An Unexpected Recruitment

“Beneath the Lonely Deep Sea” – Huang Xiu penned these words, marking them as his answer to the first question.

His gaze then drifted to the second question.

“What are your thoughts on yourself? (Please list your main characteristics, such as: strong and robust, intelligent, kind, evil, irritable, etc.)”

‘Wait a minute, who in their right mind would list negative traits like ‘evil’ or ‘irritable’ about themselves!’

‘One would surely highlight their positive attributes!’

‘Surely no one is that foolish, right?’ Huang Xiu found himself chuckling internally.

‘Then again, if it were Shi Lei… perhaps he would?’

Huang Xiu pursed his lips, twirled his pen, and pondered for a brief moment before writing, “Kind, and exceptionally skilled at gaming.”

This response felt rather generic, yet he found himself at a loss for any more distinguishing characteristics.

Having led an ordinary life, his greatest strength lay in his exceptional gaming prowess.

‘Or perhaps his main characteristic was simply ‘ordinary’?’

Huang Xiu offered a self-deprecating chuckle in his mind, then swiftly refocused his attention on the test paper.

The special test paper contained an abundance of psychological assessment questions, spanning a full eight pages across two sheets, encompassing every conceivable aspect. It was, without a doubt, an exceptionally comprehensive psychological evaluation.

As Huang Xiu continued, sweat beaded on his brow; some questions demanded repeated deliberation.

He had to ensure his answers did not contradict previous ones.

By the time Huang Xiu penned the final word of his essay, less than ten minutes remained until the examination concluded.

Glancing up, he observed that everyone else around him was still frantically writing, racing to finish their essays.

Throughout the entire examination hall, he was the sole student who had completed the paper.

“If you’re finished, review your work carefully!” The invigilator, having silently approached Huang Xiu’s back, suddenly spoke.

The voice was soft and ethereal, yet to Huang Xiu’s ears, it rang with remarkable clarity.

It was an innate fear for students to be intimidated by their teachers; without a moment to ponder, he instinctively lowered his head.

As he meticulously checked his previous answers, Huang Xiu genuinely discovered a few errors born of carelessness.

“Damn it, how could I have made several mistakes on such simple questions?” Huang Xiu muttered, utterly speechless, as he hastily corrected them.

Ding-ding-ding!

The bell, signaling the end of the examination, chimed punctually from the broadcast system, and the invigilator stood up, declaring, “Time’s up, everyone. Put down your pens and leave your seats.”

Most of the examinees rose and headed out of the classroom, though a few still desperately scribbled away. Ultimately, the invigilator ushered them out with the threat of disqualifying their scores if they continued writing.

Huang Xiu, naturally, was among the former, exiting the classroom with the departing crowd.

Although he harbored a desire to question the invigilator about the reasons behind his recent changes, the examination hall was hardly an opportune setting.

Moreover, if he had truly caught their attention, if he was indeed one of the ‘special individuals’ they sought to identify,

then they would undoubtedly seek him out, even if he made no proactive moves.

Outside the examination hall, chaos reigned. High school students, having been confined for four hours, burst forth like uncaged hounds, eager to unleash every word they had held back throughout the day.

“Damn it, four hours! My butt’s gone numb, but it’s finally over!”

“How did you do? This preliminary exam was seriously tough! I couldn’t answer a single question I looked at, thankfully there were multiple-choice ones.”

“My grades aren’t even as good as yours, so what do you think? Oh, by the way, what did you pick for question four? I chose A.”

Huang Xiu noted that after every exam, without fail, there were always students comparing answers and lamenting the difficulty of the questions. Intriguingly, it was invariably the students with average or below-average grades who were the most eager to discuss the answers.

He had mentally dubbed this phenomenon the ‘First Law of Examinations’.

“Xiu-ge, how was the exam?” Guan Shuai, from the adjacent examination room, spotted Huang Xiu at once.

Their grades were roughly similar, which was why their examination rooms had been close to each other.

“Ah… it was alright, I suppose. Just alright.”

Huang Xiu scratched his head. The questions were mostly examples, with over half being psychological tests—it would have been strange if he hadn’t done well!

“Did you manage to solve the first math short-answer question?” Guan Shuai, still buzzing with post-exam excitement, pressed on with his questions. “The one about conic sections!”

“Haha, that question was far too difficult; I didn’t solve it,” Huang Xiu chuckled evasively, a faint sheen of sweat beginning to form on his back.

‘Please, no more questions! I beg you, brother!’

He knew full well that he, too, used to be a key member of the ‘answer-comparing army,’ grabbing anyone he could find the moment he exited the exam hall.

But this time… his test paper was fundamentally different from everyone else’s!

If he could avoid it, Huang Xiu wouldn’t even want to discuss anything related to the exam with anyone.

Should their conversation veer into utter nonsense, he would be doomed! It would undoubtedly turn into a real-life game of ‘Who’s the Undercover Agent’.

Seeing Guan Shuai’s face alight with excitement, clearly intent on cornering him for a detailed discussion about the exam questions, Huang Xiu swiftly deployed the ‘bathroom escape’ (TL Note: A humorous Chinese idiom referring to feigning the need to use the restroom as an excuse to leave a situation.) tactic. He then sprinted past the boisterous crowd at light speed, making his way out of the academic building.

‘For now, I can’t go anywhere crowded with classmates!’

Huang Xiu wiped away a bead of non-existent sweat from his brow. ‘I need to wait until they calm down from their post-exam frenzy.’

Once this initial period of post-exam excitement passed, typically no one would discuss exam details, save for when the papers were returned.

His immediate task was to ensure that no one detected anything unusual about him before then.

“It’s already half-past twelve! I’m starving!” Huang Xiu rubbed his grumbling stomach. ‘Should I go to the cafeteria for lunch?’

“No, that won’t do!” He shook his head.

This was precisely when the cafeteria would be most crowded, and if too many classmates gathered there,

it might very well turn into an impromptu discussion session about the preliminary exam.

‘He couldn’t afford to take that risk.’

‘I’ll just grab a bowl of instant noodles from the convenience store and eat it back in the dorm!’ Huang Xiu decided it was best to return to his dormitory first.

Dealing with his three idiotic roommates would be infinitely easier than facing anyone else.

He walked with light steps towards the convenience store, only to be stopped unexpectedly by someone in front of the sports field.

“Hello, student Huang. My name is Yue Zhengyang, and I’m an admissions officer from Tiandu University.” Teacher Yue gently pushed up his glasses, his expression mild.

“Might I borrow a moment of your time? A very important person wishes to meet with you.”

“Hello, Teacher Yue.”

Huang Xiu’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

Their approach had been far swifter than he had anticipated; they had sought him out immediately after the preliminary exam concluded.

He had imagined they would at least wait until the next day, or even until the retest!

However, this seemed to indicate that his significance in their eyes was far greater than he had presumed.

‘But why?’

Huang Xiu felt a pang of confusion. ‘Was it because of his unique blood? Could that blood also have an effect on people?’

“It would be my pleasure!” He suppressed the tremor in his heart. “I also have many questions I wish to ask you.”

“Shall we go? Where to?” Huang Xiu inquired.

“Hmm…” Yue Zhengyang’s face showed a hint of difficulty. “Student Huang, do you have any recommendations for a good restaurant?”

“A home-style restaurant would be perfectly fine,” he added.

“Uh.” Huang Xiu paused, momentarily taken aback, then considered before replying, “There’s a place called Xiao Tian’s Family Feast across the street that’s quite decent.”

“Excellent, we’ll go there then!” Yue Zhengyang replied cheerfully. Noticing Huang Xiu’s surprised expression, he suddenly chuckled. “Where did you think I was going to take you?”

“It’s lunchtime, after all. Where else would we go if not to eat?”

“I even turned down your principal’s luncheon, so I truly hope the restaurant you recommend doesn’t disappoint me!”