chapter1238

"Oh? Are you really that nervous?" A voice floated over from behind.

Lucy, a blonde girl with striking blue eyes, spun her examiner badge between fingers painted a bold red. Her lips curled in a mocking, almost playful smirk. "I heard you are still feeling pulses. Back at Lodo Federal Institute, we've already moved on to 3D holographic heart bypass simulations."

Yara tensed up instantly.

Lucy's partner, Anders, was beside her, wiping his long fingers over and over with a sanitizing wipe, as if something had stained him. His eyes drifted over to them with obvious pity, the sort that looked down from above. "If you fall behind, you get left behind."

"Just ignore them," Lydia's voice broke through, cool and steady. For Lucy and Anders, this had to be the first time they'd run into such a bold student. After all, they were the examiners. Upsetting them would never end well.

Lydia could feel their cold stares but didn't bother to look back as she found her seat.

Yara squeezed her hands into fists, her thoughts spinning in chaos.

The morning started with the theory exam. Scores were tallied two ways: each student's individual rank and the average score for the national team. Every country had thirty students in the running. The team average determined the overall ranking. If someone's score didn't make the cut, they'd be eliminated right away. That meant every student who failed would drag down the team's average.

Inside the exam hall, the scratch of pens on paper was constant.

When Lydia got her test, she didn't rush to answer. She scanned through every question quickly, eyes sharp and focused. Then she started writing, her pen barely pausing for breath.

She only slowed down at the final essay: Analyze the relationship between precision medicine and holistic medical concepts.

Meanwhile, Marilyn and Yara sat frozen, staring blankly at their papers.

Marilyn gripped her pen so tightly it looked like she might tear the answer sheet. The question about the "At Diagnostic Error Rate Control Model was just a mess of strange symbols to her.

Yara had nearly worn a hole in the paper with her eraser, stuck on a diagram for the "Robotic Surgery

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Force Feedback System Her mind umped to the medicine notes She'd crammed the night before. Now, all of it was tangled up with mechanical arm specs she barely understood.

Regret hit her hard. Why hadn't she listened to her professors and studied more about robotic surgery? What was she supposed to do now? How could she even begin to answer these questions?

Lucy was supervising in Lydia's exam room. She'd expected Lydia to be just as lost as the other students, staring at the test in confusion. But what she saw was Lydia answerings question after question withcalm, almost effortless speed. The sight made Lucy's scarlet-tipped fingers close into a tight fist.

Anders leaned in close, whispering so only Lucy could hear, Maybe these students

are clever with traditional medicine, but when it comes to real technology..."

He didn't get to finish. Lydia had already put down her pen and started checking her

answers.

Every other student was still scribbling away, desperate to finish. The clock showed only thirty minutes had passed since the exam began.

Lucy and Anders exchanged a glance. Something about this didn't add up.

Their first suspicion was cheating. But they had no proof. They'd been watching Lydia since the exam started.

"Is this year's test easier than usual? Lucy whispered.

Anders looked at the blank spare paper in his hand and shook his head. "No. It's actually really tough."