Hunter A | I'm a little hungry. Waiting for dinner.
"What if a candidate kills an invigilator?" You Huo asked.
922: "..."
"So what happens if you break the rules?"
154 went pale.
Even the relatively easygoing 922 fell silent for two seconds before giving an awkward laugh. "Don't ask. It's terrifying, anyway. I haven't experienced it yet, and I don't particularly want to in the future."
"So stop asking dangerous questions. Can't we all just get along?" 922 set the aluminum bucket down in front of You Huo. "Focus on passing the exam and try to get out alive first. There are things you'll find out on your own."
154 said nothing more and removed the lock from the solitary confinement room.
The moment the door opened, a fragrance hit them.
Besides blood, bits of residue clung to the floor and walls.
You Huo looked disgusted. "...Do you usually clean these confinement rooms yourselves?"
"Of course we don't do it by hand," 922 said, pinching his nose. "Otherwise, how would it be any different from punishing us?"
"It's a bit disgusting, but cleaning is still better than being locked up."
You Huo looked at him coldly.
922 said sheepishly, "Uh... for you, it's better than being stuck in a room with our boss, right?"
With that, he dragged 154 away in a hurry.
The corridor fell quiet again.
There was no way he was actually going to clean.
Leaning against the doorway, You Huo swept a cold gaze around the room. Then he took the aluminum bucket, filled it with water, and splashed it straight into the room.
The water washed away the bloodstains and rinsed the things clinging to the floor and walls, leaving them pale.
You Huo crouched down. There was a piece right in front of his feet. On closer inspection, it looked like a fragment of bone, with a clump of long black hair tangled around it.
What kind of horror movies did that bald man have in his head?
You Huo suppressed his nausea and entered the room, his face cold.
After a cursory cleaning of the whole room, the bloody water and residue filled an entire bucket.
In the pile of hair on top, a piece of skin that had come off somewhere was conspicuously tangled among the strands. It was pale from soaking in water and looked almost fake.
A tattoo stood out on it: a small, simple pattern of bellflowers.
Three hours later, 922 set off again, taking You Huo back to the exam room.
Qin Jiu stretched, planning to ask 154 for some food. But when he opened the office door, he found a bucket of bloody flesh and scraps respectfully placed outside, with a hastily torn-off piece of paper tucked beside it. In a scrawl of somewhat thin, elongated characters, it read:
For you. No need to thank me.
154's voice came from nearby. "Boss, I'm going to roast some beef. Do you want anything?"
Qin Jiu: "...I won't be hungry today."
154: "???"
Carrying oven mitts, he came around the corner and stared at the bloody bucket for three seconds. "I don't think I'll ever be hungry again."
Qin Jiu took the paper and leaned against the door, studying it for a while. Then he asked 154, "What's the punishment if the same candidate breaks the rules a third time?"
He spoke slowly and unhurriedly, drawing out certain words just a little, so that everything he said sounded like a casual provocation.
154: "...Surely there won't be a third time?"
"What if there is?"
154 said carefully, "The punishment is for us to... invigilate on-site for the entire exam and keep them under close watch."
Qin Jiu: "..."
The little building was frighteningly quiet.
Chapter 6: Hunter A | I'm a little hungry. Waiting for dinner.
This time, after escorting the candidate back to the cabin, 922 lingered by the door again.
After what had happened last time, he was terribly curious to see what else You Huo could get up to. But within seconds, he was bitterly regretting it, because You Huo came out.
922 looked helpless. "What is it this time?"
You Huo: "I remembered something."
"What is it?"
"The rules here are basically modeled on real exam rules?"
922 nodded. "They're definitely modeled on them."
You Huo: "There's one rule the exam rules didn't mention."
922: "Which one?"
"If a candidate has a problem, can they also ask an invigilator?"
922: "...Yes."
But we'd rather you didn't.
To avoid trouble, 922 immediately added, "Just like in a real exam, you're not allowed to ask for answers. We won't help with that, and we can't."
You Huo gave a hum of acknowledgment.
But he was always perfunctory, so 922 doubted he'd really taken that in.
"So how do we contact you when there's a problem?"
922 said, "Just... use the designated pen and write below the exam instructions on the answer wall-"
He had meant to say to write the invigilator's number, but he was so unwilling that his tongue got tied, and what came out was, "Write 001."
You Huo looked at him expressionlessly.
922 repeated with an innocent look, "Yep, write 001."
"..."
After what felt like a century, You Huo nodded, turned around, and shut him outside.
Having pulled off a big one, 922 returned in high spirits.
Inside the cabin.
The fire was still burning brightly, and the people sat in clearly separated groups.
Because of the hidden knife, the tattooed man had been excluded from the group and sat alone at the corner of the table, his face gloomy.
Everyone else kept their distance from him, deliberately walking around him whenever they passed.
When he saw You Huo return, Yu Wen jumped to his feet.
"Cousin! Did the invigilators do anything to you? What was the punishment? Are you all right?"
Waving the knife used to answer the questions, he rattled off a string of questions.
Everyone looked over.
Frowning, You Huo moved out of the blade's way and pushed him farther back with his foot. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Yu Wen didn't believe him at all.
He glanced toward the corner and lowered his voice. "That man was only caught once, and he ended up like that. How terrifying must the punishments be?"
You Huo looked toward the corner. The bald man who had been in solitary confinement was huddled there, his eyes yellow and cloudy, bloodshot and bulging. He rocked back and forth nervously, muttering something incoherent under his breath.