Exam?

Lord Cha was rendered speechless by those words. He moped in an emo slump for several seconds, his head drooping with a look of utter despair.

After a long while, he finally looked up, let out a deep sigh, and waved a hand feebly in a gesture of compromise.

"Fine, fine. I've seen plenty of top students in my time, it's no big deal... If you're sure your progress has truly reached the limit, you can indeed apply directly for the C-rank Rank Exam."

"What exactly does the exam entail?"

At those words, Ren Yi instantly perked up. He took a step forward and pressed for more details.

"Combat. It's a pure practical combat assessment," Lord Cha's tone turned serious, losing all its previous playfulness.

"Is it in one of our academy's Instances?" Lu Zihan also leaned in, his face full of anticipation.

An academy Instance... Ren Yi pondered silently.

How should he put it? One word described it: classic.

How did the saying go? Probably something like, "Out of ten Infinite Flow plots, eight take place in a school Instance, and the other two are in an abandoned school Instance."

Besides, if it were an on-campus Instance, the difficulty shouldn't be too outrageous.

And even if it were difficult, since on-campus Instances were under the Alliance's control, providing free access to the Anomaly Web shouldn't be an issue, right?

Unfortunately, Lord Cha shook his head. "No. Our exams test practical combat, so there's a high probability it won't be an on-campus Instance."

Before Ren Yi could ask further, Lord Cha looked at the three of them and explained word by word.

"By 'practical combat,' I mean you must travel to worlds that haven't been completely brought under Alliance control and complete a designated mission. Only then will you pass the exam."

Ren Yi instantly understood the underlying meaning, and his gaze darkened slightly.

Worlds controlled by the Alliance were known as Pasture worlds.

In the conflict between opposing rules, their side's rules already held an overwhelming advantage. Consequently, the restrictions placed upon them wouldn't be too severe.

In Ren Yi's understanding, a Pasture world was like the Alliance's private orchard. The "fruit" was already there; they just needed appropriate labor to harvest it.

That was why they could be sent in to run around freely, slack off, and watch the birds... he meant, gain experience.

Of course, accidents could still happen. Just as one might be stung by a sudden swarm of bees or bitten by a snake hiding in the grass while walking in their own yard.

But those "unowned" worlds were a completely different story.

If he had to describe them, those worlds were like a primeval forest behind a house—pitch black and filled with hidden dangers.

You never knew what kind of beast would leap out of that dark forest, or even something more terrifying than a beast: a hunter.

It went without saying that the rules of these Unowned Worlds would suppress outsiders far more severely than the Three Cities World or the Entertainment City Instance Ren Yi had experienced before.

Furthermore, there was something even more important...

Ren Yi stared into Lord Cha's eyes, his face becoming more serious than ever before, his tone devoid of any humor.

"Lord Cha... in these Unowned Worlds, is there internet?"

Lord Cha froze upon hearing the question. He stared at Ren Yi as if looking at an idiot, his mouth twitching several times.

"Of course not!"

Ren Yi's face instantly fell.

Understood. So it was a backwater area.

Well, jokes aside, the current situation was...

A total disaster!

He mourned the departure of his dear Anomaly Web.

Come to think of it, the Anomaly Web had been "accompanying" him ever since he awakened his Anomaly abilities. If he had to name the Anomaly he spent the most time with, it wasn't Lu Zihan who braved Instances with him, nor was it the masochistic Dr. Lin, or even his own brother Ren Man—it was the Anomaly Web.

It was true. He had checked his Anomaly Web health records before, and they clearly showed that his average daily usage last month was as high as twenty hours!

From the initial Escape Room Instance to Aunt Lu Qing's Lu Family Courtyard, from the perilous Three Cities World to the Anomaly-infested Entertainment City...

An Anomaly without the Anomaly Web was like a human who had lost their phone.

The emptiness, helplessness, and anxiety were simply beyond words.

For a moment, Ren Yi even considered running away.

Clearly, he wasn't the only Anomaly with that thought.

"What?"

The first to cry out wasn't the usually boisterous Lu Zihan, but the normally cool and composed Zhang Qiuqiu.

"You mean we'll be completely disconnected? No browsing online shops, no using beauty filters, no calling my mom..."

"Exactly, exactly!"

"Exactly!" Lu Zihan chimed in, echoing her sentiment with a look of profound grief and a voice full of grievance.

"Why aren't we allowed to use the Anomaly Web for an exam?"

"Do you even hear yourselves..."

Lord Cha watched their breakdown with a look of utter speechlessness and couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Why should you be allowed to use the internet during an exam?"

After a bit of bickering, Ren Yi and the others were forced to accept this tragic reality.

In truth, they understood that the inability to use the Anomaly Web during this mission wasn't because of the "exam" itself, but because these worlds were simply beyond the reach of the Anomaly Web's influence.

"So, Lord Cha..." After accepting the blow of being "offline," Lu Zihan seemed a bit flustered. He rubbed his hands together and leaned toward Lord Cha awkwardly.

"What kind of tasks are usually in these exams?"

Since it was a closed-book exam and they couldn't look up information on the Anomaly Web, they could only try to memorize some key points or sneak in a few cheat sheets.

"Oh, there are plenty..." Lord Cha extended his paws, counting his claws one by one with practiced ease, his tone as casual as if he were discussing household chores.

"Finding specific items, recording the local customs of those worlds, or even collecting local specialties, and so on. There's a huge variety of tasks."

"Wait a second," Ren Yi interrupted. "Lord Cha, isn't the vibe a bit off?"

Lord Cha stopped counting his claws and looked up at him, bewildered. "What's off? These are all very normal practical combat missions."

"You're right, the missions sound normal..." Ren Yi nodded seriously, then paused before adding with a hint of helplessness, "But we're Anomalies, aren't we?"

He left the second half of his thought unsaid.

So why do these missions sound like a school field trip?

"And?" Lord Cha raised an eyebrow and bared his sharp teeth.

"What, did you want to go and destroy a world instead?"

Ren Yi rubbed his nose, still feeling that something wasn't quite right.

He stared into Lord Cha's eyes, his tone slightly probing. "So, this isn't another 'freshman benefit,' is it?"

"No, no, absolutely not!" Lord Cha waved his paws dismissively, blinking innocently with a tone of complete sincerity.

"These missions are indeed numerous and varied. You won't know the specific task until you go for the exam. I can't tell you in advance..."

"However, the examples I gave have indeed appeared in previous exams. I'm not lying to you."

He tilted his head and thought for a moment, a mysterious smile appearing on his face. "Let me put it this way: what do you think the result ratio for this promotion exam is?"

"Fifty percent?"

Zhang Qiuqiu crossed her arms, frowned in thought, and gave a random guess.

"Hmm... that number is technically correct." Lord Cha gave a cryptic smile, intentionally dragging out his words to build suspense.

"Unfortunately, that's not the pass rate."

At that moment, the Wutong Tree suddenly shuddered, its leaves rustling to help Lord Cha create an eerie atmosphere.

Lord Cha looked at their confused expressions and spoke slowly.

"It's... the mortality rate."