Chapter 44: Return Journey You Huo still had some interest in this Examiner A, looking as though he was waiting to hear more from him.

The night had deepened, and beneath the surface of the sea, hidden currents suddenly surged.

The little white boat began its return journey amid the turbulence.

After emerging from the confinement room, 021 no longer attempted to speak to You Huo.

Everything seemed just like when they had boarded the ship.

This straightforward lady wore oversized sunglasses as she stormed through the cabin, ignoring everyone else and seizing every opportunity to cause a scene with 078.

078 had no idea what he had done wrong this time.

Given the lady’s consistently dramatic temperament, he didn’t think too much of it.

Only in the rarest of moments would she secretly glance at You Huo through her sunglasses when no one was paying attention.

She wanted to know whether You Huo had heard what she said inside the confinement room.

But judging by his expression alone, You Huo showed no reaction.

He was talking to 922…

He was in charge of “being there.”

922 was in charge of “talking.”

“Please, stop looking. Staring at me won’t help. The waves are this big—how could I possibly stop the boat from moving?”

922 raised both hands.

“This isn’t the invigilator’s office?” Yu Huo said.

“The invigilator’s office has to keep in step with the whole examination hall. It has to sway when it’s supposed to sway and shake when it’s supposed to shake—there’s no special treatment here.”

922 pointed at the side of the table.

“Look at 154. His face is the same color as bile. If there were a way to stabilize the ship, would he have waited until now?”

154 was leaning against the dining table, his face as pale as death. He was just about to open his mouth to agree when his expression suddenly changed, and he turned and fled.

“Poor guy, he went to throw up again. The seasickness patches didn’t help at all,”

922 said.

The small white boat swayed so violently that no one, whether proctors or examinees, looked well.

Only 922, who kept claiming to be “seasick,”

seemed completely unaffected. Even as the floor rocked like a seesaw, he remained as steady as an old dog.

However, the old dog had lingering fears towards You Huo, worried that explaining further might trap him into revealing more information. He instinctively pushed Qin Jiu forward: “Boss, you know best how broken this boat is, you…”

922 turned his head and found that Qin Jiu, who was most familiar with the place, had walked straight into the kitchen.

922: “…”

What are you doing…

In the blink of an eye, Qin Jiu came out again, holding a plate of fresh oranges.

Even though the chair was right there, he didn’t sit on it. Instead, he insisted on sitting on the armrest of the sofa next to You Huo, making him look noticeably taller than You Huo.

He adopted a more relaxed posture, handing over the plate: “Risked sneaking this from the kitchen. Since we’re stuck in confinement together, want to split it?”

“……”

What kind of risk is that?

“No thanks,”

You Huo refused directly, his face pale from the rocking boat, his appetite completely gone.

Qin Jiu picked up a slice and said, “Not sure if you’ve heard, but sailors in the Middle Ages were very prone to scurvy. Those sailors in the stone cave might not be certain, but if we have to stay here long, it’s hard to say too. Those who fall ill will grow dark spots all over their bodies and faces, their teeth will loosen, and a careless bump might knock them all out.”

You Huo: “…”

“And then—”

Qin Jiu was about to keep talking, but You Huo took three orange segments.

922: “…”

No matter how carefully they prepared, they never expected their superior to switch sides.

What could he do? He could only let them eat it.

Meanwhile, that heartless superior was still teasing the examinee: “Congratulations on narrowly escaping death.”

The examinee tossed him three pieces of orange peel in return.

922 couldn’t stand it anymore.

Since it had already come to this, he decided to go all out and pan-fry two more lamb chops.

He couldn’t afford to offend either his superior or the troublemaker, so it was better to make everyone happy. Besides, he had wanted to give the boss a little treat anyway.

Was there any explicit rule prohibiting examinees from having a casual meal at the invigilation office?

No, there wasn’t.

When the rules were originally established, no one could have imagined a candidate would be locked up in isolation for so long.

With this in mind, 922 worked in the kitchen with a clear conscience.

……

The journey from the return to docking took half an hour.

Before leaving, You Huo thanked 922 and asked if there was any extra food available, whether cooked or raw.

922: “…”

Damn, you’re not satisfied with eating here and even want to take out?

He was just about to speak when the red light on his finger finally lit up as expected, accompanied by a “beep beep beep”

warning.

“See, the warning is here.”

922 showed him his finger.

“The exam content for this round is to keep a whole ship of people alive, including providing them with enough food. If I let you take it out, wouldn’t that be indirectly helping you answer the question?! Have you ever seen a proctor help calculate answers in any exam?”

This hit a sore spot.

You Huo did think about asking for some meat to take back and grill for the crew.

However, since it was warned against, he didn’t insist.

He could choose to break the rules himself, but forcing others to do so would be going too far.

Moreover, after a few rounds of the exams, he had formed a rather favorable impression of 922.

……

The small white boat was docked not at the stone cave entrance, but on the other side of the desolate island.

The two of them, treating it as a way to familiarize themselves with the environment, walked along the indistinct path that circled the island.

According to the original problem described by Di Li, this place should be located within the Arctic Circle.

Thus, it was completely different from ordinary deserted islands. Apart from the area near the stone cave, as far as the eye could see, it was nothing but ice and snowy tundra.

You Huo and Qin Jiu walked one after the other on the snow, their steps crunching softly.

This side was unusually quiet, the sky shrouded in dark clouds, with only one or two faint stars visible in the distance. Even the roaring sound of the waves was blocked by a massive reef, like a screen.

Qin Jiu glanced up at the seam where the sea met the sky, suddenly hearing You Huo ask him, “Is that confinement room particularly special?”

“Huh?”

Qin Jiu was momentarily stunned.

As footsteps paused, You Huo was one step ahead of him, his tall silhouette blending into the night.

Qin Jiu raised an eyebrow and said, “Why ask that?”

“Just a random thought,”

You Huo glanced back at him and urged in a low voice, “Are you coming or not?”

Qin Jiu leisurely caught up with him.

“You’re trying to trick me into breaking the rules. As a model student, you should be honest and obedient—”

You Huo: “…Bullshit.”

Qin Jiu let out a low laugh.

“You were demoted to being a candidate, so why are you still breaking the rules?”

You Huo glanced at his wrist.

Now there is a wristwatch worn there, perfectly covering the spot where the violation warning light used to flash. After all, since Qin Jiu started participating in the exams, that red light has never lit up again.

“Of course, we can discuss more about matters related to the examinees,” Qin Jiu said.

“The system, however, is not an option. If the system doesn’t want to mention it, then that’s even more impossible.”

You Huo’s gaze shifted slightly.

Even though this statement didn’t explicitly say anything, it inherently conveyed a piece of information.

The confinement room was indeed special—it was related to the system’s design, and the system did not want to bring it up.

What could it be that you don’t want to mention?

Either it’s classified, or it’s a bug.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Once again, only the sound of footsteps echoed in the snowy expanse.

Qin Jiu remained half a step behind. After walking for a while, he spoke in a low voice, “I’m very curious.”

You Huo didn’t even look up, accustomed to waiting in silence for the other to continue, but after a long pause, there was still no follow-up.

“……”

He stopped in his tracks and looked at Qin Jiu with a resigned expression, forcing out a response, “Speak.”

Only then did Qin Jiu continue, “Did you really see nothing in the confinement room?”

Of course, You Huo wouldn’t tell anyone what he had seen. Who knew if others would think he was afraid of the dark—especially someone like Qin Jiu…

So he just replied with an “Mhm,”

before asking in return, “I heard you read in the confinement room for three hours and even tried fixing a cell phone?”

“Who told you that?”

“922.”

Qin Jiu added another note to the account: “It’s not a book—it’s a diary. The diary and phone both belong to Zhao Wentu.”

You Huo paused, puzzled.

“Zhao Wentu?”

“A bit of a shame, he rushed over after you had already left,” Qin Jiu remarked.

“Otherwise, you could have seen him in a state of clear consciousness. At least he remembered his name, which is a small comfort.”

“So he really did know you.”

Gin gazed at the skyline, his breath forming hazy clouds of white mist in the night.

“I was on the same team as him when I was an examinee, but I don’t remember much. So I’ve been flipping through my journal, trying to recall.”

It had been so many years since Gin was an examinee; it was normal to have forgotten things from that time. After all, though he often smiled, he wasn’t particularly warm.

“Remember anything?” You Huo asked casually.

“The things in the journal are still hazy, but I did recall something else.”

“What?”

“For example, Examiner A.”

You Huo still had a bit of interest in this Examiner A, looking as though he was waiting for him to continue speaking.

Qin Jiu was silent for a moment before saying, “Just some unpleasant, fragmented little things, that’s all.”