Chapter 962: Exam Scores and Glittering Deals

After a mission, Shi Du crouched outside the blacksmith’s shop in Territory Eleven, covered head to toe in grime. Munching on a cucumber, he asked Huo Zhun quietly, “Huo, which subject did you pass?”

Huo Zhun, slurping down a tomato, replied, “Survival skills. What about you?”

“Law. I missed passing survival skills by just four points!” Shi Du groaned, slapping his knee. “If I’d memorized a couple more things, I would’ve made it. I should’ve listened to Sister Li.”

After buying the exam papers, Zhu Li offered to scan them for Huo Zhun and Shi Du, but both refused, saying it was too much trouble.

The result? Zhu Li was free, while these two had to put up with a year of nagging and endless studying!

“I’ve got good news!” Tang Huai’s head popped through the window, startling Huo Zhun and Shi Du. “Xia Qing says that next year, Ninth Center might become an official exam site. You two won’t have to go to the Safe Zone for testing!”

Huo Zhun…

Shi Du…

Thanks, but it doesn’t feel like good news.

Carrying a bag of tools out of the storeroom, Huo Zhun asked, “Shi Du, what did you score on the history and literature exam?”

“…Thirty-two.”

Tang Huai…

Xia Qing…

Huo Zhun shrank back—he’d scored two points less than Shi Du.

He hadn’t expected Shi Du to do so badly either. Still unwilling to give up, he pressed, “What about math and science?”

“…Twenty-three.”

Huo Zhun…

Xia Qing…

Huo Zhun, who had scored seventeen points higher than Shi Du, immediately straightened with pride.

Tang Huai couldn’t take it anymore. “Do you have the exam papers? Lemme see what kind of questions could be this tough!”

Shi Du rubbed his temples. “There were three big questions. I couldn’t even understand a word of them.”

“Right? If you’re gonna test math and science then test math and science—not write questions so long nobody can make sense of them…” Huo Zhun gestured in frustration but fell silent the instant his father glared at him.

Seeing Huo Lei’s temper rise, Tang Huai hurried to calm things down. “Uncle, you can’t really blame Huo for this. The year the disaster started, Shi Du had just entered junior high while Huo Zhun was still in sixth grade. It’s no wonder they’ve forgotten everything by now. Honestly, their situation is pretty good compared to others—even younger kids can’t even read.”

Xia Qing, coming out from the house, nodded in agreement. Tang Huai was just speaking the truth.

Those survivors who completed elementary school before the disaster truly were lucky. They could read, write and do simple math. But it’s the thirteen-to-twenty age group now that’s really struggling.

Many in that age group never attended a single day of school.

Huo Lei let out a sigh. “Everything got thrown off by the disaster. If it hadn’t happened, Zhu Li and Jiang Ying would definitely have gone to a good university and found a decent job.”

When the disaster’s hell stage began, Jiang Ying was only eight. After a school reopened in the Safe Zone, her mother’s credits alone couldn’t feed the family, so Jiang Ying and her brother were always out scavenging. There was no way they had spare credits to buy books or go to school.

Last year after entering the territory, Jiang Ying spent over two months studying with Tan Qi in Territory Four. Then, when the Ninth Center built a school, Tan Qi qualified to enroll and Zhao Ze’s mother started teaching there—so once more, Jiang Ying lost her chance to learn.

Tang Huai smiled. “Uncle Huo, Jiang Ying’s work now is pretty good, too.”

Ever since the Alliance Research Institute was founded, Jiang Ying stopped joining the group labor in Territory Fifteen. She cooked at home, took care of her own greenhouse and focused on learning how to make farm equipment with Huo Lei.

Huo Lei boasted about her to Xia Qing more than once, saying Jiang Ying was both quick-witted and skillful. The best-selling rolling stools and planters at the Institute were co-developed by Jiang Ying and Huo Lei. Thanks to that, Jiang Ying even earned over two thousand credits in commission.

Keep in mind—working in the territory for a whole month only netted you a maximum of 150 credits!

When she learned how accomplished her daughter was, Jiang Ying’s mother wept with joy and even bought a gift just to travel from the Safe Zone and thank Huo Lei personally.

“So it pays to be smart,” Huo Lei said, shooting his own foolish son a look before handing Xia Qing the polisher. “Here, use this for now. I won’t need it anytime soon.”

Xia Qing accepted it with both hands. “Thanks, Uncle Huo. I’ve already ordered one myself—should arrive with the next patrol truck.”

Tang Huai piped up, “Sister Qing, what are you making with the polisher?”

“Stuff,” Xia Qing answered, deadpan.

Tang Huai nearly spat out his drink.

Huo Zhun, gathering his courage, asked, “Sister Qing, are you planning to go for a high school diploma?”

Xia Qing just shook her head. She’d only been in her first year of high school when the disaster hit. “Nope.”

Huo Zhun and Shi Du both let out a sigh of relief. Great—once they got their junior high diplomas next year, they’d be on par with Sister Qing and wouldn’t need to study anymore.

The moment Xia Qing started to leave, Tang Huai, who’d just come over to see the commotion, quickly said goodbye. Shi Du followed right behind.

As soon as all three stepped outside the north gate of Territory Eleven, Xia Qing said to Shi Du before Tang Huai could get a word in, “I need to head to Territory Eight. You and Tang Huai want to go together?”

Shi Du, who’d actually been hoping for a ride, nodded without hesitation. “Sure.”

Tang Huai stared longingly at Xia Qing, clearly wanting to tag along to Territory Eight. Xia Qing acted like she didn’t see him at all and drove off.

So why go to Territory Eight?

For a pink crystal trade, of course!

That shameless wolf actually asked for a sparkly, pink-diamond-studded Yi Stone Protector!

To get her hands on some Green Lantern Pecans, Xia Qing could only grit her teeth and agree.

A Yi Stone Protector with pink diamonds could get her a whole bag of Green Lantern Pecans—no diamonds meant she’d only get a single pecan.

Leaving something that flashy in a cave on Hill Fifty-Five? Anyone would know there was real treasure inside! Xia Qing genuinely had no words for that wolf’s taste.

She was half tempted to slap together a visual test for the Crippled Wolf to see just how many colors its evolved eyes could actually distinguish.

After dinner back in the territory, Xia Qing, under the ever-watchful eyes of her picky client, polished and buffed the simple yet super-practical Yi Stone Protector until it shone. Then she glued on the crystal bits and brushed it with a layer of clear varnish.

Once done, Xia Qing threaded a string through the dazzling, gem-encrusted protector and displayed it for the client. She asked, “Broken Back, does this work for you?”

With a few patches of fur missing on its head, the Crippled Wolf’s eyes sparkled as it looked up, signaling for her to hurry up and put it on.

Xia Qing just stared.

“Not yet—you need to wait until the varnish dries.” She hung the protector near the air conditioner to speed up drying, then asked, “Broken Back, when are we testing the pecan quality?”

The Crippled Wolf turned away, focused on the TV as it kept learning.

Xia Qing was left speechless.

Seriously?

She really wanted to smack that wolf.

“Tomorrow night’s the medicinal bath—don’t forget to let the Queen and Big Wolf know they need to get ready for a soak.”

The Crippled Wolf turned and raised its still-bandaged left forepaw at her.

“It’s waterproof, you can soak.” The injuries this time were all surface wounds, so aside from some essential disinfectant, Xia Qing hadn’t used any extra medicine.

Only now did the Crippled Wolf bare its tiny sharp canines in a grin.

Xia Qing laughed, ruffled its head, told it to keep studying, and set off to patrol the territory.

She’d barely finished a lap before a message from Tang Huai popped up:

“Tang Lu’s college entrance exam results are in—she passed! She can go to university!”