Wen Qi was on his third attempt. He operated the machine with complete focus, silently pondering to himself:
"I've gotten much more familiar with this machine now. I feel like I won't mess up this time—this one should be top-tier perfect quality."
His eyes brimmed with confidence and anticipation as his hands deftly adjusted various parameters, movements fluid and precise.
Soon, the machine let out a "ding." It was done. Wen Qi remained quite calm, letting out a soft breath as he prepared to inspect the results.
Meanwhile, Wei Guobin, who had been lost in confusion, was jolted awake by the sound. He had been mulling over Wen Qi's strange behavior, his thoughts drifting far away.
Hearing the noise, he quickly pulled himself together and peered closely at Wen Qi, muttering inwardly:
"He turned down that high-grade energy block before—what good stuff could he possibly make this time?"
Wen Qi calmly opened the machine. The first thing he saw was the finished product, which matched his earlier expectations perfectly. A wave of satisfaction washed over him, and the corners of his mouth lifted into a pleased smile.
Wei Guobin, standing at a distance, couldn't see clearly, so he first caught an incredibly enticing aroma.
This scent was more than ten times richer than the previous block. He could swear it was the most tempting energy block fragrance he had ever smelled. It felt oddly familiar, and he furrowed his brow, racking his brain:
"That smell... I know it from somewhere."
Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he recalled a lesson given by the association's vice president.
Back then, the vice president had also produced an energy block with this exact fragrance, declaring it high-grade perfect quality. He mentioned it was a stroke of luck that it succeeded, highlighting just how rare such quality was.
Wei Guobin had been envious at the time—he couldn't even make a basic perfect-quality block, let alone a high-grade one.
But as these thoughts hit him, he snapped back to reality, his eyes locked on Wen Qi's workstation. Shock coursed through him:
"No way, impossible. How could he make high-grade perfect quality? This is unbelievable."
His heart raced, his breathing quickened, and the urge within him became impossible to suppress.
At that moment, Wei Guobin could no longer hold back. Ignoring the exam rules entirely, he strode quickly toward Wen Qi's station, desperate to get a closer look at the energy block. His steps were hurried, his eyes filled with urgency and longing.
In no time, he reached Wen Qi's side and saw the block. Up close, he realized that both its fragrance and transparency were flawless—there was no doubt it was high-grade perfect quality.
Wei Guobin's mouth fell open, his eyes wide as saucers, his entire body frozen as if struck by a spell.
His hands trembled uncontrollably, and his voice shook:
"Th-this... this really is high-grade perfect quality. How is this possible..."
His face was a mix of disbelief and sheer excitement, as if he had just witnessed the most precious treasure in the world.
Just then, the monitoring staff in the back noticed the commotion around Wen Qi and contacted Wei Guobin through his earpiece:
"Wei Guobin, what's wrong? Are you okay? Why are you shaking? Did a Pokémon attack you, or did you get shocked?"
The excited Wei Guobin was jolted back to reality by the voice in his ear. He took a deep breath, struggling to calm himself, and replied:
"It's nothing. My leg just cramped up. I'm better now—everything's fine."
His voice still trembled slightly, showing he hadn't fully recovered from the excitement.
The staff member sighed in relief and said:
"Copy that. Be careful from now on."
Wei Guobin nodded, but his eyes never left the energy block Wen Qi had made.
His mind churned:
"Who is this young man? To make high-grade perfect quality so effortlessly—could he be a disciple of some master? Or a hidden genius?"
Wen Qi, noticing Wei Guobin's intense reaction, smiled and said:
"So, not bad this time, right?"
Wei Guobin, too excited to care about the rule that proctors shouldn't chat with examinees without reason, nodded eagerly and said:
"Not bad? It's absolutely astonishing! How did you do it?"
Wen Qi shrugged casually and replied:
"Nothing special. I just got familiar with the machine and mastered the technique."
Wei Guobin's eyes widened as he said:
"How could it be that simple? You must have some unique secret!"
Wen Qi smiled but said nothing more, simply gazing at his creation with a deep sense of accomplishment.
Seeing that Wen Qi had stopped talking, Wei Guobin instantly understood.
Even if the other party had some secret method, why would he share it so easily? His earlier question had been driven by sheer excitement and envy—a momentary impulse that led him to ask something so inappropriate.
After all, they were both breeders. He knew well that some questions weren't meant to be asked; those were someone else's research results, the fruit of their hard work and wisdom. Though Wei Guobin felt a twinge of regret that Wen Qi didn't answer, he wasn't angry.
At that point, he took a deep breath, forcing himself to fully calm down. Soon, he composed himself and resumed his usual serious demeanor.
Thinking about how he had inadvertently broken the exam rules, likely noted by the monitoring staff, Wei Guobin couldn't help but wryly smile. He figured that after this proctoring session, his usual reward would probably be halved.
But he quickly let it go. After all, if he hadn't said something in that moment, he would have regretted it for the rest of his life.
This was the first time in the association's history that someone had produced a high-grade perfect-quality energy block during a senior breeder exam!
This was a monumental event that would be recorded in the association's annals. To have been part of it, to witness this miraculous moment firsthand, was already an immense honor.
Compared to that, losing half his reward was nothing. With this thought, a gratified smile spread across Wei Guobin's face. He looked at Wen Qi again, his eyes now filled with respect and admiration.
At this point, Wei Guobin's mind was clear of distractions. He only wanted to complete this proctoring duty seriously, ensuring the fairness and smoothness of the entire exam.
At the same time, he felt that Wen Qi's test should be over. Since he had already produced a perfect-quality block, there was no need to make another—doing it once was already a stroke of luck, and anything more wouldn't surpass this.
So, the exam was likely concluded.