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墨書 Inktalez
The other two approached to take a look, their faces filled with surprise.
"According to the Free Federation, the Aptitude Test has been rescheduled to... three months from now? Everyone is eligible to register," Lu Fei Fan read aloud.
"This is strange. The Unified Awakeners Examination is usually held every two years. Why has it suddenly been moved up by a year?" Niu Dali pondered, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Well, it doesn't matter. We wouldn't even pass the preliminary selection, so going would be pointless," A Teng complained.
Lu Fei Fan squinted as he recalled his own experiences with the Aptitude Test. He had taken it five or six times. At first, he believed in fate, thinking that even though he was a transmigrator, his physical constitution would eventually awaken its potential. But who would have guessed that after all these years, he had been eliminated time and again during the rigorous preliminary selections, never even qualifying for the first round of assessments, let alone the subsequent comprehensive evaluations.
In the end, he had to accept that he was just an ordinary person. He wondered how many others in the Free Federation were like him—gritting their teeth and persisting year after year, day after day in their training, hoping to qualify for the Fuser examination, yet never awakening their potential.
As for A Teng and Niu Dali, they had also attempted the test two or three times and were ruthlessly eliminated by the examiners like trash. Naturally, they held little hope for this assessment, unlike some exceptionally gifted individuals who passed the Aptitude Test and soared to great heights.
Not only those talents but even those who became Fusers were heavily recruited by various corporations and factions, often entering the Free Federation's military and embarking on successful careers. There were countless examples of people rising through the ranks despite not coming from prestigious backgrounds. Through years of bloody battles and accumulating achievements, they could still change their circumstances and destinies.
Lu Fei Fan had once dreamed of such experiences, but after more than a decade of taking the Aptitude Test, he ultimately resigned himself to being an ordinary person. Those dreams faded into mere illusions, dissipating like smoke.
Although this year's Fuser qualification assessment was taking place a year earlier, Lu Fei Fan felt no enthusiasm for it.
The three continued to gather around the virtual flyer, venting their frustrations for a while before wandering through the Virtual Network aimlessly. After some time, they finally logged off and parted ways.
As they left the internet café, dawn was breaking. The three bid each other farewell at the dock and headed home.
Lu Fei Fan lived on a barren civilian island in the Southern Sea Region of the Free Federation, home to only a few tens of thousands of residents. Compared to those prosperous sea areas with several large cities on super islands, his island felt almost like a speck on the map. It was often referred to as a remote backwater by people from larger urban islands.
Lu Fei Fan had heard that nearly every island in the Central District of the Free Federation was home to massive cities with populations reaching into the millions—places far beyond what he could compare to. The level of prosperity and urban development there surpassed anyone's imagination; Lu Fei Fan had never visited one of those large urban islands.
The medium-sized city island where the Free Federation Academy was located was already the grandest place he had ever seen.
Lu Fei Fan's home island was called Turtle Island, a relatively underdeveloped place in the Southern Sea Region of the Free Federation, inhabited by the poorest of the poor. There were many other marginal islands similar to Turtle Island, all scattered around the outer areas of the Southern Sea Region. The public safety there was naturally worse compared to the larger city islands, and there was even a possibility of being attacked by mysterious monsters.
However, the people on these islands formed their own security patrols to maintain order, even pooling money to hire Fusers or Mercenaries to combat and drive away the monsters that emerged from the sea and attacked their cities.
In contrast, medium-sized city islands typically stationed military forces for protection, while larger city islands not only had military presence but also employed Fusers hired by powerful clans, corporations, and influential factions to form the Lighthouse Guard, ensuring much greater safety than what Lu Fei Fan experienced on his Civilian Island.
Due to the limited land area of these islands, housing prices in large cities soared to exorbitant heights. For someone like Lu Fei Fan, it would take fifty years of hard work just to afford a home in a large city island, let alone leave his current island.
At the dock, Lu Fei Fan purchased a ferry ticket back to Turtle Island. The journey would take several hours over the sea. He couldn't help but sigh at the lack of high-speed trains in this world; trains traveling at hundreds of kilometers per hour were truly revolutionary advancements.
In this world, although technology was more advanced than on Earth, he could only choose to travel on these old and cheap vessels known as ferries. They were considered the most affordable, dangerous, and prone to overloading ordinary ships. Lu Fei Fan had witnessed a ferry capsized by a monster in the waters before; two-thirds of the passengers aboard had perished. He hoped he wouldn't become another meal for one of those sea monsters.
Fortunately, the waters of the Free Federation were relatively stable and safe since naval ships frequently patrolled these areas. Generally, there would be Fuser officers stationed on board these warships who would not neglect the safety of civilians.
For those traveling between islands, there were also more luxurious options available. Wealthy individuals could opt for transport aircraft; however, not every island had an airport for landing. Therefore, transport aircraft could only travel between large city islands. Medium-sized cities had makeshift landing areas, while Civilian Islands like Lu Fei Fan's would never have an airport built by the government.
Thus, he had no choice but to take the ferry. Ferries varied in size and capacity depending on the size of the island and its port facilities.
After several hours of bumpy travel on the ferry, Lu Fei Fan finally arrived at Turtle Island. This small island spanned only a few square kilometers with rows of simple houses winding up along its terrain to reach its peak. The other side of the island mirrored this layout—this was where civilians lived: crowded and resource-scarce. Even water was supplied in limited quantities at scheduled times for each household. Yet this did not significantly affect people's lives; moreover, there were veterans and strong citizens who voluntarily formed civil defense patrols that helped maintain peace and stability.
At the dock, Lu Fei Fan spent twenty minutes haggling with a seafood vendor before finally purchasing a fresh fish and some meat at the cheapest price possible. He then bought a bottle of the island's most expensive liquor from a shop and began his familiar walk home while humming a tune.
If an ordinary person returned home, it would likely be a scene filled with familiar faces greeting one another. However, when Lu Fei Fan returned, it was quite a different chaotic scene.
"Hey, isn't that the good-for-nothing?"
"Quickly, daughter! Hurry back and hide your underwear!"
“Oh no! The rogue is back!”
No one knew who shouted that, but the residents of the island froze for a moment, and then the sounds of windows and doors slamming shut echoed everywhere, as they hurried to secure their homes against fire, theft, and wolves.
Of course, aside from the women, many of the men who were busy with their own tasks immediately dropped what they were doing and chased after Lu Fei Fan, who was darting through the streets like a rat fleeing from a cat.
“You little brat, what do you want after stealing my wife’s underwear last time?”
“Don’t run! I still haven’t settled the score for you groping my daughter!”
“Wow, he runs faster than a mouse!”
Lu Fei Fan skillfully zigzagged through the streets, quickly shaking off his pursuers. He soon returned to his home located halfway up the mountain—two Civilian Houses.
These two Civilian Houses had seen better days, but what was rare was that there was a courtyard in front of them. It was here that Lu Fei Fan had made his grand entrance into the world, standing naked and looking down at all of Turtle Island, with his greatest aspiration since birth—to tease all the good women on the island.
Thus, he had earned quite a notorious reputation on this island. His misdeeds were infamous; nearly half of the women on Turtle Island had been teased by this rogue. Of course, most of the bizarre cases of missing women’s underwear were also attributed to him. As for the other half of those incidents? Well, that was due to someone else entirely.
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