Chapter 1 When Intelligence Becomes a Crime

When Lan Qi also cooperated with the examination order and stepped into the giant void gate under the guidance of the examiner, he immediately felt as if he had been thrown into a dark room that deprived him of his five senses.

Complete darkness, unable to see anything, not even the sound of his own heartbeat.

Gradually, like a singularity in the darkness, the only bright spot dotted the field of vision, followed by understandable characters rushing towards him like shooting stars—

[Welcome to the Shadow World, a simulated artificial creation supported by the Magic Engineering Institute.]

[Note: The content of this assessment is a practical simulation of the Shadow World. There is no danger to life in the simulated Shadow World.]

[After failing in the Shadow World or the candidate's death, they will be automatically ejected from the Shadow World.]

[However, you may experience death and pain, including but not limited to more frightening scenes such as falling off cliffs and beheadings.]

[……]

[Have you read the above and agree to enter the artificial Shadow World?]

[Continue/Exit]

Lan Qi didn't skip it with one click.

Instead, he carefully read the entire instruction manual for the artificial Shadow World activation terminal.

Only then did he move his finger to the [Continue] side.

He remembered reading in books that if you die in the real Shadow World, the challenger will also truly die.

Therefore, in Lan Qi's understanding, the real Shadow World is an extremely dangerous place, completely different from this artificial Shadow World with a protection mechanism.

Moreover, the laws of the Kingdom of Hutton clearly state: newcomers often need to practice more in artificially developed simulated Shadow Worlds, obtain extremely high evaluations, and pass the assessment of the Kingdom Alliance Council before they can obtain permission to challenge the real Shadow World.

Even so, the mortality rate in the real Shadow World remains high.

This shows how dangerous the Shadow World is.

Fortunately, the artificial Shadow World used for the exam is equivalent to a practice mode and is quite safe.

"The chief examiner mentioned that the main theme of the exam is 'wisdom and heart'..."

"Then, naturally, I have to bring my wisdom and heart to the extreme in order to avoid experiencing the feeling of death in the artificial Shadow World."

Lan Qi thought to himself.

As he touched [Continue], ripples appeared on the silver-white light curtain, rapidly spreading out from his fingertips, disappearing beneath the text, and seeming to reveal new content.

Before he could see it, he felt like he was falling rapidly from the sky.

Accompanied by a sense of weightlessness, Lan Qi felt his whole body and mind suddenly immersed in a completely new world!

Very quickly.

The surroundings quickly lit up.

Scenery filled Lan Qi's vision in an instant.

At this moment, an icy chill struck, like a ruthless blade, directly hitting his heart.

He felt the temperature drop sharply, as if the whole world had been frozen.

His blood seemed to congeal, and the frost could easily penetrate the skin.

"Phew, ha! What the hell is this place!"

Lan Qi's exhaled breath almost instantly condensed into ice crystals.

He could only clench his teeth and resist the piercing pain in the cold wind.

He found himself standing on a snowfield.

Vast white snow covered the earth, and the sound of wind and snow howling filled the air, making his brain buzz!

Looking around, the sky was a leaden gray, and thick clouds covered the sunlight.

The cold wind rolled up snowflakes all over the sky, flying in the air, sometimes gathering, sometimes scattering, making the entire snow-white world appear illusory and harsh.

"My lord, we'll be at their house soon!"

Seemingly shouted hysterically, an old voice resisting the wind and snow.

Lan Qi turned around at the sound, and behind him, an old man in a cotton coat and a heavily armed knight in silver armor were also struggling to walk through the snow.

Although Lan Qi didn't know what the old man meant for the time being.

But he soon saw a small village standing in the wind and snow.

It was like a gemstone abandoned in the vast snow.

And he was in this village.

At the same time, Shadow World information also appeared in front of him—

[Shadow World: Hidden Flame of Winter]

[Level: First Order]

[Number of Challengers: 1]

[The difference between the heart of kindness and the power of kindness is called benevolence and righteousness. Forcibly exercising benevolence and righteousness is foolish, but there are always people willing to carry it through to the end.]

[Winter is coming. As a nobleman in the northern border, your territory is currently facing a fiscal deficit, and you have very little money left.]

[When you stop by this village to rest, you hear the village chief say that a magic stove was stolen in the village today.]

[Recently, severe blizzards have been frequent. If this magic stove is not recovered, this family of three may freeze to death tonight.]

[Mission Objective: Please help this family solve their predicament before dark (within 1 hour) so that they can spend this cold winter safely.]

[Note: As a nobleman of the Holy Kingdom and a believer of the Holy Ritual Church, your bottom line is that you must never violate the law, never harm civilians, and never deceive civilians. Otherwise, the church executioner who knows your details will execute you.]

[Note: Correspondingly, if criminal behavior is discovered, the executioner will also assist you in giving the criminals corresponding punishment.]

After understanding the requirements of this exam, Lan Qi looked forward.

Not far away, there was indeed a wooden house, the roof covered with thick white snow, as if hidden in this pure white world.

Then the old man behind him must be the village chief, and the knight in silver armor is the executioner.

Lan Qi was not in a hurry to rush to the house in front, but analyzed the situation a little.

Since his current identity is a nobleman of this inexplicable country, with strict restrictions on him, some of the simplest and most violent methods of passing the level will definitely not work.

For example, he cannot directly rob the supplies of other families to help this family.

Unless he is confident that he can defeat this executioner who looks very scary.

He might die if he tries.

As for taking this family to the village chief's house to squeeze in, they can survive tonight, but not the entire winter.

Obviously, it does not meet the mission objective either.

If he forcibly orders any family to take in this family for the entire winter.

Such an abuse of power to occupy someone else's nest is likely to be illegal.

"Sure enough, ordinary cleverness will not work in this Shadow World. All the shortcuts have been blocked."

Lan Qi muttered to himself in the wind and snow.

Before long, his cheeks were frozen red, with a thin layer of frost.

When he tried to move again, he only felt the joints of his limbs stiff in the cold, and movement became more and more difficult.

Even wearing heavy noble winter clothes could not stop this biting chill.

Immediately, Lan Qi also realized that, depending on the physical fitness of the candidates, the activity time in the outdoor snowfield was actually very limited.

Searching aimlessly would inevitably bury himself in this wind and snow.

"I'd better go to this family to investigate the clues first."

He quickly quickened his pace and walked towards the wooden house in front.

……

In a spacious and bright conference room in the main building of the Sage Academy, seats and tables were arranged in a round table format, with several large round tables surrounding the central projection screen.

Each table was occupied by five or six teachers from a group, who were either intently watching the magic screen or actively communicating with others.

Compared to a conference, this was more like a seminar or evaluation meeting.

They were carefully recording the highlights and details of each candidate in this exam, and occasionally exchanging opinions with other teachers.

On the screen, the scenes of the candidates after entering the artificial Shadow World were clearly displayed.

Without exception, all candidates were progressing slowly.

After going to that household, they learned from the couple that there were strange noises outside the window on the night of the theft. Then, the door of the house seemed to be blown open by the wind and snow, and the temperature in the house dropped sharply.

When the couple tremblingly walked out of the bedroom, they found that the magic stove had disappeared, and some footprints were left outside, which should belong to a tall adult male, but they were quickly covered by snow.

As for asking the little girl in the family, the couple's adopted niece, she seemed to know something, but no matter how they chatted with her, she would not speak.

So some candidates chose to investigate clues from other villagers, while others tried to find a way to deal with the abnormality on the little girl.

Of course, there were also candidates who didn't examine the questions carefully and died inexplicably under the executioner's sword—

He promised benefits to let the village chief take in this family for the entire winter.

But in the current state of the territory, the lord could not guarantee to take out money at all, which constituted fraud. The executioner, who knew the details, immediately saw that the lord was lying and executed him.

"These guys who think they are very smart often fail to notice logical loopholes and die the fastest in the Shadow World."

Accompanied by crossing out the name of the eliminated, Deputy Dean Ron sighed,

"This is the lack of wisdom."

The correct way of thinking is to be able to notice the most basic clue, "the abnormality on the little girl," and collect some key information from other villagers, complete the decryption, reveal the truth, and subdue the criminal, and the problem will be solved.

"The Shadow World emphasizes the combination of wisdom and talent, and sometimes requires noble character, so that you can gain the favor of the characters inside and unlock clues."

Just as they were discussing.

Some teachers saw candidates directly using wind magic to chop down trees, and then using magic to quickly dry the firewood, an excellent mage.

Some even tried to make fire-attribute magic items that could be used to replace magic stoves.

It can be said that they showed their magical powers.

However.

These seemingly bright operations did not get much favor from the teachers.

"Sometimes the Shadow World can indeed take shortcuts through its own characteristics, but sometimes it can also fall into traps..."

"This first-order Shadow World original version, I remember it was very disgusting, because at the end of the investigation, it will be found that this evil couple deliberately hid the magic stove in order to freeze the little girl to death in this blizzard, so as to defraud the high funeral subsidies in the northern border regulations."

"Even if you give them dry firewood or a magic stove, you can't save the little girl, because what is cold is actually the distorted hearts of those people."

"Sometimes being too arrogant to try to skip the mechanism of the Shadow World may lead to unexpected failure. This is because the heart is not calm and steady enough."

With sighs, the teachers discussed the core of this entrance exam.

For most of the candidates who are in the second or third order, this first-order Shadow World does not have any combat elements that require the use of force.

It is only the most basic and simplest Shadow World model.

But it can also fundamentally examine whether the candidates have the aptitude to challenge the Shadow World.

"Hey, what's wrong with this guy?!"

A cry of surprise suddenly attracted the attention of all the teachers.

The teachers at each table looked towards that corner of the split screen.

I saw a candidate belonging to the Knight Academy.

In his lens, the style was completely different from other candidates.

He was not wearing a noble long coat, but only a pair of pants. The muscles on his body were distinct. He just stood with his arms folded between the cold winds.

Even though his gray and messy hair was covered with snowflakes, he still didn't seem to be afraid of the cold at all. His dark purple pupils were as tough as those of a lone wolf.

"What is this guy doing?"

"Wait! Actually, as a nobleman, the clothes on the candidate are still worth some money, enough to offset the expenses for the village chief to take in a family for the entire winter, so the little girl will be protected by the village chief."

Ordinary people would never be so cruel to themselves, as if they had never considered their own life or death.

However, this Shadow World does not require challengers to survive to the end.

Sacrificing oneself and carrying out benevolence and righteousness is also an option.

"The reckless men of the Knight Academy are like this. Occasionally, there will always be one or two who are not very smart."

"But this Knight Academy candidate named Frey... You say he's stupid, but he feels strangely smart..."

Although Frey completely violated the purpose of the exam, he did complete the requirements with his noble character and unusual physical fitness.

"Maybe completely abandoning wisdom and heart is also a manifestation of wisdom and heart?"

"You have to say that he does embody many of the virtues of a knight, including honesty, compassion, courage, sacrifice... It's just that he has completely deviated from our original assessment goal. The Knight Academy has found a treasure this year."

Slowly, although the teachers found it difficult to make a fair evaluation of Frey's way of passing the level, they couldn't help but admire him in the end.

At least as a knight, he is worthy of the name.

"Wait."

Deputy Dean Ron, who was looking down and flipping through the candidates' information, said in a deep voice,

"...I found out that this guy seems to be addicted to gambling, and he often loses until he only has one pair of pants left. He is used to taking his clothes to mortgage them... So he may have formed muscle memory. When he arrives in this Shadow World, he first takes his clothes to convert them into cash to solve the problem."

"..."

"..."

The praise went off track after half a day of blowing, and everyone felt embarrassed, and the conference room suddenly became unusually quiet.

After a while.

Deputy Dean Ron finally broke the oppressive silence, coughed lightly, and tried to redirect the meeting back on track.

"Think of the good side, this guy is a candidate from the Knight Academy, and it is the Knight Academy that should be having a headache."

"Indeed."

"Our students here are obviously much more normal."

The teachers nodded, feeling fortunate.

Not long after.

Gradually, some teachers discovered.

On the side of the Sage Academy candidates.

There also seems to be a not-so-normal guy.

In the picture, there is a black-haired, green-eyed boy.

Not only was he not in a hurry to investigate.

Instead, he rushed back to the village chief's house as soon as possible.

After getting the village chief's permission, he started to find a few books on the bookshelf.

Then he leisurely leaned on the sofa and flipped through the book by the fireplace.

He even sipped hot tea from time to time, with an extremely comfortable expression.

Obviously, his strange behavior attracted the attention of the teachers.

"What is this guy doing? He is still enjoying himself?"

The teachers who paid attention to Lan Qi began to ask each other.

Soon, a young teacher chuckled softly, then shook his head and said:

"Generally, students who drop out of the exam halfway will do this, staying in a safe position, but I have never seen anyone drop out of the exam as decisively as him."

The other teachers heard this.

They nodded.

They were almost deceived by this guy's free and easy temperament.

"Lan Qi Willford... The attribute test results of this guy are not ideal. His family is a well-known wealthy businessman in the southern Wantina border, the eldest son of the Willford family. Is he here to experience life?"

The vice-principal found Lan Qi's admission information and sighed helplessly.

After the teachers learned about his situation, they also began to lose interest in this relaxed young master.

……

Just as the professors' attention gradually shifted away from Lan Qi.

He finally closed the book in his hand.

And holding this book, he took the executioner and decisively went to the family where the theft took place again.

Knock knock.

Lan Qi knocked on the door gently.

Then there was a faint sound of footsteps coming from inside the door, accompanied by the whistling of wind and snow.

As soon as the door was opened, he saw the middle-aged man who came to greet him, shivering from the cold.

"Lord, have your investigations made any progress?"

The middle-aged man asked with a little expectation hidden in his worried expression.

But in his heart, he was actually laughing secretly.

This idiot nobleman's investigation direction was completely misled.

Next, as long as he fools this shabby lord away from the house again, and lets him continue to wander around in this icy world with that foolish heart of benevolence and righteousness.

However.

Lan Qi just stared at the middle-aged man with a sharp look, as if he had finally confirmed something.

"The investigation has not made any progress. But you didn't bow to me when you saw me before, or just now, did you?"

Lan Qi slowly raised his hand and pointed at the middle-aged man in the house and asked.

"Sorry, Lord, I heard that you have always been very kind and don't care about these details. It was our negligence..."

The sudden question made the middle-aged man become panicked, and he quickly pressed the little girl's head with his wife, bowed to Lan Qi, and said in a low voice.

He didn't understand what went wrong that made this nobleman suddenly change his face.

Obviously, this good-natured lord did not conduct any investigation in his home. How could he have noticed anything wrong! ?

Lan Qi sneered:

"According to the etiquette of the northern border, you two should bow to me. However, you have not expressed the respect you should have shown to me twice. I think your attitude towards me is unusually contemptuous, which has insulted me."

He opened the code of law in his hand and scolded sternly,

"According to the Holy Kingdom Code, page 719, line 3, the crime of insulting a nobleman, I will arrest your whole family. Children under the age of 12 can be exempted from the crime, and according to the Fostering Ownership Regulations on page 134, this girl has lost her foster parents and will be taken back to the town by me to be taken care of by the church, which is in compliance with the regulations."

After finishing speaking, Lan Qi turned his head to look at the executioner, raised the book he had opened in his hand, and showed the executioner the page of the law book on the "crime of insulting a nobleman".

It is clearly written on it.

As for the etiquette of the northern border, Lan Qi had just asked the village chief and the executioner in detail to confirm.

The executioner was slightly stunned.

After a moment of hesitation, he finally stepped forward and controlled the three people with bewildered faces.

"You will be temporarily detained in the village chief's house. Wait until the blizzard passes and follow me back to town. Those who should go to jail will go to jail, and those who should go to church to study will go to church."

Lan Qi stared at the law book, word by word.

Next.

Watching the three people embark on the road to the village chief's house under the leadership of the executioner.

In the wind and snow.

Lan Qi put his hands in his pockets, breathed a sigh of relief, and showed a gratified smile.

"Obviously, this exam examines the students' legal awareness, so that their family can spend a warm winter in prison and church."

……

Outside the venue.

"?!"

The corners of the professors' eyes began to twitch crazily when they accidentally witnessed Lan Qi's operation.

Even Loren, the chief examiner who saw all this in the examination room, widened his eyes.