Chapter 4: City Exam

Zhao Ning saw Su Ming had stopped eating, looking listless, and asked with concern,

"My dear son, are you still upset about that matter? Listen to me, don't worry. Your father has already taken care of it, and he will definitely find the person who bullied you and throw him behind bars! As for the school, if you don't want to go there anymore, I'll switch schools for you."

Su Ming felt a little awkward upon hearing Zhao Ning's words.

For some reason, he felt as if he had unwittingly picked up the script of a cannon fodder antagonist.

So, Su Ming spoke to Zhao Ning.

"It's alright, Mother; there's no need to change schools. Besides, the city exams are about to start, and transferring schools now could easily cause complications."

"My dear son, it doesn't matter, whether you do well or poorly on the city exams."

Zhao Ning was still a bit worried about Su Ming, fearing he would be overwhelmed if he returned to school. After all, she knew very well that her son was an introvert with very fragile and sensitive emotional endurance.

"Didn't you always want to go back to Starlight City? Don't worry, I will definitely try my best to get back there through the exams," Su Ming said earnestly.

The so-called city exam was a highly important entrance test organized by the old Federation, said to be a stepping stone to greater heights. It was also an important means for residents from various districts and other planets to enter the three main cities.

Su Ming's family had actually moved down from Starlight City. The Su Family was quite an esteemed financial empire there. His father, Su Yuan, the ninth son of the current Su Family patriarch, Su Zhen Tian, was assigned to live in the Thirteenth District due to his mediocre talent.

The industry assigned to Su Yuan was shares in the Thirteenth District's waste processing plant. In the backdrop of the interstellar era, being assigned to such an industry clearly showed how little Su Yuan's talent and status were regarded.

However, this industry was indeed very lucrative, so they lived relatively well here.

Yet, given the choice, who would want to spend a lifetime underground?

It wasn't that the Su Ming's family couldn't go back to Starlight City; it was just that they couldn't return triumphantly and rightfully so. After all, being assigned to the Thirteenth District was essentially a veiled exile.

If they went back without a justified reason, they would undoubtedly face sarcasm and ridicule.

However, if Su Ming excelled in the city exam and went to advance his studies in Starlight City, Su Yuan and Zhao Ning would have a reason to return triumphantly. The elders wouldn't have any objections, and they would actually be quite proud since it would mean the family had produced another talented person.

Zhao Ning was very moved by Su Ming's words, but she knew better than anyone what his capabilities were.

Just as Zhao Ning was pondering how to gently dissuade Su Ming's ambitious declarations to prevent a future setback, an excited voice came through!

"Well said, that's my son!"

Su Ming turned his head to look and saw Su Yuan approaching with a big, joyous smile. He had just arrived home and was thrilled to hear his beloved son's bold ambitions.

At this point, Zhao Ning gave Su Yuan an irritated glare, and his smile immediately stiffened.

Zhao Ning then walked over to Su Yuan and whispered a complaint.

"What are you encouraging him for? You know exactly what level our son is at. What happens if he gets hit hard again later on?"

"Uh, son, actually, it doesn't matter how you do on the city exams. If push comes to shove, coming back home to take over the family business isn't a bad idea," Su Yuan awkwardly amended his statement.

Su Ming's mouth twitched slightly upon hearing Su Yuan's words.

Zhao Ning hurriedly changed the subject and inquired about Su Yuan's progress.

"How did the handling of the matter go? Did you catch the person?"

Su Yuan also felt a headache coming on as he replied resignedly,

"No, we questioned the person involved, and she didn't know anything about the incident. She was in special training with her teacher when it happened and only found out about it afterward. The person who sabotaged our dear son is a master at handling information. That person cleverly took photos of the letter content and uploaded it to the campus network, also sending it to all the students without leaving much trace. You know it's rare to find people skilled in information technology nowadays, but it's not a problem. The old patriarch is already aware of this and has specially sent an information specialist down here. We'll be able to catch that individual soon."

Su Ming carefully reflected upon this. The love letter he remembered from this body's memory had been slipped into the girl's desk when he snuck into her class during a lunch break with no one around.

In theory, no one should know about it. So how was he sabotaged?

"Can't you just check the surveillance?" Zhao Ning said, irritated.

"CCTV is only present in key areas, and it didn't capture anything useful. As you know, we don't install surveillance unless necessary," Su Yuan explained helplessly.

In reality, the technological tree of this world was somewhat skewed, largely because of a catastrophic war that erupted a hundred years ago between the old Federation and the silicon-based Mechanical Clan.

During that war, the Federation's fleet communications, scanning devices, and information command platforms were all infiltrated and covertly compromised, resulting in a massive amount of weaponry paralyzing and backfiring.

In the end, the Federation's fleets were disastrously defeated and almost never recovered.

Subsequent war analyses showed that the Mechanical Clan could easily capture signals, invade databases, and manipulate all sorts of information.

Since then, the old Federation had restricted the use of communication technology devices, using local area networks and closed circuits as much as possible.

Currently, communication within the three major cities of the third planet and the Sixteen Districts is conducted using closed circuit lines, with signals only used for civil purposes in local areas. Surveillance equipment is also kept to a minimum.

Because in case of war with the Mechanical Clan, all these could become the enemy's eyes.

"Father, Mother. I plan to return to school tomorrow," Su Ming pondered for a moment, then spoke to Su Yuan and Zhao Ning.

Regarding the investigation, he didn't hold much hope. After all, the person who sabotaged him was certainly a student who was a master of information—a very outstanding person, not just anybody.

Such a person could not be heavily penalized even if caught; at most, they could be accused of privacy infringement or be dismissed as playing a prank.

Moreover, a person that outstanding couldn't withstand much scrutiny; it would be easy to speculate who it was. If his father had been investigating for so long without any results, it indirectly clarified everything—ultimately, Su Ming had to deal with it himself.

As for his eagerness to return to school instead of transferring, the reason was simple: there wasn't much time left before the city exam, and there was no time to waste.

"Son, are you going back to school? Are you sure it's alright?" Su Yuan asked worriedly after a pause.