Chapter 101: Follow me, I've got you covered!

What are you doing here?

Zhang Jie walked up to Yu Xiaomo and gazed at her cautiously.

I....

The words she had prepared in advance got stuck in her throat, and Yu Xiaomo hemmed and hawed for a long time without managing to say anything, which naturally drew Zhang Jie's attention.

If you have something to say, say it quick, or I'm leaving.

Hearing that Zhang Jie was about to leave, Yu Xiaomo panicked, and the words she had prepared earlier spilled out.

Next week's final exam! I want to compete with you!

Final exam?

Zhang Jie looked up, thought for a moment, and then remembered the final exam next Friday.

This month's exam isn't a written test or anything else; it's a gun battle royale competition held in the Dream Realm.

The final exam is open to all students, naturally including those from the Dream Realm class, and the rewards are very tempting: if a Dream Realm class student places in the top fifty, they can choose to receive a 'player' module early, while ordinary class students receive an item that increases their chance of becoming a player.

The 'player' module is an equipment-like item brought from the game; after the Dream Realm merged with reality, its price skyrocketed, and now even a random one costs tens of thousands.

Likewise, another item that boosts the chance of becoming a player is the same: it can only be used by students under fifteen, and for ordinary students it has an equally deadly allure.

After the Dream Realm merged with reality, many new items spawned from various games, and this item that raises the odds of becoming a player must be one of those newly appeared.

Having figured this out, Zhang Jie suddenly understood Yu Xiaomo's motive.

Watching Zhang Jie's thoughtful expression, Yu Xiaomo felt flustered and silently cursed herself.

No no no!

Why does every time I speak turn out like this! I'm clearly not... not what I meant...

Zhang Jie looked up, puzzled at Yu Xiaomo: 'How has this guy become different from before?'

Shouldn't he just be sarcastic, and if I disagree, directly choke me to force my agreement? What's with this uneasy expression of yours?

Zhang Jie vaguely sensed something was off, glanced at her a few more times, but since the opponent had already issued a challenge to his face, not thoroughly thrashing them for revenge just wouldn't do!

Sure, what's the stake?

When he previously competed with Yu Xiaomo, the stakes were never lacking.

As little as a couple of coins, as much as a pack of spicy strips, it can be small, but it cannot be absent.

Yu Xiaomo saw Zhang Jie agree, felt delighted, and hurriedly organized her words in her mind.

This final exam consists of three rounds: solo, duo, and trio, each taken three times. The school chose a gun battle royale format for the final exam mainly because current students are still striving to become players and cannot gain power from various games.

Only this game can train students' adaptability, crisis response, teamwork, and also make ranking convenient.

How about we compare the solo round of the second match: if I get more elimination points than you, in the third match's trio you must team up with me and help me reach the top fifty.

Conversely, if I lose, I'll... I'll be your lackey! I'll work like an ox and horse for you! And if I later obtain a reward that boosts the chance of becoming a player, that will also go to you!

Yu Xiaomo thought she had offered Zhang Jie an irresistible condition, and indeed, as she expected, Zhang Jie truly could not refuse this wager.

Come on! Letting my arch-nemesis work like an ox and horse for me—this is simply...

Awesome!

Besides, the penalty for losing the bet is almost nothing; Zhang Jie is confident he can get into the top ten of the monthly exam, and even if Yu Xiaomo does nothing, he still has confidence.

By then he will definitely make Yu Xiaomo pay for her past bullying of him!

Zhang Jie, while imagining how to mess with Yu Xiaomo in the future, raised his head and said to her,

Alright, you sure? No taking back your words!

Seeing Zhang Jie agree to her, Yu Xiaomo, for some reason, lifted her head arrogantly, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Well... that's a given!

I keep my word!

Little did she know, Yu Xiaomo did all this actually to get closer to Zhang Jie.

Whether she ends up being his lackey or obtaining an item that raises the odds of becoming a player, she can get closer to Zhang Jie.

If I win I win, if I lose I still win!

This is a win-win!!!

But Zhang Jie doesn't know any of this; his feelings toward Yu Xiaomo remain negative.

Having readily agreed to the duel, time flew by.

The first round was a duo team; Zhang Jie naturally teamed up with his close buddy Liu Delie.

Although the opponent is still inexperienced, after all he's my good buddy, so I definitely have to carry him.

The final exam will be held in Dream Online; even now many students lack their own dream-entry device, so they choose to come to school and take the exam using the school-provided dream-entry apparatus.

Of course, Zhang Jie doesn't need that; he has his own dream-entry nutrition pod, so he simply chooses to take the exam at home.

He gulped down the milk his mom gave him in one go, exchanged a few words with her, then Zhang Jie quickly lay down in the dream-entry pod, his consciousness gradually fading.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Zhang Jie's body had already appeared in Dream Online.

He raised his hand to summon the system, entered the private room serial number given by the school, and Zhang Jie successfully entered the examination hall.

Jie Ge! Stop staring! What's this?

Liu Delie's amusing dialect reached his ears; Zhang Jie looked around and spotted Liu Delie's figure.

As for the gun battle royale game, it's actually a weakened version derived from scored game worlds by some developers, allowing 'civilians' to play as well.

Zhang Jie had also played plenty with Liu Delie before, and in the Dream World, everything feels the same as real-life sensations, and his bodily agility has undergone a qualitative leap.

At least he won't be as weak as in reality, unable to truss a chicken.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Yu Xiaomo, who at that moment was teamed up with a female classmate Zhang Jie didn't know; the two didn't look very familiar with each other.

He withdrew his gaze, and the Exam Supervisor's voice came from the sky.

Fellow students, you surely already know the rules, so I won't say more!

"At 9:10, the exam will start on time!"

A countdown appeared at the top of the hall, and as time passed minute by minute, second by second, the exam started on time.

All the students in the hall disappeared, and when they opened their eyes again, everyone was already on several huge airplanes.

Liu Delie, without saying a word, having played who knows how many times, naturally chose to follow Zhang Jie, leaving Zhang Jie speechless.

Hehe, Brother Jie, I'm thinking my 60% chance of becoming a player is still pretty solid, huh? Just count on you to carry me, wow!

Follow me, I've got you covered!

(Thanks to all my godfathers for the support! I'm so moved!)