Against the Heavens American High School Student (Seeking Monthly Votes!!!)

It had been over 20 days since Li Wei last visited Franklin K. Lane High School.

Upon arriving this time, he found that the school was still as shitty as ever, living up to its reputation as a top-tier high school that had produced a campus shooting in the 90s.

As a famous high school in Brooklyn, it was the day of the entrance placement assessment, yet there were as many as five police cars parked at the school gate.

Compared to his last visit, an additional security scanner had been added to handle the unusually large crowd today.

"Do you want to reconsider?"

Inside the Toyota, Don Quixote watched several tattooed high school students pass through the security scanners before turning his head to speak to Li Wei.

"Consider what?" Li Wei turned his head back. "Consider whether I should change schools?"

"Yes," Don Quixote nodded. "Although this is the only public high school we can be assigned to based on our current address, if you prepare for another month, you might be able to transfer to a Specialized High School. It would only be a step down."

So-called Specialized High Schools were schools specifically for students with academic and artistic talents, not divided by school districts; students from all over New York could apply.

Examples included Stuyvesant High School, Bronx Science High School, and so on.

Li Wei turned his head to look at those classmates who, in his eyes, now looked a bit like chicks.

He felt that if he added just a little more strength, he could even crush their wrists.

"That shouldn't be necessary, right?" He revealed a smile. "Would anyone bring a gun into the school?"

"Generally not inside the school. Didn't you see the security scanners at the gate?" Don Quixote pointed at the security guards at the entrance. "And the public safety in this part of New York is relatively better."

Unlike states with exceptionally loose gun laws like Colorado or Texas, New York City implemented extremely strict security protocols for public schools. Over 80 high schools had installed security scanners at their entrances, and last year, they had confiscated more than 15 guns through scanners alone.

Coupled with the police cars parked at the gate, American high schools were truly not lacking in safety.

Very good, this was very American.

"But the students inside can definitely get their hands on daggers and sharp weapons; that is beyond doubt," he added again. "So what do you think? Do you want to study for another year?"

If it were just daggers and sharp weapons, Li Wei had absolutely nothing to worry about. Even with his own strength added to a blade, his Bronze Body could not be cut, let alone by these American high school students who drank carbonated beverages until they developed osteoporosis.

Not to mention that the more chaotic this place was, the more missions he might be able to trigger.

"No need," Li Wei gave him a thumbs up. "Let's go."

Having said that, without waiting for Don Quixote to say anything more, he unlatched the car door and stepped out.

Don Quixote could only helplessly take the prepared documents and follow behind Li Wei.

"Proof of residence, utility bills, a copy of the passport..." Don Quixote handed the documents and proofs to the administrative window one by one. "Alright, it's all here."

Inside the window, after the administrative teacher filed all the materials, he handed back a piece of paper to Don Quixote with Li Wei's name and entrance exam number written on it.

"Classroom 3, go ahead," Don Quixote handed the slip to Li Wei. "The entrance placement exam only covers two subjects: math and English."

"I thought they would test AP courses today," Li Wei took the slip and looked at it. "I didn't expect them not to test that today."

"Wait until you finish the exam today and get your class placement before you take those," Don Quixote patted him on the shoulder. "I'm going to find the football coach for you and ask about the situation."

Li Wei carried his bag into a small classroom. Inside the white tiled walls were dusty art posters, and several placards with numbers hung from the ceiling. There were over a dozen desks inside, and several students who looked about his age were already sitting there.

Li Wei pulled out a desk covered with white paper and sat down, quietly waiting for the exam to begin.

Sitting diagonally in front of him was a Latino teenager wearing an oversized hoodie in the early September weather, with a string of crooked letters tattooed on one side of his neck.

At this moment, he was staring at the placement test paper, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Hey, sir!" He raised his hand and asked in broken English, "What does 'print' your name in this place mean? Does it want me to go find a printer?"

The proctor was a black man who looked as old as the school, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes upon hearing the tattooed teenager's words.

"Mr. Zaharis, it means to write your name in capital letters. Now, shut up and pick up your pencil."

Li Wei roughly scanned the English proficiency test and math test on the desk and found that, regarding math alone, if a student from China could understand the English, it was probably at the level of a first or second-year middle school student.

Compared to the AP courses he had prepared for, the difficulty could be described as worlds apart.

Less than 10 minutes into the exam, Li Wei relied on his super-high mental power to finish more than half of the math problems directly.

Just as he was preparing to check them once more and then do the English portion, he felt someone poke his back.

He looked up at the proctor who was looking down at his phone, then turned to look behind him.

Sitting behind him was a white boy who looked somewhat innocent. After seeing Li Wei's Asian face, his eyes revealed a hint of glee, and he whispered:

"Hey, buddy," he asked, "this says math, but why are there letters? Don't X and Y only appear in English class? Was this paper printed wrong?"

?

Li Wei was silent for a second and said quietly, "That's algebra, man. The letters represent unknown numbers."

"Unknown numbers?" The white boy looked as if he had heard some kind of witchcraft. "If we don't know them, why do we have to write them on paper? That's not logical, man."

"You really are a genius," Li Wei sighed and turned his head away. "Fill in 1, don't ask me why."

15 minutes later, when the white boy behind him was trying to draw a crooked little man on the answer sheet, Li Wei picked up his bag and stood up to hand in his paper.

"If you want to protest against school by handing in a blank paper, I suggest you reconsider... Oh! It's you."

The proctor was muttering while looking down at his phone, but when he looked up and saw Li Wei's Asian face, he immediately changed his tune.

"Hmm... not bad, as expected of an Asian," he took the test paper and glanced at it. "Alright, you can go. We will notify you later about the class placement results and the things needed for enrollment."

Li Wei nodded politely to thank him and walked out of the classroom door.

He walked in the direction of the administrative hall, rejected two black girls' attempts to chat and requests for his phone number along the way, and saw Don Quixote on a lounge chair.

"You came out so fast," he looked up at Li Wei. "You didn't hand in a blank paper, did you?"

"Come on, I could have written these problems with my eyes closed," Li Wei rolled his eyes. "What about the football team?"

"They do have a vacancy on the school team, but they are a bit skeptical about your physical fitness," Don Quixote said. "At my request, he agreed to let you participate in the joint tryout this afternoon, but before that, you need to go to the school infirmary to complete a physical examination review."