You Huo and Qin Jiu entered the cave one after another, and the people inside all looked over.
Although the weather was bleak and it was evening, the cave wasn't completely dark.
Several kerosene lamps sat on the ground, projecting into the cave. Human figures sat around at the edges of the illuminated areas.
You Huo glanced around.
There were both men and women around. Except for a few middle-aged people, the rest of them were rather young.
Unlike the ones carrying people out earlier, the people here were not wearing the same clothes. Down jackets, jackets, coats, sweaters.....They were wrapped in almost everything. There was even one wearing a white doctors coat.
After roughly counting thirty or so people, it was evident that they were probably the other 17 groups of examinees.
Right next to the person wearing the white coat, You Huo found a familiar face——-
Shu Xue waved at them with bright eyes and patted the vacant spot next to her to signal them to come over.
You Huo nodded his head but just as he was about to go over, Qin Jiu said: "Wait a moment."
Then, under the gaze of the other examinees, he dragged a suitcase in from outside the cave.
"......"
The examinees instantly went crazy.
They burst into loud discussions.
An examinee didn't suppress his voice so his words were especially clear: "...….Were you pulled in while you were on a business trip? It's already the third exam yet you're still dragging around a suitcase. It's no wonder you're second last!"
As soon as he said that, everyone suddenly fell silent.
They had arrived earlier and had already introduced themselves, so they all knew each other very well. With the arrival of You Huo and Qin Jiu, everyone in the cave knew that the sacrifices were here.
It was okay just thinking that, but it was very awkward saying it out loud.
This was particularly the case when it is said in front of the two involved parties. It was suffocatingly awkward.
The person who misspoke was a very young man. He was probably the same age as Yu Wen and had a head of hair that was both permed and dyed grey.
He looked down and coughed a few times to hide his embarrassment. He then whispered to his companion: "I'm doomed. I got too excited...….."
Unexpectedly, You Huo acted like he didn't hear him.
As for Qin Jiu who was one step behind him, he conversely smiled in amusement.
Shu Xue whispered: "Scared me to death. I thought I wouldn't be able to follow you! I was super happy seeing your names earlier."
"Oh?" Qin Jiu joked: "My teammate doesn't seem to be very happy. Look at that green expression of his."
You Huo: "......…."
"That's right let me introduce you. This is my partner." Shu Xue pointed to the woman in the white coat next to her, "Her name is Wu Li, a neurosurgeon. You guys probably saw it on the ranking list, but she is very powerful."
You Huo's gaze once again fell onto the woman in the white coat.
Wu Li had rather plain and simple features. With a petite figure, she gave off a clean impression despite the chaotic environment they're in.
The only thing that didn't fit with her image was her hair. It was short and messy, like it was recently cut off.
You Huo only briefly glanced at her and didn't look too long.
Wu Li wasn't a very lively or enthusiastic person, nor was she good at chatting. When she looked at others, it gave them a feeling as if they were being examined.
She looked at You Huo with that kind of gaze for a moment and then she similarly looked at Qin Jiu before nodding: "Hello."
Without even waiting for their response, she looked away.
Shu Xue recalled their ranking and was a little worried: "Oh yeah, did you hear the exam rules announced just now?"
Qin Jiu: "Very clearly."
"Then you also saw the people carried out?" Shu Xue didn't have a good expression. She was both upset and worried: "They're all crew members. Eight in total...."
This meant that a few hours later at midnight, if the rankings don't change, the final ranked group would be doomed.
Shu Xue quietly introduced the others present.
Not far from them, the two doomed ones; Chen Fei and Huang Rui, had already lost their soul. They sat there in daze for a very long time.
Surprisingly, the young grey-haired teen and the companion he was whispering to was currently ranked first with 42 points.
The grey-haired teen's name was Di Li. It is said that, like Yu Wen, he had just turned eighteen. (KKnotes: Another homonym. This time his name sounds like Geography.)
The walls inside the cave also displayed the rankings.
You Huo looked away and suddenly asked: "Where are they?"
Shu Xue was confused: "Huh?"
"The captain and the crew. The ones on those merchant ships."
"All in here." Shu Xue pointed behind her.
You Huo followed the direction of her finger.
Only now he noticed that there was another hole inside connecting the space they're in with another space.
A fire was set up inside and its light reflected off the stone walls.
But the fire was very weak. It was as if it would go out at any time.
"They can shelter from the wind there. It's small so it's also a little warmer." Shu Xue said, "The captain and the crew are all there. Before you came, we counted. There's a total of 36 people, exactly the same as us. Now….there are only 28 left."
"What happened to the 8 that died? Was it from injuries or hunger?" You Huo asked.
"We asked the crew. I guess the cause for it is everything. They were both cold and hungry and there are also some who are sick and injured." Shu Xue said.
"The temperature here is too low and too cold. If you can't maintain your body temperature, you would need to sustain it with food, but their food source is also limited. Faced with constant hunger, their resistance lowered." An examinee added.
"That is to say, in order to ensure that they can leave alive, they need to find fire first and then food?"
"Yes."
"No, find medicine first."
Wu Li suddenly spoke up.
"Huh?"
Wu Li said: "The crew members are hurt. It was caused by a beast attack."
Shu Xue quietly exclaimed: "What? There are beasts here too?"
Everyone glanced vigilantly at the cave entrance.
"I don't know." Wu Li said flatly: "But several of the deceased died from infection. Being both cold and hungry, the wounds also wouldn't heal. The remaining crew members are also in similar situations. Without medicine, they won't survive."
The white coat she wore made her words sound even more convincing.
Everyone was lost: "Finding fire and food is possible but where do we go to find medicine?"
The grey-haired teen Di Li suddenly said: "The merchant ship has it."
Everyone was stunned: "What?"
Di Li said: "From 1596 to 1598 a Dutch captain…..if I recall correctly, he was called Barentz, was trapped in a place in the Arctic Circle. With a total of 18 people, the captain and crew survived the arctic conditions for 8 months. They relied on hunting for food and they used their fur for clothes. Once the fuel ran out, the ships deck was burned to keep them warm. It was said that there were food, clothes and medicine in the cargo, but they didn't touch it. In the end, a total of 8 crew members died. Once spring finally came, they were able to deliver the goods safely to their destination."
Before anyone could react, he sniffled and added: "It was a question that appeared in my high school exam."
Despite both having just completed their university entrance examination, Di Li and Yu Wen were on completely different spectrums.
He still remembered questions from his high school papers whereas Yu Wen could only spit out "Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing".
"I remembered that question as soon as I came here." Di Li said: "But it probably isn't exactly the same. Firstly, the number of people is different. The original question said a total of 8 people died but that probably won't be the case here. As for whether the ship will have it, we will have to check it out."
"There are."
A lethargic voice responded.
You Huo looked over at the source of the sound.
It was a crew member who had just carried one of the bodies out.
They just finished sorting their companions out and were slowly returning back inside the cave.
Of those people, one was an Asian looking man sporting a short buzzcut. When he opened his mouth, Chinese was spoken.
He coughed a few times and stared unwaveringly at Di Li. His expression was stubborn: "We have medicine on board but they're all cargo. No one can touch them."
Di Li: "We also don't want to touch it but we're doing this to save you! If you don't use it, you won't be able to survive. Don't you understand?"
The man: "So what if we can't survive? What you're doing is an insult to us."
Di Li: "......…"
As they spoke, the other crew members came over.
All their heads turned to look over at Di Li.
Di Li's companion tried to ease the atmosphere: "No, no. That's your ship after all so we naturally won't touch it without permission. We were just worried about you."
Several of the crew members whispered a few things before giving them a look of warning.
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"What did they say?"
The man with the short buzzcut said sternly: "They said, we will never use any of the goods for private use. Not a single hair on it can be touched. This is a rule that has been passed down from generation to generation. Whoever breaks this rule is making all of us their enemy. We are not afraid to fight."
"...….."
Everyone's expression was particularly colourful. They internally thought: Who the fuck would want to fight you? If anyone dies, we would have to take responsibility.
"Okay, okay. We won't do anything. Whoever touches it will be punished!" Everyone reassured them.
The man with the buzzcut had exhausted his strength speaking. He lowered his eyes and waved at the crew members: "Let's go, go inside."
He was probably the first officer. At the very least, the crew members listened to him.
They lined up and went through the narrow hole one after another.
The man with the buzzcut stood at the very end of the line. He couldn't help but emphasise again to everyone: "We check the goods every morning and night. If anything is missing, we will look for you to settle the debt. Medicine are scarce so we remember every single one of them. Don't even think about trying to fool us. If you want to touch them, you will have to step over our dead bodies first."
Everyone: "......."
In this deadlock situation, a 'click' was suddenly heard.
Everyone turned around and found the source of the sound——–
Qin Jiu opened his very eye-catching suitcase and picked out a box from inside.
"Fortunately, I came prepared."
He bent down and placed the box in front of Wu Li. With two slender fingers, he pushed the box closer by another half an inch before making a 'here' gesture.
Wu Li froze for a moment. She opened the box.
Everyone stretched their necks curiously to look inside.
Inside that box were three neatly arranged boxes of medicine; anti-inflammatories, antibiotics and antipyretics. There was also a bottle of vitamins stuffed in the corner.
Everyone: "........"
You Huo glanced at it: "You're experienced. Would you call this having a cheat?"
"Before going to the rest stop, 922 dramatically wrote a shopping list for me. Of course, I didn't use it and he naturally didn't know about this. Maybe he was preparing me for the unexpected?"
Qin Jiu didn't hesitate to throw is men under the bus.
You Huo: "...….."
On the sea, inside a brightly lit cabin.
922 sneezed consecutively eight times.
154 pulled out a few tissues and used it to wipe his face. He asked with disgust: "If you're sick, can you go up to the deck? The air in the cabin is not cycled. Do you realise you can infect others?"
922: "No, I'm not sick. I think someone must be thinking about me."
154 rolled his eyes: "Ghosts are thinking about you."
"Speaking of ghosts....." 922 wrinkled his face. He looked like he had just swallowed a bitter melon: "There is a god of misfortune in this exam. Do you think he will be come here again?"
154 thought for a moment and said: "That's not possible. Boss is there with him. If I'm not mistaken, they should be in the same group. Do you think he would dare break the rules with an invigilator next to him?"
922: "Oh...That's true."
KK has something to say:
Are you sure about that 154 and 922??