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Chapter 2

Author: Strawberry Softie
From that day on, the entire class started shutting me out.

Honestly, being ostracized by all of them made my life more peaceful than ever.

Carly no longer pestered me every day to help her with calculus, and I didn't have to deal with all the pointless check-in chains flooding the class group chat.

I went to the lab every day as usual to help my advisor with his research projects. Whenever I had free time, I'd head downtown to an upscale cafe for afternoon coffee. Life couldn't have been more relaxing.

Even though I'd been kicked out of the class group chat, my best friend, Finn Varley, was still in the loop and sent me screenshots of their ridiculous antics every day so we could laugh about them.

[Finn: Anders, look at this! The class has completely lost it! Preston used Novi to get GRE waivers for all 45 of them and supposedly guaranteed everyone an interview at Hawthorne. Now they're planning to go there for grad school as one big happy class. I'm dying!]

I opened the screenshot Finn had sent me.

It was a photo dump Preston had shared on social media. There was a screenshot of his conversation with Novi.

Preston: [Please enter all 45 students in my cohort into Hawthorne University's graduate admissions system and waive our GRE requirement so we can go straight to admissions interviews next spring.]

Novi: [Dear user, your request has been accepted. This system has successfully accessed Hawthorne University's internal graduate admissions system. GRE waivers have been approved for all 45 students, and your interview spots are guaranteed. Please wait for your interview invitations next March. In the event of any problems, our company promises to compensate each student $1.4 million for emotional distress.]

I burst out laughing.

There was no need to wait until they were old and gullible. They were already the perfect customers for every miracle supplement scam out there.

A chatbot promised them $1.4 million, and they actually believed it? Why didn't they just ask Novi to wire them the money while they were at it?

Under Preston's post, comments from our classmates had already formed a long thread.

Carly: [Thank you, Preston! You're the best! I already tore up all my GRE prep books! Finally, no more waking up early!]

Kendra: [With $1.4 million guaranteed if anything goes wrong, we literally can't lose! Girls, we're pulling an all-nighter at the gaming cafe tonight to celebrate getting into grad school early!]

Preston replied to Carly: [Hey, we're all classmates. It's no big deal. By the way, Carly, your boyfriend Anders seriously doesn't know what's good for him. Don't let him drag you down.]

Carly replied to Preston: [Don't even mention him. He ruins my mood. I'm already planning to break up with him. All he knows how to do is bury his head in books. Someone like him doesn't deserve a girl who's about to attend Hawthorne University for grad school.]

Reading Carly's reply made my stomach turn. How blind had I been to ever fall for someone so stupid, nasty, and ridiculously full of herself?

Sure enough, Carly texted me that very night.

[Anders, we should break up.]

[Everyone in the class has already secured GRE waivers and guaranteed interviews. You're the only one still stupidly studying.]

[We're not in the same world anymore. Once I start grad school at Hawthorne University next year, I'll be surrounded by people in elite academic circles, while you'll probably fail to get into even a decent school. It's better if we end things now instead of holding each other back.]

I stared at those smug messages and couldn't even summon the desire to type out an insult.

I replied simply: [Get lost.]

Then I blocked her and deleted her contact without a second thought.

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  • The AI Shortcut   Chapter 11

    On my last day on campus, I packed up the last few books in my dorm and shipped them to Hawthorne.Looking around the empty room, I took a deep breath of the early summer air. I'd never felt more at peace.I was wheeling my small suitcase toward the main entrance, ready to head to the train station, when my phone suddenly buzzed.It was a message from Emily.Emily: [Anders, be careful! I was helping out in the security office near the back entrance and saw Carly and Kendra with more than a dozen people. It looked like some of them were carrying bats or sticks, and they were heading toward your dorm. Something is up with them!]Sure enough, I'd barely made it halfway down the tree-lined path when more than a dozen people surrounded me, blocking the way in front of and behind me.Carly stepped out of the group with a baseball bat in her hand."Anders, you look pretty relaxed. Getting ready to head off to Hawthorne?" She stared at me, her voice hoarse, her eyes burning with crazed

  • The AI Shortcut   Chapter 10

    As the public outrage spiraled out of control, the police quickly issued an official statement.According to the statement, they had opened an investigation into the defamatory rumors targeting Anders Dawson, traced the IP address behind the original post, and would be questioning those involved.Our university couldn't withstand the enormous public pressure either.That afternoon, the administration called an emergency meeting. The disciplinary action, which had originally stopped at serious probation and withholding degrees, was immediately escalated to the maximum penalty.Our academic advisor posted one final, cold announcement in the class group chat, which now had only 45 members left.[Following an investigation into the coordinated harassment and malicious false allegations committed by members of this class, the university has determined that these actions constitute serious violations of university policy and applicable law. Kendra Walsh, Preston Lewis, Carly Monroe, and

  • The AI Shortcut   Chapter 9

    The netizens weren't stupid, and major news outlets quickly picked up the story.Not a single person in the comments sympathized with them. The ridicule was relentless.[Am I seeing this right? These are college students? How did people this stupid even get into college?][An AI says it'll give you $1.4 million, and you believe it? If I ask an AI to declare me president, are you all going to start calling me Mr. President?][This is insane! You didn't want to put in the work, tried to take a shortcut, got played by an AI, and now you have the nerve to act like victims?][Anders Dawson is the one I feel bad for. He earned his admission to Hawthorne, and these idiots are still trying to smear him.]Then Hawthorne University released an official statement: [Hawthorne University's graduate admissions process follows all applicable admissions policies and procedures. There is no special admissions channel through which an AI system can grant GRE waivers or admission. Our investigation

  • The AI Shortcut   Chapter 8

    I gave a cold laugh, turned around, and walked back into the lab. I pulled Hawthorne's gold-embossed acceptance letter from my drawer and slapped it against Carly's chest."Open your eyes and take a good look at what this is."Carly fumbled to catch the heavy envelope. The moment she saw what was inside, she froze as if she'd been struck by lightning."You... you got in?" Her lips trembled violently, her eyes going wide."That's right. Hawthorne offered me direct admission back in September." I watched her entire worldview collapse before her eyes."I went to the library every day because I was helping my advisor with his research. I didn't tell any of you because I didn't see any reason to brag about it to a bunch of idiots who don't even have common sense.""No... That's impossible..." Carly staggered back two steps, and the acceptance letter slipped from her hands.Then she suddenly pointed at me and screamed, "It was you! You stole our spots! Preston said hackers intercepted

  • The AI Shortcut   Chapter 7

    And so, an utterly surreal scene unfolded along the curb outside Hawthorne University.45 college students in black suits sat in a neat row in the chilly early-spring air, staring fixedly at their phone screens as they waited for the bank notification that would change their lives.On the other end of the video call, Emily, who was filming everything, finally couldn't hold back her laughter. Emily: [What exactly are your classmates doing out here?]I sent back a popcorn emoji. [Waiting for money to fall from the sky. And apparently waiting for their brains to start working.]Two hours passed.The cold wind left them shivering, but not a single phone received a deposit notification.Only then did the fantasy they'd been living in for months finally shatter for good. There were no GRE waivers, no special treatment, and definitely no $1.4 million.All they had left were the study materials they'd burned with their own hands, the GRE they'd chosen not to take, and the humiliating

  • The AI Shortcut   Chapter 6

    At Kendra's command, more than forty college students in cheap suits actually charged toward Hawthorne's security barrier like a horde of zombies.Reality put a stop to them fast.Hawthorne's security team wasn't about to stand around and let them storm the building.Faced with a mob that seemed completely out of control, the head of security immediately raised his radio. "We need backup at the entrance! We've got a group trying to force their way into the admissions building!"Within a minute, more than a dozen security officers rushed over."Back up! Take another step, and we'll remove you by force!" The officers formed a line, their voices booming.Kendra, who had been leading the charge, had clearly never faced anything like this before. Her legs went weak, and she stumbled backward and fell.Carly was even worse. The moment she saw more security officers rushing over, she shrieked and scrambled backward, stepping squarely on Preston's polished dress shoe."Ow! Carly, watch

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