Chapter 45: Reverse Operation, Reverse Operation Sinks to the Bottom

“Digging up these little details to mull over, you’re quite something too,” You Huo remarked out of the blue.

Qin Jiu raised an eyebrow.

“Do you often do this?”

“Do what?”

Qin Jiu pretended to deliberate, then drawled, “Just to provoke someone, like me, you’d side with someone you don’t even know—say, Examiner A? Honestly, that’s a bit childish.”

You Huo scoffed softly, pulling up his collar to cover his lips and chin, and strode ahead without looking sideways.

“My mouth, my business.”

The Arctic night wind could turn a poker face into a genuine paralysis; no one wanted to open their mouth in that gale.

The two walked on in silence for a while longer.

With the human voices gone, the reef island became eerily quiet, just like when they had first come ashore—as if something was missing.

You Huo took a few more steps before suddenly realizing.

There was no sound of ocean waves.

The turbulent sea that had accompanied them throughout their journey on the white boat vanished the moment they stepped ashore.

“What’s wrong?”

Seeing him suddenly stop, Qin Jiu was somewhat puzzled.

You Huo said, “The sea is frozen over, how did the invigilation boat manage to sail all the way here?”

In the test question, the reason the three Dutch merchant ships were anchored here and why the captains and crews were forced to live on this desolate island for eight months was precisely because the sea surface was sealed by a thick layer of ice, making it impossible for them to sail.

The flat-headed first mate said that the merchant ship originally had ice-breaking chains fastened and locked along the ship’s sides, allowing passage through most ordinary ice layers.

But the ice here was just too thick and too vast, stretching endlessly. The ice-breaking chains on all three ships had been rendered useless.

Yet the small white boat they had just been on had sailed smoothly and without obstruction all the way, not even losing speed.

And he had only just remembered that detail now.

“Does the proctoring ship have special ice-breaking equipment?” You Huo asked Qin Jiu.

When it came to the settings of the examination halls and the proctoring office, Qin Jiu was as familiar with them as a living encyclopedia nearly 1.9 meters tall.

The encyclopedia said: “Why? Thinking of going to the proctoring ship to swindle some gear?”

You Huo, seen through at a glance, didn’t try to hide it either: “Is that not allowed?”

“Not that it’s not possible,” Qin Jiu said.

“But rather, it’s not needed. The invigilator ship doesn’t rely on ice-breaking equipment to sail—otherwise, you would have been hearing the sound of ice cracking the entire way.”

“922 said the invigilator ship doesn’t receive any special treatment, but in truth, it does. The voyage itself is a special treatment.”

Qin Jiu continued, “Where the invigilator ship passes, the ice disappears, turning into normal seawater. There’s simply no need for something like ice-breaking equipment. Haven’t you noticed by now? When it comes to assisting the invigilation process and capturing examinees, the system is quite willing to offer convenience.”

So, what if they have the crew tidy up now and sail the merchant ship along the route the invigilator ship just took?

You Huo pondered while walking toward the edge of the reef.

Qin Jiu, as if able to read his thoughts, turned on his phone flashlight and swept the beam over the spot where they had just come ashore.

“No need to waste brainpower pondering—take a look. As soon as the invigilator’s boat left, the ice had already frozen over.”

Sure enough, wherever the light swept, the ice lay as if it had never been broken—a vast stretch of blank white.

…Alright, then.

You Huo gave up on the idea.

Everyone on the invigilator ship had narrowly escaped disaster.

……

Inside the stone cave, everyone was bustling about without rest.

The pile of wood created by the two bosses’ ship-smashing was as large as a mountain, completely solving the fuel supply for the next ten or so days.

Of course, no one would waste such hard-won wealth.

They placed the wood in the driest corner of the cave and, using whatever tools were at hand, chopped it into smaller, more easily burnable pieces.

The experienced sailors who were uninjured joined the examinees in setting up fire pits.

They had to ensure the cave was warm enough, the smoke could escape, and there was no risk of the fire collapsing and injuring anyone.

The various campfires were all lit, instantly warming the inner and outer stone caves with their bright, flickering light.

Frozen hair and clothes filled with ice shards were dried out, while the color of blood in their wounds showed signs of renewed vitality.

Everyone’s mood improved significantly, settling down to rest around the campfires.

Several severely injured crew members, including the captain, were still unconscious. Wu Li checked their temperature and wounds roughly every half hour. Shu Xue diligently assisted her.

I must say, her pregnant status makes her appear completely non-threatening, and her gentle demeanor allows her to quickly become close with others.

Even the most serious Wu Li spoke to her more than to others.

While warming herself by the fire during a break, Wu Li suddenly asked Shu Xue, “Your two friends—have either of them ever had any brain-related illnesses?”

Shu Xue: “…”

The lady, ever precise and polite, phrased her question courteously enough, but it certainly sounded a lot like an insult.

Shuxue said with a mix of amusement and exasperation, “I haven’t heard them mention it before—why do you say that?”

Wuli replied, “It’s just that some of their behaviors occasionally seem a bit similar.”

Shuxue thought it over and said, “Actually, I haven’t known them for that long. We’ve only taken two exams together, so my understanding is limited. Maybe… you could ask them yourself?”

Of course, she couldn’t detect any signs of illness in You Huo and Qin Jiu. She simply saw them as strong and capable, hardly the type who had ever been seriously ill. Besides… brain diseases couldn’t be that common, could they? Running into two friends with the same condition just by chance seemed highly unlikely.

The probability is too low, Shuxue didn’t think it was likely.

But after all, she wasn’t a professional, and Wuli must have her reasons for saying that. Shuxue didn’t want to jump to conclusions about You Huo and Qin Jiu.

Hmm… What if there really were signs, and they ended up getting delayed?

Shuxue thought to herself.

Wu Li rubbed her hands to warm them up and said, “We’ll see. Maybe it’s just my professional habit acting up, being overly sensitive.”

……

When You Huo and Qin Jiu returned to the stone cave, everyone had already divided up their tasks and begun taking turns to rest.

Some curled up by the fire and fell asleep, breathing softly as they dozed.

Most didn’t sleep soundly, waking up occasionally to shift positions.

Shu Xue looked quite sleepy, dozing in the corner with her arms wrapped around her luggage, her head nodding now and then.

You Huo and Qin Jiu walked over quietly, careful not to make noise.

She patted her face to wake up and said, “You’re finally back… I calculated the time, and it’s been over three hours. I thought something had happened to you again. I was just about to go look for you but got stopped.”

The burly first mate stuffed the pocket watch back into his pocket and said stiffly, “It’s not safe at night, so of course we can’t let you take the risk.”

“Now that the last two have returned, let’s seal the entrance.” He called over a crew member and headed outside together, using the fire pit to set up several barriers.

“Make the most of your time to rest, try to sleep as soon as possible. That way, if anything happens during the night, at least you won’t be unable to wake up.”

Upon hearing the phrase “unable to wake up,”

Qin Jiu cast a meaningful glance at You Huo.

You Huo settled into a corner, stretched out his legs, and said, “I’ll keep watch.”

“Did you get enough sleep in the confinement room? If not, I don’t mind putting in some extra effort tonight. Otherwise, I’m worried you might collapse halfway through, sleeping even deeper than I do,” Qin Jiu said.

You Huo: “…”

Under his intense gaze, Qin Jiu mimed zipping his lips and closed his eyes, not bothering to undress.

……

You Huo leaned the back of his head against the stone wall, his gaze calmly sweeping over the people in the cave before finally settling on one particular spot.

Two men were huddled there, trembling ever so slightly, their magnified shadows on the wall quivering incessantly along with them.

Their faces were pale as paper. One of them nervously chewed at his nails, an expression of impending storm brewing in his eyes.

You Huan remembered these two—one called Chen Fei, the other Huang Rui, with a total score of only 11 points. They were more than 6 points behind You Huan and Qin Jiu, currently ranked dead last.

They had tried hard enough, searching for tree branches and boarding merchant ships, but their gains were meager, unable to turn the tide.

Without any surprises, in a few more hours when the clock struck midnight, they would be the first group responsible for the dead crew and face the punishment they deserved.

Although it was still unclear what the punishment would be or what it meant to be held accountable for the deaths.

But it’s easy to imagine how terrifying it must be… Possibly even deadly.

Right now, they are simply waiting, counting the seconds until the blade falls.

……

The first mate’s pocket watch ticked quietly on his chest, representing the time remaining in the exam.

At 23:57 at night, the sound of a ringing bell suddenly echoed throughout the cave.

The sleeping examinee jolted awake in shock, and some even sprang up with messy hair, exclaiming, “The exam’s started?”

The one who jumped up was Di Li. He looked around blankly before rubbing his face and sitting back down.

“Holy crap… scared me half to death. I hallucinated hearing the school bell and thought I was late for the college entrance exam.”

“It’s not a hallucination.”

“There really is a bell ringing, it terrified me…”

“Why did the bell suddenly ring? I dread that sound the most.”

The others chattered in a flurry of voices.

Qin Jiu was pressing his fingers to his temples when You Huo suddenly gave him a pat.

“Hmm?”

He lifted his head.

You Huo pointed at the stone wall and said, “Recalculating scores now.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the dead rabbit’s voice echoed weirdly within the cave:

[There are 2 minutes and 21 seconds remaining until 0:00. Recounting today’s scores.]

[Candidates have triggered two scoring points today.]

【1、Treating injuries for the crew.】

[2. Locate fuel to maintain temperature inside the cave.]

[Specific scoring breakdown:]

[Providing medical treatment for crew members totals 6 points, including 2 points for finding medicine and 4 points for diagnosis and treatment.]

[Finding fuel to ensure cave temperature totals 8 points, including 5 points for locating sufficient fuel, 1 point for chopping wood, and 2 points for safely starting a fire.]

On the stone wall, the scores of the candidates began to change.

Qin Jiu and You Huo, for providing medicine and finding fuel, directly gained 7 points, leaping from 17.25 to 24.25 and jumping four places in the rankings.

Shu Xue and Wu Li, on the other hand, received an additional 4 points for their medical treatment, also rising two spots in the standings.

Di Li and the others, although they also found fuel, were far from reaching an “ample”

amount, so they only received an additional 1 point.

Most of the remaining groups managed to add 2 points by splitting firewood and lighting the fire—better than nothing.

Chen Fei and Huang Rui gave it their all, earning a total of 4 points, raising their score from 11 to 15, but they still remained at the bottom of the rankings.

They collapsed in exhaustion, feeling utterly empty and terrified.

Right at that moment, the dead rabbit spoke up again:

【All bonus points have been calculated. Deductions are now being assessed.】

【Today, examinee has triggered one deduction point.】

[1. Violation of exam regulations: dismantling system ship.]

[Detailed penalty scoring as follows:]

[The dismantled system ship loses all functionality, is completely scrapped, cannot be repaired. The consequences of this action are extremely severe. A total penalty of 10 points is deducted from the violating examinee.]

The score strips on the stone wall promptly changed once more.

You Huo and Qin Jiu’s scores were brutally halved, plummeting from 24.25 to a face-planting 14.25.

Through their joint efforts, they managed to reverse operations and sink straight to the bottom, with a total daily score of negative 3, successfully kicking Chen Fei and Huang Rui aside to firmly occupy last place.

A crowd of examinees stood dumbfounded.