That arm moved very quickly.
Its five fingers flew up and down as it scurried across the ground.
Bound helplessly by the rope, it tried to use the knife in its hand to break free whilst it twisted about but it was brutally suppressed.
That scene was so shocking, everyone who saw it didn't believe their own eyes.
They were originally scared to death and desperately trying to stay awake, but now they were instantly started awake by You Huo.
"Brother, you......."
Are you having fun? Yu Wen wanted to ask.
But when he saw his brother's expression that clearly indicated that he did not have enough sleep, he swallowed those words back.
When You Huo got close, the pale arm that was forcefully made into a leading dog stepped onto its brakes.
The ghostly arm held the bone-cleaver struggled around wildly.
Everyone fearfully took a step back to avoid the blade before hurriedly gathering over to suppress the arm.
Chen Bin asked You Huo with a complicated expression: "How did you catch it?"
The monster that had almost cut him into pieces last night had become a laughing stock today. Who wouldn't be dumbfounded by this?
In particular, he was the one who was almost chopped up. After managing to escape, his shock from that incident had not yet dissipated yet he was now faced with a scene like this.......
"Didn't catch it." You Huo indicated in Qin Jiu's direction with his chin: "He gave it to me."
Chen Bin: "......."
Gave.....
Qin Jiu shamelessly said: "You're welcome."
You Huo: "Did I thank you?"
Qin Jiu nodded and smiled: "I could faintly tell from your words."
No one expected the invigilator to give them a hand. They were surprised for a moment before asking carefully: "Then.....was the help card used?"
Qin Jiu pulled out the card from his pocket. His tone was very regretful: "Looks like it wasn't."
Everyone was surprised: "Huh? Why?"
You Huo: "What help card? He only did that out of self-defence."
Qin Jiu stared at the back of his head and then nodded: ".....Okay then."
Self-defence?
Everyone was even more confused: "This thing will even attack an invigilator? Has it gone crazy?"
You Huo very briefly filled them in on what happened.
Yu Wen hammered his palm: "Then does that mean that as long as we don't wake up when the monster comes, we're fine? I knew it! I knew they wouldn't give us an impossible question. Sure enough, there was a loophole."
"You say that as if it's easy. How are you going to make sure you're asleep? It's not going to work just keeping your eyes closed." Old Yu said with frustration.
Yu Wen: "Oh........How about sleeping pills?"
"Dumb child, why don't you try finding the sleeping pills first?"
Yu Wen: "......"
In the end, everyone felt that this exam was a little ridiculous.
It wasn't because the exam was impossibly hard and that they were only able to go through it with You Huo there.
Rather......The black widow and even the ghost arm were behaving unreasonably.
For example, in addition to the exam requirements, the black widow also added extra hurdles for them such as drawing cards and sewing dolls. Another example was that the ghost arm would turn around and attack an invigilator after losing its initial target.
......
"It's really strange...." Yu Yao asked tentatively, "Could this be different to the previous exams? To increase the difficulty, they added extra hurdles?"
This young lady had made a lot of progress. She was pretty much crying the entire time during the last exam, but she was a lot better now.
Everyone there didn't have an answer to that.
Also, the final result depended on the exam. Even if they had a clue, they were not guaranteed how long they could live.
‧
"Did anything happen in the woods tonight?" You Huo asked.
"It was almost the same as last night."
"Lots of things crawling but they moved too fast and we weren't able to chase after them." Yu Wen said: "They crawled away very quickly and disappeared. Now that I think about it.....It probably was similar to that."
He glanced at the pale arm.
You Huo let out an "oh" and motioned for everyone to let go of the arm.
He tugged at the rope and said: "Here, keep going."
Ghost arm: "........."
This thing was bullied very terribly. It laid on the ground pretending to be dead and didn't move for a long time.
You Huo waited for a moment and lost patience. He kicked it and said: "Don't go then. Later when the sun rises, I'll drag you out the woods."
These things would disappear during the day and would only come out at night. There must be a reason for this.
You Huo guessed that they perhaps could not be exposed to the sun? Or perhaps they were afraid of something else.....
Sure enough.
As soon as he said this, the ghost arm flailed and twisted around wildly.
"Is it scared?"
Seeing that the threat was working, everyone began to throw out harsh words.
"It's now 4 o'clock. It's going to be dawn soon."
"We can also let the villagers see what was threatening them at night and knocking on their doors——-"
Yu Wen went on to talk about taking a "1-day trip around the village" when the arm suddenly stopped.
It laid there with its grey, decaying fingers scratching against the ground.
It was as if it was moving to its own breathing frequency, but it also seemed to be anxious and fearful...
What are you afraid of?
The villagers?
You Huo furrowed his brows.
When he was about to pull at the rope and say something, the hand suddenly started to move.
Its five fingers scratched at the ground and it quickly flew deep into the woods. It appeared to be desperately wanting to return to its hideout.
Everyone followed it along and went through the forest but soon they lost their sense of direction.
There was still morning fog in the woods, and it was extremely cold.
The thick fog made the light cast from the fire torch appear a little dim. It flickered as if it was going to extinguish any moment.
"What's this smell?" Old Yu breathed in deeply through his nose.
As they ventured deeper, the smell in the woods got stronger and more distinct.
Chen Bin's expression changed: "This smell.....It's similar to the one from our room. Last night Liang Yuanhao and I smelt this and fell asleep."
Now that he mentioned it, everyone remembered the smell.
It was a little different to the one in the black widow's place and it made them sleepy.
Mike was physically weak and after staying up the entire night and running around, he immediately stumbled and fell to the ground.
The others also soon got affected.
Amidst the chaos, the ghost arm took the opportunity to move around the trunk of a tree.
The moment the rope got tense, the knife cut through it. With the snap of the rope, the arm plunged into the wet mud and disappeared in a blink of an eye.
Everyone looked around, but they couldn't find any traces of the arm.
"Shit———We were so close!"
Everyone lamented.
But they could only accept that it was gone. Even if they weren't happy, they couldn't do anything about it.
‧
The sun soon rose.
At five minutes before 7:30am, the crow cried out to remind everyone that it was almost time to submit their answer.
Yu Wen held his phone and praised his brother: "Fortunately you stopped me yesterday and didn't let me answer. Otherwise we're finished today....."
Strictly speaking, they had also gained something tonight, but it wasn't something that helped with answering the questions and earning points. Thanks to You Huo and his ability to think ahead, they had left listening question 2 to be answered today. If they didn't, someone would need to die.
Where is the black widow's family? Please find them.
The answer was very simple. It could either be the woods or the graves. Afterall, her family members were already buried in the ground and several gravestones were set up for them.
Yu Wen grabbed the bone pen and wrote "wo". Just as he was about to write "ods", a voice slowly spoke up behind him.
"I have a question." Qin Jiu raised two fingers.
"Hurry and write." You Huo urged Yu Wen and turned to Qin Jiu: "What question do you have that must be asked at this time?"
Qin Jiu: "I tried to hold back but I couldn't."
You Huo: "Speak."
Qin Jiu knocked on the door, "The exam is testing you on Gypsy but you're answering in Chinese. You are such a rare talent."
You Huo: "...."
Everyone swore inside. They were too careless! The questions were all written in Chinese and it made them subconsciously answer in Chinese.
As soon as Qin Jiu reminded them, the red light on his wrist appeared and a warning sounded three times.
Just as the crow opened its mouth to speak, Qin Jiu spoke up first: "Article 7 of the invigilator's manual: In the event that an examinee misunderstands the question or the question is too ambiguous, the invigilator has the obligation to guide them. Isn't what they're doing now something completely stupid?"
He said this mockingly and then turned to the examinees: "Sorry if I offended you."
Everyone: "......."
The words spoken were polite but there was a hint of mockery and joke in his voice that made them feel a little irritated.
After angering the examinees, Qin Jiu then casually said to the crow: "I was just doing my job. Being a full-time invigilator is boring enough so stop nit-picking."
Everyone present was too afraid to even breathe. They felt that this invigilator would probably die the next second.
Unexpectedly, the crow opened its mouth for a moment before closing it again and remained silent.
Qin Jiu was still leaning against the door frame. His posture remained unchanged throughout this exchange. He glanced back at the group and said: "There are still two minutes before time is up. Is the answer written on my face?"
Yu Wen held the bone pen in panic: "Brother, how do you write woods or grave in Gypsy?"
You Huo: ".....Don't know."