{"id":3292,"date":"2026-06-13T23:00:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T23:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/?p=3292"},"modified":"2026-05-10T09:24:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T09:24:48","slug":"global-examination-33","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/tr\/chapter\/global-examination-33\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Examination 33"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 33: Unknown Punishment

You Huo copied Qin Jiu\u2019s face in his imagination and pasted it onto the driver\u2019s body.

Then onto the innkeeper lady.

Then onto the grocery shop owner.

Basically every face he\u2019d seen got a turn.

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

\u2026

At this point, everyone\u2019s 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\u2026

that wasn\u2019t 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\u2019 sharp beaks opened and closed.

After a long pause, they added:

\u3010After deductions, the total score still exceeds this exam\u2019s average score.\u3011

\u3010Reward: Examinee You Huo receives one draw opportunity.\u3011

Judging from the previous exam, scoring above average\u2014or displaying particularly outstanding performance\u2014earned a reward.

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

This time, You Huo alone earned 9 points from \u201cdelivering gifts,\u201d so him receiving the reward was expected.

But\u2026

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.

\u2026

Qin Jiu\u2019s 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.

\u201cEnjoying the view?\u201d he asked lazily. \u201cYou\u2019ve been staring for a while.\u201d

You Huo: \u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

This invigilator truly didn\u2019t care about his punishment at all.

He was still in the mood to tease examinees.

Watching You Huo\u2019s cold face slowly turn greener seemed to be the only amusement left in his boring work life.

\u201cOr are you worried I\u2019ll cheat?\u201d Qin Jiu asked.

You Huo replied expressionlessly:

\u201cWho knows. Maybe you\u2019ll pull out an entire deck of black cards.\u201d

\u201cRelax.\u201d Qin Jiu blinked. \u201cThe rules don\u2019t allow it. In exams, the rules are absolute.\u201d

\u201cBelieve me\u2014if not for that restriction, the System would gladly give you a whole box of guaranteed-passing cards for you to pick from.\u201d

You Huo: \u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

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.

\u2026

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\u2019s intelligence, physical ability, and moral character. You are an excellent and kind-hearted examinee. Please continue maintaining these virtues.

\u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

Who exactly was this mocking?

The entire exam hall fell silent.

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

\u3010One draw opportunity consumed.
Draw complete.
Congratulations.\u3011

They said \u201ccongratulations.\u201d

But it sounded more like \u201cgo to hell.\u201d

\u201cKeeping the card yourself,\u201d Qin Jiu asked, \u201cor should I hold onto it temporarily?\u201d

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.

\u201cHoly shit\u2014\u201d

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\u2014

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.

\u2026

Old Yu looked around.

\u201cEverything\u2019s burned black. Hard to see the road now. Is that the path with gravel?\u201d

\u201cForget it. Let\u2019s just go. Everywhere\u2019s a road now anyway.\u201d

Yu Wen then turned to Yu Yao.

\u201cSis, are you okay?\u201d

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\u2019t seriously injured.

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

Mike\u2019s oversized coat wrapped around her completely, leaving only her pale face visible.

She looked fragile enough to disappear at any moment.

Seeing everyone\u2019s concern, she whispered:

\u201cI\u2019m okay. Still fine.\u201d

\u201cWe\u2019ve gotta leave this place now.\u201d Yu Wen crouched in front of her. \u201cCome on, I\u2019ll carry you.\u201d

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.

\u201cIt\u2019s okay, no need. I can walk.\u201d Yu Yao lightly patted his shoulder.

\u201cQuit pretending.\u201d Yu Wen said. \u201cWith that stomach of yours, surviving this long is already a miracle.\u201d

\u201cYou nearly died and you still say you can walk? Who\u2019re you fooling?\u201d

Yu Yao bit her lip softly after hearing that.

Then lowered her eyes and said quietly:

\u201cThen\u2026 if you get tired halfway, tell me.\u201d

\u201cSure, sure.\u201d Yu Wen grinned. \u201cThen we\u2019ll switch and you can carry me.\u201d

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\u2026

after going through all this\u2026

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.

\u2026

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:

\u201cIntercity Bus.\u201d

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\u2019t changed.

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

Old Yu couldn\u2019t resist teasing him.

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, driver? You look like you\u2019ve seen a ghost.\u201d

The driver didn\u2019t answer immediately.

He stood beside the driver\u2019s seat counting heads with his chin lifted.

He counted three times before finally speaking:

\u201cI\u2019ve driven this bus for almost three years.\u201d

\u201cI only deliver people. Never pick them up.\u201d

\u201cThis is the first time anyone\u2019s come out alive for me to take back.\u201d

Old Yu said:

\u201cWell speaking of that, you really weren\u2019t very honest.\u201d

\u201cBack then you acted mute the whole ride here. Then right before leaving you suddenly warned us never to enter the forest.\u201d

\u201cYou know? If we weren\u2019t rebellious enough to ignore you, the vehicle you\u2019d be driving now would\u2019ve been a hearse.\u201d

Everyone immediately joined in agreement.

\u201cWasn\u2019t acting mute,\u201d the driver muttered hoarsely as he sat down.

\u201cEveryone on this bus is supposed to die anyway.\u201d

\u201cChatting\u2019s just wasted feelings. Why bother?\u201d

No one could argue with that.

\u201cAs for the forest\u2026\u201d the driver continued, \u201cevery time I deliver people into an exam hall, I have to say that sentence.\u201d

\u201cThat\u2019s my rule. Can\u2019t violate it.\u201d

\u201cIn exams, rules are absolute.\u201d

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

Everyone grew curious.

\u201cWait,\u201d Yu Wen asked, \u201care you an NPC too?\u201d

Driver: \u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

\u201cBut you\u2019re not like the Black Hag and the others,\u201d Yu Wen continued.

\u201cThey live entirely inside one exam hall, acting according to the background story.\u201d

\u201cYou\u2019re different. You even know exam rules.\u201d

\u201cSo what exactly are you?\u201d

The driver answered vaguely:

\u201cYou\u2019ve been to the Rest Area, right?\u201d

\u201cYou\u2019ve seen the hotel owner and grocery store boss?\u201d

\u201cI\u2019m about the same.\u201d

\u201cOh.\u201d Yu Wen leaned forward eagerly. \u201cThen you definitely know what these exams are really about, right?\u201d

\u201cWe\u2019ve already gone through two exams and still don\u2019t know what this whole thing wants from us.\u201d

\u201cThere\u2019s gotta be some purpose behind it.\u201d

The driver: \u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

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.

\u201cDon\u2019t know. Stop asking.\u201d

\u201cIf you\u2019ve got theories, save them for discussions with other examinees at the Rest Area.\u201d

\u201cWhat\u2019re you discussing this stuff with me for?\u201d

Yu Wen spread his hands helplessly toward You Huo.

\u201cAnother one trying to suffocate us to death.\u201d

You Huo wasn\u2019t surprised at all.

The driver\u2019s 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:

\u201cYou people are monitored too?\u201d

\u201cLike invigilators?\u201d

The driver nearly slammed into a tree.

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

\u201cWhat do you mean like invigilators?\u201d

\u201cI was an invigilator!\u201d

The entire bus was stunned.

\u201cThen why are you driving now?\u201d

\u201cMade a mistake.\u201d

Everyone froze for a long while before asking again:

\u201cThen when you said you were like the hotel owners and shopkeepers\u2026\u201d

The driver answered:

\u201cThey\u2019re all former invigilators too.\u201d

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with me saying that?\u201d

\u201cIf invigilators make mistakes, this happens?\u201d Yu Wen asked carefully.

\u201cNot necessarily.\u201d

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.

\u2026

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\u2019s face in his imagination and pasted it onto the driver\u2019s body.

Then the innkeeper lady.

Then the grocery store owner.

Every single person he\u2019d seen got pasted once.

He didn\u2019t know whether Qin Jiu looked more tragic\u2014

or they did.

Thinking about the image, You Huo snorted a laugh.

\u201c\u2026\u2026\u201d

The driver thought he was being mocked.

Waving a hand furiously, he snapped:

\u201cGo away. Sit down and sleep!\u201d

\u201cStop bothering me while I drive, or we\u2019ll all die together!\u201d

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.

\u2026

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\u2019s soul-calling voice dragged him back instantly:

\u201cHurry up and get off. We\u2019re at the Rest Area.\u201d

Volume 3 \u2014 You Seem Delicious<\/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-3292","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3292"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3293,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3292\/revisions\/3293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=3292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}