Chapter 43: Scattered Memories. Hey, wake up already, Chief Examiner.

Zhao Wentu’s first exam diary was more like a “Brother Qin Diary.” The sections devoted to Qin Jiu actually took up more space than those about himself.

Perhaps it was because the environment was dangerous at the time, and Qin Jiu stood out too much in that team, so he became the most noteworthy character in the diary.

However, this lengthiness is only relative.

Zhao Wentu’s diary wasn’t detailed, at least not detailed enough to allow one to conjure up a mental picture out of thin air.

But in a few moments, Qin Jiu actually felt a subtle sense of familiarity.

As if by reading a few more entries, those forgotten things could come back to him.

Qin Jiu continued reading a bit further.

However, during those few days, Zhao Wentu mentioned him very little.

Because while everyone else had entered the rest area after finishing the math exam, Qin Jiu hadn’t. He was being punished at the invigilators’ place…

It wasn’t until a few pages later that his name appeared again.

Examination Rest Period, Day 5

Sunny

This morning when I woke up, I had that same illusion again.

When I pulled back the curtains and saw the towering skyscrapers outside, I couldn’t help but feel like I was on a holiday, sleeping in at home and waking up naturally.

This resting place is so deceiving—it would be better to just shove us into some absurd remote wilderness. At least then I wouldn’t get confused, leaving me unable to muster any energy all morning.

I heard there’s more than one rest area, and we lucked out getting the one that feels most like a lively city. Just this morning, Lao Li found a game room next to where we’re staying—a real game room, with mahjong and cards included (I can’t believe I’m even writing this).

A world where exams are so deadly, yet they set up a game room in the rest area—something so down-to-earth…

Lao Li and the others started a mahjong game (they’re really something—there’s an internet cafe across the street, but I’m pretty calm about it). I don’t know how to play and wasn’t interested, so I slipped away.

Around four or five in the afternoon, I went downstairs to eat, and they were still playing—they hadn’t even had lunch. It’s almost like they were drowning in their indulgence. When you think about it, it’s pretty scary, but at the same time… you kind of get it.

After dinner, feeling quite annoyed, I wandered around for a while, taking videos with my phone (the ability to use phones in the rest area is probably the only comfort, though it can’t connect to the normal world’s internet—total crap). I wonder if these videos will turn to snow static when I pass the exam and return to the normal world, since I captured the invigilator in them.

On the street right next to the mall, Qin Ge was with that Invigilator A. When my camera panned over them, I was startled.

How do I put it… running into two people like that out of nowhere just gives off the vibe that knives could go flying any second (my language skills are hopeless, how am I going to handle this subject?). Although Qin Ge was smiling, I… don’t know how to describe it, but it seemed like those two were thoroughly at odds with each other.

Invigilator A didn’t stay for more than a few seconds. Thank goodness he didn’t notice I was filming, or he might’ve penalized me for violating the rules without a second thought.

Brother Qin said the punishment was over, and Supervisor A escorted him back to the resting area as per regulations. Rumor has it he was taken by car, also rumored to be very reluctantly, with several detours into deserted wilderness during the process (though there are plenty of damn wilderness areas in this godforsaken place, I still think the supervisor was planning to silence him).

In the evening, I went to the mall with Brother Qin. I only bought a folding fruit knife for self-defense, while he filled a small suitcase.

I suspect we’re not in the same world. I’m here to take an exam, he’s here on a business trip—freestyle traveling.

How can there be such a gap between people?

Getting sidetracked by these things has made my mood a little better.

I don’t know if I’ll be grouped with Qin-ge for the next exam. Whether we are or not, I hope I can become more capable. After all, I’ve trained before, I just lack practical experience.

Ps: My recent diary entries are getting longer and longer. Maybe it’s because I’ve had a few days of free time and I’ve been thinking too much. Also, we spent a lot of time discussing together, but we still haven’t figured out who created this system, what its purpose is, and why it pulled us in. Old Li said there’s no use thinking so much about it now; it’s better to focus on staying alive first.

…But I still want to understand. How can you call it living if you don’t even know what you’re doing?

It’s midnight, another day closer to the next exam. May we all have good luck, stay safe, figure things out, and good night.

……

Zhao Wentu’s journal entry took up several pages, Qin Jiu’s fingers pressed against the centerfold of the diary.

His gaze lingered on a certain line for a long time, and a blurry image suddenly flashed through his mind…

It must have been some night. In front of him, a black car was parked, the streetlights streaming across the windows, where he could faintly make out the silhouette of someone’s profile inside.

It was strange—while I had no memory of the time, location, or the full appearance of the car, that one windowpane stood out with exceptional clarity in my mind.

He leaned against the car roof with one hand, bent down, and knocked on the window.

I don’t recall what I was feeling at the time—was I trying to amuse myself? Start something? Pick a fight?

In any case, I waited a while, but the window didn’t roll down. Instead, the horn gave a short honk.

He didn’t remember what the horn meant anymore.

Perhaps the people in the car were counter-challenging him? Asking him to move his hand and stop obstructing them? Or maybe it was something else.

He straightened up, and the car drove off without looking back.

The scene flashed by like a bird in flight, and by the time he tried to recall it, all he could grasp was the faintest trace—

He stood with his arms crossed against the streetlight, watching the car disappear into the distance.

……

……

In the No. 1 confinement room next door.

You Huo’s fingers, resting on the nape of his neck, twitched slightly.

He jolted awake from sleep but instantly forgot what he had been dreaming about. Rubbing his neck, he lifted his head and glanced around with half-closed eyes.

A piece of utter darkness.

Not the kind of darkness that comes from turning off the lights, but the all-encompassing, blindness-like dark.

You Huo’s eyes had once been injured, making him highly sensitive to the difference between the two.

When he was recovering in the hospital, he had lived in this kind of darkness for nearly a year.

One year truly felt endless for someone who was blind and had lost their memories.

He would often fall into prolonged silence to avoid asking any foolish questions without realizing it. Or he would spend extended periods feeling listless and sleepy, burying his head in sleep to avoid having to fumble around in the dark for everything…

That felt too vulnerable, and he didn’t like it.

Over time, it simply became a habit.

The doctor said he had a bit of an emotional deficit—his expressions of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness were too shallow, and he rarely even showed curiosity or confusion.

He didn’t take it seriously.

It was just that he hadn’t met the right people. Bring in eight invigilators to surround him in a circle, and his emotional deficit would absolutely vanish. Just one like 001 would be enough.

And now, he even felt a trace of confusion.

During the last exam’s confinement, the furnishings in the room remained completely unchanged, with not a single alteration.

How did I go blind after just waking up from a nap this time?

The thing I’ve feared most in my life…

What kind of brain-dead algorithm does this confinement room use, to think he’d be afraid of going blind? If he was really afraid of blindness, why didn’t he react at all during his previous confinement?

You Huo sat in the darkness for a moment, then with a cold expression, lay back down on the table.

The confinement room was utterly silent, with no signs of anyone else besides him.

His light brown eyes blinked several times in the darkness before he pressed his elbows against his eyelids and drifted back to sleep soon after.

……

Inside the cabin, the clock ticked forward another hour.

For invigilators, three hours in confinement passed in the blink of an eye.

The clock chimed “ding—” and 078 startled like a ghost, leaping up from the sofa. “Let’s go, time to get those two… 021?”

Before he could finish, he noticed there was no sign of 021 in the second-floor cabin.

“Strange, she was just sitting on the carpet playing with her phone a moment ago.” 078 muttered in confusion.

He assumed Miss Gan Cui might have gone to the bathroom. With her personality, it was unlikely she’d miss the time, so he didn’t bother checking further and headed downstairs first.

As a result, he went straight to the bottom deck and saw 021 standing at the door of confinement room number 1, having just pushed it open a crack.

“You’re here!” 078 said. “I was wondering where you went, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Didn’t you used to wait for the bell? Feeling proactive this time?”

021 glanced at him and said, “I just wanted to pour some water, saw the time was almost up, and couldn’t be bothered to sit back down. No point sitting only to have to stand right back up.”

078 didn’t suspect anything and nodded, saying, “Oh, I see, alright then. You go ahead and call this one, I’ll go get 001. I’ll come back for you in a bit.”

Didi gave a nod and pushed open the door to You Huo’s confinement room.

078 watched her close the door behind her back and thought to himself, “Calling for someone only takes a few seconds. Isn’t it tiring to shut the door and open it again?”

Still, thoughts were just thoughts—he didn’t dare say that to Didi.

Though the young lady was beautiful, she had a temper just as strong.

078 pushed open the door of Confinement Room 2. The ruins scene was slowly fading away, and since no conflict had occurred, the room remained perfectly clean, without any remnants of blood or flesh.

As for Mr. 001, who had been confined, he was no longer reading. Instead, he held a black phone in his hand, his eyes lowered as he fiddled with it.

“What… what are you doing?” 078 frowned as he approached.

Qin Jiu, acting as if they were familiar, greeted him casually, saying, “You came just in time. I have something to ask you.”

078: “What is it?”

Qin Jiu shook his phone and said, “It’s an old model from a few years ago, it won’t turn on. Can you fix it?”

078: “……………”

Who did you say can fix your phone? Say that again?

Qin Jiu indeed asked again, “Will you do it?”

078 said in despair, “No, I really won’t. You were doing fine in solitary confinement—why suddenly start fiddling with a phone?”

Qin Jiu replied, “A memento left by a friend, left to me as a keepsake. I wanted to see what was inside.”

078: “…”

Without saying a word, he gestured toward the door: “After you.”

Meaning “get lost.”

……

Next door.

021 stood before the detention cell desk, her dark red fingers poking at You Huo’s shoulder without pause.

The surrounding darkness was slowly fading, and the light from the newly turned-on lamp in the room shone down.

021 stood under the light, murmuring softly, “You said it yourself—if you ever got logged out but the system was still running, I had to pull you back and wake you up…”

“You… just… wake… up… already… Head… Examiner.” She poked him once for each word. Her expression was no different from usual, but her tone was much more animated.

After this long string of pokes, another moment passed before You—Won’t—Wake—Up—Huo finally scratched his head and sat up, his spine curved.

He squinted his eyes and raised his head; his handsome, fair face was dazzling under the light.

Just as 021 was about to speak, the door behind her was knocked open.

“Not done yet? Let’s go.” 078 poked a head inside.

“……”

021’s lips twitched slightly as she pulled out a pair of oversized sunglasses and put them on. Suppressing the urge to yank off that head, she lifted her chin and calmly said, “I was just about to leave.”