Meng Qiuer didn't rush to answer; instead he used the corner of his eye to check on the other seven teammates.
In particular, he focused on a boy two rows ahead to his left, and the medium-haired girl in the third row in front.
He had sized up every member of the team; each was like a screw that could be tightened in exactly the right place for maximum effect.
These two teammates were the stand-out academic stars of the school.
Back when Zhao Mu took the Joint Entrance Exam, they had served as his foils and still snagged respectable rankings.
Meng Qiuer narrowed his eyes, a peculiar smile on his face.
As if performing deliberately for the Instructors watching the written exam, he laid his right hand on the desk and began to tap.
"Tap-tap… tap-tap-tap…"
The measured sound, neither loud nor soft, cut clearly through the scratch of pens.
Hearing it, some teammates set to work, while the two examinees in front answered in turn by drumming their fingers on their desks.
Instructor Xie Yingxue found the scene intriguing.
"Using a Cipher to communicate?"
Zhang Biao stared at the screen for a moment, then laughed. "That kid—clever!"
"He's taken the commonest Morse Code, swapped the long and short signals, and added a few special bursts. Even if someone spots it, they can't pin cheating on him."
Xu Zhixiong nodded.
"The boy from the Meng Family does have a head on his shoulders."
Cipher is a compulsory skill for students; Meng Qiuer's tiny tweak turned it into a channel only his team could read.
The invigilator listened carefully, decided it wasn't Morse, and let it go… In another hall, the ravishing Lin Meier sat at her desk, legs elegantly crossed, arms folded under her breasts.
Her outfit was daring: half-exposed cleavage, shapely legs stretched out, and makeup perfectly applied to her seductive face.
Even the candidates around her—and the Proctor in front—couldn't help stealing glances.
Lin Meier paid no heed to the furtive looks; she merely flicked her pink hair and put on a troubled little pout.
"Ugh, these questions are way too hard."
As she spoke she swung her glossy calf, the motion bright and eye-catching enough to make the lecturer blush.
None of it escaped her notice—her face and flawless figure were her best weapons.
Click!
With a casual flick her pen slipped from her fingers, rolled across the floor and stopped halfway down the aisle.
"Oops! My pen dropped."
She gasped delicately, then looked at the invigilator with a pitiful expression.
The Proctor cleared his throat. "Be more careful during the exam."
He walked over to retrieve the pen; the sight of her soft calf slowed his movements.
Lin Meier's gaze slid to the bespectacled boy beside her. He swallowed, and almost unconsciously slid his answer sheet toward her.
"No man can resist my charm. Beauty is my greatest weapon!"
Lin Meier's sweet, sultry smile set the hearts of the eighteen-year-olds racing, each ready to offer her everything… In yet another room, Meng Qiuer—his hair slicked down as though licked by a dog—scratched his head after receiving the paper.
"These questions go beyond the syllabus! Well, the math's fine—us Mengs have a nose for anything related to money—but the rest…"
"Forget it. I only need to qualify; I'm here to network for the future, not to top the charts, heh-heh!"
With that thought, answering became easy… Thirty minutes into the exam, Zhao Mu suddenly set down his pen.
Clack!
The Proctor's sharp gaze snapped toward him.
Zhao Mu stood. "Your Excellency, I'm handing in my paper."
The Instructor's eyes bulged; every candidate in the hall jerked their heads up, staring at Zhao Mu as if he were a monster.
In their eyes was numb despair: Dude, do your own test! Even if you're done, can't you wait for us?
So high-profile—don't you know the pressure you're dumping on us?
Some, refusing to believe he'd finished, muttered through clenched teeth, "No way—he's just showing off because he can't do it!"
The invigilator glanced at his watch. "It's only been thirty minutes. Are you sure you want to submit?"
"Yep," Zhao Mu said with a smile. "If scores are tied, the fastest gets first place, right?"
The examiner was speechless. He's actually aiming for top rank?
Zhao Mu placed the paper in the Instructor's hand, turned, and walked out of the hall.
Dumbfounded, the Proctor looked down—and froze.
Back when he himself had taken the written test, his own score had been merely decent, yet he could sense the aura of a top student: neat paper, zero smudges, smooth flow, crystal logic.
Though some over-syllabus questions were beyond him, he realized this first-to-hand-in candidate was a bona-fide Genius of the liberal arts!
"How on earth is that brain wired?"
In the Control Room, Instructor Xie Yingxue and the other two saw Zhao Mu leave without hesitation after just half an hour, jaws slack.
"He… finished?"
"Or just gave up?"
Xu Zhixiong pointed at Zhao Mu's retreating figure, uncertain.
Xie Yingxue snatched the comm at once. "Upload Zhao Mu's paper to me—now!"
The Proctor scanned the sheet; the entire answer page flashed onto the Control Room monitor.
Electronic Grading was instant: every objective item marked correct.
Subjective Questions still needed human scoring.
Even so, the three stared at the paper in shock.
"He really finished—and every objective answer's right!"
Remember, seventy percent of the paper was subjective, yet Zhao Mu hadn't missed a single one.
Even his essay answers were almost textbook-perfect.
The usually impassive Xie Yingxue's eyes blazed.
"This Zhao Mu—I'm claiming him, no matter what!"
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)