"Three times?"
"There's another time?"
Qin Jiu and You Huo spoke almost at the same time but the question they asked was different.
After asking, they looked at each other.
Qin Jiu stared at You Huo with an inquiring look.
You Huo added vaguely: "Just remembered some things but it's not much."
"When did you remember?" Qin Jiu asked.
You Huo didn't answer.
The two stared at each other for a moment. You Huo turned his head away while touching his earring and licking his lips...
Boss Chu is a smart woman.
In one glance, she could understand the situation——
You Huo remembered some things and it was only remembered recently. Qin Jiu on the other hand still didn't remember.
She was very familiar with this situation.
Afterall, Qin Jiu's identity was still of an invigilator so in essence he was still controlled and interfered with by the system. Recovering his memory wouldn't be easy.
And adding to that the various rumours circulating around about the antagonistic relationship between 001 and A, their poor relationship and the debate over the one at fault…..
Over the past few years, Qin Jiu would most certainly have heard of it and, after entering the system, You Huo would have also heard of it.
In a situation like this, it really wasn't easy for the two of them to stand together again.
Even they themselves had forgotten how hard it was...
Chu Yue who had seen it from the beginning to the end knew best.
She would always remember that evening several years ago. Qin Jiu who was still an examinee at that time jumped over from the other punishment building and took advantage of the systems loophole back then to ask her for a favour.
He said: "If I accidentally pass the exam or use up all the re-examination opportunities, please help me out. I have to come back."
At that time, he was in rush and didn't even come in. He squatted on the windowsill that was multiple floors high observing the situation outside.
"My authority is almost the same as his. Why aren't you asking him for help instead?" Chu Yue at that time asked him this.
Qin Jiu withdrew his gaze from outside the window and laughed: "I know that your scope of authority is slightly different from his. What's more, you should know how hard it is to convince our Mr. Invigilator A."
"Then why do you think you can convince me?"
"Those in the same positions are friends. Aren't we friends?" Qin Jiu said.
Chu Yue thought about it and said, "I guess so."
"But there are some things I cannot control." Chu Yue added, "You should know that if the system sends you out, it will definitely do something such as interfering with your memory. I can find a way to get you back but….."
"I know." Qin Jiu said, "It's okay as long as I can come back."
He looked like he wanted to say something else; was it some kind of promise or guarantee? But in the end, he didn't any anything and just smiled.
This man had an innate talent.
It was as if no matter what it was, you could trust in him without any doubts
In the end, Chu Yue nodded.
Qin Jiu checked the time and turned to jump back to the other building. Before leaving, he seemed to have suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Chu Yue with a 'shh' gesture: "Keep it a secret for me. Thanks."
...…..
She would also always remember that afternoon when Qin Jiu returned as an "invigilator".
All the initial invigilators and new invigilators were called to a meeting.
She and You Huo held the highest authority so they had gone to the main control centre first. When they returned, they ran into Qin Jiu in the corridor outside the meeting room.
The weather that day was fine....
She remembered that it was a little dazzling. The light filtering through the window into the corridor was so bright, it was a little uncomfortable to the eyes.
You Huo who was next to her stopped his steps. He stared at the person standing in front of the door to the meeting room.
Qin Jiu on the other end glanced over briefly as he entered. After falling in thought for a moment, he suddenly asked, "Have I met you before?"
...
Chu Yue returned to her senses.
The You Huo and Qin Jiu before her were the same as the ones in her memory but they were also not the same.
This time, they possessed unpretentious arrogance both inside and out and are more relaxed than they ever have been.
It was pretty good.
No, it was very good.
You Huo heard her sigh gently and thought she had some concerns: "What's wrong?"
Boss Chu patted the shoulders of the two of them and joked with a smile on her face: "It's nothing. Just suddenly didn't know what to say. I wish the two of you happiness for the next hundred years."
You Hu: "?"
Qin Jiu: "???"
This lady was clearly someone who didn't do things normally. The two didn't know how to react.
You Huo asked her: "You were sent to the rest stop as punishment? Why?"
Chu Yue didn't answer immediately. She said instead, "Since I was pulled in by you, I guess I'm now an examinee?"
You Huo couldn't be certain, "I don't know. It's my first time teaming up. It's already a surprise that you were able to be pulled in."
"I was also surprised that you had the courage to try. But when you think about it, the rules about team formation mentioned that there is no limit to the number of people and that only one team can be formed from a set of cards. It didn't specifically mention that it had to be an examinee. The system probably didn't expect you to take advantage of this loophole."
Qin Jiu pointed up at the sky: "Want to curse it out for a try? If you don't get a warning, you're considered an examinee."
Chu Yue didn't hesitate to throw out three curses in a row.
The small speaker in the pavilion buzzed twice but in the end no warning was given.
Chu Yue suddenly laughed out loud.
"Ah, then I can play without a worry." Chu Yue said, "Of course, I was punished because I helped someone cause some trouble."
"Why wasn't your memory deleted?"
"Because I only helped a little." Chu Yue's smile was quite evil, "According to the rules, it can be considered a coincidence or mistake. Why should it punish me so harshly? It makes no sense."
But it also wasn't a light punishment.
She was stripped of her authority and was moved from the position of an invigilator to an empty and desolate rest stop that was in the middle of a snow-covered mountain.
Watching over an empty place like that and unable to get in touch with any of her old friends or acquaintances, it was no different to sitting in a jail.
The system was like a cruel and curious person who held the power to one's life and death. Whenever a problem arose, it would pull out those "naughty dolls" and punish them. If one punishment didn't work, it would try different one next time.
The first time it found out that two powerful individuals had interacted too intimately and would pose a threat to it, it kicked one out and kept the other; cleared one memory and retained the other.
It couldn't understand the emotions unique to them and it couldn't distinguish between the subtle differences in the emotions. It just knew that there was a saying "It takes two to tango".
But it was useless.
The second time, it realised that the threat was getting bigger and bigger and it almost tripped because of it. And so, it changed its method and cleared both their memories. In addition to that, it also tried out different punishments on the others including evicting them from the core control centre, stripping them of their authority, suppressing them or alienating them.
As of now, the effectiveness of those punishments are still unknown.
But the system was definitely angered to death.
Inside the pavilion, the system called out again:
[8:29pm. The next exam is about to start. Please select the subject as soon as possible.]
[Please select the subject as soon as possible.]
The three of them returned to the group. Chu Yue said a little regretfully, "This is a rare opportunity. I have so much to say but..."
"You can say it after entering the exam?" Yang Shu who didn't know the details suggested this.
Chu Yue didn't mind. She just smiled and said: "Those things can't be said so casually. Otherwise...….."
Their group may be punished a third time.
"But there is one examination centre that's an exception."
"How so?"
"In that examination centre, there is a place where you can talk without a worry."
Talk without a worry?
You Huo looked at her. Was she referring to...A place like the confinement room that is not monitored by the system?
If there really is such a place, it would be much more convenient. Afterall, it is quite troublesome relying on violating rules to discuss important matters.
"But forget it. Treat it as if I hadn't said it." Chu Yue said, "There are thousands of exams so the possibility of getting that one randomly is very small. Do we have anyone here with especially good luck? In any case, I'm no good. It's probably because I have sinned too much. How are you two?"
You Huo wasn't even able to have the chance to speak.
Chu Yue shook her head and continued, "Forget it, forget it. It's probably worse than mine. You two after all are on par to demon kings here in the system. You're basically the villain."
You Huo: "...."
Yu Wen spoke up, "Actually, my luck is quite good but...."
With all these unlucky eggs around him, his luck wouldn't do anything.
[Please select the subject as soon as possible.]
[Please select the subject as soon as possible. Don't delay it unnecessarily.]
There was clearly still half a minute until the scheduled time, but the system urged them like there was only half a second left.
Suddenly, Shu Xue's voice quietly interrupted, "Um…..You want to go to a specific examination centre? Perhaps….I can give it a try?"
Chu Yue looked at her with surprise, "How can you give it a try young lass? Were you sent here by the system?"
Shu Xue blushed and quickly waved her hand, "No, I'm not. My circumstance is a little special. Mm…..It's a long story."
Yu Wen helped her summarise, "This sister here is a bug."
"Bug?" Chu Yu was interested. "Bugs are good. I like bugs the most. You said that you can choose the examination centre? How so?"
"You can describe it to me; what is the subject, what does it examine and so on. It's best to say something iconic such as special characters that appear."
Chu Yue said: "I haven't taken it before, so I only know a little."
She used her finger to gesture a small gap between her fingers.
"The subject should be Mathematics."
The atmosphere turned a little heavy the moment "Mathematics" was mentioned.
"As for something iconic…" Chu Yue furrowed her brows and thought. She suddenly pulled out a photo on her phone, "This house."
You Huo and Qin Jiu who stood on the side happened to see the photo.
Both of them were stunned.
Qin Jiu said: "Isn't this a house in the invigilator's district?"
Chu Yue: "Yes."
In the picture was a small building. It looked exactly the same as the small villas in the invigilator's district; the ones some invigilators resided in.
But to You Huo, this house was a little familiar, especially the camellia next to the window.
That camellia was actually no different from other flowers but You Huo felt that it looked very stiff, like it was fake.
"Do you remember this place?" Chu Yue asked You Huo.
"I lived here before?"
"Looks like you still have an impression." Chu Yue said.
"His place? Wasn't it already removed?" Qin Jiu said.
As far as everyone knew, after Invigilator A was expelled from the system, all related things were removed, hidden or made inaccessible to ordinary people.
Of course, this villa was too.
Chu Yue said: "No, according to the original rules, everything must be backed up. It cannot be deleted without leaving any traces behind for no reason so to prevent me from accessing this house, the system hid it somewhere in an examination centre and it became part of it."
You Huo suddenly remembered something Chu Yue had said to him when they first met. She had said meaningfully: "Some traces are left behind in examination centres. You can try looking for them."
He had always thought that those so-called traces would be small things like the half-burnt cigarette.
Unexpectedly, there was actually something so big.
Shu Xue immediately said, "Okay, I'll give it a try! Let's choose Mathematics together."
[Please select the subject within the next five seconds!]
Everyone wasn't certain but they still followed Shu Xue to the road marked "Mathematics".
The white fog here had never been thicker.
You Huo walked through the fog for a very long time. It felt as if there was no one beside him, only himself. Eventually, he reached the end of the fog.
The moment the white fog cleared away, the system's voice sounded again:
[This exam is a large-scale joint exam. Examinees, please get ready.]
KK has something to say:
Qin Jiu forgot You Huo the second time….