Nan Yue was originally thinking about how to reject the girl. She had a difficult personality and carried such a terrifying thing inside her, making her unfit for a team.
But after hearing the girl's words, her attention shifted to the ID card.
"Is your... ID card still for the Nameless City?"
The girl nodded through her tears. "Yeah. I think it's tied to the points. My ID card hasn't changed."
Nan Yue understood, but since the mood of the three was so low, telling them about her own points and ID card would undoubtedly be a blow to them.
Nan Yue made an excuse to leave the project hall and began to wander aimlessly through the streets.
Now that she had passed the Qualification Exam and was an official scavenger, she could no longer live at the school. She had to find her own place.
The government was only responsible for their education and livelihood until they were twenty. After taking the evaluation mission at twenty, the survivors became scavengers, and the points earned from missions would determine what kind of life they would lead.
There were no exceptions.
Nan Yue still had to go back to school to pack her things. She was a bit hesitant. Although she had gained the qualification to go to the digital city state, she had never left this place in twenty years.
Everyone had dreamed of becoming a scavenger, gaining fame and wealth to live a peak life, but the vast majority of people would die in the evaluation project.
Most who made it out were lost, and Nan Yue was no exception.
Nan Yue returned to the school with a heavy heart, and as soon as she entered, countless streamers and firecrackers exploded around her.
"Congratulations to student FCY091452 for successfully passing the evaluation project and becoming a glorious scavenger!"
In this era, everyone's data was transparent to the government. The moment Nan Yue passed the exam, the school knew.
It was a school tradition to welcome students who had transformed into scavengers, using it as a way to encourage the next class of students.
"Student FCY091452, your results are outstanding! You are the best our Nameless City has ever seen!"
The principal was a lean, middle-aged man who was currently standing in front of Nan Yue, so excited he could barely speak clearly.
"Wow, that's amazing."
"Who is she? I haven't seen her much before."
"Nan Yue, the one with the best grades in the previous class. She just doesn't talk much and doesn't draw attention to herself."
"So cool... next year I want to be like her, breaking records and creating glory!"
Nan Yue felt uncomfortable listening to the chatter around her. She understood the school's intention, but she felt as if her privacy was being peeled open and placed before everyone.
"Student FCY091452, your results have reached the hiring standards for a Special Grade Teacher at our school. If you are willing to join us, the government will provide a monthly salary of 80 personal points and free room and board."
The other students looked at Nan Yue with envy. They didn't understand the full significance of points yet, but the vast majority of scavengers had no jobs or housing and had to start from scratch.
Nan Yue, on the other hand, didn't have to worry about survival because the government offered her a part-time position.
This was the treatment for a top student.
Nan Yue hesitated for a moment. This was how the world worked. In addition to doing missions, scavengers could work to earn personal points.
Of course, if one had enough points, they could enjoy life every day, but for most scavengers, the points earned after a mission were barely enough to make ends meet, making a job a necessity.
She naturally knew the conditions offered by the school were very good, but it also meant she would have to stay in the Nameless City forever.
Nan Yue's fingers tightened. "Thank you for your kindness, Principal, but I still want to go see other city states."
The principal froze for a moment, and even the other students were stunned.
The entire world was divided into different ranks, and Nan Yue and the others were the same.
The Nameless City was the lowest tier, but everyone was born here. Only those who were outstanding enough could leave their birthplace to see the outside world in higher-level city states.
It could be said that over 80% of scavengers would remain in the Nameless City forever.
The principal's gaze toward Nan Yue became complex. He had rarely seen a scavenger who had just passed the evaluation project and already gained the qualification to go to other city states.
He had worked for a long time, worked very hard, and had escaped death in every mission, and it was only last year that he had saved enough extra points to exchange for an ID card for the digital city state.
But so what? He had never thought of leaving this place.
What a joke!
In the Nameless City, he was the principal of the Scavenger Training Academy, and his life was considered better than the vast majority of people.
But even he didn't get free room and board. The points from each mission were just enough to pay the rent, and he relied on his salary for food.
If it was like this in the Nameless City, he might not even survive as a beggar in a higher-level city state.
Choosing to be the head of a chicken rather than the tail of a phoenix was the choice of most people.
The principal's gaze toward Nan Yue softened. It was good to be young! To have the courage to venture out!
"Congratulations! I hope everything goes well for you in the higher city states!"
"You will always be the pride of the Nameless City!"
Thunderous applause broke out around them, and everyone's eyes were filled with excitement and envy.
The principal took this opportunity to lean closer to Nan Yue.
"The cost of living in higher city states is much higher than here, and the people are far more dangerous. Be very careful out there."
Nan Yue bit her lip, a wave of reluctance surging in her heart.
Although they didn't have what books called family relationships or relatives, they had lived in the school for twenty years.
Even if not all teachers and students knew each other, they had spent countless days and nights together, encouraging each other after being moved to tears by the fear of a mock exam.
Nan Yue felt that, in a sense, they were her family.
Nan Yue clenched her fists. She wanted to earn more personal points and come back to support the school.
Every scavenger who worked as a part-time teacher lived too difficult a life. She wanted to one day stand out and make their lives better.
"I will! Please wait for my return!"
The principal understood Nan Yue's meaning and gave a gratified smile.
In that moment, the warmth Nan Yue felt even dissipated the coldness that followed her every step of the way.
Nan Yue didn't have many things to pack. The sheets, bedding, and clothes were all provided by the school.
On her body, she only had the black square watch on her wrist. This was something every citizen was born with, containing their identity information and personal points.
Although this thing looked like a watch, it could not be taken off at all, nor could it be stolen by others. One could use extra points to change its appearance, but that wasn't something a scavenger struggling on the line of survival should consider.
Nan Yue stayed in her capsule compartment for one night. When she was alone, the thing inside her appeared again. Like viscous, heavy tar, it seeped out from every pore, strangling her tightly within it.
Nan Yue breathed with difficulty. She felt her heartbeat quicken, and the sensation of suffocation and skin pain began to appear.
But none of this was real. It was a physiological reaction caused by extreme terror.
For twenty years, she had lived with this thing day and night, struggling to survive in such fear every single day.
But this evaluation made her realize that the thing seemed unable to appear during missions, giving her a rare chance to breathe.
Feeling the physical and mental pain, Nan Yue actually looked forward to entering the next mission.
Rate on N.U.
