Chapter 5: Go. Don’t Come Back Today.

Chapter 5: Go. Don’t Come Back Today.

Principal Gao was clearly fixated on my cheating on the gaokao.

He couldn’t figure out how I’d done it. Honestly, neither could I. And I couldn’t tell him anything.

So I said, “Done what? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Of course I knew. I was just playing dumb.

“Nothing happens without a reason,” Gao Minjun said, his voice tight with urgency. “You obviously didn’t know how to answer those exam questions. But you got them right. There has to be an explanation.”

“I cheated.” I said it flat-out. What could he do to me?

“Then tell me how. Did you copy someone? Peek at their paper? Did someone transmit the answers remotely?” He shook his head. “We went through the surveillance footage frame by frame. The exam room had electronic shielding. You had no way to cheat. That’s the problem.”

“The exam was leaked,” I said. “I bought the questions ahead of time from a private source, worked out the answers at home, memorized them, and wrote them down during the test. Simple.” I smiled. “Pretty old-school. Why didn’t you investigate that?”

“No. Impossible.” Gao Minjun’s certainty was absolute. “The elite university assessment questions are generated on the spot through big data the moment the exam begins. You—or anyone else—wouldn’t have time. We couldn’t even do it.”

Really? News to me.

“You must have some method we don’t know about,” he said. “Beichen, this is critical. To us. To the country. I’m not speaking as a principal right now. I’m speaking as a Guardian of Humanity. Do you think an ordinary high school in a remote mountain town could have a metaverse system this advanced? Do you think I’m just some administrator sent down from the provincial capital? I showed you all this to make you understand: places like this are the least polluted by society. They’re the foundation of human survival. We guard them strictly. We cannot allow anything that threatens humanity to exist. Do you understand?”

“No,” I said immediately. “I really don’t.”

I shook my head. “I’m just an ordinary student. I grew up here. How could I possibly threaten human security? You’re way overestimating me.”

The truth was, I understood perfectly well that Gao Minjun and I would never reach common ground unless I told him about my sensing ability. But I couldn’t even explain what it was or where it came from. Besides, Grandma’s warning was still ringing in my ears. I couldn’t trust him.

He was trying to manipulate me. I knew that.

Still, I offered a promise. “How about this. As a human being, I swear I’ve never done anything to betray humanity. And I never will. Good enough?”

Gao Minjun stared at me, his expression unusually grave.

His attempt to extract something from me had failed. Exasperated, he said, “Fine. Since you won’t cooperate, we’ll investigate your grandmother. She’s your guardian and the person who raised you. She has that obligation. The law requires it. Don’t think we’re singling you out. As Guardians of Humanity, our only job is to prevent AI that threatens humanity from rising from the ashes. If you don’t know, your grandmother must.”

“Don’t. She’s over ninety. She’s senile. What could she possibly know? Ask me instead.” Panic crept into my voice. I tried to redirect everything back onto myself.

Gao Minjun clearly didn’t want to waste more time. He stood. “You don’t actually think Meng Ran and Vice Principal Bi exploded on their own, do you? If so, you’re stupider than I thought.”

With that, he walked out first.

That was a naked threat.

You wouldn’t dare.

But damn it, I really had no way to deal with him. The law did say that. And from what he’d just said, this old bastard’s identity was probably far from simple.

Forget it. I had to get back and warn Grandma.

Gao Minjun, you son of a—

After leaving the little room where Gao and I had talked, my first thought was to rush home and warn Grandma.

But when I got there, I froze.

Our place had never been this clean.

The floor, the windows, everything—spotless. Even the bed had been made with perfect corners. Grandma sat upright in a chair, as if waiting for me.

I called out to her and hurriedly told her everything about my conversation with Gao Minjun.

Finally, I just suggested we move away. I was worried Gao might actually do something. After all, from what that old bastard had said before leaving, he was capable of killing people.

Vice Principal Bi had at least been his colleague. Meng Ran had been a student. But just because they’d installed artificial intelligence capsules in private, Principal Gao had them killed.

After hearing me out, Grandma looked completely unhurried. She took my hand. “Beichen, running is never the answer. You need to learn to stay calm, face difficulty head-on, handle things yourself. Don’t panic. Gao Minjun is a minor figure. In the future, you’ll face the Sweepers, the Elites, and even more powerful organizational systems. Don’t worry about me.”

She handed me a letter. “Give this to Ye Pingsheng. You’re staying at his house tonight. Go. Don’t come back today. Come back tomorrow.”

Ye Pingsheng?

Why was Grandma looking for him? And who were the Sweepers? The Elites? What powerful systems was I supposed to face?

I was completely confused.

Ye Pingsheng was Ye Ziping’s father, a township cadre in Liutan Town and a fan of ascension games.

He’d originally wanted his son to get into college. But Ye Ziping wasn’t cut out for it, so he’d let him switch to Immortal Assault instead. If you leveled up to Da Luo Golden Immortal rank, you could land an official slot as a member of the municipal Kuzhan Center.

Every year, provinces, cities, and counties organized Immortal Assault leagues. Participation was massive, advertising revenue enormous. Official team members earned high salaries.

Grandma’s expression today was not normal. The spotless house, her unusual instructions—it all made me more worried. What if something happened?

I held the letter, uncertain, hesitating.

Grandma saw my hesitation. Her face hardened immediately. “Go. Today, no matter what happens, you’re not allowed to come back. Don’t worry about me. I’ve seen plenty of people, lived through plenty of things. Gao Minjun doesn’t qualify. Don’t let your mind run wild. Learn to take care of yourself. I’ll be fine.”

That made me even less at ease. I wanted to say something, but stopped myself.

Grandma was clearly angry. She raised her voice. “Go. Now.”

I didn’t want to anger her, so I tucked the envelope away and ran downstairs.

At the bend in the stairwell, I nearly crashed into Zhu Zhaojie’s father, Zhu Shiqing, coming up. I was in a foul mood and didn’t feel like dealing with him. I kept my head down and kept running.

To my surprise, Zhu Shiqing grabbed me.

From his expression, he’d clearly run into trouble. Stammering, he said, “Beichen. Have you seen my Zhaojie lately? She hasn’t come home for three days. No one answers when I call her phone. Three days ago, she said she was going to Li Xiaoli’s to play, but I checked with the Li family yesterday. Zhu Zhaojie never went there. I asked her other close classmates. They all said they didn’t know. I thought since you’re classmates, maybe you’d know something?”

Damn. Now we were classmates. When you were guarding against me like a criminal, you only called me a slacker.

Besides, I wasn’t in the mood. Without lifting my head, I kept walking and tossed over my shoulder, “Zhu Zhaojie’s with Gao Minjun. Go find him.”

“Gao Minjun?”

Zhu Shiqing stared at me in shock, mouth hanging open.

Understandable. Such an obedient girl, someone who only knew how to study, had suddenly vanished. And she might have run off to spend three days with an old bachelor nearing retirement. Any parent would panic.

I could even sense Zhu Shiqing’s state—whether he was excited to have a lead or even more worried, I couldn’t tell. Either way, he looked ready to cry.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if Zhu Zhaojie was with Gao Minjun. But since I’d seen her in the metaverse, she had to be connected to him somehow.

Even if she wasn’t, causing him trouble was the right call.

After leaving the unit entrance, I didn’t rush off. I wanted to circle the building and see what would happen.

But as soon as I looked up, I saw Grandma standing at the window, staring at me with a stern expression.

That scared me into running straight to Ye Ziping’s house.

His place wasn’t far from mine, but it was in a different compound.

When I got there, his dad was cooking dinner.

Seeing me, he said, “What, your Grandma kicked you out? You picked the worst time to cheat. Meng Ran just died, and the Cleanup Office and the Education Bureau are cracking down hard. You chose this exact moment to break the rules. Do you know the consequences?”

“Uncle Ye, I didn’t cheat. Ye Ziping knows me.”

I wasn’t taking the blame.

Ye Pingsheng immediately pointed at me with his rice ladle. “You scored second in the entire school, and you’re saying that was your real ability?”

“Well, not exactly. I used a little trick. But I didn’t copy or peek at anyone’s paper,” I muttered.

“And that doesn’t count as cheating? You’re something else, kid. After dinner, don’t go back. Hide here for a few days,” Ye Pingsheng said.

“Thanks, Uncle Ye. Right—this is a letter Grandma asked me to give you.” I handed it over.

Ye Pingsheng froze. What era was this? Who used handwritten letters? He looked at the envelope with confusion.

After tearing it open, he found that besides one sheet of paper, there was another envelope inside. My name was written on it.

I reached for it, but Ye Pingsheng blocked me.

“No, no, no. Didn’t you see what this says? I’m supposed to give it to you in a month.”