B U G Arc
Exam God 16
“Where do you want to go?”
Xin Lan asked.
“Wherever you want to go, we’ll go.”
The man’s response was quite clever, and he even sent a flirtatious glance her way.
Yuanyuan tugged at the corner of his mouth nearby. It seemed this gentleman didn’t know just how terrifying the young lady was, yet he dared to flirt.
“No more nonsense,”
Wan Yan cast a cold glance at the man with a peach blossom face and spoke directly.
Huo Xu squinted his eyes but didn’t say anything.
The others remained silent, and the atmosphere grew somewhat strange.
The exam had only just passed the listening comprehension part, and now, during the written test, disagreements were starting to arise?
“It seems like everyone has their own calculations,”
Xin Lan chuckled and patted Dr. Cana’s shoulder, while the NPC wore a blank expression, playing along.
“It doesn’t matter, no matter what schemes you all may have,”
Xin Lan waved her hand and nodded towards Wan Yan.
Wan Yan understood and entered the room to investigate.
Between them, they had reached a point where they didn’t need to exchange a single word; a glance was enough to understand each other’s thoughts, possessing an unspoken understanding that outsiders could easily discern.
“The hanging map has been taken down.”
Wan Yan surveyed the area and returned with an empty space inside, devoid of anything. There were clear traces on the wall where a map had once hung.
“The map is here; you can call me Ah Cheng, clear as Cheng.”
One of the girls in the group raised the map in her hand and introduced herself.
Everyone introduced themselves one by one. The man with peach blossom eyes was named Chen Bai, Huo Xu, and Yuanyuan had all spent time in a examination room before, and the remaining male student was called Lion.
Xin Lan took the map from Ah Cheng’s hand and opened the driver’s door.
(Originally translated on littlepandatranslations.com, let's go!)
“How about I drive instead? I can’t bear to let a beauty like you do the driving,”
Chen Bai held the car door, gazing affectionately at Xin Lan.
“If you still want to keep that hand intact, I suggest you let go.”
Xin Lan didn’t bother with formalities; in her eyes, this world was all virtual, and she didn’t care about someone’s life or death.
Seeing this, Chen Bai shrugged and opened the passenger seat.
The remaining six people took seats in the back, with Dr. Cana sitting at the very back, Wan Yan beside him, clearly providing protection.
Dr. Cana, dutifully clutching his research findings, remained silent.
Xin Lan took out the map and glanced at it, realizing she could only see one point.
She frowned and handed the map to Wan Yan, urging her to take a look.
“Just one location.”
And they weren’t at a base.
Xin Lan made a face, and Wan Yan shook her head.
“The security seems quite tight.”
The characters on each candidate’s cards couldn’t be seen by others. Since it was a free-for-all, the items had all transformed into what one might expect in such a scenario. Regarding the map, everyone could only see the direction of their own destination.
In other words, if nobody spoke up, no one would know who was an ally.
And it was possible that there were more than just her and Wan Yan in their locations.
But that didn’t matter; no matter the circumstances, they were determined to emerge victorious.
Xin Lan and Wan Yan exchanged information via Zero Nine, estimating the approximate distance between the two bases. Perhaps for the convenience of the candidates, the distance between bases wasn’t particularly far, though the north and south regions were still quite distant.
Xin Lan speculated that there is a possibility of a third or fourth team, was because the word ‘north’ was emphasized on their cards. So, did this mean that there might be a base in the south as well?
“Didn’t they say there were eight people? Where’s the eighth person?”
With Dr. Cana included, they made up eight people, but there were supposed to be eight candidates, and one had yet to appear.
“Maybe they got eliminated,”
the girl named Ah Cheng whispered.
After waiting for about five minutes with no one showing up, Xin Lan realized that the chances of the missing person still being alive were nearly zero.
They had just come out of the laboratory, where there were no living people except for NPCs. Waiting here, and yet that person had not appeared.
Xin Lan started the car, which emitted a dull sound, and it sped forward, leaving behind a trail of endless yellow sand.
She turned on the car’s music, and the voice of a Western female singer filled the vehicle. It was deep and melodious, with a catchy melody echoing in her mind.
Xin Lan recognized this song and began to hum along, gazing ahead at the endless expanse of yellow sand. As the chorus approached, she pressed down on the accelerator.
What surprised Xin Lan was that Wan Yan also started singing the same song.
“I’ve been running through the jungle，
I’ve been running with the wolves，
To get to you to get to you，
I’ve been down the darkest alleys，
Saw the dark side of the moon，
To get to you to get to you……”
(LP: Wolves – Selena Gomez
Originally English in the novel)
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Her voice was passionate, not hiding her deep emotions.
“I’ve been running through the jungle, I’ve been running with the wolves, to get to you, to get to you. I’ve been down the darkest alleys, saw the dark side of the moon, to get to you, to get to you…
Just to get to you, to get to you.”
Wan Yan’s ending note was almost lingering.
Although the entire song didn’t quite match the message she wanted to convey, this chorus was her heartfelt sentiment.
She had once ventured into several worlds, sealing away her memories, all in pursuit of Xin Lan’s footsteps, waiting by her side.
Even though she didn’t know what might happen, she had confidence that the version of herself attracted to Xin Lan once would be attracted a second time, and then a third…
Every time, she would take some action.
And there would come a time when Xin Lan might just start to feel something for her.
She was cautious and hesitant to speak, but if it weren’t for this bug, she didn’t know how much longer she would have held back.
Zero Nine shed the tears of a single dog, Commander was indeed quite hardcore, managing to confess skillfully whenever the opportunity arose.
Learned a thing or two.
The others in the car had no clue about this kind of subtlety. They had no idea that Wan Yan was using the song to confess her feelings. Ah Cheng and Lion thought the singing was quite pleasant but didn’t realize the underlying message. Yuanyuan remained composed; these two older sisters had always been remarkable. Huo Xu, on the other hand, shifted his gaze from Wan Yan to the person in the driver’s seat, lost in thought.
Chen Bai, on the contrary, turned around with keen interest to glance at Wan Yan and even whistled in admiration.
Xin Lan understood Wan Yan’s intention, her lips curling into a smile, but she didn’t slow down the speed of the car.
They were probably in that phase beyond friends, in the ambiguous stage before full-blown romance.
Any little hints understood by both could bring about a sweet feeling.
That feeling was so real, like the warmth of the sun on one’s face, bringing a sense of ardor.
Xin Lan drove with the wind blowing in through the window, rustling her hair.
The song’s melody dissipated into the dusty sands, leaving behind two tire tracks.
If the journey continued smoothly all the way, then this exam’s difficulty would be too low.
Xin Lan knew it wouldn’t be that easy. She suddenly hit the brakes, causing an abrupt collision for those who couldn’t react in time.
“What’s going on?”
Yuanyuan looked puzzled.
“I think the situation might not be good.”
At the end of the yellow sands lay a forest that appeared lush and beautiful, despite the intertwining branches slowly moving together, which were hard to ignore.
“The car might not be able to pass.”
Navigating through such densely tangled woods would be challenging for people, and the car would certainly be stopped.
She could move freely herself, but…
Xin Lan looked at Dr. Cana and the code box in his hands, contemplating the scene of twirling and leaping with a 1.8-meter-tall bald man.
“My ability is spatial placement, roughly about 40 square meters, but it can only hold inanimate objects. I can place this code box, but a large living person might not fit.”
Yuanyuan spoke up first.
“My ability is fire… but I haven’t tested it yet, so I don’t know how powerful it is.”
Lion chimed in, admitting that he hadn’t tried his ability yet. What if he accidentally burned down the entire forest?
“I have the power of wind.”
Huo Xu spoke briefly.
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Each of them possessed unique abilities, likely a provision by the rules for these unfamiliar candidates in this post-apocalyptic scenario.
After all, unarmed individuals would have a hard time dealing with zombies that didn’t feel pain.
Xin Lan had exceptional physical fitness, and her heightened hearing was a benefit, with the only drawback being that she found loud noises like screams somewhat intolerable.
Wan Yan had the ability to disassemble and create weapons.
Yuanyuan had the power of spatial manipulation, Huo Xu controlled wind, Lion had the ability of fire, Ah Cheng wielded water manipulation, and Chen Bai possessed healing powers.
It was somewhat surprising—the man who appeared to be a playboy was actually a nurse. The contrast was amusing.
Xin Lan had Yuanyuan place both the car and the code box into his spatial dimension, and then she headed towards the forest.
“Where are you all going?”
Dr. Cana inquired.
Xin Lan didn’t respond and instead had Lion burn through the entangled branches.
“Do we not need to take him with us?”
Ah Cheng looked at Dr. Cana, her voice wavering.
“No need,”
Xin Lan replied. She hadn’t really planned on bringing the big man into the forest. The instructions on their cards were clear: to escort Dr. Cana’s research findings to the base, and success would be achieved once the research findings reached the base.
The research findings were currently in Yuanyuan’s spatial dimension, so there was no need to bring the NPC along.
Ah Cheng looked around at the others and noticed that they had the same reaction.
She took out her card and looked at it again before putting it back in her pocket and walking over.
It was interesting, considering the rules intended for them to turn against each other, yet their abilities were distributed quite sensibly, making it difficult for them to engage in immediate conflict.
Xin Lan scanned the eyes of everyone present, and when she met Wan Yan’s gaze, Wan Yan smiled.
Wan Yan’s smile was shallow but seemed filled with joy.
Xin Lan wonder if AI, when they have a liking for someone, always expresses themselves so openly without reservation.
However, Xin Lan didn’t ask Wan Yan this question; instead, she asked Zero Nine.
【Of course, when you like someone, you can’t hide it. You have to pay attention all the time because we never get tired of it.】
Zero Nine replied seriously, which made AI quite reassuring, unlike humans.
Xin Lan suddenly remembered the previous encounters they had at the coffee shop, where Wan Yan would often gaze at her like this, without any malicious intent. When she met her gaze, Wan Yan would respond with a smile.