The invigilator returned the scratch paper to both of them.
"Please be seated."
Sun Ye sat back down, still shaken, feeling both confused and immensely relieved—that twisted spiral dagger looked far more terrifying than an ordinary blade.
But Sun Ye wasn’t the only one puzzled in the exam hall. Tong Yang had only been chosen once so far, verifying two questions—the first and the seventh—both of which were correct. So why had her answer for the seventh question suddenly turned out wrong when Sun Ye checked it?
"Twelfth examinee, please select another candidate."
Tong Yang pondered for a moment, recalling the remaining unchecked questions among the others in the room. But it probably didn’t matter—she still had five questions left to verify herself, so choosing anyone would yield similar results.
"I choose Candidate One."
"You need to verify the second question. Please select whose answer to check first."
"One."
"Wrong."
Candidate One gave her an apologetic glance. Even if they weren’t from the same school, Tong Yang’s reputation was well-known—she consistently ranked first in the district, excelling in science subjects. The only points she ever lost were in Chinese and English. Her answers should have been mostly correct.
No one understood why her seventh answer had been marked wrong, but it must have been a fluke.
Invigilator B took the scratch paper from Tong Yang, examined it for a long moment, then declared, "Wrong."
The entire room stared at her in shock.
How was this possible? Tong Yang had gotten two major math questions wrong? If these were the answers on her actual exam, she’d already lost dozens of points!
"Please be seated."
Invigilator B returned the scratch paper to her. The others watched closely as she stacked the two sheets she’d been given before the exam—and the handwriting on them matched perfectly.
She had copied two sets of answers?!
No wonder her seventh answer had been correct when checked against Chu Shiyu but wrong when Sun Ye verified it!
This realization ignited a surge of hope in the others. If they played their cards right and kept Tong Yang for last, they could all safely pass!
Of course, that depended on whether Tong Yang was willing to cooperate.
The game rules prevented them from consecutively verifying answers with the same person—so they just needed to alternate selections.
Now it was Candidate One’s turn to choose. Once someone else was picked, they could circle back to Tong Yang again!
"I choose Candidate Twenty-Five."
"You need to verify the sixth question. Please select whose answer to check first."
"Twenty-Five."
"Correct."
"Correct."
Candidate One passed successfully. Next, it was Candidate Twenty-Five’s turn to choose.
As expected, he picked Tong Yang—and the question he needed to verify happened to overlap with one she had already checked.
Tong Yang stood up leisurely. She hadn’t expected the others to be so sharp—they’d figured out she had two sets of answers. By frequently selecting her and overlapping questions, they could keep her until the end and ensure their own safety.
"Teacher, wait. I have something to say."
Both invigilators turned to her, their expressions inscrutable.
After a few seconds, Invigilator A said, "Go ahead."
"Five hundred yuan per person. Payment due within ten days after the college entrance exams. Choosing me means you agree to the terms."
The room fell silent.
She really never missed an opportunity to make money! No wonder high achievers excelled in any field—if Tong Yang went into sales, she’d probably build a fortune from scratch in two years!
"You need to verify the first question. Please select whose answer to check first."
Candidate Twenty-Five said, "Mine."
By checking their answers first, they could confirm correctness before Tong Yang submitted the matching scratch paper.
"Correct."
"Correct."
"Please be seated."
Now it was Tong Yang’s turn to choose. Without hesitation, she picked Sun Ye—because he only had the first question left to verify. Earlier, she’d noticed a pattern: the invigilators prioritized those with fewer remaining questions.
"You need to verify the first question."
Tong Yang chose to check Sun Ye’s answer first—and it was wrong.
She narrowed her eyes at him. Sun Ye lowered his head guiltily, avoiding her gaze.
The first question was identical to one from her practice exams, down to the last digit. There was no way anyone who’d actually studied it could get it wrong!
Truly, you can’t carve rotten wood.
If not for the extra five hundred yuan, Tong Yang would have handed in the correct answer just to teach this idiot a lesson.
"Wrong."
"Congratulations, Candidate Twenty-Two. You have passed the exam. Please gather your belongings and leave the hall."
Outside the window, shadowy figures still lingered—but they were only there to intimidate, ensuring compliance with the game. They wouldn’t harm those who left the classroom after passing.
After Sun Ye departed, the selection passed to Candidate One.
Once again, she chose Tong Yang. Since she’d alternated with others, it was within the rules.
"You need to verify the second question. Please select whose answer to check first."
The room tensed. They’d figured out the strategy—maximize overlaps with Tong Yang. But she hadn’t verified the second question yet, meaning she only had two questions left before passing. If she left, the rest would be in trouble!
"Wrong."
"Wrong."
Tong Yang had a sharp memory, consistently picking examinees whose questions overlapped with hers. Over several rounds, she sent more than a dozen candidates out without error. As the pool dwindled, choices became limited, and to avoid repetition, everyone alternated selections with her.
"Candidate Twenty-Four, please select another examinee."
Candidate Twenty-Four was the boy who’d nearly fought Tong Yang in the cafeteria earlier. Remembering their clash, he broke into a cold sweat—torn between choosing her for safety and fearing she’d retaliate.
But if he wanted to pass quickly and avoid harm, Tong Yang was his best bet.
Then, from her seat ahead, Tong Yang glanced back at him—her eyes lazily mocking.
Gritting his teeth, he forced out, "I choose Twelve."
"You need to verify the fifth question. Please select whose answer to check first."
"Mine."
"Wrong."
Invigilator B stepped forward, hand outstretched.
The boy watched Tong Yang’s hands nervously. He’d failed once before—his shoulder wound had only just stopped bleeding. If he failed again, that spiraled blade would plunge into the second row of the target circle. The thought of that razor-sharp twist was unbearable.
Watching Tong Yang’s slow movements, the boy was so nervous he unconsciously held his breath until Tong Yang slightly turned her head and silently mouthed a phrase: "One thousand."
The boy immediately understood her meaning and nodded frantically.
Tong Yang, her eyes brimming with amusement, pulled out the draft paper tucked beneath the stack and handed it to Proctor B.
"Wrong."
"Take your seat."
The boy exhaled heavily, his back drenched in cold sweat, as if he had just narrowly escaped death.
Tong Yang had chosen a candidate who was only one question away from passing the exam, helping him leave the classroom.
Outside the classroom, the right corridor was occupied by an eerie figure standing expressionlessly, looking ready to charge in at any moment. Meanwhile, the left corridor near the storage shelves was crowded with examinees who had successfully passed the test.
After enduring a day of bizarre experiences, they had developed a sense of camaraderie, as if they had survived life and death together. They watched nervously as candidates inside were continuously chosen and sent out by Tong Yang.
Not only did Tong Yang manipulate the correctness of her own and others' answers, but she also gave subtle hints during others' turns, even resorting to repeated verifications just to get more examinees out.
As the number of remaining candidates dwindled, thanks to Tong Yang’s guidance, no one made a single mistake.
Eventually, only four people were left in the classroom.
Tong Yang had two unanswered questions remaining, including Question 4. The others were Candidate No. 2 (Question 4), Candidate No. 6 (Question 6), and Candidate No. 24 (Question 4). When it was Tong Yang’s turn to choose, she hesitated briefly before selecting Candidate No. 2 and sending him out.
The right to choose then passed to Candidate No. 6. Under Tong Yang’s silent cue, he chose to verify answers with Candidate No. 24.
The proctor assigned Question 4 for verification. Both answers were marked "wrong," and Candidate No. 24 was sent out first, leaving only Candidate No. 6 and Tong Yang.
According to the rules, they couldn’t verify answers with the same candidate twice. This meant they had only one chance—if they couldn’t both pass, one would be left behind, likely to face a gruesome fate at the hands of the creatures lurking outside the window.
As Candidate No. 24 left, the choice returned to Tong Yang.
The tension in the air was palpable. Outside, the other examinees whispered anxiously:
"Which question does Tong Yang still have left?"
"I remember Candidate No. 15 only had Question 6 left. If the proctors prioritize the chosen candidate’s question, Tong Yang is in trouble unless hers is Question 6!"
"Damn it! We can’t let her face this alone!"
"We still have the weapons from earlier. If she’s the last one, we’ll fight those monsters and save her!"
"But there are so many… way more than the ones at noon."
"So what? There are plenty of us too! Worst case, we’ll hide in the cafeteria again!"
"Tong Yang could’ve passed long ago… She stayed just to help us. We can’t let her die alone!"
Chu Shiyu and Sun Ye exchanged glances, swallowing the words, "She probably just did it for the money."
"You need to verify Question 6. Please choose whose answer to check first."
The moment these words were spoken, everyone’s hearts leaped into their throats.
"Hers."
"Correct."
"Correct."
The two proctors stood between them, their calm exteriors barely concealing the dark aura radiating from their faces, their displeasure barely restrained.
Outside, the crowd held their breath, weapons clenched tightly, ready to strike at any moment, just like the monsters they feared.
"Congratulations to both candidates for passing the exam. Please gather your belongings and leave the classroom."
Suddenly, silence fell both inside and outside the classroom.
After two seconds, the crowd erupted into cheers.
"Ahhh!!"
"We did it!!"
"All of us made it!!"
Their screams echoed through the empty halls of Second High School, dispelling the eerie atmosphere, making it feel like an ordinary school again.
"Tong Yang, we did it!" Candidate No. 15 threw herself at Tong Yang, wrapping her arms around her neck, trembling with excitement, her breath shaky.
Tong Yang staggered from the impact, looking unimpressed. Of course they’d succeeded—did they really think she’d sacrifice herself? She never did anything without a sure payoff.
"Let’s go."
Tong Yang urged her to pack up and leave, leaving the exam papers and draft sheets behind in the classroom.
"Please pay attention to the broadcast for the next independent exam tonight," Proctor B said ominously from the doorway.
But the exhilarated examinees, still riding the high of their victory, ignored him completely.
Despite nearly half of the twenty-two candidates bearing injuries, their spirits were high as they surrounded Tong Yang, chatting and laughing as they walked down the hallway, as if they’d just won a hard-fought battle.
Inside the classroom, Proctor A stood by Tong Yang’s desk, picking up two draft sheets with different answers. His grip tightened until his fingers turned white, his expression twisting in fury, veins bulging on his forehead. The wound on his left hand, pierced earlier by a twisted knife, throbbed painfully.
As night fell, the temperature plummeted.
A cold wind swept through, rustling dead leaves and branches, its howling echoing through the empty buildings like ghostly moans. Bloodstains and mutilated corpses littered the ground, limbs torn apart, flesh mangled.
The cafeteria’s rolling shutter door rumbled open as four or five students entered, flashlight beams cutting through the darkness.
"How is it out there?"
"What’s the situation?"
The cafeteria was dimly lit, its tables and chairs rearranged into a makeshift barricade large enough to shelter all twenty-two of them.
Seeing the group return, the others anxiously pressed for updates.
Leading them was Candidate No. 24—Wang Xinyuan, the same boy who had repeatedly caused trouble for Tong Yang earlier.
He shook his head. "The school gates are locked. There’s no way out. The outside looks just as abandoned as the school."
"Sigh. We should listen to Tong Yang. Trying to leave might be even more dangerous out there."
"Let’s stay in the cafeteria tonight. Once we finish the exams tomorrow, we can go home."
Just then, another commotion sounded at the door as Tong Yang and the others returned, arms laden with blankets.
"Help us with these!"
"We found some clean blankets in the dorm. The floor’s too cold—we can’t afford to get sick before tomorrow’s exam."
"Got it!"
After the second exam ended, the invigilator and those strange creatures disappeared somewhere, leaving the school temporarily quiet and safe. Tong Yang had everyone split up to check the situation in other areas.
One by one, they carried their blankets into the cafeteria—some spread them on the floor, while others used them as covers.
"Tong Yang, we can still boil water here. There are several boxes of instant noodles. Let’s make do with this for now, okay?"
Tong Yang absentmindedly agreed. After a whole day of exhaustion, she just wanted something warm to eat.
They covered the display window where the bodies were piled with newspapers, blocking the gruesome sight. The broken window Tong Yang had smashed earlier was barricaded with chairs—if anything tried to crawl in, the sound of the chairs falling would wake them immediately.
Tong Yang opened her backpack and pulled out a relatively clean towel she had picked up earlier in the girls' dormitory. She planned to wipe off the bloodstains on her body after eating.
"Tong Yang, you dropped something." Chu Shiyu bent down to pick up the item that had fallen from her bag and glanced at it briefly.
Tong Yang took back the accidentally dropped ID card and casually stuffed it back into her bag without a word.
After finishing the steaming hot instant noodles, Tong Yang went to the back alone to boil water and clean off the blood. The others sat in a circle formed by desks and chairs, using bandages and iodine scavenged from the infirmary to disinfect and dress their wounds.
Too bad there was no way to take a shower or change clothes. It was unbearable.
"Tong Yang, are you done with the towel? Can we borrow it?"
A few hygiene-conscious girls came over to ask for the towel. Tong Yang, having finished cleaning up, wrung it out and handed it to them without a second thought.
Stepping back into the safe zone, Tong Yang was utterly exhausted. Ignoring Sun Ye and Chu Shiyu’s attempts to talk to her, she found a corner, covered herself with a blanket, and lay down to conserve her energy.
"Ugh, I checked the answers earlier—out of seven questions, I got five wrong. Unbelievable."
"I got all of them wrong. Looks like I won’t score well in math this time."
"Ah! Don’t bring up grades—it’s giving me a headache!"
"Whoever came up with these rules is an idiot. The golden rule of college entrance exams is never discuss answers afterward—it ruins your mindset!"
"This is my first time staying out overnight. It feels like the apocalypse has come, and we’re the only ones left in the world."
"Right? Inside this circle is like a safe zone. Zombies and monsters can’t get in. Nighttime is our rest period, and daytime is for scavenging supplies and stockpiling."
"Then we’re the chosen ones! Tasked with the responsibility of rebuilding humanity!"
...
The others chattered noisily in a group. Tong Yang couldn’t understand why they were so excited. Annoyed, she pulled the blanket over her ears. Didn’t they realize how dangerous things could still get? How could they be so relaxed?
"By the way..."
Chu Shiyu suddenly spoke up, glancing in Tong Yang’s direction before lowering her voice to say something to the others. They all looked at Tong Yang in surprise.
"I am the ruler of the Seventh District! If you want to survive and get supplies, you’ll have to bow to me!"
Wang Xinyuan suddenly jumped onto a table, hands on his hips, acting like some high-and-mighty officer in charge of a post-apocalyptic safe zone.
"Wow! That’s kinda cool!"
"Then I’ll take the Second District!"
Tong Yang felt a vein throb at her temple. Unable to take it anymore, she sat up abruptly. "Cut it out."
"Did you forget what that idiot invigilator said? There’s another exam tonight."
Her words snapped them back to reality. Their enthusiasm deflated, and they scattered in disappointment.
"Oh, and by the way—I’ll be the ruler of the First District."
With that, Tong Yang flopped back down and buried herself under the blanket.
After a few seconds of silence, someone couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter.
After a day of tension, exhaustion, and fear, it didn’t take long for everyone to succumb to sleep, each finding a spot to lie down.
Despite the snoring and teeth-grinding, they all slept deeply.
Perhaps because it was her first time sleeping in such an environment with so many people, Tong Yang also fell into a heavy slumber. When a faint ringing sound reached her ears, it took her a long moment to register it before she abruptly sat up.
The cafeteria was pitch black, with only moonlight filtering through the high windows, faintly outlining the surroundings. A slow, eerie chime echoed across the campus.
The others were also roused by the sound, sitting up in confusion.
Tong Yang, already dressed and with her backpack on, climbed up to peer out the window—nothing seemed to be moving outside.
"All examinees must be fully dressed and ready within ten minutes."
After the chime, a mechanical male voice came through the broadcast.
"Seriously? What kind of sick joke is this?"
"I feel like I just fell asleep! And who the hell was snoring so loud?"
Tong Yang checked her phone—exactly midnight. They had barely slept for four hours.
"Stop complaining. We’re on their turf—we play by their rules," Tong Yang reminded them.
One by one, they got up, put on their jackets, shouldered their bags, and waited for further instructions from the broadcast.
"Please enter your social messaging app."
"What?"
"Are you kidding me? Is there even signal here?"
"Holy crap! There is!"
Tong Yang had already checked her phone and found that it had signal—but testing further, she realized that no other apps or messages would go through, and emergency calls couldn’t be made.
"Please enter the number 1209 to join the face-to-face group chat."
Following the broadcast’s instructions, Tong Yang found the group chat feature, entered 1209, and joined a chat named "Independent College Entrance Exam 1209." Inside, aside from her, there was already one member—a default-profile user named "Invigilator," who was the group admin.
As the others joined, they immediately spotted Tong Yang’s username and remarked, "No guessing needed—‘Studying is for making money’ has to be you."
"Same."
Tong Yang shot them a look. "Got a problem?"
The two shook their heads vigorously. "No, no problem at all."
"All examinees must line up according to their assigned seating in the examination hall."
The broadcast spoke again.
Tong Yang stayed where she was and opened the group chat to ask: What happens if we don’t participate in the night exam?
Almost instantly, the invigilator replied: You will be considered as forfeiting, permanently losing eligibility to pass.
Tong Yang fell into thought. They probably had to complete all exams to return to their original world—meaning they had to survive every test. "Permanently losing eligibility" likely meant being trapped here forever if they didn’t follow the rules.
"What does that mean?"
"We don’t need to ‘pass’ anything, right? Once tomorrow’s English and science exams are over, we’re done."
"Then why not just forfeit? Look outside—it’s pitch black. Are they seriously making us go out there?"
Tong Yang gave the speaker a sidelong glance and smirked. "If you want to stay here forever, go ahead and forfeit. Keep playing ruler of your little safe zone."
Her words wiped the smiles off their faces. Reluctantly, they lined up in four rows according to their exam seating, even urging Tong Yang to hurry up and take her spot.
Tong Yang's position was in the second row, fourth spot, while Chu Shiyu's assigned seat in the examination hall was number nine, standing at the front of the second row.
Once everyone had taken their designated positions, the closed rolling shutter in front of them suddenly began to rise automatically, its rumbling ascent echoing loudly.
Moonlight spilled over the bloodstained ground, the dried patches appearing as thick, inky black.
Opposite the cafeteria stood the silent dormitory building, its pitch-black hallways and gaping doors and windows whistling as wind rushed through.
A cold gust swept into the cafeteria, sending an involuntary shiver down everyone's spines.
"All examinees in the first row, please leave the cafeteria and proceed to the girls' dormitory."
The students in the first row instantly paled with terror.
"We have to split up?"
"No way! There's not a single light over there!"
"Examinee number one, lead your group out."
Examinee number one looked on the verge of tears but had no choice except to comply. After casting a pleading glance at the others—only to receive no helpful response—they steeled themselves and stepped out of the cafeteria.
"Examinees in the second row, proceed to the sports field."
The second row was where Tong Yang and Chu Shiyu were grouped. Hearing their destination was the sports field, they both sighed in relief. Compared to the pitch-black girls' dormitory, which could hide who-knows-what, the open and unobstructed field was clearly the better option.
Chu Shiyu led the group out of the cafeteria and toward the sports field.
"Examinees in the third row, proceed to the junior high school building."
"Examinees in the fourth row, proceed to the senior high school building."
The four rows of examinees—twenty-two in total—were dispersed to four different locations across Second High School.
"First-row examinees, please position yourselves at the stairwells on the left and right sides of each floor in the girls' dormitory, from the first to the fourth floor."
"Second-row examinees, stand at the pre-marked spots on the sports field, spaced fifty meters apart."
"Third-row examinees, position yourselves at the stairwells on the left and right sides of each floor in the junior high school building."
"Fourth-row examinees, position yourselves at the stairwells on the left and right sides of each floor in the senior high school building. Examinee number twenty-two, Sun Ye, will enter any classroom on any floor alone."
The mechanical male voice from the loudspeaker continued relentlessly. The second-row examinees located the fifty-meter-spaced markers on the sports field.
Following the broadcast's instructions, they took their positions. The sports field's running track was 800 meters long, and the eight of them formed a semi-circle along the innermost lane.
The moon had since been swallowed by dark clouds, leaving only faint silhouettes of each other across the fifty-meter gaps.
The other groups were likely in similar arrangements at their assigned locations.
Sun Ye, number twenty-two, had the misfortune of being the ninth person in the fourth row, forced to enter a classroom alone.
Just as everyone settled into place, the loudspeaker crackled to life again.
"Anonymous mode will now be activated in Group 1209. You may exchange information in the group chat, but do not voluntarily reveal your identities. Additionally, examinees must carefully verify the authenticity of shared information."
"And now—the Nighttime Independent Examination officially begins!"
