The next day, Ethan Brooks strolled around the business school campus. It was graduation season, and campus recruitment had already begun. The recruitment area was bustling, with lines of students outside each company’s booth.

Ethan Brooks squatted nearby to listen in.

Wow, each candidate was more impressive than the last, pulling out skill certificates like secret manuals. Having seven certificates was already amazing, but over there someone slammed down eighteen certificates at once, crushing the competition and landing the job on the spot. Looking closer, it was just a position with a monthly salary of four thousand, yet the competition was so fierce it became a brutal battle.

As for some of the big companies, they really put on airs. No matter how you performed, they’d just tell you to wait for further notice, not the least bit worried about losing talent right in front of them.

But that made sense. After all, this was Qingshan Business School. Ever since it split from Qingshan University, it had barely managed to stay at the bottom of the key universities, ranking outside the top hundred nationwide. In a small city, it might hold some sway, but with Qingshan University next door—superior in both reputation and heritage—those big companies were naturally more interested in recruiting there. The business school side probably just cooperated with the university to save face, filling a few quota spots as a gesture.

All in all, after looking around, it was like a vast army crossing a river, but only a lucky few could actually land a job through campus recruitment.

And those who not only landed a job but also found a good position to start their career were even fewer. Most positions offered a monthly salary of two to three thousand; anything above four thousand was a showdown between the school’s top talents.

Was it really this bad...?

Ethan Brooks went to check out the campus recruitment, not because he was planning to look for a job as a sophomore, but to get a general understanding of the situation in this world and this era.

One thing was certain: this was still the same planet, but at some point in history, something had changed. The information age had arrived earlier, science and engineering and related industries were extremely advanced, but the rise of AI and robotics had replaced many ordinary jobs. As a result, the pursuit of deeper, broad-based elite education had become inevitable. Without a higher education diploma and skill certificates, ordinary people could only struggle at the bottom in this high-tech era. As class divisions gradually solidified along knowledge and ability lines, it became even harder to rise above.

But for Ethan Brooks right now, he was probably facing the most unfavorable situation.

The textbooks in these universities were even more advanced than those in his previous life. If he wanted to pick them up now and make a living in this field, it would be a huge challenge. Not to mention, just passing those three retake courses would be as tough as going through a grueling college entrance exam all over again.

On the other hand, this world was ahead of his original Earth in many ways, and there was so much he needed to learn. Right now, he felt like an illiterate in many respects, facing the shock of the internet age.

It was a bit like Brooks in "The Shawshank Redemption," who, after decades in prison, was released and ultimately chose to hang himself.

In terms of engineering and internet application technology, this world was probably decades ahead of the one he came from.

So Ethan Brooks had to admit: facing this world... he was behind the times.

...

Other people who transmigrated or were reborn always went back to their own past, gaining the advantage of foresight, able to fix regrets and change countless things, easily crushing low-level challenges... But how did he end up in an advanced nightmare mode?

Even if he managed to catch up academically and graduate smoothly from the business school, just relying on a diploma, finding a job with a monthly salary of three thousand—enough to feed himself and not starve—would still be a low-probability event.

Ethan Brooks looked up at the sky in speechless frustration.

This is hell mode!

And there were only two weeks left before he had to pay ten thousand yuan. How was he supposed to fill that hole?

...

Just as Ethan Brooks was feeling lost in his new life, suddenly—ding!—his phone chimed. He took it out and saw a WeChat message from Henry Cooper.

"Where are you? You didn’t tell your family about failing and retaking courses, right? How about we still play in the 'Hot War' tournament the day after tomorrow? We’ve come this far, and the Binhe District finals are coming up. If we win at the district level, there’s a fifty-thousand-yuan prize. With 25 people, that’s 2,000 each. If we win, I’ll give you my share—no need to thank me, just cover my meals for half a month!"

"If we win, that’s 4,000 right there. I still have some tuition money in my account, I can lend you a bit to help out, and we’ll figure out the rest. If we don’t win, it’s just for fun, nothing lost. What do you think? Even if you need to catch up on studying, missing one match won’t make a difference. Of course, chances are we won’t win, just giving you a heads-up."

The game "Hot War"...

Team competition...

Ethan Brooks narrowed his eyes slightly as memories surfaced. "Hot War" was a popular new game released this year. Recently, the official organizers had launched a league in their city, Qingshan. The district champion team could win a fifty-thousand-yuan prize, with the team MVP (best performer) getting ten thousand alone. The city champion team could win a prize of one hundred and fifty thousand yuan.