"So if we help each other out, maybe the exam proctor will give us a few extra points for making a good impression."
He acted so friendly that everyone naturally labeled him.
A thoroughly good guy.
Wang Long's gaze fell on the bamboo staff in Fan Daoyi's hand. His eyes narrowed, and he frowned.
"Have we met somewhere before?" Wang Long asked tentatively.
Fan Daoyi shook his head. "I'm just a nobody. You probably don't know me, Young Master Wang, but I've heard of your great name."
"Young Master Wang?"
The students around them seized on the important point. "Wait, I thought you looked familiar from the start. Are you that person from the Wang Family...?"
Hearing their flattery and seeing the admiration in the three women's eyes, Wang Long couldn't help the corners of his mouth turning up.
"That's right. I'm Wang Long of the Wang Family."
The change of subject drove Wang Long's earlier thoughts away.
Fan Daoyi took it all in, his gaze sweeping over every item on Wang Long.
He had three visible defensive items and two offensive ones, all of a high grade. The Wang Family really did dote on him.
"Young Master Wang, please carry me!"
"Speedrun, speedrun! Young Master Wang, take us on a speedrun!"
Once Wang Long revealed his identity, the seven students turned into bootlickers on the spot, and Wang Long basked in their constant flattery.
"Hey, no rush. This time, I'll show you a different Guixu experience."
He won them over, and they crowded around him, making him the backbone of their group for the exam.
Fan Daoyi also intended to join them, but before he could offer any flattery, Wang Long turned to him with a provocative smile, the killing intent in it undisguised.
Clearly, the bamboo staff had given him away.
Relying on his items and the fact that he was in Guixu, this guy had already started getting full of himself.
Fan Daoyi didn't know why Guixu gave him the confidence to be so conceited, but since he was already showing such hostility, why keep up the act?
The pretense was torn away, his smile faded, and killing intent rose.
The seven were still caught up in the joy of being matched with Wang Long and hadn't noticed the tension between the two.
"The safe zone's about to disappear. We can finally start the real game!"
The barrier surrounding them gradually dimmed, and the outline of the school slowly came into focus before their eyes.
Full of anticipation and excitement, they could hardly wait to rush in.
After a silent confrontation with Wang Long, Fan Daoyi was the first to look away. He put on a standard smile, brushed past Wang Long, and walked to the front to gaze at the school shrouded in mist.
In the thin mist, dim little lights along both sides of the road hid among the leaves. A narrow muddy path stretched to the school gates, with roses planted on either side. Virginia creeper clung to the school's outer walls, and the classroom lights were still on at night, though they flickered on and off.
The scene held a sense of mystery that left endless room for the imagination.
"So this is Guixu?" The students showed no fear, stepping onto the winding path once the barrier had completely vanished.
It had just rained here, and their shoes stuck in the mud as they walked.
As they walked, they discussed the guide. "The first stage is dealing with being late for evening self-study, right?"
"The guide said the teacher doesn't personally supervise the classroom. We just have to convince the discipline committee member," a girl said timidly.
"No need to worry about any of that. We're going straight to the office."
Wang Long strode forward and, before anyone noticed, had passed them.
At Wang Long's suggestion, everyone hesitated. They hadn't seen this option in the guide and worried about running into unnecessary trouble.
One of the boys questioned him. "Can that guarantee our safety? None of the guides mentioned this route."
The boy's question earned a sneer from Wang Long, thick with disdain and mockery.
He spread his hands, his face full of contempt. "Ha, if you don't believe me, you don't have to follow."
As the leader everyone crowded around and the heir to the Wang Family, Wang Long was used to looking down from on high and hated having his authority challenged.
His arrogance and domineering attitude made the atmosphere tense. The students exchanged glances, feeling even more uncertain.
Finally, some of them made their choice: they would curry favor with the Wang Family and be Wang Long's loyal lackeys.
Whatever Wang Long said went. If he said east, they would never go west.
But others, including two girls, were still full of doubts. They wondered whether they should follow Wang Long's plan, which had never appeared in a guide, or stick to the guide.
Fan Daoyi's voice broke the silence along the muddy path. "Is this the different Guixu experience you mentioned, Young Master Wang? Then I'll have to broaden my horizons with you."
His words carried curiosity and anticipation, as though he really were interested in the proposal.
"Of course." Wang Long didn't refuse, though his tone held a hint of mockery.
With the majority in agreement, the minority ultimately chose to stay with the main group.
Wang Long led them straight to the office. The ten of them marched down the corridor in a grand procession, four in front, three in the middle, and three at the back, attracting the attention of quite a few students in the classrooms.
Fan Daoyi observed the instance. Overall, not much had changed. Sure enough, those people had let his words go in one ear and out the other.
"I just noticed there are so many girls at this school." A girl in the back row looked through the window at a classroom and voiced her puzzlement.
The boy walking beside her didn't understand. "Isn't it normal to have a lot of girls?"
The girl disagreed. "But in a class of forty or so, at least thirty are girls. It's the same in almost every classroom. The balance between boys and girls is way off."
"Why worry about all that? It's not our problem."
Listening to their conversation, Fan Daoyi took the opportunity to ask a question of his own. "What if there's something fishy about it?"
"What could be fishy? The guide never mentioned it," said the boy who had stayed closest to Wang Long.
"So you just keep following the guide's rules?" Fan Daoyi considered the boy's words for a long moment, then continued, "Don't you ever have ideas of your own?"
"Tch, when there's a perfectly correct path, who'd bother trying anything else?" A trace of impatience crept into the boy's voice.
He seemed displeased by Fan Daoyi's question, thinking the guide was detailed enough and there was no need to think too much about it.
Fan Daoyi understood now. It seemed the game's unchanging nature hadn't affected only him. For players who knew only how to enjoy the fruits of their predecessors' labor, this unchanging game world had become a cage that confined their thinking.
When the game suddenly changed, their first reaction was often to look for a ready-made guide rather than rely on themselves to face the challenge. This dependence would leave them at a loss when faced with new situations, even unable to think independently about how to survive and escape.
Once they lost that perfect guide, they would be left with anxiety, fear, helplessness, and other negative emotions that would spread rapidly, ultimately leading to an emotional breakdown.
If all the students taking this year's college entrance exam were like this, playing would be far too easy.