The civil service examination system is a new system, and some people have even predicted that this will be the prelude to a new “imperial examination.” If you don’t believe it, just wait and see.

When a new system is first introduced, it’s naturally not very refined, so it gives certain people the opportunity to exploit loopholes. Crimes committed in broad daylight usually need some kind of cover to conceal their true nature.

For example, the lack of requirements regarding the educational background of candidates is definitely not a simple oversight, because there are two leaders’ sons who have just graduated from high school and haven’t had the chance to attend university yet.

After starting work, working while studying, not neglecting either, and accumulating years of service at the same time—this is common sense.

Andrew Brooks didn’t care about any of that. After excitedly paying the registration fee and submitting the materials, he asked, “When can I pick up my admission ticket?”

“In three days.”

“Is there anything else? If not, can I leave now?”

Hearing this question, the staff member looked at him as if he were an alien, stunned for a moment, then nodded, “That’s all. Just remember to keep an eye on the notices posted here.”

“What other notices are you posting?” an old man shouted. “Hey, I paid my son’s registration fee too. When are you finally going to hand out the exam materials?”

Uh-oh. Andrew Brooks lightly patted his own forehead. Bro, your emotional intelligence has slipped a bit lately. That’s not good.

“What’s your son’s name? We’ll check,” the staff member replied politely, showing respect to the elderly man.

“Do I look that stupid?” the old man retorted. His son hadn’t come to make a fuss, but he had, so naturally he had to be cautious. “If you know my son’s name, will he still be able to pass the exam?”

“We’ve notified every candidate, telling them to keep an eye on the announcements. If the materials haven’t arrived yet, how am I supposed to produce them out of thin air?” The staff member frowned.

You didn’t notify me! Andrew Brooks almost blurted this out, but of course, that would be a rookie mistake—one he wouldn’t make at this stage.

Besides, saying he wasn’t notified isn’t quite accurate. Didn’t they just say to keep an eye on the announcements?

In any case, realizing his emotional intelligence had slipped a bit left Andrew Brooks feeling a little annoyed, and the joy of successfully registering vanished without a trace.

September 27th was the exam date, but it wasn’t until noon on the 26th that the registration office posted a notice telling everyone to pick up their materials that afternoon.

Fortunately, Andrew Brooks was rather persistent. These past few days, he’d basically treated the registration office as his second home, hanging around there every day. In fact, when a cultivation fanatic treats something as a serious matter, it’s usually pretty terrifying.

As a result, he was the first to receive the exam materials.

There was a ton of material—no wonder the registration fee was five hundred. That was money Andrew Brooks had scrimped and saved for years to accumulate. At this point, he was basically penniless.

However, the materials didn’t seem all that legitimate—or perhaps they were too legitimate. The packaging was exquisite, the price was high, and upon closer inspection, oh, some were written by rather famous people, and originally wouldn’t even be considered exam materials.

Celebrities are supposed to have a celebrity effect. Andrew Brooks didn’t mind. Back in the day, everyone avoided him, wasn’t that also a kind of celebrity effect?

Andrew Brooks’s spiritual sense hadn’t yet recovered to its peak, but without a doubt, this little bit of material was no challenge for him. Squeezing out of the crowd, he was ready to head home.

At that moment, he realized there was quite a commotion behind him. Turns out, a lot of people were complaining about the late distribution of materials. “So many books—how are we supposed to finish them in time? You might as well not have given them out at all!”

Exactly. If they hadn’t handed them out, everyone would still be on the same starting line, and there wouldn’t be any suspicion that someone got the materials in advance.

Of course, most of the complainers were those who had already received the materials, especially those picking up books on behalf of family members. As for those still waiting in line, they definitely weren’t getting involved.

“For the civil service exam, of course the capable rise and the incapable fall,” Andrew Brooks couldn’t help but mutter to himself. This was no problem for him at all. “If you can’t even get through this little bit of material, what’s the point of taking the exam?”

Muttering like that in public was clearly another low emotional intelligence moment, but he hadn’t realized it yet. Unfortunately, his muttering was overheard by a nearby staff member.

“This candidate is absolutely right,” the short, chubby staff member, who was getting flustered by all the complaints, hurriedly grabbed him. The speed of his move was no less than that of “Bloodless Sword” Samuel Ford.

If he’d grabbed twice as fast, Andrew Brooks could have dodged, but he wasn’t on guard, nor did he realize the seriousness of the situation.

“You are all the future pillars of the government,” the short, chubby man cleared his throat and raised Andrew Brooks’s right hand. “Everyone, quiet down, quiet down…”

“This candidate is absolutely right. In the future, you’ll all be taking on leadership roles,” the short, chubby man subtly misled everyone. “If some sudden emergency happens, can you really complain that you weren’t warned in advance?”