Game: Civilization Paradise

He then sat silently in his seat.

「An hour and a half later.」

Long Ming and the others finished their exam and walked out of the examination hall.

"The questions this time were way too hard!"

"I feel like I'm going to fail again."

"For multiple-choice question seventeen, which one did you pick?"

...

The numerous test-takers discussed among themselves with worried expressions.

"Mr. Long Ming, did it go well?"

Windsor replied with a smile.

"It went well. When will the scores be out?"

"The proctor will be out to announce them in a moment."

"Okay."

Long Ming didn't say anything else.

A few minutes later, the proctor came out and spoke to everyone.

"We will now begin announcing the scores. Anyone who passed can come forward to collect their report card. Those who failed do not need to."

"Ang Li, 32 points!"

...

"It's over. I have to retake it again."

Cries of anguish rang out one after another.

As Long Ming listened to the proctor read out the scores, he couldn't help but shake his head. It was clear the written exam was incredibly difficult. The proctor had already called out over a hundred names, but so far, only one person had passed.

"Long Ming, 99 points!" the proctor called out.

"Whoa, that's so high!"

"Who is that?!"

"That's incredible."

...

The crowd gasped in amazement.

An Jie was also surprised when she saw Long Ming's score.

"He's amazing. That's even higher than my score."

"Tch! Amazing my ass. The guy cheated. It's just because he's rich."

Jeff, unable to keep a straight face, muttered under his breath.

The others didn't know the inside story, but he knew it better than anyone.

Hearing his score, the corner of Long Ming's mouth twitched slightly. He walked up to the proctor under everyone's gaze.

The proctor handed Long Ming a report card and said with a smile, "Do you know why I docked you one point?"

"No?"

"I docked you one point to keep you from getting arrogant. Take your report card and go."

"Thank you."

Long Ming then took the report card and left.

「A moment later.」

Windsor led Long Ming to the practical exam area.

"The waiting area is inside. You can just go in and wait."

"Okay."

Long Ming didn't say much more. He had passed the written test; the practical exam should be a piece of cake.

He went through security and arrived in a huge waiting hall.

The entire waiting hall was bustling, filled with at least a thousand test-takers.

Long Ming scanned his surroundings. On the left side of the waiting hall was a transparent glass wall, through which he could clearly see the situation inside the examination grounds.

A massive crowd of students gathered in front of the glass wall, watching the Mechanical Gods inside the exam area take off and perform various test maneuvers.

"Examinee Number 544, Jia Mu, please prepare!"

...

At that moment, announcements were continuously broadcast over the PA system.

Overcome with curiosity, Long Ming moved closer to the glass wall.

"Is this test really that hard? How come so few people have passed since this morning?"

"You think that just because you've practiced all the test maneuvers, you're guaranteed to pass?"

"Am I wrong?"

"Naive. Let me tell you, the Mechanical Gods they use for this test are absolute garbage. The neuro-response commands are constantly lagging or failing! The performance of the mechs is terrible, and they even crash sometimes."

"Holy crap, no wonder they're all failing. Can't we use our own?"

"Nope."

"Oh man, what am I going to do if I bomb this? I had to pull a lot of strings just to get a spot."

"I don't even know what I'm going to do myself."

...

The numerous test-takers discussed anxiously.

Listening to the chatter, Long Ming's brow furrowed. He wasn't afraid of a difficult test, but using a garbage Mechanical God for the exam was a problem with no easy solution.

But for now, all he could do was give it a try.

A little over half an hour later, a clear voice came over the broadcast.

"Examinee Number 555, Long Ming, please prepare."

Upon hearing his name, Long Ming headed toward the exam entrance.

He soon arrived at the entrance, and the sealed doors opened at once.

Long Ming walked inside under everyone's gaze.

He followed the corridor until he reached a square-shaped room.

Long Ming was taken aback. 'A dead end?'

He stood quietly in place and waited. About ten minutes later, a door opened in the right wall.

Long Ming immediately walked over, passed through the doorway, and found himself in another long corridor.

He followed the corridor all the way, took a long, roundabout path, and finally emerged from an exit.

The test-takers at the exit saw Long Ming and broke into applause.

Long Ming was taken aback.

"Dude, you're awesome!"

"Your skills are amazing!"

"You managed to pass with such a crappy machine."

...

The crowd of test-takers praised him with envy.

Hearing this, Long Ming instantly realized what had happened. 'Someone took the test for me. No wonder they guaranteed I'd pass.'

Just then, Windsor walked over and said with a smile, "Mr. Long Ming, let's go!"

"Okay!"

Long Ming then followed Windsor and left.

Windsor led Long Ming toward an office area. When they arrived at a door, she reached out and knocked.

"Come in."

A voice came from inside the office.

Windsor pushed the door open and led Long Ming inside.

Inside, a bald man in a work uniform was making a certificate.

KA-CHUNK!

Just then, a brand-new Mechanical God certificate dropped out of the machine.

"There you go, take it!"

The staff member handed the certificate to Long Ming with a smile.

"Thank you."

Long Ming took the certificate and left with Windsor.

After they walked out of the office, Windsor said to Long Ming,

"Mr. Long Ming, your certificate has been issued, but there's something I need to remind you about."

"Go ahead."

"You can get by without studying the theory for the Mechanical God exam, but you absolutely must learn the Star Alliance's airspace regulations. There are restricted no-fly zones where you can't pilot a Mechanical God. Only those who have filed a flight plan or have a military rank can fly in those areas! You must memorize all of this. If you violate the rules, the penalty can be a fine, but serious offenses can lead to your certificate being revoked or even jail time."

Windsor reminded Long Ming with a very serious expression.

"Understood. But I'm curious, do you guys just hand out certificates to anyone who pays?"

"No. Although we do open back doors for people, we have our principles. The person getting the certificate must already be at a competent skill level, and they also have to be enrolled in our courses! Otherwise, if they get into an accident, we could be held jointly responsible."

"I see."

Long Ming nodded.

"Mr. Long Ming, let me see you home."

"Alright."

...

---

「That evening.」

Long Ming returned to the Star Wish Cafe.

The first thing he saw was a short old man with graying hair, wearing a gray work uniform, chatting and smiling with Xiaoqi and the others.

"I didn't expect you to be able to pay the full amount this time. It looks like your business is doing pretty well."

"We were pretty lucky this month. How are collections from the other businesses?"

Xiaoqi chatted cheerfully with Cao Qi.

"Sigh, the situation is very bad. Almost no one could pay the full amount. Most couldn't even pay half."

Cao Qi replied with a sigh.

"The situation is even worse than I imagined."

"Let's not talk about that. I have a letter here from Miss Luo Xue. Please sign for it."

"A letter from Sister Luoxue!"

Xiaoqi reached out and took it, overjoyed.

"Take your time reading it. I'll be going now!"

After handing over the letter, Cao Qi turned and left.