Chapter 159: College Entrance Examination
As soon as the white eyeball finished speaking, the examination hall door closed automatically. Four exam papers appeared in midair and landed one after another on the desk at the very center of the first row.
“Exam rules: one paper per person, answering time 30 minutes. No communication, no copying, no outside assistance, no disturbing the invigilator, no submitting early or submitting late.”
“As for the punishment for violations, I’m too lazy to explain. Right now, each of you has one opportunity to ask a question. When I no longer feel like answering, the 30-minute countdown will begin.”
…So they really were simply here to [take an exam]?
The four from 606 exchanged glances. Tang Xinjue spoke first:
“How many points on this paper are required for us to advance to a second-tier university?”
The eyeball let out a vague snort of laughter. “That depends on the standards of the graders. If the grader of a certain question [likes] you very much, then wherever their guaranteed-admission ability reaches, that’s where your promotion will land.”
This answer contained even more information than the question itself. Tang Xinjue’s gaze flickered slightly; she had a rough idea in mind.
Zhang You went second. After a moment of thought, she asked, “Will we be attacked during the answering process?”
Eyeball: “If consuming brain cells counts as an attack.”
Guo Guo: “After we finish the exam, can we return to the dormitory?”
Eyeball: “You can go back now if you don’t feel like taking the exam.”
Only one question remained. Everyone’s gaze fell on Zheng Wanqing. Zheng Wanqing opened her mouth but couldn’t think of anything to ask, so she simply followed her intuition:
“Why are you in eyeball form?”
Ever since entering the game, they had repeatedly encountered all sorts of eyeballs: red and yellow ones belonging to ghosts, the counselor who turned into a red eyeball, and now this giant white eyeball. They were almost becoming desensitized to eyeballs.
She even began to suspect: could it be that all the teachers in University City were just eyeballs?
The white eyeball: “……”
It looked somewhat speechless and fell silent for two seconds. In the end it did not ignore the question, answering concisely:
“So you wouldn’t all die on the spot before even starting the exam.”
After saying this, the eyeball said nothing more. The gray pupil disappeared somewhere; the giant sphere was nothing but white sclera, looking almost as if it had fallen asleep.
Behind it, on the blackboard, a huge countdown appeared and began decreasing second by second.
The answering period began!
The four quickly located their seats according to their admission tickets. As soon as Tang Xinjue sat down, she felt an invisible barrier sealing off all sides. Everything beyond the desk became slightly blurred.
What was perfectly clear was the first line of bold characters on the exam paper:
Short-answer questions:
1. In "Four Seasons Protection Guide", what is the name of the seventh-ranked Reaper?
Tang Xinjue: “……”
Her gaze continued downward.
2. In "Surprise Hygiene Inspection", what does Article 9 of the dormitory hygiene regulations state?
3. In "Road Trip Tips", where will Grandma Mayas’s soup ingredients ultimately be transported?
……
Although she could not see the expressions of her other three dormitory mates through the barrier, Tang Xinjue could easily imagine the silent and complicated atmosphere in the examination hall.
First, because this exam was literally just an “exam.”
Second, because answering this kind of paper was worse than fighting ghosts directly.
—These questions were ridiculous!
Tang Xinjue skimmed through the paper roughly. Questions like these were still acceptable, at least because the scope came from dungeons she had experienced. But the further she went, the stranger the question types became.
Multiple choice: In "Zombie Siege: Dormitory Survival Experiment", which of the following items could the zombies on the fifth day not bite through?
True or false: In "University Physical Test", the “meters” in the 800-meter run actually number 811, because the PE teacher is too old and miscounted. Judge whether this statement is correct or incorrect.
Calculation problem: …
With an expressionless face, Tang Xinjue answered the ones she could and guessed the ones she couldn’t, sweeping through the paper like a merciless question-solving machine. Soon she reached the final question.
Free writing: Based on your experiences and observations, write an essay titled "My Teacher XXX", describing a teacher in University City. No word limit. The final score will be based on accuracy, emotional expression, literary quality, and other comprehensive factors.
The fingers spinning her pen paused, and a faint smile finally appeared.
A score-boosting question had arrived.
In front of a pile of questions she couldn’t answer, thirty minutes felt both long and short. When the final second of the countdown on the blackboard reached zero, the invisible barriers surrounding the four immediately disappeared.
The somewhat dazed examinees looked up. The exam papers on their desks floated into the air and flew forward, finally landing on the lectern.
The white eyeball seemed to wake from a short nap. Its gray pupil emerged again from the white sclera and glanced lightly at the papers.
“Hmph, with this level, you still want to advance—…hm?”
Its gaze landed on one paper. Though it had only a single eyeball, an indescribably strange emotion seemed to emanate from it.
After staring at it for a long time, the white eyeball shifted its gaze to Tang Xinjue.
“You’ve got some ability.”
Tang Xinjue nodded. “You flatter me. But since the exam is already over, and you will probably be leaving soon, may I ask one more question?”
The white eyeball said reservedly, “Since you showed me something interesting, I can make an exception and allow one extra question.”
“Then may I ask, teacher—could you remove the mental mark in my sea of consciousness?”
The room suddenly fell silent.
As soon as these words came out, the other three immediately sucked in a sharp breath and turned their heads. The devastation caused by the exam questions was instantly replaced by another shock.
The mark in Tang Xinjue’s sea of consciousness was related to this white-eyeball invigilator??
They believed Tang Xinjue would not make baseless accusations; if she suddenly raised the issue, there must be a reason. Zheng Wanqing almost switched to raising her fist immediately, but Tang Xinjue pressed down on her shoulder.
Tang Xinjue said, “The mental mark was placed just now. It’s just that I happen to specialize in mental abilities, so I noticed it.”
“Although I believe teacher has no ill intent, there are already four ghost marks in my consciousness sea. If there is one more, the remaining mental domain may have difficulty supporting further ability upgrades. I hope you can understand.”
After calmly exposing it and explaining, Tang Xinjue quietly waited for the answer.
After a long silence, the eyeball finally spoke again.
“Isn’t your ability that item-type ability?”
Tang Xinjue: “Oh, the mental power awakened on its own. Having a second major will make employment more convenient.”
White eyeball: “……”
After a moment, it snorted coldly. “Removed.”
Tang Xinjue smiled. “Thank you, teacher.”
The air fell silent again. None of the four spoke first. The white eyeball also said nothing as it flipped through the papers. After a few seconds it suddenly spoke:
“I only placed the mark because I saw you already had so many marks and thought it was interesting. How could that be compared with the ghosts?”
Tang Xinjue nodded. “Understood.”
White eyeball: “……” You don’t look like you understand at all.
Facing Tang Xinjue’s perfunctory attitude, the gray pupil seemed to want to roll upward several times. But since it truly was at fault, it couldn’t flare up and could only stare at the exam papers, as if trying to find some fault with them.
After an unknown period of stalemate, the eyeball finally tossed the papers into the air. Watching them vanish midair, it said lightly:
“I’ll help you remove one ghost mark. Choose one.”
Tang Xinjue seemed to have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Without hesitation she said:
“There is one mark that takes the form of a silver ring. Please erase that one. Thank you.”
White eyeball: ……So this is what you were waiting for.
The author has something to say: ———
Tang Xinjue: Shearing off a little bit every day.
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