The bell rang.
In an instant, the exam room only left the sound of pen tips scraping on paper. The air seemed to freeze, every second felt slowed down. Shizuka crossed her arms, walking slowly in the classroom aisle like a patrolling ghost, her gaze as sharp as an eagle, monitoring every student who bowed their heads writing diligently.
Most students furrowed their brows with sweat dripping on their foreheads, clearly in a fierce battle against complicated problems.
Except Darius.
He sat upright, no excessive expression on his face. Not tense, nor relaxed either. He looked like a precision machine running a pre-programmed routine.
In his view, the printed letters on the exam sheet began to undergo changes. Those letters and symbols were no longer simple questions, but rather distorted logic traps radiating an unpleasant aura.
[System Warning: Eye of Truth has been activated. Beginning analysis of low-dimensional information pollution source...]
First subject: National Language (Japanese).
[Question: Read the following excerpt, and analyze the homesickness feelings the author wants to convey when describing the sunset in his hometown village.]
His gaze swept across the beautiful writing.
[Analysis initiated...]
[Target "Author": Shows abnormal attachment to a certain space (hometown), and cognitive disorientation toward current space (foreign land). When describing objective scenery (sunset), the author often inserts subjective emotions, exhibiting symptoms like "color distortion", "temporal perception distortion", etc.]
[Diagnostic Conclusion: Target suspected of suffering from chronic spatial cognitive disorder, accompanied by mild emotional projection disorder.]
Darius raised his pen, writing his answer neatly in the answer column:
[Answer: The author is not conveying homesickness feelings. Based on the text description, his mental condition is very unstable. Projecting personal emotions onto objective natural phenomena is a classic early sign of cognitive dissonance. His obsession to return to the geographical concept of "hometown" is not longing, but rather the brain seeking a safe logical anchor point to combat increasingly severe spatial disorientation. It is recommended that the author stop writing, immediately be referred to the neurology department, and undergo a brain CT scan to rule out the possibility of organic lesions.]
After finishing writing, he nodded with satisfaction. Saving lost souls is an extraordinary good deed.
Next question.
[Question: Write a classic quote from "Sangetsuki" (Mountain Moon Record) and explain the life philosophy contained within.]
[Analysis initiated...]
[Target Text "Sangetsuki": Records the alienation process of an intelligent being (Li Zheng) into non-human form (tiger). The core conflict is the confrontation between "self-respect" and "shame", which is essentially the resistance between remaining human consciousness and newly born animal instinct during the genetic mutation process.]
[Diagnostic Conclusion: This is a highly valuable biological observation report of an alien species.]
Darius's pen raced quickly.
[Answer: Text quote (omitted). This text does not explain life philosophy, but rather is a Containment Breach report for SCP-CN-049 (Tiger Man). This report details the complete "transformation" process of D-Class Personnel named Li Zheng after contamination by an anomaly, from physical form to mental condition. The core warning for us is: for any individual, when facing incomprehensible memetic pollution, fragile "self-respect" will only accelerate the collapse of sanity. The correct handling method is to immediately report and implement physical isolation.]
Shizuka's footsteps stopped beside Darius.
She looked down at Darius's exam sheet. Initially she just wanted to confirm whether this troublemaker was sleeping or drawing. However, her gaze froze.
She saw neat rows of writing, but the content was equivalent to evil god ravings. Her temple began throbbing intensely. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to turn her face away and continue patrolling. She told herself, as long as that child doesn't disturb others, just let it be. The remedial exam room at the end of semester had already been specially reserved for him.
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Second subject: Mathematics.
Shizuka had mentally prepared herself beforehand. Mathematics is pure logic, there couldn't possibly be any more strangeness, right?
She was wrong.
[Question: Given function f(x)=ax³+bx²+cx+d, reaches local maximum value when x=1, and local minimum value when x=2. Find the relationship between a and b.]
Darius's pen tip paused briefly on the scratch paper.
[Analysis initiated...]
[Target "Function": An arrogant attempt to define infinite change (x) with finite symbols (a,b,c,d). What's called "extreme values" are just local "peaks" forcibly defined by humans when they're unable to peek at "infinity" as a whole. Meaningless.]
Darius wrote in the answer column:
[Answer: There is no relationship between a and b. They, just like c and d, are merely pitiful symbols forcibly imprisoned by humans in a cage called "function". The real answer lies in the variable 'x'. 'x' represents ignorance, chaos, and infinite possibility. Attempting to use several constants to define the status of 'x' at certain points is blasphemy against that 'ignorance' itself. Humans should not investigate the abyss of the unknown, or the abyss will devour you. Give up, oh question maker.]
Shizuka passed by again, and accidentally glanced. She saw words like "blasphemy", "abyss", and "devour".
The veins in her hand holding the ruler cane protruded one by one. She felt she wasn't proctoring an exam, but rather leading an exorcism ceremony, and the student before her was a heretic possessed by demons.
She quickened her pace, fleeing from Darius's seating area. She was afraid if she looked once more, she wouldn't be able to restrain herself from performing "physical exorcism" on the spot.
Exam after exam passed. Darius's exam sheets transformed into a shocking exhibition of madness.
On the History sheet, he argued that the outbreak of the French Revolution was caused by "overheating of the collective unconscious" of all Parisian citizens.
On the Physics sheet, he stated that Newton's Laws only apply to the "low-speed macro world" and suggested using "Aether" as the universe's base code.
On the English sheet, he translated an article about environmental conservation into an ascension manifesto calling for humans to release their flesh bodies and perform "consciousness upload".
When the bell signaling the end of the last exam rang, Darius put down his pen.
He felt he had completed a great achievement. He didn't answer questions; he was correcting the distorted "truth" of the world.
He looked up, directly meeting Shizuka's eyes that seemed about to spew fire. Darius gave her a bright smile full of achievement, and slowly raised his thumb.
As if saying: Sensei, no need to thank me. I'm saving this rotten education world.
Shizuka suddenly turned and slammed her fist into the wall.
*BOOM!*
The entire exam room instantly fell silent.
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On the day of grade announcements, Sobu High's bulletin board was filled with a sea of people. When the grade sheet with Darius's name was posted, that crowd initially fell into a strange silence.
The next second, a riotous sound like a tsunami wave almost toppled the entire bulletin board.