Chapter 17: Room Allocation Additionally, candidates and invigilators are prohibited from developing inappropriate relationships. Please reassign the rooms.

The guide wearing the fur hat was the village chief. He said this was called “Chasu Village,” with a total of eighteen households.

The village was near the border. During the years of war, the Black Granny had drifted here with the Russians and ended up settling down.

That stone stele was carved by her, but even the village chief couldn’t explain what it meant.

Everyone followed him, walking along the muddy path into the village.

On one side of the path was a river, covered with a thick layer of ice. On the other side stood a row of houses, varying in height and spacing—some with cement walls, others still showing traces of brick construction. Yet regardless of their structure, all shared identical dark red roofs.

“Isn’t it supposed to be eighteen households?” Yu Wen whispered under his breath. “Just by looking around, there are clearly more than eighteen houses.”

As if he hadn’t heard anything, the village chief tightened his military coat and pressed on without looking back.

“Hey, don’t walk so fast! We’re asking you a question, old chap!” Lao Yu called out, remembering at the last moment to add a respectful “you.”

The village chief was startled by his pat, finally pausing in his steps, and muttered vaguely, “There definitely used to be more than eighteen households. Some left, some died, and gradually the number of people dwindled.”

He casually pointed at two houses: “Like this one, and that one, they look completely uninhabited at a glance.”

Just as Old Yu was about to nod, he heard You Huo interject without warmth, “I can’t tell. I think every house looks like no one lives there.”

The village chief was taken aback: “Why do you say that?”

You Huo said, “It’s too quiet.”

At his words, everyone abruptly stopped walking.

As the chaotic footsteps ceased, the unusual silence grew even more pronounced.

It truly was too quiet.

Although it was early morning, there were no voices, no clatter of pots and pans, no sounds of doors opening or closing…

Nothing at all.

Everyone broke out in goosebumps, all glaring at the village chief.

The village chief looked both awkward and a bit frightened. After hesitating for a moment, he let out a long sigh and said, “There really are people living here, it’s just… they don’t really dare to go outside, and they generally sleep as long as they can.”

“Afraid to go out? Why?”

The village chief cautiously glanced towards the distance.

Everyone followed his gaze. On the other side of the small river, there were several short houses with distinctively different styles, all gray and unremarkable, with black roofs that almost blended into the forest behind them.

The village chief seemed afraid of being overheard, speaking in a barely audible whisper: “It’s not safe at night. If you’re staying here, remember this: don’t go out after dark, and no matter what you hear, don’t open the door.”

“What do you mean?” Everyone was both afraid and confused.

But the village head no longer dared to say more. He hurriedly waved his hands and lowered his head to continue leading the way.

Everyone was left in the dark, yet too afraid to ask further questions.

……

“Holy shit.”

As they walked, Yu Wen suddenly exclaimed in surprise, nudging You Huo as he said, “Bro, look at that house.”

You Huo glanced over, and several others who heard it followed his gaze toward the direction.

There, on the second floor of a certain house, someone stood behind the curtains, silently watching them.

“Catching sight of a face by the window out of nowhere scared me half to death!” Yu Wen said, clutching his chest.

They soon discovered that it was not just one household doing this.

In several houses, people were pulling aside their curtains and peeking outside.

The village chief said, “They are curious about the guests, but they’ve been frightened too many times and dare not come out easily.”

“Then they just stay in their houses all the time?” Yu Wen asked in surprise. “What about when they’re hungry? Don’t they eat or drink?”

“Every household here has a cellar, stocked with grains and accessed by a ladder,” the village chief explained. “It’s not like we never go out—people come out for some activity in the afternoon or early evening. But everyone goes back indoors before dark.”

“Oh.”

“Does this have something to do with that Black Maiden?” You Huo asked.

The village chief fell silent for a moment, then nodded and said softly, “I heard you came here looking for her to do some work?”

“Work? What kind of work?”

Upon hearing something related to the purpose, everyone pricked up their ears.

“The work of the dead!” The village chief scared himself into a sickly gray pallor, lowering his voice eerily to say, “Black Granny likes dealing with the dead, such as sewing shattered people back together.”

“……”

Village chief: “If a family member goes missing, she can divine whether they’re dead or not, and where they died.”

“……”

The village chief enjoyed terrifying others, “Sometimes she even picks people up and brings them back.”

Yu Wen was completely terrified, “…What do you mean she picks people up and brings them back?”

“Like a few years ago…” The village chief pointed at the frozen river and said, “A young woman floated down this river. Old Mother picked her up with a large basket and took her back home.”

Floated? Picked up?

This guy has a talent for turning phrases that gives everyone the creeps.

A few grown men gagged on the spot, while Yu Yao felt her legs go so weak she could barely stand.

Yet You Huo showed no change: “Since she only deals with the dead, what are you living people afraid of?”

The village chief tucked his hands into his sleeves, shaking his head with a gloomy face: “You don’t understand, ah… Spend one night here and you’ll see.”

……

Soon, the village chief led them to the end of the frozen river, stepping onto the thick ice to cross to the opposite shore.

Several dusty, gray houses stood directly in front of them.

As they approached, they realized that these houses were all constructed of stone, their outer walls uneven. On the gray stone surfaces, chaotic patterns were painted in white paint. Dried branches hung at the doorways, resting atop tattered, old felt mats.

One among them was rather unique—on its windowsill sat an old crystal ball and some… pallid white objects that resembled finger bones.

Before anyone even entered the house, they were hit by the strong scent of incense, overwhelming enough to make one’s head spin.

The village chief seemed eager to stay as far away from the house as possible.

“This is the place where Black Granny lives.” He peeked inside and asked, “What time is it now?”

Everyone hurriedly checked their phones, only to find the screens showing the time as 23:13 at night, clearly out of sync with the local time.

Still baffled, a low voice sounded: “6:55.”

Everyone turned to look—the speaker was Qin Jiu.

He waved his phone and said, “Not bad, a bit more accurate than yours.”

Chen Bin looked surprised: “This handsome guy is pretty impressive! The season time for each exam is different from real life, how did you manage to sync your phone so precisely?”

Qin Jiu put the phone back into his pocket, lazily saying, “Probably because I’m the invigilator.”

Chen Bin let out an “Oh” while packing his bag.

Two seconds later, his hand slipped, and the bag fell to the ground with a thud.

“Who are you???”

Qin Jiu ignored him, instead taking a card from his pocket and turning his head to say to You Huo beside him: “Does this count as helping you once?”

The card was the [Examiner’s Help] that You Huo had drawn earlier.

You Huo snatched the card away, flipped it over, and directly shoved it in front of Qin Jiu’s nose: “Please read all the words. ‘Extra help’—do you know what ‘extra’ means?”

Qin Jiu smiled faintly: “Not really.”

Laugh your ass off.

You Huo: “Go look it up in a dictionary.”

Asking the invigilator for the time without wearing a watch—does that count as extra help? Of course not. Just like dragging the invigilator to the restroom, it’s all part of the job.

The card was certainly not scrapped. Qin Jiu said, “What a shame,” and tucked the card back into his pocket.

The village chief stood in a daze for a moment before snapping back to reality and reminding everyone, “Black Granny wakes up at 7:30 every morning and doesn’t open her door before that. Let me first show you where you’ll be staying.”

……

Apart from the one occupied by Black Widow, there were a total of four empty houses next door.

Each house was very narrow, with old knitted blankets covering the floor. They consisted of only a bedroom and a bed, decorated like a carriage tent.

The village chief said, “I’m afraid you’ll have to squeeze in a bit.”

The newly joined Chen Bin and Liang Yuanhao naturally shared one room. Since Yu Yao was a girl, it would be inconvenient for her to share with others, so she had a room to herself.

Left with Yu Wen, Old Yu, Mike, You Huo, and Qin Jiu, they had to split into two rooms.

You Huo thought for a moment and asked Qin Jiu, “Is there a little foreign-style invigilator’s house here for you?”

Qin Jiu replied, “Thanks to you, I’m on duty the whole time. No little foreign-style house to stay in. We have to squeeze into this narrow, cramped, and not-so-clean place.”

You Huo pretended not to hear, maintaining a straight face as he said to the village chief, “You figure it out.”

Yu Wen said, “How about the three of us—me, Old Yu, and my brother—squeeze together? We’re all family, after all!”

Mike glanced at Qin Jiu and refused steadfastly.

Everyone felt a bit fearful toward the invigilators, but when counting those who didn’t… except for You Huo.

……

Two minutes later, everyone watched cautiously as You Huo and Qin Jiu walked into one of the rooms together.

Just as I was about to sit down, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in the room.

【It is now exactly 7:00 Beijing time. The examination officially begins.】

【First exam: Listening Comprehension.】

【The listening passages will start playing in 30 minutes. Each question will be played twice only. Candidates are expected to answer carefully.】

[Additionally, relationships beyond proper boundaries between examinees and invigilators are prohibited. Please reassign the room.]

Everyone: “???”

You Huo: “…”

The system probably has a death wish.