Chapter 39: The Small Medicine Box

“This exam has that plague god in it. Do you think he’ll show up again?”

You Huo and Qin Jiu entered the cave one after the other.

Everyone inside immediately looked over.

Although the sky outside had already darkened toward evening, the cave itself wasn’t pitch-black.

Several kerosene lamps sat on the ground, casting circles of light, while people gathered around them.

You Huo swept his gaze across the room.

There were both men and women seated there.

Aside from a few middle-aged people, most were young.

Unlike the sailors who had just carried bodies outside, these people wore all kinds of modern clothing—down jackets, coats, sweaters, leather jackets…

One of them was even wearing a white lab coat.

A rough count gave around thirty people.

These should be the other seventeen groups of examinees.

Near the woman in the white coat, You Huo spotted a familiar face—

Shu Xue.

Her eyes lit up brightly as she waved at them, then patted the empty space beside her, motioning them over.

You Huo nodded and was just about to walk over when Qin Jiu suddenly said:

“Wait a second.”

Then, right in front of everyone, he dragged a suitcase in from outside.

“……”

The examinees instantly exploded.

Whispers and muttering erupted throughout the cave.

One examinee failed to lower his voice enough, making his words exceptionally clear:

“…Was he dragged here in the middle of a business trip or something? We’re already in the third round and he’s still carrying luggage. No wonder they’re second from last.”

The moment he finished speaking, the entire cave abruptly went silent.

The people who had arrived earlier had already introduced themselves to one another.

Everyone knew exactly who You Huo and Qin Jiu were the moment they walked in—

the pair here to donate free points.

Thinking it privately was one thing.

Saying it out loud was another.

Especially saying it while the people themselves were walking past.

The awkwardness was suffocating.

The one who had blurted it out was a very young-looking boy, probably around Yu Wen’s age.

His hair was curled and dyed a light gray.

He coughed twice into his fist to hide his embarrassment and whispered to his companion:

“Crap, got too excited…”

Unexpectedly, You Huo acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

Meanwhile, Qin Jiu, who walked one step behind him, actually smiled like he found it amusing.

Shu Xue lowered her voice and said:

“You scared me to death. I thought I wouldn’t end up in the same exam as you guys.”

“When I saw the rankings just now, I was so happy.”

“Oh?” Qin Jiu teased.

“My teammate here was very unhappy.”

“Look how green his face is.”

You Huo: “……”

“Right, introductions.”

Shu Xue pointed to the woman beside her in the white coat.

“This is my teammate, Wu Li. She’s a neurologist.”

“You probably saw her name in the rankings. She’s amazing.”

You Huo’s gaze landed on the white coat once more.

Wu Li had plain features and a slim frame.

Even in this chaotic environment, she somehow gave off an unusually clean impression.

The only thing that felt out of place was her hair—

short and uneven, as if she had cut it in a hurry.

You Huo merely glanced once without lingering.

Wu Li wasn’t an outgoing or sociable person.

When she looked at someone, there was a serious, analytical quality in her eyes.

She studied You Huo for a moment.

Then Qin Jiu.

Then nodded.

“Hello.”

After speaking, she withdrew her gaze without waiting for a response.

…

Shu Xue suddenly remembered their ranking and looked anxious again.

“Oh right, did you hear the exam rules they announced earlier?”

Qin Jiu answered:

“Very clearly.”

“Then you saw the people they carried out too, right?”

Shu Xue’s expression looked awful—worried and upset at the same time.

“They were all sailors. Eight of them…”

Which meant that at midnight, if the rankings didn’t change…

the group in last place would be the first to suffer.

Shu Xue quietly introduced the people around them.

Not far away sat two unfortunate souls named Chen Fei and Huang Rui.

They looked utterly devastated and had been staring blankly into space for quite a while.

More surprisingly, the young gray-haired boy and the friend he’d whispered to earlier were currently ranked first—

with a total score of 42.

The gray-haired boy’s name was Di Li.

Apparently he had just turned eighteen, same as Yu Wen.

…

The cave wall also displayed the rankings.

You Huo looked away from it and suddenly asked:

“Where are they?”

Shu Xue blinked.

“Huh?”

“The captain. The sailors. The people from the merchant ships.”

“Oh.”

Shu Xue pointed behind her.

“They’re all inside.”

You Huo followed the direction of her finger.

They had already noticed another opening deeper in the cave, connected to a second chamber.

There was firelight flickering from within, illuminating the rock walls.

But the flames looked weak, as though they might die out at any moment.

“It’s more sheltered inside,”

Shu Xue explained.

“The space is smaller too, so it’s a little warmer.”

“The captain and all the sailors are in there.”

“Before you arrived, we counted them. There were thirty-six total—same as our number.”

“But now…”

“Only twenty-eight are left.”

“What happened to the eight who died?” You Huo asked.

“Were they injured? Starved?”

“We asked the sailors just now,” Shu Xue said.

“Seems like it was a mix of everything. Cold, hunger… and those people had been sick for a long time.”

“This temperature is way too low,” another examinee analyzed.

“If they can’t maintain body heat, they need food to compensate. But their supplies are limited, so they’re constantly hungry.”

“That lowers immunity.”

“So basically, to keep them alive until the ships can leave, we first need fire and food?”

“Right.”

“No.”

“Medicine first.”

Wu Li suddenly spoke.

“Huh?”

Wu Li said calmly:

“The sailors have wounds. Caused by wild animal attacks.”

Shu Xue gasped softly.

“What?”

“There are wild animals here?”

Everyone instinctively looked warily toward the cave entrance.

“I don’t know,” Wu Li replied in her flat, clinical tone.

“But the dead ones likely had infections on top of hunger and cold.”

“Their wounds never healed.”

“The remaining sailors are the same.”

“Without medicine, not a single one will survive.”

The white coat she wore gave her words undeniable authority.

Everyone looked at one another helplessly before collapsing into despair again.

“We might be able to figure out fire and food…”

“But where are we supposed to get medicine?”

The gray-haired boy, Di Li, suddenly spoke:

“The merchant ships have some.”

Everyone froze.

“What?”

Di Li sniffed once and said:

“A Dutch captain between 1596 and 1598—if I remember correctly, his name was Barents—got trapped somewhere near the Arctic Circle.”

“There were eighteen people total, including the captain.”

“They survived eight months on an isolated island.”

“They hunted for food, and the animal pelts became clothing.”

“When they ran out of fuel, they tore apart sections of the ship to use as firewood.”

“Apparently the cargo included food, clothing, and medicine, but they never touched it.”

“In the end, eight crew members died.”

“Then spring came, and they finally delivered the cargo intact to its destination.”

Before everyone could react, he added:

“It was a reading comprehension passage from a high school exam.”

Two students who had both just finished high school perfectly demonstrated biodiversity.

Di Li still remembered questions from second-year exams.

Yu Wen only remembered

“Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing.”

“The moment I arrived here, I thought of that reading passage,” Di Li continued.

“But this probably isn’t exactly the same.”

“First of all, the numbers are different.”

“In the original story, eight people died in total.”

“Here? Who knows.”

“So whether the ships actually contain supplies or not… we’ll need to check.”

“They do.”

A voice with an awkward accent suddenly answered.

You Huo looked over.

It was one of the sailors who had carried the bodies outside earlier.

They had finished dealing with their dead companions and were now returning.

One of them had an Asian face with a buzz cut.

When he opened his mouth, he spoke Chinese.

He coughed several times, then fixed his gaze directly on Di Li.

His expression was cold and rigid.

“Our ships do have medicine.”

“But those are cargo goods.”

“No one may touch them.”

Di Li said:

“We don’t want to touch them either, but it’s to save your lives!”

“If you don’t take medicine, you’ll all die. Didn’t you hear her?”

Buzz-Cut Sailor:

“So what if we die?”

“You insult us.”

Di Li: “……”

You’re the ones threatening us.

As they spoke, more sailors gathered around.

A dense wall of people surrounded Di Li.

His companion hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

“No no, we understand these are your merchant ships. We wouldn’t touch things casually.”

“We’re just worried because of your condition.”

Several sailors muttered something in another language.

Judging from their expressions, it sounded threatening.

“What are they saying?”

The buzz-cut sailor answered stiffly:

“They say our ships have rules passed down through generations.”

“No cargo may ever be privately used.”

“Not even a single needle.”

“Anyone who breaks that rule becomes an enemy of the entire fleet.”

“We are not afraid of a duel.”

“……”

Everyone’s expressions twisted in pain.

Who the hell wanted to duel them?

Who even dared?

Accidentally killing one of them would probably count against the examinees.

“Okay, okay, we won’t touch anything!”

“If anyone does, we’ll stop them ourselves!”

The crowd hurriedly reassured them.

After venting his anger twice, the buzz-cut sailor seemed completely drained.

He lowered his eyes and waved at the others.

“Come.”

“Go inside first.”

He was probably the first mate at minimum.

The other sailors clearly obeyed him.

One after another, they ducked into the narrow cave opening.

The buzz-cut sailor remained at the back of the line and emphasized once more:

“We inspect the cargo every morning and evening.”

“If even one thing goes missing, I’ll come looking for you.”

“Medicine is already scarce.”

“We know every item clearly.”

“Don’t think you can fool us.”

“If you want to touch the cargo…”

“Step over our corpses first.”

Everyone: “…………”

Just as the standoff reached its peak, two sharp click-click sounds suddenly echoed through the cave.

Everyone turned toward the source.

Qin Jiu had opened that ridiculously conspicuous suitcase and was rummaging through it.

Then he pulled out a small box.

“Good thing I stocked up before coming.”

He bent over and placed the box in front of Wu Li.

With two long fingers, he nudged it forward slightly and gestured politely.

“Please.”

Wu Li froze for a second before opening the box.

Everyone craned their necks curiously.

Inside were three neatly arranged boxes of medicine—

anti-inflammatory drugs, disinfectants, fever reducers—

plus a bottle of vitamins tucked beside them.

Everyone: “……”

You Huo glanced at the supplies.

“So experienced.”

“And you call this ‘rarely getting injured’?”

Qin Jiu replied lazily:

“Before I came to the rest stop, 922 shoved a shopping list at me while screaming.”

“I obviously don’t need this stuff.”

“He doesn’t know anyone else, so he was probably stocking up for you just in case.”

Qin Jiu sold out his subordinate without hesitation.

You Huo: “……”

Meanwhile, on another ship out at sea—

inside a brightly lit cabin—

922 sneezed eight times in a row.

154 grabbed several tissues and wiped his own face with deep disgust.

“If you’re sick, can you at least go stand on deck?”

“The cabin’s ventilation is terrible. Do you know what infection means?”

922 protested:

“No, I’m not sick.”

“I think someone’s thinking about me.”

154 rolled his eyes.

“Probably ghosts.”

“Speaking of ghosts…”

922 grimaced as though he’d swallowed a bitter melon.

“This exam has that plague god in it.”

“Do you think he’ll show up again?”

154 thought for a moment.

“Probably not.”

“The boss is there.”

“If I’m not mistaken, those two should be grouped together.”

“With an invigilator in the same team, how could anyone still break rules?”

922 blinked.

“Oh…”

“True.”