A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

Although the investigators were indignant and shouted protests, it was to no avail.

"Protest denied!"

Old Zhang, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, slowly began to speak on the stage. His voice was not loud, but it drowned out the noise of the entire audience.

"You accuse someone of cheating? What kind of cheating? Did they use evil magic? Forbidden techniques? No, they didn't!"

He squinted and glanced at the indignant young investigators.

"What they're using is the legitimate Buddhist Six Supernatural Powers, including telepathy. It's pure and legitimate, with a clear lineage, and it's clearly written in the scriptures."

"Besides, the rules of our literary contest are clearly written in black and white—first come, first served. Whoever answers first wins."

"They answered quickly, accurately, reasonably, and in accordance with the law based on their own abilities. If you have to blame someone, blame yourselves for making too much noise when you were thinking about the answers in your minds, which they could hear."

He paused, then delivered the final blow:

"Instead of protesting, you should learn how to calm your mind. If your mind is pure and free of distracting thoughts, he will naturally not be able to hear you through telepathy."

The investigators: "..."

He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Suffocated!

That makes sense, and the rules don't actually forbid using telepathy.

They suffered this loss in silence, swallowing it all so firmly.

They could only watch helplessly as Jinghai's score soared toward one hundred on the scoreboard.

Seeing the score break one hundred, Dog seemed to lose interest and waved his paw:

"Alright, alright, I won't bully you anymore. Look at how pathetic you are."

It shook its head, revealing an extremely anthropomorphic, comical smile that mixed "how lonely it is to be invincible" and "it's really fun to tease you guys."

"Is it okay to bring someone in? Now don't say I'm bullying a kid."

After saying that, he strode off the stage with an air of indifference, squeezed next to Ji Zuodao, plopped down, and swiped the orange that Liu Ming had just peeled.

The investigators' fists clenched so hard their back teeth were grinding together.

Damn it, that bastard deserves a beating!

If I weren't outmatched, I'd make sure it knew why the flowers were so red today!

Despite their anger, everyone subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

This plague god is finally gone!

Although Jinghai has already scored 100 points, and is basically guaranteed first place in the first round of the literary battle, at least he won't have to face that mind-reading cheat anymore, right?

Wait a minute, it seems like we can still win.

Although the score difference is large, what if one branch could sweep all the points for the remaining questions...

But is that even possible? Who would willingly give up points they've already earned to someone else?

Each harbored their own ulterior motives; they were a disorganized mess.

Li Shuwen adjusted his glasses and slowly walked to the center of the field. The eyes above his mask curved into a standard, scholarly smile that inexplicably made people think, "This guy doesn't seem like a good person."

He could roughly guess what his colleagues were thinking.

Unfortunately, it was no use.

"The game continues."

The big-eared uncle wiped his sweat and quickly read out the question.

The investigators were invigorated and eager to get started!

We can't beat Dog, but we can at least outmaneuver you?

To wipe away this humiliation! Today is the day!

Then--

"Jinghai Branch, add one point."

"Jinghai Branch, one more point."

"Correct answer, Jinghai gets one point."

Li Shuwen's answering speed wasn't as exaggerated as Dog Ye's, but it was still astonishingly fast.

The question had barely been read aloud when, almost immediately, his gentle and clear voice followed.

The answers are accurate, well-organized, and occasionally include one or two lesser-known points of knowledge for further exploration.

Stable, accurate, and comprehensive.

"Holy crap?!"

Ji Zuodao stared wide-eyed, almost choking on the sweet water.

Is Li Shuwen really that awesome?!

In his memory, Li Shuwen was a somewhat clever, erotic painter who was good at drawing lewd pictures and spent all his time figuring out how to use color.

His knowledge base and reaction speed... are seriously inconsistent with his "doujinshi artist" persona!

"Isn't that awesome?"

Liu Mingzi took a sip of the sweet water, smacked his lips, and spoke with a calm tone, as well as a hint of the complex emotions that a slacker might have for a top student.

"He graduated from Peking University and was specially recruited at the age of fifteen. I reckon he's one of the top-tier students in our Qi Cultivation circle in terms of academic qualifications."

He paused, then glanced at Ji Zuodao:

"Unlike me, I graduated from high school with terrible grades, and I had no hope of going to university, so my dad just took me to work as an intern at the police station."

Ji Zuodao silently shut his mouth and lowered his head to drink the sweet water.

He didn't even know which way the school door faced; he was a complete idiot. His first lesson in reading was taught by his grandfather scratching characters on the ground with his paws.

Comparing academic qualifications with these cultured people from the regular army? It's just asking for humiliation.

Li Shuwen scored a solid 100 points, bringing Jinghai's total score to 200.

Then, he adjusted his glasses and, facing his colleagues who were either bewildered, shocked, or numb, gave them a smile that was undeniably humble and gentle, but at that moment seemed utterly sarcastic:

"Thank you for your acknowledgment. Colleagues, we still have a lot of practice to do."

After saying that, he turned and left the stage with a leisurely air.

Hidden strength and name.

The entire room fell silent.

This time, even the voices of protest were silenced.

Doggo is cheating, and he can still curse about cheating.

But Li Shuwen's answer was a genuine display of superior knowledge, a hardcore performance, and there wasn't a single flaw to be found.

Damn it, when did the Jinghai 749 branch secretly cultivate such a cultured person?

This doesn't make sense!

Isn't this like a cotton ball popping out of a gutter?!

It's outrageous!

"Alright, forget about first place, let's aim for second."

Someone muttered something listlessly.

Instantly, the investigators from various branches, who had initially shared a common hatred for the enemy, changed their expressions.

They eyed each other warily, and the atmosphere instantly shifted from "united against a common enemy" to "internal strife."

Since we have no chance of winning first place, we can't give up second place!

On stage, Zhang Yucheng had somehow wandered over to Director Li of the Jiangnan Branch and patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Old Li, see that? Our kid's a bookworm, a deadbeat, all he does is study rote. Unlike your little Lü, who inherited the legacy and has a bright future ahead of him!"

He shook his head and sighed, as if he truly regretted it:

"Back then, this kid cried and begged to join our 749, saying he wanted to 'contribute his meager strength to protecting the Han Dynasty's land.' I couldn't stop him, and it worried me so much... Tell me, why would a top student from Peking University choose to come to this dangerous place where he has to lick blood from the blade?"

"To be honest, I still feel that we've somewhat wasted this child's potential. With his intelligence, if he had stayed in academia, he might already be a candidate for academician. What a pity, what a pity..."

The muscles on Director Li's face in Jiangnan had begun to spasm uncontrollably.

His hand holding the teacup trembled slightly, causing ripples to spread across the tea inside.

Looking at Zhang Yucheng's Versailles-like face, which seemed to say, "My child is so disappointing, it's driving me crazy," and listening to his words of heart-wrenching regret, he felt a surge of depression rush to his head, and his vision blurred.

Oh shit!

This old fox!

Is this even human language?!

He took a deep breath, then another, forcing himself to calm down.

Don't get angry, don't fall for it, this bastard is just trying to annoy me on purpose...

But...but I'm still so angry!!!

Finally, Director Li managed to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth:

"Director Zhang is very fortunate."

After saying that, he turned around abruptly, strode back to his seat, plopped down, picked up the now-cold tea, and gulped down a large mouthful.

It was as if it wasn't tea, but a blood pressure medication.

Watching Director Li's retreating figure, almost smoking, Zhang Yucheng shrugged regretfully, put his hands behind his back, and strolled over to Director Xiliang Wang, his face once again displaying that warm smile that seemed to say, "Old brother, I'm here to take care of you..."