“What… what are you doing?”
The group gathered around her, faces stiff and tense.
“Practicing questions. We have a math test in the afternoon. Aren’t you guys reviewing?”
“You’re still in the mood to study right now?”
Tong Yang looked at them as if they were crazy. “I can’t let something like this delay my college entrance exam, right?”
“This kind of thing? Aren’t you staying too calm? Damn!”
Tong Yang couldn’t be bothered to explain further and waved her hand. “Then move along and don’t interrupt my review.”
“…”
“She’s right! We’ve worked all these years just for this damned college entrance exam. It’s relatively safe here, so why not review for a while?”
“Exactly, and didn’t the invigilators say this wouldn’t affect our exam results?”
“Tong Yang, you’re that top student always ranking first in the district, right? Could you give us a few hints for the exam later? After all, this isn’t the real world, there’s no monitoring here.”
Tong Yang lazily glanced at him. “Sure, but I might deliberately give the wrong answers. After all, I’m a ‘study diva’.”
“…”
“Screw you! I’ve had enough of your arrogance!”
The boy, who earlier had tried to cause trouble for Tong Yang but got his neck grazed by a flying dagger through the classroom window, stepped into the group, pointing at her and cursing.
He was quite muscular, his chest bulging, stained with blood, and his fierce expression made him seem quite intimidating.
Tong Yang continued writing formulas on her test paper, her movements uninterrupted. Her calm eyes glinted with mockery as she said, “If you don’t like me, feel free to go die. I won’t stop you. It’s hard to reason with someone destined for death.”
“Hey, don’t fight! I was just joking…”
The boy didn’t care about the others; feeling humiliated, his face turned ugly. He kicked the desk in front of Tong Yang, sending the papers to the floor, and grabbed her by the collar, trying to yank her from the chair.
“Say that again if you dare!”
Before he could exert force, he suddenly felt something sharp and cold pressing just a millimeter from his right eye. His voice abruptly stopped.
His movement froze. Tong Yang’s pen tip was nearly poking into his eyeball, leaving him unable to move forward or backward. Seeing Tong Yang’s calm but decisive expression up close, he had no doubt that if he made any move that displeased her, the pen tip would burst his eyeball.
Cold sweat dripped down his forehead. His eyes widened in shock, not daring to blink. He could feel that Tong Yang’s hand was perfectly steady, not trembling at all, even in attack mode. Staring into her emotionless eyes, a chill surged up his spine.
She’s serious! If I make any move, the pen tip will definitely stab into my eye!
“Don’t… don’t be impulsive! Let’s not fight, we should work together!” Sun Ye nervously stepped between them, trying to mediate.
Maybe the others didn’t understand Tong Yang’s personality, but Sun Ye, having been through a life-or-death situation with her before, knew she was different. She would never show mercy!
After a few seconds of tense silence, a trace of fear flashed across the boy’s face.
“Let go.”
Finally, Tong Yang spoke first.
As if pardoned, the boy immediately released her collar, but the sharp object near his right eye still left him too scared to move.
“Pick it up.”
Sun Ye quickly picked up the fallen papers, dusted them off, and placed the desk back in front of Tong Yang.
Tong Yang coldly stared at the boy drenched in sweat. After three seconds, she finally withdrew her arm.
Cold sweat stung his eyes as he stumbled back, nearly falling. Whether from fear or something else, he stood frozen, staring at Tong Yang as she calmly resumed solving problems, unable to look away.
The others who witnessed this were equally shocked. If it weren’t for the fact that Tong Yang looked more normal than the monsters outside, they might have thought she came from a parallel universe. In fact, her unpredictable behavior and personality were more unsettling than the direct fear brought by the monsters.
Adding to her previous confident demeanor, she seemed even more unfathomable.
Everyone exchanged glances, all thinking the same thing: Never mess with Tong Yang!
Chu Shiyu stood nearby, staring at Tong Yang in a daze. Though she didn’t want to admit it, most girls naturally had a physical disadvantage when facing boys. Tong Yang was no exception. But her swift and decisive actions allowed her to hold her ground despite that. Calm, strong, smart, and assertive, her glamorous looks and poor background seemed like the least remarkable things about her.
This person… is so cool!
Way cooler than those muscle-bound braggarts!
Tong Yang wasn’t at all distracted by the brief incident and continued focusing on her problems. While she worked, two red bills were handed to her by a pair of slender, pale hands.
Tong Yang looked up in surprise. Chu Shiyu’s face was lightly flushed as she mumbled, “Here’s the usage fee I promised earlier.”
“Alright.” Tong Yang accepted it without hesitation and pulled out a notebook, crossing off Chu Shiyu’s name from her list of debts.
Seeing this, the others also started pulling out money from their bags to pay her.
“Sorry, I don’t have enough to make up two hundred.”
“Can I pay you back later?”
Tong Yang pointed her chin at Chu Shiyu and said, “She should have some. Ask if she’ll lend it to you.”
Chu Shiyu blinked in surprise before nodding. “Yeah, I’ve got some. Do you guys want to borrow it?”
“Yes!”
“Thank you!”
Tong Yang had no qualms about encouraging the others to borrow from Chu Shiyu, collecting 6,200 yuan from the group, including the boy.
Not bad—6,200 yuan in half a day. Though I’ll have to split half of it with the others in the group. Ugh, if only I had said a 70-30 split.
But there’s still a day and a half left. I should be able to make some more.
Suddenly, Tong Yang had an idea, her eyes gleaming as she looked at the group. “I have a prediction test paper if you’re interested. I’ll sell it to you cheap.”
Everyone: “…”
“Are you seriously doing business here?” someone muttered under their breath.
“This is the top student’s prediction paper!”
As the conversation turned to money, Tong Yang became more serious, boasting, “Not just the top student in the district—maybe even the science champion of Beiwang Province in this year’s exam! What do you think? Want it?”
While the others hesitated, Chu Shiyu immediately asked, “How much? I’ll buy it.”
Tong Yang said, “500 yuan. There’s only one left. You’ll have to copy the questions yourself. I can’t guarantee you’ll get them all right, but you’ll at least hit sixty or seventy percent, and if you have any questions, you can ask me.”
“Alright, I’ll buy it.” Chu Shiyu, the rich second-generation heiress, always carried a lot of cash in her bag. She had already lent out one or two thousand yuan, yet she still had several thousand left.
She pulled out five crisp red bills and handed them to Tong Yang.
Taking the money, Tong Yang thought for a moment, then beckoned Chu Shiyu closer.
Chu Shiyu, confused, walked over.
Tong Yang put her arm around Chu Shiyu’s shoulder and whispered away from the others, “For the remaining time, I can ensure your safety. How about this amount? If you leave here alive, you can pay me afterward. If you unfortunately die, I’ll make sure it’s a good-looking death, free of charge.” Tong Yang raised her left hand, showing five fingers.
Chu Shiyu hesitated, weighing whether to believe her. However, Tong Yang seemed more reliable than the others. With her protection and advice, things might look more optimistic.
“Can you make it a bit less? My allowance isn’t that much,” Chu Shiyu said hesitantly.
Tong Yang was shocked. “No way! Isn’t your life worth at least 50,000 yuan?”
Chu Shiyu paused, “50,000? Oh, that’s fine. I thought you meant 500,000!”
Tong Yang’s face stiffened, immediately regretting it. If only she had said 500,000! This rich girl could’ve easily agreed with a bit of pressure!
Back at her seat, Tong Yang felt slightly annoyed, like she had just lost 450,000 yuan. But since she had already said it and the other party had agreed so quickly, she couldn’t go back on her word now. Looks like I still need to work on gauging people better.
Outside the cafeteria, things had quieted down. Since they weren’t sure what was happening outside, they didn’t dare leave. A few brave students tossed the horrifying bodies near the door behind a display case, clearing some space.
In the process, they discovered a large stash of snacks and drinks at the old school shop, enjoying a free-for-all looting spree.
But, mixed with the lingering smell of blood and the sight of corpses in the display case, no one really had much of an appetite.
Tong Yang, however, had a great appetite, eating several loaves of bread and drinking a bottle of yogurt. Realizing there was still plenty of time before the next exam, she asked Chu Shiyu if she had any questions about the prediction paper. When Chu Shiyu said no, Tong Yang found a quiet corner to sleep, telling Sun Ye to wake her up before the exam.
After an intense morning, everyone looked exhausted but didn’t dare fully relax, worried about sudden changes.
So when Tong Yang casually laid down on a cafeteria bench, covering her face with her coat to sleep, while some found it baffling, others couldn’t hold on anymore either. Unsure of what the afternoon would bring, they figured it was best to conserve energy for the exam.
With that thought in mind, they leaned against each other and started dozing off.
Time passed unknowingly, and soon the sound of steady breathing filled the cafeteria.
Tong Yang was startled awake by a “thud,” quickly sitting up and realizing everyone else was sound asleep, undisturbed by the noise.
Looking toward the sound, she saw something expressionless climbing through the broken window, accidentally knocking off a shard of glass onto the floor.
“Waiting for us to fall asleep, huh?”
Stretching lazily, Tong Yang grabbed her self-made spiked bat and quietly walked to the window.
“Talk about being inconsiderate. Everyone’s sleeping.”
“Thud!”
The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground woke a few nearby students, who looked toward the door in terror.
Tong Yang bent down, dragging a bloody, mangled body toward the pile of corpses by the display case, leaving a long trail of blood behind. Noticing the commotion, she looked up at them, squinted her eyes into a smile, and waved.
“It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”
In the eerily quiet afternoon, the sudden sound of an ear-piercing bell echoed through the campus.
The thirty-three students jolted awake, nervously scanning their surroundings.
“Twenty minutes until the exam. Students, please proceed to the exam room.”
The mechanical voice echoed throughout the school, leaving everyone dazed from their deep sleep.
“It’s about time. Let’s go.” Tong Yang stretched lazily, grabbed her bag and her spiked bat, and walked straight to the shutter door of the cafeteria. She pressed a button on the nearby wall, and the door slowly rose with a loud rumble.
The dried blood on the floor, mixed with indistinguishable flesh, made the place look like a massive slaughterhouse. The sheer amount of blood was overwhelming.
As the shutter rose, a leg, barely held together by skin and tendons, came into view. A blood-soaked woman sat helplessly on the ground, gripping a sharp pair of scissors. Unable to move, she glared fiercely at them.
“Whoa, scared me!”
“Another monster?”
“Damn! I thought I was dreaming.”
Voices of surprise came from behind, and Tong Yang gripped her spiked bat, quietly observing the woman whose face was smeared with blood. Despite the mess, the resemblance was clear.
Chu Shiyu walked up next to her and gasped in shock. “Teacher Yang?!”
The bloodied face in front of them looked exactly like Yang Xu, the homeroom teacher of Class 7, Senior Year, where both Tong Yang and Chu Shiyu studied.
“That’s not Teacher Yang. She just looks like her.” Tong Yang said indifferently.
Just like the woman who appeared at her home that night, resembling her mother who had been dead for seven years. They looked the same, but they weren’t from the real world.
Tong Yang glanced down at the woman’s mangled body and the long, sticky trail of blood on the ground, as if something had been dragged from the exam room in the south teaching building all the way to the cafeteria door.
“Don’t bother with her. Let’s go.” Tong Yang had no intention of finishing her off. Compared to the two mysterious killers they encountered earlier, the so-called “hunters” at the school were more like pre-programmed machines—barely living, except that they bled.
“Kill me…”
As Tong Yang passed by, she suddenly heard a weak, groaning voice.
She stopped in her tracks, glanced sideways, and saw the woman’s lips moving painfully, her cheeks stained with unclear tears.
“Kill me…”
Tong Yang widened her eyes, bent down, and stared into the woman’s eyes. “Are you conscious?”
“Kill you?” Tong Yang asked in confusion. “You dragged innocent students into this danger. Shouldn’t you apologize first?”
Standing tall, Tong Yang looked down at the woman. After a brief pause, she averted her gaze and walked away from the cafeteria.
Chu Shiyu and Sun Ye hurriedly followed, not daring to spare the woman a glance, feeling safer near Tong Yang.
The other students, nauseated and holding back their retching, carefully avoided the woman as they made their way to the exam room in 1209.
Along the way, they passed dried blood and congealed flesh, with the smell of blood still lingering in the air. Everyone had traces of blood on them, holding weapons of various sizes.
Behind them, the crippled woman slowly dragged herself along the blood trail, her life likely fading as she tried to follow them.
When they arrived at the door of 1209, they saw several “hunters” lying on the ground, unable to move but still clinging to life. Blood continued to flow from their wounds, and the sound of gurgling blood was pitiful, making the place resemble a slaughterhouse.
Perhaps they had been through too much already. Seeing this bloody scene left everyone feeling much calmer than before.
“Please place all items unrelated to the exam on the storage shelves.”
At the same time, the broadcast announced the next instruction.
Everyone set down their bags and weapons, took out their exam supplies, and entered the exam room.
Taking their seats, they looked out at the withering maple trees. The thirty-three students now felt very different from when they had first sat in this room, staring out the window.
Having shed their initial fear and confusion, they were now filled with anger and the frustration of being thrust into danger. The room was silent as they waited for the next exam to begin.
As the clock in front of the classroom approached 3:00, the three invigilators walked up to the podium.
“The second math exam is about to begin. Students in the first row, please come up and collect your papers and scratch paper.”
The scratch paper provided for the math exam was two sheets of A4 paper. After distributing them, the invigilators walked down the aisles, standing at the back corners of the room.
“This exam will last for 120 minutes. No early submissions, no talking, and no unrelated actions are allowed.”
Invigilator A stood on the podium, calmly watching the students.
“Please place both sheets of scratch paper on your desks.”
Confused, the students followed the instruction, laying the two sheets flat on their desks.
“Please keep one sheet of scratch paper unused until the end of the exam.”
“The exam begins now. Please start answering.”
…And that was it?
The students looked up in surprise at Invigilator A, unable to believe that the second exam was starting without any tricks. Was just keeping one sheet of scratch paper enough?
“Please begin.”
Tong Yang stared at the two blank sheets of scratch paper in front of her, knowing it couldn’t be that simple. To be safe, she kept both sheets intact.
Because she often practiced maintaining a clean exam sheet, even when solving math problems, Tong Yang was extremely careful. She mentally laid out the formulas before writing them down. She liked doing mental math, so she rarely used scratch paper.
As the exam started, Tong Yang focused on answering. Math was her strong subject. As long as the teacher had covered it or the questions had appeared in practice exams, or even if they were from past college entrance exams, she had done them before. Over the past three years, she had either scored full marks or come close to full marks in every math test.
After nearly an hour and a half, Tong Yang finished and did a final check.
Confirming that there were no mistakes, she relaxed a bit and looked around. Most of the students were still working, while a few were doodling on their scratch paper or resting their heads on their hands, half-asleep.
After all, in a math exam, if you didn’t know the answer, you couldn’t even make something up.
Tong Yang looked back at her own two untouched sheets of scratch paper and then at the invigilators on the podium, wondering what they were planning. Unable to figure it out, she decided not to waste time and waited to see what would happen next.
When the bell rang, signaling fifteen minutes left in the exam, the three invigilators finally made a move.
“Please stop writing.”
By now, most students had finished answering. They looked up in confusion at Invigilator A.
“Next, please take out the unused sheet of scratch paper. Make sure there are no marks on it. Any student who does not meet this requirement will be disqualified from this and future exams.”
Knowing the importance of this, all thirty-three students had kept a clean sheet of scratch paper. After all, this was a place where lives were at stake.
“Please copy the answers to the seven questions listed on the blackboard onto your scratch paper. You can either copy the answers from your exam paper or choose the opposite answers.”
Invigilator A stepped aside, revealing the question numbers written on the blackboard, corresponding to several of the math exam’s problem-solving questions.
“Please copy them.”
The students, though confused, complied. This exam was crucial for their college entrance, and they didn’t want to throw away years of hard work, so they followed the instructions.
Tong Yang thought for a moment. The rules didn’t state that only one sheet of scratch paper could be kept, but rather that it had to remain blank. This seemed to give her an extra option compared to the others.
Of course, she wasn’t going to waste it.
Though unsure of the meaning behind this, preparing two options was always better than one.
So, Tong Yang copied the correct answers onto one sheet and deliberately wrote incorrect answers on the other. She stacked the two sheets and waited calmly for Invigilator A to reveal the next step.
After everyone finished copying, the exam time had already passed.
“Please close your exam papers.”
The students followed suit.
By now, it was nearing 5:30 in the evening. The sky outside was gloomy, and the classroom lights had already been turned on.
“Student number one, please stand.”
Sitting near the wall, the first student, a short-haired girl, was startled to be called and stood up nervously.
Invigilator A took out a packaged spiral knife from the desk. The blade had three edges and three blood grooves, with many small round holes. If it were stabbed into flesh, blood would immediately gush out.
At the same time, a dense sound of footsteps came from the hallway, like countless ants crawling on the ground. The students couldn’t help but look back, only to see more and more gray-faced, hollow-eyed “people” gathering outside the windows, still holding weapons.
At that moment, there was a rustling sound from outside, and several pale faces pressed against the hanging window. Among them was the upside-down man Tong Yang had seen behind Sun Ye that morning.
Seeing this, the students’ faces turned pale.
If they had escaped at noon by exploiting a loophole in the rules, now it was clear the game had changed. They were trapped like fish in a barrel, surrounded by those things outside, not knowing when they would break in and cut their skin with sharp blades.
Even someone as calm as Tong Yang grew more serious.
Invigilator A walked to the first student’s desk, and the spiral knife gleamed coldly as it was suddenly stabbed into his own palm. Blood gushed out as he quickly pulled the knife out, bringing bits of flesh with it.
The first student turned pale, instinctively stepping back.
“Please choose a student. If the answers on both of your scratch papers match, you may sit down. Otherwise, you will receive the same punishment as me.”
The first student stared in fear, seemingly not fully understanding Invigilator A’s words.
“Please choose a student.”
Seeing her hesitation, Invigilator A leaned in closer, his eyes glaring.
“I-I choose number nine!” The first student blurted out a number in panic.
Sitting next to her, Chu Shiyu stiffened, raising her head in confusion.
“Student number one, you will verify the answer to question four. Please choose whose answer to check first.”
The first student, eyes red, replied, “Hers.”
Invigilator B walked to the front of the room, took Chu Shiyu’s scratch paper, and checked the answer to question four.
“Correct.”
Invigilator A checked the first student’s answer and said, “Correct.”
The first student visibly relaxed.
“Please sit.”
Tong Yang quickly understood the rules. They had to compare one of the seven answers copied onto their scratch papers.
Since they were allowed to write the opposite answers, each student’s answers could either be correct or incorrect, with no clear pattern. In other words, it was all up to luck.
However, under these circumstances, everyone would likely copy the correct answers from the exam paper.
“Next, student number nine, please choose another student.”
Rule number one: Once a student is chosen, they become the next person to choose, and they cannot select the person who chose them.
Chu Shiyu also figured out part of the rules. She knew this was almost entirely a game of luck because she had no idea which question would be chosen, and there was no way to guess who might have the correct or incorrect answers.
I’m doomed…
Chu Shiyu held her breath, her heart pounding in her throat. Just then, a distinct tapping sound came from behind. She turned around sharply, remembering something.
Tong Yang tapped her second knuckle against the desk, her gaze calm and firm as she looked at Chu Shiyu.
“I-I choose student number twelve!”
Tong Yang stood up, holding two overlapping scratch papers.
“Student number nine, you will verify the answer to question seven. Please choose whose answer to check first.”
Tong Yang had two choices, but it was best for Chu Shiyu to check her own answer first before Tong Yang handed in the corresponding scratch paper.
When Chu Shiyu looked over, Tong Yang subtly signaled to her. Chu Shiyu seemed to catch on and nodded, resolutely choosing to check Tong Yang’s answer first.
“I’ll check student number twelve’s answer first…”
Tong Yang rolled her eyes for a moment, as Invigilator C approached. Without hesitation, she handed over the scratch paper with the correct answers.
Invigilator C glanced at it. “Correct.”
At the same time, Invigilator B checked Chu Shiyu’s scratch paper. “Correct.”
Chu Shiyu let out a long sigh of relief and gave Tong Yang a grateful look.
Tong Yang accepted the thanks calmly. She hadn’t handed over the correct answers by chance. The seventh question had been included in her prediction paper, and there was no way Chu Shiyu could have gotten it wrong if she had studied it properly.
“Student number twelve, please choose another student.”
Not knowing how long this dangerous game would last, Tong Yang decided to go one by one.
“I choose student number two.”
Her goal was to ensure that every student in the room would be chosen at least once.
“Student number twelve, you will verify the answer to question one. Please choose whose answer to check first.”
“Student number two.”
“Correct.”
Student number two looked nervously at Tong Yang. Although it was widely known that Tong Yang, as the top student in the district, always scored near-perfect in math, the invigilators had said they could write the opposite answers. If Tong Yang had deliberately written the wrong answer for question one, it would be disastrous.
With an expressionless face, Tong Yang handed over her scratch paper. After examining it, Invigilator C said, “Correct.”
Student number two breathed a sigh of relief.
“Please sit.”
Tong Yang sat back down. She had both correct and incorrect answers prepared. If the person who chose her checked her answer first, she could hand over the corresponding scratch paper. But when it came to the comparisons between other students, it would all depend on luck.
After Tong Yang sat down, student number two quickly realized his earlier relief was premature. The penalty had been for Tong Yang, but now it was his turn!
“Student number two, please choose another student.”
Student number two gritted his teeth. “I choose student number twelve.”
Invigilator A shook his head. “You cannot verify answers with the same person twice in a row.”
Student number two trembled, his face filled with fear. “I-I choose student number seven!”
Student number seven, visibly terrified, lifted his head. The two seemed to know each other, as they exchanged fearful glances.
“You will verify the answer to question three. Please choose whose answer to check first.”
Trembling, student number two replied, “His…”
After checking student number seven’s answer, Invigilator B coldly said, “Incorrect.”
Invigilator A examined student number two’s answer and, lifting the spiral knife, announced, “Correct.”
“Verification failed. Student number two will now receive a penalty.”
The spiral knife was raised high and then plunged into student number two’s arm. There were seven rows of small round holes on the blade, and as it entered the flesh, blood immediately gushed out. After a scream, Invigilator A quickly withdrew the blade.
Blood slowly flowed down student number two’s arm. Invigilator A, without further action, coldly said, “Sit.”
Though the blade had only pierced about an inch deep, the pain was enough to leave student number two drenched in sweat. He quickly sat down, terrified that Invigilator A would continue the punishment.
Seeing this, Tong Yang narrowed her eyes. The spiral knife had three edges and three grooves, but its round holes were different from the others. This knife had small round holes starting about 2.5 cm from the tip, spaced roughly 2 cm apart, extending to the handle. There were exactly seven holes.
When student number two got the verification wrong, Invigilator A had only inserted the knife into the first hole. If the pattern held, the seven holes corresponded to the seven math problems they had copied.
In other words, each student had seven chances to verify their answers. Once they had verified all seven questions, they could end the game and leave the classroom.
But the question remained: Did the times they were chosen count toward their seven verifications?
If so, student number one still needed to verify six more questions, while Tong Yang, Chu Shiyu, and the injured student number two needed five.
“Student number seven, please choose another student.”
After seeing student number two get injured, the other students all lowered their heads, hoping they wouldn’t be chosen. After all, being chosen meant danger.
Student number seven, flustered, looked around before finally landing his gaze on Tong Yang. With her answers almost guaranteed to be correct, she seemed like the safest choice. But after what had just happened, he wasn’t sure about the rest of his answers, so he didn’t dare choose her. He shifted his gaze to someone else.
“Please choose,” Invigilator A urged in a low voice.
Terrified, student number seven began to cry and chose the student sitting to his right, student number fifteen.
“You will verify the answer to question six. Please choose whose answer to check first.”
“I choose hers.”
“Incorrect.”
Invigilator B stepped forward to check student number seven’s answer. “Incorrect.”
Student number seven sighed in relief, while student number fifteen’s face turned pale.
Next, it was student number fifteen’s turn. She chose student number thirty and verified question five. Both had correct answers.
Several more rounds of verification went by, and most of them were lucky, either both wrong or both right. After every student had been chosen or selected at least twice, including student number two, five students had failed their verifications and were injured.
Although their wounds were bleeding, they weren’t life-threatening for the moment.
However, if they got another answer wrong, the wound and blood loss would increase, and they might not be able to survive.
When Chu Shiyu was chosen again, she and the chooser both had correct answers for question five. Then it was her turn to choose.
This time, when she looked at Tong Yang, she saw Tong Yang shake her head, signaling not to choose her.
Chu Shiyu had verified the answers to questions three, five, and seven, all correct. The remaining four questions weren’t too difficult. If Tong Yang was right, all seven of her answers should be correct, so Chu Shiyu just needed to choose someone else who likely had correct answers.
Tong Yang glanced around the room. In a situation like this, almost everyone would copy the correct answers from the exam. She picked out a girl from her own school, known for being good at math, and raised an eyebrow toward Chu Shiyu.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Chu Shiyu chose the girl Tong Yang had indicated.
“You will verify the answer to question three.”
Sure enough, just as Tong Yang expected, both answers were correct.
With that, Chu Shiyu only had three questions left to verify. If she was chosen one more time, she might be safe.
Soon after, Sun Ye was chosen. After verifying answers with another student, they had mismatched answers, resulting in the chooser being punished. Then it was Sun Ye’s turn to choose.
Following a signal from Tong Yang, he chose Chu Shiyu.
“You will verify the answer to question two. Please choose whose answer to check first.”
Sun Ye, trembling, chose to check his own answer.
“Correct.”
Chu Shiyu’s answer to question two was also correct, and Sun Ye narrowly escaped punishment.
Now, Chu Shiyu only had questions one and six left. If she chose students who had already been verified for those questions, she would be safe.
After a round of verifications, most of the students had a better understanding of the rules. Being from the honors class, Chu Shiyu didn’t need Tong Yang’s guidance anymore and picked a student she believed had the same answers.
“Correct.”
“Correct.”
As expected, Chu Shiyu dodged another bullet.
Now, she only had one question left. If she got chosen once more, she could leave the classroom. Tong Yang wanted to use this opportunity to test if her theory about the rules was correct, so when student number two was up for verification, she signaled him to choose student number nine, Chu Shiyu.
Chu Shiyu only had question one left to verify, and student number two had previously gotten question one correct. As long as he chose Chu Shiyu, they would both be safe.
After a brief hesitation, he chose Chu Shiyu.
“You will verify the answer to question one.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Tong Yang realized her theory was correct. Even though student number two had already verified question one, since Chu Shiyu only had question one left, the system prioritized verifying her remaining question.
“Correct.”
“Correct.”
“Congratulations, student number nine, you have completed the exam. Please take your belongings and leave the classroom.”
The room fell into stunned silence.
Chu Shiyu had been chosen four times, verifying two questions each in the first three rounds and one question in the last. With no repeated verifications, she successfully completed the exam.
Tong Yang pondered for a moment. If she wanted to help everyone leave, she would have to manipulate the rules to allow for repeated verifications while ensuring she stayed behind.
“I choose student number thirty-three.”
When Sun Ye was chosen again, he verified the answer to question three. The invigilator checked the answer and announced that both were incorrect.
By this point, Sun Ye had verified five questions, leaving only questions one and seven, which happened to be the same questions Tong Yang had already verified.
Thud— Tong Yang tapped her finger on the desk, and Sun Ye got the hint.
“I choose student number twelve.”
“You will verify the answer to question seven. Please choose whose answer to check first.”
Sun Ye remembered that Tong Yang and Chu Shiyu had already verified question seven, and it was correct, so he just needed to confirm whether his own answer was correct.
“I’ll check mine.”
Invigilator C approached, checked his scratch paper, and said, “Incorrect.”
Upon hearing this, Sun Ye turned pale. His answer didn’t match Tong Yang’s!
In the exam room, no one doubted the correctness of Tong Yang’s answers. When Sun Ye’s answer was revealed, everyone reacted with fear, realizing that they too could be punished for getting a verification wrong.
As Invigilator B approached, Tong Yang calmly handed over a scratch paper.
After a few seconds of examining it, Invigilator B handed the paper back to her and said, “Incorrect.”
“What?!”
Sun Ye was stunned, unable to believe it.
The other students also stared at Tong Yang in disbelief.
During the verification with Chu Shiyu, Tong Yang’s answer had clearly been correct!
Translator Note:
This chapter is so long that I want to _:(´ཀ`」∠):_
Please brace yourself to sit thru this loooong length of release~
