Chapter 9

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[Attention all candidates! Attention all candidates!]
[Remaining time for this exam: 23 hours]
[Remaining candidates present: 4,158; Candidates who have withdrawn: 1,266]
[Additional questions for this exam have been released. Candidates may proceed to the Secret Realm Center to seek answers.]
[Helpful reminders:
1. Finding the test questions grants 10 points
2. Obtaining the test questions grants 10 points
3. Providing an answer grants 10 points (regardless of correctness)
4. Correct answers grant 30 points (total of 50 points for additional questions)]
[Announcement concluded! Candidates, please answer promptly!]

Zhou Wanli stood still, quietly listening to the broadcast.
She exhaled deeply, then gently patted the little tail of the baby dragon beside her. “Let’s go, time to get to work!”

Once again, she arrived before the familiar stone cliff.
But her mindset was completely different now.
The baby dragon followed closely, its hind paws scraping the ground, seemingly recalling past events and lowering its head shyly.

“What’s this about?” Zhou Wanli flicked her hair carelessly, realizing her ponytail was already a mess. As she tidied it, she said, “We didn’t know each other before, and I trespassed into your territory on my own. Isn’t it normal to get attacked?”

“By the way, since we’re partners now, calling you by your full name isn’t quite right. My surname is Zhou, so your full name from now on will be Zhou Xiaobao.”

The baby dragon nodded indifferently; for it, a name was probably less important than a tree fruit.

Zhou Wanli had already confirmed with the baby dragon that this stone cliff path led to a tunnel reaching the Secret Realm Center. At least, the provocative monkey hadn’t lied about that.

Moreover, taking this route had the advantage of cutting out all the detours through the forest, saving half the time.

Bringing her beastmaster companion into the tunnel where she lived, the baby dragon was both happy and a little bashful. Its little tail curled around the girl beside it as it led the way.

Last time she came here, Zhou Wanli thought she had ventured quite deep, but under the baby dragon’s guidance, they wound and twisted for over half an hour before finally arriving at a deeply hidden cave.

This cave was where the baby dragon used to live.

Since the exam would end in a day and they would leave the Secret Realm, Zhou Wanli thought she could help the baby dragon pack some cherished belongings and take them along.

The mountain’s tunnels branched in all directions, and the occasional sound of rock mice gnawing on stone walls echoed faintly. Living in such an environment was truly difficult for the baby dragon.

Though it was a rare descendant of a high-level supernatural creature, it had mysteriously appeared in the Secret Realm, forced to live in cramped, dark cave tunnels.

Zhou Wanli looked at the baby dragon ahead, its tail wagging back and forth with a hint of affection. “It’s okay, little one. Sister will take good care of you from now on!”

The baby dragon stretched out its little paws. “Awooo~ We’ve arrived!”

“Squeak—”

“???”

Zhou Wanli’s face was filled with question marks; she didn’t understand how this creature had appeared again and even came into the cave.

The provocative monkey looked innocent and was lying sideways in a shallow pit inside the cave — the baby dragon’s old sleeping nest.

“Awoooo—”

The baby dragon instantly exploded with fury, its not-yet-fully-grown scales bristling as it roared aggressively at the monkey.

“Squeak?” The monkey changed position, propping its head up with one hand, feigning ignorance like a rogue who didn’t hear a thing.

Zhou Wanli sighed heavily. “I say, you monkey, why on earth are you sleeping in someone else’s cave? Did you run out of salt or are you just bored?”

The monkey bared its teeth defiantly. “Squeak squeak!!”

I’m the big brother here! What’s wrong with the big brother sleeping in the little brother’s territory?

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“Now you’re the big brother again?” Zhou Wanli shook her head, unwilling to waste time arguing further.
“One, two, three. Move aside quickly. We have things to do. Once we pack up the baby dragon’s stuff, we’re leaving.”

But to her surprise, after hearing this, the provocative monkey refused to move and instead began rolling around in the shallow pit, making strange squeaking noises.

Zhou Wanli closed her eyes in frustration and immediately manifested her neural tendrils, then instructed the baby dragon, “Xiaobao, use Sand Scatter, then slash with your claws!”

The baby dragon perked up. “Awooo~ Got it!”

A pale yellow energy gathered on its body.

The monkey was still rolling in the pit when a dense cloud of dust buried it. “Squeak!”

After swallowing a mouthful of dirt and having its eyes smeared shut and watering uncontrollably, the baby dragon quickly charged forward, its front claws gleaming sharp and cold as it clawed fiercely.

The monkey sensed danger and, relying on its abundant combat experience, twisted its body just in time to dodge, but in the next moment, a chilling, nightmare-like coldness struck its neck again as the neural tendrils squeezed tightly.

“Ugh—” The monkey went limp, giving up the struggle.

“Tell me, why don’t you listen to reason and make me resort to force? If I weren’t kind-hearted, by next year, grass would be three feet tall on your grave!”

Zhou Wanli gave the monkey a hard tap on the head. “Remember this lesson well! Next time you see me, stay far away!”

The monkey: “……”

Its little eyes clearly showed disdain, but a monkey under a roof has no choice but to lower its head.

The baby dragon huffed and puffed as it ran into the nest, its two short front paws dropping things as it went.

Zhou Wanli rubbed her forehead and stepped forward to help pick them up.

Upon closer inspection, the baby dragon’s precious belongings turned out to be only three or four mineral stones and a soil-colored round bead strung on a rope.

Zhou Wanli recognized the stones as Grade E basalt, minerals that could serve as food for earth-elemental supernatural beings of the same level, providing energy.

Just as she recalled this from her books, she saw the baby dragon pick up a piece and crunch it with its mouth.

“Impressive.”

Holding the soil-colored bead in her hand and playing with it, Zhou Wanli guessed it might be another kind of earth-element mineral.

The baby dragon was almost done eating the stones in its paws. It patted its little belly contentedly and looked expectantly at its beastmaster, hoping to take the rest along.

Zhou Wanli had no objection. After all, in the outside world, these energy minerals cost money, and they weren’t cheap.

Her backpack supplies were nearly used up, so it was perfect for carrying these minerals.

But once loaded with the minerals, the backpack became too heavy to move conveniently, so Zhou Wanli decided to have the baby dragon carry it.

This baby weighed several hundred kilograms, but no child labor abuse here.

——

“Xiaobao, use Roar, then scatter sand behind you to block their line of sight.”

Zhou Wanli was running desperately, more awkwardly than the last time the baby dragon chased her.

“You pesky monkey! Try that again and see what happens!”

She was about to lose her mind. After coming out of the mountain tunnel and reaching the Secret Realm Center, she had planned to send the provocative monkey away.

But she had no idea what madness had taken hold of it; it insisted on following them all the way, making a fuss now and then.

This time it got itchy and went to tease some baby mandrake ducks, only to be caught by the returning parents.

The result was a bloody mess.

She no longer wanted to waste energy resisting and, accompanied by the baby dragon, focused on searching for the additional exam questions mentioned in the broadcast.

Unfortunately, she found no clues at all.

The provocative monkey had followed them for a long time, watching closely, then suddenly disappeared. Zhou Wanli thought it must have given up out of boredom, and she was overjoyed.

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Unexpectedly, after an hour or two, the provocative monkey reappeared with an air of triumph.

It arrogantly gestured to Zhou Wanli, signaling that it knew where the thing they sought was!

Zhou Wanli naturally didn’t believe it and decided to stick to her own plan — searching for food and water while looking for any clues.

But the monkey grew anxious. It scratched its head desperately trying to explain, but no one believed it.

In the end, the monkey gave up all pretenses. Whenever Zhou Wanli was busy, it would come over and pester her.

Eventually, even when she just walked, the monkey tried to trip her.

Zhou Wanli: “……” Is this monkey crazy?

Not only her, the baby dragon was also thoroughly annoyed. The monkey, relying on its agility, appeared beside the baby dragon from time to time, yanking its tail and then running away.

The baby dragon, an earth-element supernatural creature, was almost turned into a fire dragon from irritation, roaring furiously and cursing like crazy.

Zhou Wanli: ……

Helpless, she repeated old tricks, but even after being tied up several times by neural tendrils and hung from trees, the monkey remained unyielding, showing a reckless tenacity.

Zhou Wanli: ……

She surrendered.

Zhou Wanli swore that this monkey was the most bizarre and annoying supernatural creature she had ever met in her life. Never before, and never again!

Following the provocative monkey through the forest, Zhou Wanli wore an expression of utter despair, holding no hope whatsoever.

Although she was a science student with average reading comprehension, she couldn’t make heads or tails of the exam broadcast.

She attributed the confusion mainly to the examiners.

It’s just a test; can’t it be simpler? If you know it, you know it. If you don’t, you don’t.

If it really didn’t work, let her set the questions.

Zhou Wanli’s thoughts drifted off as the provocative monkey wandered aimlessly, sometimes left, sometimes right, specializing in the unexpected and the unpredictable.

“Provocative monkey, this is the last time I’m trusting you.” Zhou Wanli frowned, feeling oddly familiar saying this.

She shook her head. As the surroundings grew stranger, she worried, “Are you sure we’re not lost?”

The provocative monkey walked ahead impatiently, waving its hand dismissively. “Squeak squeak! I never lie.”

Zhou Wanli: “?” Could it be that I was the one lying before?

After walking a while longer, Zhou Wanli’s expression went numb. She had no thoughts left, simply grateful the monkey was unusually well-behaved on this stretch. Even when they encountered many beautiful or powerful supernatural creatures, it showed no provocative behavior.

But this very obedience made her scalp tingle with fear, afraid the monkey would suddenly cause trouble again.

“Squeak squeak squeak!” We’re here! We’re here! This is the place!

The provocative monkey suddenly stopped, looking serious as it gazed straight ahead.

Zhou Wanli was puzzled by its sudden crouch. When she looked up, her brow twitched sharply, reacting even more intensely than the monkey. She quickly backed away ten meters with the baby dragon.

The provocative monkey stood with its hands on its hips, eyes full of disdain.

Zhou Wanli wanted to curse. She barely noticed the monkey’s look, only that it had led her and the baby dragon right into the territory of the Hundred Flower Bee Queen!

She wished she could turn back time and never trust it again.

She truly fell down exactly where she had before! She was done for!