The snow fell for four hours. It didn't show any signs of stopping.

This place was a barren mountain cabin. Various hunting tools hung from the walls and a long wooden table gnawed away by termites sat in the centre. Around the table sat a group of people. Male, female, young and old, they were all present. There was even a foreigner amongst them.

The room was very cold. Everyone present shivered with a solemn expression on their faces but no one moved to start a fire. The old radio sitting on the table was speaking.

[It is currently 17:30 Beijing time.]

[There are still 30 minutes until the exam starts. Examinees, please quickly head to the examination centre.]

The radio sounds were scratchy and there were also static noises one would typically hear in the background of radio broadcasts from the 1950s. It tirelessly buzzed.

This was already the second broadcast. The first broadcast was three hours ago. It said [Welcome to Examination Centre 003712.] which immediately caused an old lady to faint and even now she had not yet recovered.

Another person didn't listen to its instructions and attempted to destroy the radio.... After removing the batteries, he ran out of the room like he was possessed. Five minutes later his body fell from the roof together with a pile of snow.

Since then, no one dared to touch it.

[Please enter the centre as soon as possible and avoid loitering around outside.]

This sentence was repeated three times. The room was deathly silent.

After a long time, someone sitting at the head of the table muttered irritably: "So, who hasn't entered yet?"

This person had a head of slightly permed yellow hair. His figure was lean, he was average in height and both his arms were tattooed with a sleeve of animals. Despite being unable to tell whether it was a dog or camel, it looked quite intimidating.

The person sitting next to him shrank back a little and answered: "Old Yu."

"Who is Old Yu?"

"The drunkard who vomited the moment he entered through the door. The one who brought along his son and nephew."

The person who answered indicated towards the wall using his lips and then carefully made a hushing gesture.

Lying on the beaten sofa by the wall was the nephew.

It was a 27 or 28-year-old young man. He had a tall figure and his appearance was very extraordinary. When he held the doorframe and lowered his head to enter the cabin, the picturesque mountain pines covered in snow behind him paled in comparison. However, ever since he entered, he constantly maintained a dull expression. He seemed to be a little aloof.

According to Old Yu who rambled incessantly, his nephews name was You Huo.

"He had only returned for two months and came to Harbin to find me during the National Day holidays. I was originally supposed to take him to the airport tomorrow morning. Haa....It's all my fault! Useless!"

Old Yu had drunk until he was completely intoxicated. At night when there were few people around, he stumbled around.

On the sidewalk in front of the children's hospital, someone had left a bunch of joss paper1. Old Yu stumbled around and wasn't able to regain his balance. With one foot stepping onto the joss paper, everything spun and himself, his son and his nephew were all sent here.

When they entered the cabin, he had not yet recovered from the dizziness. No longer able to hold himself back, he vomited all over You Huo. Old Yu sobered up from his drunken state after vomiting but he was too scared to say anything to You Huo.

The people who came here were all caught unexpectedly and were completely unprepared. Only the foreigner called Mike had a set of clean clothes in his bag.

After You Huo changed, he remained distant from the others and laid on the sofa without a word. He appeared to have fallen asleep.

Through the arm that covered his face, you could see a stud earring on his right ear. It reflected the light coming from the oil lamp and shone brightly.

The sky should have darkened but every part of the mountain was covered in snow and it was still bright outside.

A pregnant woman looked towards the cabinet in panic. The time on their phones was a mess and they could only rely on the clock sitting above the cabinet to tell the time: "It's almost six. Could Old Yu have...…."

Bang, bang, bang!

Before she could finish her sentence, the sound of something smacking against the door was heard.

Everyone was shocked. They looked over with fearful eyes. The snow piled up on the window was pushed aside and Old Yu's face appeared through the glass. With exaggerated mouthing, he said: "It's me. Open the door."

Everyone was relieved.

Fortunately, he had returned before six and didn't die.

The two snow covered men entering the house was Old Yu and his son Yu Wen.

"How is it outside?" Everyone hurriedly asked.

Old Yu shivered in place for a moment before slapping his face forcefully and then slapping his son. When they finally warmed up a little, he said: "I went around everywhere but it was useless! No matter where I went, in no more than ten minutes I would see the cabin again. We can't get out!"

"Were there other people? Or houses even?"

Old Yu spoke frustratedly: "No, don't count on it."

Everyone's expression fell into despair.

There was no signal on the phone, the time on it was a mess and the trees all looked the same so it was hard to tell which direction was north, south, east or west. There was absolutely nothing.

This was their current predicament.

Oh, there was also an old radio that noisily reminded them about the exam.

Exam my ass.

The moment Old Yu stepped in, the radio started to make static sounds.

Just being around it for the entire afternoon was enough for the people present to develop a conditioned reflex. They immediately quietened down and looked at the radio.

[All examinees have been admitted. The exam rules are as follows.]

Old Yu and Yu Wen who had just entered the examination centre gulped.

[The exam is conducted within a set period of time.]

[After the exam officially starts, other examinees cannot enter the examination centre and you may not leave the centre during the exam without permission. If there is an emergency, you must follow the instructions and leave with the invigilator.]

[Apart from open book exams, you cannot use mobile devices or other communication tools. Please be considerate and turn them off.]

[The exam is point-based. Examinees must write their answer on the designated answer sheet (except in special circumstances) or the answer is invalid.]

When the radio finished speaking, everything once again turned silent.

After a while, the room suddenly started to fall into discussion.

"Who is the invigilator?"

"There are open-book exams?"

"What's an answer sheet?"