Gift ┃ This Is for You. Don't Thank Me. (Continued)
When he looked up again, his eyes met You Huo's.
"A confinement room with nothing but a table and chairs is a little boring." He looked at You Huo, but he was speaking to 154.
154 nodded. "It is."
"How about you join him? At least you'd give him some scenery."
154: "..."
Who was that supposed to punish?
Qin Jiu laughed. "Just kidding. Don't take it seriously."
154 was used to this kind of unpredictable bullshit. He quickly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then... should we send him back downstairs to sleep for another three hours, and send him back once he's caught up on sleep?"
"Is this a hotel renting rooms by the hour?"
154 fell silent.
He waited a while with his eyes fixed straight ahead. When no new instructions came, he ventured a glance.
On the sofa, You Huo was looking out the window. Whether he was lost in thought or doing something else, he looked as if to say, Do whatever you want. If you manage to kill me, I lose. His attitude was thoroughly improper, cold, aloof and unconcerned.
As for their boss, Qin Jiu...
His hands were loosely clasped together, and his gaze rested on You Huo's pale profile.
154 thought their boss had probably grown a little curious about this extremely difficult examinee, but for some reason, he also seemed to be in a bad mood.
"Boss?" 154 prompted him.
Another moment passed before Qin Jiu looked away and suggested to 154, "Go trick another examinee into breaking the rules and lock them up together."
154: "..."
What the hell was he talking about?
A beep sounded from the wrist again.
It was probably a signal and a warning, just like before. 154's jaw tightened, but Qin Jiu didn't pay it much attention.
"Forget confinement and just send him away?"
Beep.
Qin Jiu clicked his tongue.
He thought for a moment, then asked 154, "Has the last confinement room that was used been cleaned up?"
154 glanced at You Huo, utterly baffled. "Was there anything that needed cleaning up?? I put the rope away, and I threw out the paper ball that said 'fuck off.'"
At the mention of the paper ball, You Huo's fingers paused on his earring for a second, but he kept looking out the window, pretending not to hear with a cold expression.
Qin Jiu said, "The other one."
154: "Oh, not yet. We were going to clean it, but examinees have been breaking the rules so frequently that 922 and I haven't had time."
"Then let this frequent..." Qin Jiu paused and looked at You Huo. "What should I call you?"
You Huo snorted coldly.
"Let Mr. Hmph here clean it up."
You Huo: "..."
Seeing that a murder was about to take place in the office, 154 hurriedly agreed and, keeping a straight face, quickly escorted the dangerous individual downstairs.
The utility room downstairs.
922 and 154 picked through the tools while the examinee who was actually being punished leaned against the doorway with his arms folded, his face dark.
"Don't look so sour. If you actually fought him, you definitely wouldn't win," 922 said.
Perhaps because that "solve" had been so audacious, 922's attitude toward You Huo had changed somewhat, and he no longer spoke as formally as before.
You Huo said nothing, but judging by his expression, he clearly thought 922 was full of shit.
"You think he's called No. 001 for fun?" 922 said. "The first time I met the boss... which exam was it? Somewhere near a field army base, I think. I can't remember. Anyway, there was a whole street! A whole street with blood all over the ground, and he had a shoulder-fired cannon that looked like this-"
"Go find your bucket," 154 interrupted him, keeping a straight face.
"Oh."
922 lingered over the memory a little longer, then composed himself under 154's stare and said to You Huo, "Go on ahead. I'll bring the bucket over in a bit."
You Huo and 154 went to the long corridor first.
"All this blood needs to be cleaned up." 154 pointed at the blood running across the floor, then went over to unlock the confinement room where the bald man was being held.
"Were you examinees before?" You Huo suddenly asked.
154 was taken aback. He nodded. "Yeah, several years ago."
"How did you become invigilators?"
154 considered his answer, then said, "We passed the exams with excellent results."
You Huo frowned. "What exactly is this exam?"
154 glanced at him and said somewhat vaguely, "A kind of... special selection process, I suppose. That's what exams are."
You Huo said sarcastically, "Selecting what? Top scorers with guts?"
As they spoke, the feeling of being watched came over him again, just like last time.
You Huo glanced overhead. It was still a plain white ceiling, with no holes and nothing peering down at him.
"What kind of people get pulled in here?" He ignored the feeling and continued questioning him.
154 thought for a moment. "Exceptionally dangerous people."
You Huo was expressionless.
154 remembered the room full of elderly, weak, sick, disabled and pregnant people, and added, "...That might not be quite accurate."
You Huo said, "Then what is this? A supernatural incident?"
154 shook his head. "It's not a supernatural incident, it's-"
Beep.
That sound again.
You Huo looked back, thinking that annoying invigilator No. 001 had followed them.
Only when he saw there was no one behind them did he realize the alert had come from 154.
154 touched his finger.
He wore a plain band on his index finger, and a red light signaling a warning was faintly visible beneath it. As soon as he saw it, he shut his mouth.
"What's that?" You Huo asked. "That No. 001 had one too."
"A violation alert." 154 turned the ring to hide the light.
"You have restrictions and rules too?"
"Of course we do! Tons of them!" 922's voice rang out.
Carrying an aluminum bucket, he stepped over the various bloodstains and came toward them. "No talking about dangerous topics, no abusing our authority to bully examinees, no helping examinees cheat, no fooling around with examinees-"
You Huo: "..."
"Oh, of course, that last one is pretty much impossible anyway," 922 said. "We'd be lucky not to start fighting. And if we do fight, invigilators aren't allowed to break the rules and kill examinees... and so on."