Chapter 1121 - 1121: Withdrawal Not Allowed

The situation has developed to a point where it's somewhat out of control.

Many things, when taken too far, inevitably lead to unpredictable changes.

If Hua Ling wanted to manipulate things behind the scenes to get Xiao Feng into the top ten, he could have easily placed him exactly at the tenth spot.

Although there would still be doubts at that time, it wouldn't be so intense.

Of course, Hua Ling giving Xiao Feng and the little girl full marks in every subject is largely out of spite.

Since it's impossible to openly tell everyone that the assessment is biased, he used actions to speak instead of words.

As it stands, Hua Ling's goal has been perfectly achieved. More than ninety percent of people now believe that there's a rigged assessment, and it's flagrantly obvious!

Xiao Feng frowned deeply, glanced at the list, and found that excluding himself and the little girl, the list still had significant issues.

Firstly, the person ranked ninth, Gu Shi, in Xiao Feng's view, is far from qualified for ninth place.

Then looking at the tenth-placed Qi Guanghe, he's also far from deserving a top ten spot.

In conclusion, the issue with this list isn't just about being filled with water; it's something that's been arranged from the beginning.

On this basis, Xiao Feng easily reverse-engineered Hua Ling's thought process.

However...

Giving the highest score to the worst performance might be a more effective way to "expose the bias through action."

Xiao Feng didn't waste any more time thinking and quickly strode up the stairs to the stage.

The noisy crowd below went silent one by one.

When it was completely silent, Xiao Feng smiled and said, "One should have self-awareness. Based on my performance, I clearly don't deserve first place.

So, I've decided to withdraw from this list, even if it means getting a zero score."

"You think you can just quit?" Hua Ling objected.

Xiao Feng raised an eyebrow: "Is there any explicit rule that doesn't allow a member to withdraw from the list?

Below, the members looked at each other, unable to figure out what was going on.

Given Hua Ling's previous words and deeds, it was clear he was biased towards Xiao Feng, so naturally, everyone assumed they were in cahoots.

But now it seemed like they were going to have a falling out?

"Did you bring the assessment manual?" Hua Ling asked.

"No."

"It's alright, I brought it."

With that, Hua Ling took a small booklet from his pocket and handed it to Xiao Feng, saying, "Turn to page seventeen."

Xiao Feng turned to page seventeen as instructed, finding the content related to the scoring by the examiner.

However, the instructions were quite vague.

It wasn't the words that were blurry, but the terms and conditions were ambiguous, making it hard to pinpoint exact standards.

"It doesn't say here that members can't abandon their performance scores." Xiao Feng waved the manual.

Hua Ling calmly replied, "There's a line of small print in the lower right corner."

"There is?" Xiao Feng looked closely but still couldn't find any words, only seeing a few small black dots like printing imperfections.

"It's there." Hua Ling nodded affirmatively.

After saying that, he took a magnifying glass out of his pocket.

Xiao Feng accepted the magnifying glass and after looking for a long time, finally saw in tiny print under the magnifying glass, almost the size of millet, the words: "The final interpretation rights for this item belong to the on-duty examiner."

In plain words, it meant that Hua Ling, Wu Zhanbo, and the other five examiners could always justify their scores, no matter how they were given.

At this moment, someone below the stage also saw that line of text, invisible to the naked eye, through a magnifying glass.

This made everyone feel like they were being made a fool of, and their anger shifted from Xiao Feng personally to the entire assessment.

Because according to the fine print in the manual, the assessment itself was a complete joke.

In other words, apart from the top ten core members on the list, everyone else was just a backdrop.

At this time, the oldest examiner came on stage to calm the situation, saying, "We've been busy all day, and everyone is tired.

This matter will definitely be resolved to everyone's satisfaction; let's discuss it tomorrow. Go home, take a hot bath, have a good sleep, and refresh your spirits before discussing it further."

Seeing some people reluctant to leave, the old examiner added heavily: "Arguing here endlessly isn't going to lead to a resolution, is it?"

With the thought that "you can run away but you can't outrun the monastery", the angry crowd dispersed, each harboring a determination to get to the bottom of this matter.

In fact, the reason Xiao Feng didn't want to join the core members was because he didn't want to get too deeply involved with the Demon Suppression Action Team.

The more you know, the more dangerous it becomes; this principle applies everywhere.

Once you get involved with core secrets, it's bound to bring trouble.

And Xiao Feng, he dislikes trouble the most.

Of course, it depends on the type of trouble.

For example, when it comes to collecting debts owed by clients, even though it's troublesome, Xiao Feng is more than willing to do it.

...

As the assessment ended, the device blocking phone signals at the mountain peak was also turned off.

After taking a shower, the first thing the members did was retrieve their phones.

The first thing Xiao Feng did after getting his phone wasn't to seek payments from clients but to contact Xue Nuofu to inquire if there was any progress in the investigation of the Tang Family and whether home was safe and sound.

Xue Nuofu, woken up in the middle of the night, was quite displeased.

Bad sleep can affect skin condition!

But since it was Xiao Feng calling, he had to pull himself together and replied: "Nothing happened at home, and the investigation of the Tang Family is mostly clear.

According to our findings, the Tang Family established themselves in Kyoto thirty years ago without anyone involved in politics, operating a food business selling rice, noodles, seasonings, and the like.

For thirty years, the business neither expanded nor shrank, remaining almost a straight line without ups and downs.

Their relationship with people and families with backgrounds is neither close nor distant, seeming to keep a deliberate distance..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Feng frowned but didn't interrupt Xue Nuofu.

"The situation Wang Lubo investigated is pretty much the same as ours.

He mentioned his grandfather also received a birthday gift from the Tang Family last year, but it was only a flower basket, nothing valuable.

The current head of the Tang Family is Tang Mingbo, who is forty-five years old, steady, cautious, took over the family business four years ago, and is unmarried with no children, with no stains on his conduct.

There are rumors that he likes men, but such gossip doesn't have much value for verification."

After listening to all this, Xiao Feng fell into deep thought.

From the investigation by Xue Nuofu, the Tang Family seems to fit the profile of those small, invisible players at banquets who drink with important figures, occasionally brushing up their presence, nothing too noticeable.

But for such an inconspicuous Tang Family, how could they possess such significant leverage?

In less than half an hour, they caused the supplier of Feng Hua Xue Yue to break the contract paying a hefty penalty.

Then immediately incited a crisis of trust within his client circle.

Could it be... I've been overthinking it?