Chapter 52: Back to the Top Spot! Three Rounds of Perfect Scores! Reported to the Imperial Capital!
"Well, have you figured out the cause?"
Li Yuanjing called his subordinates over to question them.
However, the only answers he received were that Lin Yi had done nothing wrong, the dungeon had experienced no bugs, and everything was completely normal.
As for why Lin Yi was able to slay the Goblin Giant, which possessed infinite health, they remained entirely in the dark.
Li Yuanjing did not get angry.
In fact, the details reported by his subordinates only served to further corroborate the suspicions he shared with Qi Guoguang.
Besides, they had already fulfilled their duties.
Whatever remained was no longer something they could interfere with.
Li Yuanjing instructed further, "Report this to Capital City."
"Let them handle it. Only their side has the authorization to inspect the underlying architecture and logic of the lowest layers of our National College Entrance Examination dungeons."
His subordinates were stunned. "Deputy Director Li! Please... please give us a little more time. We will definitely find the cause and fix the issue!"
If this matter were truly escalated all the way to Capital City,
it would firmly cement the fact of their incompetence.
Naturally, he intended to plead with Li Yuanjing for another chance.
However, Li Yuanjing pacified him, saying, "Report it. This is no longer something within your capacity to thoroughly investigate, and I have no intention of blaming you."
"If the General Administration in Capital City truly holds someone accountable, I, as the deputy director, will take the fall. What are you afraid of?"
"Yes!" Hearing Li Yuanjing speak thus,
the subordinate immediately went to carry out the order.
...
Five minutes later.
By this time, twenty-eight minutes had elapsed since the commencement of the third round of testing.
With merely two minutes remaining, this round of the examination was about to conclude.
Meanwhile, Li Yuanjing and Qi Guoguang had finally received the news transmitted from the Capital City Education General Administration.
"Report!!"
"Deputy Director! We just received word from our colleagues in the General Administration's Technical Department regarding the cause of this incident and their proposed handling recommendations!"
"The reason the dungeon monster encountered by the examinee Lin Yi, the Goblin Giant, was slain is that it triggered its own inherent instant-death mechanism!"
"In the underlying architecture, this monster was assigned an infinitely large maximum health pool."
"Yet it possessed a life bar measured by one million hits!"
"You can understand it this way: on the surface, it possessed an infinitely large health pool, but in reality, its life bar did exist!"
"Every time it took damage, 1 point of health was deducted."
"Upon reaching one million hits, its true life bar hit zero, resulting in its natural death!"
"The colleagues in the Capital City Technical Department have already consulted their highest superior, and the relevant ruling is: This examinee did not utilize any abnormal methods during the test; he merely chanced upon triggering the monster's instant-death mechanism."
"Therefore, this round of testing should be counted as passed, and his score shall be the maximum!"
"Furthermore, it appears that the highest superior has developed an immense interest in this examinee named Lin Yi, and has requested that we stream the footage of his upcoming test directly to their end!"
Both Li Yuanjing and Qi Guoguang wore expressions of profound shock.
Good heavens, the true bigwigs in Capital City had actually taken an interest in Lin Yi?!
Yet, upon second thought, this was entirely unsurprising!
To slay a Goblin Giant required a full one million instances of damage ticks.
Which normal examinee could possibly accomplish such a feat?!
Yet this Lin Yi was clearly anything but normal!
"A Storm Cyclone provides five attack ticks per second."
"Just now, this kid summoned at least four to five hundred Storm Cyclones on the Goblin Giant!"
"Which caused the Goblin Giant to suffer nearly three thousand attacks per second!"
"That amounts to one hundred and eighty thousand per minute!"
"In the end, reaching a million attack ticks to completely obliterate this monster makes complete sense!"
Qi Guoguang analyzed how Lin Yi had achieved this feat from the professional perspective of a Wind Mage.
Yet his heart still surged with violent waves of emotion.
He was also a Wind Mage!
Yet when he took the National College Entrance Examination back in his day, he could only use the most basic Wind Blade spell.
As for advanced spells like Storm Cyclone, he hadn't even heard of them!
Perhaps looking across the entire Great Xia, or even glancing back through the millennium of history following the Cataclysm,
there would never be another Lin Yi born again!
Having listened to the analysis,
the severity on Li Yuanjing's previously stern face once again gave way to joy!
The top brass of the Education Administration in Capital City had cast their gaze upon Lin Yi!
Naturally, this would bring the performance of the entire Dongjiang region in this National College Entrance Examination into their field of vision as well!
The benefits that would follow from this were simply too numerous to count!
With a grand wave of his hand, Li Yuanjing looked at his subordinate, who still appeared to be waiting for praise, and scolded, "What are you standing around for??!"
"Carry out the orders of our General Administration leadership!!"
"Put his ranking right back at number one! Let the higher-ups of our Education General Administration take a good look!!"
Having spent so many years in politics, Li Yuanjing possessed an exceptionally sharp sense of smell.
Right now, he could feel the presence of a trump card.
And that card was Lin Yi.
Lin Yi, oh Lin Yi!
You must not stumble in the fourth round!
If you continue to secure the maximum score, to say nothing of comfortably claiming first place in the province, you even have a shot at contending for the top spot nationwide!
The sheer weight of having the national top scorer hail from Dongjiang—
Li Yuanjing hardly dared to imagine it!
One had to bear in mind that over the past century,
the national top scorers had exclusively emerged from top-tier base cities like Shanghai, Capital City, and Tiannan.
Capital City had even monopolized all of the top three national spots over the last decade.
Already, he was daydreaming about the future!
"Ah...!! Oh, oh, oh! I'm on it right away!!" The subordinate was evidently thrilled as well.
He had been far too excited just moments ago, causing him to momentarily forget his duties.
At once, he scurried away in a flurry.
Barely a minute later.
Just one final minute before the conclusion of the third round of testing,
a single name,
like a dazzling shooting star, tore through the pitch-black night sky!
And ascended once more to the summit of the leaderboard!
Trampling a crowd of so-called geniuses beneath his feet yet again!
Dongjiang, your true demon king has returned!
[Current Test Round: Round 3]
[Rank: NO.1, Examinee Lin Yi, Current Total Output: ∞, Score Obtained: 2000!]
[Rank: NO.2, Examinee Li Zerui, Current Total Output: 156,693, Score Obtained: Calculating]
[Rank: NO.3, Examinee Qi Xiaying, Current Total Output: 149,688, Score Obtained: Calculating]
...
"Ah???????"
"Holy crap!!!!!!!"
"What the hell!!!"
"What is the meaning of that sideways 8!!"
"That's the infinity symbol, right!"
"That's an infinity symbol, isn't it?! What on earth are you proctors playing at?!"
"Wasn't he disqualified for cheating??"
Absolute pandemonium!
In the final minute leading to the end of this test,
not a single soul had anticipated this.
He was back!
And he brought back a damage record they were not even worthy of looking up to.
No specific numbers, only a chilling symbol.
That symbol signified infinity!
Most outrageously of all, Lin Yi had already secured his points!
The third round had not yet officially concluded.
Everyone else was still exerting themselves in combat.
Even though they were utterly exhausted and drained of all strength.
Squeezing out a tiny bit more damage might yield a slightly higher score in the end.
Their rankings could still shift.
Yet the appearance of Lin Yi proclaimed the definitive end of the battle for the crown in this round.
There was no longer any suspense.
2000 points!
He had claimed the maximum score once again!
(End of this chapter)