Chapter 47 – A Moment of Inspiration

The invigilator on the podium was momentarily taken aback by Lu Yuan’s response.

His expression quickly turned cold.

“Fine, leave your paper on the desk and go.”

Lu Yuan calmly gathered his stationery and left the exam room.

“Students these days…”

Watching Lu Yuan’s departing figure, the invigilator shook his head slightly, uncertain whether he felt disappointed or amused.

He walked nonchalantly towards Lu Yuan’s seat.

Casually picking up the exam paper from the desk, his eyes widened in the next second.

What he saw was not the expected blank sheet but a meticulously written, fully completed answer sheet.

His gaze moved down the paper, question by question.

The invigilator’s expression quickly shifted from initial disdain to shock, and finally to disbelief.

“It’s Lu Yuan from class three, and he handed in his paper early again!”

“It’s only been fifteen minutes since the exam started, and I haven’t even finished the multiple-choice questions! How did he manage to finish?”

“He does this for every exam! And his papers are always fully written.”

“He’s a real freak.”

“Anyone got the answers for the fill-in-the-blanks?”

“Quiet!”

The invigilator sternly hushed the buzzing classroom, then turned back to the paper in his hand.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, his face was a mix of complex emotions, rendered speechless.

Lu Yuan walked alone down the campus path.

Tall ginkgo trees lined both sides, their dense green leaves shielding the scorching midday sun, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

The incessant chirping of cicadas filled the air.

[You have completed an exam. Professional experience +7]

[Your skill in history has improved. Experience points +5]

Lu Yuan glanced at the messages popping up on his panel, his expression unchanged.

“Even a major exam like the final exam only gives me this much experience. The knowledge at the senior high school level is indeed somewhat shallow for me now.”

Lu Yuan pulled up his professional panel, which displayed:

[Profession: Student Level 4 (788/800)]

[Professional Basic Skills: Language Level 5 (133/1600)]

[Mathematics Level 5 (245/1600)]

[Physics Level 4 (580/800)]

[Chemistry Level 4 (434/800)]

[Biology Level 4 (362/800)]

[History Level 4 (377/800)]

[Geography Level 4 (589/800)]

[Information Technology Level 4 (32/800)]

Recently, he had been tackling university-level advanced mathematics and even self-studying a minor foreign language.

However, upon raising both Language and Mathematics to Level 5, he realized that the maximum level for basic skills under the [Student] profession was not actually five.

His original plan to quickly farm attribute points using the [Student] panel fell through, forcing him to take things slowly.

The final exam he had just completed was the last of the finals. Lu Yuan had handed in his paper almost an hour early, so he decided to leave the school grounds and walk home instead of waiting for the bus.

“Give me a large lemonade, extra large.”

After walking for twenty minutes under the scorching sun, Lu Yuan couldn’t take the heat anymore. He spent eight yuan at a nearby tea shop for a lemonade when he was a few blocks away from home.

The cold lemonade, with ice cubes, brought a slight relief as he held it in his hand.

He inserted the straw and gulped down the entire lemonade in one go.

Then he tore off the seal on the cup, poured the remaining lemon slices and ice cubes into his mouth, and chewed them vigorously.

The sour and cold sensation finally made him feel somewhat refreshed and re-energized.

After finishing the lemonade in a few quick gulps, he casually tossed the empty cup into a roadside trash bin.

Only then did Lu Yuan refocus his attention on his professional panel.

[Professional Core Skill: Absolute Concentration Level 3 (Active)]

In addition to that, there was a newly unlocked skill:

[A Moment of Inspiration Level 1 (Passive)]

This was the skill Lu Yuan was most interested in.

[A Moment of Inspiration Level 1 (Passive)]

Effect: Has a low probability of triggering inspiration, wisdom, and ideas under higher intelligence.

This second core skill unlocked under the [Student] profession had puzzled Lu Yuan for days.

“It feels like the trigger chance is ridiculously low. Eight exams during the final exam period, and it didn’t activate even once. Yet, it seemed to trigger once or twice during my martial arts practice.”

In fact, Lu Yuan wasn’t entirely sure if those instances counted as successful triggers.

One instance occurred while he was practicing the crane stance.

Without entering the Level 3 unconscious instinct state of [Absolute Concentration], Lu Yuan had been stuck on the sixteenth move, unable to execute it.

But during one practice session, he suddenly felt a “buzz” in his mind, as if a switch had been flipped, flooding his brain with images of crane stance training.

His body, guided by some mysterious instruction, naturally and effortlessly completed the sixteenth move.

The second instance happened during a sparring match with Lin Zhiqin.

It was a similar experience.

A mental switch flipped, his body responded instinctively, and he delivered an exceptionally “beautiful” kick, even forcing Lin Zhiqin to take a half-step back, revealing a moment of surprise on his face.

“It’s like the critical hit mechanic in online games.

[A Moment of Inspiration] gives me a chance to perform extraordinarily well in either learning or combat!

Unfortunately, my current ‘crit rate’ is too low.

The trigger probability, besides relying heavily on luck, might also depend on another factor?”

Lu Yuan’s brain, powered by 11 intelligence points, worked rapidly, analyzing the situation.

Suddenly, he quickened his pace, seeking refuge from the scorching sunlight in the shadow of a building, his eyes flashing with realization.

A word popped into his mind—

Pressure!

“You’re back early today?”

When Lu Yuan arrived home, he saw Lu Xinghua carrying a sack out of the family’s small shop.

It wasn’t clear what was in the sack, but it looked heavy.

“Yeah, Grandpa will be discharged from the hospital in a couple of days.”

Lu Xinghua carried the sack straight to the garbage bin by the roadside in front of the shop. Curious, Lu Yuan moved closer to take a look.

But Zheng Qiuling’s shout called him back.

“What’s there to see? They’re just dead rats!”

Dead rats?!

Lu Yuan’s heart skipped a beat, immediately recalling the giant rat that had attacked him at the alley entrance a few nights ago when he was returning home late.

“Have there been a lot of rats in the shop lately?”

Lu Yuan tried to ask casually, his eyes quickly scanning the corners of the small shop, including the ceiling.

“Who knows where they suddenly came from,” Zheng Qiuling replied, her expression turning grim. She lowered her voice, “This morning, one even ran across my foot. Luckily, there were no customers in the shop at the time.”

“Enough talking. Don’t you have enough to deal with already?”

Lu Xinghua walked over and impatiently interrupted.

Zheng Qiuling fell silent.

Lu Xinghua then turned to Lu Yuan, “Don’t go around talking about this either. Every grains and oils shop has a few rats. I’ve already called someone to handle it. Now that you’re on break, go upstairs and study. Stop wandering around and getting in the way.”

Lu Yuan responded with an “Okay,” not daring to mention that he had just finished his final exams and was technically on summer vacation already.

Lu Xinghua had lost a lot of weight recently. A little over a month ago, he still had the energy to help Lu Yuan sign up for martial arts classes and occasionally ask about his studies.

Now, he didn’t even care whether Lu Yuan had taken his final exams or not.

The pressures and trivialities of life had overwhelmed this man, leaving him exhausted and irritable.

“Rats in the house mean that giant rat hasn’t gone far; it’s hiding nearby,” Lu Yuan analyzed as he headed upstairs.

This conclusion filled him with unease.

The last encounter with the giant rat had left a deep impression on him due to its ferocity and speed.

He couldn’t imagine what would happen if an ordinary person accidentally encountered it.

Yet, he had no good solution. Even the police could only advise everyone to be more cautious. He certainly couldn’t crawl into the sewers in the middle of summer to look for it.