The Demonic World I designed-Chapter 687 - 677: Literary Exam (Part 1)

"Hua Zi...."

On the research institute’s rooftop, a considerable crowd gathered today. This place had always been one for people to smoke and relax, and even in the digital world, the activity of smoking and chatting leisurely on the rooftop seemed to be an enduring aspect of human social interaction.

However, today, not a single person was wearing a relaxed expression on the rooftop. No one felt like lighting up. Everyone was sitting in some corner, lost in thought. Many had been zoning out for half an hour without any intention of going back to work.

What’s the point of working anymore....

"Do we really have to listen to those above?" a middle-aged fat man asked his colleague next to him.

"What’s the alternative, waiting to be blacklisted?" another middle-aged man turned around and stared blankly at him, "Are you willing to gamble?"

Several people nearby became agitated. The researchers at the institute were all meticulously selected. Though the income wasn’t much here and the toughest and most exhausting work was often not for their own benefit, this was the palace of scientific research. Besides, there was federal backing—whether for future education for their children or securing welfare benefits, there were guarantees in place.

If blacklisted by this place, then within the entire scientific community, they would have nowhere to stand. They might even live a more miserable life than those at the bottom digging for ores outside.

"Actually, we could give it a try...." Finally, someone couldn’t hold back and spoke up, "Why not give it a try?"

The others looked over in surprise. ƒгeewebnovёl_com

"The new world is so vast. I’ve heard that many family leaders and sect leaders have already gone there. The opportunities within, I don’t need to tell you how great they are, right? As long as we get in, why should that group of old fogies continue to exploit us? Why must we continue to be coerced by them?"

"But... there’s no backup plan...." someone couldn’t help but interject, "What if it doesn’t work out...."

"Why wouldn’t it work out?" someone else couldn’t hold back and said, "Will we fail the examination? If it’s a fair competition and we lose, then we lose—I can accept that!"

"Exactly!" another person chimed in, "What’s there to fear?"

But the majority were still reluctant to respond. Clearly, not everyone had the courage to burn their bridges....

This scene was played out on rooftops of many research institutes, with many people internally struggling, destined for a sleepless night.

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The next day, the grand examination commenced with much fanfare. The martial arts examinations naturally drew the most attention, but the scholarly exams also sparked heated discussions, particularly in the way the results were announced.

The exams were split between basic and field-specific sciences, with different questions each day. Every candidate had to participate for at least three days, and the topics differed with each day. The comprehensive results for each day would be announced, and final rankings would be determined by averaging the three days’ scores. From there, they would be allocated quotas to enter the new world.

Regarding these rules, Mr. Wang Ye, a representative of the new world, personally answered questions at a press conference. That day, the number of viewers for this interview surpassed ten billion, including internet users from the Western Federation who were closely watching this grand examination.

"Mr. Wang Ye, there are many questions from the public concerning the quotas for the scholarly exams. First of all, regarding the number of quotas, why is there such a great disparity between the numbers for the literary and the martial exams? Some say that the new world needs soldiers, not ordinary people. Is this the case?"

"That’s correct...." Wang Ye faced the reporter’s sharp query and responded to the question without hesitation.

This answer immediately led to a chorus of boos from the audience, with the reporters growing somewhat embarrassed. They had intended to challenge the authorities, showcasing their assertive style, but now they felt awkward.

"Everyone needs to understand one thing first," Wang Ye looked at the group of reporters and continued, "The new world is still in a phase of war and instability, and we predict that the situation will become increasingly dangerous in the future. It’s not a time for peaceful enjoyment. If you are going there with the mindset of leisurely enjoying life, you are likely to be disappointed. The fact that more warriors are needed there now is the reality."

At this response, the reporters were stunned while the online reactions were fiery.

[This guy’s finally talking sense....]

[Yeah, this dude’s genuine.]

"It’s inherent, isn’t it? Which Virtual World isn’t dangerous? Depicting it as some kind of earthly paradise is the real deception."

"But there, one can reincarnate endlessly. We go there to earn a chance, not caring how dangerous it is. I do prefer this honest talk, rather than the way officials used to spout nonsense for their own purposes."

"Ahem..." A middle-aged reporter cleared his throat and continued, "Even so, don’t you think the opportunities for ordinary people to go there are too scarce? Aren’t you advocating for fairness?"

"The place is not suitable for ordinary people now," Wang Ye said indifferently. "Our so-called fairness is only in terms of resource allocation, we never said it would be fair to everyone. Even if I did say so, would you believe me?"

"Then how is this literary examination fair?" an older reporter asked. "We’d like to know the specifics."

Wang Ye nodded. "This literary exam is solely my responsibility along with the researchers from the new army. The fundamental sciences of the original world are quite different from our world, so the assessments won’t completely align with the domains here. However, you can rest assured on one point—the basics of science derive from intelligent calculations and won’t deviate too much. The main focus of the assessment will be on the thinking process in solving different problems. This will be the key to the exams, and we will publish the answers after each examination and the rankings for every session."

"There are in total ten thousand spots for this literary exam. Every three sessions, we will allocate a thousand spots, rebirthing the candidates according to their rankings in various locations. The top ten with the highest scores will be able to reincarnate in Jiangnan with their memories intact. The top hundred can choose to be reborn in Jiangnan without retaining their memories or reincarnate in the Southeast District with memories. Those in the top five hundred will be able to reincarnate in the Southeast District without keeping their memories, and the last five hundred will have to migrate overseas."

"Is there a big difference between these districts?" a female reporter quickly asked.

"There’s a significant difference," Wang Ye nodded. "Due to strategic planning, people in Jiangnan have access to more resources from a young age, whether it be Spiritual Energy or educational resources. Particularly in this era of Earth Spirit resurgence, we’re in need of a considerable reserve of Magicians; thus, many children have the opportunity to engage with the knowledge of magical formations at a young age. The current discrepancy may seem negligible, but once knowledge spreads downward, the gap in the quality of education will become extremely pronounced. The likelihood of someone from other provinces managing to test into Jiangnan is very low."

"Isn’t that somewhat unfair to the other districts?" the reporter couldn’t help but interject.

"We are in wartime now and can’t afford to worry about that," Wang Ye said placidly.

"Then why distribute the ten thousand places over ten rounds? Doesn’t that delay things?" someone couldn’t help but wonder aloud.

"This is to make the best use of the talent available," Wang Ye said with a smile. "It’s to give capable people more opportunities. For instance, you might have been able to rank in the top ten but ended up twelfth. If you think you can do better in the next round, you can completely forego this round’s results and attempt the next one. Of course, the outcome is your own choice, but at least you have the chance to decide for yourself."

"Once someone has passed the exam, as long as they are willing, we can broadcast their whereabouts and early life after being reborn in the new world, allowing everyone to observe their life there from start to finish. If some want to watch and decide to take the exam, they can also wait a few years to see how the situation evolves."

"A live broadcast?" the reporter was taken aback.

"Not a broadcast..." Wang Ye shook his head with a smile. "There will be an Image Crystal Stone that records on one side, and we will continuously update the uploads."

Upon hearing this, the internet immediately buzzed with excitement.

"Is that even possible?"

"Wow, this is the first time I’ve heard that the Virtual World can be recorded. It would be great if it’s true. Even if we can’t get there, it would be nice to satisfy our curiosity."

Online, the vast majority expressed approval. For many ordinary people, the Virtual World was just a legend. Although it had been announced that the new world would give everyone a chance to enter, no one knew for sure what that entailed; everyone harbored doubts. Now the possibility of getting glimpses into that world was warmly welcomed.

Following the interview, Wang Ye’s frank manner saw his popularity surge on the internet.

And with the interview over, the first day of the literary exam swiftly began...

The literary exam lasted three continuous days, with the scores and answers being posted online before nine o’clock each evening. The transparency of publishing the exam papers and answers was convincing, but the rankings stirred up much discussion.

The first literary examination was open to the entire Central Federation, with over ten million people participating irrespective of educational background. Many who had failed to get into universities and could only work as maintenance engineers joined in, hoping against hope. Notably, there were quite a number of winners this round.

For example, the ninth place in this examination was won by an almost three-hundred-year-old maintenance engineer from a city in the western Federation. Having not been accepted into a prestigious school, he’d never crossed the threshold into advanced research and had worked as an engineer for over two hundred years. He tried his luck this time, after seeing his children take the exam, and unexpectedly succeeded!

During the live interview, he was reported to be so overwhelmed with tears that he could not articulate a single word.

Furthermore, many in the top hundred were not from prestigious schools or research institutes. Observant individuals quickly noted that there were hardly any from research backgrounds like Miao Miao’s on the list, and even fewer from esteemed schools, leading to immediate skepticism about the credibility of the first rankings...

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