Chapter 1: Skynet One-Star Qualification Assessment
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In a lush jungle, the howls of wolves continuously sounded, making the dark, cloudy night seem even eerier.
A fifteen- or sixteen-years-old boy held an iron sword with a wooden handle and stared at the woods in front of him in a daze. After a while, a cold wind blew through. At the upper right of the teenager’s visual interface, a 30-minute countdown finally appeared.
“This time, I, Lin Yun, must succeed!”
With those words, Lin Yun ran toward the jungle and disappeared into the trees in an instant.
Silence. The dense jungle was silent. Even the howling of the wolves had ceased. It seemed that there might be some kind of man-eating beast hiding in the jungle.
The fallen leaves crackled when Lin Yun stepped on them. He appeared calm as he walked quickly in the dim jungle without any fear of the strange environment. After a while, he came to a twisted jujube tree.
“Countdown: 28 minutes and 30 seconds. At the jujube tree, leap forward and roll right!”
With those words, Lin Yun leaped forward, then quickly rolled to the right.
“Swoosh!”
As if acknowledging Lin Yun’s movement, a rain of arrows fell from the sky and struck the ground where he had stood.
Then, arrows rained down in all directions.
Lin Yun’s expression remained unchanged. As he evaded the arrows, he muttered under his breath.
“28 minutes and 5 seconds. Three steps to the left.”
1“27 minutes and 58 seconds. Roll backward.”
“27 minutes and 40 seconds. Five steps to the right.”
“27 minutes and 25 seconds. Roll forward…”
Reciting the moves, Lin Yun dodged continuously according to the countdown on the visual interface. The flurry of arrows that rained down only struck the dust he left behind as he moved. It seemed Lin Yun was able to accurately predict the future trajectory of the rain of arrows!
After a few minutes, the rain of arrows ended. Lin Yun stood up slowly, his expression resolute. He was completely unharmed.
He continued further into the jungle without looking back at the long arrows strewn across the ground.
The path became narrower and narrower. He encountered another twisted jujube tree. Lin Yun started muttering again.
“Countdown: 25 minutes and 10 seconds. One hundred steps forward. Ten meters away from the vicious wolf, move in a semicircle.”
Saying that Lin Yun walked slowly, step by step. If accurately measured, the distance between his every step was the same, exactly half a meter. In this way, after a hundred steps, Lin Yun walked a distance of 50 meters. Then, he stopped.
In the middle of the road ahead, a pair of rubies as big as goose eggs suddenly appeared. Then, the pair of gems slowly revealed their true appearance.
They turned out to be the eyes of a vicious wolf!
The vicious wolf seemed to have been mutated. It was as big as a cow and its big red eyes stared fiercely at Lin Yun. Dripping saliva from its huge white fangs, it looked like it was going to tear him into pieces.
However, Lin Yun’s expression remained unchanged.
Ten meters!
The distance between Lin Yun and the Vicious Wolf was exactly ten meters.
Lin Yun moved in a semi-circular arc around the vicious wolf seemingly unfeeling of the danger. Throughout the process, the distance between him and the vicious wolf was exactly ten meters.
The vicious wolf stared at Lin Yun without making a move.
Finally, Lin Yun made a detour around the vicious wolf and continued his way deeper into the jungle.
He did not look back nor stopped. It was as if he was sure the vicious wolf would not chase him.
It was proven that the vicious wolf would not chase after him. It seemed that ten meters were its detection range.
Finally, Lin Yun came to a dry well deep in the forest. He finally appeared a little excited. He held the long sword tightly with one hand and muttered.
“Countdown: 19 minutes and 25 seconds. The cold wind blows, the moon is revealed!”
Then, Lin Yun stood there quietly staring nervously at the clock counting down in the upper right corner of his visual interface.
When the timer reached 19 minutes and 25 seconds, a cold wind blew and the dark clouds disappeared to reveal the moon. Lin Yun seemed to have been reminded of something and he rushed towards the dry well.
Lin Yun seemed to run with a special rhythm. Increasing his speed steadily, he only took five or six seconds to cover the one hundred over meters to the dry well.
“Countdown: 19 minutes and 17 seconds. The White Banshee will appear from the dry well. This is my only chance!”
As Lin Yun said the words aloud, he arrived at the dry well at exactly 19 minutes and 18 seconds. At this time, Lin Yun’s speed had already reached its limit. With the boost from his acceleration, he suddenly raised the long sword in his hand and stabbed the empty air above the dry well.
Lin Yun’s prediction was once again proven right. After a second, a white figure appeared out of thin air above the dry well. It was a White Banshee with a pale face and long tongue!
Countdown: 19 minutes and 17 seconds. Lin Yun’s sword slashed across the Banshee’s head!
“Did I succeed?” There was a trace of joy on Lin Yun’s face.
Not killed by this attack, the female ghost suddenly opened her mouth.
“Not good!” Lin Yun looked horrified, as if in anticipation of something terrifying.
“Ahhh—” the female ghost shrieked.
Banshee Howl!
Lin Yun blacked out and fell to the ground. In a daze, he saw the female ghost float gradually toward him…
“Skynet One-Star Qualification Assessment.
Challenger: Lin Yun
Challenge Result: Fail.”
“You win some battles, you lose some battles. Hero, please try again!”
Hearing this very familiar-sounding voice, Lin Yun sat up from the bed suddenly and threw the Skynet launcher aside. His hands clasped the sheets tightly as his body trembled slightly.
Failed, he failed again!
How many times had he failed? Lin Yun had long forgotten the number. Since that accident five years ago, he had not been able to improve on his Spiritual Strength. Until now, his Spiritual Strength was not even Level 1 yet. Even the Spiritual Strength of an eight-year-old was above his!
“If my Spiritual Strength was at least Level 1, I’d not black out from that last Banshee Howl. As long as I don’t black out, it’s impossible that I will fail with Level 4 Physical Strength.” Lin Yun was extremely annoyed.
However, this was not the first time he had failed. He collected his thoughts and stared at the admission notice beside the bed.
Education was compulsory for all, and as soon as one reached the age of 16, they would receive an admission notice from a college. However, this notice was just an assessment note. The assessment results would determine whether one could enter the school.
The admission standard of Clearwater College was to reach Spiritual Strength Level 2. If he could not make a breakthrough in his Spiritual Strength, he would have no chance to enter Clearwater College. Thinking of his father’s expectant gaze, Lin Yun could not help but sigh.
“Knock, knock, knock.” Someone was knocking on the door.
“Yun’er, are you there?”
Lin Yun opened the door and saw his father—Lin Tianhao.
Lin Yun’s father was a veteran who had received the Tri-Star Medal of Honor. With the aid provided by the government every year, he was able to live a very comfortable life. However, after the accident, in order to treat him, his father had to borrow money and travel around incessantly. His originally smooth and shiny forehead became wrinkled, and the hair at his temples had turned white.
Lin Yun noticed that his father was wearing the only unpatched suit he had and the Tri-Star Medal of Honor was on his left chest. His father only wore his good suit during major festivals. Was it a special occasion?
A smile appeared on Lin Tianhao’s face. “Hurry up and put on your new set of clothes. We have an important guest today.”
Lin Yun was puzzled. However, rather than question his father, he changed clothes and went downstairs with him.
The Lin family lived in a small two-story building. It was obvious from the decoration that the place was once magnificent. However, in order to treat Lin Yun, the expensive furniture had been sold. The hall was now empty, leaving only a worn leather sofa and a cracked marble table.
“Ding Dong!”
Hearing the doorbell, Lin Tianhao quickly led Lin Yun to greet their guest. A middle-aged man entered, followed by a young girl.
The middle-aged man was full of smiles and looked radiant. A scar on his left face gave him a mysterious look. As Lin Yun’s eyes moved down and stopped at the man’s left chest, his heart skipped a beat. On the man’s left chest, an embroidered patch of a sword and a shield could be seen. This man was a mecha warrior!
1Lin Yun shifted his gaze to the young girl and was suddenly taken aback.
The girl’s appearance was fresh and charming. Her snow-white complexion and bright eyes made it impossible for one to look away.
Dongfang Ruoxue! It was Dongfang Ruoxue!
In Clearwater City, everyone knew of Dongfang Ruoxue. Her family background was good and she was beautiful and talented. When she was 13-years-old, her Spiritual Strength was already Level 3!
In this case, the middle-aged man’s name was obvious.
He was the only mecha warrior in Clearwater City, Dongfang Sheng!