Chapter 52: A Little Ruckus A Joke: To charge the phone, we’ll create a slight commotion.

The words 021 spoke in the confinement room had truly registered with You Huo.

As for whether to believe it or not, that’s another matter.

Based on what has been observed so far, the number of people in the know he has come into contact with is very few—

154 and 922 are neither relatives nor friends, and their positions are even opposed, so they wouldn’t proactively reveal too much. They say “play the fool and act insane,”

but as for these two… especially 922, he doesn’t know if they ever played the insane part, but foolishness they certainly sold by the pound.

As for the system and Examiner A, whether they are aware of anything or how much they know is still hard to say for now.

As for Qin Jiu…

Be it “as incompatible as fire and water”

or “not on good terms,”

any evaluation should be based on having had interactions.

Qin Jiu must have known Examiner A, so why did he show no reaction upon seeing him?

Qin Jiu’s behavior contradicted some of what 021 had said.

If what 021 said was true and he was indeed Examiner A, then why hadn’t Qin Jiu recognized him?

Was he pretending to be a stranger just to mess with him? Or was there something wrong with Qin Jiu himself?

If Qin Jiu was perfectly normal, then 021 had lied, meaning this system had nothing to do with him, and he wasn’t the Examiner A she mentioned.

……

You Huo actually tended to believe that 021 was telling the truth, or at least most of it.

After all, she had no reason to go to such lengths to evade the system’s surveillance just to lie like this and deceive a complete stranger taking the exam.

What would be the point? To find herself a boss?

Just how bored would one have to be to go through all that trouble…

However, the truth does not always equate to the complete picture.

One’s knowledge and perspectives are inherently limited; he needed to reconfirm from Qin Jiu.

A gust of wind swept through the ruins, stirring up dust.

Qin Jiu shifted into a more relaxed posture and asked lazily, “Are you insulting me with that remark, or asking seriously?”

“What do you think?” You Huo retorted.

“Me? I think you’re cursing at me, but I haven’t found a reason yet.” Qin Jiu said,

“Did any part of my explanation about the system just now… upset our top student?”

He pointed to his own ear: “Go ahead, tell me, I’m all ears. Which words were inappropriate? I can rephrase them.”

You Huo: “…”

Unconsciously, the teasing nickname had shifted from “top student”

to “our top student.”

You Huo thought to himself… If it was just deliberate teasing, he wouldn’t be able to say something like that.

Who could use such a tone towards someone they despise? It’s like losing eight hundred to wound a thousand, making yourself sick in the process?

He looked at Qin Jiu and suddenly asked out of nowhere, “Feeling nauseous?”

Qin Jiu: “What?”

Surrounded by darkness, Qin Jiu’s confusion was unmistakably clear.

You Huo shook his head and said, “Forget it, it’s nothing. Seriously asking, have you ever been intervened with?”

Qin Jiu did not directly answer this question, but after a moment of contemplation, he said, “My earlier words might have caused a bit of misunderstanding, making people think that the system casually intervenes with the examiners’ thoughts, or that… any examiner might have been intervened with.”

“Not the case?”

“Of course not.”

Qin Jiu gestured with a small gap between his fingers.

“Only when necessary. The proportion of such necessary cases is not very high, and there are rules to restrict it.”

From the very beginning, You Huo often heard them mention a word—rules.

And during this later period, they would always reiterate the importance of this word.

This was set by such-and-such rules, that didn’t comply with such-and-such rules, the system needed to follow such-and-such rules

You Huo found it a bit difficult to understand…

“Unless I’m mistaken, this system is supposed to be supreme and absolute. From what you’re saying, it sounds like it still needs permission from the rules to do anything?”

You Huo’s tone was mocking.

“Isn’t that a bit absurd?”

“Absurd? Not at all,” Qin Jiu said.

“That’s precisely why it believes it can reign supreme—it’s what it considers its greatest advantage. Humans will always break rules for one reason or another, but the system never will.”

“It will never violate the established rules, no matter the reason. If it ever breaks the rules, it loses the very thing that makes it superior to humans. What would distinguish it from people then? That’s the one thing it cannot tolerate.”

He glanced at You Huo and added, “At this moment, there’s someone… You are exactly what it dislikes the most.”

“I’ve been doing what it hates the most, constantly breaking the exam rules.”

Qin Jiu shrugged with a rogue grin.

“So it can’t stand you, but it also can’t do anything about you. Within the bounds of the rules, it will do everything possible to either kill you or kick you out.”

“Still, I’ve always been very curious about you…” Qin Jiu said.

You Huo silently massaged his wrist joint, then looked up and asked, “Curious about what?”

Curious why the system seems to show a bit more leniency toward you.

Qin Jiu thought.

But this notion leaned more towards intuition—his instinct told him that the system seemed to show more leniency towards You Huo, yet when pondered carefully, it sounded like utter nonsense.

Would showing more leniency throw him into a coffin? Would showing more leniency feed him to a monster’s mouth?

If voiced, these questions would likely be interpreted as sarcasm and provocation.

So Qin Jiu thought about it for a moment, then shook his head and said, “Never mind.”

Generally speaking, those who start talking only to leave things half-finished are the kind of bastards who’d get punched nine times out of ten.

And the person listening would almost always press for more details.

But unexpectedly, You Huo only gave an unusually indifferent “Oh,” and asked,

“So you still haven’t told me whether you were ever subjected to intervention or not?”

Qin Jiu: “…”

Invigilator 001 let out an ambiguous click of his tongue.

“Why are you so persistent with this question?”

You Huo: “Because you’re so persistent with changing the subject.”

Qin Jiu: “…”

The two faced off for a moment, neither moving.

You Huo rested his chin on his bent knees. After staring at Qin Jiu for a few seconds, he suddenly asked, “Could it be that you’re embarrassed?”

“……”

Qin Jiu stroked his chin, wearing an expression of having been struck right at the heart yet absolutely refusing to admit it.

The iron tiger instantly turned into a fragile shell.

He mumbled, “Why should I feel ashamed?”

You Huo replied, “How would I know?”

Qin Jiu looked at You Huo with exasperation.

After a moment, he resignedly said, “…Fine.”

He lowered his gaze, flipping Zhao Wentu’s phone over, repeatedly pressing the power button on and off.

The light from the phone screen was very dim, as if shrouded by a layer of black fog, blurry and indistinct.

“There indeed was such an incident,” Qin Jiu said.

“But according to the official statement, it wasn’t an intervention. It was described as a system bug that inadvertently caused harm to internal personnel, such as the invigilators. Unfortunately, I happened to be at the scene when the bug occurred. Due to certain reasons and conflicts with certain individuals… In short, surviving that incident was quite fortunate, and it took some time to recuperate before I could return to the examination hall. As for what happened during those years… because of the inadvertent harm, I’ve already forgotten.”

You Huo’s heart suddenly stirred, and he asked, “Were those certain individuals referring to Invigilator A?”

“How did you know?”

His tone was as casual as ever, but his expression was faint, and it was clear that his interest had waned once more.

Because it seems I am exactly the ‘certain individuals’

you’re talking about…

You Huo thought to himself.

But perhaps it was because of the night and the empty wilderness being too quiet that he hesitated for a moment, not speaking up.

In an instant, Qin Jiu returned to his usual self: “But what you said earlier wasn’t wrong either. It is rather embarrassing. To be disturbed by something that isn’t even human, affecting memory, thoughts, and even behavior—it does feel a bit like being a useless idiot.”

The fellow-sufferer You Huo, who’d been labeled as a useless idiot, thought to himself: What a load of nonsense.

“Can it be restored after being interfered with?” he asked.

“Yes,” Qin Jiu said.

“But with how suddenly concerned you’ve become about me, I can’t help but suspect you have ulterior motives.”

You Huo: “…”

Get lost, not a single honest word from you.

……

A sudden beep sounded.

Both of them paused, turning their attention to Zhao Wentu’s phone.

It wasn’t until then that Qin Jiu noticed how strange the night was here.

Whether it was due to “fear of the dark”

or something else, it was just ordinary darkness that a lit lamp could illuminate.

But here, it’s different.

The brightness of the phone screen was insufficient to cut through the night; the text and graphics were dim.

Qin Jiu stared at the screen, his first reaction not being that the phone was on, but instead looking at You Huo with surprise.

“I was blind for a while, but now I’m perfectly fine. Look at your phone,” You Huo said.

After a long while, Qin Jiu finally withdrew his gaze.

Zhao Wentu’s phone emitted another sound.

The tiny battery icon in the upper right corner was barely clinging to life, persistently reminding him of its low charge—perilously low, on the verge of dying any moment.

This was what Zhao Wentu had left for Qin Jiu—perhaps a message for him, perhaps some other piece of information.

Being an irrelevant bystander, You Huo consciously stepped aside as Qin Jiu tapped the screen, adhering to the principle of not prying where one shouldn’t.

……

The battered phone had low sensitivity, making it somewhat difficult for Qin Jiu to navigate into the photo and video interface.

Zhao Wentu had captured a lot during his stay at the rest area, with over twenty videos alone—so many that scrolling through them all in one go was impossible.

Qin Jiu: “…”

The screen began to flicker faintly again, signaling that it was ready to kick the bucket at any moment.

Squinting, he carefully identified the video title, and upon seeing it, he was left speechless.

Not a single proper name…

【Chicken Talking to Duck】

【Breakfast for a Stubborn Mule】

【Any Dog Out There, Say Something】

……

What on earth is all this?

He firmly believed that the video of him and Examiner A shouldn’t be lumped in with the livestock category. So, skipping past a crowd of animals, he finally found what seemed to be the video in question below.

That video was titled: God of Pestilence Taking a Walk, Mortals Make Way.

Qin Jiu: “…”

The video thumbnail vaguely showed a street corner.

More likely than not, it was this one.

With a tap of his finger, the phone screen, which was hanging on by a thread, flickered twice and suddenly went dark.

What perfect timing for it to die…

……

You Huo circled around a machine and, after a few attempts, managed to flip open a metal cover.

Inside, a row of artillery shells were neatly lined up.

He looked up in astonishment, only to see Qin Jiu’s handsome face darkening like a storm brewing.

“What’s wrong?”

“No power, shut down. Didn’t get to see anything I wanted.” Qin Jiu said in a low voice.

“Anywhere to charge it?”

You Huo glanced around.

“Not here,” Qin Jiu replied.

“I already checked last time.”

“Wait till we get out and find your two subordinates?”

Qin Jiu said, “The isolation room is available for only this one more time. Next time you break the rules, you’ll be escorted by an invigilator, and you won’t be able to come here.”

You Huo asked, “What should we do then?”

“We can only trouble them to come over now. 922 always carries backup batteries when he goes out.”

Qin Jiu looked around, as though searching for something.

“How do we trouble them?”

You Huo wasn’t familiar with the isolation room and didn’t know how to call for an invigilator in a place that had turned into a wilderness and ruins.

But Qin Jiu understood.

“I have to create a little commotion, just enough to catch their attention.”

A moment later, he retrieved a shoulder-launched rocket launcher from the trunk of some abandoned vehicle.

Taking a few rocket shells from the case You Huo had just opened.

A few seconds later.

Suddenly, a deafening explosion erupted from the bottom of the ship, shaking the heavens and the earth.

Several invigilators chatting in the second-floor lounge were startled by the tremor, wearing bewildered expressions as they exchanged glances.

“Holy shit!”

“What is this? Did we hit an iceberg?”

In the confinement room, You Huo watched the shells exploding in the sky and felt Qin Jiu was truly insane. Yet, the next second, he couldn’t help but turn his head aside and let out a faint laugh.

Tell a joke:

In order to charge a phone, I made a little commotion.