192: Good heavens!

"Click."

With a click of the mouse, the white envelope icon on the center of the screen bounced slightly,

then, like a window being pushed open, it instantly filled the entire monitor.

There was no long-winded introduction, no complex background information.

On the pure white background, there was only one massive, pitch-black, and sharp-stroked Chinese character,

like a giant boulder crashing onto Lin Que's retina.

【Wall】

The font size was enormous, taking up nearly a third of the screen.

Below it was a line of small text:

Genre: Unlimited.

Word Count Requirement: No less than 30,000 words.

Core Requirement: Depth and Architecture.

Lin Que stared at the character, his finger on the mouse loosening slightly.

Wall.

Isolation and protection, imprisonment and safety, tangible masonry and intangible inner demons.

It was a good topic.

The simpler the word, the more of a vast world it could hold, but the easier it was to get lost in the emptiness.

Pulling the perspective higher, passing through thick clouds and concrete walls.

Just ten minutes before Lin Que clicked the mouse,

in the core area of Qingbei University, inside the large conference room on the top floor of the Yuyuan Technology Building, the atmosphere was so tense it felt like sparks could fly.

This was the nerve center of the entire campus network and the monitoring command center for the "Fu Zhi Yao" finals.

Inside the large conference room on the top floor, a giant LED wall as large as a movie screen flickered with cold light.

The screen was divided into 1,006 small squares, each clearly transmitting the real-time activity of the candidates in various hotels.

Not only were there monitoring videos from inside the rooms, but even the screen interfaces of every computer were being synchronized in real-time with millisecond precision.

The air conditioning was on full blast, but it didn't dampen the heated atmosphere in the room.

The Chairmen of various Writers Associations and academicians from the Academy of Literature, who were usually scattered across the country,

were now gathered in groups of two or three in front of the screens, teacups in hand, like a bunch of old pranksters waiting for a show to start.

"Old Zhou, isn't this medicine a bit too strong?"

Tao Zhiyan, Chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Writers Association, sat boldly in a leather chair in the front row, pointing at the more than one thousand students on the screen who were already restless before even starting:

"Seventy-two hours of isolation. These kids haven't even learned how to be alone with words yet, and they first have to learn how to fight their inner demons.

Let's hope they don't go crazy before they can squeeze out an article."

Zhou Wenyuan, Vice Chairman of the Beijing Writers Association, stood before the main console with his arms crossed, his expression calm:

"If they can't take it, they can go home.

Professor Liu told them in the hall as well; the path of literature is a single-log bridge. If they can't endure this bit of loneliness, how will they endure the 'cold bench' in the future?"

"That's true."

A Chairman from a southern province next to him adjusted his glasses, his tone carrying a hint of teasing:

"But I heard the sudden change in format this time, including the assessment of 'architectural ability,' is because of those two?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room paused subtly.

"Exactly."

Tao Zhiyan had a loud voice and couldn't keep a secret:

"One is Dream Weaver, who wrote web novels with human depth. The other is Jian Shen, who made traditional literature feel like a suspense blockbuster.

These two monsters have completely spoiled the readers' appetites.

If we were still testing them with those eight-hundred-to-a-thousand-word lyrical essays, the gold-standard reputation of 'Fu Zhi Yao' would probably be ridiculed as a primary school composition contest."

"So, you could say we were forced into this."

Zhou Wenyuan sighed, his gaze fixed on the big screen:

"We have to select talents who can go toe-to-toe with those two monsters. This topic is the first hurdle."

As they spoke, the electronic clock on the wall ticked to 12:00:00.

"Here it comes!"

With a low shout from Zhou Wenyuan, everyone's eyes in the command hall instantly focused.

The images on the screen flickered in unison,

and that massive character for 【Wall】, like an invisible decree, descended simultaneously onto the monitors in 1,006 rooms.

The monitoring screens, which had been relatively calm, instantly erupted into chaos.

"Whoa!"

Tao Zhiyan pointed at a split-screen in the top left corner, overjoyed.

In the image, the moment a boy with thick glasses saw the topic,

he clutched his hair tightly, his mouth clearly forming the shape of some profanities.

Following that, more scenes of breakdown came through.

Someone gulped down a large mouthful of mineral water, coughing as they choked.

Someone stared blankly at the screen, their eyes hollow.

Another girl slumped directly onto the table, her shoulders shaking,

clearly scared to tears by the requirement of 30,000 words plus deep architecture.

"Wall."

One Chairman shook his head and took a sip of tea:

"It seems simple, but writing it realistically can easily become cliché, while writing it abstractly can easily become hollow.

To write about the wall in one's heart within a room of four walls, and support a framework of tens of thousands of words..."

"It's difficult!"

This isn't just a test of writing skill; it's a test of mindset.

Amidst the chaos, a few exceptionally calm figures stood out remarkably.

"Is that Xu Changge from Beijing?"

Someone pointed to a split-screen in the center.

In the image, the youth wearing a moon-white Tang suit didn't move an inch after seeing the topic.

He simply closed his eyes slowly, leaned back against the chair, and lightly tapped his right index finger on the desk.

Tap, tap, tap.

Although the sound couldn't be heard, the rhythm of the tapping was extremely strong, exuding a sense of calm confidence.

"Such composure; he truly is someone trained by Old Xu."

Zhou Wenyuan nodded approvingly, his tone carrying a hint of respect:

"This child grew up in that compound; his insight and perspective are indeed beyond what ordinary students can compare to. Looking at him, he's probably already conceptualizing the outline."

Several Chairmen around him chimed in.

"The beijing school of this generation finally has a successor."

"For him, this kind of topic is probably just about putting a new shell on what he's seen and heard at home. It shouldn't be too difficult."

While everyone was clicking their tongues in praise over Xu Changge's screen, Tao Zhiyan suddenly noticed it had gone quiet beside him.

He turned his head and saw Gu Changfeng staring at a split-screen in the corner, his eyes unmoving, the expression on his face... "Old Gu, which little treasure are you looking at? So engrossed?"

Tao Zhiyan followed Gu Changfeng's stiff gaze.

Not just him, but several other big shots who were still critiquing Xu Changge also instinctively turned their heads,

their gazes converging on the split-screen in the corner, numbered "0816."

"Is that... the double premium selection from Su Province?"

"Huh?"

A Chairman who saw the screen first let out a gasp of surprise.

"He's..."

The command hall, which had been bustling just a moment ago, instantly fell into a bizarre silence.

Everyone's eyes followed Gu Changfeng's stiff neck and finally locked onto the split-screen numbered "0816" in the corner.

In the next second, the entire command hall seemed to have been put on mute; even the sound of the air conditioning became piercing.

He wasn't closing his eyes to conceptualize like Xu Changge, nor was he anxious and frantic like the other candidates.

He had reclined that expensive ergonomic chair to its maximum angle, his long legs stretched out casually.

He had taken off that expensive deep blue custom suit jacket and draped it directly over his head,

tightly blocking the surveillance camera overhead that was flashing a red light.

His whole body was in an extremely relaxed and peaceful "corpse-like" state.

His chest rose and fell steadily and rhythmically; even through the screen, one could feel the sense of relaxation brought by deep sleep.

A full five seconds passed.

"Oh my goodness!"

Tao Zhiyan suddenly stood up from his chair, his catchphrase bursting out, so loud it almost spilled the water in his thermos.

"This kid... is sleeping?!!"

...