{"id":2978,"date":"2026-04-19T01:34:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T01:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/global-examination-05\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T02:01:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T02:01:16","slug":"global-examination-05","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/chapter\/global-examination-05\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Examination 05"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter Five: A Gift for You\u2014No Thanks Needed

You Huo sat hunched on the sofa, long legs stretched out, idly fiddling with his earring.

Hearing Qin Jiu\u2019s words, he lifted his eyelids slightly, gave him a cold glance, then looked away again.

No explanation. No reflection. No response.

The most troublesome kind of person.

\u2026

The moment 154 stepped into the office, he felt suffocated\u2014like walking into a disciplinary office.

\u201cYou called for me?\u201d

With a candidate present, his tone turned formal.

Qin Jiu slowly spun a pen between his fingers. \u201cSecond violation. What\u2019s the penalty again? Haven\u2019t been around in a while\u2014can\u2019t quite remember.\u201d

154 went blank for two seconds. \u201cSolitary confinement.\u201d

Qin Jiu: \u201c\u2026\u201d

You Huo\u2019s fingers paused. He finally looked up.

Still expressionless. Still cold. Still indifferent.

But 154 felt an unmistakable trace of mockery.

Maybe it was just his face.

Maybe it was Qin Jiu\u2019s talent for attracting this kind of look.

\u201cNothing else besides confinement?\u201d Qin Jiu asked.

154 opened his mouth\u2014

Beep.

A sharp sound cut through the room.

You Huo\u2019s gaze shifted to Qin Jiu\u2019s wrist\u2014something flickered there.

\u201cSee?\u201d 154 said. \u201cExtra punishment violates the rules.\u201d

Qin Jiu lowered his eyes, adjusting his cuff. The light disappeared.

When he looked up again, his gaze met You Huo\u2019s.

\u201cA confinement room with just tables and chairs is a bit boring,\u201d Qin Jiu said\u2014looking at You Huo, but speaking to 154.

154 nodded. \u201cTrue.\u201d

\u201cHow about you join him? At least there\u2019d be some atmosphere.\u201d

154: \u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

Who exactly are you punishing?

Qin Jiu smiled. \u201cJust kidding.\u201d

154 exhaled in relief.

\u201cSo\u2026 send him back downstairs for another three hours of sleep?\u201d

Qin Jiu raised an eyebrow. \u201cWhat is this, a hourly hotel room?\u201d

154 shut up.

He waited. No further instructions came.

He glanced sideways\u2014

You Huo was staring out the window, looking like he couldn\u2019t care less whether they lived or died.

As for Qin Jiu\u2014

Hands loosely clasped, eyes fixed on You Huo\u2019s pale profile.

154 suddenly felt\u2014

Their boss was curious.

But also\u2026 in a bad mood.

\u201cBoss?\u201d he prompted.

After a pause, Qin Jiu finally spoke.

\u201cGo trick another candidate into violating the rules. Lock them in with him.\u201d

154: \u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

What nonsense is this?!

Beep.

Another warning.

Qin Jiu ignored it.

\u201cForget confinement. Just send him away?\u201d

Beep.

Qin Jiu clicked his tongue.

Then asked, \u201cHas the last confinement room been cleaned?\u201d

154 blinked. \u201cCleaned? I took the rope and threw away the \u2018go to hell\u2019 note.\u201d

\u201cNot that one. The other.\u201d

\u201c\u2026Oh. Not yet.\u201d

Qin Jiu turned to You Huo. \u201cThen let this\u2026 frequent offender handle it. What should I call you?\u201d

You Huo let out a cold snort.

\u201cLet Mr. \u2018Hmph\u2019 clean it.\u201d

You Huo: \u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

154 sensed imminent violence and quickly escorted the danger downstairs.

\u2026

In the storage room\u2014

922 and 154 searched for tools.

You Huo leaned against the door, arms crossed, face dark.

\u201cDon\u2019t look so pissed. If you fight him, you\u2019ll lose,\u201d 922 said.

You Huo didn\u2019t respond.

Clearly didn\u2019t care.

\u201cYou think \u2018001\u2019 is just a number?\u201d 922 continued. \u201cWhen I first met him\u2014whole street covered in blood, he was carrying a shoulder cannon\u2014\u201d

\u201cFind your bucket,\u201d 154 cut him off.

\u201c\u2026Right.\u201d

922 shut up and handed You Huo a bucket.

\u201cGo ahead. I\u2019ll bring the rest.\u201d

\u2026

Back in the hallway\u2014

\u201cThese bloodstains all need cleaning,\u201d 154 said.

Then he unlocked the bald man\u2019s confinement room.

You Huo suddenly asked, \u201cYou used to be candidates?\u201d

\u201c\u2026Yeah.\u201d

\u201cHow do you become proctors?\u201d

\u201cPass the exam. Excellent results.\u201d

You Huo frowned. \u201cWhat kind of exam is this?\u201d

154 hesitated. \u201cA\u2026 special selection mechanism.\u201d

\u201cSelecting what? Bravery champions?\u201d

\u201c\u2026Not exactly.\u201d

\u201cThen what is it? A supernatural event?\u201d

154 shook his head. \u201cNot supernatural. It\u2019s\u2014\u201d

Beep.

His ring flashed red.

He shut up immediately.

You Huo glanced at it. \u201cYou have restrictions too?\u201d

\u201cOf course!\u201d 922 said, walking over with a bucket.
\u201cNo dangerous topics. No abusing candidates. No helping them cheat. No inappropriate relationships\u2014\u201d

You Huo: \u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

\u201cThough honestly, that last one\u2019s unlikely. Most people just want to kill each other.\u201d

\u201c\u2026What happens if candidates kill proctors?\u201d You Huo asked.

922: \u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

Silence.

Then a strained laugh. \u201cDon\u2019t ask. It\u2019s\u2026 not good.\u201d

\u2026

The door opened.

A wave of stench hit them.

Inside\u2014

Blood.

Fragments.

Residue stuck to walls and floor.

You Huo\u2019s expression darkened.

\u201c\u2026You clean this manually?\u201d

\u201cOf course not!\u201d 922 pinched his nose. \u201cOtherwise it\u2019d be punishment for us.\u201d

\u201cCleaning\u2019s still better than confinement though.\u201d

You Huo gave him a cold look.

\u201c\u2026Okay, maybe not for you.\u201d

922 and 154 quickly fled.

\u2026

Silence returned.

You Huo stood at the doorway.

Then picked up the bucket\u2014

And dumped water directly into the room.

Blood washed away.

Fragments loosened.

He crouched.

Bone shards.

A clump of long black hair tangled around them.

He stared.

Expressionless.

Then stepped inside.

\u2026

After finishing\u2014

One bucket full of blood, fragments, and debris.

At the top\u2014

A pale piece of skin.

With a small tattoo.

A simple wind chime flower.

\u2026

Three hours later\u2014

922 returned You Huo to the exam room.

Upstairs\u2014

Qin Jiu opened his office door\u2014

And froze.

At the entrance\u2014

A bucket.

Filled with blood and remains.

Beside it\u2014

A torn piece of paper.

Messy handwriting:

\u201cFor you. No thanks needed.\u201d

154\u2019s voice came from the side:
\u201cBoss, I\u2019m grilling some beef. Want anything?\u201d

Qin Jiu: \u201c\u2026\u2026Not hungry today.\u201d

154 walked over\u2014

Stared at the bucket\u2014

\u201c\u2026I think I\u2019ll never be hungry again.\u201d

Qin Jiu picked up the note, studied it, then asked:

\u201cFor the same candidate\u2014what\u2019s the penalty for a third violation?\u201d

154 hesitated. \u201cThere\u2026 probably won\u2019t be a third time?\u201d

\u201c\u2026What if there is?\u201d

154 swallowed. \u201cThen\u2026 full-time, on-site supervision. Priority monitoring.\u201d

Qin Jiu: \u201c\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u201d

The entire building fell into an eerie silence.<\/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-2978","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/2978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2978"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/2978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3012,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/2978\/revisions\/3012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=2978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}