Chapter 12: Such brilliance is unnecessary (revised)

His wrist was suddenly grabbed, and Ying Duo's ongoing interaction was forcibly interrupted.

He slowly turned his head, his hollow gold eyes looking at Shen Zexi who had grabbed his wrist, his face showing no surprise or displeasure.

He simply stared calmly at a point of emptiness ahead, seeming a bit dazed.

But in fact, Ying Duo merely noticed that after coming into contact with an NPC, a magnifying-glass-shaped icon had appeared on Shen Zexi's head.

Out of curiosity, he clicked on it.

【Name: Shen Zexi (Lv. 13)】

【Title: Child of Fate】

【Age: 16】

【Race: Human】

【Affiliation: Mitra Academy】

【Favorability: 20/100 (Pity)】

【Mutation Value: 10/100】

【Current Status: Healthy】

【Likes: Reading,...... (to be unlocked)】

Ying Duo quickly scanned Shen Zexi's character panel, temporarily ignoring some unfamiliar terms, and paid more attention to the favorability system.

Following the game's usual logic, once favorability reaches a certain level, one can have special interactions with NPCs, such as inviting them to join one's party or forming some special relationships and such.

Shen Zexi only felt a chill suddenly surge up from his back.

At that moment, it seemed as if his entire body, inside and out, had been dissected and laid bare before Ying Duo, leaving him with no secrets whatsoever.

Shen Zexi instinctively released Ying Duo's wrist, but immediately reacted, firmly stepping in front of Ying Duo with his body, softening his tone as much as possible, trying to explain the pros and cons clearly to him.

His tone was like coaxing a child.

But even ordinary children know this trash is dirty and would avoid it with disdain; this guy is worse than a child.

"This is filthy, you can't just rummage through it...... No, you absolutely can't rummage through it."

Upon hearing that, Ying Duo merely glanced again at the trash can; a few specks of gold light flickered on the trash can in his view, and as he approached, the 【Searchable】 option appeared.

He had just thought this was the planners' sick joke, but it turns out to be the trigger condition for this plot segment?

Qi Hengyu also walked over and stood beside Shen Zexi, looking at Ying Duo's innocent appearance, then at the pile of unspeakable things in the trash can, his mouth twitching for a long while.

In the end, all his emotions merely turned into a voiceless sigh, which he exhaled through his nose.

He now raised both hands in agreement with what Teacher Li Ya had just said.

It's truly impossible to argue with someone whose brain is sick like this.

You can never guess what he'll do the next second, nor can you comprehend his train of thought.

How could a normal person be fleeing for his life one second and then, the next, nonchalantly go rummaging through a trash can?!

Ying Duo:......

So-called player literacy means not letting any glint in one's field of view go unnoticed.

This is all a good habit he cultivated from years of playing games.

But Qi Hengyu doesn't understand what player literacy is; he only knows that this brat Ying Duo is definitely brain‑sick.

Qi Hengyu glanced disgustedly at the trash can emitting an indescribable odor, suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, and, relying on his tall, sturdy build, grabbed Ying Duo's hoodie by the collar and lifted him up effortlessly.

Like carrying a troublesome little cat, he carried him away from the trash can, walking a good distance outward before setting him down on an open patch of ground.

During this, Ying Duo didn't even struggle at all.

"Stay right here and behave!"

Qi Hengyu released him in annoyance, then patted his own hands, fearful of getting something dirty on them.

Ying Duo staggered from being hauled, but quickly regained his footing.

His face remained expressionless, though a hint of confusion seemed to flicker in his hollow eyes.

However, this time when Qi Hengyu laid hands on him, there was no glowing Blood Bar on his head.

Could it be that this guy is also an NPC who can be recruited into the party?

If so, does he need to give these two NPCs gifts to raise their favorability?

Thinking that, Ying Duo lunged straight at Qi Hengyu, who was caught off guard by the tackle, watching as Ying Duo grabbed his arm, his pupils trembling.

His voice trembling, he shouted toward Shen Zexi, who had followed over:

"Did he just...... touch the trash can with this hand?"

Shen Zexi was speechless, but still gave him a heavy nod.

Qi Hengyu immediately wrenched Ying Duo's hand free, his expression collapsing as he sprinted toward the public restroom.

Shen Zexi's gaze toward him was full of pity.

As soon as Shen Zexi turned his head, he happened to meet Ying Duo's gaze, instinctively stepping back a step, fearing Ying Duo would turn and lunge at him again.

"How about...... you go wash up too?" Shen Zexi sincerely suggested.

Ying Duo merely stared at him expressionlessly for a while, making Shen Zexi want to turn and flee, before Ying Duo slowly nodded and followed in the direction Qi Hengyu had gone.

Shen Zexi was somewhat surprised, realizing Ying Duo was not as completely uncommunicative as he and Qi Hengyu had discussed earlier.

Perhaps...... after enrollment, we could look after each other more?

Ying Duo followed the navigation automatically to the restroom, while Yang Yixie was checking Qi Hengyu's character info.

【Name: Qi Hengyu (Lv. 13)】

【Title: None】

【Age: 16】

【Race: Human】

【Faction: Mitra Academy】

【Affection: 10/100 (Disdain)】

【Mutation Value: 8/100】

【Current Status: Healthy】

【Hobbies: Punching,....... (To be unlocked)】

——————————————

The two had just come out of the public washbasin when the screen in the center, which originally displayed the examination area map, suddenly lit up.

The chief examiner, Wu Tianming, with his solemn face, appeared in the center of the screen; he coughed once, and his booming voice spread across the entire square via the amplification device.

"Silence!"

The previously noisy square instantly fell silent, and all the examinees' gazes gathered on the screen.

"This entrance examination has been prematurely terminated due to an unexpected situation."

Wu Tianming's voice sounded official and businesslike: "Now I will announce the preliminary score ranking for this examination; this ranking will serve as an important basis for admission quotas."

The screen switched, and a long list began to scroll into view.

After each name came detailed information on how the points were earned: the number of different aberrant species killed, and the evaluation of exploration progress in the examination area.

Everyone's hearts rose to their throats; they nervously searched the list for their names, after all the examination had ended early, and no one knew whether they might be rejected by just a few points.

Shen Zexi was among the last batch of examinees to enter the examination hall, yet he felt no worry at all; as soon as he went in, he happened upon a replenishment of peripheral aberrant species, and he simply kept killing his way straight to the depths of the examination area without pause.

Who knows, he might even manage to squeeze into first place?

The list scrolled by quickly, but the few names at the top were especially conspicuous.

First place: Ying Duo—Score: 337 (Exploration Progress: Deep into Core Area)

As soon as this score appeared, the examinees below instantly drew in a collective gasp of cold air.

Three hundred thirty-seven points! It's more than double the second-place score!

Qi Hengyu and Shen Zexi looked at Ying Duo's outrageous score, their expressions becoming even more complicated.

Qi Hengyu recalled the frantic appearance of the giant venomous spider just moments ago, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

"Nice kid, did this guy wipe out the aberrant species' nest?"

Shen Zexi's gaze gradually drifted downward, unknown what he was thinking.

Second place: Shen Zexi—Score: 123

Third place: Qi Hengyu—Score: 117

The scores afterward gradually returned to normal, most hovering around a few dozen points, with only a rare few breaking the hundred mark.

And Ying Duo's name remained at the top of the list; that glaring fluorescent green, under the screen's cold light, seemed to radiate the "glory" of first place.

But upon seeing Ying Duo, they simultaneously recalled that, had Shen Zexi arrived just a moment later, that person would already have been rummaging through the trash can...

Better not; such glory is unnecessary.

However, just as everyone thought the ranking was now set, Wu Tianming's voice sounded again, as calm as ever, yet he dropped a bombshell.

"But."

He paused, his gaze seeming to pierce the screen, sweeping over every person in the square, finally lingering briefly somewhere.

"In light of examinee Ying Duo's serious violations of regulations and actions destabilizing the examination site during the test, the specific manifestations are:"

"Using explosives to cause a large-scale disturbance, resulting in a high-level dangerous aberrant species losing control, seriously threatening his own and other examinees' safety, and causing major damage to the examination area."

With each point stated, the examinees below grew a bit quieter, and their gazes toward Ying Duo shifted from shock and envy to astonishment and disbelief.

"After deliberation, it is decided to deduct 250 points from his score as a warning to others!"

Whoosh!

On the screen, Ying Duo's score instantly dropped from 337 to 87; his ranking plummeted like a free fall, instantly falling out of the top ten, then out of the top twenty...

Finally, he happened to land exactly on the last few positions that could still be admitted—50th place.

Meanwhile, the original second-place Shen Zexi automatically rose one spot to take first place, and Qi Hengyu rose to second.

"Therefore, the final first place of this examination is Shen Zexi."

Wu Tianming looked at Ying Duo, who had barely scraped into the last admitted spot, couldn't help but frown, but also didn't forget to continue announcing the examination results.

"Congratulations to all examinees who passed this entrance examination; those who did not may wait for the next examination opportunity."

"The top fifty examinees have officially become members of Mitra Academy; the specific class assignments and dormitory allocations will be announced separately later."

"Admission notices will also be sent successively to your registered addresses; please report to the academy promptly three days from now."