How Am I Still Alive?
Chapter 56 - 56 44 Turning Point

56: Chapter 44: Turning Point 56: Chapter 44: Turning Point Watching the experts on TV talking confidently, Lu Ping’an didn’t know where to spit his old frustrations.

The TV hosts and audience were too normal, giving Lu Ping’an a subtle illusion that maybe he was the one who is not right.

Yet, some things remained unchanged.

“…Such high focus and news bombardment indicates that something is undergoing a significant transformation.”

Although it may be a bit convoluted, Lu Ping’an indeed felt like he was hearing the sound of the wheels of history.

The era is always changing, and one day it might become unrecognizable.

The wheels of history keep rolling, unstoppable by anyone, yet when it rolls over one’s face, the taste is quite subtle.

“It hurts so much, the number of candidates multiplied by five, how did it spiral like this?

Are logistics students not human?”

This feeling is probably equivalent to the year when you were ranked high and suddenly the college entrance examination system reformed, and the test-maker was inhumane.

To put it bluntly, because the number of candidates increased by five times, the chance of being accepted into a university has become one-fifth of the original.

“…Meow, what are you complaining about!

You’re not even qualified to complain, meow!

Even like this, the Logistics Department might not be filled!

It’s the normal classes that are truly doomed, meow!

Many people predict that at least five points will be raised, meow!

I’m doomed, meow meow!”

The cat’s meow on the other end of the phone showed that it was truly mentally exploded.

After a brief surprise, Lu Ping’an could only find it a bit funny.

Lei Shuiyun was right; the college entrance examination reform had little impact on him.

Even if he couldn’t get a scholarship, he still had a chance to pass.

On the other hand, the cat might face at least twice the competition and risk not being admitted.

What he paid more attention to was this series of new policies, which were so drastic that experts had to help explain them around the clock.

Compared to the drastic upheavals in society, the “minor adjustments” in the examination system were just small episodes in a grand narrative.

The most eye-catching news, which was also the root cause of the surge in registration, was another piece:

“…Our country has successfully developed the X-07 drug, which can turn ordinary people into quasi-Awakened, with a success rate of up to 71%…”

There was another piece of accompanying news.

“To meet the growing demand for training as the number of professionals increases, we will develop nearly a hundred ultra-low-level polluted Secret Realms.

In these realms, there are no threats to survival, and the natural Awakening rate is as high as 51%!”

“71% and 51%, huh?

Heh, that would fool a ghost, but it’s still just above the psychological bottom line for many people.”

This news was no secret among professionals; in fact, the X series drugs had been already developed.

Expensive and impractical, the actual Awakening rate had always been around 60%.

Even if there were improvements with the new drugs, the difference should not be significant.

Not Awakening?

There were only two outcomes for those who ended up being polluted: succeeding in becoming an Awakened or transforming into “pollution.”

Moreover, the probability of Awakening from entering the Secret Realm was even more exaggerated.

Although professionals always claimed that the highest success rate of Awakening was 50%, the reality was that the weaker the realm, the higher the success rate.

The weaker the Abnormal Ability, the higher the success rate.

Being the weakest in both aspects, the highest probability was not even half.

And that half, in fact, meant there were only “two options of success or death, half and half.”

The actual data was probably around 37%.

Thus, though X-drugs may awaken weaker than the weakest realms, they were still somewhat necessary.

The most direct change that comes with this reform is that the X-07 drug can be purchased on the market…

in the ordinary people’s market, and the price is slashed at a staggering discount!

One-tenth!

“The original core material was held by the Official, but now it’s released…

Although still over ten thousand dollars, many families would be willing to pay for a better future.

Though they say there would be strict review, once it’s on the market, everyone knows it won’t be controlled.”

However, if you’re admitted to the preparatory class, both the Secret Realm trials and the X-drugs are provided free by training institutions.

This was the source of the drastic increase in “candidates”; the invisible threshold for becoming a professional was significantly reduced.

Actually, if the policy didn’t come so suddenly, it could have increased ten or even a hundred-fold.

These policies directly point to a result: a significant increase in the total number of professionals.

“…

You’re killing people!

Massacring on a large scale!

You’re against humanity…”

This interlude vanished in an instant, and the familiar beautiful scenery was broadcasted again…

Lu Ping’an felt that something was wrong.

Lu Ping’an shook his head, already foreseeing the chaos that would follow.

Luckily, it shouldn’t have much to do with him.

“Heh, Spiritual Qi Resurgence, what a joke…

demons, monsters, and ghosts are all coming out…

has the Official side lost?

At least, they can’t shoulder it anymore.”

More professionals mean more Secret Realms and pollution events, leading to more cases that require more professionals to solve…

This is a vicious cycle destined to collapse sooner or later.

In a sense, pollution and Secret Realms were resources and gold mines to them.

Yet now, it undoubtedly shows that the situation has deteriorated to where the original strategy of “keeping pollution away from ordinary people” has completely failed.

Unable to keep up strict defenses, they could only lower the floodgate and cultivate their professionals on a large scale to prepare for the inundated new era of supernatural events.

Both sides are increasing their forces, with one side reaping more benefits naturally.

As long as Order doesn’t collapse, it might be suppressed for many more years.

However, there is no doubt that this is still a desperation move.

More professionals will definitely produce more Secret Realms and cases, leading to a “Spiritual Qi Resurgence” throughout the entire society.

Pollution would only get worse when piled up, and the situation had gotten so bad that they were willing to go all-out.

If his guess was correct, the corresponding policies should have already been put in place.

For example, the difficulty of the latest “Secret Keeper” professional examination was significantly reduced, and the employment threshold was even lower.

Xia Qin and the others had their salaries and benefits increased, even several times higher.

As for the aspects related to him, Lu Ping’an visited the websites of Ancient City University and several other specialized training institutions and saw the expected information.

“Upgrading the ranking rewards again?

They’re obviously trying to grab people…”

The other top training institutions were also expanding their enrollment and significantly increasing rewards for rankings.

As far as Lu Ping’an knew, among the six top training institutions, only Ancient City University was wholly Official.

Other institutions also offered X-drugs and Secret Realm trial packages but were relatively more autonomous.

Although the tuition fees were high, there were student loans available.

As long as they didn’t die, the pressure wasn’t too heavy.

Actually, he still had other options…

“Is it time to choose sides so soon…”

After sorting all this out, Lu Ping’an realized that he had unwittingly stood at the crossroads of life.

However, in the next moment, he shook his head and started studying the new enrollment brochure in detail.

Two days later, he entered the examination room of Ancient City University.