Chapter 63: Twin Towers Some people… once something goes wrong with their brain, they’ll agree to anything!

Supervision Zone, Red Harbor Pier.

The signal lights flickered in the pitch-black night, and the electronic screen beside them displayed PM 9:03.

There was a soft splash as the water’s surface rippled, and the white boat smoothly docked by the shore.

A rope ladder was lowered over the side of the ship, and several figures descended one after another.

The familiar system voice rang out from nowhere:

[Welcome back.]

Fuck.

Chen Fei, who was climbing down the rope ladder, slipped his feet and almost stepped on Huang Rui’s head.

“Don’t know how to disembark?”

922 quickly pulled him back, preventing the two from tumbling into a heap.

Chen Fei turned around, still shaken.

“Why is there another exam announcement?”

“This is the base camp. The system is everywhere. I suggest you get used to it,” Qin Jiu remarked, with a trace of intention.

Base camp?

Hearing this, You Huo looked out into the distance.

As Qin Jiu had said, this place was like an ordinary coastal city.

Lights from the high-rise buildings spun over, then quickly swept past, dazzling in all colors.

Standing there, he could even sense the slightest hint of the city’s hustle and bustle.

922 was still counting on his fingers for the examinees: “Parking vehicles, docking boats, traffic lights, swipe cards for purchases, ring doorbells… They’re basically everywhere. You’d better be mentally prepared; otherwise, you’ll stumble wherever you go—who could handle that?”

Chen Fei and Huang Rui exchanged a glance, both completely panicked.

021 also came down in her high heels.

As soon as she stood steady at the dock, the system’s voice echoed once more:

[December 30, 21:05, outdoor temperature -4℃, examination device No. 09271 has docked at berth 13 of the pier.]

Chen Fei and Huang Rui still felt their scalps tingle, but this time, they managed to keep their bodies steady.

“It’s already past nine. If there were no delays on the way, they could have made it back during the day,”

078 couldn’t help but mumble.

Just repairing the ship alone took them 2 hours.

After finally picking up the examinees and setting sail back to the invigilation zone, 021 ended up forgetting his invigilator card. They had to turn around midway to return to the deserted island to retrieve it, and the round trip delayed them by another 4 hours.

078 has an extremely low EQ.

His only real complaint was about repairing the ship. He wanted to make the rule-breaking examinee feel a little guilty, given that attacking an invigilator was truly outrageous and unheard of.

However, the examinee was completely unmoved, while 021 took offense.

“Are you implying that I’m careless?”

“No, no, definitely not! I was just sighing that it’s already 9 o’clock, nothing more,”

078 immediately explained.

Given how often this young lady had a temper, he had developed a muscle reflex.

He opened his mouth to apologize first; smoothing things over was never the wrong move.

021 was not naturally forgetful—she never lost important things.

The reason she had lost the card on the deserted island and realized it two hours late was precisely because she had intended to delay her return until nightfall.

The invigilation zone was where all invigilators lived.

This included both the later arrivals and the original ones.

The earliest group of invigilators was very small, just over a dozen people, and the English alphabet was sufficient to assign them numbers.

Later, as the troubles that needed resolving increased, the system selected some formidable figures from among the examinees to supplement their ranks.

After the first supplement, the number of invigilators increased to fifty.

These newly added invigilators were arranged in chronological order, quickly filling the remaining letters, while those left over began using combinations, similar to English names.

Qin Jiu was one of them.

This group of invigilators had worked with A.

021 once privately counted—

Of the 50 early-stage invigilators over the years, one had long ago been demoted to the rest area. Invigilators didn’t go to the rest area except under special circumstances, so she had never met the person in real life, only seen photos.

Thirteen others were staying at the Liujin Sanatorium for various work-related injuries. The place was heavily guarded, making it temporarily impossible for them to be discharged.

Twenty-six had recently been assigned to foreign examination sites, all for rather long exam periods. Without big names like You Huo and Qin Jiu leading the team, it was unlikely for them to finish the exams early and rush back.

Which meant that, aside from the brain-damaged You Huo and the brain-damaged Qin Jiu, eight early examiners were right here in this exam center.

And they all… knew A.

This was very alarming.

021 had no idea what You Huo’s plan was, and she suspected that this chief examiner himself probably didn’t know right now either.

But she thought, having You Huo recognized so early might not be in the Grand Examiner’s best interests for stirring things up.

So, all she could do was do everything possible to keep You Huo as far away from those eight invigilators as possible.

After switching to comprehensive ability rankings, the designations for this batch of invigilators also turned into numbers, and their rankings were generally quite high.

According to Miss 021’s observations, invigilators 016, 025, 033, and 058 were particularly active around this dock.

The widest birch tree street straight ahead was bustling with activity during the day, and 016 and 025 lived there.

025 particularly enjoyed sitting on the windowsill to smoke, and the likelihood of running into him was quite low, except in the dead of night.

There was also a bar there where 058 spent nearly every day well into the wee hours.

Sometimes he returns at 9 PM, sometimes at 11 PM.

Walking down this street ten times, 021 would run into these guys eight of them—impossible to guard against.

At this frequency, she absolutely had to blacklist this street tonight.

* * *

“You two won’t be punished, but you’ll need to go to the waiting area,”

078 called to Chen Fei and Huang Rui.

“It’s apartment-style; we’ll take you through a simple registration process in a bit.”

“Where’s the waiting area?”

“Over there.”

078 pointed.

Chen Fei and Huang Rui craned their necks to look.

Behind the street near the pier, two skyscrapers resembling twin towers could faintly be seen.

They stood symmetrically, jutting straight into the sky, with many of their windows brightly lit.

“You’re looking at the wrong ones—the twin towers are the punishment area. You’ll be staying in the smaller buildings next to them.”

078 pointed at You Huo and Qin Jiu, explaining to Chen Fei and the others: “These two gentlemen’s punishment will last for three days. During that time, you’ll stay in the waiting area. Once their punishment is over, we’ll assign you to a new examination hall.”

With that, he led the way, saying, “Let’s cut through Birch Street.”

Just as he finished speaking, someone burst out from the bar on Birch Street.

Anyone familiar with him could tell at a glance that it was the early invigilator 058.

When Qin Jiu saw him, he immediately changed direction and said, “Not going.”

078: “?”

021 had just brought the word “no”

to the tip of her tongue before swallowing it back down with a gulp.

Did 001 eat spoiled food tonight? He’s actually on my side?

078 was utterly confused: “What’s wrong with White Birch Street?”

Qin Jiu stole a glance at You Huo out of the corner of his eye and started spouting nonsense: “That bar reeks of smoke and filth, and I’ve been sick of it for a long time.”

078: “?”

What kind of ‘smoky mess’

are you talking about? Did you know that bar is smoke-free?

You can’t blame it just because someone popped out when the door opened…

078 was seething but dared not say a word, forced to ask resentfully, “Which way, then?”

Qin Jiu casually pointed to a path farthest from the Birch Street road.

“That way.”

078: “… Are you sure?”

You Huo let out a soft noise and walked off without hesitation.

154 and 922 were originally his subordinates, so they followed without a second thought.

Even 021 had no objections. Clicking along in her high heels, she went over as well.

078 stared at them, puzzled, thinking to himself, “I’ve really seen it all.”

Instead of walking down the brightly lit main street, they had to take such a long detour to go down a dark, unlit alley…

What were they thinking? Did Baijie Street have ghosts biting them or something?

Whether there were ghosts biting them or not, they still turned onto that quiet little street.

That inebriated invigilator, 058, must have run into someone because he was laughing heartily.

Due to the stillness, the laughter carried all the way here, gradually fading into the distance.

021 secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

You Huo seemed completely oblivious to 058’s presence as he lowered his head and fiddled with his phone.

They quickly made their way through the small street and, as two of them had wished, did not run into any familiar faces from before.

* * *

The Twin Towers stood tall in a bustling area, separated from the noise and crowds only by a courtyard wall.

“I’ll take these two to the waiting area. Would you like to go ahead upstairs?”

078 stopped at the foot of the Twin Towers and pointed to a small building nearby.

021 unexpectedly softened a bit and said, “I’ll wait right here for you, a few minutes won’t make much difference.”

078 chuckled and dashed off with the examinee.

You Huo watched as the three figures disappeared into the night, then looked up at the twin towers again.

The high-rise building shimmered with a dim blue light, giving off an aloof, icy impression. Scattered throughout the vast expanses of glass, brilliant lights twinkled like stars.

In that moment, You Huo felt a sense of déjà vu, a strange yet familiar sensation.

As if, in the past, he had always lifted his head and seen this exact scene.

You Huo withdrew his gaze, instinctively scanning the area.

He suddenly halted and pointed toward a cluster of villas to the east, asking, “What’s over there?”

Qin Jiu glanced in the direction he pointed: “I live there.”

You Huo’s expression turned strange for a moment: “Where you live?”

“That’s right.”

He turned his head again and raised an eyebrow at You Huo.

“Since we’ve brought it up, do you want to take a look sometime?”

No.

Not available.

Can’t make time.

021 pursed his lips.

To which Yu Huan actually nodded.

021 silently turned around, facing the darkness and giving a prolonged roll of his eyes—

Some people… once there’s something wrong with their head, they’ll agree to anything!