Chapter 25: Advanced Trial, Initiated!

"It really is. Everyone is envious that you have such a great partner as Mao Mao!" Liu Ming praised. "It's a pity that, aside from you, we haven't found a single other player who has successfully kept a pet. The data you asked me to look into is completely blank."

"Hmm? Why is that?"

Lu Wenwu balanced Xiao Bao on his head, bent down, and scooped up the golden retriever, whose face was written with anticipation, into his arms for a good petting.

"The difficulty is too high. Not a single prospective player who entered with a pet and good luck has managed to survive the initial dungeon," Liu Ming explained. "After all, pets with as much intelligence as Mao Mao are rare; you can't expect normal pets to match her intellect."

"I thought it was pretty easy..." Lu Wenwu muttered softly.

Easy... my foot! That might be easy for a powerhouse like you!

Liu Ming, roaring internally, kept his expression stiff and pretended not to hear, immediately changing the subject. "Anyway, the... the food truck you ordered is ready. Should I have it towed to the warehouse, or?"

"It's ready?"

Hearing this, Lu Wenwu’s eyes lit up, and he strode toward the door. "No need, I can just store it in my inventory."

He had long wanted a street food cart similar to the ones seen in the United States, perfect for making egg crepes—essentially a mobile, convenient little kitchen. Now that he had the chance, he had asked Liu Ming to help him commission one. It didn't need a powertrain or wheels; it was essentially a cross between a camper and a food truck. It was great for both cooking and sleeping.

Actually, the thing didn't even have wheels. Instead, it had a ring of anchor pins, much like a tent.

"Store it in your inventory?" Liu Ming was horrified. "That’s a giant twelve meters long and over three meters high! Following your requirements, the shell is crafted entirely from a special alloy. Including all the miscellaneous machinery, furnishings, ingredients, and kitchenware inside, it weighs at least ten tons!"

Although Liu Ming was not a player, he knew that the system inventory only allowed players to store items they could physically lift. Otherwise, if someone stacked hundreds of tons of rocks and dropped them on a boss, wouldn't they just insta-kill everything in low-tier games? The system naturally prevented such exploits.

And a normal D-rank player... even a veteran who had been stuck at this stage for years would struggle to deadlift more than one ton, and that would require extreme focus on strength stats along with skill and gear buffs.

"A mere ten tons? Nothing to worry about."

Lu Wenwu smiled faintly, reached out to touch the military-green chassis, and the massive food truck vanished in an instant.

With his current [Constitution] attribute of 312.34, even relying solely on raw physical strength, lifting twenty tons would be a breeze. If he were to stimulate his internal energy and use cultivation techniques to boost his body, increasing his strength several times over would be even easier. Moving this behemoth was no challenge for him.

"Good heavens... In terms of raw strength alone, I doubt many C+ rank players who have cultivated techniques could keep up with you," Liu Ming exclaimed in awe of Lu Wenwu’s monstrous strength. "By the way, don't forget about your advancement trial; the deadline is approaching."

"Right, I'll take it easy this afternoon and head out tomorrow," Lu Wenwu said. "I'll have to trouble you to look after Xiao Bao then."

Liu Ming thought about his experiences over the last two days and felt a bit embarrassed. "I think... she probably doesn't need me to look after her. She knows how to get water, and she can open the automatic feeder to eat cat food and dried fish. Besides..."

At this, Liu Ming glanced into the room and lowered his voice: "Besides... I always feel like the way Xiao Bao looks at me is full of contempt. It’s like she looks down on me..."

"Hahahaha... that’s completely normal," Lu Wenwu laughed heartily. "Don't sweat it; it’s not like she respects me or Mao Mao any more than that. You’ve never kept a cat, so you wouldn't understand. Whether poor or rich, strong or weak, cats look down on everyone equally."

Liu Ming: "..."

As expected, I am a loyal dog person; I really don't understand the mindset of you cat owners. Is the little angel Samoyed not warm enough? Or is the big golden retriever Mao Mao not cute enough?

After seeing off the slightly existential-crisis-stricken Liu Ming, Lu Wenwu familiarized himself with his new food truck. The officials had already stocked it with ingredients, kitchenware, and bedding, so there was nothing left to prepare.

Lu Wenwu decided to take a day off. After simmering a small pot of sauce, he took Mao Mao, boarded a public hover-car, and returned to the old neighborhood where he had lived for a long time to sell his egg crepes.

No man could resist the temptation of a new toy, not even the invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior who had earned an [Incredible] rating! Today was destined to be a carnival for the members of the "Fifth Brother's Hungry Force" group—everyone except the office workers and those busy in dungeons.

...

The next day.

Having prepared everything, Lu Wenwu put on his combat armor and, under Xiao Bao’s incredibly resentful gaze, confidently chose to start the advancement trial.

[Matching in progress...]
[You have initiated an advancement trial. The difficulty of this dungeon will be significantly increased.]
[Pet detected. Your dungeon difficulty range is being adjusted upward.]
[Matching successful.]
[Dungeon: Return to the Peak]

[Synopsis: Do you miss the peak of your academic prowess? That carefree time when you knew astronomy and geography, and formulas and foreign languages were at your fingertips? Congratulations, you have been given a chance to start over. As a high school senior, strive to let your brilliance shine in the Interdimensional High School Joint Examination!]

[Number of players: 30]
[Main Mission: Achieve a grade of [Pass] or higher in all subjects in the Interdimensional High School Joint Examination and survive until the end.]
[Current Assimilation Rate: 0%]
[Dungeon Level: C]
[Time Dilation: 10:1]
[Note: This is a special dungeon. Your skills, cultivation techniques, buffs, inventory, remaining free attribute points, and spirit coins will be sealed.]
[Warning: Within this dungeon, players cannot obtain teacher qualifications by any means. Please do not engage in extreme behavior.]

When he came to his senses, Lu Wenwu was already standing in front of a school gate. It was early morning, and it seemed to be before school hours; everything around was quiet.

Lines of dungeon information refreshed on his personal panel.

[Mission Hint: Find your assigned class before morning self-study and integrate into it.]

What the hell, an interdimensional joint exam! I’ve already transmigrated, and I still have to study and take tests?

Lu Wenwu’s originally calm expression suddenly became rather subtle. After reading the hint at the bottom, he checked his own state.

His expression, already subtle, became even more so.

That's not right? What happened to the seal on cultivation techniques and skills?

Lu Wenwu fell into deep thought. Not only were his three hundred-plus attribute points all intact, but if he wanted to, he could still manually trigger his Military Dao Killing Fist and Military Combat Arts. The Shadow Step was a bit difficult to execute, but clearly, Lu Wenwu’s talent wasn't in that area.

Could it be that these were categorized as "knowledge" and "experience," and since his "Cultivation Technique for Serving People with Virtue" acted directly on his body, it could not be sealed?

While Lu Wenwu pondered this, the other players who had entered the dungeon with him were clearly not as calm.