Infinite Fighting

Chapter 272 Participating in the Exploration
Zhou Jun used all his savings to buy alchemical supplements.

I spend sixteen out of twenty-four hours a day in the gym.

Finally, within half a month, I successfully broke through and reached the first stage of C level.

After passing the test and obtaining the rank certificate, he couldn't wait to apply to participate in the explorer assessment.

It's called an assessment, but it should really be called training.

After registering, the official organization used the learning helmet to teach me common sense about exploring the other world, as well as survival skills, for free.

Then came a week-long adaptation process and combat training for the [Pioneer] armor.

Whether they are ordinary explorers or explorers preparing to conduct scientific research, they must undergo basic combat training.

What Zhou Jun didn't expect was that although he was not good at other things, he was exceptionally outstanding in combat awareness.

During the training, few of the hidden traps managed to attack him, and his attacks were highly accurate, demonstrating excellent control over his own strength.

The problem is that I got a low shooting score, only passing grade, six points.

The maximum score for shooting here is achieved by firing ten bullets from a supersonic moving target at 500 meters in one second using a powerful electromagnetic firearm, and hitting the bullseye with all of them.

Zhou Jun only scored high in close combat, with a score of nine.

Melee combat is basically ineffective before Rank B.

Only fighters at least at the B-rank level are qualified to reduce the range advantage of ranged weapons.

Only an A-level fighter can completely ignore this advantage.

However, Zhou Jun was quite satisfied because he had officially passed the assessment, obtained the Explorer Certificate, acquired a set of [Pioneer] exoskeleton armor, and 500 Origin Coins.

From now on, he can board the official large shuttle of the [World] series to explore other worlds. The first exploration is free of charge; the fee will only be charged afterward.

Moreover, if you have your own small shuttle, you don't need to worry about these things at all.

However, those are not things that he, as a novice, can consider at this stage.

Small shuttles are also very expensive.

Only someone of at least A rank or higher could afford that expense.

Holding the explorer certificate, Zhou Jun had a thought, and the intelligent brain in his ear received the mental information, which was then projected onto his retina.

"Which world should we go to? This world won't do, it's too dangerous. This one won't do either, we'll have to wait until next month for a spot. This one is okay, but the environment there isn't suitable for carbon-based life, the gravity is abnormal, and we'll have to spend a lot of extra money on breathing gas."

Picking and choosing, Zhou Jun stood in the exploration hall, lost in thought, his expression quite melancholy.

"This guy just passed the test?"

A voice drew Zhou Jun's attention, and he sized up the person.

It was a brown-haired man wearing the same [Pioneer] exoskeleton armor, who looked to be about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. However, his armor was equipped with some additional items and equipment, one of which was the [Camp Cozy Cabin] that Zhou Jun had seen on the official website for a long time.

That was a spatial artifact produced by Lingji Technology under the command of Zhuge Shengwang of the Tianyuan Realm, known as the Xuan Yuan Tian Suan.

It can be used as a temporary shelter for outdoor camping or as a storage space, with an interior space of 200 cubic meters.

Moreover, it is the same size as a regular space box, about the size of a fist, so you can just bury it in any hole and its safety is quite guaranteed.

This item is definitely worth buying even if you don't plan to become an explorer of another world.

The price is a bit high; on the current Explorer website, it costs 13,000 Origin Coins.

The other party can afford it, so they must have some wealth.

"Is there something you need?" Zhou Jun asked.

"My name is Liu Haoxuan, and I'm the captain of the Seeking Beginnings team. I see you've only just come out, and you've been here for so long, so you must have just passed the assessment and haven't found a team yet. Why not consider us?" Liu Haoxuan said. "We are an officially registered exploration team, and we've already completed one exploration of another world, with considerable gains. I myself am a C-rank, seventh-dan fighter from the [Divine Wind Faction]."

As he spoke, Liu Haoxuan handed Zhou Jun a team business card.

Zhou Jun used the code on the business card to directly search for information about their team on the official website.

What the other party said was true; they had indeed just conducted an exploration of another world and gained a lot. The information in the internal member introduction was also very clear: there were six people in total, and the members were carefully matched. One was a ranged attacker named Yu Kun, a spirit mage named Fan Ran who was proficient in protective spirit magic, a botanist named Wu Wei, a biologist, geographer and mineralogy expert named Zheng Lun, and a potionist named Zhong Ling.

Finally, there's Liu Haoxuan, a C-rank 7th-dan martial arts expert from the [Shinkaze School].

Just seeing this luxurious setup made Zhou Jun feel like he didn't belong with the team.

“I don’t have any special skills,” Zhou Jun said. He actually wanted to join, but considering that he really didn’t have any skills, he could only refuse.

"Brother, you're too modest. To get nine points in short-to-medium range combat, you're not without talent. Ninety-nine percent of C-level fighters can't get that score!" Liu Haoxuan put his arm around Zhou Jun's shoulder and said, "Don't underestimate yourself. Long-range firepower suppression is certainly advantageous in low-level combat, but true masters are fighters who can use their weapons as if they were extensions of their limbs."

Zhou Jun looked down on himself, but Liu Haoxuan knew what those nine points meant.

It's absolutely impossible to do without microscopic level of control.

This means that Zhou Jun is very suitable for the [Spiritual Intent School] fighting style, and he will almost certainly reach [Spiritual Intent Transformation] at B-level.

In other words, it's not clear what's strong or weak at this stage, but once it reaches level B, there will be a qualitative change.

Once activated, [Spiritual Transformation] allows one to fight against A-level military robots.

Invest now and you're guaranteed to make a profit!
At Liu Haoxuan's enthusiastic invitation, Zhou Jun finally decided to join the team.

Then Zhou Jun was taken to the venue they had rented, where he met the rest of the team members.

At first, when everyone learned that Zhou Jun was only at the first level of C and didn't have any skills, they were a little confused.

When Liu Haoxuan revealed that he scored nine points in short-to-medium range combat, everyone suddenly understood.

In this exam, five points is the passing grade, six points is excellent, seven points is good talent, eight points is a true genius worth nurturing, and nine points is pure prodigy!

The concept of "10" only exists in theory.

A perfect score requires complete control over one's own power, reaching a state close to "spiritualization."

Zhou Jun wasn't really sure how powerful he was. Even after searching online, he still found the same thing: B-rank definitely allows for [Spiritual Intent Transformation], but so what? With his talent, whether he could even reach B-rank was a question.

Fortunately, the team no longer looked down on him.

“It just so happens that an official shuttle is departing for the [Blue Cloud Realm] tomorrow, and there are also slots for accompanying exploration available for sale. Let’s set off tomorrow. Zhou Jun, you can keep your 500 Origin Coins for now. The team will provide the resources you need, and we’ll deduct them from your share after this exploration is over,” Liu Haoxuan said.

"Then thank you very much, Captain," Zhou Jun said.

To be honest, his 500 Origin Coins would be used up just to buy a gun and two magazines, so they weren't really that helpful.

However, the official purpose of giving 500 Origin Coins is mainly to allow explorers to buy some daily necessities. Giving too many resources in the early stages of exploration can easily lead to overreaching and a high rate of loss.

Besides, they even gave us a set of the [Pioneer] armor, which comes with a basic weapon. That's worth 10,000 Origin Coins. What more could you want?

The next day, Zhou Jun and his group arrived at the bottom of the shuttle ship.

The enormous shuttle ship stood across the port, with swarms of drones constantly transporting supplies from it to the warehouse, a truly awe-inspiring sight.

Zhou Jun and the others took the suspended elevator into the inner cabin and took their seats.

It looks like it was temporarily renovated; the space is rather cramped, and the surrounding facilities are quite basic.

"This used to be a transport bay, but it was only recently vacated to transport explorers, so it's a bit crowded. I heard they'll be building some dedicated exploration ships later, and it should be much better then," the young man named Yu Kun said to Zhou Jun with a smile.

"You look very young," Zhou Jun said after thinking for a while.

"I'm nineteen. I wasn't very good at studying before. I only breathed a sigh of relief when I was able to input basic knowledge directly using a deep learning helmet. I passed the exams and graduated, but I don't plan to stay in school. Those researches are too boring. Every day I just study the same few data points. I still prefer the outside world," Yu Kun said fluently.

Zhou Jun didn't know how to answer; he wasn't good at talking.

Fortunately, Yu Kun was a chatterbox, and even if Zhou Jun didn't speak, he could still chat on his own.

The other members of the team didn't sit with him because they were annoyed by this, so they arranged for Zhou Jun to sit with them instead.

Zhou Jun didn't feel uncomfortable at all; on the contrary, he felt a rare sense of social interaction and a bit of warmth from the crowd.

He had been staying at home for more than two years, not even leaving the house, and his state of not daring to speak carelessly online was so dull that now he feels very relaxed just having someone to talk to.

Listening to Yu Kun's nagging, Zhou Jun gradually fell asleep. When he woke up, he had already arrived in another world.

As he stepped off the shuttle, the deep blue sky immediately caught his attention.

"The sun in this world is blue, which makes the clouds here blue as well, but the colors of everything on the surface are similar to those of the Origin Star. Isn't that interesting?" Yu Kun said to Zhou Jun.

"Use your armor to check your physical condition and see if there's anything you're not used to," Liu Haoxuan said.

Upon arriving in another world, they first check their physical data, since the environment of each world is different. Although they are at least C-level fighters with stronger adaptability, there will always be some unexpected situations. What if they happen to be allergic to the air microbiome of this world or not adaptable to the gravity?
Fortunately, after their inspection, they found no major problems.

"First, we'll observe and rest in Two Realms City for twelve hours, and then we'll begin our exploration. This exploration plan won't be too aggressive; we'll just explore two thousand kilometers south of Two Realms City. Understand? Answer me loudly!" Liu Haoxuan instructed.

"Understood!"
(End of this chapter)