Chapter 48: Do you smoke? Why are you asking this?

Snap.

Someone snapped their fingers beside You Huo’s face.

The gesture was deliberately gentle—perhaps to avoid startling monsters, perhaps to avoid startling him.

You Huo started slightly and turned his head.

Qin Jiu was just withdrawing his hand.

“What were you thinking about that made you freeze in place?”

“No,”

You Huo shook his head.

The lighter flickered weakly, then went out with a whoosh.

The cabin was pitch dark, with only a faint glimmer of light reflecting in Qin Jiu’s eyes.

You Huo’s fingers holding the cigarette twitched slightly, that sense of déjà vu flashing through his mind once more.

He turned his head to stare at the monster.

A moment later, he suddenly spoke in the darkness: “Do you smoke?”

The question was abrupt and disjointed, and Qin Jiu was taken aback: “Right now?”

You Huo only then realized the ambiguity: “No…”

The fleeting sensation passed, and suddenly it all felt rather pointless.

He had encountered Qin Jiu many times, yet he had never seen him buy cigarettes. Moreover, asking a random person about such a thing was too strange. Reflecting on the question he had just asked, You Huo now thought it was utterly stupid.

“Forget it, pretend I never asked.”

You Huo slipped back into that lazy, weary tone of his.

Qin Jiu seemed about to say something.

But he abruptly fell silent the moment he opened his mouth, his fingers tapping twice on You Huo’s shoulder as if giving a signal.

Behind the stone pillar, the monster finally recovered from its coughing fit.

It began to move stealthily.

It seemed to carry a faint fluorescence on its body, or perhaps the unnatural pallor of its flesh made it more visible in the darkness.

You Guo had a clear view of its movements.

Its enormous eyeball peeked slightly from behind the stone pillar, rotating in all directions. Its body, large enough to fill half the cabin, rose and fell with each breath, while countless extending limbs tapped lightly on the wooden floor, following the rhythm of its movements.

Click, click.

This monster looked like a mutated giant octopus, its limbs were tentacles, and the insides were even covered with suckers.

But it looked much more hideous than an octopus.

You Huo held his breath in disgust.

The ugly octopus’s tentacles were still extending, its huge head tilting behind the stone pillar, its eyeballs rolling along.

Suddenly, one of its tentacles instantly elongated.

Just like a gecko flicking its tongue to catch a mosquito, it shot toward a certain spot.

With a thunderous boom.

The stacked wooden crates there had collapsed all over the floor.

The one directly hit by the tentacles had already broken into several planks.

But unfortunately, no one was there.

The ugly octopus tilted its massive head toward the other side again, its eyeballs following the movement.

Pay close attention.

The cabin was completely silent, with only the squelching sound of water as it moved.

……

You Huo felt his shoulder being secretly poked twice again.

He turned his head and saw Qin Jiu holding out his hand, palm open. On it was a rotten wooden cork.

The other party gestured.

You Huo instantly understood.

Qin Jiu extended the index finger of his free hand:

1

2

3

At the moment the three fingers were raised.

You Huo threw out the half-smoked cigarette butt in his hand, and at the same time, Qin Jiu tossed the cork in the opposite direction.

Whoosh—whoosh—

The speed at which the tentacles shot out was ridiculously fast, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound.

Without moving its body an inch, the ugly octopus shot out two tentacles simultaneously in two directions.

As expected, a wooden cabinet suffered a blow and was knocked down directly.

As it fell, one end was wedged diagonally against a stone pillar, forming a triangular frame.

The other end scattered the mountain-like pile of human bones.

Pelvises, skulls, and leg bones were scattered all over the place.

Some had also splattered in front of You Huo.

You Huo and the skull stared at each other.

Many years ago, it might have still been flesh and blood—a captain or crew member from the previous group trapped there. Or perhaps an examinee who had been captured for the exam.

You Huo’s fingers, reaching for the bone, paused for a moment, then changed direction to grab a few nails and pieces of wood.

Without another word, he threw them out one by one.

With each throw, a tentacle of the ugly octopus flew out in response.

Throw another, and out flew another tentacle.

Not a step out of place, extremely excited…

Well, Yu You suddenly understood the meaning behind dog owners throwing frisbees.

Qin Jiu’s situation was the same.

For a moment, the cabin fell into a strange standoff.

If he didn’t move, Qin Jiu wouldn’t move either, and the ugly octopus remained completely still.

Only arms and tentacles were flying.

It only took a few minutes.

The cabin was reduced to complete ruins, with tables, chairs, and cabinets scattered and tangled everywhere, but the two meals were still nowhere to be seen.

The ugly octopus: “……”

The two bigshots peeked inside and expressed general satisfaction with the current chaos.

They quieted down for a while.

The cabin suddenly fell silent, and the ugly octopus’s eyes began to dart around again, its body gradually slowing its undulations.

It seemed to have regained its composure once more.

It’s like playing a game with the food right at its mouth, taking its time.

Today’s meal is a bit more mischievous.

But it doesn’t matter; it doesn’t mind playing a game of hide-and-seek before feeding.

A proper amount of exertion always enhances its appetite and makes the food look even more delicious.

It thought with magnanimity.

Food that fights back is more delicious.

Startled meat loosens up and loses its chewiness.

It even felt that eating it all in one go was too dull, better to take a couple of bites to stave off the hunger, play for the day, and then have a few more bites to tide it over.

Maintaining a certain level of hunger makes each bite particularly satisfying.

It also isn’t afraid of the food running away.

No matter how it tries to escape, by midnight every night, food is delivered right before it—filled with fear, despair, and a touch of helplessness.

The flavor is exceptionally rich.

……

……

You Huo has no idea what that ugly octopus is thinking.

He only sees it clamp its maw tightly a few times, then drool comes trickling out in several streams.

The faint light outside the porthole just then reflected across, sparkling brightly.

You Huo: “…”

The moment the monster drooled, the scent inside the cabin became even more soul-stirring.

You Huo shut his eyes for a moment, holding his breath…

finally unable to bear it any longer.

Without even looking back, he jabbed Qin Jiu several times in a row.

Then, with his fingers, he quietly counted the numbers:

1

2

3

He bent down and dashed out.

On the other side, Qin Jiu didn’t disappoint him and also took action at the same time.

The ugly octopus suddenly became excited, attacking with more than ten tentacles in quick succession.

Wherever the noise sounded, the tentacles struck.

If one won’t do, then two.

If two can’t catch them, then three.

The chaotic state of the cabin was deliberately created by the two of them—utterly beneficial and not at all detrimental.

One passed through stone pillars while the other vaulted over the stairs with a hand.

One leaned sideways against an iron cabinet while the other ducked under a slanted wooden cupboard.

……

Not even two minutes later.

You Huo stopped behind a stone pillar.

The octopus’s tentacle tips were sharp and thin, and he had a handful of them in his grasp…

Qin Jiu half-squatted on the stairs, with another stone pillar beside him, stepping on the rest with his feet.

As for the octopus…

Its tentacles were split into two groups, winding a circuitous path through the clutter, held taut by the two big shots.

The huge head dropped lower, clinging to the spot as if a split had gone wrong.

You Huo asked Qin Jiu, “Did you bring your rope?”

“Anything belonging to an invigilator isn’t allowed to be brought. I’ve always regretted that point…” Qin Jiu said, sounding regretful, but his gaze was sweeping around.

He reached out, grabbed a length of rope from the corner of the stairs, and turned it over for a look.

“I just saw this—it should be for tying the sail. Here.”

Qin Jiu reached out and tossed the rope over.

You Huo caught it and immediately tied the ends of a cluster of tentacles in his hand together, fashioning them into something resembling a ponytail.

“You really…” Qin Jiu said.

You look so cold and aloof, yet you can play with anything.

You Huo let go of his tied-up ponytail, lifting his eyes to glance at him with an expressionless face, waiting for him to finish his nonsense.

Qin Jiu let out a thoughtful “Hmm”

and corrected himself, “Witty, humorous, very interesting.”

As he spoke, he also felt around at the staircase entrance, found another length of rope, and tied together the ends of the tentacles he was stepping on.

This is what you call twin tails.

Ugly octopus: “…”

Qin Jiu braced himself and jumped down from the stairs.

The tentacles that had been bundled up by him dangled from the side of the stairs, hanging limply as if playing dead.

Qin Jiu examined them and said, “Are all these things edible?”

The ugly octopus: “…”

You Huo: “… Can’t.”

Qin Jiu was quite surprised: “Can’t? It doesn’t look much different from squid tentacles.”

You Huo looked at him in disbelief.

Qin Jiu had expected him to say something like, “Are you a pervert?”

Instead, the big shot blurted out, “The head’s too ugly.”

The ugly octopus: “…”

While they were talking, they saw the ugly octopus’ head rapidly swelling up.

It was gathering all its strength…

Just a series of crackling sounds were heard, and the ends of the bound tentacles suddenly snapped off neatly.

Once the ugly octopus breaks free from its restraints, it instantly retracts all its tentacles.

The pale, fleshy mass abruptly shrank, stretching and contracting as it slipped through the gap by the wall.

In just the blink of an eye, it slipped away and vanished, leaving behind only two bundles of voluntarily relinquished ponytails.

Cutting off hair to save one’s life?

…Fine.

You Huo flicked the lighter back to life and walked to the spot where the ugly octopus had disappeared.

Only to see several wooden planks broken there, leaving a hole less than one meter in diameter. Through the opening, one could see the uneven reef and several deep fissures.

The briny smell of seawater drifted up from the cracks, and the faint sound of waves could be heard.

Not long after, Qin Jiu softly whistled by the porthole.

You Huo’s attention was drawn over.

“He ran away.”

Qin Jiu tapped on the windowpane.

Outside the porthole lay the deep sea.

On one side were the reefs, and on the other was the seawater beneath the ice layer.

It seemed this abandoned ship was still on the island, just stuck in some tricky crevice, which was why they hadn’t noticed it earlier.

You Huo thought to himself as he walked to the porthole and looked out.

In the seawater not far away, a flash of pale, fleshy shadow darted away without looking back.

In an instant, the sea returned to its tranquil, deep state.

“I don’t smoke,” Qin Jiu suddenly said.

You Huo was taken aback, straightening up. He saw Qin Jiu leaning against the porthole, looking at him: “Is that what you meant before?”

You Huo hadn’t expected him to still remember that remark.

Qin Jiu added, “Why did you want to ask that?”

“Nothing.”

You Huo paused for a moment.

“Just picked up a cigarette butt and asked who lost it.”

Qin Jiu recalled that moldy thing and raised his eyebrows high.

You Huo had already left.

The cabin was in utter disarray.

You Huo and Qin Jiu combed through the “battlefield,”

finding plenty of useful items beneath the shattered boxes and toppled cabinets.

Including candles, oil lamps, and a compass.

There were even medieval-style badges, pocket watches, and a rusty box.

You Huo lit the oil lamp, finally giving the lighter a break.

The two of them fiddled with the compass and followed the wind seeping into the cabin to search for the exit.

……

Soon after.

In the stone cave, a group of examinees holding torches entered the cave one after another, exchanging information.

“Found anything?”

“We went over there and walked along the coast for half an hour, but didn’t find any trace of that monster.”

“Then… are there any bones?”

“No, no.”

“Oh, oh, that’s good. If we don’t see any bones, there’s still hope for survival.”

After You Huo and Qin Jiu disappeared, they were actually quite afraid.

But with Shu Xue, a pregnant woman, taking the initiative to grab a torch and go searching, how could the others possibly sit still? They immediately formed teams and set out.

But after searching for nearly an hour, they found no trace.

They said that as long as there were no bodies, there was still hope.

But they knew in their hearts exactly how slim that hope truly was…

Suddenly, everyone fell into a moment of silence, then sighed with worried expressions.

Before that sigh could fully escape, two figures appeared at the mouth of the cave.

Everyone turned around and saw the two people they had almost imagined as skeletons in their minds, each carrying a bundle of squid tentacles, holding an iron box and a lantern…

…returning with all sorts of bags and packages.

Everyone: “………………………”

At that moment, one of the two top players even glanced at the scoreboard and muttered softly in front of the dead rabbit, “How come there was no violation this time…”

Dead Rabbit: “……………………”

Are you fucking addicted to breaking rules or what???