In the 90s, you could acquire max-level skills every 14 days.

On the morning of the assessment, Zhang Defa pulled out his old white Dacron shirt from the bottom of his trunk.

He only wore that jacket twice.

Once, when the factory was recognizing outstanding employees, he accepted an award on behalf of the team.

One time was when an old comrade-in-arms got married and his daughter was getting married.

This is the third time.

As he buttoned his shirt in front of the mirror, he made a mistake twice. Li Guilan watched from behind, laughing, "Is it really necessary? Are you going to take the exam or is he going to take it?"

Zhang Defa didn't retort, but instead reached into the top of the cabinet and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, stuffing it into his pocket. After weighing it in his hand, he decided one pack wasn't enough, so he took another pack from a shoebox.

"You've been hiding it well, Zhang Defa. I'll settle the score with you when we get back! Two packs of cigarettes will be enough!" Li Guilan kicked him.

When Zhang Yong came out of the bedroom, he glanced at the panel and his heart skipped a beat.

[Driving Lv.5: Proficiency 98%]

I trained all night last night, eight hours multiplied by 30, which is 240 hours of training, and finally reached the critical point from Lv.5 to Lv.6.

It's just one step away from victory.

……

Military-equipped closed examination room in the eastern suburbs of Chaoyang District.

A large area of ​​cement ground and dirt road was surrounded by barbed wire, and seven or eight vehicles, ranging from Jeeps to Jiefang trucks, were parked on the side of the field.

A dozen or so men in overalls squatted in twos and threes under the shade of a tree, smoking and chatting.

These people are all veteran drivers from their respective units, some with five years of experience and others with twenty. They were all recommended by their respective training centers.

When Zhang Defa arrived, he immediately went into "smoke-offering mode." He would approach anyone dressed neatly, offering them cigarettes while saying, "Thank you for your hard work, sir."

The man accepted the cigarette and asked, "Are you here to take the exam too? Which training center are you from?"

"It's not me, it's my son, from Old Chen's place, hehe, the kid's still young, just practicing randomly." Zhang Defa said modestly, but his ears were perked up like radar.

Chen Yongjian saw his cowardly appearance from afar and rushed over in two steps.

"Zhang Defa!" Chen Yongjian called out in a low voice, waving his hand. "Stop fucking throwing cigarettes around! Do you think this is a market?"

Zhang Defa chuckled and leaned closer, still slipping the cigarette in his hand into Chen Yongjian's pocket.

"What are you so nervous about? Yongzi's skill level is..."

"Shut up!" Chen Yongjian glared at him.

Zhang Defa immediately shrank back. He knew Old Chen; the more nervous he was, the fiercer his face became.

A folding table was placed in the center of the examination room, and three examiners sat behind the table.

The chief examiner was Examiner Ma from the Traffic Police Corps. He was in his early forties, tall and thin, with little expression on his face, and looked at everyone as if they owed him three hundred yuan.

Sitting next to me was an assistant examiner surnamed Dong. He had a round face, a big belly, and a smiling face, and seemed easy to talk to.

A whistle blew, and the check-in process began.

The twelve candidates lined up according to their numbers, with Zhang Yong in seventh place and Liu Changhe in eighth.

The first six candidates boarded the bus one by one, and their performances varied.

A seasoned driver with ten years of experience on long-distance driving was quite steady, smoothly navigating S-curves and hill starts, drawing applause from the sidelines.

Some people had a bad day, crossing the line while reversing into the parking space, and their faces were as red as the bottom of a pot when they got out of the car.

It was Zhang Yong's turn.

Examiner Ma looked down at the roster and read out, "Number seven, Zhang Yong, Chaoyang District Transportation Bureau training center."

Deputy Examiner Dong gave Chen Yongjian a sidelong glance with a smile.

"Old Ma, there's something wrong with car number seven. How about we get him a new one?"

Chen Yongjian's expression changed; he saw that Deputy Examiner Dong's palms were sweating.

The two had a fight in the exam room last year, and I was worried that the fat guy would hold a grudge.

Examiner Ma snorted, his face still stern: "Fine, you arrange it."

Deputy Examiner Dong gestured towards the side of the field with his lip: "That one."

Zhang Yong followed his gaze and saw an old, dark green Jiefang truck parked there.

The paint on this car is quite chipped; it's obviously a spare for the driving test, used for people to practice on.

Chen Yongjian stepped forward immediately: "Old Dong, this is against the rules! The vehicles used for the exams must meet a unified standard—"

"Old Chen," Deputy Examiner Dong said with a smile.

"Did you set the rules, or did the headquarters set them? Special driving assessments are for special cases, so special cases should be handled specially."

"The soldiers you trained can't even overcome this little difficulty?"

This left Chen Yongjian speechless.

"It's alright, Uncle Chen, I'll try it first."

Zhang Yong patted Chen Yongjian on the shoulder and walked directly towards the old Jiefang truck.

He walked around the car once, and then he had a better understanding of the situation.

The car isn't as bad as I imagined; it does have a few minor issues, like slightly low tire pressure on the right rear. There's also an oil leak from the chassis, but it's not too serious.

He nodded to Old Chen and then got into the driver's seat.

The condition of the car interior was so-so; the rubber on the steering wheel was worn away, and the seat springs were half-collapsed, causing the seat to tilt to the left as soon as you sat down.

Zhang Yong thought for a moment, then took out a discarded registration form from his pocket.

He tore off half of the sheet, rolled it into thin strips, and stuffed it into the gap at the oil leak point in the chassis, temporarily sealing the leak.

Fasten your seatbelt, sit up straight, and turn the key.

The engine made two noises and shook for a long time before it finally managed to turn.

The engine's vibrations were transmitted to the seat, then along the steering wheel, and through the foot pedals, directly to Zhang Yong's body.

He glanced at the panel at the edge of his field of vision and took a breath.

[Driving Lv.5: Proficiency 99%...]

Shift gears, release the handbrake, and start moving.

The old Jiefang truck wobbled slightly, then stabilized and started moving forward.

When they went through the S-curve, both Lao Chen and Zhang Defa were on tenterhooks.

It's important to know that the steering wheel of this Jiefang truck has a lot of play. A curve that a normal truck can turn half a turn into requires this truck to turn more than half a turn to make it around.

Zhang Yong gripped the steering wheel firmly with both hands and turned it into position in a few quick movements.

Just as the two breathed a sigh of relief, Jiefang was about to start climbing the slope.

The engine almost stalled the moment the clutch was released to the semi-engaged position, and Old Chen's heart jumped into his throat again.

Zhang Yong revved the engine with his right foot, keeping the tachometer needle steady at 1200 RPM. The car paused briefly before smoothly climbing the hill.

Several experienced drivers who were watching the spectacle clapped and cheered.

The last item is drifting into a parking space.

"The last round!"

Zhang Yong drove the car to the starting line and held his breath.

He floored the accelerator, pulled the handbrake with his right hand, and slammed the steering wheel with his left—

The wheels emitted a sharp screeching sound.

He used the momentum to straighten the car body and successfully completed the drift into position.

The panel popped up in real time at that moment.

[Driving Lv.6 - Breakthrough!]

[Congratulations! The skill tree has been unlocked! The entry-level proficiency requirement for similar skills has been reduced by 20%!]

[Auto Repair Lv.0 - Entry Progress: 30% → 36% (Associated Bonus)]

Zhang Yong gripped the steering wheel, his palms sweating.

The examination room was silent, and everyone's eyes were focused on the old car.

The examiner glanced at the stopwatch, then stood up without any expression.

"Okay, the 7th has passed."

Outside the barbed wire fence.

A fellow worker nudged the stunned Zhang Defa, exclaiming, "Hey! Old Zhang! Your son's awesome!"

Zhang Defa's lips trembled as he turned around and wiped his face with the back of his hand.

"Yes! That's my own son! He looks just like me!"

……

The examiner walked to the table, took out the red stamp, and was about to press it onto the certificate of qualification.

"Get the hell out of my way! I'm reporting him! Zhang Yong isn't qualified to take the exam!"