{"id":3276,"date":"2026-05-25T23:00:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T23:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/?p=3276"},"modified":"2026-05-10T07:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T07:36:10","slug":"global-examination-25","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/chapter\/global-examination-25\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Examination 25"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 25: Initial Value

Not necessarily. Rumor says there was once an initial value before that\u2026 sort of a predecessor.

Can proctors even count as human?

At least in the eyes of the examinees, they didn\u2019t.

But when Qin Jiu spoke, Old Yu didn\u2019t dare object.

They were afraid of him.

Actually, up until now, Proctor 001 hadn\u2019t done anything particularly terrifying this exam.

He hadn\u2019t exercised authority.

Hadn\u2019t caught anyone violating rules.

Hadn\u2019t confiscated tools or supplies.

And yet everyone still feared him.

Because by default, proctors were considered part of the system\u2014

the eyes and claws of this exam system.

The system itself was terrifying, so naturally the proctors were too.

Unless absolutely necessary, nobody wanted to provoke one.

Oh\u2026

Except You Huo.

The moment Old Yu thought about You Huo, his head hurt.

And when he thought about \u201crule-breaking\u201d You Huo being alone with a \u201cdon\u2019t-ever-provoke\u201d proctor, his whole body started aching.

\u201cHow about I stay too?\u201d he offered.

\u201cYou\u2019re the reason we\u2019ve survived this long,\u201d Yu Yao said softly.

\u201cIf we leave you here and go hide ourselves\u2026 I can\u2019t do that.\u201d

\u201cWhat if we can help somehow?\u201d

The others echoed in agreement.

Only to be rejected mercilessly.

You Huo tossed out a single sentence:

\u201cToo many people are noisy.\u201d

Then ignored everyone after that.

Unable to argue with him, and afraid of dragging him down if they disobeyed, the group reluctantly compromised.

\u2026

Night gradually fell.

A few villagers emerged on the opposite riverbank again, chipping at the ice as usual.

\u201cFeels like it\u2019s still the same few people,\u201d Yu Wen muttered while counting heads through the window.

\u201cThat lady in the long coat is yesterday\u2019s auntie, right?\u201d

\u201cAnd that lunatic\u2026\u201d

\u201cThe two guys in fur hats\u2014aren\u2019t they the ones who dragged the lunatic home yesterday?\u201d

This classmate spent too much time gaming and staring at his phone, yet somehow still had incredible eyesight and had never needed glasses.

The others couldn\u2019t see that far clearly.

But following his descriptions, it did seem about right.

You Huo watched for a moment before turning his gaze back toward the wooden shelf.

Earlier, when Black Granny counted heads, he had counted too.

There were sixteen completed dolls in total, and he roughly remembered how they were arranged.

But now\u2026

A few dolls seemed to have quietly moved.

If he remembered correctly, the doll on the far left of the first shelf had been lying sideways that afternoon.

Now it sat upright neatly.

You Huo walked over to inspect more closely\u2014

but Black Granny returned.

The first thing she did after entering was inspect the results.

What displeased her was that every single guest stood there empty-handed.

Not one had obeyed her instructions.

Black Granny stared silently for a while.

Then suddenly let out a cold laugh.

She shuffled over to the wall where Yu Yao\u2019s Judgement card had been pinned.

Chuckling eerily, she flipped the upright Judgement card upside down.

\u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

Everyone was completely stunned.

The card could still be changed after being drawn?!

They didn\u2019t fully understand tarot meanings.

But instinctively, they knew this wasn\u2019t good.

Yu Yao trembled as she said:

\u201cIf it\u2019s reversed\u2026 then it means the opposite.\u201d

The opposite of resurrection and hope\u2014

wouldn\u2019t that be death and despair?

Black Granny pulled out another cloth sack.

She swept all the dolls from the shelf into it.

Then selected four unfinished dolls from the bamboo basket and tossed them in too.

Finally, she shoved the bag into the hands of the closest person\u2014

You Huo.

The four unfinished dolls all looked extremely old.

One of them was especially filthy, as if it had rolled around on the ground\u2014

or been accidentally scorched by fire.

\u2026

The moment they received the dolls, Black Granny kicked them out.

Today\u2019s hourglass had run slower than yesterday\u2019s.

By the time they finished, the villagers had already completed their ice-breaking and gone home.

These villagers instantly turned cold the moment their doors closed.

No matter who knocked, nobody answered.

So the group didn\u2019t waste time trying.

They split into two teams.

You Huo and Qin Jiu went back into the lodging.

The others headed toward the forest along the frozen river.

\u201cI still don\u2019t get why the villagers are so afraid of that forest,\u201d Yu Wen muttered.

\u201cSure, it\u2019s full of graves. Creepy as hell. But there aren\u2019t even many tombstones above ground.\u201d

\u201cScary\u2019s one thing, but it still feels safer than staying inside the rooms, right?\u201d

\u201cWho knows,\u201d Old Yu replied.

Yu Yao quietly added:

\u201cThere has to be a reason they\u2019re scared\u2026\u201d

Although they intended to avoid danger, they still worried about You Huo.

So they didn\u2019t go deep into the forest, only lingered near the edge.

\u201cLet\u2019s just wait here,\u201d Yu Wen said, shielding his eyes as he looked ahead.

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing blocking the view here. We can directly see my brother\u2019s room.\u201d

Naturally, nobody objected.

They sat on the ground, chewing rock-hard dry bread while waiting for midnight.

\u2026

Inside the lit room\u2014

You Huo systematically searched through the cupboards shelf by shelf.

Qin Jiu sat lazily on the sofa, snapping a baguette in half.

\u201cI\u2019ll share half with you,\u201d he offered.

\u201cHow generous.\u201d

\u201cNo thanks,\u201d You Huo replied without turning around.

Even from that far away, he could hear the horrifying crunch of the bread.

That thing was dry enough to kill someone.

Qin Jiu\u2019s voice sounded again.

\u201cStill dissatisfied? Then I\u2019ll give you most of it.\u201d

You Huo had gone hungry all day.

His mood was terrible.

Bang!

He slammed a cabinet door shut and walked past the sofa without even glancing sideways.

\u201cIf you want to choke to death, don\u2019t drag me down with you.\u201d

Cupboards.

Fireplace.

Wooden crates.

Metal tins\u2026

From the living room to the kitchen to the bedroom\u2014

he had searched every possible place.

There really was no other food.

Why hasn\u2019t this cursed exam room exploded yet?

You Huo straightened up irritably\u2014

only for something to poke him in the face.

Lowering his eyes, he saw half a loaf of bread hovering before him like a knife held against someone\u2019s throat.

Behind him, Qin Jiu said:

\u201cStop struggling. I already searched everything earlier. There\u2019s no other food.\u201d

You Huo remained expressionless and stubbornly refused.

This utterly unprofessional proctor tapped the bread lightly against the corner of You Huo\u2019s mouth and said:

\u201cI suggest trying it. It\u2019s not as awful as you imagine.\u201d

\u201cNo examinee under my supervision has ever starved to death.\u201d

\u201cDon\u2019t be so uniquely difficult.\u201d

You Huo stared at him with open disgust for a moment before finally snatching the bread away aggressively.

\u201cThere are three proctors.\u201d

\u201cWhy are you the one doing full-time monitoring?\u201d You Huo asked coldly while tearing off a chunk of bread.

Qin Jiu returned to the sofa and tossed tea leaves into a cleaned iron pot.

He balanced the crooked little pot over the stove before lazily lifting his eyes.

\u201cExam regulations.\u201d

\u201cFull-time monitoring is usually handled by the chief proctor.\u201d

\u201cUnfortunately, I happen to be that unlucky soul.\u201d

\u201cWhat? Did you want someone else instead?\u201d

You Huo replied:

\u201c922. 154. Anyone.\u201d

At least they remembered to bring beef.

The humble stove burned strongly.

Soon the iron pot began sizzling softly.

Amid the rising steam, Qin Jiu narrowed his eyes slightly.

\u201cI\u2019ll pass your sentiments along to them.\u201d

\u201cThey\u2019ll definitely be thrilled to know an examinee misses them.\u201d

Perfectly normal words\u2014

yet somehow sounding unbearably sarcastic coming from him.

You Huo ignored it.

The tea bubbled quietly.

For a while, the room fell silent.

After forcing down several bites of dry bread, You Huo lost his appetite completely.

Brushing crumbs from his fingers, he glanced toward Qin Jiu and asked:

\u201cYou\u2019re the chief proctor?\u201d

Qin Jiu replied:

\u201cDon\u2019t I look like one?\u201d

You Huo asked:

\u201cWho decides the rankings?\u201d

\u201cAbility? Combat strength? Probably a lot of factors.\u201d

Qin Jiu spoke as if he cared about nothing.

Even regarding matters involving himself, he used phrases like \u201cprobably.\u201d

You Huo asked:

\u201cSo 001 means first place?\u201d

Qin Jiu laughed softly.

Stretching his long legs, he shifted into a more comfortable posture.

\u201cNot necessarily.\u201d

\u201cRumor says there used to be an initial value before that.\u201d

\u201cSort of a\u2026 predecessor?\u201d<\/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-3276","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3276","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=3276"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3277,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3276\/revisions\/3277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=3276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}