Chen Hao glanced at the number on the screen.
"Not bad. For a beginner, 5% is already top-tier."
"How does that compare to my junior sister?" Yang Wanqing meant Qin Xiaoyu.
"Xiaoyu started at 9%. But with the Eight-Nine Mystical Skill, her absorption rate will probably reach somewhere in the teens. There's no comparison."
Yang Wanqing let out a "Wow," then went back to scrolling through the posts.
Chen Siyao stared at "5.03%" for a while, then opened her class group chat.
Hundreds of messages had already poured in, all about the aptitude tests. Someone had posted a photo of the queue. The line outside the school gate rounded three corners and stretched across the road.
Someone shared their test result—1.3%, a fail—with a sobbing reaction image. Someone else had passed with 2.1%, accompanied by a string of fireworks.
But even more people hadn't qualified to join the queue. Testing required an advance appointment, and the booking system had crashed fifteen seconds after opening.
Chen Siyao put away her phone and leaned back against the sofa.
The world had changed.
That ordinary, predictable world had officially come to an end tonight.
And her brother was sitting right beside her, sipping tea with his legs crossed, looking no different from usual.
But she knew.
All of this had already been settled in that windowless room, during that hour-long conversation.
Yang Wanqing suddenly leaned over and lowered her voice.
"Yaoyao, do you think... your brother's going to be the most powerful person in the country?"
Chen Siyao thought for a moment.
"My brother doesn't want power."
"Then what does he want?"
Chen Siyao turned to look at Chen Hao, who was drinking his tea.
His cup was empty. He poured himself another. His movements were slow and casual.
"Watch him and figure