EMSD Chapter 19

The Invigilator returned the scrap paper to both of them.

“Please be seated.”

Sun Ye, still in shock, returned to his seat, feeling both confused and relieved. That twisted spiral knife looked far scarier than an ordinary dagger.

Sun Ye wasn’t the only one in the exam room who was puzzled. Tong Yang had only been chosen once, to verify two problems—question one and question seven—and both answers were correct. So how come when it was Sun Ye’s turn, her answer to question seven was wrong?

“Exam taker number twelve, please select another student.”

Tong Yang thought for a moment, recalling the remaining students in the classroom who hadn’t had their answers checked yet. It probably wouldn’t matter since she still had five unanswered questions left to verify. No matter who she picked, it wouldn’t make much difference.

“I choose number one.”

“You need to verify question three. Please choose whose answer to check first.”

“Number one.”

“Wrong.”

Exam taker number one glanced at her apologetically. Even though they didn’t attend the same school, Tong Yang’s name was well-known—she had long dominated the regional rankings and was a math and science genius. The only times she lost points were usually in Chinese or English. Her answers should mostly be correct.

Although it was unclear why Tong Yang’s answer to question seven was wrong, it was probably just a fluke.

Invigilator B took the scrap paper that Tong Yang handed over and reviewed it for a while before saying, “Wrong.”

The whole room was stunned, staring at Tong Yang.

How could this be? Tong Yang got two major math questions wrong? If these were the answers on her actual test paper, she’d have lost dozens of points!

“Please be seated.”

Invigilator B returned the scrap paper to her. Everyone noticed her movements, realizing she had stacked the two pieces of scrap paper given before the exam together—and the handwriting on them was exactly the same!

She had copied two sets of answers?!

No wonder when she compared her answers with Chu Shiyu, question seven was correct, but when compared with Sun Ye, it was wrong!

This realization ignited a spark of hope in the others. As long as they used this to their advantage and left Tong Yang for last, they could all safely pass the exam!

Of course, that’s assuming Tong Yang would cooperate with them.

The game rules prevented them from checking answers with the same person consecutively, meaning they only needed to skip one person each time.

Now it was exam taker number one’s turn to choose. As long as she chose another person and then Tong Yang again, they could repeat the process!

“I choose exam taker number twenty-five.”

“You need to verify question six. Please choose whose answer to check first.”

“Number twenty-five.”

“Correct.”

“Correct.”

Exam taker number one successfully passed, and next, it was exam taker twenty-five’s turn to choose someone to check answers with.

As expected, he chose exam taker number twelve, Tong Yang. He had questions left to verify that overlapped with those she had already checked.

Tong Yang slowly stood up, surprised that the others weren’t completely clueless. They had realized she had two sets of answers. As long as they kept choosing her and overlapping questions, they could leave her for last, ensuring their safe passage.

“Teacher, wait, I have something to say.”

The three Invigilators all turned their gaze to her, their expressions unreadable.

After a couple of seconds, Invigilator A said, “Go ahead.”

“Five hundred yuan per person, paid within ten days after the college entrance exams. Choosing me means you agree to the terms.”

Everyone: “…”

She really took every opportunity to make money! No wonder exceptional people excel no matter the field—if Tong Yang went into sales, she’d probably build a business empire in two years!

“You need to verify question one. Please choose whose answer to check first.”

Exam taker number twenty-five said, “My answer.”

As long as they checked their answers first, Tong Yang could then submit the matching set of answers from her scrap paper.

“Correct.”

“Correct.”

“Please be seated.”

Now it was Tong Yang’s turn to choose. She decisively picked Sun Ye, exam taker number thirty-three, as he only had one question left to verify. From her previous observations, Tong Yang noticed that the Invigilators tended to prioritize the person with the fewest remaining questions.

“You need to verify question one.”

Tong Yang chose to check Sun Ye’s answer first. The result was wrong.

She squinted at Sun Ye, who averted his eyes and lowered his head guiltily, not daring to meet her gaze.

Question one was identical to a question in Tong Yang’s study material, not a single digit was different. Anyone who had studied carefully would have easily gotten it right!

Truly, some people are beyond saving.

If it weren’t for the extra five hundred yuan, Tong Yang would have handed in the correct paper to teach this idiot a lesson.

“Wrong.”

“Congratulations, exam taker number thirty-three, you’ve passed the exam. Please gather your belongings and leave the room.”

Outside the window, shadows flickered, but they were only there to intimidate the students into cooperating with the game. They didn’t attack students who successfully passed and left the classroom.

After Sun Ye left, the choice passed to exam taker number one.

She chose Tong Yang again, as she had since checked answers with other students, making it a valid choice according to the rules.

“You need to verify question two. Please choose whose answer to check first.”

The entire exam room tensed up. They had figured out the rules: it was best to use Tong Yang to repeatedly verify answers. But Tong Yang hadn’t verified question two yet, meaning she only had three questions left. If she passed the exam and left, the remaining students would be in big trouble!

“Wrong.”

“Wrong.”

Tong Yang, with her excellent memory, continued to choose students whose answers would overlap with hers, ensuring she didn’t make any mistakes. One by one, she helped over ten students leave the exam room. As fewer students remained, they had less flexibility in their choices, so they almost had to choose Tong Yang every other turn to avoid being stuck.

“Exam taker number twenty-four, please choose another student.”

Exam taker number twenty-four was the same guy who almost fought with Tong Yang in the cafeteria earlier. Remembering the conflict, he started sweating profusely. He wanted to choose Tong Yang, but he was afraid she might take the chance to get back at him.

However, if he wanted to pass the exam and ensure his safety, Tong Yang was undoubtedly the best choice.

Suddenly, Tong Yang looked back at him, a playful, mocking glint in her eyes.

The boy gritted his teeth and said, “I choose exam taker number twelve.”

“You need to verify question five. Please choose whose answer to check first.”

“Mine.”

“Wrong.”

Then, Invigilator B walked over to Tong Yang, holding out his hand.

The boy watched her movements nervously. He had failed once before, and the blood on his shoulder had only just stopped. If this time the verification failed, the twisted knife would penetrate the second row of small holes, and the razor-sharp blade was unbearable to even think about.

Watching Tong Yang’s slow and deliberate movements, the boy’s nerves reached their peak. He unconsciously held his breath until Tong Yang slightly tilted her head and mouthed silently, “One thousand.”

The boy instantly understood her meaning and nodded frantically.

With a smile, Tong Yang slowly pulled out the scrap paper stacked at the bottom and handed it to Invigilator B.

“Wrong.”

“Please be seated.”

The boy heaved a huge sigh of relief, cold sweat breaking out on his back as if he had just walked through death’s door.

Tong Yang then chose a student who only had one question left to verify, helping him leave the classroom.

Outside the classroom, shadows of figures loomed in the right corridor, as if ready to rush in at any moment. On the left corridor near the storage racks, the students who had successfully passed the exam gathered.

After a whole day of bizarre experiences, they felt a strange sense of camaraderie, watching the ongoing selection inside the classroom with tension, as more and more students were escorted out by Tong Yang.

Not only was Tong Yang orchestrating the matching of answers, but she was also giving subtle hints during other people’s turns to help as many students as possible escape.

As the number of remaining students dwindled, no one made a mistake under Tong Yang’s guidance.

Finally, there were only four people left in the classroom.

Tong Yang had two unanswered questions left, including question four. The remaining three students were: exam taker number two, who had question four left, exam taker number six, who had question six left, and exam taker number twenty-four, who also had question four left. It was now Tong Yang’s turn to choose.

After a brief pause, she chose exam taker number two and helped him pass.

The choice then passed to exam taker number six. Following a silent signal from Tong Yang, he chose to verify answers with exam taker number twenty-four.

The Invigilator assigned them both question four, and both got it wrong, allowing exam taker number twenty-four to leave. Now only Tong Yang and exam taker number six remained in the classroom.

According to the rules, they couldn’t verify answers with the same person twice in a row, meaning they each had only one chance left. If they couldn’t both pass, one of them would be left behind in the classroom, facing the inevitable punishment—probably being hacked to death by whatever lurked outside the windows.

With exam taker number twenty-four gone, the choice returned to Tong Yang.

The atmosphere in the room became tense, and the students waiting outside were anxious, whispering among themselves:

“What question does Tong Yang have left?”

“I think number fifteen only has question six left. It looks like the Invigilator prioritizes the selected student’s remaining questions, so if Tong Yang doesn’t have question six left, we’re screwed!”

“Damn! We can’t let Tong Yang suffer alone!”

“The weapons we used earlier are still here. Let’s get ready. If it’s down to one person, we’ll kill these bastards and rescue Tong Yang!”

“There are so many more of them now… a lot more than earlier.”

“So what? There are a lot of us too! Worst case, we hide in the cafeteria again like before!”

“Tong Yang has been helping us all along… we can’t just let her die alone!”

Chu Shiyu and Sun Ye watched the crowd’s rising fervor and silently swallowed the thought, She’s probably just doing it for the money.

“You need to verify question six. Please choose whose answer to check first.”

At these words, everyone’s heart leapt into their throats.

“Hers.”

“Correct.”

“Correct.”

The three Invigilators stood between them. Beneath their calm exteriors, their faces subtly darkened, as though they were quite displeased.

Outside the door, the students held their breath, anxiously awaiting the Invigilators’ final verdict. Armed with weapons, they were ready to pounce like the monsters outside.

“Congratulations to both students for successfully passing the exam. Please gather your belongings and leave the classroom.”

Suddenly, the entire building fell silent.

Two seconds later, the quiet was shattered by triumphant cheers.

“Ah!!!”

“We did it!!!”

“We all made it through!!!”

Their screams echoed through the eerily quiet Third High School, dispelling the terrifying and sinister atmosphere.

“Tong Yang, we made it!” Exam taker number fifteen suddenly lunged at her, hugging her neck in celebration. His chest rose and fell with heavy breaths, his body trembling uncontrollably, even his breathing was unsteady.

Tong Yang staggered from the impact, looking exasperated. Wasn’t this outcome a given? There was no way she would sacrifice herself to help them all escape! She wouldn’t have done it if she hadn’t been confident.

“Let’s go.”

Tong Yang urged them to pack up and leave, leaving the test papers and scrap paper behind in the classroom.

“Please pay attention to the broadcast announcement. The next independent exam will take place tonight,” Invigilator B said ominously, standing at the door and watching them with a sinister gaze.

However, the students who had just escaped a life-threatening ordeal were too excited to care about his words.

All thirty-three students, many with cuts and bruises, were in high spirits as they crowded around Tong Yang, chatting and laughing as they left the corridor, as though they had just won a hard-fought victory.

Inside the classroom, Invigilator A stood by Tong Yang’s desk, picking up the two pieces of scrap paper with different answers. Gripping the papers tightly, his fingertips turned white, and his expression grew increasingly twisted, veins bulging on his forehead, while the wound in his left hand from the twisted knife throbbed with pain.

As night fell, the temperature dropped sharply.

The cold wind swept up dried leaves, its howling echoing through the empty buildings like ghostly moans. Blood stains and a few mutilated corpses lay scattered across the ground, limbs severed, flesh mangled.

The shutter door of the cafeteria rumbled open as four or five students entered, shining their phone flashlights.

“How’s it looking outside?”

“What’s going on out there?”

The cafeteria was dimly lit by a few weak lights. To prevent any surprises, they had piled up all the tables and chairs into a barricade big enough for thirty-three people to sleep inside.

Seeing a few people enter, those inside nervously asked.

Leading the group was exam taker number twenty-four, Wang Xinyuan, the boy who had repeatedly caused trouble for Tong Yang. He shook his head and said, “The school gate is locked. We can’t get out. It looks like the outside is just like the school—most of the buildings are abandoned.”

“Well, we should follow Tong Yang’s advice and stop thinking about leaving. The outside might be even more dangerous than in here.”

“Let’s just make do in the cafeteria for the night. Once we finish the exams tomorrow, we can go home.”

Just then, there was another sound at the door. A group led by Tong Yang entered, carrying various blankets.

“Give us a hand!”

“We found some clean blankets near the dorm. The floor is too cold. Don’t catch a cold and mess up tomorrow’s exam.”

“Got it!”

After the second exam ended, the Invigilators and those strange creatures disappeared, and the school seemed calm, at least temporarily safe. So Tong Yang let everyone split up and explore the other areas.

Gradually, they carried the blankets into the cafeteria, some to lay on the floor, and others to use as covers.

“Tong Yang, the hot water is still running here, and we found a few boxes of instant noodles. Should we make do with that for dinner?”

Tong Yang casually agreed, craving a hot meal after such a long day.

They used newspapers to cover the glass windows where corpses were displayed, blocking the view, and used chairs to barricade the broken windows Tong Yang had smashed earlier. If anything tried to climb in, the sound of the chair falling would alert them immediately.

Tong Yang opened her backpack and took out a relatively clean towel she had found earlier in the girls’ dormitory, intending to wipe the blood off after dinner.

“Tong Yang, you dropped something.” Chu Shiyu bent down and picked up something that had fallen from her backpack, glancing at it.

Tong Yang took back the accidentally dropped ID card, casually putting it back in her bag.

After finishing the steaming bowl of instant noodles, Tong Yang went to the back to boil some water and wipe off the blood. The others sat in the makeshift barricade, disinfecting and bandaging their wounds with the gauze and iodine they had scavenged from the infirmary.

Too bad they couldn’t take a proper shower or change their clothes—it was absolutely miserable.

“Tong Yang, are you done yet? Can we borrow your towel?”

Several hygiene-conscious girls came over to borrow the towel after Tong Yang was done. She handed it to them after drying it off.

Climbing into the safe zone, Tong Yang, exhausted, ignored Sun Ye and Chu Shiyu’s attempts to make conversation. She found a corner, covered herself with a blanket, and lay down to rest.

“Ugh, when we checked answers earlier, I got five out of seven wrong. So frustrating.”

“I got them all wrong. I guess I won’t get a good score in math this time.”

“Ah! Don’t bring up scores, it gives me a headache!”

“Who the heck came up with this rule? You should never check answers right after an exam—it’s terrible for your mindset!”

“This is my first time sleeping outside. It feels like the end of the world, like we’re the last ones left.”

“I feel the same! This barricade feels like a safe zone where zombies and monsters can’t get in, and nighttime is our time to rest while the day is for searching for supplies.”

“Then we’re the chosen ones! We’re responsible for rebuilding humanity!”

…

The group continued to chatter, making a racket that annoyed Tong Yang. She didn’t understand why they were so excited. Frustrated, she pulled the blanket over her ears. They had no idea what dangers might come next, and yet they were so relaxed?

“By the way…”

Chu Shiyu suddenly spoke up, glancing at Tong Yang before lowering her voice to say something to the others. They all looked at Tong Yang in surprise.

“I am the ruler of Zone Seven! If you want to survive and get supplies, you’ll have to bow down to me!” Wang Xinyuan suddenly jumped onto a table, standing with his hands on his hips, pretending to be an officer in charge of a safe zone in a post-apocalyptic world.

“Wow! That’s kind of cool!”

“Then I’ll be in charge of Zone Three!”

Tong Yang’s temples throbbed from the noise. Unable to tolerate it any longer, she sat up and said, “You guys have had enough.”

“Don’t you remember what that idiot Invigilator said? There’s another exam tonight.”

Her words brought everyone back to reality. Their expressions turned grim as they scattered.

“And, by the way, I’m the ruler of Zone One.”

With that, Tong Yang lay back down and covered herself to sleep.

After a few seconds of silence, someone couldn’t hold back a laugh.

After a long day of anxiety, exhaustion, and fear, it wasn’t long before everyone grew drowsy and found a spot to sleep.

Despite the sound of snoring and teeth grinding, they all slept deeply.

Perhaps it was because it was their first time sleeping in such an environment with so many people, but Tong Yang also slept surprisingly soundly. It took her a moment to register the faint sound of bells ringing in her ears. Startled, she sat up suddenly.

The cafeteria was pitch dark, with only the faint moonlight streaming through the glass windows above, barely illuminating the surroundings. The eerie sound of bells echoed through the campus.

The others woke up as well, confused and sitting up groggily.

Tong Yang, already dressed and with her backpack on, climbed to the window to peek outside. There was no movement.

“All exam takers, please dress appropriately within the next ten minutes.”

After the bells stopped, a mechanical male voice sounded from the broadcast.

“What? Are they crazy?”

“I feel like I just fell asleep! Who the hell was snoring, it was driving me nuts.”

Tong Yang glanced at her phone. It was exactly midnight. They had probably slept for less than four hours.

“Don’t sleep in. We’re on someone else’s turf, so let’s follow their rules,” Tong Yang reminded them.

Everyone slowly got up, putting on their coats and backpacks, waiting for the next set of instructions from the broadcast.

“Please open your social networking apps.”

“What?”

“What’s going on? Is there even any signal here?”

“Holy crap! There actually is!”

Tong Yang had already discovered earlier that her phone had a signal. However, when she tried to use other apps or send messages, the network was still unavailable, and emergency calls wouldn’t go through either.

“Please enter 1209 to join the face-to-face group chat.”

Following the broadcast’s instructions, Tong Yang entered 1209 into the face-to-face group chat app, where she saw that, besides her, there was already one person with a default profile picture and the username “Invigilator,” who was the group admin.

The others soon joined the group, and as soon as they saw Tong Yang and her username, someone commented, “I don’t even have to guess who ‘Studying is for making money’ is.”

“Same here.”

Tong Yang glanced at them. “Got a problem?”

The two guys almost shook their heads off. “No problem, no problem.”

“All exam takers, please stand according to the seating arrangements in the exam room.”

The mechanical voice came through the broadcast again.

Tong Yang remained where she was, opened her phone, and entered the 1209 group chat, asking: [What happens if we don’t participate in the night exam?]

She almost immediately received a reply from the Invigilator: [It will be considered forfeiture, and the right to clear the game will be permanently revoked.]

Tong Yang fell into deep thought. It seemed that they needed to complete all the exams to return to the real world. In other words, they had to survive each exam to succeed. The phrase “permanently revoked” likely meant that if they didn’t follow the exam rules, they would be trapped here forever.

“What does that mean?”

“We don’t need to clear the game, right? Once we finish the foreign language and science exams tomorrow, we’ll be done.”

“So why not just forfeit? Look outside, it’s pitch black and terrifying. Are they going to make us go out there?”

Tong Yang gave the speaker a sidelong glance, smiling faintly. “If you want to stay here forever, go ahead and forfeit. You can keep being the ruler of your little safe zone.”

At her words, everyone’s faces fell, and they quickly lined up according to the seating arrangement from the exam room, even urging Tong Yang to get into her spot.

Tong Yang’s spot was fourth in the second row, while Chu Shiyu, who had been number nine in the exam room, stood first in the second row.

Once everyone had lined up in their spots, the shutter door in front of them suddenly began to rise with a loud rumble.

Moonlight spilled onto the ground, revealing dried, blackened blood stains.

Across from the cafeteria stood the silent dormitory building. The dark corridors and wide-open windows creaked in the wind.

As the cold wind blew into the cafeteria, everyone shivered involuntarily.

“First row of exam takers, please leave the cafeteria and head to the girls’ dormitory building.”

The students in the first row instantly became terrified.

“We’re going to be separated?”

“No! There’s no light at all over there!”

“Exam taker number one, please lead the group out.”

Exam taker number one was on the verge of tears, but with no other choice, she glanced at the others for help. Seeing no useful response, she reluctantly led the group out of the cafeteria.

“Second row of exam takers, please proceed to the sports field.”

The second row was where Tong Yang and Chu Shiyu were. Upon hearing that they were heading to the sports field, they all collectively let out a sigh of relief. Compared to the pitch-black girls’ dormitory, the open sports field seemed like a much better option.

Chu Shiyu led the way out of the cafeteria, heading toward the sports field.

“Third row of exam takers, please proceed to the junior high school building.”

“Fourth row of exam takers, please proceed to the senior high school building.”

The thirty-three exam takers were split into four groups, each sent to different areas of Third High School.

“First row exam takers, please stand at the stairwells on either side of the girls’ dormitory, from the first to the fourth floor.”

“Second row exam takers, please stand at the pre-marked intervals, fifty meters apart.”

“Third row exam takers, please stand at the stairwells on either side of the junior high school building, from the first to the fourth floor.”

“Fourth row exam takers, please stand at the stairwells on either side of the senior high school building, from the first to the fourth floor. Exam taker number thirty-three, please enter any classroom on any floor by yourself.”

The mechanical male voice continued to issue instructions through the broadcast. The second row of exam takers found the pre-marked intervals on the ground, spaced fifty meters apart.

Following the broadcast’s instructions, they took their positions. The running track at Third High School was 800 meters long, and eight students formed a semicircle on the middle of the track.

At some point, the moon had become obscured by clouds, and with fifty meters separating them from the next person, they could only vaguely see a dark silhouette.

The other groups were likely in the same situation, standing in their assigned positions.

Exam taker number thirty-three, Sun Ye, was in a pitiful situation. He was the ninth student in the fourth row, meaning he had to enter a classroom by himself.

Once everyone was in place, the broadcast voice spoke again.

“The 1209 group chat will now enter anonymous mode. You may exchange information in the group but must not reveal your identity. Exam takers, please be mindful of verifying the accuracy of information.”

“And with that—the night exam begins.”