Wizard: Become stronger by drawing cards from the potions variety show

Chapter 786

"Finally done!"

Fio raised her head with a look of satisfaction on her face.

The initial purpose of taking on this mission and entering the simulation test was to conceal one's identity, collect intelligence, and prepare for the next step.

But after really getting into it, he found that these questions were really ingeniously designed.

The questions are very interesting and progressive.

When encountering slightly more complex content, the system also allows for reference, which means that everything is ready and he just needs to use his brain to put the scattered puzzle pieces together.

Oddly enough, many of the knowledge points involved in the advanced part after the basic questions were actually ones he had collected sporadically in the past, but he had never had the opportunity to integrate them systematically.

This leads to a problem: when faced with the same question that requires a precise answer, he will have conflicting solutions in his mind even though he knows the answer.

And this is not an isolated case, similar situations occur in many questions.

This phenomenon made him realize a serious problem: he used to think that his knowledge system was a bit messy, but it was not until he answered the questions seriously that he discovered that unorganized knowledge would greatly affect his judgment of the questions.

This cognitive confusion also subtly affected his way of thinking.

At certain moments where critical judgment is required, he is likely to make mistakes.

Because his knowledge system mostly comes from the knowledge and experience of others, and other people's cognition may not be correct.

Lacking the process of personal exploration, relying solely on the "borrowed" memory of torture techniques can easily lead to a fixed mindset and blind spots.

It is naturally difficult for him to detect those problems that have been "collected" and that even the original owner may not be aware of.

To give the simplest example: Regarding "whether to trust others", some memories tell him that "human nature is good and trustworthy", while others warn him that "human hearts are unpredictable and we must be vigilant."

In different situations, based on the "experience" that comes to mind first, he may make any choice and be able to justify it.

But when the question directly asks "What is human nature?", these two contradictory concepts in his cognition will conflict violently. This key contradiction makes him at a loss and unable to make his own judgment in the first time.

He didn't know which side his true cognition leaned towards.

Most of the subsequent questions belong to this category, clarifying the complex and even contradictory cognitions in his mind one by one.

This is not something that can be brushed aside with a simple “it depends on the circumstances”.

The process of answering the questions this time gave him a valuable opportunity to calm down, sort out his cognitive system, and connect all the knowledge.

He gained a completely new understanding of himself and was pleasantly surprised to discover how sharp, complete, and full of vitality his thinking could be.

[Congratulations, candidate! You have completed all the exam questions and have passed. We sincerely invite you to join our research group. The invitation has been sent to your terminal.]

【Please read carefully before making your choice. We respect any decision you make. 】

"Join...the research team?"

Fio was stunned.

"Wait? My identity was exposed? When did it happen?"

As soon as he thought of this, he realized that this seemed to be inevitable, because the subsequent test questions were tailored to him, and naturally his information was read.

But when he thought of this, a new question arose in his mind.

"Since I was already exposed, why didn't they arrest me? Instead, they let me complete the entire test? Does that make sense?"

Fio glanced again at the invitation message that had been sent.

It can be seen from the other party's wording that they are full of confidence.

The freshmen were so confident that they actually wanted to invite him, a senior, to join their research project?
Is this using a topic test as an interview?

"Wait... I get it."

After sorting out his knowledge system, Fio felt his mind speed up a bit, and he instantly pieced together the subtext behind the other party's invitation. "Is it possible that he can't stand the pressure from the other seniors and wants to recruit me as an external aid?"

Want to divide and win him over?

One more friend means one less enemy? I have to say, these students are quite creative.

"However, it's impossible to join." Fio smiled slightly. "Although this knowledge test is indeed interesting, that's all."

"Thank you very much, but I will not show mercy."

"Only by getting the blueprint can I get a higher score. I won't give up more gains just for an invitation."

He clicked [Reject] on the invitation without hesitation.

Thank you for your feedback. Our invitation remains valid. If you change your mind, you can resubmit your application below.

Reapply?

"Even if I can't get the blueprints and get beaten by others, there's no way I'll reapply!" Fio thought to herself. "Sharing a research group with my juniors? Telling anyone about it would be a joke!"

Fio turned down the invitation without hesitation. He was in a good mood now.

Although I don't know how my disguise was exposed, I took the opportunity of the exam to sort out my knowledge system and eliminate hidden dangers for future advancement, which can be considered a fruitful experience.

He vaguely felt that his state of mind had become much more complete, and perhaps... he had already touched the qualifications for a higher level -

artistic conception.

This thing is so mysterious that few people can clearly explain what it is.

Even many who have awakened to the state of mind have only a vague understanding of how they came to this realization. However, one thing is universally acknowledged: the clearer one's self-awareness and the more complete their state of mind, the easier it is for them to comprehend the state of mind.

He clearly felt that his understanding had advanced further and he might have already stood on the threshold of comprehending the artistic conception.

"Looks like my chance is almost here. Before then, I need to earn as many credits as possible," Fio mused. "We've already wasted a lot of time, and they should have accumulated quite a bit of advantages. It should still be possible to get out now. If we can find the blueprints, that would be great. If not, I'll just have to steal them from others."

Stealing the blueprints from the safe in the confidential building and snatching them from other contestants are completely different levels of difficulty.

As he thought about this, Fio stood up.

Although the other party had not targeted him before, that was under the premise of trying to recruit him.

Now that I have refused, there is no guarantee that the other party will not become angry and embarrassed, so I have to be on guard.

Moreover, all signals in the examination room are blocked and the terminals cannot be used.

Fio can't wait to see the progress of others so that she can plan her next move.

He pushed open the door of the examination room and ran into an invigilator robot.

He frowned, his body tensed up instantly, and he entered a state of combat readiness.

Unexpectedly, the invigilator simply nodded at him, smiled, and said, "Good job on the test. Keep it up!"

Then he went to inspect other examination rooms as if nothing had happened.

Fio watched it leave, his mind filled with questions: "What is going on?"

Full of doubts, he continued to walk out.

Then he discovered that neither the invigilator nor the combat robot responsible for maintaining order seemed to have any intention of attacking him.

Perhaps he was staring at the robots too intently, and one of them even kindly reminded him, "New researcher, please report to the ninth floor."

Fio nodded slightly, thanked him politely, and then walked out of the examination area unhindered, feeling even more confused.

"My identity has been exposed, and I've rejected the invitation. Even if I don't take action immediately, this shouldn't be my reaction, right?" He was puzzled. "It's as if I've really become a researcher here..."

Is this the benefit of completing the assessment?
Is this some kind of compensation to help him sort out his understanding? As long as he doesn't do anything out of line, he can maintain his legitimate status as a "researcher"? Just as he was filled with doubts, a large amount of information suddenly flooded into the port.

"Oh right, I've left the shielded area of ​​the exam room. It's a good time to check on the progress of other people's tasks."

He opened the port and just glanced at the task list when he was struck by lightning and froze in place.

"Is this true? What's going on?!"

He rubbed his eyes vigorously and confirmed it several times before he dared to believe that the information before him was not an illusion.

The task interface opens in a glaring bright red.

The mission difficulty has been increased by three levels, reaching [Extremely Dangerous].

The original mission content and objectives remain unchanged, but the number of people involved has changed:

[Number of people on the mission: 1 (in progress), 9 (captured)]

A supplementary task [Rescue Others] has been refreshed below. The reward is quite generous, but it also shows that the task is extremely difficult.

"Am I the only one left?" Fio muttered to herself, "The others...were all captured by the security forces of the confidential building?"

"Being captured by someone?"

This was so magical, so magical that he even wondered if he had been drugged without realizing it.

"There's a problem, a big problem."

Fio broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

His fighting ability is not weak, and he can be ranked among the top four among those who carried out the mission this time.

He knew that although he was fourth, he was still some distance away from Kara, David, and Cecily. After all, they were truly focused on combat, while he was mainly assisting, and his scores in other subjects fell by a lot.

In terms of combat power, they are much stronger than me. They have all been defeated, and I...

Thinking of this, without any hesitation, Fio quickly clicked on the project invitation and decisively pressed the [Resubmit Application] button.

I'm sorry, I spoke too loudly just now.

The mission lasted three days, and less than eight hours after it started, all the teammates were wiped out?
There must be something wrong in the middle!

This is not called surrender, this is called "going deep behind enemy lines and investigating the enemy situation."

Once you have figured out the other party's strengths and mastered the countermeasures, you can then continue to complete the mission. The initiative is still in your hands!
Just as he was thinking this, his application to join the research team... was approved.

Virgil: "Welcome, Senior."

Delayak: "Welcome."

"You're welcome." Fio still maintained a cool image in front of his junior classmates.

Noah: "Senior Fio, I know you have a lot of questions right now. Now that we've joined the special group, we're one family."

"See that drone on the right?"

Fio turned his head and saw a small drone appeared beside him at some point, hovering in front of him. A stick figure smiling face was facing him on the screen.

"I saw it."

"Follow it, we'll see you on the ninth floor."

Fio knew she had no choice.

As for how the others were eliminated...the answer will be revealed soon.

……

Ninth floor, interior design.

The battle record was playing on the holographic display.

Fio and Noah sat on the couch, watching quietly.

When "Cecile" in the picture said in a soft voice, "Is there a possibility that I am the pretender?", Fio almost got goosebumps.

Then, he saw Kara's body being pierced through instantly, leaving horrific wounds, and subconsciously judged: "It's over."

The subsequent developments were exactly as he expected.

As a newborn, even if Lina had incredible luck, there was no possibility of escape in this desperate situation.

The picture finally slowly froze: nine capsules were neatly arranged, immersed in a dark blue solution, and the figures inside fell into deep sleep.

The recorded image gradually dimmed until it became pitch black.

Playback is over.

Fio was still immersed in the scene just now, his eyes full of disbelief: "Unbelievable... They were completely wiped out like this?"

The entire capture process relied almost entirely on no traps and was a complete crushing of hard power.

Kara and the others lost completely.

The most shocking thing is the combat system called "Hound Type 1".

It iterates incredibly fast!

Before acquiring a sub-AI, its functionality was updated extremely quickly, and it would also self-review and refine its plans. After acquiring a sub-AI, it did not allow the sub-AI to take over directly, but continued to use its own combat program as the main theme, constantly supplementing its own combat logic with data.

Although it is not AI, it has demonstrated growth potential that is no less than AI.

With massive amounts of intelligence, the combat plans and decisions made by the Hound One often produce qualitative changes.

This is evident in the fluctuations in the planned arrest success rate: as data continues to improve, the success rate has almost never fallen below 80%. Even when unexpected circumstances arise, the success rate fluctuates minimally, demonstrating that these contingencies have already been accounted for.

To be fair, if Fio faced such a bionic robot alone, there seemed to be no good way.

It is difficult to win a one-on-one fight; if you delay too long, the opponent will replenish more troops; if you try to fight in a group, you will easily fall into a deeper trap and be calculated in advance.

Kara and the others didn't have many options to begin with, and for various reasons, they had never expected their opponent to behave in this way.

The ultimate defeat seems reasonable.

"No chance." Fio sighed.

Even if he faced these methods personally, he was not sure he could get the blueprints.

He gave up the mission without hesitation.

【mission failed】

But Fio was not discouraged, because he had seen the resources at the disposal of this research team - extremely rich.

More importantly, he did develop a strong interest in the Hound Type 1.

Under its control, the combat capability and functionality of bionic combat robots have been greatly improved.

There are also plans to develop manned robots in the future, which are all very attractive.

Noah raised his eyebrows. "Actually, I don't intend to let you give up the mission. I can give you one or two blueprints and take the mission reward."

"But since you've already given up, you'll be given other compensation later. In short, welcome to join."

"The Hound I still needs more growth data. I believe your participation will make it even more perfect."

(End of this chapter)