Two Geniuses

[What did I just see? Professional, this scamming posture is way too professional. You can tell he's a veteran actor at a glance.]

[This luck... I suggest he go buy a lottery ticket. He could win enough to bankrupt the World Bank.]

[I suspect he's putting on an act to fool us, but I have no proof. Even though he looks like he's flailing helplessly, the direction he gets washed away by the water every single time is terrifyingly accurate.]

[Upstairs, if it were anyone else, I might tell you it's all a coincidence. But, this is Brother Coffin.]

For the next minute or so, everyone watched a bizarre underwater performance.

Chen Guan was washed around in the turbulent currents, tumbling constantly. His movements were completely erratic, making him look utterly ridiculous.

Yet, at the very last moment, he always managed to accidentally hit those fleeting sound source points in various bizarre ways—using his elbows, knees, back, and even his heels.

Three minutes were up.

[Test concluded. Sound sources captured: thirty times. Final rating: Excellent.]

The cabin door opened, and Chen Guan walked out, completely drenched.

The entire venue was dead silent.

This result, even in a normal difficulty test, was enough to rank among the top.

And he had completed it under triple the difficulty, using a method that no one could understand.

Is this guy really a trainee?

Which instructor is using a smurf account to bully people?!

The smile on Instructor Jing's face faded. He just looked at Chen Guan, staring for a full three seconds.

Then, he smiled again and took the lead in clapping.

Clap, clap, clap.

The crisp applause was particularly piercing in the silent training ground.

"Very... very spectacular luck." Instructor Jing pushed up his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses unfathomable. "Student Chen Guan, you have surprised me once again."

His tone remained gentle, but Chen Guan felt an unprecedented premonition of danger.

"It seems that a simple individual test is still too easy for you. It can't let you truly shine."

Instructor Jing's tone shifted, and his gaze swept over the two most eye-catching figures in the crowd.

He pointed his finger, first at the red-haired girl carrying a giant axe, Hong Yuan.

Then he pointed at the silver-haired boy beside her, Yin Chen.

Finally, his finger landed on Chen Guan.

"You three, form a team."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue was in an uproar.

In the crowd, Yin Chen rubbed his chin with interest, a knowing smile curling on his lips.

Putting the two strongest monsters and the most bizarre lucky guy in the same group?

What exactly was this instructor trying to do?

Chen Guan's heart sank bit by bit.

His premonition had come true.

He was forcibly pushed into the eye of the storm.

He had an impression of these two people; they were the first and second place from just now. Obviously, these were the new geniuses left for the protagonist to deal with after changing maps.

Although An Changqing's poor ranking just now was partly due to his own personality, the strength of these two was not to be underestimated either.

Before he could sort out his thoughts, a fiery red figure had already walked up to him, bringing a gust of wind.

The red-haired girl, Hong Yuan, slammed her giant battle axe onto the ground with a heavy thud, causing the floor to tremble slightly.

She was half a head shorter than Chen Guan, but she tilted her face up, staring at him unblinkingly with her fiery crimson eyes.

"Hey, you."

Her voice was crisp but carried an oppressive feeling that made it impossible to argue back.

"Tomorrow, don't hold us back."

"Otherwise," she smiled, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, "my axe won't show any mercy."

Her smile was full of wildness, revealing undisguised fighting intent.

Chen Guan: "..."

Why did it feel like this person was Long Ao's biological sister from different parents?

The small test quickly concluded, and Instructor Jing announced the dormitory assignments.

The dormitories were single rooms.

He wasn't so lucky this time; Chen Guan was placed quite a distance away from An Changqing and the others.

However, Yin Chen was assigned to the room right next to his.

...

Early the next morning.

The cold wind scraped across their skin, bringing a stinging pain.

Last night's snow had covered the steel fortress in a fresh layer of white. Nothing was good about this place in the Northern Territory; the year-round bitter cold was only the most inconspicuous of its flaws.

Instructor Jing led the group in a large circle and stopped in front of a towering black tower.

The tower's body was entwined with the twisted silhouettes of countless demonic beasts. Just looking at it made one's chest feel tight.

"This is the Myriad Demon Tower. It is another small qualification test."

Instructor Jing's voice was flat, but his gaze was like a red-hot branding iron, searing into everyone's nerves.

"Inside the tower, demonic beasts are everywhere. Your goal is to advance deep into the top of the tower."

His gaze moved slowly through the crowd.

"This mission tests teamwork. Anyone's mistake will lead to the failure of the entire team. And as I said before, all failures will be sent back."

"The good news is that this is just for you to practice. Therefore, those demonic beasts are all phantoms and cannot exert a hundred percent of the strength they had when they were alive. However, remember not to let your guard down."

Instructor Jing's gaze finally landed on the trio of Chen Guan, Hong Yuan, and Yin Chen.

"Squad One, you will depart first."

Hong Yuan shrugged her shoulders, and hoisted the giant axe up in response.

Her crimson eyes were filled with the eager fire of wanting to try, staring straight at Yin Chen.

"Hey, are you going in front, or am I?"

A playful smile appeared on Yin Chen's face, his silver hair leaving a fluttering trail in the air.

"The reckless brute charges forward, and the elegant hunter brings up the rear. This is common sense."

"Who are you calling a brute?"

The blade of Hong Yuan's axe dragged across the ground, striking a spark, looking like she was ready to fight at the slightest disagreement.

"Naturally, not you."

Yin Chen spread his hands, his tone revealing his perfunctoriness.

The two exchanged verbal blows, and the smell of gunpowder in the air was thick enough to choke on.

Chen Guan stood to the side, carrying his black coffin on his back, treating himself as an invisible person.

Argue all you want, just don't drag him into it.

The lines on Instructor Jing's face softened, revealing a satisfied expression.

He liked watching this kind of scene. The more rebellious they were, the more of a sense of accomplishment he got from polishing them.

At the entrance of the Myriad Demon Tower, a pitch-black vortex slowly rotated in mid-air.

Stepping into it, the surrounding scenery was stretched and distorted.

When they opened their eyes again, it was a completely different world.

Chen Guan and the other two appeared in a Gothic-style stone corridor.

The damp and cold air was mixed with a bloody stench.

The lighting was dim, and the carvings on the walls looked like twisted, painful faces, adding an inexplicably creepy vibe.

"Hmph."

Hong Yuan charged out first, her giant axe dragging on the floor, producing a dull, heavy sound.

She didn't wait for the two of them at all. Her posture looked like she wanted to cleave every demonic beast in the tower in half.

Yin Chen followed unhurriedly, a faint breeze wrapping around his fingertips, every step landing in the safest position.

Chen Guan, on the other hand, treated himself as an uninvolved spectator, strolling unhurriedly at the very back.

"Watch out for traps," Yin Chen reminded, his tone so flat that it lacked any hint of concern.

Just as he finished speaking, Hong Yuan stepped into thin air.

The stone slab beneath her feet collapsed, and rows of sharp spikes sprang out from the walls on both sides.