Cheating Craft Chapter 57

Quiz 57: Kui Yuan’s Greeting　　

“I can’t, I can’t come up with anything at all…!”

Meng Ming sat alone at home in deep thought for a very long time, but he couldn’t even come up with a general plan. Chen Fei’s acute senses of touch, smell, and hearing all came together to form that kind of perceptive ability…he could even sense Meng Ming walk through the main door of the estate when he was inside a room eating dinner! Meng Ming had absolutely no clue how to beat this kind of person.　　

Cards and dice were messily sprawled all over the table, along with the pair of hands that had haphazardly overturned them all.　　

The door of the room opened, and Huang Qiao Yi walked in. Behind her was a knight in shining armor.　　

“Aiya what are you doing making a mess everywhere are you in a bad mood because my daughter found out something if you don’t hurry up and clean this up soon we won’t be able to eat.”　　

Is it really a knight in shining armor… 　　

“When you speak, can you add some punctuation?!” Meng Ming said, annoyed.　　

“I went through all of the trouble to visit once, you should at least warmly welcome me.” Carron wiped his sungla.s.ses and sat down directly across from Meng Ming. After looking closely at the state of the table, he said, “…Oh, I understand.”　　

Huang Qiao Yi closed the door, and poured some tea.　　

Just from looking at the things on the table…the old baldie understood everything? Meng Ming was shocked.　　

Carron said, “This kind of layout, dice…as expected, your hands are itching! Come on, let’s play two rounds.”　　

“What exactly did you come here for?!” Meng Ming wanted to flip the table.　　

“I came here to improve my meals; I have nothing to eat at home.”　　

“You want me to make something for you again…!”　　

“No, no, no need to be so courteous. I said that I came to improve my meals. Just give me a bowl of X-seven’s simmer-fried beef noodles.”　　

“Oh…so that’s it.” Carron sucked up the junk food on his plastic fork as he listened to Meng Ming elaborate further on what had happened that day. “Isn’t it simple? If you want to meet with her, just go see her during school.”　　

“There’s no point in that.” Huang Qiao Yi sat down and commented, “Doesn’t Brother Meng Ming want to invite Jin Nai Nai to attend the joint examinations?”　

“I don’t know. I don’t even have any crumbs to follow indicating whether she’s an L-type or a C-type at the moment! …The critical point is that Chen Fei. I need to think of some way to defeat him.” While saying this, Meng Ming’s mind became chaotic again, and he stood up with the intention of leaving. However, he was stopped by Carron’s voice, “Don’t leave, I’m done eating.”　　

“So what if you’re done eating…”　　

Meng Ming hadn’t finished speaking before he turned around to see Carron fling the paper noodles cup at him! He immediately caught it. The inside of it was already completely empty.Can’t you just throw it away yourself…! Ah… Meng Ming hadn’t any time to react before Carron sent the set’s plastic fork flying towards the paper cup in Meng Ming’s hand at high speed!　

“Block it well!” Carron suddenly said.　　

“Oi, what exactly are you trying to do?!” Meng Ming lifted the cup, wanting to block the fork on its current trajectory. However, he only heard pop, pop as the fork bored through both sides of the paper cup, and whizzed past Meng Ming.　　

“Why didn’t you block it?” Carron asked.　　

“This kind of lousy quality cup couldn’t possibly block that when it was thrown at that type of fierce speed!”　　

Carron rubbed his sungla.s.ses, and said sincerely, “But don’t forget, the fork’s quality is also lousy.”　　

“But…” The fork had been flying at such a violent speed! …However, before Meng Ming could say this, he began to suspect something else.　　

Hmm? If the low quality fork flying at crazy speed can pierce through an obstruction, then isn’t there some way to make the poor quality cup…st.u.r.dier?! That means…　

Carron could tell from Meng Ming’s expression that he’d already understood a bit. Carron then said, “Do you want to practice it? Paper manipulation, second level.”　　

Zhuge Style Cheating Technique’s first level of paper manipulation: As long as one mastered the Water Splitting Blade Draw, one could use the secret folding technique and create origami of anything in the world using a single piece of paper. The Water Splitting Blade Draw was a tearing technique that not only expanded the paper’s surface area, but also made it so that the top and bottom halves of the paper didn’t completely separate, allowing for large-scale changes to the paper’s shape. However, the innate qualities of the paper were constant. No matter how many folds the Water Splitting Blade Draw created, every part of the paper would still retain its own properties.

Thus, Carron said, “This time, I’ll throw the pencil, you hold the paper.”　　

“As long as I make sure that your pencil doesn’t pierce through the paper, it’s ok, right?!”　　

“It sounds simple, but how will you do it?” Carron asked.　　

Meng Ming had already thought up a method— “An intact piece of paper can easily be pierced through by a pencil. However, if Water Splitting Blade Draw is used to split the paper into multiple parts, and there are s.p.a.ces left between each section, the paper’s pliability and toughness would greatly increase, and the result will definitely be different!”　　

Meng Ming instantly split the piece of paper in his hand into 20 pieces!　　

“That’s right, and…?” Carron’s pencil flew at a faster speed than his fork had. A single throw easily pierced through the set of 20 papers Meng Ming had piled together.　　

The paper in his hand was still violently bored through. Meng Ming could feel them being pierced through; because he was already familiar with the flames, he immediately figured out the trick to this as well. “The fork flying out requires the hand to control its strength. That’s why, as the blocking paper’s toughness increases, one’s fingers must also correspond well to create a cushioning effect that’s enough to block. It’s like catching a high-speed ball. The rhythm of my fingers must become one with the paper’s flexibility.”　　

After completely understanding the tools in his hand, he’d be able to appropriately put them into use. I need to practice repeatedly!　　

For example, Zhou Lun Yu’s red threads definitely couldn’t take someone’s pulse alone. To control the threads, one first needed to understand them, and the fingertips had to be skillful enough as well!　　

“You grasp these concepts pretty quickly. It looks like you have quite a bit of experience.” Although Carron hadn’t seen Meng Ming in a while, he discovered that Meng Ming had still acc.u.mulated a certain amount of experience. At this moment, Carron suddenly asked, “But, the second level of manipulation requires variable nimbleness. Like the flames, you must be able to control its strength. Right now, if I told you to make the tough paper more fragile, what would you do?”　

Simple. Meng Ming immediately answered, “Use fire to bake it.”　　

The final exam date was approaching. These days, not only were students diligently revising for the test, but Meng Ming also forwent food and sleep to train. He’d drag his exhausted body to school every day and attend cla.s.ses. After sleeping in cla.s.s, he’d return home to continue training. He wasn’t sure what kind of force was keeping him so concentrated. Fortunately, Huang Qiao Yi was there to take care of him, making sure Meng Ming’s body could last through it all. It was very clear to see that the C-types’ workloads were definitely not any lighter than the L-types’.

At first, Meng Ming didn’t feel anything. Nonetheless, after gradually entering this concentrated state, he finally realized that paper manipulation was much harder than the previous flame manipulation. He’d spent quite a bit of time on this.　　

“It’s only been four and a half days. I hadn’t imagined that he’d be able to grasp this kind of manipulation so quickly.” This was Carron’s a.s.sessment of Meng Ming. “However, with regards to the cheating technique pa.s.sed down by his family…I keep feeling like these trainings are all superficial knowledge.”

During these four days, Meng Ming had been able to make a piece of paper solidly block Carron’s flying pencil, as well as use the same paper to stop Carron’s successive sharp, wooden projectiles. The paper cushioned them very well, and didn’t tear at all. 　

“With this kind of training…Brother Meng Ming must be exhausted…” Just before school let out, Huang Qiao Yi glanced at the sleeping Meng Ming next to her, and began to consider her own situation.　

Hmm…do I want to attend the joint examinations or not…Brother Meng Ming wants to attend, and that makes me somewhat concerned. Moreover, testing in only three subjects makes it so much easier…but cla.s.smate Bai Jiu is probably also attending, right? I wonder if…forget it, I’ll directly ask her later. If she doesn’t go, I’ll go. Mm, yea, it’s decided. I’ll call her and ask when I get home.

The last school bell was like Meng Ming’s morning alarm, but it would never be able to wake him. Only Huang Qiao Yi could rouse him.

“Ah…school ended so quickly?” Meng Ming was still muddle-headed, and suddenly thought that he had to go find Chen Fei now and declare victory!

“Brother Meng Ming, you don’t need to be so rushed. Rest well first, and go tomorrow,” Huang Qiao Yi urged, as she packed her bag.　　

Meng Ming didn’t really have anything to pack; he’d barely taken out any books during the entire day. Thus, he just lifted his backpack and said, “It’s not long before the final exam, right? If I don’t go soon, I won’t have any more chances. Little Qiao, how many days are left?”

“There’s still a bit over a week,” Huang Qiao Yi replied. “But the partic.i.p.ants must register ahead of time for them to arrange everything.” Moreover, the school might suddenly pull some kind of trick like suddenly pushing the date earlier. She knew that she couldn’t stop Meng Ming, so she hurriedly stuffed her things into her bag and headed out of the school gates with him.　　

There were a few strangers wearing foreign school uniforms standing before Lin Xian’s entrance. As soon as Meng Ming and Huang Qiao Yi exited the gates, they were spotted by the strangers.　　

“Zhuge Meng Ming.” One of them said Meng Ming’s name!　　

Meng Ming and Huang Qiao Yi looked over at the strangers. He had met the three students, including the one that had just called out his name, in the X-seven Western pastry shop before…, “Lu Xiao!” 　　

Only then did Huang Qiao Yi realize that the tall one was Lu Xiao.　　

“I really hadn’t imagined that you’d still remember me,” Lu Xiao said. “I heard that you, Zhuge Meng Ming, are going to attend the dual school joint examinations. I also just happened to plan on attending as well. Thus, I skipped school today to come greet you.”　　

Personally coming to greet him? Not only was he really confident, he was harboring evil intentions as well. Greet? What exactly are they preparing to do on the site of the final exam?　　

Among the three people, there was one person next to Lu Xiao’s side that was the same height as him, but more robust. The one that stood out was the small figure in front of them. His luscious hair was extremely unkempt, covering his eyes so that one couldn’t really see them. However, one could still faintly sense the cold, falcon-like gaze covered by the black hair.

“You must also know about us, so I won’t bother hiding it.” Lu Xiao introduced, “The one next to me is Qi Tian Ao.” He then pointed at the falcon-like person, “This is Guo Dian.”　　

Guo Dian? That typical delinquent, the one that finds pleasure in hara.s.sing others while they’re taking their tests, and can render an entire exam site’s partic.i.p.ants unable to submit their papers?! 　

Judging from his outer appearance alone, how he unexpectedly had long hair that was against regulations, it was obvious that he was definitely a dangerous figure. The opponent was right in front of him. Just as Meng Ming was about to say something, Guo Dian suddenly stated in a cold voice, “His name is Zhuge Meng Ming? I’ve never heard of such a person before. He doesn’t even have a unified examination ranking. Lu Xiao, what exactly is there to be concerned about him?”　

“In short, you can’t underestimate him,” Lu Xiao said in a small voice. “Although rumors say that he’s an L-type, I don’t believe them.”　　

Guo Dian was completely against this situation. “Hmph, this is only a main school in this district, with a very average advancement rate. What’s so fun about this? You can just do whatever, while Qi Tian Ao and I will only focus on this person called Zhou Lun Yu.”　

Meng Ming hadn’t even spoken yet, before another sound suddenly materialized from behind him.　　

“Hmph, I still haven’t decided whether or not to attend.” Zhou Lun Yu had suddenly appeared! He was sitting on top of the school gates’ pillar and said, “Even if I do partic.i.p.ate, I wouldn’t pay any mind to you guys anyway.” After this, he jumped down from the pillar and slung his backpack over his shoulder, turning around to leave.

“You, wait a moment,” Guo Dian coldly stopped him. “I already said that we came here…for a greeting.”　　

“Greeting?” Zhou Lun Yu lightly repeated. Suddenly, he sensed an opened package of paint fly towards the back of his head.　　

Zhou Lun Yu didn’t even turn his head around, nor did he make any movement. With a few sharp flashes amidst the evening sky, the flying paint package was cut into many small pieces. The paint and the bag all fell to the ground, with no trace of it sticking on his uniform. “I’ve already said before that I’m not interested in you guys.” Despite going against such a powerful and frightening opponent, Zhou Lun Yu was still as calm as before. Perhaps he now even felt a greater annoyance towards the enemy. “It looks like he doesn’t have any interest towards you guys either.” Zhou Lun Yu’s “he” was directed toward Meng Ming, since Meng Ming and Huang Qiao Yi had already completely disappeared without a trace. After saying this, Zhou Lun Yu also vanished off into the distance of the road.　　

There were only the three Kui Yuan C-type students remaining outside Lin Xian’s school gates.　　

“Completely underestimated.” [Lu Xiao]　　

“No, Zhou Lun Yu definitely wouldn’t underestimate us. With his level of strength, he must still have to measure up against us.” [Guo Dian]　　

“So what, all he did was cut open the pack of paint you casually tossed.”　　

At this moment, Guo Dian faced the sidewalk and took a step to leave, as he said to Lu Xiao, “Look at your chest.”　　

Huh?! Lu Xiao immediately lowered his head, only to suddenly discover that many cuts had been made on the school emblem in front of his chest, as it abruptly all fell apart! He looked back at Guo Dian and Qi Tian Ao, and saw that their clothes were fine.

….Don’t tell me, I was the only one that didn’t dodge it? [Lu Xiao]　　

“Don’t worry, he’ll definitely attend.” Guo Dian’s expression remained as cold and detached as before, but he now also had a slightly dark smirk. “The next time we meet, it won’t be as simple as some paint. I’ve completely finished all preparations. The exam site will really become a beautiful canvas, hah…”　　

During this period, Qi Tian Ao, who had come only to enjoy the scene, had remained silent the whole time.