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墨書 Inktalez
This is a major criminal case that "altered the destinies of 6.3 million people," and it left hundreds of thousands of top students in despair, crying uncontrollably.
For the vast majority, the college entrance examination, known as the Gaokao, is one of the most crucial turning points in life.
However, the Gaokao of 2003 has been criticized as the most disastrous year ever, and even now, those who took that exam still carry an indelible shadow from that experience.
That year, all regions using the national exam paper switched to a backup version. It is worth noting that the mathematics backup paper was set by Ao Shu Di's Teacher Ge.
As a result, this year's Gaokao plunged into chaos, causing countless candidates to fail miserably. The root cause of all this was simply a 19-year-old high school student who, fearing poor results, stole a copy of the exam paper in advance.
Who is this student who single-handedly doomed an entire generation? What will ultimately be his fate?
Date of Incident: June 5, 2003.
Location: Nanchong City, Sichuan Province.
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On that noon, personnel from the Nanchong Public Security Bureau routinely inspected the security measures for the Gaokao exam papers across various counties. However, when they arrived at the Confidential Room of the Nandu County Education Bureau, they suddenly discovered that the seal on the northern window had been torn open, and one of the steel bars on the window showed clear signs of tampering.
Instinctively, they knew that the exam papers had likely been stolen. Sure enough, when staff opened the Confidential Room, they were shocked to find that seven cabinets had been pried open and exam papers for various subjects had been stolen from each.
In an instant, everyone present felt a chill run down their spines. It is important to note that in our country, confidentiality levels are generally classified as secret, confidential, and top secret. The confidentiality level of Gaokao exam papers is equivalent to that of nuclear weapon data; it belongs to the highest classification—top secret.
This means that if Gaokao exam papers were stolen, it would be akin to sensitive national information falling into the hands of criminals, leading to immeasurable losses.
Faced with such a serious and heinous incident, relevant personnel dared not delay for even a moment. They urgently reported to their superiors and quickly sealed off the scene, prohibiting anyone from leaving or contacting the outside world.
To prevent any leakage of exam questions, authorities immediately shut down all internet cafes in Nanshou County and cut off signals for mobile phones and landlines. They conducted comprehensive monitoring of internet activity and focused on local printing and copying shops as key areas of concern.
However, even if the police apprehended the murderer within a day, there was no guarantee that the exam papers had not been leaked. If the exams were postponed and new papers printed, it would undoubtedly lead to unforeseen losses.
It is important to note that to ensure the smooth participation of 6.3 million candidates in the national college entrance examination, various industries had made corresponding adjustments. A delay would mean that numerous plans would be disrupted, resulting in losses amounting to billions.
More critically, this would affect the mindset of most candidates, rendering twelve years of hard study futile for millions. Thus, the Supreme Authority issued an order requiring that the exams proceed as scheduled, while all cities using the same exam paper as Nanshou County would switch to backup papers.
At the same time, to prevent further escalation of the situation, the Supreme Authority instructed the police to conduct a covert investigation into the theft.
Initially, the police suspected that an educational institution had stolen the exam papers for profit or that security personnel from the Nandu County Education Bureau or those involved in transporting the papers had taken them to help their children achieve good scores.
However, investigations revealed that after the theft, there was no related news or questions posted online, and no printing shops in Nanshou County had printed or copied any exam papers. Furthermore, there were no issues concerning the children of relevant personnel.
So what was the motive behind stealing the college entrance examination papers?
On June 7, 2003, at 4 a.m., in order to quickly identify the suspects, the state dispatched criminal investigation expert Wu Guoqing and forensic expert Ban Maosen to secretly conduct a detailed examination at the Nandu County Education Bureau.
Meanwhile, as the college entrance examination proceeded as scheduled, millions of candidates entered their examination rooms. Faced with this crucial turning point in their lives, they put away their smiles and prepared to confront this unforgettable test. Little did they know that this test would be hellish.
During the Chinese language exam, students could still lament their shaky foundations and find the questions difficult and complex. However, when it came time for mathematics, everyone began to question their existence.
The difficulty of the math exam was so high that many could not even understand the questions. Even those who regularly participated in math competitions felt immense pressure. Top students who usually completed multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions in just forty minutes found themselves struggling after an hour and a half without finishing.
Suddenly, except for those who typically struggled academically, everyone was sweating profusely as anxiety spread rapidly among the candidates. It is well-known that mathematics carries significant weight in college entrance examinations; every point gained could elevate a candidate's rank by thousands.
Under such immense pressure, candidates' mental defenses crumbled instantly. Some fought back tears while gritting their teeth to think; others broke down and cried uncontrollably; and some even fainted from excessive stress and had to be taken away by emergency services.
Outside various examination halls, parents waiting for their children noticed that most students emerged from their math exams in tears.
The following day, due to issues with the math paper, many candidates performed poorly on their science comprehensive exams as well; even some top students began to resign themselves to fate and randomly fill in answers.
In summary, the college entrance examination of that year became a nightmare for the vast majority, altering countless destinies. Due to the confidentiality of the case, it wasn't until many years later that most people learned the cause of it all was the theft of the exam papers, leading some regions to use backup tests.
So who was this thief that single-handedly rewrote the fates of so many? On June 9, 2003, with the successful conclusion of the national college entrance examination, a significant discovery was made by the expert group.
First, based on multiple analyses, it was determined that the exam papers had not been disseminated through any channels, essentially ruling out the possibility of economic motives.
Second, judging from the traces left at the scene, the suspect exhibited strong climbing abilities. Coupled with the shoe prints found at the scene, the expert group estimated that the suspect was likely between 18 and 28 years old, standing between 1.7 and 1.75 meters tall, and had a lean physique.
Third, in the early hours of the day of the incident, the power supply to the Confidential Room building had been briefly cut off, resulting in surveillance footage not capturing the suspect's actions.
Although security personnel overlooked this situation, it also indicated that the suspect was very familiar with the surroundings of Confidential Room, suggesting they had likely scoped out the area beforehand.
Fourth, and most crucially, police discovered fingerprints belonging to the suspect at the scene. Based on these points, the expert group boldly speculated that the suspect was most likely a student from Nanshou County who participated in the examination.
Thus, on June 12, all candidates from Nanshou County received a notification stating that all students who took part in the exam were required to return to school to have their fingerprints recorded for establishing a college application information database by the Ministry of Education. Although this was something candidates had never encountered before, everyone returned to school as it concerned their college applications.
At that moment, one candidate instantly realized after receiving the notification that he had left his fingerprints at the scene when he stole the exam papers. Fearing that not recording his fingerprints would raise police suspicion even more, he deliberately cut his fingers before applying a thick layer of glue over them while recording his fingerprints.
Unbeknownst to him, the fingerprint recording device could not be fooled by such tricks; moreover, this was a requirement from the expert group. No matter what he did, it would ultimately attract police scrutiny.
As expected, after several days of comparison, experts quickly discovered a complete match between this candidate's fingerprints and those found at the crime scene. Upon investigation, this individual was identified as Yang Bo, a 19-year-old repeat student. On June 20, Yang Bo was apprehended by police.
During interrogation, Yang Bo confessed to his criminal acts without hesitation. Regrettably, his choice to steal exam papers stemmed not from poor academic performance but rather from being too good academically. When faced with an actual exam situation, he couldn't adjust his mindset and panicked, fearing he would fail and be unable to face his parents.
It turned out that Yang Bo was born into a relatively impoverished rural family in Sichuan Nanchong. His father worked as a porter while his mother farmed at home; their financial situation was tight. Their only hope rested on their son being able to study hard and achieve success in life.
Yang Bo understood well his parents' expectations for him; thus, he worked diligently throughout his life and achieved excellent grades consistently ranking among the top in his class.
Unfortunately, in last year's college entrance examination, he missed out on his desired school by just a few points. To avoid leaving regrets in life, he had no choice but to repeat his studies.
However, after repeating the year, Yang Bo's mindset underwent a significant change. As the countdown to the college entrance examination grew shorter and the preparation time dwindled, he suddenly began to feel anxious, which led to a downward spiral in his mock exam scores.
Once this situation arose, it triggered a chain reaction: the worse he performed in the mock exams, the more anxious he became; the more anxious he felt, the more he believed he was letting down his parents for all their years of support.
Thus, under the dual torment of declining exam scores and a collapsing mental state, he turned his clever mind to a misguided path and decided to steal the exam papers.
After several reconnaissance missions, Yang Bo discovered that the security at the Education Bureau's Confidential Room was not as tight as he had expected. On June 5th at dawn, armed with his tools, he initiated his theft.
As he had anticipated, cutting off the building's power did not attract the attention of the security guards. He successfully made his way to the window of the Confidential Room, used pliers to bend the steel bars, and pried open the cabinet where the exam papers were stored, making off with one set of papers.
However, to his dismay, the exam paper distributed on test day was not at all what he had seen. In an instant, Yang Bo realized how ignorant and foolish his actions had been. Yet instead of giving up immediately, he collected himself and began to take the exam.
Ironically, this backup paper that left most students feeling overwhelmed and in tears turned out to be a triumph for Yang Bo; he scored an impressive 515 points—over 40 points higher than the admission score for his desired school.
At that moment, all of Yang Bo's resentment and regret transformed into tears because he would never have another chance to attend those dream schools. Not only had he let down his parents who had nurtured him for years, but he also impacted the futures of millions.
If only he knew that many people chose to jump from buildings after struggling with math exams due to unbearable pressure; perhaps even tears would elude him.
On August 25, 2003, the Nandou County People's Court of Sichuan Province issued a first-instance judgment sentencing Yang Bo to seven years in prison for illegal acquisition of state secrets. In 2009, having demonstrated good behavior in prison, Yang Bo received a sentence reduction and was released early.
At that moment, he finally understood that what had transpired was not merely an exam but a pivotal point affecting the infinite futures of millions. However, due to a single moment of poor judgment on his part, countless lives were altered forever—a butterfly effect that continues to amplify even today.
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