Chapter 4 Paper Man City 01

On the blackboard in the middle of the classroom, the words "Opening Test" were written.

The iron tables and chairs are neatly arranged and feel really cool to the touch.

Outside the window there were cheers from the basketball court, and the light shone on Jiang Yuelu's face, as if everyone else had gone to physical education class, and he just stayed in the classroom to take a nap because he was too sleepy.

Jiang Yuelu lay on the table, trying to calm himself down with the coldness of the iron. He was still in the process of being burned to death.

The voice disappeared.

He remembered that when the flames burned his chest, a voice said something in an ancient and obscure tone... Why are you here? He had never heard that tone before, but he understood it strangely, as if it appeared directly in his mind.

He seemed to answer, but he was so feverish that he lost all his sanity and couldn't remember what he said subconsciously.

The only thing that is certain is that the voice has disappeared.

Now, the only sounds ringing in his ears were the buzzing sound of the fan above his head, the sound of the basketball falling to the ground outside the window and the cheers of the students.

After an unknown amount of time, his eyes moved with black eyes, and his forehead hit something hard. He raised his body and saw a form clipped on a wooden mat.

"Candidate information...registration?"

The registration form, the tables, chairs, and blackboard here are very similar to things in human society. But the fact that he can still sit here after being burned to death reminds him that he has entered another world.

After looking through it carefully, he found that the information on the form, such as name, gender and age, was relatively normal, but there were some things that a normal college would ask students.

For example, the choice of faith.

Choice of Faith (Note: After entering the school, as a student of the academy, you need to choose or report your own faith, which is equivalent to the god worshipped by wizards to receive oracles)

…I can understand the first part, but what does the second part mean?

As if hearing his question, an electronic female voice suddenly came from the speaker in the corner that was used to broadcast hearing information.

"Generally speaking, they choose existing gods, such as those worshipped by the four major wizard families."

“…No.”

"If candidates want to choose an ancient god, they can..."

“I don’t choose this either.”

"and you?"

Jiang Yuelu thought about it and decided that since this was a school, it would be best to believe in the god of exams.

"Didn't you take the exam?"

“…………”

After a long time, the female voice uttered:

"The gods who don't have one need to apply to fill it themselves."

Jiang Yuelu nodded: "Then let's ask the God of Test. Wish me good luck in the test."

After checking the "Others" box and filling in "Kaoshen", Jiang Yuelu then completed filling in other information such as name, age, occupation, etc.

After everything was over, the paper registration form suddenly shrank into a hard card in his hand. It was about the same size as a mobile phone, and his photo and name appeared when he touched it.

A student card that looks very high-tech, with the name Jiang Yuelu, the 44th candidate of the Witchcraft Academy.

There's nothing more darkly humorous than this, right?

"Examinee Jiang Yuelu, please open your test paper."

He took out a cowhide bag from the desk, which contained a thick stack of things, which should be the test papers.

Just as he was about to open it, he found his test number and name on the upper left corner of the desk, and the same was true on the desk next to him.

I searched the entire classroom, but couldn't find the names of Xiaofei and the other two.

Not this classroom, but other classrooms. They must have come to similar places. Those who "died" in the fire were actually transferred here to take the exam.

"Everyone has their own exams? That's why I can't see other people."

Jiang Yuelu glanced around and felt that this place might not be as spacious as he thought. It might be crowded with students waiting for the exam, but he just couldn't see them.

Thinking of this, the classroom that seemed comfortable just now immediately became depressing and gloomy, and even the sunlight seeping in from the window turned pale.

He reached out to open his test paper, but was stopped by a cold voice.

"Please answer the questions after the exam begins. The exam has not officially started yet."

Jiang Yuelu was curious about the punishment for not complying with the rules, but he was unwilling to try it rashly before everything was clear. He had already waited for a year, so how could he not wait for a few minutes?

After an unknown amount of time, a long ding sounded and a cold female electronic voice reappeared: "The exam time has come. Candidates, please start opening your test papers."

"This exam is a closed-book exam. You are not allowed to bring any auxiliary materials during the test."

"You will have 15 minutes to read the questions. Please read the questions as quickly as possible. After 15 minutes, you will be transferred to the official test-taking area..."

A formal place? Not here?

He didn't have time to think too much. After taking out the test paper, he knew with a flick of his fingers that the text was very long. Jiang Yuelu read it quickly, word by word and line by line, and those words were firmly imprinted in his mind.

Fourteen minutes later.

"The test paper will disappear in one minute, so please hurry up and read it. The department this test paper applies to is: Wood Science. The scope of examination is: Shengjifen."

"The difficulty of the test paper is C-"

"The test consists of five multiple-choice questions and three essay questions."

“Speed and quality are both scoring criteria. If there is a conflict between the two, the latter takes precedence.”

"Well, I wish you all the best, then."

"E3091X-"Paperman City", starting now."

The light and the classroom in front of him swirled away and disappeared, and the darkness gathered and then quickly expanded. During this process, Jiang Yuelu kept hearing the sound of the wind.

It was not until light appeared in front of him again that the noise, like a hundred fans blowing wildly in his ears, completely stopped.

-

"Not yet? How many times do I have to ask the same question?"

This was the first human voice he had heard since his "death." It was not loud, but very impolite.

He looked around and the scenery was completely different from before.

If the classrooms of the past still have some connection with modern society, then the scenery now can only be compared to the hidden mountains of ancient times.

As far as the eye can see, there are huge trees towering into the sky. They are verdant and tall, deep and quiet, with few outsiders setting foot there. There is a narrow stone path among them, and there is an exquisite stone pavilion beside the path.

The pavilion and the road have obvious traces of human intervention, but placed in this quiet forest, they have a sense of story that complements each other.

At this moment, there were quite a few people standing on the cobblestone road, and their clothes were not like those of modern people.

Jiang Yuelu glanced down and found that her clothes were the same, with a round neck and wide sleeves, which were only seen in TV dramas, but it was hard to tell which dynasty it was from.

Without any trees to provide shelter, this group of people were exposed to the sun. Their faces were red and their necks were thick, and they looked extremely painful.

In that case, why not go into the pavilion to enjoy the cool air?

As Jiang Yuelu was thinking this, she saw a young man in red standing in the pavilion.

The young man, who was about seventeen or eighteen years old, was throwing stones into the center of the lake. He did not feel any guilt for monopolizing the pavilion, but instead looked ruthless and ignored it.

Hearing the voice, he turned slightly, looking very impatient, with a strong sense of hostility between his brows.

That impolite accusation came from his mouth.

Seeing Jiang Yuelu arrive, everyone showed an expression of relief and ecstasy. But no one took the initiative to greet Jiang Yuelu.

He immediately realized that the dozen or so people opposite seemed to be divided into two groups, standing on either side of the pavilion.

The small group on the left had more people, and the leader was a young man in his early twenties, with an ordinary appearance, but missing an ear. When he saw Jiang Yuelu looking at him, he just narrowed his eyes and smiled, but had no intention of coming over.

There were only three people in the small group on the right. The leader was a gentle young man who exuded the aura of wealth.

After looking Jiang Yuelu up and down for a few times, he walked over and said, "Just call me Leng Jing. Who are you?"

"Jiang Yuelu."

"Finally you're here. There's a small problem in our examination room."

It sounds like this isn't the first time the other party has entered a dungeon.

Jiang Yuelu remained calm: "What's wrong?"

Leng Jing said: "Have you read the test paper's answering rules? The ones marked with *."

Jiang Yuelu nodded.

Leng Jing read out the rules: "'... Remember, you are all participants who came to this examination room with a mission, and your every move will bring about huge changes to the examination.'"

Jiang Yuelu said: "Just like actors, let us play roles."

Leng Jing: "Yes, but that's the problem. Our examination room is different from the previous ones. Look at that person."

As they were talking, they had already walked to the vicinity of the pavilion. Leng Jing quietly signaled with his eyes the ancestor in red who was sitting in the pavilion, and the latter turned back.

This ancestor seemed to disregard the beauty of the world and anyone else. Besides being violent, he also unconsciously felt cold and kept people at a distance.

"That's him." Leng Jing whispered, "This is the first time I've seen an NPC teaming up with us in the exam room."

NPC is a professional term in the game. Its function is to issue tasks to players and it is actually a piece of data.

They probably think of this exam as something like a game dungeon. Entering the exam room as a student to answer questions is indeed like a player playing a game dungeon.

Thinking in this way, you can understand Leng Jing’s confusion.

In the game, players often form a team together. NPCs serve as tools and often only meet players once. Players can leave, but NPCs cannot.

This time they were sent to this instance, and an NPC dropped from the sky to bind them. If they were acting on their own, they wouldn't have to worry too much about the character setting, but now they have to get along with the NPC, which is equivalent to increasing the difficulty out of thin air.

"If it was an NPC with a good temper, it would be fine. It would be a good luck charm. But this one..." Leng Jing was sweating profusely, "It's really too difficult to deal with."

Jiang Yuelu thought thoughtfully: "...What is your personality?"

Before Leng Jing could answer, he heard Master Xia's irritable voice asking, "Are you going to leave or not?"

Leng Jing quickly nodded and bowed towards the pavilion: "Master Xia, everyone is here, we can set off."

After he finished speaking, he gave Jiang Yuelu a bitter smile: "My character is to be this young master's licker."

Jiang Yuelu: “…”

This special setting is not recorded on the test paper and is a temporary rule.

According to this setting, all ten of them are wizards employed by this "Young Master Xia".

This precious "Young Master Xia" has no other hobbies but loves witchcraft and curiosity. He takes any wizard with good witchcraft as his own. After wandering for a year, it was time to go home, but he unexpectedly met "Leng Jing" on the way.

Leng Jing, this half-baked wizard (also a character setting), has not learned much about Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. He is good at cheating and deceiving. He is extremely greedy for money. When he saw Young Master Xia, he was like a mouse that has been hungry for ten years and saw the oil and water. He tried his best to grab him.

In order to win favor among the wizards supported by Young Master Xia, Leng Jing also recommended his junior brother Jiang Yuelu, praising him to the skies for his boundless magical powers. This made Young Master Xia wait on the side of the road in the mountains for two hours, suppressing his anger.

This story doesn't sound right. Why does it sound like a competition for favor in the harem?

Jiang Yuelu secretly glanced at these witchcraft students, and became more certain that this was indeed a selection of concubines.

It seems that our Master Xia not only considers the skills of wizards, but also their appearance when choosing wizards. Any wizard here has a very good appearance, handsome men and beautiful women with outstanding temperament, which is particularly pleasing to the eye.

Leng Jing invited again and again, and Young Master Xia, who was dressed in red, finally calmed down and walked out of the pavilion slowly. As soon as he came out, he glanced at the sun unhappily, and Leng Jing hurriedly blocked it for him.

Jiang Yuelu made a judgment on this arrogant young man.

He was wearing expensive clothes and had a very fair face, and he gave off an aura of a middle school student who looked down on everyone and was the only one who was superior to everyone else.

When Chuunibyou passed by Jiang Yuelu, he glanced at her from the side. Jiang Yuelu clearly saw the words in his eyes: "I waited for two hours for this thing." Without saying a word to Jiang Yuelu, he walked to the front by himself, and Leng Jing followed him with gritted teeth.

"You are quite dedicated and responsible." Jiang Yuelu commented fairly.

Leng Jing cursed: "How could I know that I would get a script with such a personality!" He went up and worked hard to be Master Xia's bootlicker.

As they were far away from the NPC, the remaining people were no longer restrained. The remaining two people introduced themselves one after another, and Jiang Yuelu then realized that they were a couple.

"Xiaoxuan and I are from the same county. We went to the same school for junior high school, high school, and college. After graduation, we worked hard to save money and finally bought a house this year. But right after we moved in..."

The boy named Chen Chuan, who had many freckles on his face, yelled angrily, "There was a fire!"

"And then we were dragged in here again... Do you think we can still get out?"

Xiaoxuan, his girlfriend said sadly: "I don't know if I can survive if I go out, and the house should be burned down..."

Chen Chuan opened his mouth and stopped talking completely.

Jiang Yuelu had been listening to them the whole time, and hadn't spoken a word about herself. They also looked very tired, and didn't care how others got in. This was good.

Zhao Xiaoxuan and Chen Chuan were not like me. They were forced to enter the examination room and were selected by that notice.

Although he felt that it was absolutely right to self-immolate and die to enter the examination room, it was just that for Chen Chuan and Xiaoxuan, who had paid a huge price to enter here, his behavior was really unpopular. He didn't want to be a person who was hated as soon as he came in.

"Do you have any disagreements?"

"ah?"

Jiang Yuelu pointed at the group of people walking in front and said, "They have been keeping their distance from us since just now."