Chapter 43: Battle for the City (IX)

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The fourth wave of the monster siege had ended, and more than eight hours had passed since the start of the Mage examination.

The point rankings were as follows:
First Place, Su Wumi: 5,003 points
Second Place, Tang Hongning: 1,351 points
Third Place, Zhou Yu: 1,350 points
Fourth Place, Zhang Wei: 1,253 points
Fifth Place...

It was evident that, aside from Su Wumi, who was far in the lead, the point gaps between the others were small, leaving them in an unstable position where they could be overtaken at any moment. This served as a testament to Su Wumi’s peerless talent.

Unlike Zhou Ke’s earlier head start, Su Wumi’s performance stood out because she achieved this dominance while all other candidates were aware of the hidden rules, competing fiercely for a limited pool of points. It was this overwhelming prowess that made others consciously abandon any hope of claiming the crown.

A single thought echoed in all their minds: "Geniuses are meant to be looked up to."

"How annoying. Where on earth did that piece of trash hide?" Su Wumi scanned her surroundings, her wrist flicking casually.

Thump!

A snake-headed monster, which had been lurking on the ground hoping to launch a sneak attack under the cover of darkness, was caught by a gravitational pull and slammed into the nearby wall, instantly shattering into blood and bone fragments.

After unleashing this move, Su Wumi’s cold brows furrowed slightly. Even for her, such prolonged combat was beginning to take its toll.

"Young Lady, you need to rest," a female student with a pure white headband following behind her advised respectfully.

This was Jasmine, a personal maid assigned by her family, who accompanied her to school under the guise of being her cousin. She wasn't there so much for protection as for taking care of her daily needs.

"I’m fine. Keep looking," Su Wumi shook her head coldly. "I must find him and teach him a lesson he will never forget."

If it weren't for the family rules forbidding it, she would have killed Zhou Ke on the spot.

"As you wish, Young Lady." Jasmine sighed silently. Her small ears twitched, and she reactivated her "Truth"—a specialized ability used for wide-range detection of living beings.

***

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Jasmine could not understand why her Young Lady—who usually ignored both the heirs of prestigious families and exceptionally talented scholars—was so interested in that student named Zhou Ke, even if it was a negative kind of interest.

She felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as if this were a plotline from one of the trashy romance dramas she followed, where a heartless man discards the heroine after getting what he wanted. Could it be that her Young Lady had once been with that man? No, no, that couldn't be it, right?

Jasmine dismissed the stray thoughts and continued to help Su Wumi search for Zhou Ke using her ability, but they were destined to find nothing.

Why?

Because the location where Zhou Ke was currently staying had left even the chief examiners in the observation room speechless and stunned.

In the center of the city, where there was absolutely no sign of monsters, Zhou Ke sat face-to-face with a middle-aged, gorgeously dressed beauty in a luxurious Western-style restaurant.

The atmosphere between the man and the woman was ambiguous, and a musician, having received a tip, paced around them while playing a romantic violin melody.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Zhou. If not for your timely rescue, I would certainly have met a terrible fate," the beauty said, still shaken by the memory.

"Not at all. You would have just become monster excrement and returned to nature, that’s all," Zhou Ke replied, his habit of speaking poison making it impossible for him to spout anything sweet.

"Thank you. Your comfort makes me feel much better."

Perhaps due to his "Alluring" trait combined with the debt of gratitude for saving her life, the beauty’s favorability toward Zhou Ke was extremely high. No matter what nonsense he spouted, it was automatically filtered into something beautiful by her ears. To use a more apt description, Mr. Zhou had transformed into the archetypal "NTR protagonist" from adult fiction; women he rescued had no defense against him, and even men were...

"Since my husband passed away, I haven't received care from a man in a long time," the still-charming widow said, feigning sadness while casting flirtatious glances.

The three chief examiners twitched. The rules of the exam were to conquer the "Gate," not to conquer the widows inside the "Gate"! They were supposed to kill monsters, not kill the loneliness of a sequestered woman!

"Oh, that’s a coincidence. I was just thinking about building a more intimate relationship with you," Zhou Ke said with a wicked smile.

Hey, hey, hey! You aren't actually going to do it, are you? You don't really intend to settle down and start a family inside the "Gate of Bi Yue Wu" in the last few hours, do you? And with a widow at that?!

The examiners froze, debating whether to intervene in Zhou Ke’s increasingly outrageous behavior. Otherwise, there was no telling what kind of inappropriate scenes he might conjure up during the solemn Mage examination.

"I heard you have an eighteen-year-old daughter. I would like to meet her."

The examiners breathed a collective sigh of relief.

***

Page 3 of 3

Thank goodness.

For some reason, compared to the previous development of hitting on the widow, they suddenly found the idea of becoming a live-in son-in-law acceptable. People are always fond of compromise; for instance, if you say a room is too dark and want to install a skylight, everyone will object. But if you propose tearing down the roof, they will suddenly agree to the skylight.

"Mr. Zhou, we really are in sync. Actually, I had that intention all along, so I called her over in advance. You won't blame me, will you?"

The beauty didn't feel the slightest bit slighted by being brushed aside; instead, she happily complied.

Sorry, but when your favorability is high enough, you can do whatever you want.

"Ah, it’s fine," Zhou Ke said casually, busy cutting his steak.

"That’s good," the beauty sighed in relief. "Little Star, come out."

At this point, all the chief examiners and the numerous proctors outside raised their necks, eager to catch a glimpse of Little Star. After all, the mother was quite elegant, so surely her young daughter would be even more stunning.

However—

"Mom, I'm here!" Accompanied by the vibration of wine glasses, a rough, bestial roar echoed through the restaurant.

Following the sound, a black-furred gorilla wearing a floral dress stepped forward.

The jaws of everyone watching nearly hit the floor—this was no "Little Star"; this was clearly a "Big Gorilla"!!!

"Cough, cough, is that a monster?" Liu Xishu was the first to recover from the mental shock.

"A monster that can talk, too," Jing Mu added, a strange glint in his eyes.

Zhou Ke, on the other hand, was not surprised at all. He gentlemanly stood up and pulled out a chair for the gorilla.

"Please sit, Miss Little Star, who is as gentle as the climate in the Greater Khingan Range," he invited politely.

Was he clearly trying to say "Big Gorilla" just now? Could he really get away with such a stiff transition?

"Oh, you’re so mean! Complimenting me the moment we meet like that, you’re making me shy~." The monster blushed and acted coy, a display of "femininity" so powerful it instantly shattered the onlookers' sanity.