Chapter 135: A Close Call
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“Whoa, now this is getting interesting!”
“Ye Zichao, ranked first, and the person ranked... fifth? That ranking’s wrong, isn’t it? Hasn’t it been updated yet? Have the staff reached the late stages of botanical transformation? Why are they dragging their feet over something so simple...”
“Er, back to the matter at hand. Two candidates have actually done something like this in full view of the public, under everyone’s watchful eyes... They must never have heard Master Lu Xun’s famous saying: ‘Show off your romance and you’ll die young; if you somehow survive, kick them while they’re down.’”
“Perhaps this is what youth is all about?”
“It reminds me of a classic pre-Calamity anthem...”
“...I’ll wager my youth on tomorrow,
You’ll trade true love for this lifetime,
Time knows not how many sorrows fill the world,
So why not stride away in style!”
On the giant screen, the male news anchor—whose voice resembled that of Tian Lianfang and whose appearance bore an uncanny resemblance to Gao Xiaosong—swayed his head from side to side as he sang in a harsh, gong-like voice.
To be fair, despite his atrocious voice and ordinary looks, he possessed a certain rough, uninhibited charm.
Cui Zhaoze was merely an ordinary news anchor.
His voice was unpleasant and his looks unremarkable, yet during the college entrance examination, he had somehow edged out the official female anchor, whose voice was smooth and melodious and whose appearance was irrelevant, to become the most popular broadcaster.
“All right, all right! The new rankings are up! Viewers, just as I predicted earlier, Ye Zichao is still in first place, while Xu Tiange has returned to second...”
Operating an Imaginary Number helmet through thought alone, Cui Zhaoze projected chart after chart of data onto the city wall.
“As you can see from the charts, Ye Zichao has completed all the short-duration events.”
“Four strength events, a perfect 100. Five agility events, 84 points. Four mental events, 85 points. His ten points in Perception were a failing score, as everyone already knows... And then three ranged-combat events, 96 points. Unfortunately, he didn’t pursue any bonus points, so his total is 365—a truly excellent score.”
“Add the 520 points from the field exercise and his 475 in the humanities, and his current total is 1,360! And that’s out of a paper worth only 1,400 points. He still has the three endurance events and the 200 points from integrated combat.”
“Out of 1,400 points, he’s lost only 40. What an astonishing score!”
“Next, judging from the abilities displayed by Ye Zichao’s Seed Weapon transformation armor, getting a perfect 100 in the three endurance events should pose no difficulty.”
“After all, his ability has already reached three stars. In both strength and endurance, he’s clearly operating at full-mark level. His only weakness is Perception, and that’s hardly relevant in the endurance events.”
“The only question is whether he’ll once again give up the fifteen record bonuses, as he did in some of the earlier events.”
“Ye Zichao, those fifteen points are crucial to the wager. Think carefully before deciding whether to take them!”
“Brother Cui has only one piece of advice: sometimes, giving something up is the best way to gain something better!”
“For example, if you want a woman to take off her clothes, you can’t act like the North Wind and blow as hard as you can. You have to be the Sun, constantly radiating light and heat until she feels warm. Then she’ll do it herself... Well, you get the idea.”
A roar of laughter swept through the crowd.
“So, I’ll venture a bold prediction: before integrated combat begins, Ye Zichao’s final score will be 1,460!”
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“Numbers alone may not sound all that impressive, so let’s make a comparison. Then everyone will understand just how astonishing this result is!”
“Look at the rankings. Aside from Xu Tiange, Ye Zichao has opened up a gap of two hundred points between himself and everyone else in the top ten—including the candidates who adopted a similar strategy and completed all the short-duration events.”
“Two hundred points! Terrifying, right?”
“The longitudinal comparison is just as remarkable. In Jiang City’s college entrance examinations over the years, the four major cutoff scores have generally hovered around 1,200. In other words, even if he abandoned every remaining subject, he could already choose practically any school he wanted!”
“He can choose any school already?”
“That really is impressive!”
As the audience clicked their tongues in admiration, the interviewers from the Four Greats seated on the reviewing platform wore complicated expressions.
What Cui Zhaoze had said was actually true. Ye Chao really could choose any school he wanted now—not only because of his score, but also because of that... ‘master’ of his, who was sitting brazenly on the reviewing platform, eating and drinking at everyone else’s expense.
Their entire trip had been reduced to a complete joke. It was like traveling thousands of miles to meet an online date, only to discover that the person on the other end was another middle-aged man scratching his feet. Or like a perverted trench-coat flasher opening his coat, only to find that the person opposite him was even larger than he was...
Cui Zhaoze’s commentary continued.
“Once he finishes the endurance events, Ye Zichao’s score will surpass the average score of Jiang City’s top scholar over the past decade—1,448 points!”
“Once he completes every event, his score will inevitably become a record never before seen!”
“Ohhh! Incredible, incredible...” The spectators all marveled.
This unremarkable-looking news anchor seemed able to whip the atmosphere into a frenzy with effortless ease, making everyone grow excited, scream, and celebrate along with him.
“Now let’s take a look at the challenger, Xu Tiange.”
“She still lacks one strength event, worth 66 points. Two agility events remain, worth a maximum of 60. Thirty-five points for the oxygen-deprived mountain climb. A perfect 100 in the four mental events. Sixty-four points in two ranged-combat events... Her total is 325.”
“Add the 510 points from the field exercise and her humanities score of 478—the highest in the subject—and she currently has 1,313 points, placing her in second.”
“However, this paper is worth 1,345 points, so the points remaining are... 255? Points lost... 32? That scoring efficiency... My goodness!” Cui Zhaoze widened his eyes comically.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Brother Cui must correct himself. Ye Zichao, listen carefully: don’t give up those fifteen points. Absolutely do not give them up... Otherwise, you’ll lose before you even enter integrated combat.”
“We men can endure and yield a little when appropriate, but we can’t yield our way into losing!”
Integrated combat was the final event of the college entrance examination—and the only event guaranteed to offer bonus points.
The candidate who placed first would receive the title of “King of Jiang City Combat,” along with a full fifty bonus points!
Second place received thirty, third and fourth twenty, and fifth through eighth ten. Only the eight strongest candidates could earn bonus points.
Despite this scoring system, integrated combat was not a tournament match. Instead, every candidate participated simultaneously in a chaotic battle of unpredictable duration. Some years it was simply a free-for-all; other years, opponents were introduced from outside. In short, the rules changed every year.
It resembled the second half of the field exercise. That event tested teamwork, while this one examined an individual’s overall qualities.
Most of the time, the prestige of those fifty points and the title of “King of Jiang City Combat” exceeded even the value of being the examination’s top scholar.
Of course, most of the time, the same person received both the fifty points and the title.
“The two candidates each possess striking strengths and weaknesses!”
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“Ye Zichao’s ability remains unknown, but the strength of his Seed Weapon and his endurance are obvious. His greatest weakness is agility. He must remove his armor to participate in agility events. And once he takes it off, his defensive and combat capabilities will... ha-ha-ha.”
“His reflexes and ability to adapt under pressure are also clearly a level below those of the top-tier candidates.”
“Xu Tiange, meanwhile, is the most typical kind of superhuman warrior. As a woman, she’s slightly lacking in strength, but her agility, reaction speed, and control over her body are astonishing—far beyond what one would expect from a high school student!”
“Once integrated combat begins, Xu Tiange will unquestionably be a powerful contender for the title of Combat King. As for Ye Zichao... whether he can even get a perfect score is open to question.”
“Without a lead of at least fifty points... Student Ye Zichao is destined to become a henpecked husband.”
Laughter rose from every direction.
Unlike the inexplicably thrilled and agitated audience, Princess Alpha munched sunflower seeds while yawning with profound boredom.
You’re so ugly, and you won’t even get some plastic surgery? Enhance your looks, deepen your cleavage, tell a dirty joke or two...
If all else failed, you could start a wager—say you’d run naked around the city if you lost...
Your livestreaming skills are barely at the level of some dry, fifty-year-old variety show, and people still adore you?
Just how barren has entertainment become after the Calamity?
Wait.
A light suddenly flared in her mind.
This... perhaps I could do it. I’ll show you what professionalism looks like!
Hold on!
She was just about to leap into action, trembling with excitement, when she suddenly came to her senses, and the light in her mind went out again.
What happened to being a couch potato? What happened to going on strike? What happened to enjoying comfort?
How can I become restless after sitting still for only a few seconds? Princess Alpha, you need to learn to behave like a lady! You need to learn restraint!
Her mind kept flashing brightly, then going dark. On the reviewing platform, everyone began stealing glances at her.
What does this mighty being want to do? Is she about to unleash some power? Is she dissatisfied with Jiang City?
Her student is already ranked first. Yes, there is a challenger, but that challenger is her disciple’s future wife... Surely she wouldn’t go that far?
The mighty master of the Imaginary Number realm was simply too domineering.
Every movement, every frown, every smile invited endless speculation and left everyone around her uneasy.
The Elder of General Affairs, Li Jing’ao, hurriedly spoke to the secretaries in charge of the rows and pointed out the two brightest and most handsome new stars in the front row.
“Didn’t you want to become the principal of First High School? And didn’t you want to become Chief Military Administrator? Go. Take good care of that lady first.”
And at that very moment, the competition on the field—thrilling from every possible angle—had begun...
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