I am from Sugar Land Institute of Technology.

Some people spent less than a minute in the classroom, from entering to exiting.

Some were even asked to leave before the classroom door was properly closed.

Those who were asked to leave within minutes were certainly treated like guinea pigs, questioned about everything.

"I don't know why they asked me to leave..."

Before everyone could ask for more details, the teacher maintaining order loudly announced, "No inquiries about the interview process are allowed, or your interview qualification will be revoked."

Only then did everyone stop.

Lin Yuan noticed that not everyone was in and out in seconds; some stayed inside for a while.

He remembered Professor Zhang mentioning earlier in the conference hall that a total of 60 people would be admitted from four batches of four to five hundred candidates, so roughly 15 people would be admitted per batch.

To be safe, he would need to be among the top ten in each batch.

The ranking was based on assessment scores and interview scores. Lin Yuan wasn't very confident about his interview score.

This wasn't because he lacked self-confidence, but rather because his non-211, non-985 university background, coupled with four years of a 'just get by' attitude, wasn't enough to bring about fundamental changes in the half-year with the computing system's help.

He could only say that the system came too late; if it had come earlier, Lin Yuan wouldn't have been harmed by those 'anti-self-study' awful textbooks.

At this thought, Lin Yuan gnashed his teeth in hatred for Old Man Tan.

As a pioneer in computer education in his country, Old Man Tan, with his prolific creativity, had gone wild starting from C language. Several generations of students studying embedded systems and software engineering had not escaped his clutches.

Lin Yuan wasn't sure who had contributed the most to his country's computer education. But if it came to who had the most negative impact, Lin Yuan would definitely cast his vote for Old Man Tan.

Only after experiencing it did he truly understand. It was something that could be done by reading the original English textbooks, or at most, just translating them. But no, they absolutely had to find some so-called 'expert' to create so-called 'suitable for domestic students' textbooks.

As they 'suited' them, Lin Yuan's four years of university became increasingly incomprehensible, and the less he understood, the less he wanted to learn. It was a complete vicious cycle.

Just as Lin Yuan was filled with resentment, the classroom door opened, and a person rushed out and hurried away.

Looking at the back, it seemed to be Professor Zhang. The direction he went seemed to be the classroom where Lin Yuan had just been.

As Lin Yuan was wondering, Professor Zhang had already returned.

"Where's that kid who used the broken computer? Is he here?" Professor Zhang shouted at the candidates.

As everyone was confused, Lin Yuan timidly stepped out of the crowd.

"Professor, are you talking about me?"

"Who else could it be but you?" Professor Zhang said with some anger, "Didn't I tell you that someone would be sent to call you later? I was worried about you being alone there and what you might think, so I specifically sent someone to tell you, but I couldn't find you."

Professor Zhang had clearly thought of Lin Yuan's concern—anyone alone and far from the main group of candidates would feel a bit flustered.

"I..." Lin Yuan was a bit at a loss.

"You're next," Professor Zhang said, then turned and entered the classroom.

Lin Yuan's series of actions were fierce like a tiger, successfully sending himself to the forefront early.

Soon, Lin Yuan, under the suspicious gazes of the candidates, walked into the classroom as the next interviewee.

Some people in the crowd were even whispering, "He knows that professor, right?" "Looks like he has connections..."

---

Entering the classroom.

Six people sat at a long table, with Professor Zhang in the center.

Before Lin Yuan could speak, Professor Zhang spoke first, "I've seen his code and the running results. Let's proceed directly to the next interview stage."

Lin Yuan was a bit bewildered. He had only glanced at it in the assessment classroom; was that considered having seen it?

It seemed he had truly met a patron today.

Before Lin Yuan could be happy for too long, a leader-like person with gold-rimmed glasses next to Professor Zhang slowly began, "Old Zhang, isn't that against the rules?"

Professor Zhang directly retorted, "Can you understand code?"

"You, you..."

*Slap*~, the other person angrily slammed the pen in his hand on the table, "Your professional ranking wasn't even as high as mine back then."

"Back then was back then. Just tell me when was the last time you wrote code."

"I just left the front-line teaching position, but that was for work."

"For your official position, perhaps."

"Zhang Yunde, don't go too far..."

The two big figures seated in the center started an inexplicable argument, leaving Lin Yuan somewhat confused. He dared not speak, standing by the door, completely at a loss.

"Dean Li, Professor Zhang. It's an interview, we are interviewing..."

Finally, the examiners accompanying the two big figures managed to calm them down.

Dean Li coughed, covering his embarrassment, then said to someone next to him, "Xiao Liu, you are often on the front-line teaching post. You come and look at his code."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan was about to open his laptop, preparing to pick up the HDMI cable nearby to project his laptop onto the big screen.

Unexpectedly, the young examiner named Liu calmly said, "Professor Zhang is my mentor; he certainly has more authority than I do in professional matters."

Dean Li was indignant but helpless, "Some candidates come in, and you let them leave without even looking at their code. When this one comes in, you let him pass without looking at his code. This is typical disorganization and lack of discipline."

Professor Zhang, however, was nonchalant, "Don't go tattling to the principal again."

"I am fulfilling my duty and adhering to organizational regulations."

"Pedantic, old-fashioned."

"I won't argue with you today."

After another brief conflict, the atmosphere suddenly cooled down.

Not only was Lin Yuan at a loss, but the other examiners present also felt somewhat awkward.

After a while, someone finally pretended to pull out their phone and check the time, "It's getting late. How about..."

Dean Li finally decided not to dwell on it further, "Interview!"

But Lin Yuan was confused.

What did that mean? Did they want to see the code or not?

He tentatively and timidly reached for the HDMI cable nearby. Immediately, Professor Zhang glared at him with a stern look. Lin Yuan quickly pulled his hand back.

"Introduce yourself. Your university, major, personal interests, and preferred research direction."

Lin Yuan put away his laptop and sat on the chair opposite the long table.

He was still a bit nervous at this moment, much more nervous than during his graduation defense. At his alma mater, the graduation defense was just a formality. Getting an 'excellent' or 'pass' didn't make much difference.

But at this moment, Lin Yuan felt as if he had returned to the time of the college entrance examination, a time when personal destiny could be decided.

He took a slight breath and composed himself. He recalled his half-month of studying day and night, and the countless stairs he climbed up and down delivering food. Wasn't everything for this moment?

Now that the practical assessment stage had passed, it was half successful. His path to changing his destiny only had half a puzzle left.

"I'm from the Software Engineering major at Tangcheng Institute of Technology..."

"What?" Professor Zhang couldn't help but widen his eyes.