Cheating Craft Chapter 35

Quiz 35: New Strategy

There were only 30 minutes left before the end of the exam, but Meng Ming’s multiple choice and calculation questions were still blank! Meng Ming had only answered the fill-in-the-blank questions, while Zhou Lun Yu’s test paper was full of answers to the previous questions. Moreover, there were red threads suspended all around Meng Ming, and his test paper could be slashed by the Vacuum Blades at any time.

The multiple choice questions are worth 40 points…the fill-in-the-blanks are worth 28 points, and each question is worth 4 points; calculation questions are worth 32 points which aredistributed across 4 questions… Meng Ming carefully crunched the numbers again. Even if I finish all of the fill-in-the-blanks, I won’t have enough points! Besides, the last fill-in-the-blank question is really strange…I definitely need to get back the 40 points from the multiple choice questions in order to win! There’s still a chance to copy answers when the others go back to check their test papers…

He waited, and then waited some more. Another 15 minutes had pa.s.sed, but Meng Ming had yet to see someone finish the calculation questions.　　

This was the first time that Meng Ming had ever encountered this kind of situation. 　　

If n.o.body flipped through their tests, then how was he supposed to copy?　　

Meng Ming craned his head in an attempt to see what Zhou Lun Yu was doing, and saw Zhou Lun Yu ceaselessly waving his fingers back and forth! He seemed to be manipulating the red threads, diligently searching for something!　　

Weird, what is Zhou Lun Yu doing?　　

Zhou Lun Yu looked about over and over again, and seemed to be dissatisfied each time. Meng Ming knew that Zhou Lun Yu had finished copying the multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions already, and he should’ve finished most of the calculations as well…

Meng Ming lowered his head to glance at his own test paper again. He tried to decipher the hideous mess on his paper, but he was completely unable to understand the symbols on it…　

A long period of time had pa.s.sed, but the entire cla.s.sroom remained completely silent! There was also Zhou Lun Yu’s abnormal actions…　

Exactly what kind of situation is this?! After contemplating this over and over, Meng Ming suddenly realized something. Could it be that…! The, the four calculation questions…are all problems that n.o.body knows how to solve! …These questions are too difficult! …The reason n.o.body had filled in the last fill-in-the-blank was also because of this!

In order to copy the calculation questions, Meng Ming had even trained for quite a while.

It’s only the first midterm exam, but they’ve already given such hard problems…all my training before was in vain… Meng Ming now understood Zhou Lun Yu’s actions, but he was also at loss on what to do now. Is Zhou Lun Yu searching the entire cla.s.sroom for students that solved those questions…?　　

Meng Ming believed that if the calculation questions were that hard, people would definitely go back to check their previous answers before the end of the exam. —This was a test-taking habit that L-types had. As long as this happened, Meng Ming would have a huge chance to copy the multiple choice questions.

But if Zhou Lun Yu managed to find the answers for the calculation questions, even a  single one of them…he could get 8 points! Even if Meng Ming managed to recopy the multiple choice questions and obtain those 40 points, Zhou Lun Yu would definitely dominate this exam.

It’s a bit dangerous, but there must be a way to turn the tides! …Exactly what openings does he have…..　　

The pencils couldn’t be carelessly wasted. The blades were all used up by now, and Meng Ming only had the tiny length of the pencil left in his hand, the sc.r.a.p paper, and the eraser….

Eraser?! Meng Ming suddenly realized that he’d been ignoring something important this whole time. Can I use it or not…this thing that erases pencil markings. Erase…　　

Erases pencil markings?!　　

Meng Ming gripped the eraser, and suddenly thought of an interesting idea.　　

What if not a single person in this site can solve the calculation questions! …I, I can only bet on this now!　　

Right now, while Zhou Lun Yu was searching hard for the answers to the calculation questions, Meng Ming was secretly doing something underneath the table.　　

Only the last few minutes remained before the math exam would end.　　

Zhou Lun Yu used the Vacuum Blades to oppress Meng Ming the whole time while he constantly searched for the answers. He a.s.sumed that Meng Ming no longer had any strength left to attack. To his surprise, he suddenly smelled a faint, burning odor. Zhou Lun Yu abruptly lifted his head, and discovered that something black was currently flying towards his hair.

This was Meng Ming’s ambush in the last 3 minutes before the end of the exam!　　

Zhuge Meng Ming tossed something over? What is that? The object tossed high into the air was coming towards him at a pace as slow as a turtle. Zhou Lun Yu found it hilarious. Does this kind of thing pose any danger at all… He evaded it with a tilt of his head. The black thing’s surface area was extremely large, and it fell with a pa onto the ground. Zhou Lun Yu used his foot to step on it a bit, and could tell that it was soft and squishy. It’s eraser pulp? He got this by burning the eraser! …Zhuge Meng Ming, you thought that you could get something as slow as this stuck in my hair…?!　　

As Zhou Lun Yu was still bewildered, another black object was flung over.　　

“There’s still another one?! Zhou Lun Yu immediately sensed it. He tilted his head once more and dodged it! Oh, the first attack was a fake in order for me to overlook what was behind me? That kind of move…..　　

He unexpectedly heard a pa sound as the lump of eraser pulp landed on Zhou Lun Yu’s table. He hurriedly looked back at his table, and saw that a  pile of black stuff had landed in the center of his table.

The scantron!　　

Zhou Lun Yu’s scantron had been completely covered by the eraser pulp, and now the answers on it were completely impossible to see.　　

Meng Ming’s attack on Zhou Lun Yu had been the real fake; the actual attack had been on his scantron!　　

The eraser cooled down, and stuck tightly onto the scantron. Zhou Lun Yu pulled at his scantron for a long time; it was extremely difficult to completely clean off the eraser mess in one go.　　

It was almost time to hand in the test papers! Meng Ming had calculated this time to attack. If Zhou Lun Yu didn’t clean off that layer of pulp….　　

….I’ll use the Alternate Dimension Vacuum Blade! Zhou Lun Yu immediately used this move on his own scantron, cleanly wiping the sticky mess off his scantron! However, the answers that had been filled in had also been erased!　　

Zhou Lun Yu had to refill his multiple choice answers! He hadn’t imagined that Zhuge Meng Ming would throw this at him during the last minute of the exam…he felt that there was still enough time left, so he immediately flipped through his own draft paper. At this time, he suddenly saw that Meng Ming was also quickly writing on his scantron!　　

Zhou Lun Yu hurriedly began to fill in his scantron. If he didn’t, he’d get less points than Meng Ming!　　

Right before the tests were submitted, three people around Meng Ming flipped through their tests to double check their answers. Meng Ming glanced at the answers, and directly filled them in on his scantron! Soon after, a fourth person appeared…　

As Meng Ming had expected, none of the students around him could solve the calculation questions, so they had all gone back to check the multiple choice section! Meng Ming quickly moved his hands and instantly copied all of the answers onto his scantron in the last minute!　　

Time was up, and everyone stopped moving their pencils! Meng Ming also put his pencil down, and let loose a breath as he thought—

I lost too much time in the beginning of the exam. However, I can’t have lost by too much…

After handing in the papers, the entire exam site buzzed incessantly with discussion—

“Ah…so hard!”

“Yea, what teacher came up with those questions! They were impossible to do!”

“Ugh, it looks like the difference in scores will be greater now. Zhuge Meng Ming and the others must’ve been able to do them…I couldn’t solve any of the last questions!”　　

As they continued to discuss, the students gradually dispersed. Zhou Lun Yu laughed grimly as he asked Meng Ming, “…Did you finish the multiple choice questions?”　　

“Yea.”　　

Zhou Lun Yu begrudgingly shook his head, “…I started writing later than you did, so there were 2 questions that I hadn’t been able to write, and I lost 8 points. Hmph, it looks like you were lucky for this exam.” Zhou Lun Yu immediately turned around to leave.　　

This means, that I won? Meng Ming felt that the situation was strange. “What do you mean? What about the calculation questions? And the last fill-in-the-blank…”　　

“Not a single person in the exam site knew how to solve them,” Zhou Lun Yu said. He was extremely certain, as he’d checked every single student’s pencils! n.o.body could write it, so it had instead ended up wasting all of his time.　　

If all of their answers were correct, Zhou Lun Yu had lost two 4 point questions!　　

He managed to turn the tides even in this kind of situation? Zhou Lun Yu was bewildered—He calculated all of that in the end…?　

Meng Ming’s eraser had only eliminated two of Zhou Lun Yu’s multiple choice questions.　　

…It’s probably just a fluke. There won’t be a second time. I refuse to believe that he can score a victory in any circ.u.mstances! Zhou Lun Yu left the exam site.　

“You won?”

Huang Qiao Yi was still depressed about how she hadn’t solved the calculation questions, and was shocked by Meng Ming’s showdown report. “Wasn’t Brother Meng Ming being pressured the whole time?”　

“Who knows if what Zhou Lun Yu said is true or not…” Meng Ming was just repeating what he had heard just now, and didn’t actually know if Zhou Lun Yu was lying. Moreover, if he wanted to emerge victorious in points, he needed to get all of the questions right.　　

Zhou Lun Yu is too powerful…sending attacks one after another… After receiving so many attacks in succession, Meng Ming was unable to ward them off. In the beginning, Zhou Lun Yu had pressured Meng Ming and gained dominance. If it weren’t for Meng Ming’s last cunning idea…In addition, I can’t use that move anymore…the burning smell is too strong, and it’s too slow as well.　　

“Just relying on adapting to the exam site last minute isn’t enough. I need to draft concrete tactics!” Meng Ming said firmly “Little Qiao, the next round is foreign language. Is there a specific question format?”　

Huang Qiao Yi thought about the question for a bit before replying, “They’re all multiple choice, and there are many pages. Pretty much all of the s.p.a.ces are filled up on the scantron for any foreign language exam.”　　

“Scantron…”　　

The scantron was the generic type. Meng Ming lowered his head and thought: I need to formulate some tactics. Tomorrow, everything will be on the scantron…　　

Meng Ming immersed himself in his thoughts as he pondered the situation of the calculation questions just now. …That’s right! …That means…　

“Brother Meng Ming, I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while now…” Huang Qiao Yi suddenly said, causing Meng Ming to look over at her. “Ask what?”　　

Huang Qiao Yi crossed her arms in front of her chest in a very serious manner, and said carefully, “Didn’t Brother Meng Ming just come back from the Philippines? Did you speak Filipino there?”　

“Of course not!” Meng Ming found it strange how Huang Qiao Yi was suddenly asking this now. “We always spoke English there.”　　

“Ah…?!” Huang Qiao Yi hadn’t imagined that Meng Ming would say that he was proficient in English. “English…! Our foreign language material is all in English. Brother Meng Ming spoke English over there every day, so why can’t you understand this cla.s.s material?”　　

“Ha…” Meng Ming helplessly sighed. “Although I speak English very well, I don’t understand the material that the Teacher is lecturing on.”

After saying this, he went back to his own thoughts.

…Mm, I still managed to gain something from the last two tests. I have a plan now! Meng Ming looked over at Zhou Lun Yu’s seat. I can guarantee that those red threads have an extremely fatal weakness!

　　……

Another night pa.s.sed. It was about time for Lin Xian Central High’s midterm exams’ third round to begin.　　

The morning was bright and beautiful. All the examinees had already gathered on the third floor of Lin Xian Library.　　

Zhuge Meng Ming sat in the 5th seat of the third column; his hands tightly gripped the newly distributed stationary. I won’t lose this time. Having fallen for Zhou Lun Yu’s stupid trick like that was really too shameful…This time, Meng Ming had already planned an entire set of tactics. He was confident that he was completely prepared! He felt extremely relaxed and eager to begin.

Zhou Lun Yu’s hair is really neat today… Meng Ming looked over at his rival sitting to his right.　

Zhou Lun Yu’s expression was calm, and he was waving his fingers around. He had also finished all of his preparations, and glanced over at Meng Ming. Zhou Lun Yu’s gaze was piercing, and the corners of his mouth tilted upwards…from his expression, one could tell that he’d recovered equally well last night.　　

The third round was just about to begin. The staff responsible for delivering the test papers was also carrying a large, tightly sealed bag.　　

What…what is that?　　

All of the examinees were extremely confused. n.o.body had ever seen such a thing during an exam before! After distributing the exams, the old man opened his bag, and revealed a small machine and two very large speakers!　　

Audio broadcast devices? Is he going to play BGM during the exam…?　　

Meng Ming was flabbergasted as he organized the test papers in his hand. 1, 2, 3 sheets…this time, the papers are double-sided so there’s a total of 6 sides. As expected, they’re all multiple choice! …But…

Just as Meng Ming looked up, wondering what the speakers were there for, the old man started speaking first, and announced to the cla.s.s, “It looks like the English exam this time will be on listening ability.”　　

“Listening—ability?!”　　

The originally silent exam site suddenly exploded as all of the examinees coincidentally cried out in unison. n.o.body had made any preparations for a listening exam!　　

Although everyone was complaining, the old man proctor found this extremely common. “Alright…stop complaining. Exams are just like this—sometimes there’ll be tricks. Only by making questions that n.o.body had prepared for can we test your true level and basic knowledge!”　

The old man’s words had indeed made some sense. Unfamiliar question types were like how the exam’s time had been suddenly s.h.i.+fted to an earlier day, catching everyone unprepared. The students’ thoughts on the other hand, were all different—

“Listening…I’ve never learned how to take that kind of exam.”

“I heard that this kind of question type had been abolished ages ago. Why has it suddenly….”

“We’re screwed, we’ve never done these kinds of questions before. I didn’t do very well on the math test, but this I’m actually going to fail…”

There were a few students in the exam site that were still very calm. These students included Meng Ming and Zhou Lun Yu.　　

New question type? Little Qiao didn’t say this… Meng Ming hurriedly glanced at the test paper.The first few questions are listening…so it turns out that we have to choose the correct choices based off of an audio recording…there are a total of 20 questions, which means 2 points for each one. The remaining multiple choice questions total 80 in number. The first 40 are each 0.5 points, and the latter 40 are worth 1 point.

40 out of the 100 questions were listening; it counted quite a bit! To the L-types at the exam site that were poor at adapting to changes in circ.u.mstances, this test bore a heavy pressure on their grades.　　

Against this new question type, almost all of the examinees were feeling a bit anxious, mostly because they’d never experienced it before. Of course, there were exceptions—from behind Meng Ming, Bai Jiu’s hand had begun to tremble very hard after seeing the question type.Listening…I, I’ve done this before…if I don’t do well…won’t my grades suffer…

She was several times more anxious than the other examinees.　　

This new question type shouldn’t affect my tactics. Actually, it might even make them more effective instead!  Meng Ming a.n.a.lyzed the current situation.

Zhou Lun Yu glanced sideways and seriously scanned the exam site. He was specifically searching for students that weren’t as scared of the questions. After a short period of time, he had finally confirmed his target. It’s probably…just her. Zhou Lun Yu turned around to lock his gaze on Huang Qiao Yi in the corner of the room. He wanted to cast out his red threads, but he wished to see Meng Ming’s response first. —For the moment, she’ll be my only target. I can’t let Zhuge Meng Ming destroy it so easily.　　

Meng Ming had also noticed. Little Qiao…? Zhou Lun Yu’s target is her again. Do I block him? Or…　　

The bell suddenly rang, the exam had begun! The old man had already turned on the speakers, and begun to broadcast the questions. At the same time, he said, “The questions will only be broadcasted once. You must take this very seriously.”　　

No! I’ll still stick to my original plan…Meng Ming decided he’d pretend he hadn’t seen! Time was limited, and after seeing Meng Ming lower his head to look at the questions, Zhou Lun Yu seized the chance to hang a red thread on Huang Qiao Yi’s pencil.　　

…I have to endure! Let Zhou Lun Yu copy. Meng Ming picked up his sharpened pencil, and readied his test paper, looking prepared to start answering questions! —This tactic is the one that I used when I’d confronted the Three Missing One Quartet before. I’ll pretend to write down all of the answers, and won’t disturb him at all. Once Zhou Lun Yu discovers this, he’ll definitely turn his attention onto me! Then…　　

Yesterday, Meng Ming had finally realized the red threads’ greatest weakness! —Multiple choice questions were answered in a specific sequence—one only had to answer with ABCD. The red threads could only determine what the examinees were writing, not what problem was currently being solved! That’s why, Zhou Lun Yu’s red threads had to follow a person starting from the first question. As long as the red threads were severed once….he wouldn’t know what question was being answered after reattaching it! —The later answers to the multiple choice questions would be completely useless!　　

As long as I break Zhou Lun Yu’s rhythm in the middle, he won’t be able to copy any answers!　　

The multiple choice questions meant that Zhou Lun Yu only had one chance to release any effective red threads.　　

Meng Ming began his act. He held his pencil and looked at the questions, pretending to look like he knew how to answer them!　　

The prelude to the broadcast had started: Lin Xian Central High XX Year midterm exam, English listening test questions……”　

“First problem…..”　　

The students were all diligently trying to familiarize themselves with this type of question, and strained their ears to listen carefully. After the first question was read out loud, quite a few examinees could only randomly write something down because they didn’t understand it. At that time, another matter suddenly came to Meng Ming’s attention—!

This, this kind of question…is something I know how to do!