Chapter 46: Responsibility for DeathSo, it captured them.

The ones most dumbfounded were Chen Fei and Huang Rui.

The sudden turn of events was so abrupt that it caught everyone off guard.

Chen Fei was just about to mourn his own grave, but after this turn of events, it was no longer appropriate to cry, yet it also felt awkward to rejoice.

He froze mid-expression, his mouth agape, staring blankly at the two bigshots.

In the afternoon, everyone was marveling at how these two were living symbols of hope, but just a few hours later, hope was about to throw itself into the abyss.

……

Under the watchful eyes of the thirty or so examinees in the cave, You Huo whispered through his clenched teeth, “When did this moron learn to deduct points?”

“You called it an idiot to its face, so naturally it needed to dock some points to save face.”

Qin Jiu seemed to find the whispering amusing and also lowered his voice, “That sort of thing isn’t all that rare—didn’t they deduct points from your exam paper in your first round?”

You Huo: “They only took off 2 points.”

Fortunately, his voice was soft. If the other candidates had heard You Huo’s “only,”

it probably would have triggered physical discomfort and dizziness.

After all, their scores fluctuated by no more than three points after a whole afternoon of hard work. That was considered “climbing,”

while what those two did could only be described as “flying up and down.”

There’s still a bit of a difference in severity between messy exam papers and tearing apart a ship.

“Does Hunter A dying count as serious?” You Huo asked.

“Not only were there no deductions, but points were added.”

Qin Jiu found this somewhat amusing.

Even a demoted official is still an official.

He gazed at You Huo’s composed profile and beckoned for the other to lean closer.

“I think it’s necessary to give this rebellious straight-A student some extra lessons—a bit of education, you might say.”

You Huo: “Go on.”

“Here, interfering with the questions and interfering with the system are two entirely different matters,” Qin Jiu said.

“Of course, it’s best not to meddle with either.”

“……”

You Huo stared at him expressionlessly.

As a proctor who dares to do anything, it was unclear where he found the nerve to utter such words.

Seeing his expression, Qin Jiu paused briefly before adding, “In theory, you shouldn’t meddle with either. But if we have to compare, the latter is undoubtedly more severe—it’s not even on the same level… because you’re challenging its authority.”

Upon hearing the words “authority,” You Huo sneered inwardly,

“Authority.”

A system that irrationally drags people into exams, a thing that casually decides life and death—has the nerve to talk about authority?

“Stop sneering at me.”

Qin Jiu casually pointed a few times and said, “In the exam hall, it’s everywhere. You can spit at the score wall or any empty corner, including that rabbit.”

Dead rabbit: “…”

“Swear twice and get another ten points deducted?” You Huo said,

“Fine, it’s worth it.”

Dead rabbit: “…………”

“That’s not really necessary,” Qin Jiu chuckled lightly.

“Did the crow dock you points last round when you messed with its head? So go ahead, curse all you want.”

Dead Rabbit: “………………”

You Huo gave Qin Jiu a strange look.

“Are you speaking for it?”

After asking, he felt this statement was rather problematic.

As one of the proctors, part of the system, Qin Jiu speaking for it was actually perfectly natural.

But his words… unknowingly positioned Qin Jiu against the system, aligning him with their own side.

And yet, he was completely unaware of the exact moment when this shift had begun…

You Huo’s brows furrowed slightly, and he immediately said, “Forget it. Pretend I never spoke.”

Qin Jiu: “I heard you.”

“……”

You Huo’s face gradually went blank.

“If there are things you’re truly curious about, you can find other opportunities to discuss them later. That way, if you get invited to the invigilation office again, you’ll have topics to pass the time.” Qin Jiu said this while giving a slight wink with his right eye.

You Huo was momentarily stunned.

In an instant, Qin Jiu had already continued, “Anyway, the system has its own set of rules. Provoking the content of the questions is far less serious than provoking the system itself. So, killing Hunter A will only lead to a penalty for breaking the rules, and all the points you earned remain unchanged. But dismantling the system’s boat is different. The system is very shrewd in this regard.”

You Huo stared at him for a moment before raising another objection: “Destroying an exam room is more serious than dismantling a ship, yet in the last round, you only lost five points.”

“…It seems the noble-minded are forgetful, and I must remind you.”

Qin Jiu pointed at himself.

“The reason only five points were deducted is because another person bore at least half the punishment—and that person is speaking to you right now.”

You Huo: “…”

Qin Jiu: “Honestly, I’ve been waiting for a token of gratitude, but it seems some examinees are completely unaware of such things?”

You Huo: “…”

“But that’s alright,” Qin Jiu added,

“I happen to have endless patience in certain matters. I don’t mind waiting a few more days.”

You Huo’s beautiful eyes finally shifted. After thinking for a few seconds, he replied unhurriedly, “How coincidental, I don’t mind either.”

Qin Jiu: “…”

……

Not far away, Di Li looked bewildered as he said, “Are those two discussing their own lives and deaths? How did they manage to start laughing while talking about it?”

His teammate, Brother Li, observed carefully and said, “It’s mainly one of them who’s laughing…”

Di Li: “…Is there any difference?”

Brother Li: “No.”

Everyone is worried about what is about to happen, but the two people involved remain exceptionally calm and even have the mood to chat.

At this point, Di Li finally understands how these two got their scores.

As a seasoned exam-taker, he is extremely sensitive to scores. On regular days, losing a single point would make his heart ache. Now, as he looks at You Huo and Qin Jiu, his whole body aches.

He even felt a tiny impulse—if the system allowed it, he would send two points over. But then he thought, no matter who he gave them to, someone would still end up in last place.

There are always those who cannot escape that punishment.

Watching You Huo and Qin Jiu plummet straight to the bottom, he would feel uneasy.

Would it feel any better if it were Chen Fei and Huang Rui?

It wouldn’t be any better either.

No matter who it is, no matter which group, if someone were to take the path to certain death, he would feel uneasy about it.

After all, people have flesh and blood hearts.

And this damned system never does anything decent.

Before everyone could recover from the rollercoaster of scores, a sudden gust of wind swept through the cave.

The first to notice were the crew members of the merchant ship.

These exam room NPCs had suddenly felt drowsy when the dead rabbit was speaking, dozing off against the walls, and now they abruptly woke up.

The square-faced first mate rubbed his arms, bewildered, and asked, “Where did this wind come from? Did someone move the fire at the cave entrance?”

He asked the crew members around him.

The crewmember muttered, “Impossible, let me go check.”

The first mate then asked the examinees, “Did you feel it?”

As he spoke, another gust of wind swept by—damp and carrying the scent of the sea.

This time, many of the examinees noticed it.

They shivered in that instant, a tingling sensation abruptly creeping up their scalps:

The outer cave directly faced the entrance, with occasional breezes being somewhat expected. But now, they were all gathered in the inner cave, which turned two corners, with a bonfire blocking the way… How could such a wind carrying the briny scent of the sea possibly blow through here?

Any damp moisture passing through the fire should have dried out long ago!

Everyone scanned the surroundings, searching everywhere for the source of the wind, growing more frightened the more they thought about it.

Suddenly, another voice called out in alarm, “Wait, there’s a sound!”

Everyone froze in place, asking, “What sound?”

“Listen, everyone, don’t make a sound. Listen carefully!”

The examinee’s eyes widened in panic, darting suspiciously in all directions.

He pressed a finger to his lips, holding that position.

He had just rolled his eyes twice when, with a whoosh, several of the fire pits went out simultaneously.

The cave plunged into pitch-black darkness, so deep that one couldn’t see their own hand in front of their face.

Gasps and screams erupted almost at once, the atmosphere of panic instantly reaching its peak.

“Stop shouting.”

You Huo scolded in a low voice.

He pulled a lighter from his pocket, flicked open the cap.

With a click.

A slender flame ignited in the darkness; though it couldn’t compare to a bonfire, it was better than nothing.

He and the flame in his hand instantly became the center; over thirty candidates, plus several awake crew members, all converged toward him as the baseline.

Being packed like sardines was far from a pleasant experience.

You Huo was jostled by the crowd and almost stepped onto Qin Jiu’s shoes.

……

The buzz-cut first mate’s voice rang out, “Here it comes, here it comes! This is exactly what we encountered before… Suddenly falling asleep for no reason, all the flames suddenly extinguished, and then the monsters would attack without warning.”

This startled everyone, leaving them all frozen in place, none daring to make a move.

The stone cave fell into dead silence in that instant.

And then…a strange sound rang out

Creak, creak, very hard to describe.

It sounded like the friction of something soft and rubbery being pulled… enough to make one’s teeth ache.

Not only that, but it was also accompanied by a hollow dripping sound.

It was likely the echo of water droplets falling from a height.

Smack—

A sudden wetness touched Di Li’s face, and he wiped it with his hand.

Smack—

Drops of water splattered into You Huo’s eyes too, making him squint.

He blinked a few times, just starting to get some relief when a hand suddenly took a light hold of his wrist. Gripping the raised lighter, it swept a circle in the air above their heads.

Qin Jiu said, “Look up.”

Everyone slowly looked up along with the dripping water.

On the stone cave ceiling, something had crept up unnoticed. It had flesh-colored skin, vine-like tendrils extending in all directions, and two enormous, pitch-black eyes.

Silently, it had taken over the entire roof of the cave, twisting its slimy head to gaze down at everyone quietly before opening its dark, gaping maw.

Huff—

The damp, briny sea breeze hit them directly in the face.

The lighter flickered and went out.

This time, no one screamed.

In moments of genuine terror, there’s no time to scream.

Only suffocation filled the cave.

Di Li felt a moment of blankness in his brain.

By the time his throat could let out a faint scream, he realized something seemed to be missing beside him.

After another two seconds, it suddenly dawned on him: You Huo, who had just been pressed against him, was gone.

Not only You Huo…

He fumbled around in the dark, only to realize Qin Jiu’s spot was empty too.

Soon, more people noticed this.

The buzzing sound erupted instantly.

“Where is everyone?”

“Gone! They’re really gone!”

“You Huan? That’s his name, right? Qin Jiu?”

Someone tried calling these two names in the darkness.

But there was no response.

Just as the crew was frantically scrambling, the voice of the dead rabbit sounded again:

[Unfortunately, a total of eight crew members have died this day. According to the rules of this examination, at 0:00 AM that day, the examinees in the last-ranked group should bear the responsibility for the deaths. If the number of people is insufficient to cover the deceased crew members, the responsibility will continue into the following day, and so on.]

[This desolate island is not solely for the refugees. For eight months, the island’s prey and nearby fish stocks have been consumed by the crew, and one native resident is dissatisfied. It has been starving for many days, famished, constantly trying to fill its stomach but never succeeding—until today…]

【For it, today was a fortunate day, as the deceased crew members would have been enough to fill its stomach. However, the first mate ordered that the bodies of its companions be hidden away, ruining its plans. But that’s alright—some unfamiliar visitors are just as delicious, and it found them mouthwatering.】

【And so, it captured them.】

The dead rabbit paused, then said in a stiff tone:

【Two hours later, the remaining examinees may gather the bones of their companions in mourning and offer silent tributes. Good luck.】