Chapter 997: 0594 A Test of No Difficulty

"Next, I will announce the specific examination procedures; each branch director is responsible for informing the participating cleaners."

As Li Ang and the Red-haired Woman exchanged glances, the pale pearl oyster continued to announce:

"This promotion examination, aside from not requiring physical presence, is no different from previous ones and still consists of three stages.

The first stage is a basic talent test, the second is a randomized combat proficiency test, and the third is a large-scale group mission simulation; the total examination time is expected to last 72–120 hours.

All participating cleaners must finish their current tasks beforehand, prepare to sleep for three to five days, and after sunset today, relax your consciousness and enter the Dream Realm by consuming the [Dream-Weaving Color Fungus]. A guide will then lead you to the examination site—latecomers will not be admitted!"

"Click!"

With a soft sound of shell closing, the pearl oyster, having delivered all instructions, snapped shut instantly and fell completely still.

After picking up the pearl oyster and returning it to his drawer, the Red-haired Woman couldn’t help but smile, then leaned back in her chair with evident delight, sipping tea from her bottle.

"Not bad. This time, everyone else can only fight for second place."

"..."

Indeed...

Watching the director before him wear an expression of "certain victory," "advantage is mine," and "how could I possibly lose," Li Ang couldn’t help but chuckle and nod, then glanced at a badge in his panel.

【Dream of the Nightmare: You, who are utterly insane and reckless, seeking momentary pleasure even at the cost of destroying a world, have become the Nightmare King’s most terrifying nightmare.】

【Wearing Effect: You, deeply feared by the Lord of Nightmares, are now equivalent to standing above all nightmares—no nightmare dares to affect you.】

【Advanced Path: None】

【Hidden Trait (No Need to Wear): As the legendary villain determined to utterly destroy the Dream Realm, your infamy will echo throughout the Dream Realm; all dream beings below the level of True God, merely sensing your aura, will endure overwhelming terror.】

Though it’s premature to pop the champagne halfway through—before the match even begins—given his complete immunity to nightmares and his ability to forcibly terrify all dream beings below True God level, he truly had no idea how he could lose.

Even if his talent was abysmal and his combat performance collapsed, earning the lowest scores in the first two stages, by the third stage’s mission, even all remaining candidates combined would likely be less efficient than him.

And even more absurdly, in the Dream Realm, there was Snow Woman—his own Nightmare—whose authority, in the absence of the Nightmare King’s resurrection, made the Seven Nightmare Envoys the supreme rulers of the Fallen Soul Abyss, granting them dominion over all nightmares within its range.

Even if he encountered something truly unmanageable, a single "call" would summon at least hundreds of thousands of nightmares to his aid, possibly even more than one Nightmare Envoy; if the mission were to capture a Dream Realm True God, this force could likely attempt it.

"Little Li Ang~ This time, besides taking the exam seriously and reclaiming the first place that’s already yours, don’t forget to get some revenge for me~"

Upon learning the examination location, the Red-haired Woman, now completely at ease, quickly drained the tea from her bottle and smiled warmly to remind him:

"Scorpio, Libra, Aries... each of those three branch directors’ turncoats you eliminate earns you five Gold Wheels in bonus."

"Understood. I’ve got it all noted."

After replying, adhering to the principle of despising the enemy strategically but respecting them tactically, Li Ang recalled the three stages described by the pearl oyster and asked seriously:

"Director, the third-stage mission is classified. What about the first two stages? Is there any information you can give me in advance?"

"Yes~"

Seeing Li Ang, despite his overwhelming advantage, still diligently gathering intelligence, the Red-haired Woman’s eyes gleamed with approval, and she smiled:

"The purpose of the first stage is to test your potential—in other words, your speed of increasing Li Ang Value, and your upper limit of Li Ang Value capacity while maintaining relative mental stability.

Given the Bureau’s current situation, they’ll likely assign you a mild high-tier anomaly item to hold in sequence, then monitor fluctuations in your Li Ang Value through changes in your soul state;

Or they might use a special anomaly item where those with higher Li Ang Value or greater mental stability can see more, get closer, or climb higher... In short, the exact format is unknown, but it’ll be one of these methods."

So... it’s mainly testing cleaners’ ability to withstand "contamination" from anomalies?

After hearing the Red-haired Woman, Li Ang considered his own condition and nodded confidently.

He’d been in the Cleaner Bureau for only three and a half months, yet his current contamination level was already 17 points, and his mental state had remained stable... well, mostly stable—so in this first test, even if he didn’t take first, his score would certainly be excellent.

"As for the second stage, it’s purely a combat proficiency test—team battles, one-on-one, one-versus-many, all possible; the battlefield conditions are random and decided entirely by draw."

Here, the Red-haired Woman paused slightly, then added with no small pride:

"When I took my Level One exam, I drew a string of small and medium one-on-one arenas, won every match, and advanced to the finals without a single scratch... Little Li Ang~ You can’t do worse than me!"

Won every match, advanced to finals without a scratch?

Hearing the Red-haired Woman’s boast, Li Ang’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

Got it. Won eighteen straight matches, reached the finals, then lost—so you’re the eternal runner-up?

Tsk... sometimes having too-smart subordinates isn’t a good thing...

Seeing the dawning understanding in Li Ang’s eyes, the Red-haired Woman’s proud smile faded slightly, and she scowled:

"Anyway, with your current level, you must win at least two first places in these three stages. Fail one, and you buy me ten bottles of good wine!"

"Oh..."

"Abigail."

After unconsciously touching his neck, the Scorpio Director sighed, looking at the stubborn white-robed girl before him and his six or seven disgruntled subordinates, his head aching:

"Though you may not believe me, I told you to wait half a year before taking the exam—I truly meant it for your own good..."