I remember now!
Lin Qingyue's heart jolted violently.
At the time, the System prompted me that the Purification was completed in Hard Mode!
So the normal process is to do a whole bunch of prerequisite quests first, chip the BOSS down to low health, and then fight it?
Isn't that just Easy Mode?
Does that mean we skipped the walkthrough at the start, directly selected Hell Difficulty, and just brute-forced our way through?
Despite the turbulent drama playing out in her mind, Lin Qingyue still wore an expression of pure innocence on her face.
Her innocent "I don't know anything, I'm just a pure and harmless freshman" look became the last straw that crushed Chen Jing's psychological defenses.
Chen Jing looked at her, and then at the three people beside her who shared the same innocent "we're just tagging along with the Captain" expressions.
A profound sense of powerlessness gripped her.
She felt like she wasn't talking to four students.
But rather, she was communicating with four anomalous lifeforms from another dimension.
Their thought processes simply weren't on the same channel as normal human beings.
She leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and pressed her fingertips against her throbbing temples.
After her brain operated on overload, only a sharp ringing remained.
Having been an instructor at the Special Training Camp for so many years, she had seen the stubborn, the reckless, and those with heaven-defying luck.
But she had never seen anything as outrageous as Lin Qingyue's Squad.
"It's not that no one has ever thought about forcibly purifying a Dungeon Core at full condition."
After a long time, Chen Jing finally let out a long sigh, as if trying to exhale all the shock she had accumulated over half her life.
She opened her eyes again, her gaze having settled from a state of breakdown and bewilderment into a resigned calm.
"In theory, as long as you dispatch a mid-tier powerhouse squad with an average level over 40 into this kind of level 20-something Dungeon, it can indeed be done."
"But that would be like using an anti-aircraft gun to shoot mosquitoes; the loss outweighs the gain. Who would do something like that?"
As she said this, her gaze focused once again on Lin Qingyue's group of four, looking as if she were staring at four mosquitoes capable of catching anti-aircraft shells with their mouths.
"But you guys... you four freshmen who aren't even level 30, just went and pulled it off?"
This was no longer just a dimensional strike.
This was flipping the table across dimensions.
It was like you were still painstakingly studying how to build a deck and execute combos, while the opposing player directly pulled out an anti-materiel sniper rifle and blew both you and the card table into the sky.
"Alright."
She waved her hand weakly.
"I get it."
She had completely given up on trying to understand the thought processes of these four little monsters.
"Regardless of how you managed it, the result is good."
Chen Jing's voice carried a thoroughly drained exhaustion. "The Dungeon was successfully Purified and repaired. Your squad's performance was... perfect."
Her back teeth practically itched when she said the word "perfect."
How was this perfect? It was completely outrageous!
But judging by the results, it was indeed impeccably perfect.
"Do you know?" Chen Jing looked at them, her expression becoming somewhat complicated.
"During this Special Training Camp, a total of 11 teams entered the 'Shattered Alliance' Dungeon. You were the last team to return."
"As for the other teams, most of them were randomly teleported to various corners of the Human Kingdom after entering the Dungeon."
"There was even an unlucky squad that got thrown right onto the border of the Orc Wasteland, getting into a fight with the Orcs right at the start."
"They didn't even get close to the Elven Race, let alone touch the Core plot."
"Most squads struggled inside for a few days, found they had absolutely no clue, and encountered various difficulties. In the end, they could only crush their Life-saving talismans to exit early."
At this point, Chen Jing couldn't help but take a few more looks at Lin Qingyue.
It was as if all the good luck had been sucked away by this squad.
Not long after the start, they encountered a key NPC, were directly brought into the Core faction, steamrolled all the way through, and finally even received an SSS-rank Perfect Rating.
Even a novel wouldn't dare to write a script like this.
"Teacher, then what about them..." Xia Lian asked with some concern.
"Don't worry, they all came back safely, just looking a bit worse for wear," Chen Jing comforted her. "Compared to you guys, theirs is what you'd call a normal Dungeon survival."
Lin Xiyue muttered softly to the side: "We were 'surviving' too, every day begging Sis to cook for us..."
Chen Jing pretended not to hear. She was so mentally exhausted right now that she refused to look into any more details that could make her blood pressure spike.
"Anyway, you guys made a huge contribution this time."
Chen Jing forced herself to pull it together and squeezed out a smile, though its curve looked somewhat twisted no matter how you looked at it.
"Successfully completing the Purification and repair of a large-scale Dungeon is extremely outstanding among all the university Special Training Camps in the country. The school will definitely give you the most generous rewards."
She opened her personal terminal, her fingers tapping rapidly across the screen.
"First, credits. As a reward for the perfect Purification of the Dungeon, each member of your team will receive 10,000 credits."
The office fell completely silent.
Lin Xiyue blinked and was the first to raise her hand. "Teacher, um... what are credits? Can you eat them?"
Su Wan and Xia Lian also cast similarly bewildered glances.
The smile on Chen Jing's face froze again. She felt the needle of her blood pressure monitor starting to swing wildly once more.
"You can't eat them!"
She slammed her hand on the desk, her voice rising an octave.
"Credits are the hard currency inside our Tianshu University! They are money! They are your life! Understand?"
Looking at the four heads that still seemed only half-understanding, Chen Jing felt even more exhausted.
She stood up, and with a hint of desperation-driven seduction, words poured out of her at a rapid-fire pace.
"With credits, you can go to the school's Logistics Treasury and exchange them for anything you can think of!"
"High-quality Epic Equipment!"
"Rare Skill Books you can't find on the market!"
"Heavenly Treasures and Magical Materials that can help you break through your limits!"
"You can even use credits to buy time in the 'Time Training Ground', where one day of leveling up inside equals ten days outside!"
"Oh—!"
The four of them suddenly understood, their eyes lighting up as if they had seen the doors to a treasury filled with a dazzling array of items.
10,000 credits!
It sounded like it could be exchanged for a lot of good stuff!
"Your contribution this time is far more than just the Purification of a Dungeon," Chen Jing's expression suddenly turned serious.
"At the opening ceremony, the Principal can passionately tell the whole school of new students your story!"
"A team of freshmen who didn't give up in a desperate situation, and through extraordinary wisdom, unwavering courage, and seamless teamwork, finally created a miracle! How inspiring would that be!"
She paused, then added, "As for the detail that you steamrolled your way through with combat power comparable to high-tier powerhouses... well, this is an artistic creation, so it always needs a bit of creative embellishment."
Lin Qingyue and the other three: "..."
Is that how you use that term?
Did we just become the protagonists of a cheesy inspirational article?
"Also!"
Chen Jing grew more excited as she spoke, the exhaustion on her face swept away, replaced by an almost fanatical gleam.
"Those guys at Jingcheng University, didn't they have a freshman get an A+ rating last year? They bragged about it for an entire year!"
"This year, I'm going to slap this SSS-rank Perfect Rating report right in their faces! Let them see what true chosen ones look like!"
Watching Chen Jing's thoroughly delighted expression, looking as if she were already watching her old rivals eat dirt, Lin Qingyue and the other three glanced at each other, seeing the exact same bewilderment in one another's eyes.
So... were we really that amazing?
Amazing enough to be used as the school's mascots and a strategic weapon for bragging rights?
"Anyway, you all made a huge contribution this time."
Chen Jing's gaze finally fell on Lin Qingyue, her eyes filled with pure admiration.
"Especially you, Lin Qingyue. As the Captain, the decision-making and leadership you displayed in this operation were outstanding. Although your fighting style is... well, very unique, the results prove everything."
"I will organize your reports and submit them. I believe the school's upper management will hand down further rewards soon."
She paused, her tone finally softening significantly.
"Alright, you're all tired today, so go back and get a good rest. There are no other arrangements for now, so I'm giving you some time off to readjust."
"Thank you, teacher!" the four replied in unison.
Walking out of the office and bathing in the warm afternoon sunlight, Lin Xiyue still felt a bit dizzy.
"Sis, I'm not dreaming, am I? 10,000 credits? Are we ten-thousanders now?"
"Have some ambition." Lin Qingyue patted her head. "This is just the beginning. Our future goal is the sea of stars."
She had already started calculating how to spend this huge sum.
The Time Training Ground, one day counts as ten?
"This is great, I definitely need to try it out and level up quickly. My combat power just isn't enough when I'm not using a Character Card."
"While I'm at it, I should also check out the school's treasury to see if there are any interesting Skills or equipment."
Looking at the sisters ahead who were already discussing how to spend their money, Su Wan and Xia Lian smiled at each other, their faces brimming with irrepressible joy.
The events of this Dungeon trip had been completely absurd, but the harvest was simply too massive.
How about forming a permanent party with them?