Chapter 8

Just after getting off the ferry, Lin Youde and the others were led to a large cargo warehouse at the dock.

Inside the cargo hold, hundreds of boys and girls around Lin Youde's age had already gathered.

"So many new students..." Lin Youde muttered to himself.

Lin Xiangzhi, walking beside him, smiled and said, "Besides training ghost agents, this place also trains support personnel for the agents. So it's normal to have a lot of new students. This year, only a little over eight hundred people enrolled, which, as far as I know, is a relatively small number."

"Is that so? Then am I going to be an agent or a volunteer?" Lin Youde asked curiously.

"That depends on the selection results."

"Selection? I didn't see any talking pointed hats..."

Lin Youde's words made Xiangzhi laugh out loud, "You really have watched a lot of ancient movies, haven't you?"

【What does a talking pointed hat mean? Why is it mentioned here?】 Noah's question entered Lin Youde's mind.

【It's from an ancient movie. In the movie, the main character has to wear a pointed hat when they first enter the school, and the hat will shout out the name of the house they should be in.】

【Is it this one?】 Noah's internet search ability was impressive, and it seemed she could ignore the transmission time within the solar system.

In the corner of Lin Youde's vision, *Harry Potter* started playing.

【Don't play it! Can't you just watch it yourself?】

【I don't have your human emotional logic. I need you to watch it so I can record and analyze your feelings to understand the charm of the movie to the fullest. If I watch it, I'll just create a mathematical model of the movie...】

【So you're using my emotional model as a substitute?】

Lin Youde had no choice but to try to ignore the movie playing in his vision, but he couldn't last more than two seconds.

【If you keep showing me this, the data you collect will be wrong because movies should be enjoyed with full attention, not half-heartedly.】

【Is that so? Alright.】

"Hmm," While talking to Noah, Lin Youde felt Xiangzhi nudge him with her elbow, "Is your girlfriend sending you a video again? Looks like you've got a very clingy girlfriend."

"Why would you jump to that conclusion!" Lin Youde's voice was a bit loud, causing people around him to look over, including Lin Deguang, who was standing not far away.

Lin Youde noticed Lin Deguang's lips moving and subconsciously wanted to know what he was saying. Then, the words appeared above Lin Deguang's head.

"Look at that idiot, he'll definitely be the first to fail the test."

【Noah!】

【I just projected the lip-reading results for you.】

Lin Youde was taken aback, thinking Noah was just playing around. But upon reflection, it didn't seem like she would do that.

【What is a prank?】 Noah seemed to sense Lin Youde's thoughts and asked.

Lin Youde didn't answer, knowing Noah would find the answer online soon enough.

But at that moment, Xiangzhi pouted and nudged Lin Youde again, "You're spacing out again. Your girlfriend is so clingy, it could cause problems during our closed training. If you don't want her to run away from loneliness, you'd better prepare your little treasure."

"Closed training?" Lin Youde raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, closed training. No internet access, no going out. Regular students have four months of this training each year, and ghost agent candidates have six months. Of course, that's assuming you become a ghost agent candidate."

"Is it that hard to become one?" Lin Youde regretted asking as soon as the words left his mouth. It was a stupid question; if it were easy, there wouldn't be so few ghosts.

"Let me put it this way, the first selection each year eliminates over 95% of the new students. The content of the selection varies each year, and some years, people even die."

Lin Youde's eyes widened as he looked at Xiangzhi, "People die?"

"Yes, it's strange, isn't it? Here, deaths during training are common, but no one complains because the death rate after graduation is even higher, especially for the top graduates. They get assigned to high-risk missions."

Lin Youde's heart started to tremble. He wasn't a hero, just an ordinary high school graduate who had never thought about living a life intertwined with death. Now, he felt like he had come to the wrong place...

At that moment, someone walked up to the control platform at the northern end of the cargo hold. In a space station, the axis of rotation is usually considered the north-south axis, with the end where the main power center is located being the north.

Although it was far away, Noah helpfully enlarged the figure on the platform and projected it onto Lin Youde's retina.

A robust man in his early forties, with the rank of a UN Space Force Brigadier General on his broad shoulders, likely a principal or vice-principal.

"I won't give a long speech; it's meaningless," the man said, "I'm the supervisor of this space station. Just know that my surname is Zhang. Now, let's start the test. Instructor Li."

As soon as Brigadier General Zhang finished speaking, a row of boxes at the northern end of the cargo hold opened, and over a dozen heavy-duty robots, each taller than a person, stood up, revealing their multi-barreled Vulcan cannons.

The bald, muscular man standing next to General Zhang said, "These are rubber bullets, but you'll still die if hit multiple times. Be careful."

Before he finished speaking, all the robots started firing simultaneously.

In an instant, the entire cargo hold was filled with screams and cries of pain.

Lin Youde was startled by the sudden change, but his brain immediately started thinking of a strategy, so decisively that even he was surprised. A second later, he made his decision— for people of this era, a second was a very long time, allowing for a lot of thought.

Lin Youde pushed aside the people in front of him and rushed to the maintenance access panel on the floor.

【Noah, open the access panel!】

The next moment, the panel opened, and Lin Youde slipped inside, followed by Noah.

After closing the panel, it was pitch black, but Lin Youde's nanomachines quickly switched his vision to night mode.

"What the hell was that!" he whispered, "They just opened fire on the students, more ruthless than suppressing a riot!"

Noah whispered, "Can I play *Harry Potter* for you now?"

Lin Youde looked at Noah, and after a few seconds of eye contact, he sighed, "No, when I go to bed tonight."

"Wouldn't *Big Heat* be more appropriate then?"

"How do you know so much about these things!"

"Want me to play it? I found a place to download the latest version for free."

"No, play it for me while I shower."

Lin Youde felt a bit sad about giving in to his desires.

"Can you hack a camera to check if it's over outside?" Lin Youde asked, and the camera feed immediately appeared in his vision.

It looked like the shooting had ended, and most people were lying on the ground. Military personnel were checking the fallen new students one by one.

Lin Youde grabbed the handle of the maintenance access panel and opened it.

Most people were still alive and were starting to get up. Women with medical kits were asking if anyone was injured, and most people shook their heads. In this era, human nanomachines could heal minor injuries quickly, and only severe cases required a doctor.

Lin Youde turned to look for Xiangzhi and saw her helping the surrounding new students, looking fine. He then turned his attention to the robots at the northern end.

Surprisingly, half of the robots had been destroyed, and the person standing triumphantly next to the robot remains was Lin Deguang and his cronies.

Lin Youde clicked his tongue. He had seen Lin Deguang's psionic level on the ferry; it was no surprise he could take out the robots.

Noah projected the lip-reading results again. One of the cronies was flattering Lin Deguang, "Sir, you're definitely going to be the top ghost agent this year. Our future prosperity depends on you."

The others were saying similar things, and Lin Youde quickly lost interest.

At that moment, the bald instructor's voice came over the loudspeaker, "Good, no one died, an improvement from last year. All those hit are assigned to the support group. Don't worry, you still have a chance to become ghost agent candidates. If you win, you can become a new candidate. The ones who passed the first test are as follows."

The instructor waved his hand, and the live images of the successful candidates were projected into the air above his head.

Lin Youde saw himself on the far right of the row of twelve projections.

"Damn, I passed too?"

Lin Youde's muttering was mysteriously broadcast over the cargo hold's loudspeaker, and he realized the drone flying beside him had a microphone.

"Yes, you passed too," the instructor actually responded to Lin Youde's muttering, then pointed to the leftmost image, "Gruul, Justin, Enlaike, Li Quanfei, Malyekhov, Anna, Jostar, Diego, you eight used evasive maneuvers to dodge all the bullets, passing with a score of five. De Niro, you used someone as a shield, passing with a score of five, but I'll give you an extra point for decisiveness, making it six. Next time, don't hesitate when grabbing someone, be more decisive. Lin Xiangzhi, you used a psionic shield to block the damage, good, eight points, but you helped the people around you afterward, so minus one point, seven points. Ghost agents are not nurses; they don't save people. In fact, to complete missions, we often have to let others die for us. Remember that."

Lin Youde saw Xiangzhi stick out her tongue.

There were two more candidates left to comment on, but the bald instructor didn't continue immediately. Instead, he jumped down from the control platform and approached Lin Deguang.

"Taking the initiative and succeeding, excellent, nine points. But remember, you got nine points because you succeeded. The idea itself, zero points. We didn't use robots with energy weapons or shields in the test because using them would have killed all the new students. But the enemies ghost agents face are usually better equipped with energy weapons and shields. Your choice was suicidal. Also, you damaged school property, so you'll have to pay for it."

The bald instructor ignored Lin Deguang's complaints and turned to Lin Youde. The new students between them automatically made way, but he didn't walk over to Lin Youde.

"Can I ask why you chose to hide in the maintenance access panel?"

"Uh," Lin Youde was taken aback, "Well, I only have a level one psionic ability, and my reaction speed isn't good enough to dodge the robot's shooting lines. But I didn't want to lie on the ground and take my chances, so I hid in the maintenance access panel."

Lin Youde made up a reason on the spot. In reality, he hadn't thought much about it; he just didn't want to die from rubber bullets, which seemed too pathetic.

He nervously looked at the bald instructor, and when he saw the instructor's "cold smile," he thought he was about to be sent to the loser group.

Unexpectedly, the bald instructor said, "Very good, very good. You, full marks, ten points."

The new students immediately started whispering, and Lin Deguang, standing next to the instructor, shouted angrily, "That's not fair! I protest! Why?"

"Because I'm the head instructor," the bald instructor said coldly, "But that won't solve the problem, so I'll explain a bit. The most important skill for a ghost agent is stealth, like a ghost. We are never warriors; we avoid fighting whenever possible. Of course, when necessary, ghost agents must show their combat ability as a deterrent. Lin Youde, your psionic ability is too weak, so I'm giving you a chance. If you go to the support group, I think you'll become an excellent support specialist. You can also choose to transfer to the real ship maintenance academy, any department, and I guarantee you'll graduate with ease."

Lin Youde hesitated for a moment.

At that moment, he received a message from Xia Yongzhi on WeChat. He opened it immediately, and the girl said, "I'm going to the first roll call. We both need to do our best, future ghost agent."

Lin Youde took a deep breath.

"No, Instructor, I want to see how far I can go."

The bald instructor stared at Lin Youde for a full second, then smiled.

"Very good, a very good answer."

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