What does the term "the chaos of demonic dances" truly mean?
After obtaining the desired outcome, Yao understood that according to the theory of quantity leading to quality, there must also be some clever and capable middle school students among the candidates—perhaps someone like A Qi, who she suspected to be within one of the nine examination rooms.
Though unsure of the exact location or identity, as the other party had surely concealed their true appearance, this young girl was sharp and perceptive. She must have noticed the pattern of the light source monitor, and once it changed, she would have detected it immediately.
Would she trace the origin of this shift?
Or would she stop her cheating, resigning herself to a fair exam?
Yao did not know. All she knew was that the moment she took action, magical tracking followed closely behind.
So fast!
Yao raised an eyebrow, but… the arcane tracking led them to Examination Area 1.
Here, they lost the source of the trace.
And among the 300 people in Area 1, who was the culprit?
"Dammit!" A red-haired troublemaker in Area 2 was fuming, knowing that he had certainly been scanned earlier.
Crap!
A single instance of cheating resulted in a deduction of the comprehensive score!
Ah!
"Who did this?"
"How wicked! I had prepared two ways… Don't tell me everything's been scanned! Ah!"
At this moment, the elite candidates were in turmoil, while the average ones, completely oblivious to the shift in the air, were still either quietly working on their papers or furiously cheating…
A Qi, indeed sharp and clever enough, had already stopped. She too had been startled.
What could have triggered such a sudden move?
It was terrifying.
Many had surely fallen victim to it, including her…
She was puzzled—who could have pulled off such a move? A psychopath?
She casually glanced at the three others in Examination Area 1.
Lan Bing, the second son of the Lan family, Teng Zi Qin from the Teng family, and the daughter of the mayor of Jingyang City, Zhang Qin Ruo.
Beyond them, she had another list of suspects—other names beyond these three.
These individuals were all those she believed capable of executing the earlier actions.
Yao had been right about her earlier judgment—A Qi was indeed well-versed in the elite families, financial conglomerates, and various rising stars in Jingyang City.
What A Qi didn't know was that at this very moment, her thoughts were leaning more towards Yao.
"Could it be that my older sister did it? But she usually seems so upright, not someone who would resort to such tricks…"
"But what if she's a psycho?"
Yao felt an itch in her nose but continued to calmly work on her paper, until the four-hour exam time came to an end.
As soon as the exam was over, she left early. The air in the classroom was thick with sweat, unbearable after four hours of the candidates' exertion. Some were perhaps close to dehydration.
It was no wonder, considering how much was at stake—this was a dangerous world where one's future could also mean life or death. It made sense they were so anxious.
Yao made her way out with the crowd, hearing complaints and curses from all around.
Cursing the examiners, blaming the education reformers, muttering about others who wouldn't let them cheat, and criticizing the invigilators for being unfair, always hovering near them—was it intentional?
There were also those who didn't curse, as they had realized the pattern of the light source monitor. Cursing the one behind the scenes would expose their own cheating, but they remained silent, even though their faces darkened.
Meanwhile, some students, who were diligently completing their papers, had subtly different expressions.
They weren't foolish. In fact, those capable of studying to this level were likely the brightest here. They too had noticed the monitoring pattern, and knowing that they hadn't cheated, they now pondered who had.
The stronger the arcane power, the more advanced the equipment, and the greater the likelihood of cheating.
Mo Rui Jing, the top student in Jingyang City's first high school, gave a subtle nod to his classmate He Duan, and they moved aside. Mo spoke thoughtfully, "Is someone deliberately trying to bring these people down? I thought such skills would be better used for their own cheating."
He Duan was noncommittal, "That doesn't mean she wasn't cheating while pulling others down. Perhaps when the light sweep occurred, she herself avoided the light."
"True, but I think this person took such a risk likely because she didn't have much of an advantage herself. At least, she couldn't rely on such cheating skills to outdo others. So this move was aimed at harming others while benefiting herself."
"But her score will likely be among the top."
As far as theoretical knowledge testing went, they were confident—after all, year after year, students from the experimental class at First High always dominated the rankings.
While they were conversing, they saw something.
"Lin Hangjing, how did you do on this exam?"
The name was quite pleasant, but the tone was less than friendly, even condescending. Yao, who had just turned to leave the exam hall, glanced over and saw the thin girl standing by the window. She was taking food out of her bag and, hearing the voice, turned to look.
Wearing a simple white shirt that wasn't very form-fitting, faded long pants, and shoes with nearly flat soles, she was casually tying her ponytail. Her attire reflected the fixed constraints of her social class—humble yet quiet.
Her eyes were calm but a little shy, and upon realizing it was these two calling her, she visibly relaxed. "I'm fine."
Her response was rather dull, lacking confidence—at best, she exuded a fragility borne of poverty.
But she was only fifteen or sixteen—how beautiful could she be? The top students were focused solely on their own results, and this girl wasn't someone they particularly feared, so they didn't pay much attention. They just smiled and moved on.
Perhaps disliking others' attention, she awkwardly left, but those who recognized her, whether classmates or students from other schools, turned up their noses.
Yao also noticed the faint smell of pancake oil on her.
She had smelled the same scent on another young man before.
"Alright, those who have finished the exam, please wait in the waiting area outside until the results are announced. Students whose scores meet the criteria will take the second round of exams at 2 PM."
Yao retrieved her exam card from the invigilator's hand and walked out. She saw the girl leaving with another similarly thin young man.
The once-muted atmosphere now seemed to lighten, with people beginning to smile.
Yao took a glance, left the exam hall, and sat down in the waiting area. Looking at her watch, it was half past twelve—only an hour and a half before the next round of exams. She would need to eat in between.
She wasn't going to wait around for the results.
Glancing at the screen, she saw the results hadn't been posted yet, so she pulled out her communicator and checked two messages.
One was from A Qi, just an "OK" emoji with no further words.
Yao trusted the girl's ability.
The second message was more important. When she had been buying a pancake earlier, someone had inquired about the black market item she had posted.
Plenty of enemies, huh?
Yao pondered, then typed a reply.
"No bargaining."
The other side responded quickly, "Then it seems you won't find it easy to pick who to sell it to."
Yao replied, "The buyer can be the person involved. You know how paparazzi make money?"
The response was a moment of silence, then, "Fifty billion is acceptable, but I need to ensure the video's validity. Let me see it first."
Yao: "I already paid a five billion trust deposit when registering the account. If I violate the rules, the platform could easily have me eliminated, such a small fry like me wouldn't be hard to deal with. I know the rules—don't try to set me up just because my account is new. Money can be earned anywhere. By the way, did you know some scholars in ancient times hired killers to eliminate their classmates just to win the top spot in the imperial exams? Do you think those scholars' money was well spent?"
Silence from the other side.
Yao, unfazed, ignored the reply and put her communicator away.
Some petty thief, so stingy and shameless, trying to climb up. If not for time being tight, she would have refused this kind of person.
But just as she was about to let it go, a chime sounded. She pulled out her communicator again.
He had paid. Fifty billion, immediately.
Earlier so stingy, now he's paying instantly. Quite rich, huh?
Yao didn't like these indecisive types, but fifty billion was still held by the platform. After she uploaded the video, the review would clear, and then the money would be released.
Money was a good thing, but the things it represented could be even more crucial.
The review was swift, as the other party was in a hurry, with no mishaps. Once the video passed, there were no further issues because the platform's review had already ensured everything was legitimate. If the buyer tried to make trouble, they would be dealt with harshly.
The platform took a decent cut and had significant backing—it operated efficiently, as any missteps could drive customers away.
Trust was paramount.
Yao knew the money had come through without needing to check the communicator. After putting it away, she noticed there were result screens outside the education center, likely for the parents
.
Outside the center, a busy shopping street full of restaurants lay beyond. Yao had arrived early and picked a shop directly facing the screen. The restaurant was charming, decorated like an ancient tea house, with three open doors, wooden tables and chairs, and an old-fashioned stove. It seemed that people nowadays were fond of such styles, as quite a few people had already seated themselves.
Those not waiting for their results were either top students, struggling ones, or just plain hungry.
Yao was, of course, hungry. She still wasn't quite used to a male body, which consumed more energy and required larger meals. The pancake she had earlier didn't quite do the trick.
"Boss, a bowl of beef noodles with cilantro, please."
As she was about to sit down, a voice came from beside her. "Boss, I'll have the same as this brother, with two plates of seasonal vegetables and a boiled egg, thanks."
The boss hesitated, glancing at Yao and then at the short, stocky man, looking puzzled. But he didn't say anything, quickly taking the order.
Yao turned to glance at the man who had been following her—she had noticed earlier, but assumed he was just there for food.
It seemed, though, that he was looking for her.
"Is there something?"
"Fate," he said with a smile. "Let's have a meal together. From now on, we're acquaintances, brother."
Yao: "Acquaintances are fine, but don't call me brother. My father wasn't even capable of fathering a child at three years old."
Was he insulting me, or insulting his father?
The man, embarrassed, set the table and asked, "If you don't like the age gap, you can call me 'Grandpa.'"
Yao: "Why would I care about your age? Are you leaving me an inheritance?"
He was definitely throwing some heavy words around.
The man looked uneasy but, constrained by Yao's sharp remarks, quickly looked around, noticing that no one was really paying attention to them, and decided to get to the point.
"Brother, actually, I need something from you."
Yao waited for him to continue, but also studied his clothing. It was clear he wasn't poor, but he didn't seem to care much about his appearance. Was he some kind of businessman?
Oh, don't tell me he…
"Did you give me that little pill?" Yao's eyes darkened.