Staring at Lin Mo

The text message was sent by Zhuge Chen.

Even though it was sent anonymously.

Lin Mo did a network trace and immediately found that Zhuge Chen had sent it.

That guy was truly someone capable of big things.

Without making a sound, he had joined a large team.

Since that was the case, even better.

Lin Mo tossed his phone to Dongfang Shuye.

Dongfang Shuye picked up Lin Mo’s phone and read the message: “Whoever killed Qin Suishou is planning to go after the National Treasury. The time is unknown, but the location is Tianjing. I’ll contact you again if there’s a chance.”

“Who sent this?!”

Dongfang Shuye looked at Lin Mo with excitement.

“Someone I trust, Liang Chaowei.”

With Lin Mo saying it was trustworthy, Dongfang Shuye was already convinced.

However, they needed to immediately report this to Long Tianqi.

The matter of the National Treasury was extremely serious, no matter how one looked at it.

The so-called treasury was where the nation stored its gold reserves.

Although gold wasn’t all kept in one place, the gold repository in Tianjing was the largest in the country.

“So they took Qin Suishou’s ability mainly to break through the treasury’s defenses.”

Dongfang Shuye quickly grasped the core of the issue.

“We just don’t know who these people are yet, or which faction they represent.”

If it were just about money, there would be no need to target the National Treasury. The gold repository carried many other implications.

So Lin Mo and Dongfang Shuye returned to Tianjing the next day.

Since the timing was uncertain, Dongfang Shuye only reported the matter to Long Tianqi.

Long Tianqi knew not to alert the enemy, so he didn’t dispatch a large force to guard the treasury.

Besides, it was only a plan. If something seemed off, the plan could constantly be postponed.

But Lin Mo had already located these people.

All he had to do was find Zhuge Chen, and that would lead him to the group.

One of them was male in appearance but female in biology, looking like a thug.

Another was a man who always wore a hood, looking like a gambler.

He seemed to be only in his early twenties.

There was also a dwarf who spent his days playing with a seventeen-sided Rubik’s cube.

And finally, Zhuge Chen.

Looking at these people, Lin Mo was almost certain that the overall commander of this team was not present.

So Lin Mo made no move.

Though these people were a team, their relationships seemed poor.

Coupled with Zhuge Chen’s presence, it seemed like a hastily assembled group.

They were living in a luxury apartment.

Never going out, ordering all their meals for delivery.

They were waiting, and Lin Mo was waiting too.

Dongfang Shuye was likewise waiting for news from Lin Mo.

But Lin Mo’s side had already faced the first exam.

The national competition consisted of three rounds, because the total number of students from all provinces was nearly a hundred.

To select the six-person team for the world competition, a strict screening process was needed.

The exam was not held at the training base.

Instead, it was held at the famous Tsinghua University.

It was Lin Mo’s first time at Tsinghua University, and the learning atmosphere was indeed excellent.

Teacher Bai, as a member of Tsinghua University, enthusiastically sang the university’s praises.

Since good results could lead to direct admission to Tsinghua, many students were eager to give it a try.

But Qi Ming knew well that Teacher Bai was only making a show for Lin Mo’s benefit.

Unfortunately, Lin Mo looked completely uninterested.

Perfect—those hints were wasted, like casting pearls before swine.

They entered an open classroom. Although it was called “open,” there were cameras overhead.

“Originally, this competition was to be held at the training base. But to give everyone a more comfortable atmosphere, I suggested we hold the first round here.”

The open classroom did feel more relaxing.

Each seat was an independent desk, spacious and comfortable.

It was enough to seat over a hundred people.

“Your seats were drawn by lot last night. Now just take your seats according to the seating chart by the door.”

Lin Mo had already seen his seat: right in the middle of the first row.

Basically, the spot a teacher would watch most closely.

It was hard not to believe this was arranged deliberately for him.

Lin Mo sat down.

The exam papers were handed out by a few unfamiliar people.

Several old professors stood outside the door watching.

The exam began soon.

Lin Mo scanned the questions first and calculated all the answers in his head.

Then he wrote them down stroke by stroke.

At this level of competition, everyone had to draw their own diagrams.

The stationery was provided by the training base.

Everyone’s tools were identical.

Lin Mo drew his diagrams directly on the answer sheet.

When Teacher Bai, standing at the podium upstairs, saw this, he couldn’t help raising an eyebrow.

This Lin Mo...

But Lin Mo made no corrections whatsoever, writing down all the steps in order.

He didn’t use a single piece of scratch paper.

To anyone watching, it seemed incredibly exaggerated.

What’s more, Lin Mo maintained a steady pace, as if he didn’t even need to think—like he was copying answers out of a book.

The exam proctors, all math teachers, took notice of Lin Mo. Every now and then, they would walk behind him to check his answers.

Then they’d go back to the podium to compare with the test paper.

All they could feel was astonishment.

Fifty-seven minutes into the exam, Lin Mo raised his hand.

“Student? What is it?”

“I’m turning in my paper.”

Lin Mo put down his pen and handed over his answer sheet.

The proctor took the sheet and asked anyway, “Don’t you want to check it again?”

“I’ve checked it several times already. I could have turned it in ten minutes ago.”

Though he spoke quietly, the people around him couldn’t help lifting their heads to look at Lin Mo.

Once they confirmed it was indeed Lin Mo, they lowered their heads again to continue writing.

The proctor looked at Teacher Bai.

Teacher Bai nodded. “Collect it. Student Lin Mo, please wait outside for a while.”

Lin Mo nodded. “Okay.”

With that, Lin Mo stood up and walked out.

Several old professors watched him curiously, some chatting among themselves.

“This promising student must be the one Bai mentioned, right?”

“It should be him. But Bai also said he doesn’t seem too keen on coming to Tsinghua.”

“Ah, let’s check his answer sheet first. I saw him finish ten minutes early and didn’t change a single word.”

“Indeed, we should take a look.”

Lin Mo pretended not to hear, walking to the other side of the corridor to wait.

Soon, Teacher Bai came out.

“Lin Mo, you’ll ride back with everyone later on the bus. So go ahead and take a stroll around Tsinghua. I’ll find a guide for you.”

“No need, I’ll just wander on my own.”

“That won’t do. If I weren’t proctoring, I’d give you the tour myself. Wait a moment, I’ll call a student to show you around—someone your age, so you’ll have things to talk about.”

With that, Teacher Bai walked back into the classroom, not giving Lin Mo any chance to refuse.