Chapter 62: The Examination Supervisors All Reside There.

The sea was boundless, but the examinees did not drift there for long.

Ahead, dark clouds suddenly descended over the sea.

The captain said that once they passed through the black clouds, the mainland would grow closer.

So the three merchant ships rushed towards the dark clouds with the old vessel…

They got through, but the examinees did not.

The examinees felt a sudden chill, as if suddenly plunged into icy water.

In just a blink, the scene before their eyes changed.

The merchant fleet vanished behind the dark clouds, yet they returned to the desolate island and icy plain.

At the sight of the stone cave, their hearts sank.

“After all the effort to get so far, why send us back again!” someone loudly complained.

“Or what? Did you expect to follow the merchant fleet home?”

“…Yeah, that’s true.”

“I thought once we passed through the black clouds, we’d reach the rest area.”

“That’s wishful thinking. I didn’t expect the rest area, but I also didn’t think we’d come back here. This place gives me the creeps; seeing this stone cave makes me feel like I can’t breathe…”

“Same here. So why did they send us back here again?”

“Have you calculated the scores yet?” Di Li suddenly asked.

The lively chatter instantly stopped.

The feeling of braving the wind and waves to send people home was so exhilarating that they only remembered completing the questions but forgot this most critical step.

Only a kid like Di Li, who has been calculating scores for over a decade, would still keep it in mind.

Sure enough, as soon as the words were spoken, that familiar voice came again.

Strictly speaking, this voice wasn’t unpleasant to listen to; it was even quite pleasant.

But when paired with its completely flat tone and the content of its message, it was hard to find likable.

【The merchant fleet has all returned to port. Examinees, turn in your answer sheets. This exam is now concluded.】

[Final penalties and rewards will be settled shortly.]

The examinees hesitated for a moment before filing into the cave one by one.

Familiar stone walls, familiar score slips.

The difference was, inside the cave today, there was no warming bonfire and no snoring crew.

It felt as if another century had passed, even though they had just seen them off.

【This examination follows a participation mode with open-ended questions, offering opportunities for additional bonus points and penalty deductions. All previously triggered scoring and deduction points have been calculated and displayed in real time. Now, finalizing the remaining uncalculated scores.】

【Examinees have triggered a total of 4 scoring points】

【1. Rebuilding the final merchant ship】

【2. Providing sufficient fuel for the merchant ships】

【3、Provide adequate food for crew members】

【4、Escort merchant ship back safely】

[Specific scoring breakdown:]

【Repairing the merchant ship totals 3 points, including 1.5 points for preparing materials and tools, and 1.5 points for repairs】

【Providing fuel for the merchant ship totals 4 points】

【Providing food for the crew originally totaled 2 points. Since the food provided far exceeded the minimum requirements, enough to allow the crew to eat one full meal per day, the additional reward conditions were met, granting the relevant examinees 6 points.】

【Safely escorting the merchant ship back to port was the main objective of this exam, totaling 15 points.】

At this point in the system’s calculation, several groups of examinees appeared dazed.

Because the score bar had shot up too alarmingly…

Other than the 6 points from food, everyone had earned the remaining points, totaling 22…

22 points!

The highest scorers like Di Li were already at 69.

Shu Xue’s group had also reached 56 points, and even someone as reserved, rational, and decisive as Wu Li froze for a moment.

Aside from that, there were two groups that earned that additional 6 points.

One group was undoubtedly You Huo and Qin Jiu, who saw their score skyrocket from 24.25 directly to 52.25 in this round.

The other group was Chen Fei and Huang Rui, though they didn’t earn the full 6 points, only adding 3.

These two, who were at the bottom of the rankings, were probably the most bewildered of all.

“Why were we able to add 3 points…”

Chen Fei was utterly bewildered.

Huang Rui was even more bewildered than he was.

Sometimes good things happening too suddenly feel like a scam.

Right now, they feel like the system is trying to scam them.

It wasn’t until You Huo suddenly spoke up, “You already fought the octopus, what’s the issue?”

That the two snapped out of their daze: “But… does that even count?”

“Why shouldn’t it count?”

“……”

They wanted to say that they only fought because they were caught, that it was forced – that the two of you fought willingly, it’s different.

But if they were to say that, they were afraid the two big shots would probably just glance at them.

So they hesitated for a long while before finally saying, “Thank you.”

You Huo gave them an odd look.

“Why thank us? You did the work yourselves.”

“……”

Chen Fei and Huang Rui froze for a moment, at a loss for how to refute this.

As the score tallies finished flickering through the air, the rocky cave filled with exhilaration.

For most people present, it was the first time they had ever felt excited after finishing an exam, as if they were about to go home.

Li Li gave himself a hard pinch on the thigh and then pinched Big Brother Li, saying, “Sorry, I just need to confirm something.”

Big Brother Li said, “It’s fine…”

Li Li asked, “I’m in pain. Are you in pain too?”

Big Brother Li replied, “It hurts so much I can’t stand it, so we’re definitely not dreaming.”

Di Li: “So does that mean we’ve already reached 60 points???”

Brother Li: “Yeah…”

Far from just 60, they had a surplus of 9 points.

The members of the second group also seemed as if they were sleepwalking: “We’ve also met the requirement, 68 points. Under normal circumstances, can we consider that we’ve passed?”

“It’s only the third subject, how come our score is already so high?”

“What’s not quite right?”

The candidates hadn’t realized yet, but it was former invigilator Qin Jiu who shattered their illusions.

“Wake up, this is the combined score for two people.”

That swing of the rod woke everyone up.

A combined…

This meant that everyone’s true scores would be halved.

Everyone felt as if struck by lightning.

But the blows had not yet stopped.

The system loved dramatic pauses, always choosing the most appropriate moment to deliver another strike:

【All bonus point calculations completed; now calculating additional penalty points.】

【Candidates have triggered a total of two penalty points:】

Destroy the examination hall’s penalty mechanism, maliciously release penalty tools.

Test taker: “…”

That’s right…

The octopus left together with the merchant ship.

But if you want to call this “releasing it back into the wild,”

the octopus would definitely disagree.

【2. The intended meaning of the question is to take away all crew members of the batch of merchant ships, namely the living captain and crew along with the eight deceased crew members. The examinee exaggerated the literal meaning of the words, made an arbitrary broad interpretation, and maliciously released hidden components of the question.】

The examinee: “…”

Oh, right…

The pretty boy left as well.

But if we only take those eight with us, that pretty-boy definitely won’t agree.

Although the system’s voice remained as flat as ever, everyone could faintly sense that it was rebuking them.

After the reprimand, it stated:

[Specific scoring breakdown:]

[Release the punishment tool, deduct a total of 5 points from the offending examinees.]

Everyone’s score bars shrank by a segment.

[Release of hidden components of the survival question, deducting a total of 5 points from the rule-violating examinees.]

Only the score bars of Qin Jiu and You Huo’s team shrank.

Examinees: “…”

Discussions broke out in a sudden uproar.

Once again, Di Li’s voice pierced through the crowd: “What’s going on? Didn’t we all drag the skeleton boat together?”

But the system ignored them and began announcing the final results with unwavering certainty.

[All examinees have now completed three exams. Based on the percentile ranking among all examinees of the same category worldwide, the grades are as follows:]

A scraping sound echoed again from the stone wall.

A rank line appeared between the score strips.

Although they had lost 5 points, the first six groups of examinees were still solidly pinned at A-rank.

Surprisingly, most of the remaining groups were at B-rank, including the group with Shu Xue and Wu Li.

Only two groups remain below the C-level passing mark:

You Huo, Qin Jiu: 42.25

Chen Fei, Huang Rui: 38

[Examinees who have achieved B-level or above have successfully advanced to the next round of the examination. Please return to your respective boats within 5 minutes. The boatman is already in position and will take the qualified examinees to the rest area for temporary adjustment.]

[As per regulations, C-level examinees are required to retake this test.]

The system paused for a moment before continuing:

[Given that all props have been released and the examination hall has been cleared, a new round of tests cannot be conducted. C-level examinees are to be taken back by the invigilators and assigned a different examination hall for their retest.]

[Examinees You Huo and Qin Jiu have damaged an invigilator ship, instigated examination hall tools to attack invigilators, and thus have violated the regulations. They are likewise to be taken back by the invigilators, undergo punishment, and then proceed with their retest.]

The two rule-breakers looked at the score wall as if it were an idiot, remaining completely indifferent.

The settling of scores for this exam was unprecedentedly long, and amidst the system’s voice, everyone inexplicably detected a hint of exhaustion.

It likely was truly furious, yet it “gritted its teeth”

and forced out one last sentence:

[Additionally, the total time spent on this exam was four days, far exceeding the average duration. As a reward, each candidate in this group is granted one draw right. To be executed by the invigilator.]

Whether it’s dealing with C-level candidates, punishing rule-breakers, or even conducting a card draw, it all requires the invigilators to step in.

Provided, of course, they show up…

The system announced:

【Invigilators 021, 078, 154, and 922 have been notified.】

【The invigilator boat is on its way for repairs.】

Qin Jiu finally let out a low, mocking laugh, directed at the system.

The roasted rabbit burst into flames on the spot, without any visible fire.

Just as the Level B and above examinees were leaving the stone cave, You Huo said, “All the boats are damaged. If you take us back, can you still carry out normal punishments?”

Qin Jiu replied, “You think we’re going back to the invigilation ship?”

“Isn’t that so?”

“Of course not.”

Chen Fei and Huang Rui also came over to listen. It was their first time encountering this kind of situation, and they were extremely nervous.

Qin Jiu said, “If a candidate happens to break the rules right at the moment the exam ends, then they won’t be taken to the invigilation office of that exam venue—they’ll be taken to the invigilation zone for the entire examination.”

“Invigilation zone?”

“A place that looks no different from a normal city, with a punishment zone and special handling areas. Apart from those particular zones, it has everything, sometimes even giving people the illusion that they’re living a normal city life.”

Qin Jiu paused and said, “All exam supervisors live there.”

You Huo asked, “All of them?”

Qin Jiu replied, “Yes, all of them.”

Including the present, and the past.