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The passing rate for each membership exam is roughly between 30% and 40%, and rankings are determined based on the final scores. Naturally, the top three from each session garner the most attention.
As soon as the list was released, it caused a massive stir.
First Place: Group A, No. 18, Shang Jingyan;
Second Place: Group B, No. 1, Hua Feitian;
Third Place: Group C, No. 290, Luo Zhiyu;
Fourth Place: Group C, No. 601, Noel;
–
The membership exam-related terms quickly dominated the top of the Exiled Star System’s trending searches. Once the results were announced, the general public began paying attention to the works, with heated discussions from both those who watched the livestream and those who didn’t.
#DirectorShangWellDeserved
#TheMoebiusSeaHorrorLoop
#HeavenSentStarshipMadeMeCry
#StrongestNewcomerDarkHorseTheReturnofthePrincess
–
【Ahhh, Director Shang is too awesome!】
【If there were a “Strongest Newcomer” award, Director Shang would definitely win. Debuting and immediately taking first place in the membership exam? Is that even humanly possible?】
【Whoa, someone tell me what happened? Noel didn’t even make the top three!】
【Someone predicted Luo Zhiyu would be a dark horse! A prophet! How have we never heard of this dreamweaver before?】
【I saw her “First Chef” before. I’m so embarrassed, I criticized her for not writing romance and told her to stick to what she knew. Turns out she didn’t write romance and still got third! And I was in the public review when I saw “Return of the Princess,” I remember thinking it was super exciting and good…】
【I’m a Hua Feitian fan, but I’m also a fan of Director Shang now… truly well-deserved!】
【Haha, I just realized something! This year’s top three aren’t focused on romance at all. Who would’ve thought the most romance-heavy film would be Director Shang’s?】
【Actually, in terms of screen time, Shang Jingyan’s male lead has the least. Sad. He doesn’t even have a close-up in the entire film…】
【OMG, I have a feeling the entire Exiled Star System’s work style is about to change.】
【LOL, where are Guan Gaoyang’s fans now? Where’s your idol? Oh, he’s 22nd.】
【Not even in the top 20, and he was one of the most popular candidates before the exam? That’s a lot of bull!】
【How did he get so much hype? No good works, no potential, Oren, you’re making a mistake.】
–
Outside the mental strength testing area, Guan Gaoyang’s expression almost cracked as he looked at the comments on StarNet.
When he first got his exam topic, Guan Gaoyang thought he’d be in the top three, and Shang Jingyan’s weird topic? Keeping her in the top ten would be a feat.
But she got first place!
Why?!
Resentment filled Guan Gaoyang’s heart, and for the first time, he felt a chilling sense of the gap between him and someone else.
Even if someone had told him beforehand that a story about “reincarnation,” “horror,” and “infinite loops” would get first place, he couldn’t have created “Moebius Sea.”
The plot points he was so proud of, the female lead’s revenge against the male lead, were nothing compared to the screams Shang Jingyan’s film elicited.
Guan Gaoyang was jealous of Shang Jingyan, and also dissatisfied with Hua Feitian and Luo Zhiyu.
Luo Zhiyu, especially, a nobody signing with a mediocre website, and she became the dark horse?
To add insult to injury, they were in the same group, Group C, but the audience and examiners were more captivated by her story!
What kind of romance was in Return of the Princess? Guan Gaoyang cursed inwardly. Everyone else was praising romance, he followed the trend and failed miserably, while she went against the current and got third? Where was the logic?
As for Hua Feitian…
Guan Gaoyang only dared to think about it, not show it on his face. In a moment he’d have to act all loving and follow humbly behind the young miss Hua.
He knew his fame was largely due to Hua Feitian’s influence, and even Oren had started paying him a bit more attention because of it.
Guan Gaoyang looked up at the line in the distance. Shang Jingyan and Hua Feitian had already entered the testing area.
The former hadn’t even tried to find him in the crowd or check the rankings on her light brain, acting completely confident, making him look like a clown.
The latter had glanced at him before the test, waving, showing everyone her affection for her boyfriend—though Guan Gaoyang knew Hua Feitian hadn’t even considered “being surpassed,” and that included him.
Guan Gaoyang felt a mix of frustration and complexity. 22nd place was actually quite high for a newcomer, and Oren’s initial goal was the top 20, he was only two places off.
—However, Oren’s plan was a compromise, a sign they were giving up on promoting him.
And with Oren’s culture, that basically meant he was on his own. Rumor had it that the higher-ups were starting to doubt the strategy of “nurturing a rising star from debut to becoming the top dreamweaver.”
If he wanted to achieve anything, he’d have to cling to Hua Feitian…
Guan Gaoyang held onto one last hope: what if his mental strength value was way higher than Shang Jingyan’s?
With that thought, he headed towards the testing area.
–
Shang Jingyan sat in the chair, put on the helmet, and picked up the mental strength tester’s input device.
It was a pure white sphere, and all you had to do was inject mental strength into it to measure your level.
The medical instruments worked differently from the home ones. The latter estimated your level through mental strength fluctuations, while the former directly measured the “size” of your mental strength.
Chai Yuanlin, one of the test supervisors, said, “Relax, don’t be nervous.”
But seeing Shang Jingyan’s casual attitude, she smiled and closed her mouth, turning on the device.
“Imagine your mental body is infinitely large, filling the space like water…”
A gentle mechanical voice guided her. Shang Jingyan closed her eyes, her consciousness spreading out in the pure white mental space.
In the StarNet space, she had been holding back, but now she released her restraints. Like someone wearing ill-fitting clothes finally taking them off and stretching their limbs.
The light ball in her hand gradually glowed, and on the screen beside her, the numbers changed rapidly.
50, 70, 85, 90…
If the light balls in others’ hands were old light bulbs, flickering and dying out quickly, the one in her hand was a rising sun.
The other Group A candidates who started testing with Shang Jingyan had already opened their eyes, but she still had her eyelashes lowered.
The higher the value, the slower the numbers jumped. After 99, her value became 100.
The candidates lingered, not wanting to leave. Seeing this, a subtle commotion and gasps spread through the crowd.
“Hey, isn’t that Director Shang over there?”
“I’ve been curious about her mental strength, I want to watch…”
“100!! Does that mean it’s full marks?”
The next second, in front of everyone, 100 changed again, becoming 105!
The crowd gasped even louder, some even rubbing their eyes, thinking they were seeing things.
The color of the numbers on the screen changed from black to gold, something that had never happened in any previous test.
“What, mental strength values can go over 100?! I’ve never heard of that!”
“Of course they can, you clearly didn’t study properly. I remember the textbook’s supplementary section mentioned an S-level above D, C, B, and A. Our teacher said it was just something to look at, most people would never see it in their lives… OMG, am I witnessing a miracle?”
“Wasn’t the founder of Evergreen known for their 122 mental strength value? But the instruments weren’t perfect back then, so many thought the number was wrong.”
Even Chai Yuanlin’s eyes widened slightly. In her memory, there was someone whose value had exceeded 100.
…It was her student, the one she had pinned her hopes on, and had been most disappointed by.
“Wait, look at Group B!”
Someone suddenly shouted, and the gasps spread through the crowd like a wave, everyone’s attention turning to Group B.
There was another candidate with their eyes closed, Hua Feitian.
Her value had also broken through the 100 mark!
The crowd was briefly speechless, then exploded “Did my eyes deceive me?? Most people won’t see this in their entire lives, and I saw two! Could the instruments be broken?”
“Damn, thinking about it, it’s not surprising Hua Feitian went over a hundred, she was 98 when she was a teenager… but it still feels surreal!”
“How lucky am I to be taking the exam with these two powerhouses?!”
“Even the main star system might only have one or two people over 100 every five years, we’re really hitting the jackpot in the Exiled Star System…”
“Someone pinch me, am I dreaming?”
“Reporters are already itching to get in, this is going to be huge news in the mainstream star system!”
The examiners looked bewildered, and the staff, like the candidates, suspected the instruments were faulty, and went to check.
But after checking everything, they looked at each other, stumped. Chai Yuanlin came to her senses and announced, “The instruments are working correctly.”
The crowd surged between the two testing areas, two young women on either side, the light balls in their hands illuminating their faces like two stars, separated by a vast galaxy, similar yet different.
The golden numbers continued to change, one chasing the other, but Hua Feitian’s slowed down and stopped, finally settling at 123.
She opened her eyes, showing no surprise, but was stunned by the scene around her.
Hua Feitian had expected her value, after all, no home instrument could measure it.
Her agent had asked her to test it and promote it, but Hua Feitian refused.
In the end, what was the use of the value? It didn’t represent a dreamweaver’s imagination or creativity, at most it just made dreamweaving easier and more efficient.
It couldn’t even make her parents look at her more.
However, despite that, Hua Feitian was still proud. She knew how unique she was, how she was a rare talent in the entire universe.
But now, she watched as a brighter star appeared in the same exam hall.
Hua Feitian’s feelings were complicated. If she had disliked Shang Jingyan before because of her boyfriend, now she was truly seeing Shang Jingyan for the first time.
She suddenly walked towards Shang Jingyan, the crowd parting like the Red Sea.
Hua Feitian scrutinized Shang Jingyan, and the numbers on her screen.
Who cared about Guan Gaoyang?
She only saw her opponent.
Shang Jingyan’s mental strength value finally settled at 180. The crowd, lacking a point of reference, didn’t know how impressive that was, they just stared.
90 was already an A-level, so what was twice that?
Some candidates looked up the information, then said, stunned, “The highest value in the main star system was 155…”
Shang Jingyan blinked, stretched, feeling like she had just woken up from a nap, and saw a sea of people staring at her like she was a rare species.
Shang Jingyan: “?”
What was going on? Did she talk in her sleep?
“Congratulations,” Hua Feitian said first. “Your mental strength level is… very high. Higher than mine.”
She held out her hand, and Shang Jingyan, confused, shook it. “Thank you for the compliment.”
The crowd, who had been too afraid to interrupt her test, finally erupted, their voices almost lifting the roof, and the glass doors were opened by the persistent reporters, who rushed in, their eyes glowing.
Shang Jingyan, though she didn’t know what had happened, instinctively backed away, saying, “I’ll take my leave first, bye!”
Hua Feitian, left alone to face the crowd: “…”
She rolled her eyes at the reporters, took out a lollipop, and said impatiently, “I’m not doing interviews, move!”
“Director Hua, what do you think of Director Shang surpassing you and getting first place?”
“Miss Hua, will you watch Moebius Sea?”
“Director Hua, are you satisfied with second place?”
The reporters’ questions came in a torrent.
So Shang Jingyan got first place, and she got second…
Hua Feitian had come for first place. Though she was accompanying her boyfriend, she had no intention of being a supporting role, and had given her all in the ten days.
She had expected this after seeing the mental strength values, so she wasn’t too disappointed.
Hua Feitian felt a strange sense of fighting spirit. Though she had debuted early, she had been content with being famous in the Exiled Star System, and hadn’t felt the desire to aim higher, even when her agent and fans praised her talent.
The famous dreamweavers in the main star system were nothing special in her eyes.
But now there was Shang Jingyan—who had completely defeated her in a competition she had looked down on.
And she had been arrogant enough to listen to Guan Gaoyang’s slander, and hadn’t even watched Shang Jingyan’s work.
Hua Feitian’s eyes flashed. For the first time in over a decade, she had a clear plan for her present and future—
First, get rid of the annoying reporters and go watch Moebius Sea and then, break into the mainstream star system and defeat Shang Jingyan.
–
#ShangJingyan180MentalStrengthValue #AllianceHistory…
These two hashtags quickly topped the trending searches, followed by “Explosive.”
【When I saw 180, I thought it was Director Shang’s height, and thought, what the heck? But it’s mental strength value?? What? Did I read that right?!】
【If it were me, I’d say it in every sentence. Hello, I’m an Exiled Star System high school student (180), my hobby is watching horror films (180), please reply to my marriage proposal (180).】
【LOL, that’s hilarious!! (180)】
【I’ve been gaping since I saw the trending search.】
【Our Exiled Star System is finally making it! This year’s newcomers are definitely crushing the mainstream star system!】
【It’s not just crushing, Director Shang has the highest mental strength ever, I’m still processing this…】
【Some haters were saying Director Shang was hiding because her value was too low, how’s that for a slap in the face? Use your brain!】
【LOL, poor Guan Gaoyang, no one cares about him now. Being in the same era as Director Shang is a tragedy for all other geniuses.】
【I want to know how the mainstream star system is reacting! Anyone translating?】
The mainstream star system would be a little slower to react, but by tomorrow, companies and websites wanting to sign them would be swarming.
Even before leaving the exam hall, Shang Jingyan’s light brain was flooded with dozens of invitations.
She forwarded a standard rejection, saying she had signed with Evergreen, but some people were still persistent.
The first news to spread was that this year’s newcomers in the Exiled Star System included two geniuses with mental strength values over 100.
X71 was acting like he had caught a virus, excited like a drunk: 【First! First! Everything’s first! Congrats, Yan Yan!! Hehehe, that’s how it should be! Our Yan Yan will amaze everyone!】
Shang Jingyan: 【It’s too early to say “amaze,” the mainstream star system is probably just curious.】
She didn’t feel too proud.
How did the mainstream star system see her and Hua Feitian? Probably like people in big cities looking at “high-IQ kids” from remote mountain villages.
Though she did gain a lot of viewers from the mainstream star system, the system’s heartbeat value map showed many new small lights, but overall, it was still dim.
Shang Jingyan tossed her Dreamweaver Association membership card, feeling a sense of accomplishment.
She was now a one-star Dreamweaver.
The association membership card was exquisitely made, pure white, with a gold star on it, and her name and information would appear when touched.
Association membership wasn’t limited to the Exiled Star System, but was universal. If she went to the mainstream star system, she would receive the same benefits.
X71, calmed down by Shang Jingyan, asked another question: 【Yan Yan, now that the exam is over, are you going to work on your next project?】
【Yes. I want to try a serial drama this time.】 Shang Jingyan said, typing three words in a blank document:
Infinite flow.
–
The top candidates of the membership exam had their own highlights and controversies, but Moebius Sea had the most discussion and detail, and it was also the first place winner.
The Evergreen forum created a special sub-forum for Shang Jingyan called “Jing Rice Flower,” matching the treatment of established dreamweavers.
Currently, the most popular thread in the sub-forum was the “Moebius Sea” thread, titled: 【Those who watched Moebius Sea, come in, the last sentence the female lead said gave me hope, urgently seeking analysis!】
Main thread: 【Do you think the female lead could regain her memory? She remembers the promise with the male lead from a previous loop, if she remembers, she might break the loop!】
【I don’t think so, maybe that happens in every loop… and even if she does regain her memory, what then? I’m pessimistic, even with regained memories, the best ending for them is a life in the sea, the pollution is still there.】
【Have you considered that different choices could lead to different loops? But no matter what, it’ll be an infinite cycle.】
【OMG, my head hurts just trying to sort out the plot, how did Director Shang come up with everything in just ten days? So impressive.】
【Anyone who hasn’t seen Moebius Sea missed out on a billion! My friend asked me what was wrong, it was the first time they saw me so passionately recommending a Dreamweaver.】
【There are many hidden details worth exploring, like the female lead’s species. Did they really migrate to wait for her return? The truth is probably that they’re extinct, from the cumulative pollution.】
【Does the symbol on the female lead’s hand have a deeper meaning? Even she doesn’t know it represents “loop” or “Moebius strip,” I suspect their species might have the power to reverse time.】
【The director’s words might not be entirely true either. He acts like he doesn’t know about mermaids, but why does he prepare the reagents so quickly and skillfully? Maybe the institute’s time machine was developed using her species!】
【The above is a bit of a stretch, but I can provide supporting detail: the weird fish in the institute. Could they be created by the female lead’s blood pollution? I screenshotted a page from the institute’s notebook, look at the research content: [Image]】
【There’s a clear arrow pointing from a mermaid to the other weird fish! If that’s true, then the institute knew about mermaids all along. Taking it further, maybe pushing the male lead out to sea was to keep the loop going…】
The “Building 18” discussion thread was also moved over, with all players and cloud players eager to see when it would be cleared.
Another hot topic was Director Shang’s new project. Fans were more concerned than Shang Jingyan herself, with the most popular thread being:
【If Director Shang has a weakness, it’s the music, right?】
【As the title says, Director Shang can do the scenery herself, though it’s a bit taxing. While I hope someone can share the load, it’s not urgent. The most urgent thing is a music partner. Most of the music she uses is from the library, some she’s adapted, and only a few are original. With her unique style, when will she have a dedicated music Dreamweaver?】
【This can’t be rushed, finding a partner is like a blind date, both sides have to click.】
【Let’s speculate, who are the musical talents in our star system?】
【Since we’re speculating, why not dream bigger (doge), like the “once-in-a-century genius,” Yun Yongxue…】
–
Meanwhile, in the central star system.
Under the night sky, an agent was walking, engrossed in his light brain, oblivious to his headphones dying and playing audio out loud.
He was watching “Moebius Sea,” initially clicking on it by chance, but now he was hooked, right at the climax, the most intense moment.
The agent was walking towards a tall, cathedral-like building, a sliver of light and beautiful music spilling out from a crack in the door.
Through the crack, a massive pipe organ was visible.
This ancient instrument, known as the “King of Instruments” in the previous star calendar, still retained its grandeur.
Its defining feature was its size, occupying an entire room, as majestic as a temple.
To create the right atmosphere, the building was designed like a cathedral, with the solar system’s totems painted in gold and silver on the high dome.
The pipe organ below had 400 pipes, made of special star crystal, the transparent crystals seeming to contain flowing blue starlight.
In this palace of stars and crystals, only one light was on, illuminating a three-meter radius around the platform in mid-air.
There was a white youth.
White shoulder-length hair, white eyelashes, white shirt, even his skin was translucent, with light pink irises in his half-lidded eyes.
The golden light made him look like a star in the darkness.
The agent was lost in the film, and only snapped out of it when the organ stopped playing, realizing he was playing audio out loud.
The BGM from his light brain echoed in the cathedral, ethereal and jarring.
Crap! This guy hates bad music.
The agent broke out in a cold sweat, quickly turning off his light brain.
The white youth was Yun Yongxue, mentioned by the Jing Rice Flower[1]instead of calling the fans Jing Popcorn, Jing Rice Flower will be used from now on. Its much more endearing. fans, the most famous musical genius of the day, hailed as a “once-in-a-century” talent.
He seemed to master any genre, any instrument, and his vocals were magnificent. Though only eighteen, he had composed music for countless master Dreamweavers.
However, his musical knowledge was rumored to come from his musician mother’s spiritual space, not his own learning—like pre-loading a computer with a complete system and study materials.
Though talented, he had taken a shortcut compared to others.
But Yun Yongxue hadn’t created a new piece in a long time, seemingly stuck in a slump, confining himself to his room. Yet, countless Dreamweavers offered huge sums for his music.
“I accidentally played an ad, don’t mind it…” the agent said, trying to brush it off.
But the youth in mid-air turned his head, interrupting him, “What’s the name of the music you were playing?”
References
↑1 | instead of calling the fans Jing Popcorn, Jing Rice Flower will be used from now on. Its much more endearing. |
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MidnightLiz[Translator]
Hi! I’m Liz.🌙✨ schedule: M͟i͟d͟n͟i͟g͟h͟t͟L͟i͟z͟T͟r͟a͟n͟s͟l͟a͟t͟i͟o͟n͟s͟✨ 📢 hi guys, I have to prep for my licensure examination this Sep, will be back updating the ongoing novels (actually already done some of them but I don't have time to proofread & edit them atm) once it's over, wish me luck pls~ for any concerns, suggestions, recommendations or just want someone to talk with you can reach out and dm me on discord~ 📢 💌Thank you for visiting, and I hope you enjoy reading! 💫📖