June 17th.
Early in the morning, Qiao Sang arrived at Mingpei Junior High School, accompanied by her mother.
The exam venues for the high school entrance exams were distributed by district, with students from each school randomly assigned to various test centers. Qiao Sang had been assigned to Class 17 at Mingpei Junior High.
"Did you bring your admission ticket?" Her mother asked.
"Yes, I did."
"Do you have your pens and everything?"
"Yes, I have everything."
"During the exam, start with the questions you know how to answer. Leave the difficult ones for last, okay?"
"I know, Mom."
"Alright, you should go in. I'll be here to pick you up after the exam." Her mother said gently.
This was the first time her mother had spoken so tenderly since the incident with the broken signed figure of Sharpclaw Ursine. Qiao Sang felt a bit unaccustomed to it.
"Mom..."
"What is it, dear?" Her mother asked, her voice even softer.
"It's not time yet, I can't go in." Qiao Sang replied helplessly.
If she could, she’d wish her mother would change her habit of always arriving so early to everything.
Her mother fell silent.
---
In the classroom, there were not just two teachers invigilating, but also two pet beasts. Qiao Sang sat quietly in seat six of the fifth row.
A small purple-blue rodent-like pet beast was using its antenna to touch each student's body.
The blue antenna, about seven or eight centimeters long, grew from its forehead, resembling a little antenna.
Qiao Sang, a recent but dedicated student, recognized the pet beast as a Zi Wa Mouse.
Zi Wa Mouse was an electric-type pet beast. It could detect the presence of electronic devices around it through the antenna on its forehead.
As the Zi Wa Mouse went around touching each student, its antenna suddenly emitted a purple electric spark when it reached the student in seat three of the third row.
"Ah!" The student let out an uncontrollable cry, and the pen in his right hand rolled onto the desk as his grip loosened.
The electric shock was mild, only causing a brief numbness in the student's hand without any further effects.
"Wa wa." The Zi Wa Mouse pointed at the student and squeaked.
"Hand it over." Said the female teacher who had been sitting at the podium. She got up and walked over to the Zi Wa Mouse.
The student's face turned pale, lips pressed tightly together as he hesitated.
"I'm telling you again, hand it over." The teacher repeated sternly.
Under the pressure of the teacher’s gaze and the stares from everyone around, the student reluctantly parted his hair to reveal a tiny electronic device the size of a button battery.
These devices were not uncommon; they could transmit answers for multiple-choice questions over a considerable distance using mental signals.
However, they were useless for fill-in-the-blank or essay questions.
Only pet beasts with psychic abilities could enable this type of transmission, which meant that the student had an accomplice with a psychic-type pet beast who could see the test paper. Of course, this accomplice couldn't be another student.
"Your score for this subject is nullified." The teacher said coldly after confiscating the device, and she took away the student's test paper as well.
The student walked out in tears, devastated, as the teacher raised her voice, "If any of you still have electronic devices, now’s the time to hand them over. Don’t think you can get away with it. If the Zi Wa Mouse catches you, your score will be voided."
No one moved.
Fortunately, as the Zi Wa Mouse continued its checks, no other issues arose.
Meanwhile, another pet beast, resembling a floating eyeball, split into five or six smaller eyes and hovered around the room in different directions.
This pet beast was called Jianjian Eye, and the scenes observed by the split bodies were directly shared with the main body.
It provided comprehensive, all-around surveillance of the exam hall, making it an essential pet beast for monitoring exams.
Jianjian Eye was not only used for junior high exams but also appeared in high school exams, although the ones used in the latter could split into over ten smaller eyes.
Qiao Sang focused on her test, but suddenly one of the Jianjian Eyes floated right up to her writing hand.
Her hand shook involuntarily.
The eyeball, with its spiraling pupil, rotated continuously, sometimes staring at her paper, sometimes at her face. After five seconds, it seemed satisfied that nothing was amiss and moved away.
Qiao Sang thought to herself that these exams tested not just academic knowledge but also one’s psychological resilience.
Who wouldn't be startled when a floating eyeball suddenly appeared out of nowhere, staring at them while they were answering questions? It completely threw off her train of thought!
Fortunately, after two days in such an environment, Qiao Sang became desensitized.
Even when two Jianjian Eyes hovered beside her simultaneously, she remained calm and finished her paper.
June 19th.
The last day of the written exams.
After finishing her final test, Qiao Sang went home and collapsed into bed, pulling the covers over her head to sleep.
She had been mentally tense for days, and now that the exams were over and she could finally relax, all she wanted was a good, long nap.
She ended up sleeping until 7:02 PM.
When Qiao Sang woke up, her mind felt clearer than ever. She had never felt this refreshed after a nap before.
She sat up in bed and looked out the window.
The sky was completely dark, but under the moonlight and city lights, there was still a faint glow.
The room was dark, and from the crack under the door, she could tell the living room lights were off too. Everything was quiet, and Fire Fang Dog was nowhere to be seen.
Feeling a bit lonely, Qiao Sang got up and looked out the window at the courtyard below.
There were quite a few people outside, children playing, adults in pairs, and the elderly enjoying the cool evening.
But even among the crowd, Qiao Sang immediately recognized three figures standing off to the side.
It was her mother, Fire Fang Dog, and Fat Dove.
She quietly watched them for three minutes before realizing she was starving...
She remembered she had plans to meet up with Fang Sisi for dinner before she fell asleep.
Downstairs in the courtyard.
"Yap!" Fire Fang Dog spotted Qiao Sang immediately and barked happily, leaping into her arms.
Fire Fang Dog still had its 15kg weight collar on, and Qiao Sang's hands sank slightly as she caught it securely.
"Mom, I'm heading out for a bit." Qiao Sang said.
"Okay." Her mother nodded.
Qiao Sang had already informed her mother before going to sleep that she had plans to go out for dinner with Fang Sisi, so her mother didn’t ask any questions.
---
Twenty minutes later.
Qiao Sang arrived at the hot pot restaurant, holding Fire Fang Dog in her arms.
"Holy crap!"
"Fire Fang Dog!"
Two exclamations rang out from table 27.
Besides Fang Sisi, Lu Siya was also there.
The agreed meeting time had been 7 PM, and even though Qiao Sang was over half an hour late, Fang Sisi and Lu Siya didn’t question her about it—they were too focused on Fire Fang Dog.
"You actually contracted a Fire Fang Dog!" Lu Siya said, astonished.
"Qiao Sang, that’s not fair! You got a Fire Fang Dog and didn’t tell us until now." Fang Sisi added, staring at the seemingly docile Fire Fang Dog, wanting to pet it but too afraid to do so.
It was her first time being so close to a fire-type pet beast...
Qiao Sang, while eating her hotpot, asked, "Siya, did you already know that I awakened my powers?"
Normally, when someone who hadn’t awakened yet showed up with a Fire Fang Dog, the first question would be, 'How are you carrying a Fire Fang Dog?' not 'You actually contracted a Fire Fang Dog!'
Fang Sisi instantly fell silent.
Lu Siya glanced at Fang Sisi and immediately outed her, "Fang Sisi told me two weeks ago."
Of course...
Qiao Sang wasn’t surprised. She should have seen this coming. Fang Sisi had already spread the news about the homeroom teacher’s hair incident to everyone.
Expecting her to keep a secret was like expecting Fire Fang Dog to climb a tree.
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