Chapter 37: Boarding the Ship — Coachman of the Seas

After displaying everyone’s rankings, the noisy little loudspeaker fell silent for a long while.

No one knew whether Qin Jiu had pissed the System off so badly it fainted.

You Huo stared at the LCD screen and suddenly said:

“Which idiot calculated these results?”

Little Loudspeaker: “……”

Everyone froze and turned toward him.

“What’s wrong?”

No one reacted immediately.

You Huo looked at Shu Xue and said:

“According to your examinee card, you’ve only taken one subject.”

“Your total score is 12.”

Shu Xue nodded softly.

“Mm.”

“I don’t know what the average score is for people who’ve only taken one subject,” You Huo said,

“but if I remember correctly, the average for the Gypsy exam was only 5.”

“Even if other examinees got easier exams, a single-subject score of 12 ending up ranked C?”

“Who are you trying to fool?”

The loudspeaker continued pretending to be dead.

Clearly, the System didn’t want to answer.

But perhaps You Huo’s expression and tone were too mocking.

After bottling it up for a while, the System finally refreshed the LCD screen:

> Examinee Chen Bin has completed Mathematics, Chinese, and Foreign Language examinations. Total score: 22. Ranked 49% among examinees of the same category. Grade: B. Calculation verified.

> Examinees Yu Wen, Yu Yiguo, and Mike Rogen have completed Physics and Foreign Language examinations. Scores: 30.5, 31, and 31 respectively. Ranked within the top 2% among examinees of the same category. Grade: A. Calculation verified.

> Examinee You Huo has completed Physics and Foreign Language examinations. Score: 22.25. Ranked within the top 11% among examinees of the same category. Grade: B. Calculation verified.

> Examinee Shu Xue has completed one Foreign Language examination. Score: 12. During score calculation, the System detected abnormal data related to this examinee. To prevent cheating and maintain fairness, the score has been converted at 50% value. Final score used for ranking: 6. Ranked 52% among examinees of the same category. Grade: C. Calculation verified.

> Invigilator Qin Jiu’s score has been calculated using Examinee You Huo as reference, counting as two subjects completed. Score: 0. Ranked dead last among examinees of the same category. Grade: D. Calculation verified.

Qin Jiu: “……”

Some inhuman things clearly could have expressed rankings with percentages.

Yet they deliberately chose the phrase dead last.

…

The moment the detailed ranking calculations appeared, Shu Xue’s face went completely pale.

But no one knew how to comfort her.

Truthfully speaking, the fact that she’d managed to move freely through exam sites for so long was already astonishing.

How could a sufficiently intelligent System tolerate a bug existing forever?

You Huo even suspected the sudden ranking reform had been created specifically to classify Shu Xue as C-level permanently.

Forever trapped retaking the same exam.

Forever confined within some examination site.

Never seeing daylight again.

Another kind of imprisonment.

Before he could fully process it, Qin Jiu suddenly spoke.

“Fine.”

“Punish me then.”

One hand resting on his suitcase handle, he said lazily toward the security booth:

“One C-level, one D-level…”

“What was the punishment again—”

“—Ah, right.”

Pretending he had only just remembered, he pointed at Shu Xue.

“The young lady needs to retake her previous subject.”

“Her previous subject was Gypsy.”

“Send her there.”

Little Loudspeaker: ……

Shu Xue froze.

The others suddenly lit up with excitement.

Right!

That exam site had already been destroyed.

Where could she even retake it?!

As though one jab wasn’t enough, Qin Jiu added with shameless ease:

“As for me, someone eliminated outright, there’s no need to send me anywhere.”

“I can simply return the same way I came.”

Little Loudspeaker: “……”

If the System were human, it would probably have exploded on the spot.

Dragging Number 001 into the exam system had been meant as punishment.

And before the exam even started, he was already trying to get himself eliminated.

Who exactly was tormenting whom here?

The loudspeaker abruptly revived amid crackling static:

【Due to abnormal data and examination-site malfunction, the original handling measures for C- and D-level examinees will not be executed.】

【Affected examinees will participate normally in the new subject examination.】

【Upon entering the next examination, C- and D-level examinees will receive a starting total score penalty of five points.】

【Detailed calculations are as shown on the screen.】

The LCD refreshed instantly, perfectly synchronized:

> Examinee Shu Xue: starting score for the new examination = 1 point.

> Invigilator Qin Jiu: starting score for the new examination = -5 points.

Shu Xue finally relaxed a little.

As for Qin Jiu…

Qin Jiu: “……”

After those two lines appeared, four more words slowly scrolled across the bottom of the screen:

> As encouragement!

Encourage your grandfather.

…

After pacifying all examinees, the loudspeaker finally announced:

【Aside from punished Invigilator 001, examinees retain the right to choose independently and may arrange their remaining subjects freely.】

【Please make your selection within 30 seconds.】

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

The entire T-junction echoed with countdown sounds, instantly making everyone tense.

“What do we pick?”

Old Yu swallowed nervously.

“But… even if we choose the same subject, there’s no guarantee we’ll land in the same exam site, right?”

As a former invigilator, Qin Jiu naturally had more experience.

“There are many randomization factors.”

“Scores, timing of subject selection, previous exam difficulty, number of times grouped together…”

“Overall?”

“It depends on luck.”

“Then let fate decide.” Yu Wen said.

“Just pick something.”

Chen Bin said:

“I’ve already taken Mathematics and Chinese…”

“So if possible, don’t choose those.”

“Look at my combined score from both.”

Actually, no reminder was needed.

Nobody particularly wanted Mathematics.

It simply felt more troublesome.

“Then… History?” Yu Wen suggested.

First, none of them—including Chen Bin—had taken it yet.

At least no one would get separated immediately.

Second…

It sounded easier.

“Maybe History just throws us into some historical dynasty,”

Yu Wen counted on his fingers,

“and makes us participate in a historical event?”

“As long as it’s not some era of catastrophic warfare, it should be manageable.”

“I think all of us, young or old, know at least a little history.”

“At least we won’t be completely clueless.”

You Huo asked:

“How much do you actually remember?”

Yu Wen scratched his head.

“……Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s already a lot, dear brother!”

“Those are the important ones.”

“When I reviewed, I figured focusing on key points was most cost-effective…”

“But I haven’t forgotten everything else either.”

“As long as no one asks me exact years—like what happened in what year—I can still bullshit a little.”

The ticking countdown grew louder and heavier, signaling the approaching deadline.

“Let’s go.”

You Huo made the decision, then turned toward Qin Jiu.

“And you?”

Qin Jiu raised an eyebrow.

“Do I even have a choice?”

Then he smiled slightly.

“Whatever.”

“I’ve already passed the phase where I believe in lucky subjects.”

Everyone fell silent.

But after thinking about it, that made sense.

As a former invigilator, what subject hadn’t he seen before?

Which subjects were harder or easier probably no longer mattered to him.

…

With only seconds remaining, everyone entered the path marked:

History

You Huo stepped through the dense fog.

The milky mist spread apart before him, revealing the scenery beyond.

It was a dock.

Calling it a dock was generous.

Strictly speaking, it was a stone platform barely seven or eight square meters wide.

Low metal railings lined both sides.

Ahead of the platform…

was an endless sea.

A wooden ship sat moored nearby.

High upon its mast hung a…

kerosene lamp?

You Huo stared at the lamp and ship style with growing unease.

An old man wearing a gray shirt and black vest rolled up his sleeves and tossed something downward.

You Huo focused.

It was a long rope ladder.

The hemp rope dripped wetness and smelled like something that had rotted for eight hundred years.

“……”

The old man stood at the ship’s railing with hands on hips, tugged at the sail rope, then looked down from above and waved impatiently at You Huo.

“Get on.”

“You two.”

“Stop dawdling, I’m in a hurry.”

Two?

You Huo was still confused when the rolling sound of suitcase wheels stopped beside him.

“Tch.”

Qin Jiu glanced upward and said with dissatisfaction:

“I hate exams on ships the most.”

You Huo replied mercilessly:

“I hate all of them.”

The old man shouted again:

“Hurry up!”

You Huo answered:

“Wait a moment.”

“What are you waiting for?!”

the old man barked.

“There’s nobody else!”

“Just you two!”

“I’m on a tight schedule here, get aboard already!”

You Huo froze.

Qin Jiu softly said:

“Ah.”

“Looks like their luck this time was terrible.”

“They didn’t randomize into the same exam site as us.”

Not in the same exam?

Then what would happen to the others?

You Huo thought of the group behind them…

and frowned.

…

Under the old man’s relentless催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命催命-like urging, You Huo and Qin Jiu climbed aboard one after the other.

The filthy sails shifted slightly.

With one swell of wind, the ship left the stone platform behind.

By the time You Huo stood firmly on deck and looked back, the platform had already vanished into thick fog.

Only their lone wooden ship remained—

isolated and absurdly solitary upon the sea.

The next second, tinkling music suddenly echoed across the ship.

You Huo followed the sound and saw a crude music box sitting inside a wooden crate beside the old man.

It looked unfinished.

Once the eerie melody ended, the familiar voice of the System rang out again:

【Examinees from all locations have boarded.】

【Now sailing toward the final examination site.】

【The examination will officially begin in 30 minutes.】

【Subject: History】

【Knowledge focus: World History — The Coachman of the Seas】

【Please prepare yourselves.】

You Huo: “……”

What happened to Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing?