Global University Entrance Exam CH.6

Hunters Armor

This time, after returning the examinees to the cabin, 922 lingered at the door for a while.

Having witnessed Yu Hao’s antics before, he couldn’t help but wonder what Yu Hao might pull off next. He barely waited a few seconds before regretting his curiosity, because Yu Hao walked out again.

922 gave an exasperated sigh. “What now?”

Yu Hao said, “Just remembered something.”

“What is it?”

“The exam regulations here—they’re essentially modeled after real-world exams, right?”

922 nodded. “They certainly follow that model.”

“There’s one exam rule that’s not mentioned here,” Yu Hao pointed out.

“Which one?” 922 asked.

“In real exams, if a candidate encounters an issue, they can approach a proctor for help, can’t they?”

922 hesitated. “…Yes.”

But, honestly, we’d rather you didn’t.

To avoid any trouble, 922 quickly added, “Just like in real exams, you’re not allowed to ask for the answers. We can’t help with that, and we won’t.”

Yu Hao gave a brief “Mm” as if he understood.

But his usual dismissive attitude made 922 doubt if he truly did.

“So how would one go about contacting you if there’s a problem?” Yu Hao asked.

922 explained, “You’d… use the designated pen and write—”

He originally intended to say, “write the proctor’s number.” But his unease caused him to stumble, and what came out instead was: “write 001.”

Yu Hao stared at him blankly.

Seeing no way out, 922 repeated, as if to clarify: “Yes, write 001.”

“…”

After what felt like an eternity, Yu Hao nodded faintly, then shut the door on 922.

922 made a big production of it, looking quite pleased as he headed back.

·

Inside the cabin.

The fire was still burning brightly, and the group sat in starkly separate clusters.

The tattooed man, still shunned due to the knife incident, was sitting alone in a gloomy corner.

The others kept their distance, even going out of their way to avoid walking near him.

When Yu Hao returned, Yu Wen jumped up at once.

“Brother! Did the proctor do anything to you? What punishment did you get? Are you okay?”

Wielding the knife they’d been using to answer questions, he fired off a rapid series of questions.

Everyone turned their attention to Yu Hao.

Yu Hao frowned at the blade, nudging it away with his foot. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Yu Wen asked, not fully convinced.

Glancing toward the corner, he lowered his voice. “That guy over there got caught just once, and look at him now—he’s a mess. The punishments must be horrifying.”

Yu Hao followed his gaze and saw the bald man, who had been confined earlier, now huddled in the corner. His bloodshot eyes bulged, and he rocked back and forth compulsively. He muttered to himself incoherently, his words indistinct.

The man appeared completely unhinged.

Just seeing him reminded Yu Hao of that confinement room, causing a wave of nausea.

“He’s been like that the whole time?”

“Yeah. Three hours now, and he hasn’t recovered one bit,” Yu Wen said, shivering slightly. He leaned in and whispered, “He kept muttering the whole time. I even squatted next to him for a while to try and make out what he was saying.”

“What did he say?”

Yu Wen shook his head. “I only caught one line: ‘Bad luck.’ Oh, and something about burning paper money. I couldn’t understand the rest.”

Yu Hao acknowledged with a simple “Mm” and said no more.

What did he say?"

Yu Wen shook his head. "I only caught one sentence: 'Unlucky fate.' Oh, and something about 'burning spirit money.' I couldn’t understand the rest."

Yu Hao simply acknowledged with a short “Mm” and said no more.

"But you were punished once more than him, yet you seem okay?" Yu Wen was very curious.

Uninterested in going into detail, Yu Hao replied dismissively, "Different methods."

Yu Wen pressed on. "What exactly did they make you do?"

"Got some sleep and delivered a bucket of blood to the proctor," Yu Hao replied succinctly.

"???" Yu Wen was dumbfounded. "Deliver blood to the proctor? Why?"

Yu Hao responded coldly and sarcastically, "Who knows? He probably likes it."

Yu Wen quickly caught the subtle nuance—his brother was referring to himself, not the rest of the group.

"Which one? Who likes that stuff? Is he some kind of pervert?"

"001," Yu Hao said without hesitation.

"Gross…" Yu Wen cringed.

·

Yu Hao wasn’t inclined to discuss the proctor any further, as he and the proctor clearly didn’t get along.

He glanced around and frowned at Yu Wen. “So, you guys have just been sitting around for three hours?”

“Of course not,” Yu Wen said. He pointed to the answer wall. “Bro, your solution inspired me, so I wrote a few things down.”

Yu Hao turned his gaze to the answer wall, which was now covered in Yu Wen’s messy handwriting.

"…”

Yu Wen explained, “Our teacher always told us that if you have any thoughts, write them down. Even if you don’t know the answer, jotting down your thought process might score you some points.”

“So you wrote an essay?” Yu Hao asked, staring at the chicken scratch on the wall. He pointed to one line and asked, “What’s this?”

Yu Wen squinted hard at his own writing. “It looks like… uh… ‘Given that there are 13 of us and only 12 sets of tableware…’”

“…Why did you copy the problem?” Yu Hao asked, baffled.

“Well… if I have nothing else to write during exams, I just repeat the problem to fill space,” Yu Wen admitted sheepishly.

“…What’s this section supposed to be?” Yu Hao pointed at another jumble.

“It’s the gravitational equation: g = mg, g = 98nkg…”

“And what does that have to do with optics?” Yu Hao pressed.

“Um, I’m not sure how tableware relates to optics either,” Yu Wen replied weakly.

“…”

Worried he’d make his brother angry, Yu Wen quickly added, “There’s some optics in there too, I promise.”

Yu Hao didn’t bother with the long-winded nonsense. “Where did you write it?” he asked directly.

Yu Wen shifted nervously. “Here—I wrote about refraction, parallel light, spherical surfaces, lenses, focal length, imaging… all these terms are related to optics, right? I even drew a couple of simple diagrams showing mirrored reflections.”

Yu Hao gave him a blank look, and Yu Wen quickly decided to change the subject. “Let’s not dwell on this, bro. Besides answering questions, we did some other things too.”

In fact, after the answer wall updated, they had thoroughly searched the entire cabin.

The problem said: This is Hunter A’s cabin. There are 13 sets of tableware, but only enough food for 12 people.

However, they scoured the attic, the cabinets, and all the jars and containers. They found no sign of Hunter A, not a single piece of tableware, and as for food…

Not a chance.

"That’s just a dream."

“We searched for more than two hours,” Yu Wen said dejectedly. “This little, crappy cabin—two whole hours! You can imagine how thoroughly we turned it over. Nothing. What kind of question is this?”

Yu Hao asked, “Are you sure you searched everywhere?”

“Not exactly,” said a sickly-looking man in a hospital gown, coughing softly before adding, “There are two places we didn’t touch.”

He lifted a bony hand and pointed toward the two locked rooms.

On each door hung a peculiar decoration—one with a hen, the other with a rooster. Their twisted necks and dark, lifeless eyes stared blankly outside.

Perhaps it was the eerie appearance of the two fowl, but every time they crowed, someone would either violate the rules or have their test confiscated. As a result, nobody dared to approach them.

“We looked for keys but couldn’t find any.”

Yu Hao nodded, stepped closer to examine the locks, then glanced around the walls.

Yu Wen, worried his brother might grab an axe and break the doors down, quickly said, “Bro! I’ve played more games than anyone here, and trust me, forcing open a locked door is never the best move.”

Yu Hao shot him a cold look. “Do I look like an idiot?”

Yu Wen recoiled, shutting his mouth in embarrassment.

After a moment, he asked hesitantly, “Then why are you checking the walls?”

“Who touched the hunting gear?” Yu Hao asked.

The group collectively turned their gazes toward the tattooed man.

“What the hell are you looking at me for?” the tattooed man snapped, visibly annoyed. “Last time, you all accused me of hiding a knife. Now what’s it this time?”

“Accused?” Yu Hao raised an eyebrow.

“With that many people crammed together, who the hell knows where the knife came from?” the tattooed man grumbled, swearing under his breath. “You know what, forget it. There’s no point explaining anything to you morons.”

Yu Hao stared at him impassively.

The tattooed man gritted his teeth and said reluctantly, “Alright, alright. What do you want to know?”

“Put the hunting gear you took down back where it belongs,” Yu Hao said, nodding toward the wall. “I want to check the positions.”

The tattooed man glared at him. “What am I, a fool? Take it down just to put it back?”

·

Three minutes later, the tattooed man was carefully hanging each piece of hunting gear back onto its original spot.

Yu Hao walked along behind him, hands in his pockets.

“Could you not act like you’re out for a leisurely stroll?!” the tattooed man complained, clearly unhappy. But he still diligently placed the last item back and, with a disgruntled grunt, spat toward the side before walking away.

“What’s up with the hunting gear?” Yu Wen asked.

Yu Hao pointed at the wall. “Two hooks are empty.”

“So?” Yu Wen still didn’t understand.

“What happened to the items that were hanging on those hooks?” Yu Hao asked.

The room fell silent for a moment.

Suddenly, someone spoke up. “Yeah… two items are missing. Nobody took them for themselves, right?”

Everyone shook their heads.

Old Yu said, “They were already gone before.”

The others stared at him.

“Before the test began, I went outside to take a look around,” Old Yu explained to Yu Hao. “You were asleep, so I didn’t bother waking you. When I stepped out, I thought I’d see if there was an umbrella in here, and I remember clearly—those two hooks were already empty.”

"Then who has it?"

"Hunter A?" Yu Wen guessed. "So... there actually is a Hunter A, but he's not in the cabin—he went out hunting?"

The group started to panic. "We can't go outside, and if he doesn't come in, how do we find him?"

Yu Hao said, "Maybe it’s not time yet."

·

The group wasn’t entirely convinced by the timing theory, but Yu Hao simply pulled up a chair and sat by the fire.

Uneasily, the others followed suit, huddling around the fireplace and zoning out.

Yu Yao supported her lower back as she cautiously moved closer. She stared at Yu Hao for a while. His side profile was outlined by the firelight, appearing a bit more relaxed than usual. But his downcast eyes still carried a cold detachment.

She spoke with a guilty expression. “I’m sorry.”

Yu Hao lifted his gaze to her.

Lowering her voice, Yu Yao continued, “That ink… it was me who wrote it, and it got you punished. I wanted to apologize earlier, but before I could, they took you away.”

Yu Hao stayed silent.

Yu Yao said, “I know apologizing doesn’t help, but if something happens again, I’ll go in your place.”

Yu Hao remained quiet, giving her a glance before looking back at the fire. “No need.”

Yu Yao opened her mouth, about to say more, but ultimately kept quiet.

She sat there in silence for a while, then suddenly asked Yu Hao, “Aren’t you scared?”

Yu Hao stretched one leg out, feeling the warmth of the fire, which made him even sleepier.

After a moment’s pause, he said lazily, “Scared of what?”

“Scared of dying, scared of breaking the rules… or whatever. Everyone’s curious about you, wondering how you don’t seem scared of anything.”

“Does being scared help?”

Yu Yao nodded lightly. “You’re right, but sometimes it’s hard to control. I get so scared…”

Without looking up, Yu Hao said, “You’re not exactly timid—after all, you wrote that ink on the wall without even knowing what it really was.”

His voice was effortless, as if he could barely be bothered to speak. The tone was cold, but the warmth of the fire softened it slightly, leaving no trace of blame.

Yu Yao lowered her head, still feeling guilty but unsure of what to say.

She stayed quiet for a long time before squeezing out, “I actually…”

Before she could finish, she noticed that Yu Hao had one leg resting on the chair’s edge and his elbow on his knee, seemingly drifting off to sleep again.

Startled, she swallowed her words and refrained from waking him. Slowly, she made her way back to the two older women.

“Why is he asleep again?” one of the older women whispered. “Was he not sleeping before he came here?”

Yu Wen, who overheard, glanced at Yu Hao and thought, no, his brother was always this drowsy even after sleeping.

But Yu Yao didn’t say much. She leaned against one of the older women, her gaze drifting off toward a distant corner of the room, as if lost in thought.

·

No one knew how much time passed before the clock on the cupboard ticked softly to the next hour.

It was 4 a.m. Beijing time.

Suddenly, a loud rooster crow jolted everyone awake.

They all sat up abruptly, looking at one another in confusion, only to realize they had dozed off.

Yu Wen slapped his own face a couple of times to clear his head.

Just as he lowered his hand, a strange noise reached his ears.

“Shhh—”

He raised his hand for silence and asked softly, “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Old Yu, puzzled, stared at his son as if he were seeing things.

"Didn't hear that?" Yu Wen asked. "It's just... a creaking sound."

The room fell silent. No one moved. Everyone wore the same puzzled expression, holding their breath as they strained to listen.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the creaking sound came again. This time, everyone heard it. It was like something heavy being dragged across the snowy ground.

The sickly thin man suddenly gestured toward the window and mouthed silently, “Over there.”

Before he could close his mouth, the door creaked open.

A dark silhouette stretched across the doorway.

Then, a pale-faced man entered, pulling a rope. He had a broad frame but wasn’t tall. His face was ghostly white, almost like overexposed paper. His eyes were peculiar—his pupils were so large that barely any whites were visible.

He hunched forward, slowly coiling up the rope. The wide hunting knife and small snare traps at his waist jingled as he moved.

No one in the room spoke. They all stared wide-eyed as he dragged a burlap sack inside, then shut the door.

Only then did he glance toward the fireplace. His black eyes blinked twice before he spoke. “Ah... great. Guests.”

Everyone: “...”

·

This eerie figure was none other than the elusive Hunter A.

Rubbing his hands together slowly, he said, “With these blizzards over the past two days, I just knew more fo—uh, guests would show up.”

Everyone: “...”

“Brr, it’s so cold outside,” he murmured softly. “The snow’s piled so high that everything’s hiding. It took me ages, but I finally dug up one.”

He gave the sack a nudge with his foot and beamed at everyone, his grin stretching unnervingly wide. “You’re lucky—just in time for mealtime.”

With a sigh, he added, “It can’t be helped. In these mountains, there’s so little to eat. I have to tighten my belt just to get by. So, you see, I only eat twice a day.”

“Once at 4 a.m., and once at 4 p.m. Opportunities to share a meal with me are rare.” He glanced at the cupboard clock. “Ah, right on time. You all must be starving after waiting so long. I can hear your stomachs growling—can’t wait, can you?”

Everyone: “...”

“How many of you are there?” He began counting on his fingers, one by one. “Old lady, sickly one, punk, drunkard, drunkard’s son...”

Every nickname was unflattering, and everyone counted turned pale.

When he got to Yu Hao, he hesitated and frowned. “Why’s there one who looks half-asleep?”

“Never mind.” His mood dimmed, he turned his attention to the question wall. “I heard there are 13 of you, but I’ve only got enough food for 12. What a pity.”

Licking his lips, he said, “I’m really starving. But you’ll have to wait a bit longer. I need to prepare first. It’s my first time hosting so many guests.”

Yu Wen: “...”

This is the most delicate hunter I’ve ever seen.

Hunter A bent down and grabbed the sack.

The sack looked heavy. No one wanted to imagine what was inside.

Dragging it to a corner of the room, he stopped in front of the door with the hen painted on it.

The jingling of keys broke the silence as he carefully picked one out and unlocked the door.

A foul, decayed stench seeped into the room.

It was a stench that words couldn’t adequately describe—like rotting meat, dust, and decaying wood combined into one nauseating scent.

That room with the hen on it, which everyone had assumed was a bedroom, turned out to be a kitchen. Inside was a long counter—long enough for someone to lie down on—and a red cabinet along one wall, its doors secured with several locks.

The hunter smiled at everyone, gave a small bow, and said, “Just a moment. It’ll be ready soon.” Then he closed the door.

The area around the fire remained silent for quite some time. Finally, someone nervously muttered, “I don’t want to eat. I want to go home.”

“Who the hell doesn’t want to go home?” Tattooed Guy—now huddling with the group, perhaps just as wary of the hunter—growled in response. “You think you can just open that door and walk out of here? Give it a try!”

Everyone fell silent again.

After a long pause, Old Yu swallowed hard and said, “That hunter’s mouth is huge. He could probably swallow a human head. I can’t help but feel he’s planning to eat us…”

Yu Yao murmured, “What’s in that sack?”

Hearing those two thoughts together was especially chilling.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the window.

The snow outside hadn’t let up, blanketing everything in a stark white silence. Old Yu had scouted around before the exam started and said the area was completely desolate. The same-looking trees stretched out in every direction, and there was no sign of houses or people for miles. The eerie quiet was unsettling.

Where did the hunter’s prey come from?

Moreover, the hunter had claimed he “dug it up.”

When they’d first arrived that afternoon, one man had disobeyed orders and taken apart a radio. Not long after, his lifeless body was buried under the snow…

As they all recalled this, their faces filled with deep fear.

Yu Wen looked like he was going to throw up.

“If you’re going to be sick, turn away,” Yu Hao said, his voice cutting through the tense atmosphere. “Don’t get it all over me.”

“Brother, you’re awake?!” Yu Wen exclaimed, sounding both surprised and relieved.

“Why are you yelling? Can’t you keep your voice down?” Tattooed Guy barked in annoyance.

Yu Hao gave the man a cool glance. “I wasn’t asleep.”

“Oh—then why do you keep closing your eyes?”

“My eyes hurt.”

Yu Wen remembered his dad mentioning that Yu Hao had undergone surgery on his eyes. Bright lights strained them, making them tired and uncomfortable. But Yu Hao never brought it up himself, so it often slipped Yu Wen’s mind.

“Brother, did you hear everything that hunter said?” Yu Wen asked.

Yu Hao responded with a simple “Mm.”

“What should we do?” Yu Wen pressed.

Yu Hao, lounging lazily, replied, “I’m hungry. Waiting for dinner.”

Yu Wen: “...”

You’re trying to scare us, aren’t you?