Study Monster Cultivation System
Chapter 260 - 259 Dr. Lin’s Finite Future

In the room, Lin Yujing, wearing panda pajamas, zipped through her grand plan in half a minute, dodging left and pointing right.

Just like her problem-solving approach, it was simple, brutal, and went straight for the jugular.

In the end, Lin Yujing struck a triumphant pose, hands on her hips. "While it’s not certain to succeed, there’s nothing to lose by trying," she declared.

"This..." Li Zheng remained deeply furrowed in thought. "It’s not only dangerous, but also unethical. Let me think about it some more..."

"With your crappy brain, stop wasting time," Lin Yujing said sympathetically as she looked at Li Zheng. "I’ve thought through all 16 possible outcomes. In two of them, we succeed. Fourteen are dead ends. Two carry a bit of the ’danger’ you’re talking about, but I’ve figured out how to mitigate it."

While Li Zheng was still pondering the first layer, Lin Yujing had already rocketed up to the sixteenth.

"...Are you Doctor Strange or something? Did you ace the test by time travelling from an infinite future?"

"I can’t be bothered with you!" Lin Yujing told Yao Xiaoqian. "This has nothing to do with this loser. Just nod your head, and that’s good enough for us."

Yao Xiaoqian had already stopped sobbing and was staring wide-eyed at Lin Yujing. "So, you’re saying... the chance of success is 1/8?"

"No no, those 16 outcomes aren’t of equal probability; they are just the possible ones. If you really want to calculate the odds..." Lin Yujing held her head and hummed for a moment, "Around 47%, but with a good performance, we can reach 80%."

Li Zheng sighed blankly, "I get it now, you’re Doctor Strange..."

Lin Yujing couldn’t care less about Li Zheng and instead watched Yao Xiaoqian with eager anticipation.

Yao Xiaoqian muttered, "But if I don’t do well... could you guys be in danger?"

"Stop thinking about that," Li Zheng said, seeing how determined Lin Yujing was, and promptly joined the frontline himself.

"This move is brilliant."

"If things go well, I’m confident we can get a retake."

"Come on, let’s have a real physics showdown and earn a true score. You don’t want to leave the stage like this, right?"

"Of course, you have the right to be afraid."

"It’s okay if you don’t want to do it. Lin Yujing and I will find another way to proceed."

"Alright, no time left, I can’t bump into Qin Kaixuan."

As he spoke, Li Zheng once again reached for the door handle.

"Finally, I just want you to know that you’re one of the few people I genuinely respect."

"Most of the time, we’re helpless when it comes to the future."

"Today, it just so happens that fate has landed on your shoulders."

"No matter what, no one will blame you. You really haven’t done anything wrong,"

After saying this, he left alone.

...

Li Zheng hurriedly returned to his own room, frantically pressing the doorbell.

Knowing he would become a person of interest and wishing to protect Yao Xiaoqian, it was crucial not to run into Qin Kaixuan right now, which forced him to leave the room first.

But his room was 818, on the same corridor as Lin Yujing and Yao Xiaoqian’s 808. If he happened to get seen while knocking, that wouldn’t be fun.

However.

"Hah? You actually came back?" Qi Yingnan taunted from behind the door.

"Cut it out, hurry up and open the door."

"Didn’t you say not to wait up for you?"

"Damn it... hurry up, there’s a serious situation here."

"Serious?" Qi Yingnan exclaimed, "It can’t be... fuck... that’s hardcore..."

"What are you even thinking, just open the door!"

As he was talking, the elevator "dinged" and the doors opened.

Without time to react, the person from the elevator already stepped out.

"??" The newcomer was also taken aback. "What’s this now... Lin Yujing didn’t let you in?"

When Li Zheng heard Huang Lingqi’s voice, he let out a reluctant sigh of relief and didn’t bother with him, rapidly pressing the bellbell, and without caring for subtlety, implored, "Stop making trouble. Open up now, and I’ll tell you what just happened. It’s incredibly exciting, and if you don’t, I’m heading back."

"Open, open, open!"

As soon as the door opened, Li Zheng rushed in and immediately shut it behind him.

But Huang Lingqi, clearly a running enthusiast as well, had already caught up and was pushing against the door.

"Hey hey hey..." Huang Lingqi whispered, "I know you guys are... in a hurry, but lend me three minutes—I have evidence of leaked questions."

At such a critical moment, Li Zheng didn’t care whether Huang Lingqi was telling the truth or not. He grabbed Huang Lingqi, dragged him in, and slammed the door shut.

Huang Lingqi was pulled into the room, where he met the startled gaze of Qi Yingnan, equally surprised.

He had thought this was Lin Yujing’s room, and for some reason, she was intentionally teasing Li Zheng by not opening the door...

But why was there a boy...

What was this all about?

Huang Lingqi couldn’t help swallowing his saliva, looking at the two with admiration: "Mainland top students... are so romantic..."

"Shh!" Li Zheng turned back and made a silencing gesture, "Everyone be quiet, someone else is coming."

The two looked at Li Zheng, who seemed mysteriously cautious, and were about to speak when they heard the sound of the elevator reaching their floor in the hallway.

Then, a few people walked to a certain room’s door.

"Ladies, I am very sorry," the previous lobby manager said through the door, "We have received authorization from Yao Xiaoqian’s guardian, who thinks it is necessary for the coach to check on Yao Xiaoqian’s mental state. According to the procedure, we can only cooperate. Ms. Lin, please rest assured as well, our security team is here, and it is absolutely impossible for any danger to occur."

Next came the sound of a door opening.

"I’m so annoyed, I don’t care anymore," Lin Yujing complained as she left the room, and it seemed the sound of a suitcase’s wheels could also be heard, "I’ll get a room for myself."

The manager quickly apologized and promised to arrange a new room for her for free, asking her to wait at the front desk for a while.

Then, several people entered the room.

The sound of Lin Yujing’s suitcase wheels grew fainter and fainter until with a "ding," it entered the elevator, and then there was no more sound.

Only then did Li Zheng exhale in relief and turned back to the two, saying, "Speak softly inside."

At that moment, Huang Lingqi and Qi Yingnan also realized that the situation was not simple, and they sat down together in the inner room, looking somber.

Li Zheng himself opened a bottle of mineral water and drank eagerly before sitting down and asking, "You said you have evidence of leaked exam questions?"

Huang Lingqi countered, "What was that situation just now?"

"It’s nothing, just a conflict between Lin Yujing and her roommate. It’s resolved now," said Li Zheng offhandedly.

Huang Lingqi squinted at Li Zheng, knowing he was hiding something but didn’t press on, instead, he turned to Qi Yingnan, "Friend, what I’m about to say is very important, could you please step out for a moment?"

Li Zheng immediately raised his hand, "No need, whatever you tell me I will share with him, save me some saliva."

"Understood," sighed Huang Lingqi, then took out his phone, "While he hasn’t deleted it yet, see for yourself."

In the following few minutes, Li Zheng and Qi Yingnan had to force themselves not to burst into loud curses.

They could only curse under their breath.

"My QMNLGB..." Qi Yingnan’s eyes were bloodshot, "CNM, the Chem Competitions... CNM!!"

Li Zheng, however, was both angry and happy, yet anxious.

With this... perhaps he no longer needed to let Yao Xiaoqian pay the price.

But everything had already begun and couldn’t be stopped.

"Why didn’t you bring it out earlier?" Li Zheng instead vented his anger on Huang Lingqi.

"Hey, hey... calm down, I’m not your partner of justice..." Huang Lingqi raised a hand to pacify, "Things have to be done with a method. You have to identify the enemy, identify friends, identify objectives, and choose a path. How would I know which side you’re on? Bringing it out directly would have been stupid, right?"

"You have a point," Qi Yingnan also nodded to Li Zheng, "He’s done a lot just getting this far, it’s impressive."

"Yes, yes, I apologize. I was too agitated," Li Zheng said, rubbing his forehead, "Didn’t expect it to be hidden in such an obvious place..."

"It’s probably the years of posting the same old stuff that got people too lazy to even ’like’, let alone check the content of the posts," Huang Lingqi patted Li Zheng, "Alright, I’ve given you the stuff. Call me when you need help."

"Wait..." Qi Yingnan exclaimed in surprise, "You’re leaving just like that?"

"What else?" laughed Huang Lingqi, "I dare not take the spotlight."

Qi Yingnan persisted, "Did you sign the joint letter?"

Huang Lingqi smiled tightly, "I think I’ll sign when I think we can win."

"You... you’re such a... such a jerk!"

"Ok," Li Zheng raised his hand, "He could have released it secretly, or sent it to us anonymously. It was already difficult for him to bring it personally to me."

Convinced, Huang Lingqi nodded, patting Qi Yingnan, "This is the difference between the 2nd and 51st ranks."

"..." Qi Yingnan had no outlet for his frustration, just turned to Li Zheng, "I’m starting to hate this jerk too..."

"What?" chuckled Li Zheng, "You mean you didn’t hate him before?"

"Not as much as now..."

During the conversation, Huang Lingqi had already straightened his clothes and was walking towards the door.

"Lastly, let me tell you what I can do."

1. "Make this matter a trending topic within two hours."

2. "Anonymously send the situation to all related higher-up departments."

"If you need the first one, just let me know."

"Plan 2 shouldn’t be very effective, and even if it were, it’s already too late."

"It seems you guys have other plans. Don’t let me know about them, I don’t want to know anything."

When he reached the door, Huang Lingqi suddenly turned around, pretending to be surprised as he spoke.

"Oh, right... "

"Someone seems to lack my contact information."

"How about trying to request to join my circle of friends?"

Li Zheng struggled with the sleazy expression for a long time.

In the end, he produced his QR code.

"You add me."

...

Meanwhile, in room 808, a standoff was unfolding.

Qin Kaixuan intended to take Yao Xiaoqian away, but she just wrapped herself in a blanket, crying and insisting she only wanted to see her parents.

Although the hotel had received authorization from the guardian to open the door, they couldn’t possibly let Qin Kaixuan abduct her.

After weighing his options, Qin Kaixuan offered another solution.

He suggested having a female teacher from their own school stay with Yao Xiaoqian in her room, which would avoid any rough handling and also "protect" her effectively.

Yao Xiaoqian did not respond to this but continued crying.

The lobby manager reluctantly agreed, but needed the guardian to provide written authorization again, and to submit a teacher-student relationship certification from the school the following day.

The matter was thereby settled, and Qin Kaixuan brought over another Huihu female teacher, offered a few words of consolation, and then left the room with a few hotel staff members.

"Phew..." Qin Kaixuan finally took a deep breath, but soon the unease in his heart surged again, and he pulled the manager aside to ask, "The girl sharing the room, her name is Lin Yujing, right?"

"We do not have the authority to disclose that," the lobby manager replied with a wry smile. "We’ve been very accommodating already, this really is our limit."

"Alright, thanks for the trouble."

Qin Kaixuan said no more and returned to the first floor lobby with the workers.

The manager saw Lin Yujing leaning on the front desk, playing on her phone and blowing bubble gum, and quickly went to greet her, "Sorry for the wait, we’ll arrange your room now."

Lin Yujing snorted, "I want an upgrade."

"Ah... this... "

Lin Yujing bared her teeth and glared, "I’m angry!"

"Upgrade... upgrade..."

Seeing Lin Yujing like this, Qin Kaixuan finally completely relaxed.

He now thought he had been overly concerned.

She was in first place, how could she be involved in this?

...

Some thought the night was over, but for others, it was just beginning.

After being busy all day, Yang Changle was tempted to try the spa on the public dime. He was contemplating which price range to choose in his room when suddenly, he was called to room 818 by Li Zheng and Qi Yingnan.

When in doubt, go to the teacher first.

Of course, you have to go to a teacher you can trust.

"Wow!" Yang Changle flipped through the documents quickly, nearly losing his glasses in shock, "Straight from the leak, there are three problems, all with the same numbers! There should be some decency in leaking, how could they let us suffer like this, did he excessively leak the questions to you?"

Li Zheng swallowed hard, "Teacher Yang... that’s really cold..."

"Alright, alright, no more jokes..." Yang Changle put his glasses back on and propped his chin in thought.

After a moment, he took off his glasses again.

"I appreciate your trust in me."

"Then I will not hide my personal thoughts or the current situation from you."

"I’m personally not afraid of this issue."

"I can step forward as the leader of the Jijing Team to report the problem to the Competition Committee."

"But the consequence might be that for the next few years, our Jijing candidates will be at a disadvantage."

Yang Changle pursed his lips and shook his head in silence.

"I’m sorry, I cannot bear the outcome of this."

"What if it’s done together with leaders from other provinces?" Qi Yingnan asked unwillingly. "Wouldn’t it be better that way?"

"We need to discuss each point separately," Yang Changle explained, drawing diagrams in the air. "First, provinces that are basically satisfied with their scores won’t participate. Second, those who are afraid of trouble won’t participate. Third, the provinces that are lagging behind won’t participate either, their results would be the same no matter how they retest... Counting on that, getting the support of three provinces is already quite difficult. And obviously, we are still the ones who have presented this evidence and will be the first ones to be ’taken care of’ in the future."

"Damn..." Qi Yingnan gritted his teeth, "Then Teacher Yang, you don’t have to worry about this. Let’s anonymously make this public."

"I suggest you think this over carefully," sighed Yang Changle. "The Ministry of Education has been weakening the status of competitions. If such a scandal emerges, it’s more likely to be downplayed. Not only would there be no chance for a retest, but the future competitions and independent admissions would also be affected, and it would be bad luck for the candidates who come after."

My suggestion is to negotiate anonymously," Yang Changle said, pushing his glasses back up. "Submit this information to the Competition Committee anonymously and demand a retest, otherwise, we’ll go public. This might solve the problem without anyone losing out... Just don’t say I taught you this, okay..."

"The intensity is not strong enough; it will definitely be downplayed," Li Zheng shook his head.

Yang Changle smiled helplessly, "You seem quite insightful."

"It’s all the experience accumulated from the Chem Competitions," Li Zheng replied with a wry smile, "Alright, we won’t trouble you any further, Teacher Yang. It’s as if we never met, and you know nothing."

"Ah, to be young," Yang Changle patted his pants and stood up. "We actually know about the joint letter from you guys. We’re just turning a blind eye. Anyway..."

At this, Yang Changle’s eyes brightened: "It’s time to put some pressure on them."

"Still not enough, not enough," Li Zheng muttered, escorting Yang Changle out.

As soon as the door closed, Qi Yingnan immediately started cursing.

"Why is even Teacher Yang wimping out? We’ve already laid out the evidence."

"Don’t say that," Li Zheng sat down in front of the shoe cabinet, changing his shoes, "Look on the bright side, he’s already tacitly allowing us to do anything as students."

"That’s true, but..." Qi Yingnan stared blankly as Li Zheng finished changing shoes before exclaiming, "What do you mean? Are you going to do it right now?"

"We can’t delay any longer."

"Damn..." Qi Yingnan clenched his fist, he began changing his shoes as well, "To hell with waiting for the right day, let’s do it! Together!"

"No, you’re not suited for this," Li Zheng dismissed Qi Yingnan’s sneakers coldly, "You’re ranked fifty-first."

Qi Yingnan was stunned again, slowly feeling wronged, "Look at you, is that any way to talk to someone..."

"Haha, you’ve worked hard, Yingnan," Li Zheng put on his coat, and finally, gave a hug, "The path ahead, I alone can cross, also tell the others, they don’t have to accompany me."

"It’s not that... I really want to go, I’m not scared..."

"Shut it," Li Zheng pushed Qi Yingnan away, not even looking back as he opened the door.

"No, but... alone..." Qi Yingnan said, his eyes reddening, "It’s too hard alone... it shouldn’t be done alone...."

Li Zheng just smiled, "Who said I’m alone?"

...

11:10 PM.

On the 10th floor, in front of the elevator.

"Ding."

A young man and woman stepped out of the elevator, looking straight ahead as they walked towards Room 1114.

This room belonged to the head of the Competition Committee for this session.

Even though they had talked a big game before, at this moment, they were both a bit scared.

Fortunately, they had each other.

Together, there was nothing to fear.

The two finally stopped in front of room 1114.

The boy asked with a trembling voice, "Are you sure... you’re really sure about it, right..."

"Yeah... I’ve got it... Yao Xiaoqian is much stronger than she looks..." the girl took a breath, "Don’t tremble... your shaking scares me too..."

"But... I am trembling..."

"Maybe..." the girl leaned toward the boy, seemingly unintentionally touching his hand.

Unexpectedly, the boy seized the girl’s hand in return.

Their hands naturally clasped together, fingers interlocked.

At this moment, their warmth and intention became intertwined.

When the moment arrived, they didn’t shy away or look down.

They smiled at the same time.

"Ready?"

"Yes!"

Hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder.

Let’s take on the world.

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