My IQ has been increasing year by year.

7:40.

The army set off.

The Provincial Experimental High School is not far from the guesthouse, only a ten-minute walk away.

This is during the morning rush hour.

The streets of the provincial capital were bustling with traffic, buses were packed with expressionless office workers, and the smell of cooking oil from roadside breakfast stalls mingled with the smell of car exhaust.

Everyone carried their schoolbags and wore school uniforms, blending into the hurried crowd.

No one spoke.

The only sounds were footsteps and the occasional soft clatter of backpack zippers.

Old Zhao led the way, while Old Zhou brought up the rear, like two sheepdogs protecting a flock of lambs about to be sacrificed.

Throughout the journey, Lao Zhao didn't mention anything about the questions or formulas again.

He pointed to a tall building on the side of the road.

"Hey, look at that, isn't that the provincial telecommunications building? It's so tall! The tallest building in our city is the department store."

He then pointed to a young man riding a multi-speed bicycle by the roadside.

"Look at that bike, it's a Giant, right? This one must cost several thousand."

He was trying to spout nonsense.

They tried to distract students from the upcoming exam for even a second with these pointless chatter.

However, it seems to have had little effect.

The closer you get to the Provincial Experimental High School, the stronger the sense of oppression in the air becomes.

Upon arriving at the school gate, the sense of oppression became tangible.

The school gate was packed with people.

It was a dark, dense mass.

They were all candidates from various cities and prefectures, along with their accompanying teachers.

Some schools are still lining up students for lectures, some students are still frantically memorizing from their books, and some parents are adjusting their children's collars.

The noise, the sound of reciting, and the scolding blended into a huge wave of sound that soared into the sky.

The group from No. 1 Middle School stopped under a large sycamore tree.

"Don't wander off, just stay here."

Old Zhao glanced at his watch.

"There are still ten minutes until entry. If you need to use the restroom, go again. It's crowded inside, and the queues are long."

Just then, a group of people strolled over from the side gate of the school.

Those were students from the provincial experimental school.

Unlike the out-of-town test-takers at the entrance who looked like they were facing a formidable enemy, these local students were so relaxed it was infuriating.

Some of them were pushing bicycles, while others were holding unfinished soy milk, chatting in twos and threes.

The feeling was like coming to school for a regular Sunday morning, or joining an interest group.

Their home-like demeanor might be the biggest psychological blow to out-of-town test takers.

What you consider a life-or-death battle is just an ordinary weekend morning to them.

"Hey, isn't that the provincial experimental team?"

Zhao Chen, with his sharp eyes, pointed to a group of students walking over from the teaching building.

All of them wore light blue short-sleeved school uniforms.

The leader was a girl.

Chen Zhuo followed the gaze.

It's the same short-haired girl from last night.

She didn't sleep today, but she looks like she's not far from falling asleep.

She didn't have a backpack, and her school uniform zipper was open, revealing a white T-shirt underneath.

He was holding a thick stack of red cards.

She walked slowly, handing the cards in her hand to the people next to her as she went.

"Li Xiang".

"Give."

"Jang Hyuk".

"then."

She didn't even look at anyone; she just mechanically called out names and handed them things.

A boy next to her took the water bottle from her hand, which was about to fall, and held it for her.

"How much more do you need to send?" the boy asked.

"There aren't many left."

The girl yawned, squeezed out two tears from the corners of her eyes, and casually wiped them away.

"You can send the rest, I'm so sleepy."

After saying that, she slapped the remaining stack of exam admission tickets into the boy's arms.

The boy didn't say anything, obediently took it, and continued calling out the name.

The girl freed her hands and stretched.

She stood in the crowd, surrounded by the cacophony of recitations and noise.

She acted as if she hadn't heard anything, and didn't even glance at the group of out-of-town test takers at the school gate.

She turned around, kicked a pebble on the roadside, and swayed as she walked towards the teaching building.

The students from the provincial experimental school around her were either talking or drinking water. When they saw her walking by, they all naturally stepped aside to make way for her.

No one made a point of greeting them, and no one gave them a second glance.

Chen Zhuo stood under the tree, watching that scene.

He adjusted his glasses, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip of water.

......

It's exactly eight o'clock.

Everyone moved to the lecture hall.

Since the physics group also had an exam in the afternoon, the organizing committee arranged for a unified pre-exam mobilization and pep rally in the morning to save time.

Hundreds of people were crammed into that semi-circular lecture hall.

Although the air conditioning was on, there were too many people, and the air was still stuffy and hot, mixed with the smells of various shampoos, medicated oils, and sweat.

The leader has arrived.

Several middle-aged men in white shirts sat down on the platform.

The process is extremely tedious.

First, the guests were introduced, followed by a speech from the leader.

The microphone is of poor quality and occasionally emits a piercing scream that makes people's ears ring.

"Students, you are the elite of the province, the future scientists..."

The leader on the stage read from his prepared statement, his tone rising and falling with intonation.

The students in the audience reacted in various ways.

Wang Yang sat up straight, even taking notes in a small notebook on "Exam Instructions," even though those instructions were written on the back of his admission ticket.

Zhao Chen and Li Hao were secretly playing with their fingers down there.

Since Li Hao didn't have an exam in the morning, he was quite relaxed and even secretly took out a copy of "Science Fiction World" and put it on his lap to read.

Chen Zhuo leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.

Not far in front, sat the team from the Provincial Experimental School.

The short-haired girl was sitting in the seat furthest to the side.

She was already slumped over the table.

Perhaps feeling that it was too bright up there, she took off her school uniform jacket and covered her head with it, curling up into a ball like a blue cocoon.

The boys next to me sat up a little straighter, which blocked the patrolling teacher's view.

The leader was speaking animatedly, spitting as he went.

She was fast asleep downstairs.

......

8:30.

"Finally, I wish everyone the best of luck! Meeting adjourned!"

At the command, the classroom erupted in chaos.

The sounds of chairs scraping against the floor, packing schoolbags, and noisy conversations blended together.

The flow of people split into two streams.

One group headed towards the teaching building; they were going to participate in a math competition.

They headed towards the rest area or off campus because the physics exam wasn't until the afternoon.

Li Hao stood up and patted Zhao Chen on the shoulder.

"Brother, I'm going first. I'll wait for your good news at noon."

Zhao Chen looked miserable.

"Don't just stand there, pray for me too."

Zhang Wei walked up to Chen Zhuo and gave him a thumbs up.

"Team leader, it's up to you. Set a good example for our No. 1 High School."

Chen Zhuo nodded.

See you this afternoon.

Watching the two physics team members leave, the remaining five people suddenly felt a sense of tragic heroism, like a warrior cutting off his own arm, or the wind howling and the Yi River running cold.

......

The hallway was crowded.

People were everywhere, backpacks bumping against backpacks, shoulders touching shoulders.

Chen Zhuo walked on the outermost side, using his body to slightly shield the small, thin Nan Xiaoyun behind him.

There's some traffic ahead.

The provincial experimental team was at the forefront.

The short-haired girl had probably just woken up; she hadn't put her school uniform on properly yet, so she just draped it over her shoulders, with the sleeves swinging loosely.

She was jostled and swayed a bit by the crowd.

He retreated right next to Chen Zhuo.

The two were very close; he could almost smell the faint scent of laundry detergent on her.

She turned her head, her eyes still a little unfocused, and subconsciously glanced at the person next to her.

I saw Chen Zhuo.

I guess it looked familiar.

After all, I saw him at KFC yesterday, and he was sitting in the back during the meeting just now.

Her gaze lingered for a second.

He had no expression whatsoever.

It's not the kind of unfathomable feeling where I think I understand you, nor is it the question of who you are.

It's that kind of dazed feeling you have when you first wake up in the morning and your brain hasn't really started working yet.

She yawned, and a tear squeezed out from the corner of her eye.

Then look away and continue to move slowly forward with the flow of people in front of you.

Chen Zhuo also withdrew his gaze, stepped aside, and let a student carrying a large bag try to squeeze through.

The two walked side by side for a while, neither speaking nor looking at the other.

When they reached the corner on the third floor, the girl walked to the first examination room on the left, while Chen Zhuo led the group to the third examination room on the right.

Their backs to each other crossed, and they went their separate ways.

8:45.

The corridor outside the third examination room.

This is the final maintenance area.

Old Zhao stood by the window, his face even more serious than the students'.

Old Zhao stopped talking nonsense.

He became incredibly fussy and nagging, like a mother taking her child to kindergarten.

"Put all your bags down on this windowsill."

"Pencil case! Take out the clear pencil case! Don't bring anything else!"

"Cellphones, pagers, digital watches—hand them over immediately if you have any. If they ring inside the exam room, you'll get zero points!"

"You can bring your water bottle, but don't put it on the table, put it on the floor! Don't get the test paper wet!"

Everyone obediently piled their schoolbags on the windowsill, holding only their thin, transparent pencil cases in their hands.

Wang Yang's hands started shaking again.

He checked the pencils in his pencil case over and over again, afraid they would break.

Zhao Chen stood silently to the side, rubbing his face until it turned bright red.

Nan Xiaoyun and Lin Xiao held hands, their palms sweating profusely.

Liu Kai leaned against the wall, his eyes fixed on a crack in the opposite wall.

Fear is contagious.

Chen Zhuo stood to the side, watching this scene unfold.

Chen Zhuo stood to the side.

He glanced at Wang Yang, then at Zhao Chen.

He didn't say anything.

He reached into his pocket and touched the small, angular glass bottle.

Fengyoujing (a type of medicated oil).

He bought it last night at the convenience store downstairs from the guesthouse.

Chen Zhuo walked up to Wang Yang.

Hand the bottle over.

"Apply it."

"Huh?" Wang Yang stared blankly at the small green bottle.

"Apply more to the temples."

Chen Zhuo pointed to his head.

"The spiciness woke me up instantly."

Wang Yang took it.

His hands were still trembling a little, but he poured a little out and smeared it hard on his temples.

Two seconds later.

His eyes widened suddenly, and tears streamed down his face.

"Holy crap...it's so hot..."

He gasped and fanned himself with his hand.

However, my hands stopped shaking.

That suffocating tension was dispelled by this intense physiological stimulation.

"Give me some too."

Zhao Chen leaned over, snatched the bottle, and smeared it on his forehead without caring how much.

"Damn, that's awesome!"

He bared his teeth and yelled, his eyes turning as red as a rabbit's, but his spirits immediately lifted.

The bottle was passed around among several people.

Nan Xiaoyun, Lin Xiao, and Liu Kai each applied a little bit.

Everyone stood in the corridor, their eyes brimming with tears, sniffling.

But at least they're all much more sober.

"Alright."

Chen Zhuo took the bottle back, tightened the cap, and put it back in his pocket.

Just then, the preparatory bell rang.

"Ring ring—"

The shrill sound of the doorbell echoed through the hallway.

The proctor walked over with a sealed bag of exam papers.

"Line up! Get ready to enter! Hold your admission tickets in your hands!"

Old Zhao stood aside, saying nothing more.

He simply nodded emphatically.

He waved.

.....

Inside the examination room.

Chen Zhuo walked into the classroom.

As expected, it was a single person at a single table.

The tabletop was off-white, the chair was blue, and the air was filled with the coolness of air conditioning.

He found his seat, number 09.

Sit down and place your pencil case on the corner of the table.

I also placed that small green bottle of medicated oil next to it, like a talisman.

He looked around.

The classroom was quiet, with only the sound of students pulling out their chairs.

Chen Zhuo glanced out the window.

The sky over the provincial capital was very blue, with a few white clouds drifting slowly by.

Above the blackboard, the white projector hung there silently, like an indifferent eye.

Take a deep breath.

The spiciness of the medicated oil still lingered in my nasal cavity.

My mind was as clear as a polished piece of glass.

A static crackled over the loudspeaker, followed by the invigilator's emotionless voice:

"Please stop talking."

"We will now distribute the test papers."

"After receiving the exam paper, please first check the number of pages, then fill in your name and examination number..."

The two proctors, one in front of the other, began to curl their hair.

Chen Zhuo took the exam paper and laid it out flat.

I picked up that black ballpoint pen.

He wrote his name at the beginning of the scroll.

Zeyang No.1 Middle School.

Chen Zhuo.