One tied up, one in uniform, and two in bed.....
There wouldn't be a worse scene than this in their entire lifetime.
The one who speaks first suffers!
This was something anyone who was human would know.
And so, the atmosphere between You Huo and Qin Jiu remained tense. No one spoke up.
But unfortunately, there were two others in the room that aren't human.
The one bound with rope broke the silence: "What kind of game is this?"
He then paused. His eyes scanned over the person standing by the balcony door with an Invigilator A arm badge and he then looked over at You Huo.
After looking back and forth a few more times, he finally made a choice——–
Sitting on the desk, he leaned forward with one foot in the chair. He raised his hands and said to You Huo who was sitting in bed: "Shouldn't you untie me first Big Invigilator?"
Big Invigilator...
That title gave a big blow to everyone.
After he finished speaking, the atmosphere was even worse.
Invigilator A standing by the balcony had his lips pursed even tighter.
The invigilator Qin Jiu sitting in bed narrowed his eyes and had a slightly complicated expression. Even he himself didn't know why he felt displeased.
You Huo's expression was the most stiff out of everyone present.
This clearly proved that he had dreamt of himself tying Qin Jiu up, but he didn't know what it was for.
How honourable.
Just as the silence was about to linger even longer, Qin Jiu broke it.
He pointed his chin at himself from several years ago and said: "I'm confused. Do you really need help untying that?"
The examinee sitting on the desk tilted his head and looked over casually: "Not necessarily, it depends on the mood. But my friend, did you ask for my permission before disguising yourself as me?"
Qin Jiu laughed briefly. It was hard to tell how much of it was amusement and how much of it was mockery.
The tied up "Qin Jiu" also laughed.
He twisted his wrist and in a blink of an eye, the rope loosened. The rope now sat in his hands like a toy.
He unhurriedly straightened the ends of the rope.
You Huo: "........"
With how everything was going, it if developed further, they might need to fight first.
This was different to their expectations——-
Those students had explained to them: "The dream would only materialise superficial things. It has no soul."
"For example, you dreamt that you were on a date with someone. In the dream, the other party smiled a lot and has a good temper. The person who materialises will also be someone who smiled a lot and has a good temper. They will only show those two sides. You won't find a third personality trait from them."
"And here's another example. You dreamt that you were on a date with that person again. In that dream, that person said to you that they had poor grades in elementary school and only played around. When first year of middle school came, they suddenly came to a realisation and started working hard! The background of the person who materialises will only be limited to this. What happened after that? What about high school? University? They wouldn't know."
"If you dream of monsters eating human, it would always eat humans. If you dream of a female ghost hiding under the bed, that female ghost would always hide under the bed. It's pretty much like this."
Those little brats explained with great detail.
You Huo and Qin Jiu surmised from this that the so-called dream come true was essentially a group of replicas with generally low IQ and EQ.
Whatever you think it is like, it would be like that.
But the tied up "Qin Jiu" before them wasn't like that.
The same was true for the arm badge wearing "Invigilator A".
***
The scene in the room with four pairs of eyes staring at each other made "Invigilator A" a little confused and also a little impatient.
He leaned against the door frame and continued to watch on as a spectator. He had the same habit as You Huo and would rub his earlobe when he is distracted or in thought. The only difference was that he didn't have an earring.
In a tense setting like this, "Invigilator A" also wasn't someone to underestimate.
This was something You Huo knew very well.
He didn't know what Qin Jiu had dreamt of to magnify this "unable to underestimate" side of him so much.
"Give me an explanation. Is this a bug or an exam effect?"
"Invigilator A"'s eyes scanned across the two Qin Jiu's before falling over onto You Huo.
As he spoke, his hand moved to touch his waist. It was as it he would beat them down on the spot if anyone was to say the wrong thing.
You Huo: "...….."
He actually understood.
With the premise that he had no knowledge of the context, seeing someone identical to you standing in before you.....
Being happy about it was impossible.
In any case, if it wasn't a demon, it would be a ghost.
With his character, he had already done his best not beating the other party to show their true form.
As someone who knew what was going on, You Huo for once squeezed out some patience to explain: "Exam effect."
"Continue." "Invigilator A" wearing the arm badge said.
"A dream coming true effect. In this examination centre, everything you dream of will materialise."
"So?"
"Slept and dreamt some things so you guys appeared."
You Huo's patience was gradually running out.
"Invigilator A" said indifferently: "So you two are real, and we're fake?"
"Correct."
"How to prove?"
"?"
"Invigilator A" said: "I think I am real, you think you are. How do you prove it?"
You Huo: "...….."
Forget it, let's just fight.
It won't be so difficult to explain once you've beaten them.
......….
***
It is currently 2:23am at night. The boarding high school had turned into hell.
Han Ling huddled in her bed with her blanket pulled up so that it reached just below her nose, leaving only room for her to breath.
She didn't dare move. She listened to the muffled noises coming from the wall——
Thud———–
Thud————
Thud————
It sounded like something heavy hanging outside. Swaying with the wind, it would hit the wall again and again.
Even the bed she was on shook with each impact.
She knew what that was.
She would always remember her dreams especially clearly——–
It was a dead man hanging outside. With his body covered with a sack that's tightened around his neck, only his deathly pale head was revealed.
That thudding sound was the sound of his head knocking against the wall.
After experiencing it so many times, she would still tremble with fright every night.
She huddled in her bed and trembled for five minutes when she heard the wall cracking.
She thought: "It's game over today. Might not be able to escape this time."
After a few cracking sounds, parts of the white wall started to chip.
Han Ling finally could no longer hold it back. She let out an ear-piercing scream and instantly rushed out from her bed.
Her long hair was a mess, and she didn't bother with changing out of her red pyjamas.
Dragging her roommate, they both rushed out the door and ran into another long haired girl wearing red.
"AHH——-"
"AHH——–"
Two screams sounded at the same time. The sounds of hasty footsteps filled the building.
As soon as they released their vocal cords, it kicked off the start of the school's nightlife.
The more people there were, the richer the variety.
One by one, students rushed out from their rooms and formed small clusters.
On the wall, a large hole suddenly broken open. A deathly pale face looked into the hole and its big round eyes stared unrelentingly at the dormitory room.
There was an eight-limbed monster chasing people with its axes. There was also a female ghost missing her lower half of her body dragging herself along the corridor with just her hands.
Screams sounded from the bathroom one after another.
At some point in time, the ceiling was missing a board. Through that dark hole, there as something quietly looking down at the people below.
Sometimes long hair would fall from above. Sometimes blurred faces would appear from the gaps between the doors.
.......
The sports field had long been turned upside down from the chaos. It looked like an abandoned mass grave.
Old, weathered tombstones were erected all over the place. Graves from who knows what century had been split in half and there were openings on the coffin lids.
All kinds of deaths, all kinds of ghosts.
There were also zombies, beasts, monsters.....
There were ones as big as Godzilla, and there were ones as small as insects, but they were all equally deadly.
These students would dream of almost anything. Even the ants try to drill into people's eyes and brains instead of carrying their food home.
There was even someone who dreamt of a natural disaster.
......
***
With a loud boom——–
The entire dormitory building shook for a moment. Bookcases fell, water spilled everywhere and the fluorescent lights up above had half fallen off.
The little fatty Zhang Ming desperately dragged his roommate out the door. As he dragged him, he shouted: "Hurry!! RUNNN"
His body wasn't in good shape, but his speed was very fast. He sped off like a pinball.
This pinball rolled straight over to the staircase before remembering something and rolling back.
"What are you doing?!" His roommate shouted.
"Next door! I'll take a look next door——–"
This little fatty strongly favoured heroic plotlines. Even in a situation like this, he went against the current and squeezed over to a dormitory room door.
He raised his fist and got ready to knock.
Just as he knocked once, the door opened on its own.
He stumbled in.
"Hurry up and go!! Why are you——–huh?" He almost ran into the balcony but was stopped by someone's foot. Another person also grabbed him by the back of his shirt.
The person who stopped him was sitting by the window. He remembered Director Xiao's introduction, it was Teacher B.
He turned his head and looked. The person holding the back of his shirt also looked familiar...…
It was also Teacher B!
The little fatty's mouth opened with surprise. He looked in front and then looked behind him again. He thought he might have seen wrong.
Soon afterwards, he realised that there were also two Teacher A's in the room...…
The little fatty remained stunned for a few seconds before returning to his senses. He realised that it was probably caused by the dreams.
***
You Huo and Qin Jiu, the two...…no, four people in the end didn't start fighting.
It was because the school was on the verge of collapsing. The monsters and demons had started their nightly rampage.
They briefly set their differences aside and decided to resolve the problem first before resuming their discussion.
The examinee "Qin Jiu" sat on the windowsill with his legs crossed. He lowered his eyes, looked out and reported the current situation: "A group of monkeys...Can't see clearly what it is but let's just say they're monkeys."
"Get to the main point."
"Invigilator A" also pulled out a weapon and jumped out the window onto the balcony.
"The main point is, that group of monkeys just passed by five metres below me and is now gnawing at the wall."
"Gnawing what wall?"
"The wall literally."
Examinee "Qin Jiu" pointed down and said: "There. Gnawing on it like meat. If it continues, the building will collapse."
"Invigilator A" flipped onto a platform nearby.
This dormitory had a platform on the roof that used to be open to students to air out their blankets, but it was later locked up in fear of students jumping off.
As "Invigilator A" stood on the narrow edge of that platform, his tall, lean figure reflected the swaying lights from within the dormitory building.
Because of their daring and fluid actions, the little fatty was dumbfounded.
Against the night, the examinee "Qin Jiu" turned his head and said to "Invigilator A": "Can you stand steadily? I don't mind going down to catch you."
"Just be concerned about yourself."
The examinee let out an "oh" and then said to the two in the room: "What do you need to clean?"
Qin Jiu pointed out the window with his chin: "All of them."
The Qin Jiu's from two different stages in life looked at each other for a moment. Even the angle of their smirk was exactly the same.
The examinee "Qin Jiu" pointed at the "Invigilator A" on the platform and said: "We're a team, you're a team. Let's see who's faster."
As soon as he was done saying that, he turned and jumped out.
Little fatty: "...…."
He stared blankly out the window and then stared blankly at Qin Jiu and You Huo: "He left."
After pausing for a few seconds, he said with an even more shocked expression: "This is the sixth floor....."
Qin Jiu let out an "oh": "It's a little dangerous."
Little fatty: "???"
The word "a little" shouldn't be used this way.
When he turned his head back, the handsome man on the platform was also gone.
The little fatty gulped.
He finally realised that he may not have gone against the current to be a young hero....
He had come here to be a bear. (KKnotes: I'm not too sure what 'being a bear (当熊)' meant. From what I can gather, it refers to someone who mindlessly throws themselves in dangers way?? Maybe??)
BOOOOMMM———–
A loud sound projected throughout the dormitory building.
It was as if a large whip had whipped against the building causing the entire building to rock violently. The roof and floors began to collapse.
"Hurry and go!!" The little fatty shouted.
"No rush." Qin Jiu said.
"I'm in a rush!!! You guys should be in a rush too! Hurry!"
On the side, You Huo pulled off the curtains.
He shattered the window with two kicks, tied the curtains together, secured it with the rope left by the examinee "Qin Jiu" and tested its sturdiness.
Qin Jiu looked at him with surprise: "You need this?"
You Huo kicked the little fatty's back: "He does."
The little fatty was in complete panic.
You Huo threw the other end of the curtain to Qin Jiu.
Qin Jiu held the little fatty down and secured the curtain around him: "What big parade did you dream about today?"
The little fatty howled out amidst the shaking and sounds of the building collapsing: "I don't know! I forgot!! A Jurassic war against zombies that caused an earthquake or something——–"
Halfway through his speech, he was bound securely by the curtain and was placed onto the windowsill by Qin Jiu.
"It might be a little thrilling later." Qin Jiu comforted the little fatty and said: "But if we don't do this, you won't make it out in time."
The dormitory building started to crumble.
You Huo squatted on the windowsill with one hand supporting himself using the empty window frame.
He lowered his eyes and made eye contact with Qin Jiu.
Ever since they were startled awake in the middle of the night, this was their first time looking at each other.
Both expressions for a moment were a little complicated.
Qin Jiu said: "Now that outsiders are not around, I want to ask you something during this chaos."
You Huo: ".....Speak."
"When did you know?"
His question was asked without context but You Huo didn't have any trouble understanding.
"Not long ago. Found out at the end of the last exam." You Huo paused and added: "When I was confined."
When he was done speaking, he looked at Qin Jiu again.
Qin Jiu understood that he was asking him back. He said: "It's the same. I also....while confined."
For some reason, he suddenly found it amusing. He even let out a laugh.
You Huo turned his head aside. The corner of his lips curved slightly.
It was very strange. The lingering awkwardness from earlier was gone in an instant.
It was as if it didn't matter anymore.
Qin Jiu still wanted to say something else, but he was interrupted by the little fatty who was wrapped into a cocoon: "I'm still here...I-I-I didn't want to interrupt but...the building's really about to collapse——-"
You Huo straightened up.
His figure was exactly the same was "Invigilator A" who stood on the platform earlier.
No, to be more precise, the "Invigilator A" from the dream was exactly the same as him.
He looked out into the night. Greyish white ape-like beasts rushed towards the building in swarms. It attacked the building that was about to collapse, gnawing at the walls and pillars with frenzy.
A large chunk of the side wall had already been chewed off.
You Huo wound the other end of the rope around his hand and suddenly said to Qin Jiu: "You can come up."
"On the count of three."
3, 2, 1.
The building crashed. The little fatty screamed.
As they jumped down, You Huo could see that Invigilator A not far away had already killed a group of the apes. The metal buckles on his shirt and military boots were especially conspicuous against the night.
He suddenly grew curious about the contents of Qin Jiu's dream.
Qin Jiu whispered quietly in the wind: "Some trivial things from long ago."
***
Although he said it was from long ago, it wasn't that long ago. At least, it wasn't during his time as an examinee.
He dreamt of himself when he had already entered and joined the invigilators team. Using his original title Gin, he became Invigilator A's colleague.
At that time, there were a total of fifty invigilators. Each and every one of them had their own personalities and stances. There were often differences in opinions as they discussed the implementation of rules of the examination centre so there would often be quarrels during the meetings.
What he dreamt of was one of the usual meetings.
As for what they were arguing about at the meeting, he could no longer remember. All the arguments in this dream were endless and incoherent.
He only remembered that at this meeting, he and Invigilator A were sitting on opposite ends of the long table. Both with tension in the air, their opinions were always the opposite of each other.
They didn't speak much, but they were clearly representatives of the two opposing factions. As long as one gave the signal to start, the others would quickly jump in and start arguing.
There were also several peacemakers who would occasionally try to make peace with Invigilator A and then move to make peace with him.
Occasionally, his eyes would meet with Invigilator A's eyes across the long table.
During those moments, those peacemakers would quickly jump in and block it, fearing that their relationship would worsen if they maintained eye contact for too long.
During the intermission in the middle, some would go to the bathroom, others would go get coffee or water, but more would stay behind in the conference room to continue discussing.
Invigilator A listened to them talk for a while before getting up and leaving.
Soon afterwards, Qin Jiu also left.
The corridor was very long. Doors that caved in were lined along both sides.
Qin Jiu unhurriedly walked down this corridor. As he passed a corner, he suddenly stopped his steps.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw Invigilator A leading against one of the doors seemingly looking this way.
Qin Jiu's feet turned. He was about to walk over.
Several colleagues just happened to pass by behind him. His shoulder was patted, and a peacemaker said: "It's one thing to argue during the meeting. Having a clash in opinion is normal when you're exchanging ideas but let's drop it during the breaks shall we? Let's go, I just happen to have something I want to talk to you about."
He raised his eyes and saw that not far away; another invigilator had also appeared. Invigilator A turned to speak to that person in his usual cold and indifferent manner.
Qin Jiu snorted.
In the dream he was a little annoyed.
But strangely enough, this negative emotion wasn't directed at Invigilator A.
He felt that the peacemaker next to him was being too nosy, and he also felt that his colleagues were speaking too much and was too noisy.
What made him most annoyed was the system's constant prying...….
Those people continued to talk non-stop. He kneaded his neck and walked away with the other invigilators.
Before leaving, Invigilator A's light-coloured eyes again turned to look at him.
And then he woke up.
***
The building crashed to the ground. Smoke and dust scattered.
The little fatty tumbled across the ground. It just happened to help unwrap him from the curtains. Apart from dizziness and slight pain in his butt, he wasn't injured.
Beside him, You Huo landed cleanly on the ground. He took a moment to recover from the impact.
As he moved to straighten up, Qin Jiu just happened to land next to him.
He suddenly felt a tug on his earlobe.
Qin Jiu's quiet voice sounded next to his ear: "I have a question that I've been wanting to ask for a long time. Why do you wear an earring?"
KK has something to say:
"One tied up, one in uniform, and two in bed....."
That sounds dirty