176: How many stars did you say?

“I heard about it, but the channels are so tightly controlled that you can’t buy it. Something unregulated like this is bound to cause problems sooner or later.”

They rambled on, recounting recent anecdotes, and consciously distanced themselves from these storm-center events.

These were not their concern.

Their job was to set the questions and await the results.

“That oddball who deferred his exam this year, Lin Yu, is he still on the list?” the young teacher suddenly interjected.

“He is. Five years of deferment, he’s practically become our Question Department’s mascot.”

“I really don’t get it. If he wants to take the exam, he takes it. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. If he can’t pass, he can’t pass. What’s the point of stubbornly sticking with it for so many years? A complete waste of time.”

“His sister is a pity, though.” The old team leader sighed, “Lin Yao, a mythical Omniscient Sage. What a promising talent, how did she end up with such a brother? I heard she even rejected all company contracts for him. It’s… sigh, sheer folly!”

“Exactly! Such a genius, dragged down by a good-for-nothing brother. If it weren’t for him, she’d be a favored daughter of heaven, cherished in everyone’s palms.”

“I heard Lin Yu is taking the exam this year… that’s another matter.”

Lin Yu’s exam difficulty would need to be custom-made, just thinking about it was troublesome.

As they chatted, this year’s difficulty application materials came down.

This meant it was time to start working!

The white-haired old professor, who was the head of the question-setting team, tapped on the heavy redwood desk.

“Everyone, perk up. This year’s application materials have arrived.”

He looked around; his colleagues all looked tired, leaning back in their chairs, as if their spirit had been drained.

“Where should we start?” A middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses asked weakly, “Still follow the old rule, starting with one-star?”

“No need.” The team leader waved his hand, “Those low-star ones, they have the most people, but also the least variability. Just allocate some leftover resources, and that’ll be enough for them to fuss over. The high-star ones are few in number and won’t cause much of a stir.”

He paused, picked up the thermos on the table, unscrewed the lid, and blew on the hot steam.

“First, let’s finalize the resource allocation plan for the middle range, from five-star to seven-star. These students are the main force that forms the cornerstone of society, and they are also the primary source of students that major universities and the military compete for. They must be given priority.”

“I agree.” Another younger teacher echoed, “The high-star and low-star ends are small, the middle is large. Let’s solve the big part first, and the rest are minor issues.”

“Then we’ll first take a look at the highest difficulty to get a sense of it, and then start researching from five-star… actually, let’s start from three-star.”

“So be it.”

They said that, but no one immediately moved.

Every year at this time was their most headache-inducing phase.

Setting tasks, balancing resources, allocating manpower… it sounded like immense power, but in reality, it was just dancing in shackles.

“Sigh, who do you guys think will take the top spot this year?” The man with gold-rimmed glasses suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.

“Do we even need to guess?” The young teacher scoffed, “It’s definitely Fengxing Technology’s New Star Project. I heard they’ve already arranged their nine-star tasks for this year.”

Everyone chattered, discussing amongst themselves. In this isolated place, completely sealed off during question-setting, only chatting with each other could relieve the boredom.

Just then, a summary window popped up on the gold-rimmed man’s operating interface.

“Alright, the preliminary statistics for difficulty applications are out.”

Everyone’s discussions abruptly ceased.

Work officially began.

“Alright, no more idle chatter.” The team leader straightened up again, “Old rule, I’ll first see what kind of formidable individuals are at the highest difficulty, just to have an idea.”

As he spoke, he clicked open the difficulty ranking list.

Every year, there were a few top-tier teams challenging the five-person nine-star tasks; this had become a custom.

First, he’d see which companies were playing the leading role this year.

However, the moment the list loaded, the team leader froze.

He stared at the top line of the screen, somewhat disbelieving.

“Hmm?”

“What’s wrong, Team Leader?” The young teacher next to him curiously leaned closer.

“This… the highest difficulty, why is it a solo task?” the team leader muttered.

At the very top of the list, “Task Type: Solo” was conspicuously displayed.

“Solo?” The man with gold-rimmed glasses also leaned over, “Impossible, right? Is the system making a mistake? Isn’t the recommended upper limit for solo tasks usually seven-star? How could it be ranked above a five-person team?”

“Scroll down.”

The team leader scrolled the wheel.

The second line still read “Task Type: Solo.”

The third line, still.

The fourth line, still!

Five in a row, all solo tasks!

It wasn’t until the sixth line that the familiar words finally appeared: “Task Type: Five-person Team.”

“Holy crap!” The young teacher couldn’t help but blurt out a curse, “What’s going on? Did five solo nine-star powerhouses emerge this year?”

Solo challenges for nine-star tasks weren’t unheard of.

But they were extremely rare, seen only once every few years, and each one became a legend.

This year, five suddenly appeared?

Had the world gone mad, or had they?

“Let’s look at this five-person team first.” The team leader suppressed his shock and first clicked on the familiar option.

The information expanded.

Team Name: Wind Travel New Star Team.

Team Member Info:… Task Difficulty: Nine-star.

“It’s them, indeed.” The man with gold-rimmed glasses nodded, “This is still normal.”

Normal?

Now, this was the most abnormal part!

If Fengxing Technology’s ace team only had a nine-star difficulty rating, then what kind of monsters were those five solo challengers ranked above them?

Everyone’s breathing involuntarily hitched.

A bizarre and fantastical premonition hung heavy in everyone’s minds.

The team leader’s finger hovered over the top line of the list, somewhat hesitant.

That line, lonely occupying the highest position, seemed to mock all the challengers below.

He took a deep breath and clicked.

Applicant information began to load.

Name: Lin Yu.

This name instantly froze the movements of the teachers who had just been mocking.

Lin Yu?

Which Lin Yu?

The mascot who deferred his exam for five years?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Same name, it must be the same name!

Everyone stared intently at the screen, awaiting the final verdict.

Finally, the number in the task difficulty column appeared.

A blood-red number, filled with ominous and insane implications.

288.

?

Everyone remained in their previous postures, unmoving, like a group of statues collectively petrified.

The man with gold-rimmed glasses’ hand, supporting his spectacles, was suspended in mid-air.

“Clatter.”

Someone’s pen slipped from their fingers, falling onto the carpet with a muffled thud.

This soft sound became the signal to awaken everyone.

“…How much?”

“Is there something wrong with my eyes?”

“Two hundred… eighty-eight? Stars?”