You're my wife, don't doubt it!

Since this place seems so civilized, I might as well be civilized too and see what the exam questions are.

He mingled with the other people and registered. There were ten people in total. The exam started immediately, with several rows of tables and chairs set up outside the building.

When Xiao Yao received the exam paper that had been solemnly handed to him, he almost burst out laughing.

It turned out to be just a comprehensive test at the junior high school level. Even if I hadn't taken the test at all, let alone the tutoring I've been getting with Yu Luying, these questions wouldn't have been difficult for me.

So he started burying himself in his problems.

The only problem was that there were a few too many questions; when the exam ended, there was still one question short of 100.

Xiao Yao wanted to finish the last question, but Yu Luying's warning that "late submission will result in a cancelled score" echoed in his mind, so he chose to stop writing and hand in his paper.

The results came out shortly afterward: Xiao Yao got 99 points, just as expected, he only lost one point on the last question.

Xiao Yao went to collect his entry qualification with a smug look on his face. They took out everyone's report cards. Eight out of ten people got full marks, Xiao Yao got 99, and there was one idiot who failed.

Then, they told Xiao Yao that the minimum mandatory elimination rate for the exam was 20%, and he was eliminated.

While Xiao Yao was staring blankly at his results, the gatekeepers had already packed up their things and closed the door to visitors.

Xiao Yao clenched his fists, raised them above his head, and jumped up on the spot: "I think you filthy people are just making fun of me!"

The boy drew his sword and slashed at the gate, but just like trying to chop at a door with an axe in Teacher Yao's hall, it was destined to be futile.

"If you care so much, you can take the test again next week." The one who spoke from behind was the boy wearing the apron from before. It seems he was the only one who failed... the idiot.

Xiao Yao couldn't wait until next week.

"I don't care. I never expected to pass anyway. I know I'm not cut out for studying." The boy wiped his hands on his apron.

"..."

"If you really need to get in, you can go through the sewage outlet in the river. There's a way into the building from there."

"..."

"That's no secret, everyone knows it. But that road is very unsafe, and few people are willing to take the risk."

Xiao Yao said goodbye to the apron boy and successfully found the so-called sewage outlet in the direction he pointed out. He then drew his sword, pried open the fence, and went inside.

He was mentally prepared to crawl through narrow, filthy pipes, but once inside, he discovered that it wasn't a sewage pipe at all; it was an underground city.

The arched utility tunnel, though not particularly tall, is wide enough to accommodate sewage discharge channels, but it also provides ample elevated space untouched by sewage for the "residents" to live in.

These inhabitants weren't limited to humanoid creatures; some resembled wild beasts as well. They lurked in the dark, unlit corners, watching Xiao Yao, who had just arrived. Xiao Yao felt that if he hadn't been wearing armor and wielding a sword, they would have already pounced on him.

Following the winding path upwards, Xiao Yao found a steel ladder that he could climb. The top of the ladder looked like a manhole cover.

Of course, the journey was not without its challenges. As Xiao Yao ventured deeper into the territory, his adversaries were no longer content to remain hidden in the shadows and launched numerous ambushes and sneak attacks against him.

However, his daily leveling up during this period was not in vain.

These reckless attacks only left some bloodstains on Xiao Yao's body.

After Xiao Yao defeated them, he also picked up a few copper coins and put them on his person.

What a bunch of poor bastards! If they can't get gold coins, they could at least get silver coins!

Xiao Yao climbed the steel ladder all the way to the top, pushed open the manhole cover on the top, looked around and saw that there seemed to be no danger, then climbed up.

After climbing out of the sewer, Xiao Yao found that the surroundings were just like the alleyway outside his own home, but the way pedestrians avoided him and pointed at him reminded him of the abnormality of the place.

After walking a few steps, Xiao Yao was stopped by two people dressed in firefighter uniforms.

Xiao Yao took a half step back, instinctively reaching for his sword, but his hand grasped only empty air. Looking down, he realized that his armor and sword were nowhere to be seen; he was only wearing ordinary clothes, stained with blood and filthy.

This was quite a shock; he tried to summon Don Quixote, but there was no response.

In that short time, the two men blocking the road had already connected a fire hose to a fire hydrant by the roadside. One of them turned the valve, and the water drenched Xiao Yao from head to toe.

Xiao Yao initially wanted to struggle, but then he felt that the water was warm and there was no sense of pressure. Instead, it felt strangely comfortable, more like taking a bath.

A moment later, the water stopped flowing. Xiao Yao found that his clothes were not wet, but the bloodstains were gone, which he found a little strange.

One firefighter quickly began to pack up the hose, while another walked up to Xiao Yao and said, "Now that you're up here and cleaned up, you should follow the rules here and work hard."

As he spoke, he held out a hand to Xiao Yao, and seeing Xiao Yao's puzzled look, he impatiently reminded him, "Cleaning fee."

Xiao Yao then remembered the copper coins he had picked up during the battle in the sewers. He reached into his pocket, took them all out, and handed them over. There were about 7 or 8 coins.

The firefighter shook his head, and Xiao Yao thought he thought it wasn't enough, but he only reached out and took two, then patted Xiao Yao on the shoulder, called his companion, and left.

Having "washed himself clean," Xiao Yao seemed to have successfully integrated into the city, but he did not forget his mission. After asking a few passersby, Xiao Yao quickly found the elevator that Shen Jie had mentioned, as well as the organization that issued the elevator usage certificate.

He discovered that elevator access permits could be bought with money, but the zero at the end of the price made him abandon the idea of ​​paying to avoid trouble.

Another way is to take an exam.

Xiao Yao took the exam again with ease. This time the questions were more difficult, and Xiao Yao only scored 66 points. However, he still received a pass to the second floor and successfully took the elevator to the second floor.

Although Xiao Yao wasn't good at taking exams, he felt that reaching the top through continuous exams was a good way to go, and it was safer and faster than fighting with unspeakable things in a dark, sludge-filled ditch to collect copper coins.

Unfortunately, Xiao Yao was completely overwhelmed by the second-level exam and failed to obtain permission for promotion.

He tried asking people around him for ways to advance to a higher level without spending money or taking exams, and surprisingly, he easily got two answers.

First, we should win various competitions held irregularly, including but not limited to music, chess, calligraphy, painting, singing, dancing, and acrobatics—unfortunately, none of these were held today.

Second, take the stairs.

Yes, how could a building only have elevators?

Xiao Yao regretted his shortsightedness and hurried to the stairwell.

As Xiao Yao entered the stairwell, he discovered that Don Quixote, who had been unresponsive to his calls, had returned, once again as a knight in armor and wielding a sword—it seemed that there was indeed some kind of barrier or restriction outside.

The stairwell was dark and narrow, with stale air and a foul odor, which reminded Xiao Yao of the underground sewage duct he had walked through before, and he couldn't help but prepare for battle.

Sure enough, countless shadows lurked here, radiating hostility. Their attacks caused Xiao Yao some trouble, but he could still handle them. However, this time he didn't have the energy to collect the copper coins dropped by the shadows.

Xiao Yao fought his way up, climbing countless steps and cutting down countless shadows, until he finally saw the "3F" sign in the corner.

Pushing open the door and stepping outside, he saw a "firefighter" sitting in front of him, seemingly waiting for Xiao Yao.

The firefighter didn't say anything, just picked up the hose and sprayed Xiao Yao with water again. Then, he still reached out for money.

Xiao Yao took out two copper coins and gave them to him, but was laughed at as if he were a fool.

"Twenty," the firefighter arrogantly held up two fingers: "If you don't have money, go back to your rat hole!"

Xiao Yao had fought his way up, his eyes bloodshot, but he had patiently negotiated with him to avoid trouble. He couldn't tolerate the arrogant man's behavior, so he immediately kicked him to the ground, then stepped forward, grabbed his chest, and punched him hard in the face three times with his right fist.

The firefighter lay motionless on the ground, his body covered in red, black, and white splattered water, which also splashed all over Xiao Yao.

"Without you, Butcher Zhang, will we still eat pigs with hair on?" Xiao Yao scoffed, grabbed the fire hose from the ground, and turned it on.

Strangely, no matter how much Xiao Yao washed himself, the bloodstains on his body did not decrease at all.

After failing to achieve his goal, he had no choice but to give up and go out into the streets.

This time, however, passersby panicked and ran away as soon as they saw Xiao Yao, as if the words "I am a bad person" were written on Xiao Yao's face.

Soon, with a sharp whistle, a policeman with a baton ran towards Xiao Yao.

Xiao Yao wanted to deal with him, but being unarmed, he was always at a disadvantage.

He had played GTA3 and knew that "Cop" was something you could never kill off completely; the more you killed, the more there were, and the higher your wanted level would get.

With reinforcements from other police officers, Xiao Yao dared not linger in the fight and could only retreat while fighting his way back to the stairwell he had come from, eventually escaping into the stairwell.

The police officers didn't give chase; they simply locked the door to the stairwell.

After considering it for a moment, Xiao Yao decided to continue upwards, cutting through the shadows along the way, and paying special attention to collecting coins.

The door on the fourth floor was locked. Maybe the guard dog was just killed here too?

Xiao Yao tried his best but failed to break through, so he had to continue upwards.

After that, Xiao Yao discovered that as he collected more coins, the shadow's attacks became increasingly frenzied, and it could even launch sneak attacks from various angles without being hindered by the environment or walls.

Xiao Yao felt increasingly powerless and had no choice but to discard some copper coins to distract himself from the shadows.

There were no doors leading out of the fifth and sixth floors, so Xiao Yao stumbled and fell to the exit on the seventh floor, completely exhausted.

The door was locked again, and Xiao Yao no longer had the strength to bang on it. Moreover, he had already thrown away all his coins, so even if he went out, he wouldn't have the money to buy a legal identity to clear his name.

Xiao Yao leaned against the door, unwillingly waving his sword to drive away the ever-surging shadows, while helplessly reciting the scripture for escaping the sacred tablet.

Xiao Yao thought, "Hopefully, not being able to produce the trilled 'r' sound won't cause the startup to fail, otherwise I'll really be done for here."

Xiao Yao's first rescue operation for Shen Jie ended in failure.

take a bow.

Chapter 248 Infiltrating the West Suburbs Garden

2023-06-28

It turns out that the sacred card can function smoothly without producing a trilled "r" sound.

Come to think of it, how could a divine being of supreme authority have such poor hearing? He wouldn't understand unless a tremor was emitted, right?

Xiao Yao came out of the clothing store's fitting room—he found that the clothes he had placed on the leather stool were gone, and the latch had been opened from the outside.

As he walked out, the saleswoman who had told him, "Sir, this is for women," saw him again, her eyes widening in surprise and her mouth slightly agape.