Chapter 130: The Definition of a Super Soldier

With the college entrance examination only a few days away, every class had turned into a review session, and the teachers had even stopped enforcing discipline.

In the past, whenever the head teacher entered the classroom during self-study, she would immediately snap: "I could hear your buzzing from all the way down the hall. Are you here for self-study or to hold a town hall meeting? Why don't you speak this loudly when I ask questions in class?"

Now, not only did she refrain from saying such things, but she even smiled happily when students boldly approached her to take photos together.

Yes, the homeroom teacher, who used to be as fearsome as the King of Hell, was actually smiling. Then, as she kept smiling, she began to cry along with a few of the girls. While the boys felt a bit touched as well, the situation was just... too embarrassing. Even if they felt like crying, they had to wipe their tears in secret—after all, it would be a huge blow to their dignity to weep in public!

With only these final days left, the head teacher’s emotions were unusually volatile, making Zhou Shu wince. Was this really the same Captain Liu Feiyan, who could split a stone tablet with her bare hands and jump three meters high?

Consequently, these last two days, though labeled as self-study, were really just meant for the students to relax and engage in commemorative activities. The boys remained their usual carefree selves, eating, drinking, and playing as they pleased, but some of the more meticulous girls had already prepared autograph books and started having their classmates fill them out one by one.

Although communication technology was highly advanced now and everyone possessed multiple social media accounts, some traditional customs still remained. Under these circumstances, Zhou Shu naturally wasn't studying, though compared to the others, he was pondering more important matters.

After connecting to headquarters, the Hunter had indeed granted him access to previously classified information, especially regarding the examinations and ranking systems for "Super Soldiers."

"Super Soldier" was actually just a general term or a code; initially, not just anyone could be called a Super Soldier. Those selected at the very beginning could only be called "Recruits," just like Zhou Shu's current rank. The role of these Recruits was akin to "trainees" in the Demon Suppression Department or students in school; they were not yet true warriors, as they were still in the learning phase. However, by the standards of Super Soldiers, their apprenticeship was something ordinary Earthlings could never hope to reach.

Because the biological diversity in the universe was so vast, the differences between species were significant and difficult to categorize. Still, for the sake of management, headquarters had provided reference data. The minimum standard for selecting a "Recruit" apprentice was for one of their attributes to reach 1.5. On Earth, an attribute of 1.5 already made one a formal supernatural being, and not even a novice one at that.

Even formal Demon Slayers in the Dongyuan Demon Suppression Department could not all reach that figure—Brother Zhang Peng’s highest was only 1.12. Yet, in the universe, that was merely the minimum threshold for selecting a Super Soldier apprentice. Of course, that was just a theoretical reference; if one possessed a special talent verified by headquarters, they could also be selected as a "Recruit."

The main point was that being selected was just the beginning. There was a high attrition rate during the learning and training process; a batch of recruits was weeded out after every examination. Not every recruit could be promoted. Headquarters set the attribute range for Recruits between 1.5 and 2.99; reaching 3 meant advancing to the next stage.

However, attributes were not the only rigid standard. Another indicator was equally important: special abilities. For instance, the bullet time, anomalous perception, and psychokinesis that Zhou Shu possessed were all special abilities. The abilities that would allow a "Recruit" to take the exam for the next stage were actually weaker versions of what Zhou Shu originally possessed—slower speeds and sensory alerts, a full tier below his current capabilities. When Zhou Shu first manifested those abilities, the Hunter had felt it was absurd; by the standards of Super Soldiers, those abilities had appeared far too early. By those standards, Zhou Shu was a genius.

As their attributes grew, once a "Recruit" reached an attribute of around 3, a superpower would typically manifest. Naturally, 3 was the theoretical median; some cases occurred earlier or later. Some species manifested powers at 2.5 and felt ready to take the exam—the question was just whether they could pass.

The next stage was "Warrior," a status equivalent to a formal Demon Slayer of the Demon Suppression Department. But in terms of pure combat power, the gap between the two was vast. A formal Demon Slayer in the Demon Suppression Department only had attributes around 1, while those who reached the "Warrior" level required attributes of at least 2.5. Combined with their special abilities, they could at least go toe-to-toe with a Level 3 Demon Slayer from the Department who had an attribute of 3. Just look at Zhou Shu: when he was still a "noob," his special abilities combined with his gun allowed him to instantly kill many powerful monsters one or two levels above him. He had also observed that he had never encountered another Demon Slayer with special abilities; he seemed to be one of a kind.

The title Zhou Shu intended to test for was "Warrior." However, according to the general theoretical standards of headquarters, the attribute values for the Warrior stage were between 3 and 4.99. And him? His mental attribute exceeded 5.1, and all his other attributes were over 4, with some significantly higher. If he were to take the test like this, it would be downright bullying.

It was essentially like a ninth-grade math Olympiad contestant taking a primary school graduation exam, and still having all the primary school knowledge perfectly memorized.

Moreover, due to signal issues, he couldn't take the test yet; he had to further improve his mental attributes to strengthen the reception and stability of the signal. Improving his mental attributes was simple: he just needed to keep hunting the Aberrant Queen, which would trigger another wave of upgrades. By the time Zhou Shu went to take the exam, he might have all his attributes break 5, with his mental attribute even surpassing 6.

That would be even more absurd! It would be like a high school math Olympian who remembered all his primary and middle school knowledge shamelessly taking a primary school graduation exam. It was like a provincial-level track and field athlete entering a middle school sports meet.

According to headquarters' regulations, with his current attributes, he could actually take the "Super Soldier" examination. Passing it would grant him the true title of "Super Soldier." That level would be considered top-tier on Earth; even if there were stronger beings, Zhou Shu felt that by combining his various superpowers, he could stand his ground.

According to the Hunter, "Super Soldier" was actually just the beginning. If a "Recruit" was a middle school student, then a "Warrior" was a high school student, and the "Super Soldier" examination was like the Great Qin Empire's college entrance exam. If you passed, you could go to university. If you failed, you could choose to repeat a year or enter society to start working.

Many students, and even some teachers, said, "You can relax once you become a university student." In reality, that wasn't true; becoming a university student wasn't easy at all, and it often required even harder work. The same applied to becoming a "Super Soldier."

In some worlds invaded by monsters, while Warriors possessed a certain degree of combat power, they could often only handle low-intensity invasion events, similar to the Great Qin's Police Guards. But the true front lines, the places where high-intensity battles actually erupted, required Super Soldiers to step up.

That was what it meant to be a Super Soldier!