You have no alerts.
    Header Background Image
    Chapter Index

    BUG

    Life and Death Examination Room 10

    Examination God

    “The third exam has already begun. All examinees, please prepare. There are five examinees this time. The duration is three hours. We wish everyone success in the exam!”

    An eerie voice once again echoed in everyone’s minds, immediately followed by the ringing of a bell.

    “Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you, ah1, congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you. Winter has reached its end, truly good news. The warm spring wind is about to awaken the earth. Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you, ah, congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you…”

    Xin Lan heard a jarring sound and opened her eyes. Before her stood a small plastic figure flashing a red light.

    It resembled the common cartoon God of Wealth lamps often seen on streets, about 1.5 meters2 tall, holding a banner in its hands, a smile on its face.

    Except this lamp was flashing with blood-red light, appearing exceptionally bizarre in the darkness of the night.

    She had a card in her hand. After reading the card and then looking down at the clothes she was wearing, Xin Lan’s expression darkened.

    【The Castle Lord is about to hold a New Year Welcome Party. Survive until the end of the party without your identity being exposed by NPCs, and you will pass the exam.

    New Year Party duration: three hours.

    Your Identity: A maid named Alice3, disguised as Wolf-kin4.

    Privileges5: Fangs and Claws (0/1)

    Wolf Ears and Wolf Tail (0/1)

    Note: To use a privilege, silently recite its name. Each privilege can only be used once. Please pay attention to the timing of usage~ oh】

    Xin Lan, who had never worn a maid outfit before, looked at the lace maid costume on her body and revealed a murderous look in her eyes.

    This BUG needs to be eliminated quickly.

    【Host, Commander is calling you! Asked where you are. I said outside an old castle. She said she’s inside the castle. It should be the same exam venue.】

    Ling Jiu, the long-absent mouthpiece, went online.

    【Okay, ask her what her appearance is.】

    【A guest attending the New Year’s party, red eyes, black hair.】

    Xin Lan now had a better idea6 and put the card away.

    “Alice, haven’t you finished wiping the lamp yet?”

    A middle-aged woman poked her head out, urging impatiently.

    Above her head was the name [Kasha]7; she should be an NPC.

    In that case, identifying classmates would be easy.

    “Coming.”

    Xin Lan responded, took the rag from the lamp, and followed the person inside.

    Her expression was calm, even completely unruffled, but the thought that Wan Yan might see her dressed like this later…

    F%ck, where’s her knife.

    “The master’s room hasn’t been cleaned yet, and I don’t know what Eric8 is up to. That kid is also dawdling. You hurry up and go clean the master’s room.”

    Kasha thrust a broom into Xin Lan’s hand, hurrying her upstairs.

    The main hall was still quite empty. Servants were busy by the long table, all NPCs with names above their heads at a glance.

    So the question was, where did this so-called master live?

    Xin Lan went upstairs holding the broom and asked Ling Jiu to try scanning.

    The scan failed again.

    Ling Jiu was very discouraged, utterly dejected.

    On the second floor, Xin Lan saw a person. Exquisite features, red eyes, black hair—who else could it be but Wan Yan.

    The moment Wan Yan saw Xin Lan, she walked over. After taking two steps, she noticed her clothes.

    Oh no. It felt like having a heart attack9.

    Simply heart-stoppingly captivating.

    Xin Lan wore a black and white lace maid outfit with stockings, her stunningly beautiful face exuding a kind of cold indifference.

    Wan Yan knew Xin Lan must be wanting to draw her knife inwardly, so she didn’t look too long, lest she piss off the little tiger, and only looked at Xin Lan’s face.

    Wan Yan didn’t have any particular uniform fetish, and something like a maid outfit was even more unthinkable. She felt Xin Lan was beautiful and cool and looked incredibly good in anything, capable of making even a maid outfit seem like she was walking with swagger10.

    “What’s your mission?”

    Wan Yan directly showed her card to Xin Lan.

    Xin Lan glanced at it but didn’t take it, shaking her head.

    “There’s actually a protection mechanism11.”

    “Can’t see it?”

    “Mn.”

    What Xin Lan saw was a blank space, likely a protection mechanism between examinees.

    This also meant that it was possible some people had different exam content; otherwise, there would be no need for protection.

    “Play the role without being discovered, survive for three hours.”

    “Same. What are you?”

    “Vampire12.”

    Wan Yan flicked her hair and licked her pointed teeth.

    These weren’t fangs, but the card had a privilege that could maintain the appearance.

    “I need to go clean the castle owner’s place now. I’ll go ask someone first.”

    Xin Lan frowned, looking at the broom in her hand.

    If it was about surviving for three hours, it was unlikely things would remain peaceful the whole time.

    “Man La13, Kasha told us to go clean the master’s room.”

    Xin Lan saw a passing maid and called out her name.

    The maid named Man La looked at her with great surprise, suspicion in her eyes.

    “Kasha would have us go together?”

    Man La’s eyes appeared emerald green under the light, resembling wolf pupils.

    “Not enough hands. Go if you want, don’t if you don’t.”

    Xin Lan frowned and turned to head upstairs.

    She had no idea about the relationships within this castle and could only guess blindly.

    “Hmph, fine, I’ll go. Then you go feed Lu Xiu14, I’ll clean the outer room.”

    Man La walked beside Xin Lan, then quickened her pace to overtake her.

    Xin Lan and Wan Yan exchanged glances. Wan Yan pointed to her head, indicating contact via Ling Jiu.

    The master’s room was on the top floor. Man La stopped at the door and knocked three times. When no one answered, she opened the door.

    The room was large, with another door set into one wall.

    “You go feed Lu Xiu. The master hasn’t been here these past few days, and Lu Xiu is throwing a tantrum, refusing to eat by himself, insisting on being fed.”

    Man La urged her on, yet her eyes still held a hint of suspicion.

    Xin Lan felt wary. She opened the inner door. It was pitch black inside. A large basin of raw meat sat by the door.

    As soon as Xin Lan entered, she felt something pounce towards her. She dodged nimbly.

    “Don’t worry. You know Lu Xiu doesn’t like eating wolf-kin. At most, he’ll just take a bite, no big deal. I heard Lu Xiu likes human flesh the most, but humans are too rare.”

    Man La was cleaning leisurely, closing the door behind her as she did.

    Xin Lan remembered the card said she was disguised as a wolf-kin.

    Then her actual self should be… human?

    In the darkness, she couldn’t clearly see what the monster looked like, only sensing it was enormous and lunging towards her excitedly.

    The sound of water dripping onto the floor could be heard; presumably, it was the sound of drool.

    Xin Lan dodged the beast’s tearing bites, tossing pieces of raw meat towards its mouth.

    Lu Xiu chewed and chewed, finished eating, and then continued to pounce excitedly at Xin Lan.

    After dodging three or four times in a row, Xin Lan finally lost her patience.

    This maid outfit was a bit cumbersome; dresses weren’t as convenient as pants, but it wasn’t a major issue.

    Because this was a BUG world, when the Host loaded in, Xin Lan’s energy limit15 disappeared. If previously she could only exert thirty or forty percent of her abilities, now she could exert her full ten-tenths16.

    Her strength and speed unleashed, Xin Lan grabbed the giant beast by its horns, pinned it down, and gave it a harsh beating.

    Lu Xiu, kicked until it hurt and its teeth nearly suffering disaster, shrank into a corner, making aggrieved noises.

    “Eat.”

    Xin Lan placed the meat in front of it and shook her hand.

    “If you don’t eat, I’ll hit you again.”

    Lu Xiu let out a roar. Just as Xin Lan prepared to strike again, she saw it lower its head aggrievedly and start eating the meat.

    If she weren’t the Host, with her physique being exceptionally tough, which ordinary person from this world could withstand such an onslaught? It would be strange if they weren’t swallowed alive by this thing.

    While Xin Lan was struggling with Lu Xiu, Wan Yan gathered some information.

    Something entirely white, its species indiscernible, came over to reminisce with her, but she had no idea who this fellow17 was.

    “Have you heard? It seems a few little human cuties18 have snuck into this banquet. Just don’t know who they are or where. But once found, they count as one’s own food. Heh, an interesting hunting game.”

    That person licked their lips, looking eager.

    “Don’t know why, but looking at you, I also think you look kinda tasty, heh heh heh.”

    That person slurped19 audibly and chuckled ‘heh heh heh’ at Wan Yan.

    “Are you asking to be kicked down from here?”

    Wan Yan’s face turned cold. Thinking that vampires should generally be aloof, she remained expressionless, her blood-red eyes holding an unsettling glint.

    That person waved their hands dismissively and walked away laughing.

    Presumably, these people wanted to hunt them?

    Play the role without being discovered, survive until the end of the exam…

    Wan Yan carefully considered the card’s content. If being identified by an NPC meant death, then why add the subsequent condition ‘survive until’?

    The card definitely wouldn’t include unimportant words. According to what that NPC just said, being discovered meant being treated as prey. Being discovered didn’t necessarily mean death, but one must both avoid discovery and ensure survival. This indicated that even when not discovered, there might still be unexpected dangers.

    Wan Yan’s gaze swept continuously around the hall, finally spotting two people in a corner without names above their heads.

    Two girls, identities unknown.

    Xin Lan emerged from the inner room. Man La had already left. The room’s main door was open, and a large portrait hung on the wall.

    It depicted a woman wearing an elaborate court gown, holding a small parasol. It was lifelike, her eyes seeming to have come alive, as if they could move.

    Then Xin Lan realized it might not be an illusion.

    The eyes of the woman in the portrait had genuinely moved just now.

    A sweet, cloying scent had begun to permeate the air at some point. The woman’s pupils were jet black; looking at them for too long induced a sense of vagueness, as if one could be sucked in.

    Xin Lan felt as though she couldn’t move and sensed something was wrong.

    She had only glanced at it earlier and found it eerie, wanting to observe it a bit more. But when she felt herself involuntarily zoning out, she sensed trouble and intended to leave, only to find she couldn’t move.

    This entire process took no more than half a minute.

    The painting rippled. Those eyes darted left and right, seemingly about to emerge from the canvas.

    Xin Lan wanted to leave but couldn’t move. She had no choice but to have Ling Jiu contact Wan Yan, asking Wan Yan on the second floor to come up.

    A hand suddenly reached out from the painting, followed by a whole body.

    She held a small parasol, and a sweet fragrance emanated from her.

    Holding her skirt, she walked unhurriedly towards Xin Lan.

    “So beautiful.”

    She reached out, touching Xin Lan’s face, her eyes filled with infatuation as she spoke.

    Her hand wore a lace glove, but it couldn’t block the icy cold touch. Xin Lan frowned, trying to break free from this state of immobilization.

    “It would surely be even better if you belonged to me.”

    She put down her parasol, her fingers pressing against Xin Lan’s temple.

    Xin Lan gradually felt her body becoming mobile again. Just as she was about to kick this person away, she suddenly found the person yanked away.

    Wan Yan had never been so rough in her life, grabbing the person’s clothes and directly flinging them backward.

    Heaven knows what she felt when she came up and saw this woman pressed so close to her little tiger, her hand even touching her.

    She hadn’t even touched her yet! Scram!


    LP: Re-translated on March 31, 2025



    Footnotes

    1. 恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀 | gōngxǐ gōngxǐ gōngxǐ nǐ ya | A line from a very popular Chinese New Year song titled 《恭喜恭喜》 (Gōngxǐ Gōngxǐ – Congratulations, Congratulations). The ‘呀’ (ya) is a common modal particle adding emphasis or warmth.
    2. ≈ 4 feet 11 inches
    3. 艾莉絲 | Àilìsī | Transliteration of Alice.
    4. 狼族 | Lángzú | Lit. “wolf clan/race”; often translated as werewolf or wolf-kin in fantasy contexts.
    5. 特權 | Tèquán | Lit. “special right/privilege”; often used in game contexts for special abilities or powers.
    6. 心裏有底 | xīnlǐ yǒu dǐ | Lit. “heart has bottom”; Meaning to have a basic understanding, feel confident, or have a plan in mind.
    7. 卡莎 | Kǎshā | Transliteration, likely of Kasha or Cassia.
    8. 艾瑞克 | Àiruìkè | Transliteration of Eric.
    9. 心肌梗塞的感覺 | xīnjī gěngsè de gǎnjué | Lit. “the feeling of myocardial infarction/heart attack”; Modern internet slang used hyperbolically to express extreme shock, excitement, cuteness overload, or intense emotion.
    10. 走路帶風 | zǒulù dài fēng | Lit. “walk carrying wind”; An idiom describing someone who walks with confidence, presence, or a cool aura.
    11. 保護機制 | bǎohù jīzhì | Protection mechanism; often used in games or systems to prevent certain interactions or information sharing.
    12. 吸血鬼 | xīxuèguǐ | Lit. “suck-blood ghost/demon”; Vampire.
    13. 曼拉 | Màn Lā
    14. 魯休 | Lǔ Xiū
    15. 能量限時 | néngliàng xiànshí | Lit. “energy time limit”; Likely refers to a restriction on her power usage or duration that is now lifted.
    16. 十分 | shífēn | Lit. “ten parts”; Meaning completely or fully.
    17. 仁兄 | rénxiōng | Lit. “benevolent elder brother”; A somewhat dated or formal/polite way to refer to a male friend or acquaintance, sometimes used humorously or archaically.
    18. 小可愛 | xiǎo kě’ài | Lit. “little cutie/lovely”; Can be used affectionately, condescendingly, or neutrally depending on context. Here, it’s used by the NPC predatorily towards humans.
    19. 吸溜一口口水 | xīliū yī kǒu kǒushuǐ | Lit. “slurp one mouthful of saliva”; Describes the sound and action of slurping drool.

    0 Comments

    Note