Chapter 74

Chapter 74: Discussing finding an exceptionally troublesome person, having a secret affair?

Excessively close relationship?

Examiner A?

Asterisk?

Qin Jiu: “…”

A record with just a few words, and picking any of them out would be full of issues.

Qin Jiu was not normally bored, nor did he have the habit of flipping through others’ violation records for no reason.

But after all, he held the title of Invigilator No. 001, with high authority, and even without actively searching, he had seen many people’s violation records.

Not to mention others, he himself had quite a few.

Examiner A, this type he had truly encountered for the first time.

What the hell kind of operation is blurring out faces?

There have been so many people coming and going in the system, including both invigilators and examinees—both the living and the dead. Over the years, they could fill up a small town.

With faces only half-visible, who would recognize anyone anyway? What’s the point of blurring them out?

Even taking a step back to consider…

Violation violation, they’ve all violated the rules, isn’t it normal for them to be exposed?

What’s the point of covering things up? Are they getting special treatment?

Qin Jiu frowned and lowered his gaze, tapping on the name “Examiner A”.

The screen flipped to another page, displaying all the records under the name “Examiner A.”

Qin Jiu’s number of violations was quite astonishing, as he had already cleared the examination hall a total of 12 times, not to mention all sorts of other minor and major violations… truly countless.

In comparison, Examiner A’s record was much cleaner.

At the end of each violation record, there is a small symbol, each in a different color.

This indicates that in the system’s eyes, the severity level of this violation is—

Minor infractions are considered harmless green;

The mildly bad ones are yellow;

More severe ones are orange;

The highest level is red.

Most pages Qin Jiu had seen were either all green or had one or two spots of yellow and orange among the green. Red was the rarest of all.

Our invigilator, Mr. You, has a scant record of violations—a total of five.

Three orange, two red.

No more than that.

Qin Jiu: “…”

He suddenly recalled a certain colleague’s description.

It was said that back in the day, Examiner A was young and arrogant, cold and almost unapproachable, almost the perfect embodiment of the system.

But looking back now…

The perfect embodiment was probably nothing but bullshit, and the system would be the first to disagree.

This invigilator either doesn’t break the rules at all, or when they do, they go big.

Sorted by time, the comment “Excessively close relationship with *” is the first record under Examiner A.

Strangely, this one also had an orange classification.

How intimate must their relationship have been to warrant an orange level?

Qin Jiu stared at that line for several seconds.

He had initially thought other records might contain information about this “asterisk,” yet in Examiner A’s file, every section concerning other individuals was entirely redacted.

The red ones are even worse, where the violations column is completely empty.

This stance is very clear—

After Examiner A was removed from the records, the system not only deleted all his photos and materials within the invigilation system but also severed all connections between him and everyone else…

Even his violation records weren’t spared.

Qin Jiu speculated that even if You Huo were to come over now and press a fingerprint, it probably wouldn’t show any binding relationship.

As for why the system still kept these records and didn’t delete them completely…

Perhaps it was to serve as a warning for future generations?

So the question arises—

Who is the star?

* * *

“Boss!” 154 held the elevator door and called out, “Do you still have something to attend to?”

You Huo stood at the far end of the elevator, watching as Qin Jiu tapped the metal panel a few times before looking up.

Perhaps by coincidence, his gaze passed over 154, 922, and the others, meeting You Huo’s eyes directly.

Just a few minutes ago, he was blocking the way on the rooftop, acting shamelessly, but now he seemed… not too happy?

You Huo’s gaze held a hint of doubt.

Qin Jiu withdrew his gaze, dismissing the screen as he said, “It’s here.”

He often wore a smile in his usual days, but as he walked over now, his lips were pressed into a straight line. Such an expression was rare on him, and when it inadvertently surfaced, it carried a subtle, intangible pressure.

The pressure was fully on 078 once the elevator doors closed.

In front of him stood Qin Jiu, to his left, 021 looked as if she had swallowed poison, to his right, 922 seemed to have lost his soul. Behind him, You Huo stood slightly taller, and if he turned his head, he’d meet the other’s downward gaze.

078 felt suffocated.

Five minutes later, this suffocation reached its peak.

The reason was that Qin Jiu had previously expressed the intention to take You Huo back to his residence for a look.

The villa area was located right next to the twin towers, enclosed within a walled compound with access control at the entrances and exits.

078 could enter without any issue, but as soon as You Huo took a single step inside, the entire access control area flashed with a crackle of electricity and sounded an alarm:

[Warning, passage prohibited.]

Qin Jiu and You Huo simultaneously looked at 078.

078: “…”

078 didn’t know what he had done wrong to deserve this.

Fortunately, the system promptly added:

【Examiner Residential Area, Dangerous Examinees Prohibited.】

“What does this mean?” Qin Jiu asked with dissatisfaction.

The invigilation area’s system was much more flexible than the examination hall’s, and it could even interact with Qin Jiu.

It said:

[This is a dangerous candidate prohibition order.]

You, ‘Who’s responsible for this rule? I wasn’t informed.’

【Supervisor Zone Safety Regulation Section 13, Clause 5; in effect for 4 years, 11 months, and 7 days.】

“Alright, even if such a rule exists,” Qin Jiu pressed, “what defines a dangerous examinee? How does he fit that description?”

【…】

The access control system remained silent for a full five seconds, with only crackling sparks randomly flashing, silently expressing its protest.

Unable to bear it any longer, 154 quietly murmured, “Boss, what about him doesn’t meet the requirements…”

At the same time, the access control screen angrily flashed a long passage—

Engaging in any of the following behaviors qualifies as a dangerous candidate:

1、Candidates who have accumulated three or more violations in total during the examination.

2、Deliberately damaging examination questions or testing tools.

3、Deliberately attacking an invigilator.

4、Deliberately causing damage to the examination venue

Possessing similar other malicious behaviors

Above, You Huo hit all of them.

154 coughed once.

Even 021 silently turned her head away.

[Relevant invigilators are requested to escort the dangerous examinee away from the residential area and place them in the designated examinee waiting area according to regulations. Before the penalty period ends, the examinee is not permitted to leave the assigned room.]

If it were just a threat like this, You Huo wouldn’t have taken it seriously at all.

As a result, the system added another sentence:

[If violated, the examinee shall be additionally punished, and the related invigilator shall be regarded as having committed an execution error and shall be punished together.]

“……”

This was essentially a form of collective punishment, which You Huo showed a hint of disgust for, his expression turning somewhat grim.

[Please execute immediately, Invigilator.]

078 shot 021 a frantic look: “Well…shall we go?”

021 nodded, putting on an impatient and bad-tempered act, saying to You Huo: “You hear that, handsome? Are we going or not?”

You Huo gave a faint “Mm.”

He was used to going it alone, and instinctively started walking.

021 hurriedly followed in her high heels.

As a result, the boss had only taken two steps before stopping again.

021: “What’s wrong?”

You Huo had one hand in his trouser pocket, the other pinching his earlobe.

Half his face was in shadow; from 021’s perspective, she couldn’t make out his expression, nor could she guess what he was thinking.

He stood for a moment, then turned and looked back.

Not far away, Qin Jiu was still at the entrance, his silhouette elongated under the streetlamp as he spoke with 154 and 922.

Midway through his speech, he seemed to sense something, suddenly lifting his eyes towards this direction.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Jiu asked.

You Huo thought for a moment and said, “Since we’re considered friends, should I say goodbye before I leave?”

Qin Jiu: “…”

His expression grew somewhat complex in that instant.

It’s difficult to describe exactly how complex it was.

Perhaps he had also taken poison.

You Huo watched him for a moment, then said, “I’m done, I’m leaving.”

Then he stopped fiddling with his earlobe, put his hands in his pockets, turned, and walked away.

021：“…”

Her head was spinning with “WTF” as she swayed in place a couple of times before clicking her high heels again to catch up.

* * *

The residential area’s entrance fell into a brief silence.

154 secretly glanced at Qin Jiu’s expression, and after a moment couldn’t help but ask, “Boss, are you… in pain somewhere?”

Qin Jiu came back to his senses, frowning as he said, “What pain?”

“Oh, nothing. I saw you didn’t look too comfortable, thought maybe you got hurt while cleaning up the examination hall,” 154 said.

“No.”

Qin Jiu touched his neck, speaking with resolute certainty.

“Good,” 154 said. “Then let’s head in?”

Having stuck around for so long, he was already getting drowsy.

But just as Qin Jiu lifted his foot, the door access system suddenly sprang to life again:

【Warning! Dangerous test-taker, do not enter!】

154 was just about to pass through the door when he was nearly zapped in the crotch.

With a stern face, he quickly stepped back and exclaimed, “What the hell is this?!”

The system stubbornly repeated:

[Dangerous Examinees Are Not Allowed Inside!]

The definition of “dangerous examinee” flickered twice on the large screen.

154 stared at the screen for a few seconds, then slowly turned to Qin Jiu. “Boss, it seems… it might have classified you as an examinee too.”

Qin Jiu: “…”

So not long after, You Huo and Qin Jiu, the two dangerous individuals, ran into each other in the waiting area hallway.

One was shoved into room 318, the other into room 324.

* * *

The cleanup mission finished ahead of schedule, leaving them with nearly two full days to spend stuck in their rooms.

The room wasn’t actually all that small—more like a hotel suite—so it had enough space for living and eating.

But… extremely boring.

You Huo walked around the room and plugged in his phone to charge.

He had become accustomed to using his phone as a timer, voice recorder, and offline games. Unexpectedly, when he unlocked the screen, it showed he had connected to the internet.

You Huo paused for a moment and asked the accompanying overseer 078, “Is there internet here?”

078 lay listlessly in the corner of the sofa, lifeless. “There is, but not the kind of network within common sense.”

You Huo casually opened a few software programs and found that they all worked. He asked suspiciously, “What does this mean?”

“Well, here’s the thing… You can use this network to search for things, to look at all sorts of external information, there’s no problem with that.” 078 thought for a moment and said: “But when it comes to sending things out, that’s not allowed. In other words, you can receive information, take the chance to see what’s out there, but no messages from you will reach the outside.”

078 lay sprawled there, rubbing his nails and muttering, “What goes in never comes out.”

After hearing his words, You Huo opened the browser and casually searched for a few keywords.

The webpage loaded quickly, and the search results showed no signs of restrictions.

He then opened the social media app.

The app interface remained at the National Day holiday, before he had been dragged into the exam.

He rarely chatted with people; his message interface had only four contacts in total.

At the very top was Yu Wen, his talkative cousin who would send him things from time to time.

Sometimes it was a video link, sometimes it was a news article.

Sometimes, You Huo would reply with a few words to him, but if he saw them too late, he’d just skip over them and not reply.

The good thing was that this cousin didn’t actually need a response—his only joy was in sharing; once he hit the share button, he was done with it.

There was no burden.

Old Yu didn’t say much, only appearing a few times a year at regular intervals.

During holidays, send some middle-aged person specific memes, and the rest basically just asking: Are you going back to China? When? Are you going to Harbin?

As for the other two, they were his doctor and special care nurse during his recovery period.

The hospital he stayed at was closely connected to the military, and the doctor in charge of him was also Chinese, surnamed Wu. From time to time, the doctor would ask him about rehabilitation and recovery, with the latest messages inquiring about how he felt after returning to China.

It was this Doctor Wu who initially explained to him about his brain and eye injuries.

They always said it was training injuries, never mentioning anything related to the “system.”

Looking at the interface showing their past exchanges, You Huo suddenly felt a bit strange.

The system was jointly developed by both domestic and international teams. Even if someone with ill intentions had tampered with it and planted seeds, after several years, wouldn’t the domestic military personnel in charge have noticed something?

They couldn’t be that oblivious.

But if they knew, why would they keep it from him?

In a way, he too was a victim of the system’s loss of control—shouldn’t he have the right to know the source of his own injuries?

Even taking a step back, if they helped him recall the past, wouldn’t the military also gain more insight into the system’s internal information?

What reasons did they have for keeping him completely in the dark?

078 was still mumbling, but not long after, his words grew indistinct, as if he was about to fall asleep.

Outside the window, the night was deep and thick.

There weren’t many people in the examinee waiting area, and everything around was very quiet.

You Huo stared blankly at the chat interface for a while before trying to send a message to Dr. Wu:

Doctor, have you ever heard of the examination system—

Halfway through typing the sentence, You Huo paused.

He thought for a moment, then deleted the second half, leaving only the words “Doctor.”

After sending the message, the small circle next to it kept spinning, indicating it was attempting to send.

After about a minute, the small loading circle jumped to an exclamation mark.

You Huo pressed his finger on it, and a dialog box popped up asking him: Do you want to resend?

He tapped on it.

The small loading circle started spinning again.

After one minute, it turned into an exclamation mark.

078 was right—receiving information wasn’t an issue, but he couldn’t send anything out.

You Huo leaned back on the sofa, glanced down for a moment, closed the chat interface, and didn’t try again.

He switched back to the browser and searched using the name of the street where he, Yu Wen, and his father had gotten into trouble as the keyword.

After flipping through more than ten pages, he found no news.

This meant that on the day the three of them were sent into the exam, nothing had happened at that intersection in the eyes of ordinary people—no big news, nor any strange phenomena.

All search results have stopped on October 7th.

Is there really a time difference?

You Huo thought…

* * *

For him, the sudden access to the internet was enough to pass his time.

But for Qin Jiu, this kind of network where you can only enter but not exit was already a familiar territory. Rather than scrolling through his phone for information, he was more inclined to close his eyes and rest at the moment.

922 specifically swapped shifts with 154 to accompany the boss and keep an eye on him.

He absentmindedly rummaged through the fridge, grabbing a few ingredients, then wandered into the kitchen just as distractedly to fry some eggs and bacon.

922 arranged the food into two plates and carried them over to the coffee table.

He placed one in front of Qin Jiu and was poking holes in his own slice of smoked bacon with a fork…

“Boss…”

922 glanced at him and said, “Shall we chat for a while?”

Ever since discovering You Huo was Examiner A, he had been holding this matter inside, the longer he held it, the more he wanted to talk about it. He had long wanted an opportunity to chat with Qin Jiu.

Yet before he could even gather his thoughts, Qin Jiu uttered a low “hm,” lifting his head and opening his eyes, casting a vague, inscrutable look at him.

Before he could even speak, 922 was already intimidated.

“Boss? You… Why are you looking at me like that?” 922 asked.

Qin Jiu said, “It’s nothing, I just have a question for you.”

922 asked, “Oh, what question?”

“Excessive closeness, what does it generally mean?” Qin Jiu said.

922, although his rank wasn’t the highest, was still a proctor of three years, so he knew the system’s common language well enough.

He opened his mouth without hesitation: “Isn’t that just a euphemism for an improper relationship? Doesn’t the system always use it that way? Have you forgotten?”

Qin Jiu’s fingers lightly interlaced, and he tapped them gently a few times, saying, “Improper relationships, what do you think they entail?”

922: “…”

He glanced at the plate silently, thinking to himself, the boss didn’t even eat spoiled rice today, so why is he acting so strange?

He thought it over for a moment, then said, “L-lover relationship.”

Qin Jiu: “…”

922 stiffly took a bite of the bacon.

“What about… getting caught in an orange-level violation because the relationship was too close? What would that mean?”

922 swallowed the bacon with difficulty and said, “…getting into a secret affair with someone who’s especially troublesome?”

As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly took a sip of water.

When he looked up again, he noticed that Qin Jiu’s face was as stern as if he were attending a funeral.

922: “…”

He wanted to swap back with 154…………

* * *

After struggling through these two days, the examinees were finally relieved, and so were the invigilators.

Two days later, four reexaminees gathered in the reexamination area, preparing to enter a new examination room.

021 adjusted his sunglasses and said, holding a slip of paper, “Since this is a retake, the subject is still history. You’ll be going through this door soon—the examination room is already prepared.”

“Good luck to all of you.”