Huang Liang

Biodata

Background / History

Huang Liang is introduced by a Security Bureau officer as the bureau’s finest trainee. His professional preparation includes combat training and systematic study of different countries’ cultures and histories. Before escorting Ye Lin, he reads a partially redacted file that convinces him of Ye Lin’s capabilities 1 22 23.

His determination to report back stems from the devastation caused by the Death Exam. He describes disappearances beginning the previous year and escalating until more than thirty million students had vanished by June. He also recalls a mother repeatedly attempting to revive her child’s corpse and successive groups of soldiers, firefighters, and Security Bureau personnel risking their lives to investigate the schools 39.

Appearance

Huang Liang is a young man whose most recognizable feature is his buzz cut 21 38 39.

• Buzz-cut hair: Allows Ye Lin to recognize him immediately during their reunion inside the exam 21.
• Combat uniform: Worn during the later viral-outbreak exam 44.

Personality

Huang Liang treats protecting others as a duty rather than a matter of personal preference. He offers to carry the wounded Ye Lin, refuses to abandon Wang Yuanyang, and promises to protect his teammates regardless of their disagreements. His willingness to sacrifice himself extends to physically restraining a monster he knows may kill him 22 26 30 38.

His commitment to lawful cooperation repeatedly clashes with the team’s survival tactics. He favors contacting authorities over seizing weapons, compensates a driver whose truck is commandeered, and objects to intimidation and the abandonment of civilians. Nevertheless, he can act decisively when the danger becomes clear, including shooting infected students to prevent further transmission 43 44 45 47.

Although initially wary of Ye Lin as a convicted killer, Huang Liang recognizes his importance to the team and later thanks him for saving everyone. Their disagreement over contacting the outside world profoundly changes his behavior: previously cheerful, he becomes withdrawn and largely stops speaking to the others during the break 24 38 39 42.

Abilities & Skills

Marksmanship

Huang Liang’s shooting impresses He Zheng, who considers him even more skilled with firearms than Ye Lin 22.

• Shoots down two pursuing Species while drawing his pistol one-handed 22.
• Destroys the heads of three nearby Species with precise suppressing fire 22.
• Uses a psionic sniper rifle to eliminate distant infected before they can spread the meme further 47.
• Conventional gunfire cannot kill the “Gods” encountered in the first exam; the shielded Species aboard the escape ship also withstands sustained fire 22 30.

Close-Quarters Combat

He can kill ordinary Species with a tactical dagger rather than relying exclusively on guns 22.

• Evades a Species’ claws at close range, then drives his dagger through its eye and into its brain 22.
• Teaches He Zheng to attack the Species’ vulnerable lower abdomen 25.
• Coordinates an eye strike with He Zheng’s abdominal attack to kill a Species without giving it time to cry out 25.
• His combat skill cannot overcome the special Species’ immense physical strength; it mutilates him when he attempts to restrain it 30.

Tactical Support and First Aid

Huang Liang combines covering fire, terrain awareness, and emergency care to keep others moving 22.

• Leads survivors toward ventilation ducts and remains behind briefly to cover their retreat 22.
• Uses grenades and anesthetic to delay pursuit rather than attempting an unwinnable fight against a “God” 22.
• Recognizes the severity of Ye Lin’s injuries and bandages his wounds after reaching shelter 22.
• Throws a grenade and his final two drug vials near the escape ship’s hatch to delay approaching monsters 28.

Observation and Analysis

His training contributes both environmental deductions and an understanding of human behavior 23 24 50.

• Notices the passages shifting almost imperceptibly after his group leaves its starting room 23.
• Reproduces a mural by scratching its details into the floor with a bullet 23.
• Recognizes the rotating rooms as a centrifuge used to simulate gravity once Ye Lin explains the relevant clues 24.
• Uses criminal psychology to suggest that the opposing team has dominant and subordinate factions, with a possible motive for its leader to eliminate accomplices 50.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Firearms: Carries two guns during the initial escort. Ye Lin takes one immediately before teleportation; Huang Liang later fights with a pistol and a rifle 1 2 22.
• Tactical dagger: A palm-length blade used in a reverse grip to attack Species through their eyes 22 25.
• Fragmentation grenades: Used to delay monsters and cover escapes; he also gives one to Wang Yuanyang before the latter leaves as a decoy 22 25 28.
• Anesthetic vials: Produce mist that can incapacitate ordinary Species and apparently interfere with the Goddess of War’s pursuit 22 25.
• Light ring: Found during his group’s first round. Its glow repels monsters, but without a power supply it gradually fades 22 23 27.
• Spacesuits: Used to exploit the Species’ ingrained fear. Huang Liang takes an additional suit to rescue Wang Yuanyang and temporarily places his own helmet on him during the rescue 26 27.
• Psionic sniper rifle: Purchased before the next exam. Its shots produce white muzzle flashes and strike with enough force to blast infected targets apart 42 47.

Relationships

• Ye Lin — Assigned escort and later teammate. Huang Liang respects his abilities but condemns his willingness to manipulate and endanger others. Their sharpest dispute concerns Ye Lin’s refusal to help purchase a device for contacting the outside world 1 22 25 39.
• He Zheng — Fellow frontline fighter. Huang Liang teaches him a dagger technique, though He Zheng also helps Ye Lin take Huang Liang’s grenade by striking him. He Zheng regards him as capable but excessively softhearted 25 26 45.
• Wang Yuanyang — Survivor from Huang Liang’s original exam group. Huang Liang repeatedly defends him and rescues him with a spacesuit, unaware that he later carries the infiltrating Species 22 25 27 29.
• Zhao Cheng — Member of Huang Liang’s original group who regards him as their leader. Huang Liang stops Zhao Cheng from escalating a confrontation with Ye Lin’s group 24.
• Hu Jia — Teammate whom Huang Liang reassures and explicitly promises to protect during the post-exam meal 38.
• An Ke — Teammate consulted about point exchanges before entering the next exam 42.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Escort Mission and Separation

Huang Liang accompanies Ye Lin from Yong’an Prison to a school in crisis-stricken Linjiang City. During the journey, he identifies the cause of the disaster only as “Exams!” At the school, a black vortex captures Ye Lin, who takes Huang Liang’s gun just before teleportation. Huang Liang is absent from the hall where Ye Lin awakens 1 2.

Reunion and Shared Clues

Huang Liang reappears leading two students and providing covering fire against the Goddess of War. He helps Ye Lin’s group escape, treats Ye Lin’s injuries, and explains that his own group received different questions: escape a room, then discover where the “Gods” came from 21 22.

His group had no designated leader to explain the rules. Three members died immediately upon encountering a “God,” and the survivors discovered a mural and a monster-repelling ring while searching for shelter. Sharing these clues exposes gaps in both groups’ understanding of the exam 20 22 23.

Rescue, Sacrifice, and Restoration

Huang Liang opposes Ye Lin’s decision to use Wang Yuanyang as a decoy. After obtaining spacesuits, he leaves the group to rescue him, shielding him with his body until they can both put on protective equipment 25 26 27.

Aboard the escape ship, he initially protects Wang Yuanyang and Zhao Cheng from Ye Lin’s accusations. When a special Species bursts out of Wang Yuanyang, Huang Liang immediately joins the fight. He ultimately grabs the monster to buy Ye Lin time; it tears off an arm and rips his body apart at the waist. After the exam, the system repairs him, visibly regrowing his lower body 29 30 31.

Attempt to Contact the Outside World

During the break, Huang Liang discovers a Communication Device costing 120 points, capable of making a one-minute call to anyone whose name the user knows. He has 57 points and needs both additional funding and Ye Lin’s exchange authorization 39.

He offers repayment, rewards, and ultimately his own life in exchange for help. Ye Lin refuses, arguing that spending survival resources on the call offers him no benefit. Huang Liang withdraws from the group afterward and does not raise the proposal with the others 39 42.

Viral-Outbreak Exam

In the next exam, Huang Liang advocates cooperation with local authorities, but Ye Lin rejects the approach because the opposing team could turn the military against them. Huang Liang continues objecting to coercive tactics while remaining with the team 43 44 45.

When a meme spreads rapidly among students, he initially hesitates to fire. Recognizing the scale of the threat, he uses his psionic sniper rifle to kill distant infected. He later contributes an analysis of the opposing team’s possible internal divisions and motives for triggering the outbreak 47 50.

Notable Quotes

“Everyone, don't lose heart! However small our hope is, we still have a chance until the very last moment!” 23

“Ye Lin, whatever you think of me, in my eyes... you're no different from everyone else.” 38

“What does it have to do with you?! How could it have nothing to do with you?! Ye Lin! They cry and laugh! They're living people, just like you!!” 39

Trivia

• His chosen rest-space room resembles a police academy dormitory, with four bunk beds, neatly folded quilts, a meticulously cleaned national emblem, and a faint smell of disinfectant 39.
• Despite receiving no initial instruction, his first group learns to operate its system watches through trial and error 23.