{"id":3260,"date":"2026-05-13T23:00:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T23:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/?p=3260"},"modified":"2026-05-10T07:07:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T07:07:05","slug":"global-examination-17","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/chapter\/global-examination-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Examination 17"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 17: Assigning Rooms

Also, candidates and proctors are prohibited from developing improper relationships. Please reassign the rooms.

The fur-hat man leading them was the village chief. He said this place was called Chasu Village, and there were eighteen households in total.

The village sat close to the border. During the war years, Black Granny had wandered here alongside some Russians and ended up staying permanently.

She was the one who carved that boundary marker. As for what it meant, even the village chief couldn\u2019t explain.

Everyone followed him along the muddy road deeper into the village.

On one side of the narrow path was a river covered in thick ice. On the other side stood houses of varying heights. Some had concrete walls, while others still retained traces of exposed brickwork. But regardless of their structure, every roof was exactly the same dark red color.

\u201cDidn\u2019t he say there were eighteen households?\u201d Yu Wen muttered quietly. \u201cThere are obviously way more than eighteen houses here.\u201d

The village chief acted as though he hadn\u2019t heard and simply wrapped his military coat tighter while continuing forward.

\u201cHey, don\u2019t walk so fast! I\u2019m asking you something, sir!\u201d Even now, Old Yu still remembered to add a respectful \u201csir.\u201d

The village chief jumped when Old Yu patted him and finally slowed his steps. He answered vaguely, \u201cThere definitely used to be more than eighteen households. Some people left, some died. Gradually the population got smaller.\u201d

He casually pointed at two houses. \u201cLike that one, and that one. You can tell at a glance nobody lives there.\u201d

Old Yu was about to nod when Qi Yang suddenly interrupted coolly:

\u201cI can\u2019t tell. I think every house looks abandoned.\u201d

The village chief froze. \u201cWhy would you say that?\u201d

Qi Yang replied, \u201cToo quiet.\u201d

The moment he said it, everyone stopped walking.

As soon as the messy sound of footsteps vanished, the abnormal silence became glaringly obvious.

It really was too quiet.

It was clearly morning, yet there were no voices, no sounds of pots and dishes clattering, no doors opening or closing\u2026

Nothing at all.

Goosebumps instantly spread across everyone\u2019s skin as they all turned to stare at the village chief.

The chief looked awkward, but there was also fear hidden in his expression. After hesitating for a moment, he let out a long sigh.

\u201cThere really are people living here. It\u2019s just\u2026 nobody dares go outside much anymore. Usually they sleep as long as they can.\u201d

\u201cThey don\u2019t dare go outside? Why?\u201d

The village chief cautiously glanced toward the distance.

Everyone followed his gaze.

On the opposite side of the frozen river stood several short houses built in a completely different style. They looked dull gray and inconspicuous, even their roofs black enough to nearly blend into the forest behind them.

The village chief seemed afraid someone might overhear him. Lowering his voice to almost a whisper, he said:

\u201cIt isn\u2019t safe at night. If you\u2019re staying here, remember this carefully: don\u2019t go outside after dark, and no matter what you hear, don\u2019t open the door.\u201d

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d Everyone grew both frightened and confused.

But the village chief no longer dared say more. He waved his hand repeatedly and continued leading the way with his head lowered.

Everyone was full of questions, yet nobody dared press further.

\u2026

\u201cHoly shit.\u201d

While walking, Yu Wen suddenly yelped and elbowed Qi Yang.

\u201cBro, look at that house.\u201d

Qi Yang looked over, and several others nearby followed his gaze.

Inside one house on the second floor, someone stood silently behind the curtains, watching them.

\u201cI almost died from fright! Suddenly seeing a face in the window like that\u2014\u201d Yu Wen clutched his chest.

Then they realized it wasn\u2019t just one house.

Several homes had people quietly peeking out through the curtains the same way.

The village chief explained, \u201cVisitors are rare, so everyone\u2019s curious. But they\u2019ve been frightened too many times and don\u2019t dare come out easily anymore.\u201d

\u201cSo they just stay indoors all the time?\u201d Yu Wen asked in shock. \u201cWhat happens when they get hungry? They don\u2019t eat or drink?\u201d

\u201cEvery household here has a cellar,\u201d the village chief explained. \u201cThere\u2019s stored grain inside, with ladders leading down.\u201d

\u201cAnd it\u2019s not like nobody ever leaves. People come out during the afternoon or near dusk. But before dark falls, everyone returns home.\u201d

\u201cOh.\u201d

\u201cDoes it have something to do with that Black Granny?\u201d Qi Yang asked.

The village chief fell silent for a moment before nodding softly.

\u201cI heard you people came to ask her for work?\u201d

\u201cWork? What kind of work?\u201d

The moment something connected to their purpose came up, everyone perked up and listened carefully.

\u201cWork involving the dead!\u201d The village chief frightened himself pale as he lowered his voice eerily. \u201cBlack Granny likes dealing with corpses. Things like sewing shattered bodies back together.\u201d

\u201c\u2026\u201d

The village chief continued enthusiastically horrifying people:

\u201cIf someone from a family goes missing, people ask her to calculate whether they\u2019re dead and where the body is.\u201d

\u201c\u2026\u201d

\u201cSometimes she even picks bodies up herself to work on.\u201d

Yu Wen looked thoroughly horrified. \u201c…What do you mean by picks bodies up?\u201d

\u201cFor example, several years ago\u2026\u201d The village chief pointed toward the frozen river. \u201cA girl\u2019s body floated down that river. Black Granny dragged over a huge basket and carried her back.\u201d

Floated.

Carried her back.

The village chief\u2019s choice of words was terrifyingly gifted. Everyone felt chills crawling up their spines.

Several grown men nearly gagged. Yu Yao\u2019s legs even weakened.

Only Qi Yang remained completely unaffected.

\u201cIf all she handles are dead people, then why are living people afraid of her?\u201d

The village chief stuffed his hands into his sleeves and shook his head mournfully.

\u201cYou don\u2019t understand\u2026 sigh. Stay one night and you\u2019ll know.\u201d

\u2026

Soon enough, the village chief led them to the end of the frozen river and across the thick ice toward the opposite bank.

The dull gray houses now stood directly before them.

Only upon approaching did they realize the houses were built entirely from stone. Their exterior walls were uneven and rough. Strange white-painted symbols covered the gray stone surfaces, while dried branches hung from the doors above worn-out felt mats.

One of the houses stood out more than the others.

Old crystal balls rested on the windowsill, alongside some pale white objects\u2026

They looked disturbingly like finger bones.

Before anyone even entered, a heavy scent of incense drifted out, thick enough to make people dizzy.

The village chief clearly wanted to stay as far away from the place as possible.

\u201cThis is where Black Granny lives.\u201d He stretched his neck to glance toward it. \u201cWhat time is it now?\u201d

Everyone pulled out their phones, only to discover their screens displayed 23:13 at night, clearly out of sync with reality here.

While they were still confused, a deep voice suddenly spoke:

\u201c6:55.\u201d

Everyone turned around.

It was Qin Jiu.

He casually waved his phone and said, \u201cMine\u2019s slightly more accurate than yours.\u201d

Chen Bin looked astonished. \u201cHandsome guy, that\u2019s impressive! The seasons and time in every exam differ from reality, so how\u2019d your phone stay synchronized?\u201d

Qin Jiu slipped the phone back into his pocket and lazily replied, \u201cProbably because I\u2019m the proctor.\u201d

Chen Bin let out an absent-minded \u201cOh\u201d while adjusting his bag.

Two seconds later, the bag slipped from his hands and crashed to the ground.

\u201cWho the hell are you?!\u201d

Qin Jiu ignored him completely. Instead, he pulled out a card from his pocket and tilted his head toward Qi Yang.

\u201cDoes this count as helping you once?\u201d

It was the card Qi Yang had drawn earlier:

\u3010Assistance from a Proctor\u3011

Qi Yang snatched the card away, flipped it over, and shoved it directly in front of Qin Jiu\u2019s nose.

\u201cTry reading the entire sentence carefully. Extra assistance. Do you understand what extra means?\u201d

Qin Jiu smiled faintly. \u201cNot really.\u201d

Smiling my ass.

Qi Yang replied, \u201cGo look it up in a dictionary.\u201d

Candidates didn\u2019t wear watches. Asking the proctor for the time hardly counted as extra assistance. It was no different from dragging the proctor along when going to the bathroom.

That was basic job responsibility.

Naturally, the card remained valid.

Qin Jiu sighed regretfully, then tucked it back into his pocket.

The village chief stood there blankly for a while before snapping back to reality.

\u201cBlack Granny wakes up at 7:30 every morning. She won\u2019t open the door before then.\u201d

\u201cI\u2019ll show you where you\u2019ll be staying first.\u201d

\u2026

Aside from the house Black Granny occupied, there were four empty houses nearby.

Each one was tiny, covered inside with old knitted blankets. There was only one bedroom and a single bed, making the interiors resemble wagon tents.

\u201cYou\u2019ll have to squeeze together a little,\u201d the village chief said apologetically.

The newly joined Chen Bin and Liang Yuanhao naturally shared one room. Since Yu Yao was a woman, it wouldn\u2019t be convenient for her to share with the others, so she got her own room.

That left Yu Wen, Old Yu, Mike, Qi Yang, and Qin Jiu to divide between two rooms.

After thinking briefly, Qi Yang asked Qin Jiu, \u201cDon\u2019t proctors have fancy little monitoring villas around here?\u201d

Qin Jiu replied, \u201cThanks to you, I\u2019m assigned full-time supervision. No fancy villa available. I\u2019m forced to squeeze into this cramped, narrow, not-very-clean place instead.\u201d

Qi Yang pretended not to hear him and said seriously to the village chief, \u201cYou decide.\u201d

Yu Wen immediately volunteered, \u201cHow about me, Old Yu, and my brother squeezing into one room? We\u2019re family anyway!\u201d

Mike glanced at Qin Jiu and absolutely refused to cooperate.

Everyone feared the proctor instinctively.

And after counting through everyone present\u2026

Only Qi Yang didn\u2019t.

\u2026

Two minutes later, everyone cautiously watched Qi Yang and Qin Jiu enter one of the rooms together.

Just as they were preparing to sit down, a familiar voice suddenly echoed inside the room.

\u3010Current Beijing time: 7:00 PM. The examination has officially begun.\u3011

\u3010First examination section: Listening comprehension.\u3011

\u3010The listening material will begin playing in 30 minutes. Each question will only be played twice. Candidates are advised to answer carefully.\u3011

\u3010Additionally, candidates and proctors are prohibited from developing improper relationships. Please reassign the rooms.\u3011

Everyone: \u201c???\u201d

Qi Yang: \u201c\u2026\u201d

The system apparently had a death wish.<\/p>","protected":false},"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"novel":[],"class_list":["post-3260","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3260"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3261,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3260\/revisions\/3261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=3260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}