Chapter 24: Class Placement by Level

“You’re deceiving us! You never said we’d have to board. I don’t want to live here, I want to go home!”
“I can’t sleep in a strange bed—I can’t sleep unless it’s my own.”
“Who’s going to do our laundry?”
The entire stadium was in a noisy uproar.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A barrage of gunshots crackled loudly, as shrill and relentless as firecrackers.
On the edge of the stadium, more than a hundred soldiers in black uniforms fired their guns into the air.
Many timid students covered their ears and crouched on the ground, some girls even bursting into tears. Those who had been complaining about boarding or about uncomfortable beds immediately clamped their mouths shut, not daring to utter another word.

Only the cold, sharp gunfire could make these students realize that they were no longer cherished darlings with everyone watching over them. Here, even if they died, no one would care.

Wei Zheng sneered, “Why aren’t you making a fuss now? Let me make this clear: here, there are no laws or rules. I am the law. I am the rules. If I kill you all right now, no one will stop me. You’d better adapt to your new identities quickly. You’re no longer pampered young masters and mistresses. Here, you are evolvers who could die at any moment. Your only purpose is to evolve, to grow stronger. Otherwise, the only thing waiting for you is death!”

The stadium fell silent. No one dared say another word.

Wei Zheng nodded and continued, “Very good. Now, let me announce the third matter. All students who have already evolved, please stand to my left. Those who haven’t, to my right.”

Two thousand students divided into two groups: on one side, 1,253 who had already evolved; on the other, 747 who had not.

Wei Zheng then had all evolved students fill out a registration form for the Evolution Center, requiring them to provide their home address, family members, contact information, as well as their character name in the Evolution Sphere, all attributes, dungeon records, equipment, skills—every detail imaginable, as if they wished to record even their chest and hip measurements.

The students who hadn’t evolved were led by another figure—a woman in a white cloak and a fox mask—to the stadium’s Evolution Sphere.

It was clear the one in the fox mask was a woman because her chest was so prominent; the tight suit only accentuated her impressive figure.
She was one of the four instructors at Pingli Secondary, codename Moon Fox—the only female among the four.

“Now, students who haven’t yet evolved, it’s currently 12:10 Beijing time. The Evolution Sphere in the stadium has been activated. To better assess your talents and abilities, I won’t give you any guidance for your first entry. Once inside, you’ll be on your own. The first-time experience always brings all kinds of unexpected encounters. Use your imagination as much as possible and strive for the best results, as this will determine your class placement.”

The 747 students about to evolve for the first time, some nervous, some excited, slowly approached the Evolution Sphere. One by one, they were sucked in like dust caught by a vacuum.

Ning Xuan gazed longingly at the Evolution Sphere, while the intelligence module in her mind was urgently warning her:
Warning! Warning! There’s an Evolution Sphere within 100 meters. Enter immediately or the module’s energy will soon run out.
Warning! Enter the Evolution Sphere now!

Ning Xuan’s body started moving involuntarily toward the sphere, but Chen Mo grabbed her arm firmly and said in a low voice, “Don’t do anything rash. Don’t you see those terrifying soldiers in black guarding the sphere? Without the instructors’ permission, no one can enter. The consequences would be dire.”

Sure enough, some students who had already evolved couldn’t resist the pull of the Evolution Sphere and tried to approach, only to be mercilessly beaten to the ground by the Shadow Corps soldiers.

Wei Zheng said coldly, “Didn’t you hear what I said? This time, only those who haven’t evolved can enter. After their first evolution results are out, I’ll divide you all into classes based on your characters, skills, dungeon records, points, physical fitness, and other factors. F Class is the lowest, D Class is ordinary, C Class is excellent, B Class is elite, and A Class is for geniuses. Each class receives different resources, such as monthly state stipends and access to experimental gene enhancement serums. In this school, strength is everything. If you want more opportunities with the Evolution Sphere, you have to prove your worth!”

Class placement by rank—survival of the fittest!

A faint smile crept onto Chen Mo’s lips. The days ahead were bound to be interesting.

After a tedious half-hour wait, all students who entered the Evolution Sphere emerged, and the black-uniformed soldiers began tallying the results.

Based on dungeon performance, profession, equipment, and skills, Wei Zheng and the four instructors ranked the 2,000 students by comprehensive strength, from first to last.

It was all too real.

Those ranked 1,501 to 2,000 were assigned to F Class, under Instructor Moon Fox.

Those ranked 1,001 to 1,500 went to C Class, led by the instructor famous online for his comical emoji mask, known as the Jester Instructor.

Students ranked 501 to 1,000 were placed in B Class, their instructor the most physically imposing, standing two meters tall and wearing a black bear mask—known as the Black Bear Instructor.

Ranks 101 to 500 made up A Class, led by the fattest and shortest instructor, whose mask was a giant drumstick—thus called the Drumstick Instructor.

Ranks 1 to 100 belonged to the Genius A Class, personally overseen by the coldest and most ruthless head instructor, Fang Zheng.

Chen Mo dared not reveal his main account, “Great Demon King”—the number-one ID on the global leaderboard. If anyone found out, he’d surely be summoned for questioning.

Instead, Chen Mo used his alternate account, “Little Prince,” whose dungeon record was only 100 meters—the lowest in the school. Unsurprisingly, he was assigned to F Class, the lowest tier.

Ironically, Ning Xuan’s dungeon record was 8,000 meters—the highest in the entire school, mirroring Chen Mo in an opposing way.

When Head Instructor Wei Zheng learned that Ning Xuan achieved 8,000 meters on her first-ever entry into the Evolution Sphere, he was so shocked that he immediately uploaded her information to the headquarters of White Cloud and Hound. The organization’s leadership instantly responded, ordering them to fully nurture this girl and ensure she would one day join White Cloud and Hound.

White Cloud and Hound was the only official evolution organization, with extremely high entry requirements. “White Cloud” referred to agents like Wei Zheng and Moon Fox, who carried out visible missions, while “Hound” was ever-changing and mysterious—few knew anything about their operations.

The fact that Ning Xuan had caught the attention of White Cloud and Hound’s top brass was proof of her immense potential.

Unsurprisingly, Ning Xuan was placed in the Genius A Class. Wei Zheng, in front of the entire school, called her to the front with a hint of provocation: “Do you see this? This is Ning Xuan, the student ranked number one in overall strength! Dungeon record: 8,000 meters; full starter set; 17,000 points; and one of only five students in the school with a character skin. And she’s only thirteen years old! Aren’t you ashamed? Aren’t you disgraced? From today on, she is your target. Let me make it clear: whoever surpasses her will become a formal member of White Cloud and Hound! Of course, if Ning Xuan can keep her top rank for six months, she will also be admitted. Once you become a member, you’ll have privileges beyond the law, free access to all Evolution Spheres nationwide, and the best resources available. You will stand at the very top of the world!”

With these words, everyone’s eyes flashed—some with envy, some with jealousy, some with venom—as they all stared at Ning Xuan. From this moment on, she had become the target of nearly everyone.