Zhi's pupils constricted. Qin Huai? Was that the male protagonist from the novel? Why was he at the hospital?