Chapter 143: The Truth Behind Ye's Superpower

"Is this ganging up on the few?" Tang Lin, with his large forehead, raised his hand.

Jing Xin coughed repeatedly. Even if it were true, did you have to phrase it so bluntly...

"That counts as one, but there are others!"

"Strike first to... well, not quite right." Xiao Yi, usually silent, finally spoke and stunned everyone.

"Ahem, ahem..." Jing Xin coughed even more violently. "If you don't know how to recite poetry, don't make it up. Taking them by surprise counts as one, but there are more!"

More?

The group of conspirators looked at each other in dismay.

There certainly were more; they could scrape together eight or ten reasons, such as the enemy being in the light while they were in the dark, or having planned for the unprepared. But those didn't mean much—they were just filler and could all be subsumed under the previous two points.

As for actual, viable advantages worth mentioning...

"Are there any others?"

"I can't... think of any."

"Even if there are, they aren't significant enough..."

This group of top-tier student conspirators was quite realistic, entirely free of the bad habit of padding assignments with fluff that students had before the cataclysm.

Jing Xin smiled proudly. "Our biggest advantage is actually this: I know what Ye Chao's ability is!"

"What?!"

"You know Ye Chao's ability?!"

The group of students gasped, their exclamation shaking the surroundings.

"Shh, shh, keep it down! Keep it down! This is a covert operation!" After handling a few curious gazes, Jing Xin hurriedly urged everyone to lower their voices.

The Imaginary Number bigwig probably wouldn't care about such trivial matters, but when all was said and done, this was still somewhat home turf for Ye Chao...

Discussing such matters on someone else's territory felt thrillingly risky.

Having finally suppressed their shock, the group urged Jing Xin in low voices to hurry up and explain.

What on earth Ye Chao's ability was had already become one of Jiangcheng's major mysteries.

Word had it that it started out as data repair.

Yet could data repair produce so many bizarre gadgets? Unheard of!

Then word came that during the field internship he had evolved and upgraded, and his ability turned out to be making phone calls...

That was even more absurd!

Did making phone calls have the remotest connection to mechs, tanks, and little cars?

If there was any connection, it was probably limited to the proverb: "Don't drive while making calls, don't make calls while driving."

Jing Xin actually knew the secret of Ye Chao's ability?

The group was so surprised they almost forgot about the actual exam taking place in reality, not even caring if they got hit.

Jing Xin smiled like a QQ emoticon, very satisfied with their reaction. "Can't help it. Who told me my ability is so similar to his?"

"Otherwise, how could I have modified the holographic helmets and gathered everyone in this place?"

That's right, the physical bodies of the eight people were still taking the exam; they had merely hidden parts of their helmets inside their protective gear, allowing them to manifest in the Aptitude Plaza, connect remotely in this manner, and even view the live broadcast from the plaza.

"Ye Chao's ability—I call it Digital Assembly!"

"It involves designing the structural layout of an item on a computer, then projecting a nearly physical entity into reality. These items have limited kinetic energy, with an output of only a few dozen horsepower. If you look closely, they're all transport vehicles. The largest mech can't boast much output either; the commentator's analysis was actually correct."

"Although legends say the Four Great Academies possess powerful mechs capable of real combat, I have insider channels and know those are actually Seed Weapons transformed by high-level experts."

"The Four Great Academies are experimenting to see if they can use this method to arm more low-tier ability users, helping high-tier ones share the pressure of fighting mutant beasts and evolutionary beasts."

Jing Xin analyzed with absolute confidence.

"That Senior Gu Ji is clearly doing something similar, and she chose Ye Chao as her assistant."

"Otherwise, based on Ye Chao alone, how could he have progressed so rapidly in such a short time and conjured up so many experimental prototypes out of thin air?"

Listening and pondering, the group nodded repeatedly.

Though Jing Xin had completely inverted certain cause-and-effect relationships, on the surface, this explanation sounded quite reasonable and logical.

"What truly deserves attention is why Chang Kongxin's first wave of attacks missed."

"He didn't miss out of agitation; Ye Chao created a holographic projection. Being able to project physical objects naturally means being able to project light. Dispersed projection creates illusions; concentrated projection causes blindness."

Jing Xin casually projected a similar beam of light, demonstrating both dispersion and concentration.

"Just cover your eyes promptly if you encounter blinding light beams; don't use your hands, the light transmittance is too high."

"As for the projections, everyone must have a way to quickly distinguish the real from the fake."

"Piece of cake." Tang Lin waved his vibrating club and raised his hand.

"This... I have no problem with it either." Qu Situ twirled an electric fan and nodded.

"We'll just smash them one by one and find out naturally." Song Baojian clenched his fists and grinned ferociously.

"Good. Then our strategy is this: with a four-hour limit, we'll go all out for points during the first four hours, securing enough points for at least the first stage. At the same time, I'll use the live broadcast to map out the exam venue and figure out everyone's respective locations."

"Four hours later, regardless of whether Ye Chao fulfills his promise to release Chang Kongxin, he will lose this vital combat force. That will be the time for us to gather and take them by surprise—er, take them by surprise."

Jing Xin stood tall, forcefully elevating his imposing aura.

Why? Why wasn't I the first to encounter Senior Gu Ji?

Though my other subjects are just average, my math, programming, and physics often score full marks.

Senior Gu Ji, just watch! Whatever Ye Chao can do, I can do just as well!

If I eliminate Ye Chao, please...

Choose me! I am definitely more suitable than Ye Chao!

Jing Xin, a three-star photoelectric ability user, the newly emerged top student of First High, Seed Weapon Projector.

Choose you?

Just looking at your face, there's no way anyone would choose you in this lifetime...

Alpha Ji watched Jing Xin tilting his face toward the sky like a sunflower facing the sun, forcefully suppressing the urge to stomp right on his face.

If she stomped now, she'd miss the good show. Better save it for a bigger stage to humiliate him.

Such a large face could only be accommodated by a bigger stage.

==========

Mixed Martial Arts Exam Venue.
Examination Zone 33.

"Fire!" Ye Chao gave the order.

Coiled up like a small cannon, though aggrieved, depressed, and thoroughly displeased, Chang Kongxin still obeyed the order without any struggle, hesitation, or bargaining.

After all, a guy who didn't forget to popularize science and lecture the entire city of Jiangcheng even during an exam hardly seemed like someone who would break his word.

Taking a deep breath to adjust the muzzle, "Swish! Swish! Swish!..." Golf balls flew out consecutively, hitting the heinous fugitive trio: Folded-Ear, Calico, and Big Orange.

The three cats had tried their absolute best to dodge, but alas... Ye Chao had welded shut the doors and windows of the house, and even fired the small tank through the railing.

"Meow!" "Awooo!" "Wa..." Screaming consecutively, they inevitably fell to the dust.

Folded-Ear reached out a paw, still trying to grab something, but ultimately grasped nothing...

Speechlessly retracting the railing, Ye Chao walked up to the "fallen" fugitives, removing the 3-point, 3-point, and 4-point tags from their chests one by one, along with the keys to the pitiful hostages'—the Bulldog and the Bichon—shackles.

As it turned out, Folded-Ear wasn't completely dead yet; it trembled as it clawed at Ye Chao's lapel, as if wanting to say something more.

With so much drama in its performance, this Folded-Ear must have watched too many soap operas, right?

"Don't you guys have plenty of scenes? The faster you exit, the more shifts you get booked for, right?"

"Meow!" Folded-Ear leaped up abruptly and sprinted with nimble strides into the extra's dedicated exit.