He confirmed that the investigation on Huo You was coming to an end.
Since he was Xu Yao’s trusted subordinate and had family members who were also preparing for the college entrance exam, he took the opportunity to complete his task smoothly and tried to extract some information from his superior.
Fortunately, Xu Yao, being a close confidant of those in power, had access to some insider information.
He wasn’t averse to sharing a bit with his subordinates, so he said indifferently:
“Including Brook Star, the Outer Fourth Ring planetary belt is part of a single exam paper. A total of 128 planets are taking part.
Our Four-Star Belt High School Alliance has assessed that this year’s exam difficulty will increase due to an internal power struggle within the Ministry of Education— the reformists won.
This will significantly raise the difficulty level, essentially favoring the aristocracy.
Their educational resources far surpass others, and their descendants are better at achieving high scores on difficult exams.
This means the exam will further block the upward mobility of the third and fourth racial groups, stripping them of opportunities to enter 985-tier elite universities. To ease social tensions, they will make minor concessions in the exam rules.”
The investigator’s heart tensed up.
What kind of concessions?
They were also from the lower classes, third-race individuals.
If they could gain insider knowledge and prepare accordingly, it would be a huge advantage…
Xu Yao didn’t keep them in suspense.
After all, this information wasn’t exactly a secret—on other planets, it was already common knowledge.
Brook was ultimately a garbage planet.
The people here always carried a sense of being excluded from opportunity—a kind of innate inferiority.
“Candidates will be allowed to choose their own exam difficulty level.”
“So difficulty is self-determined, but the rewards will vary accordingly. The exam point system follows a calculation formula. In the end, the choice is up to the candidates themselves—this is the so-called concession.”
“Are the rewards taken from the national treasury?”
Xu Yao caught the greed in his subordinate’s tone and sneered internally.
Sheep’s wool always comes from the sheep itself.
While they soothed the commoners with these “rewards,” they were also creating new channels to extract resources from the Federal Treasury.
That’s how the first and second races operate—do you really think the commoners will get the better end of the deal?
But still, even he was tempted.
“Of course. And the rewards will be extremely rare—far harder to obtain than in previous years.”
The investigator, now burning with urgency, rushed home to relay the exam intelligence to his child.
Meanwhile, Xu Yao had already compiled his report and submitted it to his superiors.
Now, all he had to do was wait for it to be processed up the chain of command.
He wouldn’t dare bypass levels—otherwise, he’d be waiting for retaliation from above.
“Now, it’s just a matter of seeing what price the Huo family is willing to pay.”
To purchase Huo You’s future.
Little did they know, after the investigators left, the door shut, and behind it, Huo You stood against the door panel, unsurprised at Little Sheep Food Company’s keen interest in this matter.
After all, the instigator was still her.
It was because she had deliberately leaked Huo Xirou’s communication records.
Her reasoning was simple: She was already at rock bottom. She couldn’t change Huo Xirou’s malice toward her. Instead of risking her life under her unpredictable whims during the crucial days of the college entrance exam, she chose to strike first—inviting both parties into the trap.
Two major forces.
Both the Huo family and Little Sheep Food Company had now stepped into the arena, and they could fight it out amongst themselves.
Of course, no matter who won, both sides were hostile toward her.
Any outcome was unfavorable.
This was the price of compromise, and the cost was her life.
But all she needed was to buy time—the negotiation period would also be her window of safety during the exams.
If she scored well, everything would change.
If she failed, the outcome would be the same regardless.
It was only a matter of time.
That’s just how ants survived—they could only draw packs of wolves to chase them in order to barely stay alive.
She had no other choice.
However, the person in charge of the investigation for Little Sheep Food Company was shrewd… greedy, yet meticulous.
Huo You had already formed a judgment about Xu Yao.
She turned and contacted the granary’s exclusive retail store to have her pre-ordered food delivered.
“Yes, and also bring the food I stored in your lockers.”
“It’s fine, I know you’re busy and have a lot of deliveries—I’ll tip you.”
“Thanks.”
The third party, the granary, was the only entity that could naturally interact with her without being under the investigative jurisdiction of either side.
When the granary’s delivery person carried a bag through the crowds, no one from the Brook Education Center even spared him a glance.
He was just a food delivery guy.
And not even one of their food delivery guys—he worked for an external system.
No one cared.
Besides, just look at how many deliveries he was carrying—who could possibly check them all?
As for Huo You ordering food?
That wasn’t strange.
Wasn’t that exactly what they told her to do?
Such an obedient girl.
After receiving the delivery, Huo You thanked the courier.
Inside the bag were two portions:
One was freshly ordered: cornbread and industrial-grade sugary juice.
The other had been picked up before entering the education center—a banking express package, hidden inside the second granary food container.
Opening it up, alongside the food—
Was a helmet.
And a strange parasite embryo.
Huo You arrived at the small town, slipping in quietly.
She retrieved a semi-device from a small supermarket’s storage locker—a crude, shoddily made thing with barely any accuracy.
It could only pinpoint her to the general vicinity of the town, which was perfect—no need for excessive detail.
Next, she headed to the local granary, where she used her granary card to check her balance.
Fifty pounds of corn flour.
“Even as a ‘small supervisor,’ this is all they managed to save?”
Once again, Huo You was struck by the miserable living conditions of the lower classes in this world.
When she first arrived, she had thought:
A universe-wide power struggle?
Great, perfect for a workhorse like me.
Once I rise again, I’ll dominate.
After a few days, she had thought:
Selling yourself as a companion or for breeding doesn’t even pay much, and most of the time, you probably have to pay instead.
I should just get a job.
After three years, she had thought: “Damn it. You have to work, get bred, and you still don’t get enough to eat? Might as well eat shit.”
At that point, she realized—either die, or take everyone down with her.
And so, her months-long plan had begun.
Luckily, so far, it was working.
Huo You turned to the service worker and requested to exchange all fifty pounds of corn flour for processed food.
“Are you sure you want to convert it into corn cakes?”
“Yes.”
“Alright. After deducting the food processing fee, you’ll get thirty pounds of corn cakes—a total of 98 pieces.
Since this is a large amount and inconvenient to carry, we can provide you with a retail shopping card under our company. You can redeem the corn cakes directly at affiliated supermarkets or government-run cafeterias.”
Huo You studied the service worker for a moment before glancing at their employee badge.
Mickey Mouse Granary.
What a name.
Seriously.
Mickey Mouse Savings Group—rumor had it that the founder’s parasite was actually a highly intelligent, humanoid Mickey Mouse…
Honestly, if it weren’t for the “Mi” character at the beginning, no one would dare store their grain here.
The grim reality of this dystopian world was evident:
Even food security was monopolized, and corn cakes—something so basic—had become a regulated commodity.
Yet, Huo You wasn’t just surviving.
She was making moves.
And soon, the real game would begin.