Cheating Craft Chapter 65

Translated by: Taffy (+some help from a friend~)
Edited by: Frosty

Quiz 65: Preparations to Counterattack

By the time Guo Dian had returned to his senses, the second exam had already ended.

On the other hand, Lin Xian Central High's C-type students had already turned in their exams a long time ago, and were chatting on the Lin Xian River Bridge.　　

"Weren't you too cruel? Electrocuting others." [Meng Ming]

"Wasn't it their electricity in the first place? I didn't do anything." [Zhou Lun Yu]

…After some quick calculations…

"The scores still aren't great…you can even say it's looking very grim."

Looking back on the exam, Lin Xian Central High not only had people whose exams had been vandalized by Guo Dian, but also many who didn't complete their exams and turned them in early. Just taking into consideration the exam scores, they were still losing. Even with the strategy from last night, they were unable to win.

"What does Lu Xiao want?! He used electricity to chase our school's students away and even evoked Guo Dian's belligerence," Meng Ming fumed.

"You are wrong. If you're talking about compet.i.tiveness," Zhou Luo Yu told him slowly, "Guo Dian has been belligerent since you messed up his student ID. Even though he didn't take any action back then, his belligerence grew stronger and stronger. Lu Xiao did that so that the students would turn in their exams early and escape."

What?! Meng Ming was stunned.

Causing the students to turn in their exams so that they could escape…did that mean even Lu Xiao had felt intimidated by Guo Ding's belligerence?

"This exam's main focus was Jin Nai Nai. Did you notice anything new?" Meng Ming asked her.

Jin Nai Nai nodded. Last night, they'd asked Jin Nai Nai to pay special attention to the way Kui Yuan Central High's students answered their questions. "I discovered something big—when Kui Yuan Central High's students wrote their exams, their progress was all exactly the same."

"Mm? You are saying that they were all doing the same problems at the same time?"

"Yes." Jin Nai Nai continued, "When they do problems, it does not look like solving problems at all, but rather like synchronized copying."

"Where are they copying from!?"

"I don't know." Jin Nai Nai hadn't seen that. "They didn't bring any cheat sheets. Their eyes were only looking straight at the exams, too. The main proctors didn't move either and were all sitting in the building. On the other hand, because our school's students handed in their exams so early, most of them still had a few problems left to complete."

……

What's going on…　　

They can copy even when their eyes are fixed on their own tests…?　　

"Were there any tricks to the test papers?"　　

"Impossible. If that were the case, why would their pace be the exact same? Since Jin Nai Nai didn't see anything, that means there weren't any tricks."　　

The entire situation was already clear-cut. Only the last exam tomorrow remained.　　

"Is that so…in short, understanding the situation has shed some light on Sun Ming Qing's cheating methods."　

The surface of the Lin Xian River underneath the bridge slightly reflected the two buildings on either side of it. The exam site's walls and the Old Xian Twin Towers seemed to be submerged in the river, swaying slightly back and forth with the flow of the water.　

Red rays from the setting sun shone through the clouds, directly s.h.i.+ning on the twin towers.　

After exchanging some words over the phone with Huang Qiao Yi, Meng Ming took a stroll underneath the twin towers by himself. He couldn't hear the chatter of examinees here, nor the clamor of cars. Instead, he could just peacefully enjoy the sound of the river flowing, and calm his mind.　　

When I take a closer look, Old Xian Town is actually quite beautiful. Meng Ming mentally praised it. He had now stayed in Lin Xian for nearly an entire semester, and had already grown accustomed to student life. As a student, he'd come to know quite a few schoolmates, as well as many interesting teachers. These people each had spots in Meng Ming's originally empty heart. Even when Meng Ming occasionally recalled his family matters, he could now easily put them to the side temporarily.

"I sense loneliness in the depths of your eyes."

A low, heavy voice came from Meng Ming's side. Meng Ming turned his head and noticed a somewhat familiar face.　　

After a quick flip through his memories, and recalling that the person in front of him was  83 years old… "Ah, you, you're the grandpa that handed things out to us last time." Meng Ming recognised him.

This old man with a robust physique smiled, his expression giving off a strong feeling of kindness.

"Lonely? I don't think so," Meng Ming denied. "I have many schoolmates."　　

"Haha, your life isn't lonely, but…" The grandpa paused and said, "I can see deep into your heart when I look into your eyes. There's something that has greatly influenced you."

Depths…? Meng Ming still didn't understand.　　

There was a period of silence, and the setting sun went further down. However, the grandpa's smile was still just as secretive as before.　　

Forget it…even if this elderly man's words have reason behind them, I won't be able to understand them at the moment anyways. Meng Ming gave up on pondering this, and refocused his attention onto the grandpa before asking, "Grandpa, you said you're already 83 years old."　　

The grandpa nodded.　　

"Have you always lived here? What about your family?"　　

The grandpa replied, "I was born here. My grandfather, my grandfather's grandfather, etc. were all from here." His speech slowed as he turned around and began to walk slowly towards Lin Xian River. "As for my family, I'm the only one that's still left."　

Meng Ming was momentarily at a loss for words.　　

"My family has always been here, and we've protected the earth here for many years. At this age, it was expected that everyone felt that there was no reason to stay here." The grandpa walked to the riverside as he spoke, and stood behind the railing.　

Ah, his children all left. Meng Ming had been following the old man's path the whole time, and he asked, "Then, grandpa, you…"

"I can't move an inch. I think that only this exam site and those two towers are able to silently accompany me until I die."

After another short while, the grandpa asked Meng Ming, "Child, did you all come here to take an exam?"　　

Meng Ming said yes.　　

The grandpa was silent for a bit before he sighed, "I don't leave partially because I can't leave."　　

"Oh…" Meng Ming wanted to know why.　　

"But, I think that…it's a wish that I will never achieve in my lifetime."　　

After he finished speaking, the grandpa walked away step by step without looking back once. He didn't want to tell Meng Ming too much and leave everyone with feelings of regret.　　

Some examinees were still studying, but the majority of them were showering.　

For some reason, they suddenly felt itchy all over their bodies, and it seemed that everyone felt the same way.　　

"Hey, how come you're also like this? Is there something wrong with the air in the exam site?"　　

"The exam site is open-air; even if something happens, we'll all be doomed together."　

"Who says that? Why do Kui Yuan's examinees seem perfectly fine?!"　　

In short, everyone's minds were in a state of disorder.　　

"What do we do?" Meng Ming asked.　　

"Tomorrow is the last day. At this rate, our school's grades…can't possibly compete against Kui Yuan's. We have to expose him!" Zhou Lun Yu said sincerely, with his eyes closed and his arms crossed in front of his chest.

The subjects arranged for the next exam were philosophy and literature. No matter what the exam's contents were, Lin Xian had already fallen behind by quite a bit.

If they wanted to turn the tides in points, what should they rely on?　　

Although this was the situation, there were still a dozen or so hours until the start of the exam. At this moment, Meng Ming was still pondering that grandpa's words.

Exactly what did he want to say? Does he know some stuff happening behind the scenes? Meng Ming suddenly asked Zhou Lun Yu, "How many exams in total did that Sun Ming Qing person proctor?"　　

"I don't know, I've only been proctored by him once. Back then, his actions were just as rigorous as they are now." Zhou Lun Yu only knew about that one unified exam during junior high. "That's why it's very possible that his cheating methods are different for every exam."

The night grew quieter. They had no idea what their opponents were all doing at the moment.　　

No matter what…　　

"We're behind by too many points, and we're only left with one more chance."　　

"Should we ignore Guo Dian?"　　

"Of course we can't, otherwise, our examinees will be in disarray! I think…" Meng Ming thought: Ignoring merits and drawbacks, we're never going to win if we don't take the initiative. Although the situation was extremely grim, he said, according to the teachings of the Zhuge Style Cheating Technique, "No matter how dire the situation is, there must be a way to turn the tides! We didn't know the opposing party's strength before, and were too conservative. During the next test, we have to make the first move and counter Guo Dian to win over some time."