CHAPTER 153: CHAPTER 153: LEAVING THE CAVE, BALANCE 2,275 CONTRIBUTION POINTS

A staff member looked up at Fang Zhou. "Junior Sergeant Fang Zhou, for your turn-in: Hunting Points, 80 contribution points; Demon Equipment, 275 contribution points; Refining Stones, 320 contribution points; and Demon Materials, 500 contribution points. That’s a total of 1,175 contribution points.

This is the collection confirmation form. Please sign here to confirm the details are correct."

Fang Zhou briefly glanced at the form before signing his name with a confident flourish.

Then, after the logistics staff member performed a few operations in the system, Fang Zhou’s personal terminal received a notification.

"Junior Sergeant Fang Zhou, your account has received 1,175 contribution points from a loot transaction with the Sea City Military Academy Logistics Department. Current balance: 2,275 contribution points."

Fang Zhou glanced at his contribution point balance—hundreds, even thousands of times greater than any other first-year student’s—and nodded slightly.

Now, I just have to wait for the academy to raise my clearance to E-rank, and my strength will see another explosive leap.

After exchanging most of his loot with the academy, Fang Zhou was left with just a military backpack containing some remaining supplies, Evergreen Fruits, Troll hearts, and other precious materials.

He snapped his fingers, banishing the Skeleton back to the Undead Realm, then shouldered his backpack and stepped aside.

At the staff member’s call, the dozens of other Seed Students suppressed their envy and began to register and exchange their loot in an orderly manner.

Meng Hongzhuang, 88 contribution points.

Ye Fan, 66 contribution points.

Gu Zhiqiu, 60 contribution points.

Fang Zhou observed silently from the side. It seems earning a few dozen contribution points from a single Cave Hunt is the norm. My haul of over a thousand contribution points from this one trip was indeed a stroke of incredible luck. A little over the top, even.

Since the other students had far less loot, the skilled logistics staff deftly calculated the corresponding contribution points and completed the transactions with smooth efficiency.

The Seed Students all received notifications as the contribution points arrived in their accounts, and their faces broke into joyful smiles.

For these new recruits, who had only had their Awakening two months ago, receiving tens of contribution points at once was already a massive windfall.

Of course, by silent, mutual agreement, everyone excluded the anomaly that was Fang Zhou from the category of "new recruit."

Some impatient students, like Meng Hongzhuang, had already opened their personal terminals and were scrolling through the Profession Skill Library. They wanted to use the practical combat experience gained from the three-day Cave Hunt to choose suitable Skills that would cover their weaknesses and enhance their combat strength.

The Arena Challenge was scheduled for tomorrow.

Although they had less than a day to prepare, if they were willing to spend heavily on the relevant Skill Insights, their exceptional Talents gave them a good chance of Mastering a brand-new Apprentice-level Skill.

On average, they had each Mastered about five Profession Skills.

Mastering one more new Skill would naturally bring a substantial boost to their combat power.

It might even allow them to catch an opponent off guard in tomorrow’s Arena Challenge.

At this moment, Instructor Lu Hu walked out of the fortress again.

A staff member reported, "Instructor Lu, all the loot has been tallied, and the contribution points have been distributed."

Lu Hu nodded slightly. Looking at the students’ excited expressions, he said, "Are you all ready? If there’s nothing else, we’ll return to Sea City Military Academy."

The students sobered up, packed their belongings, and spontaneously fell into formation.

Lu Hu glanced around and, with a broad wave of his arm, led the way toward the back of the fortress.

Fang Zhou stood in formation, following Instructor Lu Hu back along the same path they had taken three days prior.

The passageway was dimly lit, its only illumination coming from the faint, intermittent glow of Magic Energy Lamps. The corridor echoed with the soft shuffling of footsteps and quiet breathing, occasionally punctuated by whispered conversations.

Some were discussing thrilling moments in the Cave.

Others were planning how to use the contribution points they had earned to enhance themselves.

Finally, all the students walked out of the passageway, and the scene before them invigorated their spirits.

The iconic buildings of the Security Hall glistened under the sun. The sight of the heavily guarded, yet familiar, military camp was a welcome one.

In the distance, a few military vehicles waited quietly, prepared to transport them safely back to the academy.

Instructor Lu Hu walked at the front of the line, turning to face the group with a serious yet proud expression.

"We are back, but the real challenge is just beginning. Keep up the good work. I expect to witness your growth in tomorrow’s Arena Challenge."

As the instructor finished speaking, the students boarded the military vehicles one by one.

The vehicles started up and began driving along the wide road toward Sea City Military Academy.

Throughout the journey, the accompanying instructors didn’t remain idle.

They displayed a highlight reel of the past three days’ Cave Hunting battles on a large screen, offering commentary from the perspective of battlefield veterans.

The Seed Students, having just received treatment, were now full of energy—a stark contrast to their previous fatigue and listlessness. They all listened attentively to the instructors’ explanations.

Even Fang Zhou wasn’t slacking off by logging into his Skeleton Clone. Instead, he took out his notebook and recorded the instructors’ commentary along with his own insights.

I was generally satisfied with my performance during the three-day Cave Hunt, but there was still plenty of room for improvement when it came to the finer details.

Time spent learning always flew by.

Soon, with the honk of a horn, the military vehicle carrying the Seed Students entered Sea City Military Academy and stopped in front of an academic building.

The instructor on the vehicle clapped his hands and said to the students, "Alright, disembark. Get a good day’s rest. Tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM, in Arena 1, we look forward to your performance!"

Fang Zhou disembarked with the crowd. He looked up at the brilliant sunshine and fluffy white clouds, and suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of tranquility, as if he had lost all track of time.

The past three days of Cave Hunting were definitely oppressive. I wonder what the battlefields of the Mythical World are like?

Just as he was lost in these wandering thoughts and feelings, a voice called out to him, catching his attention.

He turned his head and saw Bai Xiaochan. He hadn’t seen her in three days. She was standing in front of the academic building, bouncing on her feet as she waved excitedly in his direction.