The education center was crowded, though not many people knew Yao personally. At most, a few passerby would glance at her a couple of times, noticing her slightly disheveled appearance, but other than that, no one saw any notable difference.
Her expressions, her gaze, all seemed quite ordinary—nothing stood out.
It was only the few with sharp eyes who noticed the badge on her chest, their expressions subtly changing.
Jingyang City was a place of unrest, where noble families held significant power, and all three major families were in cahoots with local capital.
The East family mourned a death, while the West family threw a lavish banquet for a 60th birthday celebration. The North family's little brat was playing marbles in the yard, and the South family's girl was knitting a sweater. Life was as diverse as it could be, with sorrow and joy disconnected.
Even Yao herself felt that in a few days, she might forget this driver entirely.
She wasn't heartless, but neither was she unyielding—she knew very well that she had always been one of the most ordinary, mundane people in this world.
"Today is the academic assessment for Jingyang City's entrance exam. The first round is a theoretical test for advanced high school entrance. First, there's the interview, then a waiting period. Remember, you must follow the rules. If you break them, the consequences will be dire…"
A teacher with a megaphone reminded students from various schools.
"Auks, right?"
"Yes, it's me."
Yao had been waiting in line for half an hour. The interviewer kept looking at her photo, confirming her identity. After a moment, he casually remarked, "You've lost quite a bit of weight. You don't quite look like yourself—your dark eye circles are too severe. Pay more attention to your image and quality of life in the future."
The old Yao, back at X5 Star, was indeed a rogue, but with decent living standards and the right conditions to cause trouble, she could almost be considered a dandy. But after Yao had taken over, things had never been calm for this person—there was constant scheming, betrayal, and murder. And with her focus on studying for exams, she didn't have much time for even meditation.
She was pressed for time, which was eating away at her health.
So when the interviewer saw her, he felt something was off. Coincidentally, the female interviewer from the neighboring line was also checking a student's photo. After glancing at it, she said, "Young man, you need to rest more during the exam period. Don't just focus on studying."
The young man was skinny, quiet, with a scholar's aura, but he also had a look of poverty about him. He nodded in response, silently accepting his exam pass.
Yao, turning to her own interviewer, said, "I will. I'll try to read less and rest more. Thank you for your concern."
The interviewer gave her a glance and said, "You don't look like someone who's been reading. Exam area 4, please wait for the 8:30 start. Next."
Yao took her exam pass and went to the restroom. While washing her hands, she glanced at herself in the mirror, finally realizing what the interviewer had meant by "quality of life."
Was he implying that her current state was a result of overindulgence?
Yao felt a sense of injustice but silently tucked away her family's crest.
The Xie family had done nothing but burden her, not even offering any real advantages. Not even a family crest was without its consequences.
As she sighed, she suddenly heard a sound from outside the stall. She tensed, but refrained from using her insight, fearing someone was testing her or that the Teng and Lan families were up to something again.
She feigned ignorance for a moment, then quietly moved to the wall. She noticed a small card had been slid under the stall door, with something attached to it.
She quickly pushed open the door, but no one was there.
It was like a ghost.
Yao bent down and picked up the item, which turned out to be a business card with a communication number on it.
"Qiangsheng Foundation's health company…"
Yao glanced at the pill attached to the back of the card, her expression one of disbelief.
Who would dare to bring such a business into the education center? Were they not afraid of being executed?
Who would even buy from them?
She left the restroom and found that the waiting room for the exam was now full, with students from dozens of middle schools from all over Jingyang City. She was a bit older than most, since typical exam candidates were around 15 or 16, but she was 2 or 3 years older.
But who did she spot?
The children of the Teng, Lan, and Xie families were all there, with the younger ones coincidentally in the same exam area as her.
That wasn't surprising—these three families were large, especially the Xie family, which had dozens of eligible exam candidates from their collateral branches alone. Having one or two in area 3 was normal, and the other two families were no exception.
Yao scanned the room and saw Xie Lin and Lan Chengguang.
What a coincidence.
They each had their own social circles, probably from the same school or interest group, or perhaps tied through family connections.
They noticed her too. Lan Chengguang, having suffered a great loss at Yao's hands previously, had been brooding for several days. Today, however, he got the upper hand, and his arrogance had returned. He raised his voice slightly and said, "My second brother? He's not in this exam area; he's in area 1. He flies so fast, just swoops there in a flash. I didn't even see him."
"Which high school is he applying to? The same one as your older brother, Xijin University? Oh, right, your older brother is also taking the exam today, is he going to take it in Jingyang or Beruk City?"
"It's definitely in Beruk City. He's taking the provincial education department's unified exam. My older brother was actually accepted early by Qinghai University, one of the top ten Purple Level universities in Beruk province. It's no surprise, he's from Xijin University, so his safety net is a Blue Level university. But the teachers at Xijin say he can aim for Beruk University. Recently, he won a competition ranking and got a flying pet, the blue-tailed dark-feathered eagle that my second brother owns. Isn't it cool? My older brother said, after I finish my exam, he'll get me one too."
His voice was loud enough for everyone to hear, and many students who were quietly studying in their simple clothes looked uncomfortable, casting sidelong glances at the group of aristocrats and wealthy heirs.
Jealous?
They were green with envy.
They knew they'd never earn enough in their entire lives to buy the flying pet that this guy's older brother would give him.
The whole waiting room was filled with the air of envy. Even the heirs of wealthy families couldn't help but feel envious, for some resources were beyond money's reach. For example, their families didn't have someone like Lan Chengguang's older brother who had such a bright future.
"Lan Xuanyu, hailed as the top student of the Jingyang City middle school exams three years ago, was number one in his year. The Lan family was incredibly proud that year, easily surpassing the Xie and Teng families. Although the second and third year's top scorers, Teng Xu and Xie Qingyan, were both from the local area, neither of them was as impressive as Lan Xuanyu, who was a true prodigy. He's famous even in Beruk province."
"He's really something."
"And his second brother, Lan Bing, is also a sure thing for one of the four major schools."
"See, even though the Xie family is currently the most powerful among the three, they still have to give the Lan family face, mostly because of Lan Xuanyu. As long as he gets into Beruk University, his future is limitless. In fact, Lan Xuanyu almost died a few years ago…"
"How do you know that?"
"Well, you can imagine."
The topic suddenly stopped, and Yao folded her arms across her chest, reflecting.
This was the first time she'd heard of it, and it made sense why the Lan family was so powerful. It also explained the arrogance of the young man who had once ridden an eagle.
Overall, the Lan family had the fewest members, but the most elites. Even though Lan Chengguang was a bit lacking, on average, their family could be considered one of the top three.
Having such older brothers, it was only natural that the younger brother would be arrogant and domineering, unwilling to lose face for the family.
But if Lan Xuanyu had survived an assassination attempt from the Xie and Teng families, the Lan family had certainly relied on a much stronger force to protect him. After all, someone as cunning as Xie An would have no trouble manipulating others—this was clear from his past actions of exploiting his son to get close to the Fu family and quickly seize land in the southern suburbs.
Clearly, it was a much more powerful force that had ensured his survival.
"Xijin University."
Yao knew that the prestige of the four major universities far surpassed that of the
three noble families. In this world, talent was paramount.
As she faced Lan Chengguang's arrogant and hostile gaze, Yao averted her eyes, pretending to submit, and moved to the side to rest her eyes.
Lan Chengguang chuckled and was pleased with himself, but then purposely spoke louder to provoke the Xie family's children. Xie Qingyan and the others weren't there, and this year's middle school graduates had no standout students, so they couldn't handle the combined pressure from the Teng and Lan families. They looked particularly stifled.
Xie Lin and the others clearly weren't happy, casting a cold glance at Yao, feeling that she was the reason for their loss of face.
"Good-for-nothing. Always causing trouble."
What they failed to realize was that their long-standing animosity with the Teng and Lan families was the real reason the driver, Auks, had been targeted. And that led to a series of misfortunes.
Would they reflect on their own actions?
Of course not.
—
Many students were still nervous, some were reading, others chatting to ease their nerves. On the surface, it seemed no different from any other exam in the real world.
Yao had graduated from the entrance exams years ago, but she couldn't help feeling a bit of tension and even let out a bitter smile.
She had never been nervous for her own exams, after all, she had always been the top student in elementary school, effortlessly getting into a prestigious school. But now?
Times had changed.
She rubbed her tired eyes and was about to put away her communicator when she saw a new message.
It was from the investigator she had hired.
Yao opened the file, and it detailed the Xie family's recent purchase orders. There was no sign of mining equipment.
Had she been wrong?
No, so many fruits? But why would they need to use heavy cargo ships for fruit?
"Probably buying heavy mining equipment disguised as fruits, to avoid detection from the Teng and Lan families."
She calculated the transportation costs and the number of heavy cargo ships, and quickly deduced the weight of the goods. It was equivalent to hundreds of heavy mining machines. Nothing in the Xie family's agricultural and light industry sector could match this weight.
Yao was nearly certain of her guess. She thought for a moment, then took out her phone and sent a message.
At the education center, in exam area 2, a tall, slender girl with black hair looked at her communicator, her expression shifting slightly.
The contact was saved as: "Captain Miss."
This was when they had asked the one-woman powerhouse for her contact number during their dungeon run (the marmot had insisted on asking). She remembered that the woman had been wearing a mask, so her expression couldn't be seen. After a brief hesitation, she had given them her number, but no name.
She didn't expect to hear from her again, but now, she really had.
Aqi was secretly pleased, her eyes brightening, but as she read the message, she fell into deep thought.
"You're in an exam? If you're not busy after the exam, go look for Tu Tu and ask him if he's willing to cooperate with me on some dirt digging."
Aqi could sense three things from this message.
Why not ask Tu Tu directly? Because she wanted to be involved too, but the key person was still Tu Tu—he had the ability to burrow underground. Was the goal this time an underground dungeon? Or some underground treasure?
Why was she asking for help? In terms of combat power, she shouldn't need Aqi, but this mission must be a covert one. It needed someone with brains and technical skills, someone who could work under the radar.
Aqi was probably busy too, likely involved in her own exam. Whether it was the education bureau's high school entrance or the education center's middle school entrance, she couldn't be sure.
"In Jingyang City, the only profitable businesses are either tied to the nobility and the rich, or to the government. But the latter is off-limits, as the Ministry of Economics is busy regulating food prices. So it must be the former. Given this person's focus on the Xie family, and the special connection, this project must be related to these noble families."
Aqi guessed almost everything, but her finger tapped the screen again. "Fu Xie? Underground?"
She felt like she had figured it out.
"Ten minutes until the exam starts. Please prepare to enter."
Yao was about to put away her communicator when she heard the announcement. She paused, glanced at some of the noble heirs nearby, then decided to keep the communicator out, following the crowd into the exam hall, and found her seat in Room 5.
"Find your seat according to your exam number. Hurry up and sit down."
The invigilator, a portly man with a loud voice, called out as the bright, tidy classroom was already set with exam papers. Every seat was identical.
Yao sat down, noticing someone walking toward her.
Rough, unkempt hair, weathered skin, and short black stubble—he looked like a middle-aged man, but his features didn't match his age.
"Hello, teacher," Yao greeted politely, but he merely glanced at her before sitting beside her.
Yao, looking at the other candidates, thought, "Huh?"
He was likely used to this, gruffly muttering, "What are you looking at? I'm 15 this year."
Yao and the others: "!!!"
"Uncle, you look more like 51!"
The others exchanged glances, unsure.
Could this be the invigilator in disguise?
"I remember there was one year when the invigilator disguised himself to catch cheaters."
"No way, that's too devious."
They whispered amongst themselves, but the person sitting next to Yao remained calm, slowly unpacking their stationery.
Pen, eraser, compass, scratch paper, even a paperweight for the exam papers.
Look at them, look at you.
Yao was stunned, thinking: They say that poor students have a lot of stationery, but maybe this person is a struggling student.
After a while, everyone had taken their seats, and Yao spotted Lan Chengguang and the others across the room. She didn't pay them much attention, quietly waiting.
The invigilator checked the time and the room.
"Three minutes until the exam starts, let me say a few words first. This year, the education bureau has reformed the exam system. From high school to middle school, everything has changed. The theoretical exam this year has some changes, such as a combined paper for seven subjects, divided into seven parts, totaling 20 pages, with four hours to complete. And the new rule this year is that you can cheat."
What?
They could cheat?