Chapter 137: The Late Examinee

“Ah, I don’t even know what level this counts as. Once I describe it, you’ll pretty much get it!” the volunteer urged anxiously. “Just tell me whether you want it or not! If you don’t, I’ll sell it to those public account reporters. You print media folks have no guts at all—you’ll get squeezed out by them sooner or later!”

Suddenly, the small group of reporters all flushed red, glaring at the volunteer with clenched teeth.

The volunteer, however, wore a thoroughly indifferent expression.

The man with the short parted hair turned to the reporters. “Everyone, please stay calm. If we rough this guy up now, we’ll become the news ourselves.”

“How about we jointly purchase this piece of intelligence?” he suggested. “I’ll only split the cost with four others, so the articles produced from this intelligence won’t flood the market.”

The reporter with round glasses immediately said, “Count me in. I’ll transfer you a thousand later.”

The other reporters exchanged looks, thought for a moment, then quickly joined in.

“Damn it, count me in too! I want to write a viral hit; we can’t let those streaming media types look down on us!”

“Include me as well!”

“…”

The man with the short parted hair smiled with relief. “No need to rush, everyone. There will be other intelligence pieces. For now, the first four who spoke will jointly buy this one with me.”

“We’ll continue to co-invest in intelligence going forward. We have to beat those streaming media to the punch and crush them!”

“Agreed!”

“Well said! Let’s cooperate sincerely!”

“…”

His words were met with unanimous approval from the print reporters, and for a moment, they were united against a common enemy.

He transferred five thousand Tianlong coins to the volunteer, who leaned in to whisper a few words in his ear before hurrying away.

The man with the short parted hair immediately whispered to the four reporters sharing the cost. Upon hearing this, they hurried to the back of the group, pulled out laptops, and began writing.

…

After selling the intelligence to the reporters, the volunteer told his colleagues at the venue he needed to use the restroom, then quickly slipped into a back alley beside a nearby building.

In a corner, a girl wearing a mask awaited him.

As soon as the volunteer saw her, he approached. “Miss, I’ve done everything you asked. The information about possible late arrivals has already been spread.”

The girl pulled a wad of cash from her pocket and shoved it into his hand. “Well done. This is the agreed amount.”

The volunteer’s eyes gleamed as he took the money.

“Next, you’ll continue spreading this message. Afterwards, I’ll pay you the same amount again,” the girl whispered.

The volunteer muttered to himself, memorized the message, then turned and left the alley.

…

The girl waited a moment, glanced around, pulled down her mask, and popped a small silver-black bead into her mouth before passing through the wall and disappearing.

…

“Time’s up! Close the venue entrances!”

The announcement came over the loudspeaker.

Two security guards stationed at the venue entrance exchanged glances. One of them entered the security room and pressed a button.

An electric barrier slowly extended, beginning to seal off the main gate.

At that moment, a warm white light flickered before the venue, and a figure appeared, sprinting toward the entrance.

The two guards looked at each other, bewildered.

One asked, “Does this count as being late? Should we not let him in?”

The other scratched his head. “But the gate’s not closed yet. I guess he can still get in.”

Watching the figure dash forward, he added, “Are we supposed to chase him down? That’d be a huge grudge against the student, ruining his future.”

They tacitly agreed to let the figure run into the venue and calmly continued closing the gate.

However, the media gathered in front of the venue were far from calm.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, they erupted into a clamor.

“Wait, what just zipped in like that?”

“A student. What else could it be?”

“This guy’s way too arrogant—he basically teleported right to the gate. Wonder whose rich kid he is.”

“Only the wealthy dare pull such stunts. He probably doesn’t even care about this competition. Probably partied all night at the bar, overslept this morning, and just teleported here.”

“He could have inherited the family fortune directly but still bothered to come through the motions. I’m dying.”

“…”

This kind of teleportation directly to a specific location—not a secret realm—was obviously the effect of a personal teleportation array.

Naturally, everyone assumed the figure was a wealthy heir and quickly snapped photos of his back, typing away furiously.

No doubt this news would soon appear across all major media outlets.

…

“Still can’t get in touch with Wang Chen?” Ouyang Yue stood before Class Six’s group, frowning.

By now, the venue had already settled into orderly conduct for the first test.

…

Students lined up in long rows, approaching a small platform at the center of the venue.

On the platform sat a crystal-clear orb, capable of testing the students’ level and strength.

Why they didn't just display the profession panel to confirm levels was unknown—almost like an unspoken convention.

Wang Chen belonged to Class Six, so his test would come later, but not long now.

The Class Six homeroom teacher wore a worried expression. “No, his phone is completely unreachable.”

“Sigh, what a pity. He did very well in his initial trial. Now, I’m afraid…”

Ouyang Yue sighed heavily. He remembered the poor student who once had great ambition and excellent grades, but something seemed off today.

In the Class Six line, Cai Kun boasted smugly, “That kid’s probably not leveling up well and is too scared to join the competition.”

In truth, he secretly knew Wang Chen couldn’t come because his own men had likely sabotaged him—he might be lying in some hospital bed right now.

His followers immediately chimed in, “Boss has been leveling up so fast lately, it’s only natural that kid’s scared.”

“Yeah, even if he dared come, he’d just get trampled under Boss’s feet.”

“Looks like he’s got some self-awareness after all.”

“What self-awareness? Being a scared turtle, maybe?”

“Hahaha…”

These troublemakers mumbled at the back of the line quietly enough that the school leaders ahead didn’t hear.

But Tang Ruotong, standing in the ranks, overheard. She quietly moved from the front to the back, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing.

“Cai Kun, we’re all classmates. Wang Chen isn’t here now, yet you’re laughing so happily. You’re truly a heartless scoundrel!”

Cai Kun glanced sideways at Tang Ruotong. “None of your business. I’ll laugh if I want.”

His followers supported him. “Yeah, Tang Ruotong, you’re meddling too much. It’s not like we’re keeping Wang Chen from coming. What’s wrong with laughing?”

“Are you so eager because…” one follower’s eyes darted mischievously. “You like Wang Chen?”

“You!” Tang Ruotong, flustered and angry, was about to argue further when a sarcastic female voice came from behind her.

“I’d say more than that. This little girl’s probably already Wang Chen’s lover.”