Chapter 32: New World

She was initially surprised to see who came with the rambunctious boy who had pranked her on her first day of return.

"Hello! I brought my pal, Wang Lei!"

Things became awkward immediately due to the teasing stares directed at Zhang Mei Xing.

Unfortunately for them, even if she was acting like a teenage girl, her mindset was still that of a woman in her twenties. No way she could have an interest in a boy so much younger than her mentally. Considering that wall-like eight-year gap, it was just a crime.

'Sorry, pass. I want boys my age. Or at least someone eligible for a driver's license exam.' She almost blurted out.

"This tall dude here is my cousin, by the way. His name is Li Renshu." Li Qiang introduced the older-looking man standing behind him. The latter gave them a small nod.

Zhang Mei Xing's expression froze upon recognizing the person. She then looked like one who had eaten a mouthful of flies.

Li what? This was clearly the stern guide who had given her the 'system', Liu Yang. That impossibly handsome face was extremely hard to forget so there was no way she would make a mistake!

'Why is this person here?' The question naturally popped up in her mind.

Yet, even though the other party had thrown a glance her way, he didn't speak. The guide treated her like air. It must be because they were surrounded by many people.

Zhang Mei Xing felt uncomfortable in her heart. For a while, she wondered if her fellow guide was here to chide her for her lackluster evaluation of Xiang Linxin's exam. Or maybe it was to discuss the penalty she would get from doing such a poor job?

Although she looked calm outwardly, even smiling as she pulled her female friends into the bus, in actuality, Zhang Mei Xing was already thinking of rebuttals once Liu Yang talked about that mission.

…

It had been an exciting day and Zhang Mei Xing was able to enjoy herself since a certain someone did not immediately request a one-on-one discussion with her.

But that only lasted until nightfall.

"Midnight of every seventh day will be when you'll be required to oversee an examination."

Zhang Mei Xing was left alone with the guide, standing before the setting sun. Who knew what method he used to make the others go away as if they were under a spell? In the end, his so-called mentor guide was not content with forcing her classmates and friends to ride the bus by themselves. He even dragged her to the Static World where the only saving grace was the picturesque frozen image of the sunset.

'Should I be glad that at least, it's not a scolding?' Zhang Mei Xing's twenty-four-year-old heart was quite tired. After all the nervousness and awkwardness, this was actually how Liu Yang would initiate their conversation.

She could not help but ask, "Mister. Didn't you create the customer service button so we can have a two-way chat? If there's something you want to tell this little one here, you could have just reached out to me through that."

There was a dissatisfied look on her face. She didn't look pleased upon being bothered in her real world.

And well, the expressions and the words actually were just in her imagination. She was not in her raging bear mode today, meaning she lacked the actual courage to speak rudely to a true agent of the Temple.

In actuality, Zhang Mei Xing merely hummed and nodded to show that she understood. "Sunday midnight, isn't it? Not hard to memorize."

It meant this would be when she would be forced to do a thankless job that could either drive her crazy from loneliness or fearful of possible violent characters.

"Whenever you are on a mission, the time flow does not really stop. The only reason it did last time was due to my merits."

'… This man really loves to emphasize where his merits go,' she observed, her facial muscles turning stiff.

This time, she really voiced out her thoughts, "Do I have to pay you back once I earn some of these so-called merits?"

"No need. I was just the type to clarify things whenever I could."

"Oh."

"In the future, the system would be my way of telling you how the Temple evaluated your mission. For starters, the one you handled last time, examinee Xiang Lingxin, the Temple gave you a hundred merits. It's not bad for a rookie."

'Why lie if you can't maintain a straight face?'

It was Zhang Mei Xing who had to lower her head in embarrassment from seeing the unnatural expression of the man. It seemed this person did not truly think highly of her performance at that time. The encouragement did not achieve its purpose since the woman was not a naïve kid who could not reflect on herself and her surroundings.

She cleared her throat. To ease the awkwardness that suddenly descended between them, she asked what she could do with those whatever merits.

"Can merit points give me a pass so that I can be freed from a mission for some time?" she emphasized. The eager look on her face made the man literally speechless.

"No." After regaining his senses, he mercilessly answered. "We could exchange the merits for abilities, cheats, etc. But an exemption, no. The Temple is already understaffed. Other guides need to handle ten times what's been allocated to you."

The next thing that popped up in their conversation was about the items exchangeable. Then Liu Yang informed her to get ready for the second examination. She was not reprimanded for doing a poor job for Xiang Lingxin. However, she was informed that in the next world, she would be required to play a bit of an active role.

"Active role?" She tilted her head in confusion. This was before they parted.

The cogs in her brain began to work and then when she seemed like she had grasped what he meant, her face immediately soured.

"Y-you mean… Instead of only taking part in the latter part of the test as a villainess or anybody with capabilities to increase the difficulty, I would be taking over some role earlier than that?"

Liu Yang glanced at her with the same emotionless face and nodded. "You only have a few hours to prepare for your next case. Please head home and find a safe place before midnight. Check the list of stuff you can exchange some of your merits with to arm yourself. You won't die. But I can already see that you are still susceptible to trauma since you still retain memories of whatever happens in a fake world."

Zhang Mei Xing lowered her head. That was indeed the case. She found it not funny to sometimes wake up from a nightmare where she died from either earthquake or asphyxiation.

The man simply added, "To make you feel a bit better, every guide in the Temple went through that. I hope you adapt fast, Trainee Guide Zhang. The best way to not end up in traumatizing situations is to always prepare for the worst and make your plans foolproof."

The encouraging words entered her ears and thankfully reached her brain. It was easier said than done. But doable if she changed her mindset and accept that this was now part of her life. The real price of her reincarnation.

…

Midnight came and when Zhang Mei Xing opened her eyes, she saw three people in front of her, two boys and one girl. The pretty girl was holding hands with the guy who looked like a second-gen rich while breaking up with the other poor, but good-looking guy.

With just a glance, she could already feel that the examinee was the devastated boy discarded by his beloved girlfriend for someone richer.

A corner of Zhang Mei Xing's lips twitched as the words escaped her mouth. "Modern and male examinee... If cultivation is added here, I don't think I will like this guy's story..."

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