Xia Huanao was unaware of what had happened, but the authorities had contingency plans, as that was their job. As soon as news of the proctors using Pokémon in the exam circulated online, the authorities issued an explanation.
"All proctors in this college entrance examination have the primary right to enforce. That is, they can deal with cheating behavior on the spot if discovered. The enforcement will be subject to official review, and an announcement will be made after the review."
With the official intervention, Xia Huanao's problem was no longer an issue. However, many netizens were still curious about how Xia Huanao managed to detect a Kecleon in the examination room.
Kecleon, with Pokédex number 352, evolved from Ditto in Xia Huanao's previous life. As a Pokémon, Kecleon could not only change its color but also its temperature. Even with a thermal imager, Kecleon had a seven or eight out of ten chance of evading detection. How did Xia Huanao find it?
After finishing his proctoring duties in the afternoon, Xia Huanao quickly noticed the message tagged him and replied directly: "Besides something called infrared, there's also a skill called supersonic."
Xia Huanao's explanation was logical. Even if you were optically and thermally invisible, Kecleon couldn't evade physical scanning methods like radar detection. Catching a Kecleon would be a piece of cake, right?
With Xia Huanao's explanation, it was unclear how many people intent on cheating during the college entrance examination wanted to take advantage of the situation. Xia Huanao, however, said: "They're all idiots. Since I dared to point it out, I'm not afraid of them finding a way around it."
...
After a simple dinner with Shen Yu, Xia Huanao told her to focus on her studies, as he wanted to see the captured Kecleon. If he could uncover more by following this lead, that would be even better.
Shen Yu fully supported Xia Huanao's idea; she also detested those who sought to gain an unfair advantage in the college entrance examination through illicit means.
Xia Huanao walked out without hesitation, though he didn't actually intend to see the Kecleon. Instead, after passing by the room where the Kecleon was kept, he went to another room.
In this room was a shifty-eyed young man, appearing to be in his early twenties. As Xia Huanao entered, he asked, "Well, have you thought it over yet?"
The young man turned his head and said, "Don't even think about it. I will never betray my superior, nor will I work for you. This is my basic professional ethics."
Xia Huanao turned away, and a nearby police officer nodded. "This kid won't listen. We can't do anything. All of them in this group are like this. They know the punishment is within acceptable limits, so they're going to push their luck."
Xia Huanao spread his hands. "Then let him push his luck. As long as we understand the technology, we can handle the rest. Once we've cracked this, their 'professional ethics' will completely damage their professional credibility. Who's afraid of whom?"
Hearing this, the young man, restrained by handcuffs on the table, sneered. "Do you think we haven't considered that? We've already made arrangements with them. We have passwords. What can you do? Do you really think you can crack them in one night?"
Xia Huanao clicked his tongue. "Are you kidding me? A high-stakes event like the college entrance examination and you plan to use passwords? After they finish their calculations, the students transcribing and copying would be troublesome enough. You want to add passwords? By the way, we've already followed the lead and caught everyone except your subordinates. We haven't made a move on them yet."
With that, Xia Huanao left without looking back, leaving the staff and the handcuffed man in the room speechless.
Xia Huanao had told a clever half-truth. To round up everyone in just a few hours would have been a pipe dream. Even with highly skilled trainers in the league, they had only managed to create the illusion of an uncovered operation.
Time flew by, and it was the next day. Xia Huanao tidied his attire and went to the examination site. Outside the site, a team composed of Magnemite and Zubat series Pokémon was ready. Xia Huanao gestured a thumbs-up to them before entering the examination hall, an action that sparked heated discussions among the surrounding candidates.
Hearing the candidates chattering outside, Xia Huanao took out a megaphone. "Ahem, this team has just been formed and lacks sufficient personnel, so each examination room can only proctor one subject. In essence, it's no different from before. Everyone, proceed with your exams as usual. There's no need to make a fuss."
Xia Huanao's words were true. Those who wouldn't cheat wouldn't cheat regardless of whether more people were added, even if there were no proctors. As for the cheaters, no matter how many locks you put in place, it wouldn't deter them from plotting.
As the entry time arrived, candidates began to enter the examination halls one after another. Xia Huanao sat in his chair, nodding intermittently as he watched the students enter. Until one familiar person walked in.
"Yo, got new glasses? No, you weren't wearing glasses yesterday, were you?"
The bespectacled young man coughed softly. "No, I was wearing contact lenses yesterday, but I lost one while jogging last night, so I had to wear these today."
Xia Huanao looked him up and down before allowing him into the examination hall. Time ticked by, and then, the examination began.
Xia Huanao sat on the podium, observing the students below while making gestures out the window. Occasionally, one or two students would notice Xia Huanao's gestures and understand what he was trying to do.
Traditional signal jammers usually worked by disrupting the surrounding electromagnetic environment or by forcibly connecting to the jammer to block signals. However, with the significant advancements in both human technology and Pokémon capabilities, this method was no longer as effective.
It was unclear which incredibly gifted individual had developed a method to bypass jammers using Pokémon. And surprisingly, it worked. Pokémon had numerous ways to transmit information. For instance, their moves included sonic waves, electromagnetic waves, and even psychic waves, which defied logic. A signal jammer would be quite ineffective against them. Relying on it to completely block signals was as likely as dreaming.
However, no method in this world was foolproof. The biggest drawback of this technique was its limited range. There was a significant difference between Pokémon and base stations. A base station erected here could cover several hundred meters. A larger one could cover kilometers or even tens of kilometers with ease. But expecting Pokémon to do such a job was more troublesome. Take a Zubat, for example. While stronger than the bats on Earth, its ultrasonic waves would dissipate within tens of meters. Therefore, those who cheated using this method had a strictly limited range, making them not too difficult to apprehend.
To get back to the point, Xia Huanao waved his hand, causing the team to create a false impression for those in the classroom that they were interfering with Pokémon-based cheating. Meanwhile, on the building where the arrests were made earlier, members of the Pokémon League were monitoring the examination site with binoculars.
"Did you see that? Boss Xia signaled. We can start feeding them the answers now."
"Boss Xia is really ruthless. He fabricated a set of plausible but flawed answers that seem watertight, but..."
"I think what Boss Xia is doing is right. They shouldn't rely on crooked methods instead of studying properly."
"That's true. Fortunately, this group used Electric-type Pokémon. If they were Psychic-types, it would be even more troublesome. How much longer until the operation begins?"
"About an hour. It's quite difficult to crack even one of these jammers after all this effort."
Xia Huanao sat in his chair, observing the crowd below. The bespectacled student he had been watching earlier had started to sweat, perhaps due to nervousness or something else. Xia Huanao stared at him, feeling increasingly familiar, as if he had encountered him somewhere unfortunate before.
After pondering for a long time, Xia Huanao suddenly remembered: this was the "midnight chasing wind youth" he had seen outside the examination hall before, the one he couldn't catch. He never expected life to be so coincidental.
An hour slowly passed. Xia Huanao glanced out the window. The league staff had already begun their operation. At this moment, the bespectacled student, who had been sweating profusely, started filling in his answer sheet. Xia Huanao sighed and stopped paying attention.
As time continued to pass, and the morning examination concluded, Xia Huanao chatted with his colleagues. "How did it go? How many did you catch?"
"Seven. My examination room detected seven. How many students are in one room? And yet, seven were caught. These students are truly weak, like Stunky giving birth to Rattata. Each generation is worse than the last."
Xia Huanao chuckled. What kind of proverb was this, a very obscure one.
"Never mind. Let's not think about it anymore. Only one subject left, and then it's over. As for the Pokémon portion, we've adopted a new proctoring method, so there shouldn't be any issues."
While Xia Huanao was chatting with his temporary colleagues, in an office at the league headquarters, Ma Lanqi was reading a report submitted by Meng Tianya. He sighed as he read, "These young people, it's good they're getting an education, so they won't resort to such crooked methods. Tianya, this entire chain of operations must be eradicated. We cannot allow them to continue their wicked deeds. Increase the crackdown, leave none alive." Meng Tianya nodded upon receiving the order and turned to leave the office to issue the commands.
Thus, on the afternoon of the same day, as the college entrance examination candidates were taking their final subject, countless police officers were dispatched. With Xia Huanao's "an eye for an eye" scheme, cheating in Minglong Country was comprehensively defeated.
However, after the basic cultural examinations concluded, the real highlight of the Minglong Country college entrance examination had just begun.