2. Investigator

The next morning.

To avoid affecting his performance, Lin Xian didn't eat. After updating his status, he took a car to the Investigation Bureau.

The Bureau of Investigation is located near the nine-story tower in the city center; to enter the tower, one must go through the Bureau of Investigation.

However, you can register for the investigator exam at any time, and you hardly ever see anyone taking the exam anyway.

after all……

In this era, very few people are willing to painstakingly hone their combat skills and evolution techniques, let alone venture into the real world.

Who would willingly invite such hardship and danger?

Even if becoming an investigator offers the opportunity to advance one's authority and climb the ranks, it's done at the risk of one's life, and it doesn't attract many people.

In this virtual world where resources are never lacking, even the lowest-level citizens, relying on their E-level privileges, can receive a guaranteed 1000 credits per month, while food and some entertainment activities are extremely cheap...

When survival comes without a price, effort loses its meaning.

As long as you lie still, you can live almost forever in this virtual world. Who would be so foolish as to go to the dangerous real world?

Looking around, all that's left are the investigators, who are considered crazy by the world.

Upon arriving at the Investigation Bureau, Lin Xian paid 100 credits to register and then followed the proctor into a small conference room.

However, the formal examination process can only begin after it has been confirmed that he has truly mastered the basic evolution method.

Lin Xian waited for a short while before a male investigator in a military green uniform walked into the conference room. After looking him over, the investigator nodded slightly and said, "No problem."

The male investigator then left without saying anything more.

Lin Xian couldn't help but be a little surprised.

You confirmed it after just one glance?

Before he could think further, the staff brought the exam papers and began the first part of the exam—the written test.

"It really is a written test..."

After sitting down, Lin Xian picked up the ballpoint pen provided by the examiner, looked at it, and then glanced at the exam paper, secretly marveling at it.

Even before the apocalypse, many exams no longer require pens, but the investigator exam must be written entirely by hand, which would likely be a challenge for many on Earth who have neglected their studies.

However, Lin Xian already knew this and had made preparations in advance by frequently practicing calligraphy and copying.

"A history question?"

Lin Xian glanced at the first question: "Explain the reasons for the birth of the 'Cenozoic Era'?"

His memories of this period of history had been blurred by alcohol and desire, but after waking up, he brushed up on them and now understands them clearly.

Lin Xian immediately grabbed his pen and began writing furiously on the exam paper.

"In 2029 AD, the Earth will frequently experience natural disasters such as major earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons. It is suspected that there is abnormal activity in the mantle or even deeper. Mysterious rays also appeared in space, covering the entire globe, changing the color of the sky, and damaging the atmosphere."

"For a time, talk of the end of the world emerged one after another, and people were filled with fear."

On October 18, 2029, governments around the world jointly launched the long-hidden Digital Life Project, which used a lottery system to upload the consciousness of two billion people to the virtual world "Blue Star". The consciousness of the remaining nearly six billion people was also sealed in Blue Star's database.

"Although the origin of the virtual world 'Blue Star' is still unknown, all of humanity has abandoned their physical bodies, but in doing so, they have escaped the catastrophe of the apocalypse and survived in their new home on Blue Star."

"During the New Era, the ten councilors representing the highest levels of Earth proposed that all of humanity forget the memory of the apocalypse, and believe that humanity still exists on Earth, but this proposal failed to pass..."

"...That concludes the introduction to the New Era."

Lin Xian stopped writing at this point.

The more I analyze this period of history, the more bizarre it seems.

With the level of human technology in 2029, we are still far from achieving even so-called virtual reality, and brain-computer interface is only in its early stages, let alone creating a virtual world like Earth that is almost 100% realistic.

As the apocalypse approached, governments around the world suddenly launched a digital life program, which allowed two billion people to upload their consciousness to Earth.

They had never even heard of where the servers on Earth were located.

That's truly incredible.

Lin Xian also understood that this was clearly because he was not at a high enough level to understand the truth of the matter.

One question after another came up, and they were mostly related to history, geography, politics, and humanities, and most of them were related to the Earth.

The last question was a free-response question—

What do you think is the meaning of the existence of this virtual world?

Lin Xian was taken aback.

……

……

"Regarding the last question, this candidate's answer is quite interesting."

Inside the conference room, three examiners sat behind a conference table, using tablets to review Lin Xian's answer sheet.

The examiner, a middle-aged man with a square face and a stern expression, sat ramrod straight behind the table and nodded slightly, saying, "He actually believes that the purpose of the virtual world of Earth is 'selection'? That answer does make some sense."

The young and pretty female examiner next to him suddenly laughed and said, "I remember that Director Si also thought that this world was for 'selection' back then, right?"

Another young male examiner shook his head slightly and said, "This candidate's thinking is good, but his talent and temperament are too poor. He has been indulging himself for a hundred years and has only now mastered the basic evolution method. His future is worrying."

"Perhaps Lin Xian's actual cultivation time isn't that long?" The female examiner said, looking at the photo in Lin Xian's file.

The young examiner glanced at her and said, "Talent cannot be determined, but he has spent almost the entire past hundred years in a state of decadent indulgence. With such a personality and willpower, do you think his nature can adapt to the cruel reality of the world?"

The female examiner paused for a moment, then said, "His past behavior wasn't simply one of indulgence; it was also for his family's sake. Besides, he only recently learned that investigators can have their authority levels upgraded."

"Do you know him?" The young examiner glanced at her.

"I overheard him saying a lot of drunken things at a bar dinner a few months ago," the female examiner said casually.

"Chen Shutong, you're associating with people like this?" The young examiner couldn't help but frown.

"So what? Is it illegal?" The female examiner's face turned cold. "I just think he's a nice person."

"One's values ​​follow one's appearance," the young examiner said, shaking his head.

The female examiner frowned, about to speak, but the square-faced chief examiner raised his hand to stop her.

"Alright! What are you all arguing about here?"

The examiner said sternly, "After the interview, you two should go to the political commissar to report and mediate. There must be absolutely no animosity between investigators, especially since you two are investigators from the same region."

The two examiners remained silent for a moment before agreeing.

Immediately, the examiner pressed a button on the table and said, "Let candidate Lin Xian in."

A short while later, Lin Xian, dressed in a formal suit, walked into the conference hall from outside.

"Um?"

After Lin Xian's gaze swept over the three examiners, he looked at the female examiner with some surprise. He didn't expect that the examiner was the investigator he had met a few months ago.

"Mr. Lin Xian, please have a seat."

The interviewer said, "Relax, the interview process is very simple. We just want to ask you a few questions to understand your personal situation, so this part is not that important."

Lin Xian sat up straight, nodded, and said, "Please ask."

"Why do you want to be an investigator?" The examiner looked at him. "Just tell the truth. Even if you say it's so you can kill people at will on Earth without breaking the law, and that's why you want higher-level privileges, that's fine too."

Lin Xian didn't hide anything and immediately said frankly, "The reasons are rather complicated, mainly three points."

He immediately said, "First, when the government held a lottery a hundred years ago, I was the only one in my family who was selected. My parents and sister are still sealed in the database. I heard that as long as the access level is high enough, the people who are sealed can be released."

The examiner nodded slightly and said, "Level B access is possible, but there are only a few important figures in our city with this level of access, and there is a limit to the number of such individuals."

99.9% of the people on Earth are only E-level privilege holders.

As for those with B-level privileges, there are only a handful in the entire Jiangxing City, which has several million residents.

The difference in their social status is self-evident.

Lin Xian already knew this, so he wasn't really affected.

He immediately continued, "Secondly, it's because I might have offended the daughter of a powerful figure, so I need a higher level of authority to feel at ease."

The examiner glanced at the information and frowned, saying, "Although you only have E-level clearance, on Blue Star, only those with B-level clearance can arbitrarily eliminate or seal you away. Such a powerful figure wouldn't deliberately target you. How did you offend his daughter?"

There's no particular reason.

Lin Xian slowly said, "It's just because I rejected her. Even though I was very polite when I rejected her, in her eyes, it was a loss of face for her. The face of a so-called important person like her should be more important than the life of a lowly citizen like me, right?"

The three examiners suddenly realized.

Although Earth is touted as a fair, free, and wonderful virtual world, true equality can never exist in this world.

A high-ranking person with C-level privileges can make it impossible for someone with only E-level privileges to survive with just a single sentence, while someone with B-level privileges can simply seal them up with a single command, turning them into a meaningless stream of data.

"Don't worry too much. In that case, such an important person won't deliberately target you." The examiner shook his head slightly.

Lin Xian didn't say anything.

He also understood that even a high-ranking figure like a B-level authority user wouldn't deliberately suppress someone like him from the bottom.

But he had had enough of this feeling of powerlessness, of his fate hanging in the balance of someone else's decision.

"Let me tell you the third reason," the female examiner next to her said.

Lin Xian paused for a moment before saying, "Because... I envy you guys."

"envious?"

All three examiners were looking at him.

Lin Xian slowly said, "In the hundred years I've lived on Blue Star, I, and most of the people I've met, have become addicted to pleasure or just lying around doing nothing. Day after day, we've become numb and don't even know why we should live anymore."

He paused, then looked at the female examiner: "Until three months ago, I met this examiner and your colleagues. The vitality and spirit of you investigators are completely different from those who live a life of debauchery. I admire and yearn for it, and I have rediscovered my purpose in life."

"So, I really want to become an investigator too." Lin Xian looked earnestly at the three examiners.