All examinees, under the direction of the invigilating teacher, must power down and hand over all personal electronic devices, including pagers, portable audio players, and mobile phones.

After the lead invigilator read out the examination rules, he exited, leaving the remaining two teachers to move from desk to desk, checking admission tickets to prevent imposters.

Liu Guoyang casually scanned the room, quickly arriving before Wang Zhuo, fiddling with his admission ticket, and whispering mockingly, "Fate truly brings strangers together. How prepared are you?"

Wang Zhuo spared him a faint glance. "You'll know soon enough."

"Very well, I shall wait and see," Liu Guoyang said smugly as he walked away.

Liu Guoyang's appearance in this examination room was certainly premeditated.

A few days prior, the rumor that Wang Zhuo had scored first place in the English test had begun to circulate quietly among a select group of teachers.

When Liu Guoyang heard this news, he was genuinely stunned. He even sought out someone knowledgeable to understand the situation fully. Upon learning that there was no possibility of copied papers or leaked answers, Liu Guoyang shared the same conclusion as Gan Lin: this kid must have used high-tech methods, he had outside help!

In recent years, as consumer electronics have become increasingly advanced and technology continues to develop, many high-tech gadgets once only seen in spy thrillers have become commonplace for civilians. This is especially true during examinations, where cheaters employ the power of high technology, turning the testing environment into something resembling a spy operation.

Initially, it was just group paging messages, which then evolved into text message transfers. In recent years, some have even managed to smuggle wireless transmitters and pinhole cameras into the examination halls, transmitting the questions in real-time and receiving the answers via even more concealed devices.

Liu Guoyang judged that Wang Zhuo must have employed this method of cheating. However, even the craftiest fox cannot escape the hunter's sight. He pulled strings to secure a proctoring position in Wang Zhuo's classroom, determined to expose him personally and eject him from the exam hall!

At precisely nine o'clock, the examination officially commenced, and an immediate hush fell over the entire building.

After writing his name on the paper, Wang Zhuo placed both hands on the desk, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and rested.

Waiting for the answers, Liu Guoyang sneered internally. Let's wait together then!

Five minutes later, the other invigilator approached and dutifully reminded Wang Zhuo that it was time to begin answering.

Wang Zhuo grunted in acknowledgment, picked up his pen to look at the paper, but then set it down again after the teacher moved away.

The supervising teacher for this classroom occasionally needed to step into the corridor, while the other teacher paced the back rows. Liu Guoyang stood tall on the rostrum, looking down at Wang Zhuo, feeling like the Buddha with his hand open—no matter how much Wang Zhuo jumped around, he couldn't escape his palm.

Thirty minutes passed, and Wang Zhuo remained motionless.

Liu Guoyang descended from the rostrum and circled the room; this was merely for show, as his sole target was Wang Zhuo.

Approaching Wang Zhuo, he saw the blank answer sheet and chuckled lightly, reaching out to pick up Wang Zhuo's pencil case.

The other invigilator, thinking Liu Guoyang had found something, hurried over.

"Teacher Li, it’s nothing, just a casual check," Liu Guoyang smiled at him.

Flipping through the contents, Liu Guoyang felt a hint of disappointment. Wang Zhuo’s stationery was all brand new—no pens with LCD screens, no erasers that could peel apart, no mechanical pencil sharpeners hiding secret compartments—just standard, well-behaved items.

Just then, a commotion sounded from the corridor. The supervising teacher quickly went out. Liu Guoyang kept his eyes fixed on Wang Zhuo, giving him no chance to make any subtle moves.

A moment later, the supervising teacher returned and signaled for Liu Guoyang and Teacher Li to approach, whispering a few words.

The two immediately split up. Liu Guoyang temporarily had to shift his focus from Wang Zhuo. A short while later, Teacher Li collected a female examinee's paper, holding a ruler, and walked out with the girl.

As soon as they exited the classroom, the girl’s heartbroken cries could be heard. Wang Zhuo curiously used his heightened perception to examine the ruler in the teacher's hand. It turned out the ruler was half a centimeter thick; one side featured an LCD screen disguised as a drawing, and the other half was densely packed with electronic circuitry—it was an incredibly sophisticated cheating tool.

Liu Guoyang returned, sneering softly. "See? One of your accomplices has been disqualified. You're next."

Wang Zhuo kept his eyes closed, completely ignoring the provocation.

Liu Guoyang glanced at him smugly, then suddenly noticed that in the few minutes he had been dealing with the ruler, Wang Zhuo had managed to complete all the fill-in-the-blank, multiple-choice, and true/false questions!

"This is bizarre!" Liu Guoyang could hardly believe his eyes. He snatched up Wang Zhuo's paper, but found nothing amiss!

He pointed at Wang Zhuo and said sternly, "Stand up!"

The voice wasn't loud, but in the silent classroom, it was enough to draw the attention of every student, and the other two invigilators quickly approached.

"Is there a problem?" Wang Zhuo slowly stood up, his expression completely innocent.

Liu Guoyang remained silent, his face dark. He first thoroughly searched Wang Zhuo's body, then meticulously checked the desk, underneath the desk, under the chair, and every other spot, but disappointingly found nothing.

The other two invigilators were also active, re-examining Wang Zhuo's stationery with care, but again, they discovered nothing.

Seeing that Liu Guoyang made no further move and lacked any evidence of cheating, the supervising teacher reluctantly waved his hand. "It's fine. Please continue with your paper."

Liu Guoyang, refusing to accept defeat, returned to the rostrum and stared intently at Wang Zhuo, determined to catch him in the act.

Wang Zhuo met his gaze with a teasing smile. The two stared at each other like fighting bulls. After a while, when the other two teachers were occupied elsewhere, Wang Zhuo's pen moved.

In the blink of an eye, the reading comprehension section was finished under his pen. Provocatively, Wang Zhuo hadn't even looked at the section beforehand; he wrote the answers smoothly, as if flowing water, right under Liu Guoyang's watchful eye!

Liu Guoyang strode down from the rostrum and approached Wang Zhuo, a sudden thought striking him.

Could this kid just be writing nonsense on purpose, trying to provoke me?

With this thought, Liu Guoyang suppressed his anger and bent down to examine Wang Zhuo's answers.

After reading a few questions, he felt uncertain. In truth, his own Chinese proficiency was about equal to Wang Zhuo's. However, there were many other examinees in the room; he could compare Wang Zhuo's answers with theirs.

Behind Wang Zhuo sat a girl who appeared relatively quiet. Before the exam, a certain leader had privately instructed the invigilators to take special care of her. Judging from the previous tests, this 'care' wasn't about letting her copy, but rather that she was inherently high-achieving, and the leader wanted to ensure she had a calm environment.

This was a ready-made reference. Liu Guoyang moved between Wang Zhuo and the girl, comparing their answers. He quickly noticed that their responses were largely identical, suggesting an equal level of skill.

This solidified the fact that Wang Zhuo was cheating, as his overall academic standing was among the lowest in the grade; there was no way he could produce answers of this caliber based on his own ability! Liu Guoyang stood there, puzzled, wondering how he managed to copy.

Wang Zhuo paid no mind to Liu Guoyang's thoughts. As time progressed, many examinees had finished the preliminary sections and moved on to the essay portion. Wang Zhuo synthesized the answers from several steady, self-assured test-takers, cross-referencing them with his own analysis, and quickly finished all the remaining questions.

Liu Guoyang was utterly baffled, watching Wang Zhuo complete the paper, his frustration reaching its peak, yet he could devise no countermeasure.

Just as Wang Zhuo was finishing his essay, Liu Guoyang suddenly grasped a possible explanation, and his eyes lit up!

"Stop writing!"

Bang! Liu Guoyang slapped Wang Zhuo's answer sheet, a triumphant, cold smile spreading across his face.

"Teacher, what is it?" Wang Zhuo looked up, feigning shock, as the roaming invigilator was alerted by Liu Guoyang's shout and came jogging over.

"Take whatever is in your ear out, quickly!"

Wang Zhuo showed an expression of surprise. "Something in my ear?"

"What's going on, Teacher Liu?" The roaming invigilator scrutinized Wang Zhuo with a stern gaze.

Liu Guoyang sneered, "He has a wireless earpiece hidden in his ear canal; someone outside the exam room is feeding him answers!"

The roaming invigilator also looked skeptical. In fact, everyone had heard of such devices and had even seen them on surveillance footage. But such equipment was usually the size of a miniature hearing aid, exposing a portion outside the ear canal, requiring long hair to conceal it. This student, however, had very short hair and showed no outward abnormalities. Could Liu Guoyang be mistaken?

The classroom fell silent, and all the examinees looked up, curious to see who this caught cheater was, possessing such advanced cheating gear. They wondered about the technical feat required to integrate a wireless receiver, a decoder, and a battery into the tiny space of an ear canal!

"Teacher Liu, have you been watching too many 007 movies?" Wang Zhuo said, caught between laughter and exasperation. "How big is an ear canal? You can't even fit a large button battery in there. Are you suggesting I stuffed a miniature cell phone inside?"

"Stop the nonsense. I’ve been watching you for a long time!" Liu Guoyang ignored Wang Zhuo's defense, snorted, and said, "Take whatever is in your ear out immediately, and the truth will be revealed! Don't force me to touch you!"

Hearing Liu Guoyang's words, the other three teachers looked closely at Wang Zhuo's ears. And sure enough, this time they thought they saw something inside!

"Teacher Liu, why are you targeting me again and again?!" Wang Zhuo suddenly raised his voice. "Even if I offended you before, you can't use this as personal revenge! This is the Gaokao exam hall!"

The invigilators immediately frowned. Could there be some private feud involved?

"Student, please maintain discipline and refrain from shouting!" The roaming invigilator pointed sternly at Wang Zhuo. "Come with me to the corridor!"

"Why should I go to the corridor!" Wang Zhuo growled, his pinky fingers skillfully digging into his ears. He pulled out two small wads of paper and tossed them onto his desk, then sneered, "Take a look! This is the wireless earphone he’s talking about!"

Liu Guoyang's heart jolted. He never expected what Wang Zhuo had stuffed in his ears was paper!

The supervising invigilator picked up the paper wads and whispered to the roaming invigilator, "Director Wang, this is tissue paper. You can’t even write characters on it."

Liu Guoyang asked coldly, "Why would you stuff wads of paper in your ears for no reason?"

"I use these to block my ears because I don't want to hear the noise of you pacing back and forth next to me!"

Just as Liu Guoyang was about to speak, Wang Zhuo interrupted and addressed the roaming invigilator first. "Teacher, I request a change of testing location. This Liu Guoyang is my Physical Education teacher; he has always disliked me. This is personal revenge. The first subject isn't even finished, and he’s harassed me twice already. I want to file a complaint against him!"

At this point, some students could no longer hold back and began to complain.

"Are you going to let people take the exam or not?"

"Isn't this supposed to be cross-invigilation? How can an examinee be from the same school as a teacher? What kind of setup is this?"

"Hurry up and get that Liu guy replaced; he's making a scene, and it’s not ending."

"Can you two handle your issues outside? We still need to answer questions."

Once the first person spoke up, a second quickly followed suit, and soon complaints filled the entire classroom. Everyone was in agreement: Liu Guoyang needed to leave immediately!

"Quiet! No shouting in the examination hall." The supervising invigilator hurriedly tried to restore order.

The roaming invigilator glared at Wang Zhuo for a moment, then said, "You may continue answering your paper."

After saying this, he gestured for Liu Guoyang to follow him, "Teacher Liu, step out here with me for a moment."

Amidst the wave of complaints, Liu Guoyang followed the roaming invigilator out of the classroom. Wang Zhuo smiled faintly at the corner of his mouth and sat down to resume writing his essay.

In the corridor, Liu Guoyang's suppressed gasp could be heard. "What? You want me to change rooms? No, I disagree!"

"Before more than twenty examinees file a joint complaint against you, I think this is necessary," the roaming invigilator said coldly. "I suggest you settle your personal dispute with that examinee outside the exam venue. Otherwise, if something really blows up, even your uncle won't be able to protect you."

"I..." Liu Guoyang tried to argue further, but the roaming invigilator waved his hand impatiently. "Stop wasting my time. I am talking to you now. If any trouble arises, your uncle will be the one talking to you!"

With the conversation reaching this point, Liu Guoyang, despite his immense reluctance, could only grit his teeth and nod. In reality, if he insisted on proceeding, he would only end up being played by Wang Zhuo even more severely.

Through clenched teeth, Liu Guoyang said, "Director Wang, please check his ears one more time. I suspect there is genuinely something in there! Once you check, I will give up completely."

Director Wang gave him a helpless look, re-entered the classroom, went to Wang Zhuo’s side, and, without a word, firmly tilted Wang Zhuo's head, carefully examining both ears. He then withdrew in silence.

Knowing he was thoroughly defeated, Liu Guoyang still asked unwillingly, "Nothing there?"

Director Wang glared fiercely at him and snapped, "Nothing! Not even earwax! Are you satisfied now!"