Evolving infinitely from ground zero

About two hours later.

The bus that Lin Zichen was on finally arrived at the forest that served as the exam venue.

Shen Qinghan, who had been watching news videos with earphones, was now sweetly asleep on Lin Zichen’s shoulder.

She was sleeping so deeply that drool was leaking out.

Be it wetting the bed or drooling, it seems she has always been overabundant with liquids…

Lin Zichen shook his head helplessly, took a tissue out of his backpack, and wiped off the drool at the corner of Shen Qinghan’s mouth.

Then he gently poked her cheek with his finger and softly called, “Han Han, we’ve arrived at the exam site, wake up.”

“We’re here?”

Shen Qinghan woke up groggily, her eyes still sleepy.

Soon, everyone got off the bus, and as soon as they disembarked, they heard someone shouting through a megaphone.

“Those for entrance 29, come this way!”

“Entrance 3, over here!”

“Candidates for entrance 18, gather over here!”

“Entrance 78 is right here…”

The candidates coming for the practical assessment were numerous, nearly a hundred thousand.

Having just one entrance clearly wouldn’t do.

To scatter the candidates into the forest and achieve a better assessment outcome, the educational department had specially set up 100 entrances to the forest.

It didn’t take long for the candidates to locate their respective entrance groups according to the announcements.

Then, they left the transfer station in groups, heading to their designated entrance points.

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan were assigned to the same entrance point.

Both were for entrance 9; finding their group, they left the transfer station by bus.

In less than ten minutes.

The bus arrived at the destination and stopped.

Once Lin Zichen got off the bus, he saw that entrance 9 was already teeming with people.

At a glance, there were at least several hundred candidates.

Apart from the candidates, there were also about a dozen vendors setting up stalls selling food.

“In the middle of this wilderness, there are actually people setting up stalls to sell food?”

Shen Qinghan was surprised.

Lin Zichen explained, “It’s normal, with nearly a thousand candidates at each entrance point. Setting up for a few hours here could likely earn them thousands.”

A puzzled look appeared on Shen Qinghan’s face, “But logically speaking, the educational department shouldn’t allow these vendors to come in, right?”

Lin Zichen smiled, “Who knows.”

Shen Qinghan quickly had another question, “So many people are buying food at these stalls. It’s the college entrance exam, aren’t they afraid of getting a bad stomach?”

“The food these vendors are selling is definitely hygienic; otherwise, the relevant personnel would not dare let them in to sell food.”

Lin Zichen added.

After finishing, he quickly said, “Let’s go find a less crowded spot to sit down and eat something to fill our stomachs.”

“Okay.”

Shen Qinghan agreed.

Before long, they found a large tree, randomly chose a couple of rocks to sit on as chairs, and started eating the food they had brought from home while chatting casually.

In their idle moments.

Lin Zichen, using his extraordinary sensory perception, kept listening to the conversations of other candidates nearby.

Some candidates felt nervous.

Some were excited.

Some were happy, glad to have acquaintances at this entrance point, so they wouldn’t feel lonely entering the forest later.

Others noticed Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan, attracted by their good looks, whispering how handsome and pretty they were.

About ten minutes passed like this.

The person in charge of the entrance point stepped onto the platform and emphasized the rules of the practical assessment to the candidates present.

He talked for a good half an hour or more.

Lin Zichen summed up his points, which were roughly as follows:

Many scorecards are placed throughout the forest, with each card displaying a number indicating the number of points it is worth.

These scorecards are placed in tricky positions, like treetops, cliff edges, or on fierce animals such as bears, tigers, rhinos, crocodiles, pythons, and on a few Exotic Beasts deeper in the forest.

Near each fierce animal and Exotic Beast, there are safety officers on guard, ready to rescue candidates who challenge these beings and then run into danger.

The Exotic Beasts in the deepest parts of the forest are intended for the geniuses to earn points; ordinary candidates are advised not to join in, to avoid accidents. Ordinary candidates are too weak to contend with Exotic Beasts and might die at their jaws before safety officers could rescue them.

The results of the practical assessment are based on the points individuals earn. Additionally, candidates’ other abilities demonstrated during the seven-day period will be observed through cameras; for example, leadership skills.

Nearly a hundred thousand candidates are taking part in the practical assessment, but the total value of the scorecards is only fifty thousand, meaning more than half of the candidates will not score any points.

The practical assessment encourages both cooperation and competition. Candidates can work together to earn points and then distribute the scorecards among teammates according to contribution, but on the other hand, they can also directly steal scorecards from others.

There are cameras and safety officers all around the forest. If you encounter danger, you can seek help, but the price is immediate elimination.

“Candidates, the rules for this practical assessment are as stated. In one hour, we will enter the forest and begin the assessment. Prepare well,” said the entrance point’s official, before promptly leaving the stage.

No sooner had the official left than a fat candidate began to shout:

“My dad is a senior executive at the Nanguan City branch of the Mech God Group. Is there any brainiac who can guide me after the assessment starts? There will be a handsome reward!”

“I will! I’ll take you! I’m a top student from Changzhou No. 1 Middle School’s genius class! I guarantee to carry you to the top!”

There was a top student responding to the fat examinee.

Unfortunately, before the two could exchange contacts, they were warned by the teaching staff on site.

They were told that they couldn’t be so blatant; if they wanted to form teams, they should do it quietly and privately.

On the other side, Lin Zichen was chatting and eating with Shen Qinghan when a few students from their school approached him.

They asked if he could take them along when they entered the forest later on.

Lin Zichen didn’t even have to think before he rejected their request.

The reason for refusal was simple: he wasn’t going to share any of the scoring cards he collected along the way with anyone else.

Upon hearing this, they gave up on the idea of clinging to his coattails.

Lin Zichen didn’t pay attention to these few and continued to chat and eat with Shen Qinghan.

About twenty minutes passed.

A muscular student walked up to them and stopped, asking politely, “Classmate, I’m feeling a bit hungry now, but I didn’t bring any food with me. I see you guys seem to have a lot of food in your bags, could you sell me some?”

“No need for money, just take it,” Lin Zichen said and took out a loaf of bread and a pack of biscuits from his bag, tossing them casually to the student.

After all, there was so much food in the bag that he couldn’t finish it himself; giving some away wouldn’t hurt.

“It’s embarrassing to freeload off you guys like this.”

“How about this? In return, once we enter the forest, I’ll team up with you two and help you score,” the student offered confidently, introducing himself, “By the way, my name is Hong Junping, a student from Qianzhen No. 1 Middle School’s rocket class. I can run 100 meters in 6 seconds and lift a 750kg barbell with one hand. Once we’re in the forest, I can at least get you 5 points.”

Lin Zichen declined politely, “Thank you for the offer, but it’s not necessary.”

The boy was stunned, not expecting to be rejected.

Moments later, he recovered and smiled awkwardly, “I see, well then, bro, thanks for the bread and biscuits,” and turned to leave.

Once the boy had walked some distance away, Shen Qinghan couldn’t help but comment, “He’s weird. There are so many food stalls around, but instead of buying from them, he came specifically to us.”

“The old man’s love for wine is not just about wine; it’s because we have a stunningly beautiful girl here,” Lin Zichen said with a smile.

He knew very well that the boy had approached them to hit on Shen Qinghan.

Seeing how beautiful Shen Qinghan was, he wanted to get to know her and then came up with a poor excuse to team up.

“Ah? So he was hitting on me? That’s so sly…” Shen Qinghan said, realizing only after Lin Zichen explained.

At this moment, a girl nearby chimed in with a smile, “That’s not necessarily the case; maybe the boy came over because he saw a handsome guy here.”

Lin Zichen:

The girl walked over and struck up a conversation with Lin Zichen, “My name is Zou Wenjuan, a student from Changzhou No. 1 Middle School’s genius class. I think you’re really handsome, can we add each other on WeChat?”

“I don’t use WeChat.”

“Then, QQ?”

“I don’t use QQ either.”

Lin Zichen declined gently again, not interested in adding this strange girl to his contacts.

Getting the hint, the girl didn’t linger any longer and walked away.

In the following time,

All the candidates at the entry point were eating.

If they didn’t eat now, they would have nothing to eat once they entered the forest.

Eat as much as possible while it’s possible, so that even if there’s nothing to eat for the whole day later, they could still get through it effortlessly.

While eating, most of the candidates were constantly observing the others around them.

They were trying to distinguish which were the top students and which were the underachievers, so they could form appropriate strategies for the upcoming practical assessment.

If they encountered top students, they would avoid them for fear of having their scoring cards snatched away.

Conversely, if they ran into underachievers, they would go for their scoring cards.

The game was all about bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

In the meantime, the Qianzhen City student who had been previously rejected by Lin Zichen for teaming up came over again to ask.

This time, he didn’t ask Lin Zichen but instead went to ask Shen Qinghan.

However, Shen Qinghan bluntly refused, stating, “I only team up with him. I won’t team up with other guys. You should go talk to other girls.”

“Don’t get me wrong; I’m not hitting on you. I just don’t like owing people,” the boy tried to clarify.

“I took your bread and biscuits for free earlier and thought about helping you out in the forest as a way to repay for that.”

“Since you don’t need it, let’s leave it at that,” he said, and then left awkwardly.

He hadn’t expected to be rejected again, and so bluntly at that. He muttered to himself that these two didn’t know the chance they were missing and how foolish they were.

PS: Bowls out, asking for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!