Redemption from the Abyss: The School Beauty Insists on Pulling Me Out of the Mire

[1:50 PM the next day, Beijing Experimental Middle School]

The atmosphere at the scene was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

On the huge circular screen, a massacre with no suspense was being rendered in real time.

The blue data matrix representing a top university training team in China crumbled amidst a sea of ​​red code, symbolizing the ruthless removal of the root flag with the highest authority.

"Game Over."

In the center of the stage, Shadow, dressed in an American school uniform, leaned back in his chair.

He had striking blond hair and deep blue eyes, and an undisguised contempt played on his lips.

He typed the last line of Enter with one hand, then raised his wrist and glanced at the expensive Rolex Submariner.

"Ten minutes until two o'clock." Shadow picked up the microphone, his fluent English echoing in the empty auditorium, piercing the eardrums of every Chinese student present:

"This is the seventh team I've beaten in this city. Your so-called firewall looks like an antique from the last century to me." He glanced across the room and shrugged.

"Where's XieWang, who was spouting nonsense on Twitter? Is he stuck in traffic, or has he finally faced reality and is hiding in some corner, trembling?"

The moment those words were spoken, the entire room fell into a deathly silence, and many people clenched their fists in humiliation.

Meanwhile, in the multi-camera live stream room across the entire network, secretly promoted by "Apocalypse," the number of online viewers has exceeded 300,000.

The comments section was flooded with messages, splitting into two extreme camps: — "This is so frustrating! A foreign high school student is blocking our door and yelling at us in the capital!"

"Is Xie Wang even showing up? If he's not going to accept the challenge, he shouldn't be acting tough online! Now the whole world is laughing at Chinese hackers!"

"Shut upstairs! Wang Shen got a perfect score in the national competition! He would never desert!"

Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School, a thousand miles away

The third year of high school (1) class is having a math class.

Below the podium, Shen Hao propped a book up high, Bluetooth earphones in his ears, his eyes glued to the phone screen hidden in his desk drawer. He was sweating profusely with anxiety, silently muttering, "Brother Wang, hurry up and show yourself! I'm dying of worry!"

"Ahem!" Old Li suddenly coughed twice loudly on the podium, tapping the blackboard with his chalk: "What are you all looking at! Your heads are practically buried in your desks! This second question in analytic geometry, should we use a combination of numerical and graphical methods or…?"

Old Li was righteously and sternly reprimanding his students, but if they looked at the podium from the students' perspective, they would see that behind Old Li's thick lesson plan, there was a large iPad screen.

The iPad was playing a live stream of Beijing Experimental High School.

"Sigh..." Old Li looked at the screen full of comments cursing Xie Wang as a deserter and muttered under his breath, "What's this brat up to? You can't even do a reconnaissance like this! Where are my nitroglycerin pills...?"

Seeing Lao Li's self-deceiving behavior, none of the classmates called him out.

Just when the whole internet was speculating whether Xie Wang had deserted his post.

In the VIP lounge behind the auditorium of Beijing Experimental Middle School.

Xie Wangzheng was comfortably leaning back on the leather sofa, holding a freshly brewed cup of hot coffee, showing no sense of urgency about going to the battlefield.

Su Qinghe sat beside him.

"I've already analyzed Shadow's attack patterns." Kang Ping sat opposite him, pointing to the data model on the tablet, his expression solemn.

"He is extremely confident, even arrogant. In AWD mode, he likes to release an extremely ferocious worm virus at the beginning of the game, trying to overwhelm his opponent with his momentum. But you should be careful, his killer move is often hidden in the underlying vulnerability of the BGP protocol, which is a logical trap."

Xie Wang took a sip of coffee, his eyes deep: "Understood, Uncle Kang."

"Young man, you not only need technical skills, but also the composure to remain calm even when Mount Tai collapses before you. In this respect, you are indeed better than that arrogant American kid in there."

A gentle voice came from the other side of the lounge.

Xie Wang and Su Qinghe turned their heads.

They saw an elderly man in a Zhongshan suit, with gray hair but a sprightly demeanor, holding a teacup and smiling at them.

"Principal, what brings you here?" Su Qinghe was somewhat surprised and politely stood up. Although the principal had presented the award last time, this was the first time they had met face-to-face in private.

"This is a showdown that concerns the face of our country's new generation, how could I not come and see?"

The old principal smiled and waved his hand, gesturing for her to sit down.

His gaze swept back and forth between Xie Wang and Su Qinghe, taking in their clasped hands and matching rings, his eyes filled with admiration: "A perfect match, a match made in heaven. Last time on the awards stage, Xie Wang said he wanted to go back to Jiangcheng to see the sunset and refused my offer of admission. That made this old man depressed for days."

Xie Wang stood up and smiled modestly: "Principal, there was a reason for what happened that day. The college entrance examination is an inevitable part of life, and we don't want to have any regrets."

"Well done, leaving no regrets." The old principal stepped forward, patted Xie Wang heavily on the shoulder, and said in an extremely solemn tone: "Kang Ping has already told me everything about your situation."

The old headmaster looked at the two of them and made a solemn promise: "I'm sitting here today to support you. Remember that."

"The gates of Tsinghua University are always open to you two. As long as you nod your heads, the admission notices from the Yao Class and the School of Physics will be delivered to your homes tomorrow."

Xie Wang and Su Qinghe exchanged a glance, a warm feeling welling up in their hearts.

"Thank you, Principal." Xie Wang put down his coffee cup, a fighting spirit igniting in his eyes.

He raised his wrist and glanced at the time. 13:59.

Xie Wang turned to look at Su Qinghe and extended his hand: "Let's go, Teacher Su. It's almost time." Su Qinghe placed her hand in his palm and smiled slightly: "I'll be watching you from below the stage."

Inside the auditorium.

"14:00." Shadow looked at his watch, his mockery reaching its peak.

He was speaking into the microphone, just about to announce the end of the duel.

"Bang--!!!"

A deafening crash interrupted him. The two heavy doors of the auditorium were violently pushed open from the outside.

Sunlight streamed in through the open door.

At that moment, the thousands of people in the audience, including those watching the live stream, all held their breath.

In complete silence.

Xie Wang had one hand in his coat pocket and the other hand tightly holding Su Qinghe, who had a cool expression and outstanding looks.

He walked with a languid yet commanding gait, stepping onto the red carpet and into the light.

The boy's eyebrows and eyes were sharp as knives, his jawline was taut, and his deep peach blossom eyes swept across the entire room with a cold indifference.

"Holy crap..." Someone in the audience let out an uncontrollable exclamation.

"It's here! The Delusion God has arrived!!!"

"What a spectacle! What an aura! Absolutely stunning!" The live stream chat was instantly flooded with the words "Welcome the God of Delusion," so densely packed that the video even froze.

Shadow's smile froze.

Looking at that person his age, he felt an unprecedented sense of oppression.

Xie Wang released Su Qinghe's hand, letting her sit in the middle of the first row of the VIP section, and then walked onto the competition stage alone.

You're late. I thought you ran away.

Shadow gripped the microphone and coldly mocked.

Xie Wang casually picked up the microphone from the table.

He spoke in fluent and clear Chinese, his voice booming through the entire auditorium's speakers, reaching everyone's ears:

"I just did the math, and it only takes a few minutes to crush you. If I come too early, I'm afraid you won't even have time to think of your last words."