Cheating Craft - Chapter 7

 The First Exam (1/2)

Afternoon. Lin Xian Central High’s entrance was unusually lively.

Many junior high graduate students that had gathered outside the school slowly began to walk through the gates. They were prepared to participate in the entrance examination today from 9-11am.

This was the school!

There were perhaps some hidden talents among the crowd, but it was impossible to discern strengths judging from outer appearances alone. At first glance, one could tell that there were definitely quite a few studious L-type students, as well as some C-type students, that had secretly mingled in. Regardless of their type, they both made sure to conceal their strengths to avoid being seen through by others.

The most eye-catching was a large boy blocking the school entrance. He was taller than everyone else by two heads, and his body was slightly chubby. His thick lips and small eyes were crestfallen as he slowly entered the school.

He thought gloomily: I’m screwed…the L-type student that was originally going to cooperate with me got sick, and can’t attend the exam…

This large boy was a C-type student. If a C-type didn’t have 100% confidence in their cheating techniques, they’d sometimes find L-types to cooperate with them for multiple choice type exams. It was just like Zhuge Meng Ming and Huang Qiao Yi. They didn’t actually understand these types of exam cheating methods, but had simply chosen this method by coincidence.

Ai, I’ll just have to check the papers around me. It’s not trustworthy though… Although the tall boy didn’t have any traits that surpassed others, his upper body was much taller than a normal person’s, and his vision was extremely good, so he could easily check the exam papers around him. Because the L-type student that he was going to cooperate with couldn’t come, he could only prepare to use this scheme─copying the exams of strangers.

However, he hadn’t yet completely lost hope. He believed that as long as he was able to find some L-type students on the spot, exploiting them would be good too.

Thus, the big guy plastered a silly smile on his face and asked a girl, “Fellow student, may I inquire how good your grades are?”

“Pervert!” The girl turned around to leave, thinking that he was trying to hit on her.

He found another person, a boy wearing thick glasses.

“May I ask if I can sit next to you during the exam?”

“Sh, don’t disturb me,” the glasses boy said. “I’m currently preparing my cheating methods!”

The large boy couldn’t be sure whether these words were true or false. In general, one was unable to determine what type of student a person was based on only outer appearance.

The boy found quite a few people, but all of them ignored him. He seemed to lose heart once more.

There were some other people to take note of. There was a boy wearing clothes with tons of pockets, and a girl wearing light makeup next to him. They also seemed to be students, but they seemed to have planned for the exam in advance. When they saw the big guy, they secretly laughed at him in the shadows, thinking that he was foolish.

Although it was just a very minor entrance exam, there was no lack of evil people with various intentions.

There were still 5 minutes before the exam began. Almost all of the examinees had already quietly taken their seats in the examination rooms.

But when one looked closer, there were still two empty seats in the exam room.

Two male proctors that had long since waited at the desk with exam papers ready, declared, “This examination will be two hours long! All of the same stationary have been placed on your desks for you to use. Please comply with the exam room discipline….”

Suddenly, a male and female examinee charged through the door.

“Sorry! Are we late?” One of them asked.

“…” The other one was gasping hard, but wasn’t making any audible sounds.

“There are still three minutes. Please enter.” One of the proctors let them in to sit down.

Meng Ming and Huang Qiao Yi had arrived late. Although there was only a kilometer’s distance between their home and the school, nor had they woken up late, they had seemingly eaten something weird last night. Thus, their stomachs hadn’t felt well that morning, and this had delayed them for quite a while.

Meng Ming swept a glance across the exam site, and saw that there were only two seats left. He hurriedly asked Huang Qiao Yi what to do.

“It’s fine…huff…” Huang Qiao Yi said. The distance between the two seats wasn’t a problem.

The two seats were in the same column, but the seat in between had been occupied.

Huang Qiao Yi saw this and said, “No problem. We’ve already tested it, this kind of distance should be fine.”

Meng Ming thought that test couldn’t possibly count as a proper test…but it was true that even if there was a person in between them, Meng Ming’s eyesight was still good enough to see Huang Qiao Yi’s paper.

Thus, Meng Ming sat in the back seat, and Huang Qiao Yi sat in the front one.

After sitting down, the two by chance discovered at the same time an extremely serious obstacle! ─The one sitting between them was the taller-and-fatter-than-normal big guy!

Meng Ming’s heart lurched. What…how is there someone with such a physique here…!

Crap, how will Brother Meng Ming see my test paper…

The two began to panic. Seeing their expressions, the big guy spoke first, “I seem to blocking you two. Could it be that you two are a pair? A C-type and an L-type?”

Meng Ming and Huang Qiao Yi said they were.

“Then how about this? I’m also a C-type student, so why don’t we all cooperate?”

Cooperate?!

Meng Ming thought that wasn’t a bad suggestion! The big guy could copy Huang Qiao Yi’s test paper, and then he could crane his head to see the big guy’s paper─that way, there wouldn’t be a problem!

The exam was going to begin soon; there was no more time for hesitation.

“Then let’s just do that!” The big guy was very fortunate to have encountered these two.

The three of them reached an agreement.

Originally, the matter could’ve smoothly progressed. However, in a corner of the exam room, there were still some people secretly scheming─

The two who just entered are a pair of LC? They revealed it so easily…

They must be beginning students…

They’re really lucky there doesn’t seem to be any formidable C-type students here…

Meng Ming and Huang Qiao Yi thought that cheating on exams was simply doing it behind the proctor; they had absolutely no idea that C-type students had to do other actions while cheating as well. Experienced C-types not only wanted to obtain high marks, but they typically wanted to decrease their number of competitors as well. Thus, they’d used scheming tricks to attempt to interfere with others’ test-taking, and lower others’ points!

The exam room had a total of 40 seats. The three of them sat right in the middle column, near the back. The proctors were two middle-aged men. The only exam stationary that could be used were on the desks. The desks all had a pencil, eraser, draft paper, a small blade, and a scantron.

There were still two minutes. The students that had all taken their seats began to prepare for the exam─by sharpening their pencils.

Like the majority of the students, Huang Qiao Yi took out the small blade and smoothly carved the wood off the pencil so that it formed a sharp end. However, there were some students in the exam room that didn’t do this at all. Some seemed to be provocative; they directly used their finger nails to shave off the wood and make it form a point. Others used their teeth to grind it down. There were also some that spun the pencil on the desk, and then reached out with the blade and let the wood naturally shave off like an automatic pencil sharpener. There were even some students that just stuck the pencils into their ears, and after twisting it back and forth, would pull it back out to reveal a beautiful point.

The big guy sitting in front of Meng Ming slammed his hand hard onto one end of the pencil, causing the lead to break through the other end. Although it was extremely ugly, it was usable.

What kind of situation is this… Meng Ming watched, bewildered.

During this period, only Zhuge Meng Ming hadn’t yet sharpened his pencil. After seeing everyone complete their shows, he felt provocative stares on him, making him feel the urge to do something special.

Meng Ming thought about it, then decided: Alright, I’ll just put on a show. He lightly lifted the pencil, pinching one end between three of his fingers, with the other end left lying on the table…

Zhuge Style Cheating Technique─Igniting Flames!

Meng Ming moved extremely quickly─like he was striking a match, he used the pencil as a matchstick, and the table as the matchbox, and quickly swiped the pencil across the surface. The originally normal pencil instantly ignited! Meng Ming held the pencil in his hand and slowly adjusted the flame’s strength. Soon after, the flame was extinguished, exposing a beautiful pencil tip!

Many examinees were stunned.

“The student over there, please don’t smoke!” A mistaken proctor said.

Laughs could be heard throughout the exam room, and Meng Ming felt slightly embarrassed. However, following his actions, the students in the corner became amazed─

So amazing, he’s surely a frightening opponent…! It’s best if I don’t provoke him.

He can’t be a beginning student, he has such powerful skills.

It seems like it’s best if I just properly take my own exam…

……

 

The First Exam (2/2)

There was one minute left until the exam papers would be handed out. Meng Ming stared at the blank scantron in front of him.

So this is a scantron. This was his first time seeing one.

On the upper right corner, there was a box for the exam number. There was a total of 9 columns, and each row had the numbers 0-9. This exam only required one to write down the rightmost 3 numbers.

1-0-2. Meng Ming used his pencil to fill in his exam number.

There was a space below for answers with a total of 140 answer spaces, but it was possible that the exam wouldn’t need all of them. There were 4 columns, each column had 35 problems, and each row had 4 blank choices. For the sake of decreasing the frequency of copying, these scantrons were different from previous ones. Each question was equally spaced from each other, and the spaces were the same size as those between the numbers from the exam number box in the upper right corner.

The rows on the scantron…are so densely packed together. If anyone wants to copy the answers, it’ll be quite difficult to match the correct question numbers. Meng Ming quickly discovered the ingenuity of the scantron’s design.

Just then, a bell rang out. The first exam had officially started!

It was just an entrance exam, and Meng Ming’s imposing display just now had already scared off some people. The C-type students naturally didn’t dare to have any malicious intent. However, one still needed to guard against enemies….

The test papers had already been distributed. There was a total of 80 questions. Zhuge Meng Ming skimmed the black and white exam paper.

As expected, I don’t understand what the questions are saying at all…

The questions written on the exam paper were all based on academic knowledge.

However, in regards to the points distribution of the exam questions, Huang Qiao Yi had already taught Meng Ming the method of calculation.There were a total of 80 questions on this exam. The first 60 were single-answer questions, and were each worth 1 point. The last 20 had an indeterminate number of answers, and were each worth 2 points, giving a total of 100 points.

In other words, the last 20 questions are a bit more valuable. Meng Ming thought to himself. These things were pretty much all Meng Ming could tell in terms of the exam’s content. Meng Ming didn’t bother doing anything else, and just leaned back in his chair, simply waiting for the big guy to show the answers to him.

The sun continued to rise as time passed minute by minute, second by second. The rumble of the streets could be heard from the window of the bright room. The two proctors didn’t show the slightest signs of being tired, and kept a sharp watch over the exam room. Many students were the same. Huang Qiao Yi also completely ignored any outside disturbances, and had long since concentrated on moving her pencil. Only the big guy sitting behind her, Meng Ming sitting behind the big guy, and a few others, had yet to move their hands…

I can tell that the headband girl and the two guys behind her are working together. The guy that used fire to burn his pencil is particularly worth watching out for. ─In some random corner, the boy wearing pocket-covered clothes that had been seen previously outside the school entrance was also not immersed in writing down answers. Instead, he continuously analyzed his surroundings. They foolishly revealed themselves in the beginning. I really wonder if they’re beginner students or C-type experts. Disregarding how strong they are, if they’re an LC combo, the L-type student must have some type of defense.

The pockets guy subtly reached his hand into one of his many pockets and murmured, “No matter how formidable that guy is, I just need to use an attack that can deter the L-type student…”

Special mosquitoes that had gone through training could not only understand its master’s commands, but were also particularly nimble. It was said that there was no way these mosquitoes would be caught by a person’s palms. Go, the target is that girl. He waved his hand, releasing a small mosquito to go disturb the vanguard first.

Nobody sensed the single mosquito flying around. It circled Huang Qiao Yi, incessantly using its wings to make buzzing sounds next to her ears. Occasionally, it’d stop on Huang Qiao Yi’s body and tickle her body.

The pockets guy thought: The typical person would feel agitated and impatient with this type of disturbance. Let’s see how she reacts…

Three minutes later, Huang Qiao Yi was still completely concentrated on writing down the answers despite the mosquito’s harassment, as if nothing was going on at all.

What, is this girl thick-skinned?! Seeing the situation, the pockets guy’s lips curled up. In that case….how about this!

He fished out all the mosquitoes he had brought from his pockets. There were still six left in his hands. Even if they all surrounded a single person, they still wouldn’t alert the other students or the teachers. He thought: Originally, I was going to attack 7 different people, but I haven’t yet seen any other rivals in this exam room…so I’ll just deal with you first!

He instructed the other 6 mosquitoes to charge at Huang Qiao Yi.

The mosquitoes’ fierce attacks finally distracted Huang Qiao Yi. The annoying buzzing sound forced her to stop her pencil, and intentionally or otherwise, she slapped at some of the mosquitoes.

She began to feel vexed, but the mosquitoes were extremely quick, and there was no way she could strike them down.

How could these mosquitoes, which have gone through special training, be so easily hit by you?The pockets guy sneered to himself.

Huang Qiao Yi was already no longer able to answer the questions.

The big guy sitting behind her had been smoothly copying her answers. However, he suddenly realized that Huang Qiao Yi had stopped writing, and he was momentarily at a loss on what to do.

As for Zhuge Meng Ming, his line of vision was currently being blocked by the big guy, so he couldn’t see what what going on with Huang Qiao Yi at all.

As soon as they started the exam, they had already encountered some danger?!

Hehe, just keep struggling like this until the end of the exam…while I start writing my answers.The pockets guy picked up his pencil.

The situation was quite troublesome, and the big guy could do nothing about it. He wriggled his body, allowing Meng Ming to see part of his test.

When he saw the big guy’s movements, Meng Ming knew the answers. In the situation where the proctor had no way to noticing him, he immediately locked his gaze onto the exam paper in front of him. If it’s just copying the exam while hiding from the professor’s eyes, it’s a piece of cake!…. But what confused Meng Ming was that aside from the answers, the big guy had also written a striking note indicating for help on top of his paper!

Because the big guy had noticed that the situation was dire, and was personally unable to help, he had immediately written on the paper to notify Meng Ming that something had happened. He was looking at Meng Ming for any possible countermeasures.

That….isn’t that asking for help?! What happened in the front? Meng Ming thought to himself.

The big guy only slightly shifted his body, so Meng Ming couldn’t completely see Huang Qiao Yi; all he could see some of her movements. Weird, Little Qiao isn’t actually doing the exam!Meng Ming straightened his back, and grew more alert.

He suddenly discovered that there were some black bugs circling Huang Qiao Yi at high speeds.

Hm? What’s with those bugs? Are they disturbing her?

Meng Ming thought deeply. Among the Cheating Techniques, there was a type of move that was used especially to disturb opponents, making it impossible for the opposite party to concentrate and unsettle them. For example, for interfering with one’s vision, you could use some extremely vibrant colors to dazzle the opponent’s vision; to interfere with one’s hearing, you could use an ear-piercing sound to cause a commotion; there was also interference with temperature, etc…Of course, interference with touch was also possible by using things like mosquitoes. In addition, bugs generated buzzing sounds that made people extremely impatient and uneasy.

5, 6….7 of them. There’s a total of 7! Although there was someone obstructing his vision, and Meng Ming couldn’t fully see Huang Qiao Yi’s seat, he was able to judge the number of mosquitoes based on their flight patterns.

Alright, let’s get rid of them.

He took the small blade on the desk, and used the plastic on the back of the blade to break up the blade into 7-8 pieces.

Picking up one of the pieces with two of his fingers, he timed it perfectly so that just as the mosquito flew by, he strongly flicked his fingers and sent the piece spinning out through the air! The blade piece circled around the big guy’s body, dancing around along a curved path, instantly lodging itself into Huang Qiao Yi’s desk. At the same time, one of the speedy mosquitoes was sliced into halves in midair!

Six times. Six blade pieces flew out from various angles, striking down all of the other mosquitoes. The blade pieces then neatly landed in a line along Huang Qiao Yi’s desk; the floor now had 14 pieces of mosquito bodies stuck to it!

No, no, no, that’s impossible… The pockets guy’s mouth shook as it dropped open at the scene. What is that guy…?!

Brother Meng Ming…? Huang Qiao Yi touched the blade pieces on her desk, then immediately picked up her pencil to continue writing. As expected, it was Brother Meng Ming that saved me.

The big guy was covered in sweat from the seven pieces of blade that had barely brushed his body as they had flown past. He thought to himself: The fingers of the student behind me are really amazing; I definitely cannot ignore him. However….he probably hasn’t seen through my scheme…

“Teacher!”

A girl in the back row raised her hand, and tried to speak in a tone that didn’t disturb others, “There’s not enough draft paper. Can you give me a few more sheets?”

This was the girl that wore light makeup. If one said she was a senior high schooler, people would probably think she was a third year.

Heh, that boy is quite interesting… She had already noticed Zhuge Meng Ming.

Hearing her call, one of the teachers walked over with a few sheets. However, the instant the teacher handed her the paper…

An electricity-like wave flashed between two people as they exchanged glances.

Sorry, Teacher, aside from draft paper, please let me borrow your mind to use as well!