“Today is an exam that will determine your fate. You will only be tested on two subjects. Compared to the exams that will come later, you’ll soon realize just how easy today’s quiz is.”
The homeroom teacher smiled meaningfully.
The players’ faces revealed varying degrees of tension.
“For those students whose grades simply won’t improve,” the homeroom teacher’s smile grew even colder, “I suggest considering the financial aid program, especially for those with natural advantages.”
Her malicious gaze swept over several accompanying readers.
The relatives who met her eyes turned pale.
Clearly, they were the so-called “advantages” that the homeroom teacher referred to—resources to be exploited.
The financial aid program appeared to have three requirements, but in reality, it only had two. It required players to apply for special positions designated for impoverished students, while the rest pointed to a single truth: encouraging students to either self-harm or compete against the accompanying readers.
The homeroom teacher licked her lips. Scenes of omnivorous creatures tearing each other apart were always thrilling to watch.
Four additional sets of desks and chairs had been placed in the classroom, specifically for the accompanying readers.
Two were positioned in the back row, while the other two were at the front near the podium.
Hao Nan’s sister was unlucky enough to be seated near the homeroom teacher, close enough to feel the teacher’s foul-smelling spittle as she spoke. When she couldn’t bear it any longer and lowered her head to avoid it, she was startled by a horrifying ghostly figure.
The homeroom teacher unsealed an envelope.
Today’s test papers would be distributed by her personally.
There were a total of two thousand multiple-choice questions. Normally, such tests had four answer choices per question, but this one had eight options each.
The exam papers were printed in color, and bold red letters at the top outlined the exam rules:
- Please keep your test paper clean and take the exam seriously.
- Do not skip any questions; each question has only one correct answer.
- Do not disturb other students, and do not plagiarize answers.
- The exam duration is sixty minutes.
Players who could enter an advanced instance were at least somewhat skilled. Many had thought about praying to the Exam God last night, but only now did they truly understand why—it was an exam almost purely reliant on luck.
The exam began!
No one wasted a second; they all bowed their heads and started answering.
The homeroom teacher no longer stayed fixed at the podium but wandered around the classroom. Whenever she saw a student answering too slowly, she would snort coldly, “How have you only reached this point?”
Any unfortunate player who received this remark would immediately receive a notification that their favorability rating had dropped.
The fierce security guards had somehow appeared at the doorway again, itching to drag someone out.
Not a single player dared to make trouble under these circumstances.
The school had issued uniform ballpoint pens, and the test paper strictly prohibited corrections. Once the pen touched the paper, there was no chance to amend an answer.
After completing five hundred multiple-choice questions, Zhou Qi’an’s wrist was sore. Just as he massaged it slightly, the homeroom teacher’s voice came piercingly, “Don’t waste time.”
As he prepared to pick up his pen again, all the lights in the room suddenly went out.
The entire classroom vanished, leaving only him.
Zhou Qi’an was enveloped in darkness and heard faint, wet chewing sounds.
The beastly munching noises grew closer and closer. Zhou Qi’an felt an overwhelming urge to run.
One meter. Half a meter…
The distinctive sound of a pig eating was now right next to him—Zhou Qi’an could even hear the moment its mouth opened wide!
Don’t move.
“Don’t move, no matter what…”
Running away now meant forfeiting the exam.
He repeated this to himself over and over again. Even when he felt the predator’s saliva dripping near his feet, he didn’t move an inch.
With continuous psychological reinforcement, the light eventually returned at some unknown moment.
The sight of the back of his classmate’s head reminded Zhou Qi’an that this was still a classroom with over forty students.
The homeroom teacher snorted coldly and continued walking toward the back of the room, her bloated shadow moving away from Zhou Qi’an.
Less than five minutes later, a sharp scream erupted from behind.
A student, seemingly losing their mind, suddenly bolted from their seat.
The outburst startled the girl sitting in front of him, causing her hand to jerk and drag a long, horizontal line across her test paper.
Outside the door, a security guard wielding a baton struck the fleeing student hard in the waist.
The boy’s eyes briefly regained clarity. When he realized what he had done, his face paled in terror. “I-I just needed to pee, I…”
Seeing that the security guard hadn’t immediately dragged him away, he hastily blurted out more excuses.
Inside the classroom, the homeroom teacher bent down, her eerie face looming over the girl. “What’s the first rule of the exam?”
The girl dared not remain silent. Sweat dripped in large beads from her forehead. “K-Keep the test paper clean…”
The homeroom teacher pointed her long, sharp fingernail at the scratch on the paper. “Then what is this?”
The girl opened her mouth, but before she could utter a second word, she realized that aside from the homeroom teacher, a grinning security guard was also beside her.
Another shriek rang through the classroom.
Everyone lowered their heads even further, their hands gripping their pens like icy deadweights.
After dragging out two students in succession, the homeroom teacher’s wrinkles deepened as her grin widened. “Students, no need to feel too pressured. Although the school only values top students, underachievers are like straw in a field… They can still be directly burned for electricity.”
The players shuddered.
The teacher had said “electricity,” but Zhou Qi’an only heard arson.
His muscles trembled. Suddenly, a spark ignited within him—
How long has it been? It must have been at least a week since I set a fire in a instance.
I really miss the sight of flames lighting up the sky.
[The homeroom teacher’s favorability toward you has dropped by 1.]
The system notification snapped Zhou Qi’an out of his brief reverie.
Even a single second spent distracted from the test was enough to draw the piercing gaze of the homeroom teacher, her pinpoint pupils locking onto him.
Precisely on the second, as the clock’s hand ticked past the final mark, a bizarrely cheerful school bell rang.
The homeroom teacher’s eyes curved into crescent moons, her smile sharp like a pair of sickles. Clutching the collected test papers, she scanned the faces below. “I’ll grade them as quickly as possible and see which stalk of straw gets burned first.”
This time, she didn’t return to her office to grade the tests. Instead, she had the students read on their own while she sat at the podium, marking the papers.
As she corrected the exams, she did not hold back her expressions—dramatically furrowing her brows one moment, showing disdain the next.
The classroom was so silent that even breathing seemed deafening.
“The first failing student has appeared,” the homeroom teacher sneered. “If you can’t even pass such a simple test, how will you survive in the future? Don’t forget my suggestion.”
The financial aid program—that was the real educational path she wanted students to take.
After grading several more papers, her expression finally broke.
Her thin skin trembled violently from anger—this was no longer mere pretense.
“You… you all…”
You’re the worst batch of students I’ve ever had!
Some players who had successfully prayed to the Exam God last night sighed in relief. The more failing students there were, the closer they were to winning the scholarship.
“Zhou Qi’an!” The next second, the homeroom teacher couldn’t even wait until evening study; she suddenly raised her voice. “Another failing grade!”
Vikas immediately snapped his head up. His first reaction wasn’t schadenfreude but suspicion—something felt off.
He had clearly witnessed Zhou Qi’an cheating.
Something unusual was happening.
“Hao Nan, another failing grade!”
“Mei Guo, sixty-one points. But I said yesterday that in our class, seventy points is now the passing mark!”
Shen Zhiyi belonged to the group of high-scoring students.
As someone dedicated to ranking last, he subtly furrowed his brow. Then, as if something occurred to him, he glanced at the sky outside and couldn’t help but chuckle.
No one in the class dared to make a sound. The lifeless NPC classmates blinked their eyes in unison—it was the first time they had encountered such a situation.
Name after name was called, history repeating itself. The ones who failed the exam were still the same people from yesterday.
The homeroom teacher’s tone grew heavier, and her face darkened accordingly. None of the students she had ever taught had performed like this in a class placement test. The illusion of losing control over her students made her eyes flash with killing intent several times.
Just then, a loud explosion rang out in the sky.
The lightning was more massive than ever. Inside the classroom, both players and NPCs alike had the terrifying illusion that the next strike would land directly on their heads. Then, another deafening crash followed as a thunderous blade slashed down like a setting sun.
The target of this catastrophe was not the failing students.
The stone eyes of the Exam God’s statue near the comprehensive building expanded under the light.
The next moment, it looked down at its own solid body—slowly, cracks spread across it.
[Zzzzt…]
[Zzz… Zzzt…]
A burst of system interference sounded in the players’ minds.
Vikas was the first to regain his composure, realizing that the problem must have arisen because too many students had failed.
Had they deliberately scored poorly after worshipping the Exam God?
No, the test paper had explicitly emphasized taking the exam seriously, listing a series of requirements. If anyone deliberately controlled their scores, they would surely be expelled from the test site.
At that moment, Zhou Qi’an tilted his head slightly, his lips moving just a fraction: “Thank you.”
Using a Confusion Card to slip past another anchor point—it was thanks to the inspiration he had provided.
Gratitude?
Vikas’s expression was hardly any better than the homeroom teacher’s. He prided himself on being prepared for everything, yet had suffered setbacks only in dealing with Ying Yu. But now, not only was his thinking a step behind, but he had also inadvertently helped someone else.
“Could it be…” Vikas suddenly realized something and snapped his gaze toward Zhou Qi’an.
…
Time rewound to the night before.
Zhou Qi’an stood in a concealed corner beneath a tree canopy, half his body shrouded in shadow. He looked at Hao Nan, his thin lips parting slightly as he spoke: “Have you ever heard of a Confusion Card?”
“Of course.” Hao Nan himself had an ordinary Disguise Card.
“I know someone who possesses an even more powerful confusion tool—one that can deceive the Exam God into misjudging identities.” Zhou Qi’an glanced at Hao Nan’s sister before continuing, “If you use that Confusion Card, you can disguise yourself as your sister and seek the Exam God’s blessing right under its nose.”
“That way, the Exam God’s blessing will fall on your sister instead of you.”
“The Confusion Card can fool the Exam God, but not the surveillance. The surveillance will confirm that it was you who prayed to the Exam God, but your sister who received the blessing. This means the Exam God’s power will fail, which will most likely cause a bug.”
As long as one successfully worshipped the Exam God, their grades would certainly improve. This was a rule, a survival mechanism the game had left for players.
“The more people, the greater the power. I will do the same.” He planned to disguise himself as Shen Zhiyi, worship the Exam God, and help the other obtain a high score.
If one person did it, the Exam God’s power wouldn’t work.
If two people did it, the Exam God’s power still wouldn’t work.
Afterward, he would continue persuading other players with family members… Zhou Qi’an adjusted his glasses, his smile slightly twisted: “If every blessing lands on the wrong person, won’t our mighty Exam God completely collapse?”
They had nearly fought to the death in the cafeteria for the sake of fresh sacrifices.
Since when could a god accept offerings and fail to deliver?
Even the most powerful and wicked deities fulfilled their duties after receiving tributes. An Exam God that specialized in academic performance had no excuse to be an exception.
“In every game, when a bug appears, there’s always compensation.”
And with that, wouldn’t they have leverage?
__
Author’s Note:
Zhou Qi’an: I used to be immature—too violent.
