Chapter 33: Unknown Punishment

You Huo copied Qin Jiu’s face in his imagination and pasted it onto the driver’s body.

Then onto the innkeeper lady.

Then onto the grocery shop owner.

Basically every face he’d seen got a turn.

He pictured those scenes in his head and let out a quiet laugh.

…

At this point, everyone’s attitude toward the invigilator had changed somewhat.

After all, Mister 001 had burned down the exam hall and saved their lives.

They had always assumed Qin Jiu was equivalent to the System itself, placing him firmly on the opposite side.

But now it seemed…

that wasn’t entirely true.

At the very least, not completely.

None of them had expected invigilators to receive punishments too, and they were all shocked.

However, the System apparently considered this an internal matter and had no intention of explaining further.

The crows’ sharp beaks opened and closed.

After a long pause, they added:

【After deductions, the total score still exceeds this exam’s average score.】

【Reward: Examinee You Huo receives one draw opportunity.】

Judging from the previous exam, scoring above average—or displaying particularly outstanding performance—earned a reward.

And the reward always went to the examinee with the highest contribution.

This time, You Huo alone earned 9 points from “delivering gifts,” so him receiving the reward was expected.

But…

the exam hall had literally collapsed.

The System was probably furious to death.

And yet it still remembered to hand out rewards.

Was this System mentally ill?

No one could understand it.

Chen Bin in particular was stunned into complete confusion.

Before today, he had never imagined that after deductions and punishments, their score would still be above average.

…

Qin Jiu’s phone gave a ding.

A notification.

Without wasting words, he pulled out the familiar deck of cards.

You Huo eyed his hands suspiciously.

Qin Jiu fanned the cards out and held them toward him.

“Enjoying the view?” he asked lazily. “You’ve been staring for a while.”

You Huo: “……”

This invigilator truly didn’t care about his punishment at all.

He was still in the mood to tease examinees.

Watching You Huo’s cold face slowly turn greener seemed to be the only amusement left in his boring work life.

“Or are you worried I’ll cheat?” Qin Jiu asked.

You Huo replied expressionlessly:

“Who knows. Maybe you’ll pull out an entire deck of black cards.”

“Relax.” Qin Jiu blinked. “The rules don’t allow it. In exams, the rules are absolute.”

“Believe me—if not for that restriction, the System would gladly give you a whole box of guaranteed-passing cards for you to pick from.”

You Huo: “……”

At those words, everyone suddenly understood.

Why was the System so furious and still rewarding You Huo?

Not because it was sick.

Because it wanted to get rid of the plague god.

…

Unfortunately for the System, that wish died immediately.

The lucky bastard You Huo casually pulled a card.

A Good Person Card.

> Outstanding student, keep up the good work.



Note: This is recognition of the examinee’s intelligence, physical ability, and moral character. You are an excellent and kind-hearted examinee. Please continue maintaining these virtues.

“……”

Who exactly was this mocking?

The entire exam hall fell silent.

Only the crows flapped their wings and announced in their mechanical voices:

【One draw opportunity consumed.
Draw complete.
Congratulations.】

They said “congratulations.”

But it sounded more like “go to hell.”

“Keeping the card yourself,” Qin Jiu asked, “or should I hold onto it temporarily?”

As if the stupid thing were valuable.

You Huo rolled his eyes and walked away.

All rewards and punishments had now been settled.

The crows spread their wings and flew from the dead branches overhead.

They circled several times before plunging directly into the flames.

“Holy shit—”

Everyone cried out.

The crows exploded into bursts of fire as if they had completed their final duty.

The flames burned for a few more seconds—

then vanished abruptly.

The whole process happened in the blink of an eye.

Everyone stood there dazed for a long time.

No one knew how many years Chasu Village had existed.

Nor how many examinees had been buried there forever.

But from this moment onward,

nothing remained except scorched earth.

…

Old Yu looked around.

“Everything’s burned black. Hard to see the road now. Is that the path with gravel?”

“Forget it. Let’s just go. Everywhere’s a road now anyway.”

Yu Wen then turned to Yu Yao.

“Sis, are you okay?”

Yu Yao had suffered the worst during the ghost-limb chase.

There had been too many severed limbs rushing at once. No one could even grab her in time.

In the blink of an eye, she had disappeared.

When they finally found her, she was curled behind a thorn bush, back pressed against a tree trunk, covered head to toe in mud.

Her clothes were torn badly.

Fortunately, she wasn’t seriously injured.

Since then, she had been sitting quietly beside a broken tree root.

Mike’s oversized coat wrapped around her completely, leaving only her pale face visible.

She looked fragile enough to disappear at any moment.

Seeing everyone’s concern, she whispered:

“I’m okay. Still fine.”

“We’ve gotta leave this place now.” Yu Wen crouched in front of her. “Come on, I’ll carry you.”

Maybe because they shared the same surname.

Maybe because Yu Yao was always gentle and soft-spoken.

But Yu Wen genuinely treated her like an older sister.

“It’s okay, no need. I can walk.” Yu Yao lightly patted his shoulder.

“Quit pretending.” Yu Wen said. “With that stomach of yours, surviving this long is already a miracle.”

“You nearly died and you still say you can walk? Who’re you fooling?”

Yu Yao bit her lip softly after hearing that.

Then lowered her eyes and said quietly:

“Then… if you get tired halfway, tell me.”

“Sure, sure.” Yu Wen grinned. “Then we’ll switch and you can carry me.”

Yu Yao smacked the back of his head.

Yu Wen laughed loudly.

But in that moment, more than one person felt a flicker of doubt.

A pregnant woman…

after going through all this…

could she really be fine?

Yet perhaps because everyone had only just escaped death, their minds were exhausted and numb.

Even when the thought surfaced, it was quickly buried under concern that Yu Yao was forcing herself too hard.

…

The gravel road Old Yu found truly was the exit.

They walked through scorched earth for a long time before finally reaching the edge of the exam hall.

A highway stretched across the darkness.

Beside it stood a rusted bus stop sign.

On it were four familiar words:

“Intercity Bus.”

Exactly the same as before.

The moment they stopped beneath the sign, the familiar broken-down minibus came swerving toward them.

Even the driver hadn’t changed.

The driver leaned against the door and watched them board one after another.

Old Yu couldn’t resist teasing him.

“What’s wrong, driver? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

The driver didn’t answer immediately.

He stood beside the driver’s seat counting heads with his chin lifted.

He counted three times before finally speaking:

“I’ve driven this bus for almost three years.”

“I only deliver people. Never pick them up.”

“This is the first time anyone’s come out alive for me to take back.”

Old Yu said:

“Well speaking of that, you really weren’t very honest.”

“Back then you acted mute the whole ride here. Then right before leaving you suddenly warned us never to enter the forest.”

“You know? If we weren’t rebellious enough to ignore you, the vehicle you’d be driving now would’ve been a hearse.”

Everyone immediately joined in agreement.

“Wasn’t acting mute,” the driver muttered hoarsely as he sat down.

“Everyone on this bus is supposed to die anyway.”

“Chatting’s just wasted feelings. Why bother?”

No one could argue with that.

“As for the forest…” the driver continued, “every time I deliver people into an exam hall, I have to say that sentence.”

“That’s my rule. Can’t violate it.”

“In exams, rules are absolute.”

That was the second time today they had heard something similar.

Everyone grew curious.

“Wait,” Yu Wen asked, “are you an NPC too?”

Driver: “……”

“But you’re not like the Black Hag and the others,” Yu Wen continued.

“They live entirely inside one exam hall, acting according to the background story.”

“You’re different. You even know exam rules.”

“So what exactly are you?”

The driver answered vaguely:

“You’ve been to the Rest Area, right?”

“You’ve seen the hotel owner and grocery store boss?”

“I’m about the same.”

“Oh.” Yu Wen leaned forward eagerly. “Then you definitely know what these exams are really about, right?”

“We’ve already gone through two exams and still don’t know what this whole thing wants from us.”

“There’s gotta be some purpose behind it.”

The driver: “……”

That question had actually come from You Huo.

Unfortunately, it earned them nothing.

The driver shot a quick glance into the rearview mirror and lowered the brim of his baseball cap.

“Don’t know. Stop asking.”

“If you’ve got theories, save them for discussions with other examinees at the Rest Area.”

“What’re you discussing this stuff with me for?”

Yu Wen spread his hands helplessly toward You Huo.

“Another one trying to suffocate us to death.”

You Huo wasn’t surprised at all.

The driver’s lips were pressed tightly together.

His entire expression looked tense.

One dark hand gripped the steering wheel while his eyes constantly flicked nervously toward the rearview mirror.

Leaning against the card scanner pole, You Huo suddenly asked:

“You people are monitored too?”

“Like invigilators?”

The driver nearly slammed into a tree.

He stomped the brakes and turned around glaring furiously at You Huo.

“What do you mean like invigilators?”

“I was an invigilator!”

The entire bus was stunned.

“Then why are you driving now?”

“Made a mistake.”

Everyone froze for a long while before asking again:

“Then when you said you were like the hotel owners and shopkeepers…”

The driver answered:

“They’re all former invigilators too.”

“What’s wrong with me saying that?”

“If invigilators make mistakes, this happens?” Yu Wen asked carefully.

“Not necessarily.”

The driver had wanted to explain:

they were only reserve invigilators.

Actual official invigilators received different punishments depending on rank.

But after thinking about it, he lost interest.

What was the point of saying all that?

So he shut his mouth again.

…

The driver stopped talking.

But You Huo suddenly remembered Invigilator 001, who was about to receive punishment.

He wondered where Qin Jiu would end up.

You Huo copied Qin Jiu’s face in his imagination and pasted it onto the driver’s body.

Then the innkeeper lady.

Then the grocery store owner.

Every single person he’d seen got pasted once.

He didn’t know whether Qin Jiu looked more tragic—

or they did.

Thinking about the image, You Huo snorted a laugh.

“……”

The driver thought he was being mocked.

Waving a hand furiously, he snapped:

“Go away. Sit down and sleep!”

“Stop bothering me while I drive, or we’ll all die together!”

You Huo lowered his eyelids and stared at him silently for a moment.

Then he slung his backpack over one shoulder and walked to the last row without a word.

…

This trip lasted unusually long.

The tiny intercity bus rattled along for over four hours.

The driver clearly had malicious intent, driving like a drunk lunatic.

The whole vehicle swayed violently from side to side until every passenger passed out.

When You Huo woke up, the world outside the bus window was dark.

Yellow-white lights stretched outward in clusters, spreading from nearby into the distance.

At first glance, it resembled a city at night.

For one brief moment, he thought he had returned to reality.

As though everything before had only been a dream he accidentally had while sleeping on the bus.

Then the driver’s soul-calling voice dragged him back instantly:

“Hurry up and get off. We’re at the Rest Area.”

Volume 3 — You Seem Delicious