Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 98.1
by Little PandaBUG
Life and Death Examination Room 05
Examination God
The cave was extremely quiet, with only the occasional faint crackling sound of the burning firewood.
“Damn it, I knew something was up when the sun didn’t come out even though it was high noon, but I didn’t expect it to be this messed up.”
The middle-aged man who had just spoken muttered, although his voice wasn’t loud, in the current environment, it was exceptionally clear.
January 1, 2030, the sun did not rise as usual.
By noon, this nightmare had swept over all of humanity.
“I had no idea the sun hadn’t risen. I stayed up late playing games yesterday, fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, and woke up groggy. I saw it wasn’t light yet and went back to sleep. Then I heard that voice, and I was inexplicably asked to guess who the murderer was.”
The boy wearing glasses, still in his pajamas, had a helpless expression.
“What do you guys think is going on? Is it some kind of god or demon thing?”
“Don’t make wild guesses. No gods or demons would make you take a test, and do it like this.”
The woman wearing a white cotton-padded jacket rolled her eyes, scorning such unreliable speculation.
“Could it be some advanced civilization, artificial intelligence?”
Yuan Yuan had a wild idea.
“No artificial intelligence could do something like this, to bring us all to this place. It feels like the whole world is under its control.”
The woman who had just spoken had a solemn expression.
“I remember it saying something about ‘new citizens.’ Could it be that it’s eliminating us one by one through this kind of test, and those who finish the test become its citizens?”
The bespectacled youth proposed this speculation, making everyone’s hearts sink.
It was very likely the case.
“It’s got a pretty high opinion of itself.”
But the structure of society could absolutely not be successfully established through this kind of survival-of-the-fittest method that eliminated the losers.
“Let’s not discuss that for now. Let’s look at this task first. Where’s the sacrificial altar? Does anyone’s card say?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“I guess we’ll know when this NPC wakes up.”
Above the Gu Child’s head, there was also a game ID.
The difference between NPCs and examinees was clear at a glance.
The NPC didn’t make everyone wait long, slowly waking up.
The pale-faced youth coughed, looking very weak.
“Thank you all for sending me back to the village. The snow outside looks like it’s about to stop. When the snow stops, walk southwest for two li
1, and you’ll reach my village.”
The young boy sat up, looking like he was afraid of the cold, his hands tucked into his sleeves, but he didn’t move closer to the fire to warm himself.
The wind and snow outside were indeed about to stop.
The howling and roaring wind had subsided, gently, gradually becoming milder.
Yuan Yuan approached, curiously looking at the boy.
The boy was puzzled, tilting his head and looking at him.
“Where is the sacrificial altar?”
The young boy seemed not to have heard what he asked, still looking at him with confusion.
“Do you know what danger you might be in?”
Yuan Yuan asked again.
The NPC still looked bewildered, not even changing the frequency of his blinking.
“Do you think he’ll tell you if you ask him?”
The middle-aged man scoffed, folding his arms, losing all expectation.
Xin Lan and Wan Yan, on the other hand, were thoughtful.
In the previous round, they hadn’t tried interfering with an NPC. Yuan Yuan had taken the initiative to do so, but the NPC had no reaction.
Was it not within the program, they wondered?
Yuan Yuan wasn’t discouraged and continued to ask questions.
“When will the snow outside stop?”
This time the young boy answered.
“It will stop soon,” he said.
“What’s your name?”
Xiao An answered obediently.
“Where is the village?”
“Walk southwest for two li, and you’ll be there.”
“Where is the sacrificial altar?”
Xiao An didn’t speak again, just looking at Yuan Yuan.
“Do you know what danger you might be in?”
Xiao An still didn’t make a sound.
Yuan Yuan stroked his chin, stood up, and stopped asking questions.
He didn’t know if the NPC wasn’t advanced enough, only able to answer questions within the program, or if there was an avoidance mechanism, only answering specific questions.
As Xiao An said, the wind and snow outside soon stopped. It was still a world of white snow. The sun shone on the snow, not bringing much warmth, but instead making people’s eyes hurt.
The group walked southwest. Those wearing down jackets, cotton-padded coats, and boots were fine, but the bespectacled youth, wearing pajamas and barefoot, was almost frozen to death.
Yuan Yuan couldn’t bear to watch and took off his down jacket, putting it on the boy.
The bespectacled youth was surprised and a little embarrassed.
“It’s okay, I’m from the Northeast. See, I’m dressed warmly. I’m wearing several sweaters. I can handle this temperature.”
Yuan Yuan smiled, two dimples appearing on his face.
After giving away his clothes, Yuan Yuan trotted back to Xin Lan and Wan Yan, firmly sticking with the two beautiful young ladies.
Xin Lan and Wan Yan had no objections to the little tail, just looking ahead.
After walking for two li in this way, Xin Lan and the others saw a stone tablet.
Gu Village.
Gu Village, Gu Child, they were probably about to enter a nest of insects.
“We’re here.”
Xiao An touched the cold stone tablet, a joyful smile on his face.
“We’re here?”
The middle-aged man was astonished. There was indeed a stone tablet standing in this icy and snowy land, but looking left and right, they were still in the snowy field. How could they be there?
Xiao An stood on tiptoe and pressed firmly on the ‘insect’ (่ซ) character of ‘Gu Village’ (่ ฑๆ).
Suddenly, a village appeared on the snowy ground, with the stone tablet standing at the entrance.
“Come in.”
Xiao An walked in front, and the others followed.
After entering, Xin Lan looked back.
Outside was no longer the snowy field from before, but a black void with no support.
Amidst the falling snowflakes, the village, just as it had appeared, quietly disappeared again.
As soon as Xin Lan entered, she heard the sound of gongs and drums.
It sounded like funeral music.
Some paper money drifted over with the wind, and everyone’s faces looked unpleasant.
No one would look good coming into such a creepy place and encountering this kind of situation right at the beginning.
As the sound of gongs and drums approached, Xin Lan saw people wearing mourning clothes.
At the very front were two people scattering paper money, followed by the deceased’s coffin, carried by several people.
What caught the eye was that on top of the black coffin sat a woman.
The woman was also wearing mourning clothes, her legs dangling, holding a portrait of the deceased in her arms.
The scene made one’s scalp tingle; it looked extremely terrifying.
Someone almost couldn’t help but exclaim, quickly covering their mouth.
The woman sitting on the coffin was crying and wailing, her voice sharp, chanting something unintelligible that sounded like crying, singing, and speaking.
Behind the coffin followed a group of people walking, their faces somewhat wooden, passing in front of Xin Lan and the others.
“Someone just died, that’s all. Let’s go find the village elder.”
Xiao An spoke calmly, after the procession had left, and walked in front to lead the way.
Xin Lan narrowed her eyes, looking at Xiao An’s back.
She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but ever since this Gu Child entered Gu Village, he didn’t seem as sickly, and his walking speed had also increased considerably.
The village elder’s house wasn’t far from the village entrance. Before Xiao An could knock, the door opened.
The one who opened the door was an old woman wearing a cloth scarf on her head. She bowed respectfully to Xiao An.
“Welcome back to the village, Gu Child. The village elder is already waiting for you inside.”
She spoke in Mandarin, but with a strange and stiff accent.
“These are my friends who escorted me back. Ah Po3, remember to arrange things properly for them.”
The Ah Po nodded, and after Xiao An entered, she came out and closed the door.
“Distinguished guests, please follow me.”
Now, no one had figured out the situation, and no one made any rash moves, so they followed the old woman.
Yuan Yuan was ready to start a conversation again.
“Granny, your village is a bit remote, huh?”
“Gu Village avoids the world; it has always been this way.”
The old woman responded.
“Is the Gu Child’s position very high?”
“The Gu Child is the lifeline of Gu Village.”
“Then why did he return from outside the village?”
The old woman’s footsteps paused, and she turned her head to stare at Yuan Yuan.
She looked very old, her face full of wrinkles, her cheekbones protruding, very thin and gaunt. Her eyes widened, looking particularly creepy.
She just stared like that, making people’s hair stand on end.
“Granny, where are we going?”
Yuan Yuan chuckled dryly, changing the subject.
“There are a few houses in the village with empty beds for the distinguished guests. I’m afraid I can’t arrange for all of you to stay together. It’s up to the guests to decide how to arrange it.”
The old woman turned her head and continued to walk forward.
Although she was old, she didn’t walk with the faltering steps of a typical elderly person; she walked very steadily.
The old woman led them to a house and stopped, knocking on the door.
The door opened, and standing in the doorway was a girl of about eight or nine years old with a white cloth tied around her head.
“Ah Po.”
“The Gu Child has returned. These are the distinguished guests who escorted him back. How many empty rooms does your house have for the guests to stay in?”
“Two, enough for four people to sleep.”
The old woman glanced at the people behind her, waiting for them to choose.
The white cloth on the girl’s head immediately reminded people of the group wearing mourning clothes at the village entrance. For a moment, no one stepped forward.
Xin Lan simply stepped forward, and Wan Yan naturally followed her. Yuan Yuan, seeing this, also immediately stepped forward.
The last one was the white-shirt man.
From the first time Xin Lan saw this person, she felt he was extraordinary, too calm and collected. In the snowy field, he only wore a thin shirt, and he didn’t seem to feel cold.
Relying on Xin Lan’s honed intuition, she believed this person must be a powerful character.
The four people stayed, and the old woman continued to walk forward, knocking on the door of another house.
The girl opened the door, and after the four people entered, she closed the door.
“Distinguished guests, please follow me.”
She had a rather innocent smile on her face, looking very likable.
“Little sister, are you alone at home?”
Yuan Yuan, seeing that no one else came out of the house, continued to chat with the NPC.
“Second Uncle is gone. Everyone in the family went to his funeral.”
“Then why didn’t you go?”
“His status is not worthy of me attending his funeral.”
The little girl said with a smile, the look on her face and the words she spoke forming a huge contrast.
Her smile remained unchanged, but it no longer looked likable.
“Why not worthy?”
“Not worthy is not worthy. Your rooms are here.”
The little girl seemed not to understand why they were asking this, stopping in front of the rooms.
Yuan Yuan wanted to ask something, but the little girl had already run away.
Two adjacent rooms, two men and two women, how to choose was naturally clear.
Wan Yan was secretly delighted, but she didn’t dare to show it too much on her face.
LP: Re-translated on March 24, 2025
Footnotes
- ้ | lว | A traditional Chinese unit of distance, approximately 500 meters or 0.31 miles. Two li would be about 1 kilometer or 0.62 miles.
- ๅฐๅฎ | Xiวo ฤn | โLittle An,โ a common diminutive form of a name.
- ้ฟๅฉ | ฤ pรณ | A term for an elderly woman, often used for grandmothers or as a respectful term for older women in some regions of China.
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