During that hour, Wen Qi slept soundly while Wei Guobin stood by helplessly. Wei Guobin watched Wen Qi, who was sleeping so peacefully, and felt utterly speechless. He stood there, glancing at Wen Qi one moment and at the clock on the wall the next, feeling as if time was crawling like a snail.
"This kid sure sleeps well! My legs are about to give out from standing here, and he's just lying there like nothing's wrong," Wei Guobin muttered to himself. His eyes were filled with helplessness and confusion. In all his years of proctoring exams, he had never encountered a test-taker like this.
Thinking about how he'd have to explain things to the invigilator later, Wei Guobin couldn't help but shake his head repeatedly. He paced softly back and forth in the exam room, careful not to make any noise that might wake Wen Qi, yet secretly hoping Wen Qi would wake up soon.
Time ticked by, and every second felt endlessly stretched to Wei Guobin. His gaze shifted between Wen Qi and the window, his mind in a jumble.
"Is this kid genuinely talented, or just giving up? Sleeping so soundly during such an important exam—it's truly bizarre," Wei Guobin thought, finding it harder and harder to believe.
Just as Wei Guobin's thoughts were drifting, the bell signaling the end of the exam suddenly rang. The sound was especially loud in the silent room, and Wei Guobin breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, "Finally, it's over. This was unbearable."
Yet Wen Qi was still sleeping, as if the loud bell had no effect on him at all.
Wei Guobin's eyes widened in disbelief. The bell was so loud—how could the other person not hear it?
Left with no choice, Wei Guobin walked over to Wen Qi's desk and gently tapped on it.
Only then did Wen Qi slowly wake up, blinking drowsily and looking around with a confused expression. After a moment, he remembered he seemed to be in an exam. Seeing Wei Guobin in front of him, he mumbled groggily, "Is it time to hand in the paper?"
Despite his exasperation, Wei Guobin patiently replied, "Yes, time's up. Please check it over, and if there are no issues, give me the paper. The person collecting papers at the door will be here soon."
Wen Qi casually handed the paper to Wei Guobin, then slumped back down, muttering, "I was too groggy from sleeping. Need to clear my head."
Wei Guobin took the paper, shook his head helplessly, and handed it to the person at the door. He then returned to the room to wait for Wen Qi to snap out of it.
Watching Wen Qi still slumped over the desk, Wei Guobin's feelings were mixed. On one hand, he found Wen Qi too bold and careless; on the other, he was curious about his confidence and ability.
After a few minutes, Wen Qi finally sat up straight, stretched widely, and seemed to have fully awakened.
He looked at Wei Guobin, smiled sheepishly, and then got up to leave his seat.
After the written exam, there was a ten-minute break for the candidates to use the restroom or rest before moving on to the energy cube-making portion.
Li Wen went to the restroom to relieve himself and then returned to the exam room, ready for the next part. Soon, the bell rang again.
Wei Guobin then said to Wen Qi, "The energy cube-making exam begins now. Candidate Wen Qi, you have one hour to make energy cubes. Submit the one you think is best, and it will be tested on the machine next to you. The highest score will be taken."
After speaking, Wei Guobin signaled for Wen Qi to start.
At this point, Wen Qi shed his earlier lazy demeanor. Even though he was skilled at making energy cubes, he didn't dare to be careless. Making energy cubes allowed no room for error; one slip could ruin everything.
Seeing the sudden shift in Wen Qi's demeanor, Wei Guobin couldn't help but marvel inwardly: This young man is so unpredictable! You can never gauge his true ability—he always seems to be hiding his strength.
Wen Qi approached the workstation and looked at the machine, but he didn't rush to start.
The machine looked far more advanced than the one he usually used. Wen Qi realized that the biggest challenge in this exam wasn't anything else but operating this unfamiliar machine.
Frowning, he carefully studied the machine's structure and control buttons, his eyes focused as he quickly thought about how to get familiar with and master it.
Wen Qi's behavior puzzled Wei Guobin, who was watching from the side. Just moments ago, Wen Qi had seemed so confident—why was he acting like this at the workstation?
Wei Guobin even caught a hint of confusion and uncertainty in Wen Qi's eyes. Wen Qi examined the machine left and right, touching it, and even opened the machine manual—something no candidate had ever done before. He read the manual while comparing it to the machine.
This left Wei Guobin dumbfounded, and he started to wonder: What's going on? Was his earlier confidence all an act? Was the written exam a bluff too? Now that it's time for hands-on work, is his true colors showing?
For a moment, Wei Guobin found it hard to accept. He had regarded Wen Qi as a prodigy and had been kind to him, hoping to build a good relationship.
But now, it felt like cold water had been poured on him, leaving his heart chilled. Wei Guobin stared intently at Wen Qi, desperately hoping for a miracle.
Inside, Wen Qi felt like a thousand alpacas were stampeding through his mind. He wanted to curse himself.
It was all his fault. When he came to check out the exam venue yesterday, he had been too arrogant and proud, only giving it a quick glance without carefully inspecting the machine.
If he had paid more attention yesterday, he could have familiarized himself with the machine and wouldn't have to read the manual during the exam. He regretted it deeply.
Fortunately, even though the machine was more advanced, the principles were essentially the same. After fiddling with the machine while following the manual for about twenty minutes, Wen Qi finally figured out how it worked. He let out a long sigh of relief and muttered, "That was close. Almost messed up."
Once he felt he had a basic understanding, Wen Qi decided to start making the energy cubes.
By then, Wei Guobin was stunned. He hadn't expected Wen Qi to actually not know how to operate the machine and to be learning on the spot.
From the looks of it, Wen Qi's operational skills were probably poor, and this might even be his first time.
At that point, Wei Guobin had given up all hope for Wen Qi, feeling he had misjudged him.
He no longer wanted to watch Wen Qi's subsequent actions, lost in regret, thinking that this incident must never be known to others, or he'd be laughed at for life.
Meanwhile, Wen Qi, after figuring out the machine, took out various berries from the cabinet next to him. Seeing these berries, he noticed their quality was decent—though not as good as those from his small world, they were comparable to what he grew on his farm.
They probably lacked life energy, but even so, they were still very good berries. Wen Qi felt confident and prepared to showcase his skills.