After a conversation with Professor Robert, Jobtran's outfit became different and looked a little funny.
He covered most of his face with a pink mask, and above the mask was a pair of closed goggles. He wore long sleeves and long pants, and a pair of latex protective gloves on each hand.
When he appeared in front of Columbia who opened the dormitory door in full armor, Columbia was startled.
If it weren't for his conspicuous white hair, Columbia would hardly even recognize who the person in front of him was.
Jobtran, who was wrapped tightly, did not utter a word. Instead, he took out the things from the backpack on his back one by one in a furtive manner, and carefully opened a pack of disinfectant wipes to wipe them clean one by one before letting Columbia get close.
"With such a big scene, are you planning to hibernate in your dormitory?"
Columbia said in confusion.
Joet Brown pointed to the bathroom and pushed Columbia forcefully inside.
"Huh? What are you doing? Let me take a shower?"
Columbia asked in astonishment, and saw Joe Butran unpacking a brand new set of clothes and putting them outside the bathroom door, with an attitude of "I won't move away until you take a shower."
A few minutes later, Columbia changed into new clothes and walked out of the bathroom, and Jobtran set a fire, dramatically burning all the clothes Columbia had taken off.
"Oh no! That's a sweater my grandma made for me."
Columbia groaned, but his hands did not move.
He understood that everything Jobutran did must have a deeper meaning, so he didn't rush to ask, but waited for Jobutran to give him a reasonable explanation.
The burnt clothes gave off an unpleasant burnt smell, and Jobtran carefully took off all his clothes, and simply threw all the clothes into the iron basin that was still flaming.
Seeing that all the clothes were burned by him, the naked Jobtran did not feel disappointed, but instead had a look of pride on his face.
Then he hummed a tune and ran to the bathroom to take a bath.
Columbia, who was sitting on the bed waiting, had some guesses in his mind. He took a look at the supplies brought back by Jobtran and felt shocked.
In addition to spare clothes, there are also a large number of disinfectants, food ingredients, and even bottles and cans used for testing.
These supplies are probably enough for the two of them to live in the dormitory for more than half a month.
Thinking of this, Columbia guessed what Jobtran meant.
I guess I won’t have the chance to go out until the day before the competition starts.
After taking a shower, Jobtran changed into new clothes. He wiped his wet hair with a towel and said,
"From now on, we're not going anywhere. I've asked Professor Bolt for leave for your course, and I'll pay for your credits.
Professor Bolt will send the study materials to your ID card later."
"Uh, with such a big scene, what are we guarding against?"
Columbia scratched his head. He felt that he had been involved in many incidents since coming to Miskatonic University, and the black silk stockings on his head had become much less.
"I went to see Professor Rob earlier and talked about what might happen in the competition. Now all we are doing is taking precautions.
The bottles and jars I brought back were for us to test every morning, and of course they were given to me by Professor Rob.
It can detect our basic physiological values, indicators, etc. every day.
I have already bought the food and drinks in advance, and these clothes are for us to change and wash if we need to go out."
Choate Brown explained.
"But... the sweater my grandma knitted for me..."
Columbia said aggrievedly.
"Um, I'm sorry, it's for our safety, right?"
After that, Jobtran sent some instructions to Howard and Fok through their ID cards, including asking them not to sign up for the competition, as well as some information on personal hygiene protection.
——
The two of them began their days of self-isolation, being so low-key as if they had disappeared from the world.
Even though they hid in the dormitory, they still wore masks and strange protective clothing.
At first Columbia still felt a little resentful, but later he was very grateful for everything Jobtran had done, but it was a pity that his grandmother's sweater was wasted.
On the day when registration was due, Jobtran took the initiative to go to the school office and fill out his own life and death agreement.
Even on the last day, the school office was still crowded with people, busy filling out and submitting life and death agreements.
Jobtran looked coldly at these contestants who were greedy for high credit rewards. He said nothing, but handed in his agreement and left quietly.
In this competition, these people are needed to fill the bottom, and they are also needed to let the world see Arthur's true face.
On the other hand, Arthur received a strange message.
"Mr. President, I heard that this year's competition system does not allow past winners to become seeded players."
The junior cadre who had become the vice president hurriedly walked up to Arthur and spoke all at once.
"It doesn't matter. We can just organize our student union members to participate in the competition together."
Arthur said calmly.
"Well, some of our members are worried about encountering..."
The young cadre wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and did not even utter the word "unexpected".
"Afraid of death? What's the problem with me here?"
Arthur turned around and said coldly.
He glanced at the young cadre out of the corner of his eye, and the young cadre trembled slightly, feeling extremely uncomfortable being stared at.
"Not going yet?"
Arthur lowered his voice and urged, and the young cadre immediately clamped his legs together and ran out.
“Although sticking together for warmth is not my style, it can save me a lot of trouble, haha.
Joe Butran, you are a loner, how are you going to get through this stage of the big fight?"
Arthur said to himself.
——
On the day of the preliminary round, Miskatonic University saw an unprecedented crowd.
Many students who usually do their homework outside or work in the laboratory ran to the venue where the preliminary competition was held, waiting for the contestants to take the stage.
There were many temporary stalls around the stadium. Some of them sold healing potions, some sold so-called player information, and some even set out barbecue grills and wine barrels, creating a feast on the spot.
“The News Department has carefully produced an annual intelligence collection of the players in the ranking competition!
Don’t miss it if you pass by!
Past contestants’ signature moves and even weaknesses are recorded!
Printed in color, the whole book has 486 pages, and it only costs one credit!"
"Competitors of the competition, look here! This is a super-powerful potion developed jointly by the Department of Biology and the Department of Mystical Knowledge Research!
Combining holy water with traditional medicine can not only achieve the therapeutic effect, but also remove the negative energy from the wound!
Just apply it on minor wounds and they will heal in a short while.
Beauty, beauty, why don’t you buy a bottle for your handsome male companion
If he gets injured while he's showing off his prowess on the field, we can guarantee that he won't even get a scar if he uses our medicine, okay?"
“The Department of Chemistry and the Department of Culinary Arts have joined forces!
With sophisticated calculations, the ingredients and seasonings are controlled to the exact degree!
We guarantee every serving is delicious!
Come and try these freshly baked chicken wings!
Come and try some freshly fried grilled sausages!"
With the sounds of hawking, Miskatonic University is now endowed with a unique vitality.
There were exclamations from the crowd, symbolizing the appearance of a role model figure who is rarely seen on campus.
A sturdy man wearing a tank top like a miner walked carelessly in front of the crowd that automatically made way. As he walked, he grinned and waved to the cheering students around him.
His skin was a healthy tan, and the exposed part of his miner's tank top showed off his exaggerated muscles to the people around him.
In his right hand he held a mining pickaxe casually placed on his shoulder, a rough hemp rope hung on the belt around his waist, and in his left hand he held the head of an unknown creature.
Sticky black blood was still dripping from the head and neck of the unknown creature.
“Oh my god, that’s Demir, a senior from the Archaeology Department, a strong man who completed a high-star mission alone!
I didn’t expect him to participate in the competition!”
"I didn't expect that. Didn't he participate in a hunting mission before?"
“Yes, the one hunted was the Stockholm Unicorn.
A mysterious creature that sounds powerful just by its name!"
"Uh, that mysterious creature you mentioned seems to be held in his hand."
"Oh, thank you! Thank you all for the love!"
Demir smiled brightly and greeted the students around him enthusiastically.
If he hadn't been holding the head of the Stockholm unicorn in his hand, people would probably have thought he was just an enthusiastic fool.
"Hehe, you're still so flamboyant."
A sharp female voice in the crowd suddenly sneered at Demir, who seemed to be walking under the spotlight. However, when the crowd found the location of the speaker, they immediately moved away from her one after another, leaving her alone.
Demir dropped the Stockholm unicorn head in his hand to the ground and rubbed his eyes with the back of his left hand.
"Oh my God, Madeline, you actually ran out of the laboratory. Is this the rhythm of the sun rising from the west?"
DeMille preached dramatically.
The Madeline he mentioned was avoided by the crowd, as if she were a plague.
Madeleine's skin was pale, the paleness that came from not being exposed to the sun for a long time.
She had beautiful black hair that reached her waist, but the dark circles under her eyes and her flat chest made people wonder if she was malnourished.
She was wearing a large white gown, and hidden inside the specially made gown were many bottles and jars of liquids or powders.
People feared her because she was the most brilliant laboratory researcher ever.
At that time, Merlin even personally invited her back to Miskatonic University to study, and she only did one thing at first, and she made her name known to everyone in the school.
She, who was studying in the Department of Chemistry, enthusiastically baked cookies for her classmates, and people did not think much of it at first and ate the cookies in front of them.
Until Madeline said,
"Oh, I think I added the wrong ingredients."
The chocolate chips that were supposed to be added to the cookies remained intact, but a large amount of hallucinogenic mushrooms were added as a flavoring.
As a result, a large number of chemistry students were lying in the infirmary at the same time, and they were admiring the beautiful ceiling of the school doctor Jack, with little people running around on it.
Since that incident, Madeline was labeled as a plague and was avoided by everyone except Demir.
I think Demir is the only one who has lived in the wild for a long time and accidentally ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms to the point where he has antibodies in his body.
By chance, Demir ate the cookies brought back by his chemistry roommate and admired the maker's cooking skills from the bottom of his heart. When everyone was staying away from Madeline, he took the initiative to find Madeline to eat more poisonous snacks.
As a result, the two developed a feeling that is difficult to describe in words.
At this moment, their reunion was broken by a suppressed drum beat.
Rumbling drum sounds came from a distance, and even the ground seemed to be shaking with the drum sounds.
People looked in the direction of the drumbeats and saw a cloud of dust rushing towards the stadium.
No, that was not the sound of drums, it was the thunder caused by the team walking in unison, with every big step hitting the ground.
It was a powerful force wearing heavy armor and carrying modern weapons, and it was a wave led by the military command system.
There is a saying that is always circulating among students, and facts have proved the truth of that saying, that is, don't mess with students from the Military Command Department.
There was once a student who thought he was very strong. People didn’t remember his name, but they remembered what happened to him.
The only thing he did was bullying his roommate from the Military Command Department who was assigned to the same dormitory with him.
The boy from the Military Command Department was extremely thin and his family was poor, so he naturally became the target of bullying by the strong and powerful boy.
At first the thin boy just endured it in silence, until the amulet given to him by his mother was torn into pieces by that rude fool, then the thin boy asked the department for help.
The boy was beaten by seniors in the Military Command Department, but the next day, people saw a naked fool hanging upside down on a tree, with marks of being whipped with a rattan stick all over his body, and three big words written on his back: I deserve it.
This is the prestige and cohesion of the military command system.
The boy was beaten because he was unable to solve his own problems, but the seniors taught the boy a lesson in another way.
In a military command system, everyone is a general and at the same time, everyone is a soldier.
And this wave is ready to sweep across this qualifying competition.
They were ready to prove themselves and let other students see the military command's powerful group combat capabilities.
The crowd was suffocated by its power until Arthur appeared on the stage and said quietly,
“What a grand ceremony.”