Lin Yuzhi saw that there was another gift pack, and this one was awarded for “diligent study reaching three hours.” This meant that as long as he kept studying, he might continue to receive gift packs.
He realized that the Scholar System wasn’t actually that stingy. There were points for doing practice papers and gift packs for studying; he just didn’t know what this one contained yet.
He hurriedly looked for his mailbox. In the upper left corner, an icon shaped like an envelope was glowing. Upon opening it, he found a single message containing the Growth Gift Pack. As the mail opened, an interface identical to the previous Beginner Gift Pack popped up—a box.
The box shook for a moment and then sprang open. Two transparent bottles appeared on the screen, filled with clear liquid. The bottles had labels featuring a small bear.
Bear Brand Mineral Water ×2
A line of text appeared at the bottom:
Congratulations! The student has received a Growth Gift Pack. Bear Brand Mineral Water can provide a moment of coolness during sweltering study sessions. Water is a student’s lifeblood. It has been sent; please receive it.
The moment he finished reading, two bottles of water suddenly appeared right in front of Lin Yuzhi, looking exactly like the ones in the gift pack.
This happened right while Xu An was standing nearby. From his vantage point, it would have been very easy to catch a glimpse of them appearing out of thin air. Lin Yuzhi quickly scooped the two bottles of water to the side and then feigned ignorance, staring at his practice problems as if nothing had happened.
Xu An only glanced over before withdrawing his gaze. Had he just seen something appear suddenly? Perhaps he was just too tired lately. He went back to helping Lin Yuzhi work through the previous practice papers.
Seeing that the Academic God hadn’t seemed to notice, Lin Yuzhi let out a sigh of relief. While he was thrilled to get supplies, he hoped the system wouldn’t deliver them so directly next time—it was terrifying. He made a mental note to open gift packs away from others in the future.
He tucked the two bottles of water into his backpack. He had been worried about running out of water, and now the system had provided. It was truly a “charcoal in the snow” kind of relief. Of course, this was also because redeeming water for 20 points was simply too expensive. Now that the Scholar System had given him two bottles for free, they would last him a while.
It seemed he needed to study even harder. Maybe he could get more Growth Gift Packs. He felt a spark of anticipation, wondering what the next one would hold.
However, his anticipation didn’t last long before another message box popped up on his phone:
On July 6, 2027, the Scholar Leaderboard will hold its first internal campus test. This test will register the student’s personal information. All subsequent exams will use this test as a starting point for rankings.
Please arrive at the designated school before 8:00 AM on July 6 for the exam.
Location: Lin’an City No. 5 Middle School
Classroom: Sophomore Year, Class 12
Seat: 45
To ensure the student arrives on time, the most convenient route will be sent to the student’s mailbox shortly. Please check it.
This exam serves as the first baseline assessment after entering the sophomore year. Please take it seriously. On the day of the exam, no items except the authenticated phone are allowed in the exam hall. If items must be brought in, please place them on the teacher’s podium; they may be retrieved after the exam.
Students are not allowed to skip this exam. If a student skips the exam, the Scholar Leaderboard authentication will be automatically terminated.
Today is July 3. The student has two days for review. Please prepare diligently.
The paragraph was simple enough, but Lin Yuzhi was so shocked he nearly shouted a string of profanities.
What was the meaning of this? They wanted him to run to No. 5 Middle School for an exam on the 6th?!
He had just finished a test, so why was another one coming so soon? Moreover, it had to be at a high school, and they had even assigned a specific classroom. He knew he’d eventually have to go to a designated location, but he hadn’t expected a specific class, let alone so soon.
He had only looked at a few problems. Actually, it was as if he hadn’t looked at them at all—if the same types of questions were put in front of him now, he still wouldn’t really know how to solve them. If he went to take the test like this, wouldn’t he just end up with a single-digit score?
Maybe he should skip it?
But then he saw the third rule: skipping was not allowed. If he skipped, the Scholar Leaderboard would be gone. Wouldn’t that be the end of him?
He quickly looked toward Xu An. “Something terrible has happened, Academic God!”
“Hmm?” Xu An looked at him.
Lin Yuzhi struggled for a long time before choking out a sentence. “What… what usually appears on the first sophomore baseline test? I really want to progress! I’ve decided to give myself a chance to be ‘whipped’ by reality. I want to know where my foundation stands. So, I’ve decided to go to a high school to take a test. How about you give me some predicted questions and write down the answers? I’ll study them, and after the test, I can check my work. I really, truly want to improve!”
Xu An didn’t quite understand and tilted his head slightly. “…”
Then he added, “The problems I’m giving you now are for assessing your level. Your current foundation isn’t enough to tackle sophomore papers directly. It’s better to start from the basics.”
“I know, I know! I just want to know my own limits. Help me out, help me think of a few questions—like, what would be on the exam at this stage? It’s that… what do you call it?” Lin Yuzhi started scratching his hair again. He couldn’t remember the term. He paced back and forth, but the word wouldn’t come.
Xu An seemed to realize what he was trying to say. “Do you mean you want me to predict the exam questions?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Lin Yuzhi rushed to Xu An’s side, his eyes shining. “That’s it! Predict the questions! Help me pick two—no, five—possible questions for each subject that might appear on the first sophomore test. Or however many, it’s fine.”
He felt it was too late to start memorizing everything, especially for a whole paper. But memorizing a few specific questions… surely that was doable?
However, Xu An still didn’t understand, especially why he wanted to go to a school. He asked, “Why do you have to go to a school?”
The situation outside was so dire that even the municipal government had sent texts telling everyone to stay home and not go out unless absolutely necessary. Yet, Lin Yuzhi wanted to run to a school for an exam. At this time, schools would be full of students—which meant they would be full of zombies.
Xu An’s gaze was full of confusion.
Lin Yuzhi didn’t know how to explain it either. After a long silence, he came up with an excuse. “It’s like this: I feel that to take an exam, you have to be in a classroom to get that specific ‘feeling’ and sense of tension. Otherwise, every time I do it myself, it just feels like doing homework; there’s no pressure at all. Besides, it’s been so many years since I took a test in a classroom. When the College Entrance Examination resumes, if I don’t have the chance to practice being in a classroom, I’m afraid I won’t be able to adapt to the real exam site. So, I’m preparing to get used to it now.” He even nodded to emphasize his point.
Upon hearing this, Xu An felt it made sense; sometimes the environment really can affect one’s state of mind. But things weren’t like they used to be. “But the school should be full of zombies…”
Before he could finish, Lin Yuzhi placed a hand on his shoulder and said earnestly, “How can one’s studies be hindered by a mere couple of zombies? Isn’t there a saying about ‘forging ahead courageously’? Everything I do is for the sake of learning. I love studying, so I am willing to go to a dangerous school to take an exam for the sake of knowledge. Academic God, you love studying too, so you should be able to understand how I feel, right?”