An hour passed in the blink of an eye. William Carter glanced around the classroom and noticed that the girl who had been sitting next to him earlier was now quietly answering questions. It seemed that his “true self” falling into a deep sleep had finally allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief. He stood up and made a round of the classroom—though in truth, his real purpose was to see the name on that girl’s test paper. “Lillian Ford,” he silently memorized the name, then returned to the podium and sat down. Checking his watch, he estimated that another hour would be the best time for the final inspection—by then, most students would be nearly finished. He would do one last round, looking at everyone’s papers; for questions with fixed answers, following the majority would guarantee no mistakes, and for the essay questions, he could cobble together a response by combining several students’ arguments.

Just then, a boy suddenly stood up and walked toward William Carter. William Carter was a bit flustered at first, but then remembered that he was the invigilator now—the boss of this classroom—so he immediately put on a stern face: “Student, this is an exam. Please return to your seat, or your qualification will be revoked.”

“I’m here to hand in my paper,” the boy replied coolly, pushed up his glasses, and walked out of the classroom. Some of the other examinees began to sigh, thinking the boy had given up. But in truth, weren’t they all just barely hanging on? A few girls, seeing someone hand in their paper, immediately grew anxious, looked up at the clock, and began writing furiously.

At first, William Carter also thought this person had given up, but when he flipped through the guy’s test, he was stunned. This guy, named Alice Carter, had finished everything! And judging by the neat handwriting and lack of corrections, it didn’t look like he’d just filled things in at random!

Ten minutes later, William Carter finished reading Alice Carter’s test, and with trembling hands closed the folder. Then he began his final round of inspection. Now, those students who kept taking their papers in and out of the folder, making changes as they went, and lacking any confidence, seemed like nothing but trash to him. Seeing them sweating anxiously, William Carter could only greet them with a look that was thirty percent sympathy and seventy percent disdain, as if he’d completely forgotten that he himself had wanted to cheat the moment he entered the exam room.

After this round, he found that except for Lillian Ford and a few others, no one’s essay answers could compare to Alice Carter’s. Even someone like William Carter, a graduate of a third-rate high school, could see that Alice Carter’s answers were worlds apart from the rest.

“My big brother Alice Carter, if I’m the king of cheating, you’re the god of exams. Respect, respect…” William Carter’s plan was moved up because of Alice Carter’s appearance. He returned to the podium, opened the folder containing Alice Carter’s test again, and in his eyes, this thing was no different from a printed answer key. So he simply spent half an hour memorizing it all.

After finishing, William Carter slumped in his chair as if dozing off, then closed his eyes. In the surrounding darkness, he could sense the direction of his own body, like a compass always finding south. His soul could sense a force in that direction, and he could be pulled back at any time if he wished.

The old invigilator’s body trembled again, then he opened his eyes. He seemed to have no memory of being possessed, looked around in confusion, checked his watch, scratched his head, and assumed he’d dozed off again without realizing it. Looking around the classroom, it was the same as every year—those who wouldn’t pass could basically be seen from their faces. Wait, that kid over there, who at the start was staring hard at the girl next to him, was now actually sleeping at his desk! He dared to do such a thing!

The old invigilator stood up angrily. He had taught at Xiangyi for many years, nurturing countless students. Though now retired and only staying on for some theoretical research, his status was still significant—even the principal had to call him “Professor Bolton.” In his whole life, he’d never seen a student like this. So many good students didn’t even get a chance to take the Xiangyi entrance exam—not only did they need excellent grades, but also good character and a suitable family financial situation. Even if you got in without those harsh requirements, the cost of daily life at Xiangyi was high, so countless students from ordinary families, no matter how well they studied, couldn’t get a recommendation letter from their high school principal. The principals themselves were helpless about this.

But now, there was actually such a terrible student, sleeping in this sacred exam room. Professor Bolton was filled with righteous indignation and strode toward the seat in the corner, ready to immediately revoke William Carter’s exam qualification.

Just as he reached William Carter, William Carter moved…

Chapter 11: The Mystery of Possession

William Carter suddenly sat up straight in his seat, eyes blazing, startling Professor Bolton. Next to him, Lillian Ford was in the final stage of answering questions, seemingly very focused. Although she noticed William Carter’s movement, she only frowned slightly and continued working.

Professor Bolton’s face was icy as he said to William Carter, “Awake now, student?”

“Yeah, I’m awake,” William Carter replied absentmindedly, his mind still full of the answers from Alice Carter’s test that he’d just memorized in a short burst.

“Hmph! Do you think this exam room is a place for you to nap? If you want to sleep, go home!” Professor Bolton immediately reached out to take William Carter’s test and revoke his qualification, but as soon as he stretched out his hand, he was so startled that he pulled it back.