Bloody Carnival
Chapter 108: Inadvertently Hitting the Mark
Seeing the bright red cross, Yu Wen was not happy, “Impossible! How could it be wrong?”
“Handsome, let’s not worry about why it’s wrong.” Chu Yue had thought a step further, “The key point is the punishment for giving a wrong answer.”
Punishment?
Yu Wen read the note on the paper: “There’s no punishment. Look, sister. It says that if we can’t answer or answer incorrectly, Shirley and Sali will punishment themselves and won’t eat anything for a day. Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Oh?” Chu Yue pointed at the wailing brat, “Why would he cry like that if it’s a good thing? Think about what he is most afraid of doing now.”
Yu Wen: “……..Afraid of eating? He might explode if he eats anymore.”
The level boss twitched a few times and looked particularly miserable.
“That’s right. That’s why I think——” Compared to You Huo and Qin Jiu, Boss Chu was clearly more humane and was willing to explain her thought processes.
She used her pen to circle the three key points “a day”, “won’t eat anything” and “often be hungry”.
“……..”
Yu Wen felt as if he was talking to a home tutor.
“’To punish yourself by not eating anything’. That’s equivalent to going on a hunger strike. What are the consequences of a hunger strike?” Chi Yue tapped her pen on the paper, “At this time the next day, they would feel unbearably hungry. Think about it from a child’s point of view. They’re on a hunger strike but they’re also extremely hungry. What would they do?”
Yu Wen: “Cry with regret.”
“…….You are quite special.” Boss Chu didn’t expect her friend’s brother to be able to answer her so she continued, “They will be unable to hold themselves back and would secretly eat. When would they secretly eat? While everyone else is asleep. Think about this afternoon. We happened to come when it was nap time and these two brats used that opportunity to secretly eat.”
Yu Wen’s expression was bad, “And then they ate six in one go.”
Chu Yue then said, “To them, this was definitely outside of their expectations. Afterall, there would usually only be one person in this exam so, in a normal situation, this theory of secretly eating makes sense. Sometimes they would succeed, sometimes they won’t. Those sleeping definitely wouldn’t go out of their way to make Shirley cry so it must be Shirley who took the initiative to go over to them. I think she probably made the examinees make a selection: if you get it right, you won’t be eaten but if you get it wrong, you’re gone.”
She paused for a moment and mumbled: “Then our side must be very unlucky.”
“Anyway, let’s not talk about this. So according to that logic, these questions here should all be answered correctly for these two brats to not get into mischief until the next day when the second set of problems are released. If you don’t answer or answer wrongly, you may end up eaten by them the next day.”
Yu Wen said: “So the two of us might get eaten tomorrow during nap time? No wonder this brat is crying so pitifully. How could he fit more of us in that stomach?”
Chu Yue said: “And that’s the problem. In a normal situation, they would try and digest the food as soon as possible to allow for more to be eaten but our people are in his stomach. Although he may not be able to digest six, digesting one shouldn’t be a problem.”
Yu Wen was stunned: “That’s true!”
“That’s why if we answer it correctly, to us it means that the punishment would be pushed until tomorrow but to your father and the others, it would put them in a difficult position.” Chu Yue had thought things through.
At the same time inside the mirror.
Dark fog loomed over to the centre looking like silkworm pupa devouring mulberry trees.
Old Yu’s injured leg was stretched out across the bed as he firmly covered himself with the duvet.
The doorway was covered by the dark fog. He didn’t know what was going on outside.
While trying to calm himself down, he rummaged through the small space he was in trying to find a clue to save him from this situation.
In the master bedroom upstairs, Shu Xue tried to stretch her hand into the black fog but was stopped by Wu Li and Yang Shu.
“You think your hands aren’t made of flesh?!” Yang Shu shouted.
“I’ll give it a try. Since I can go in and out of exams, I might be able to do this too.” Shu Xue said.
“You’ve already tried three times!” Miss Yang glared at her sternly, “Did you think that you will develop resistance after trying a few more times?!”
Unlike the others, You Huo and Qin Jiu could clearly see what Yu Wen and Chu Yue were doing.
“Nervous?”
“Not nervous.”
“Liar. You keep touching your earring.”
You Huo’s fingers stopped.
He looked very calm on the surface, but Wu Li had mentioned that this act of his was a ‘safety zone’.
“I’m still very concerned about……why you’re wearing it.” Qin Jiu looked at the bright object under You Huo’s finger.
Ever since the first exam, his gaze would always fall onto that earring.
It was always extremely dazzling amongst the crowds and Qin Jiu could find that source of light in an instant.
“I don’t know. Don’t remember.” You Huo glanced at Qin Jiu, “Why are you concerned? Don’t like it?”
“No.”
Qin Jiu said.
He looked at it for a while and brushed his finger against it.
“It’s hard to say but it’s not that.”
On the contrary, every time he saw that earring he would always feel reassured.
But mixed together with this sense of reassurance was…..a small and strange sense of regret.
Qin Jiu narrowed his eyes as he thought this. He then quickly returned to his senses.
Under You Huo’s doubtful watch, he smirked and said, “It’s nothing. I was just wondering if it was something I gave as bribe to the invigilator or as a lover’s gift.”
The former bribe was just pure nonsense. As for the latter…..
You Huo moved that devious finger of his away from his ear, “Anyway, it’s not something I would do myself.”
With his personality, would he be someone who would take the initiative to get something so eye-catching?
Impossible.
Although the word “fear” doesn’t exist in the two great master’s dictionaries, this was indeed their first time having someone else have control over their fates.
In the mirror, Chu Yue and Yu Wen slapped the desk with determination.
“Incorrect answers can’t be ignored. We can’t let anyone be digested. Let’s change it!” Chu Yue said this.
“I’ll do it sister.” Yu Wen rolled up his sleeves, “The exam mentioned that any changes will require you to pay a price. Someone must stay outside the mirror. As for me…..I’m not very reliable so it’s okay if I accidentally get sucked in. You should keep an eye on the situation outside.
Chu Yue was surprised. She didn’t think that the kid here would occasionally say something so charismatic.
“Isn’t it just getting a wrong answer? What do you think about moving all the mirrors over this place?” Yu Wen suggested. As he said this, he walked over to the stairs and picked up that tall mirror.
From Chu Yue’s end, he looked like he had done it with much ease.
From You Huo and Qin Jiu’s end, they saw this classmate’s face enlarged on the mirror.
This close up view really hurt the eyes.
You Huo stiffly took a step back.
But he then froze.
As Yu Wen moved the mirror, the area where they stood had started to change. It followed Yu Wen’s action and started to move to the right.
The kitchen and the bathroom mats quickly disappeared into the dark fog. The stairs leading down to the basement was also gone.
The space they were in changed according to Yu Wen’s actions.
And on the other end, the black fog had suddenly stopped moving. It not only stopped engulfing everything, it had even retreated a little.
In a blink of an eye, the French window appeared, followed by the study room door, and then the guest room……..
You Huo and Qin Jiu reacted very quickly. They immediately moved off the sofa and walked over to the guest room.
The changes in the limited space they were in had stopped.
The two exchanged a look.
“Wherever the mirror reflects becomes the space we can move about in.” Qin Jiu said.
You Huo had already grabbed the door handle for the door to the guest room: “If we open the door now, will Old Yu be inside?”
As he said this, he pushed open the door.
Unfortunately, all that there was behind the door was black fog.
“We got it wrong?” You Huo frowned.
“Not necessarily.” Qin Jiu thought for a moment, “The mirror in the guest room faces that direction and not at the door. And so, your uncle?”
Calling Old Yu ‘uncle’ of a sudden made You Huo feel uncomfortable. Qin Jiu who said it chuckled and said, “I have always felt that our Big Invigilator was someone who had fallen from the heavens…..Your uncle probably can’t see the door from that angle and since there’s nothing linking us, we won’t be able to find him unless…..”
“Unless Yu Wen also moves the mirror in the room out.” You Huo finished.
“Correct.”
In the real living room.
Classmate Yu Wen was unaware that he was inadvertently hitting the mark nor was he aware of his brother and Qin Jiu’s train of thoughts.
He placed the mirror in front of the sofa and adjusted the angle.
“There’s also a mirror in our room. I’ll go get it.”
“Okay, we have one in our room too.” Chu Yue said, “I’ll bring that over. I remember there should also be one in the bathroom.”
She actually felt that, according to normal logic, the answer to the second question should be “infinity”.
Even if they moved all the mirrors over to count, that should be the answer.
But she faintly felt that the mirrors probably held the key to something. Feeling that it would be more reassuring having it all put together, she didn’t mind joining the kid in senselessly moving the mirrors.
Yu Wen pushed open the door to the guest room.
The mirror was hanging there, reflecting the empty bedroom.
When they went to bed last night he had even said to Old Yu: “I’m used to sleeping alone so I might kick you. Maybe you should put some clothes next to your waist?”
And then he was slapped on the back by Old Yu.
“You think I didn’t know about that problem of yours? Who do you think has been covering you up again and again after you kick your sheets off?”
But when he opened his eyes again, the Old Yu who would help him with the sheets had disappeared.
Yu Wen stood there for a while feeling depressed.
His brother, Qin Jiu and his old man could only feel frustrated watching him….
He sniffled and then proceeded to remove the mirror from the wall.
He brought it outside.
The mirrors angle had changed. It now reflected the living room.
With the reflections in the two mirrors overlapping, the black fog in front of You Huo finally dissipated and Old Yu scrambled out of the room.
The moment he saw You Huo, he immediately threw all his fears away and hugged the two in front of him crying excitedly.
“I almost thought I was a goner!” Old Yu cried: “My god, there wasn’t even a bathroom in that small place. That damned thing even eats people. My hands are covered in blood because of it but fortunately I’m still alive….”
After his outburst, he took a few deep breaths before realising that he had not only bravely embraced his nephew, he had also embraced his boyfriend.
Old Yu stiffened on the spot. He could neither continue hugging them nor could he let go.
Fortunately, Boss Chu appeared just in time.
She carried the mirror downstairs and finally released the three girls from the master bedroom.
“You guys also came in?!” The moment Yang Shu saw You Huo and Qin Jiu, her emotions went unstable.
If even those two were thrown in, how were they going to pass this stage?
But now was not the time for them to chat.
Chu Yue very soon found the other three mirrors. The genius Yu Wen then arranged the six mirrors such that they surrounded the two brats who were bound on the sofa.
With Yu Wen’s arrangement, You Huo and the others once again experienced changes in their spaces.
In the end, the only area in which they can use was the sofa area.
Old Yu appealed “Can’t you include a bathroom? I really need to go.”
Unfortunately, his unfilial son couldn’t hear his cries.
Yu Wen moved left and right, changing the position of the mirrors many times.
Unaware that he was almost exhausting his six companions in the mirror, he muttered to Chu Yue: “That’s strange. No matter how I put it, it’s infinity. Sister, what are you doing? What’s that?”
Chu Yue walked over holding the diary You Huo and Qin Jiu had been concerned about.
“I found a diary. It was probably left there by A or 001.” Chu Yue turned a few pages and said: “I just read a few entries. I suspect……”
She glanced at Shirley and Sali before turning to Yu Wen, “This question probably isn’t asking you to count how many there are in the mirror. How should I put it…Everything in the mirror is fake, there is only one real Shirley.”
When they heard her say this, the pair of siblings on the sofa lowered their heads.
Their soft golden-yellow hair fell over their eyes, making it hard for them to make out their expressions.
Yu Wen thought about it and felt that it made sense.
“Then I…..I’ll change it?” He took a deep breath, grabbed the marker and used it to cross out the answer to the second question.
The moment the answer was crossed out, the six mirrors suddenly started to shake like crazy.
Yu Wen was startled.
Immediately afterwards, the mirrors emitted slapping sounds, like someone inside was trying to get out and was slapping their palms on the mirror.
He froze for a moment before rushing over to a mirror with pleasant surprise: “Old Yu? Brother? Is it you? Are you coming out?”
The next second, a bloody handprint was slapped onto the mirror right in front of his face.
“It’s not your brother!” Chu Yue pulled him away.
More and more handprints appeared on the mirror. In addition to adult ones, there were also children’s handprints.
“Who is this?!” Yu Wen quickly scrambled back.
“Probably those who were swallowed by it in the past!” Chu Yue answered, “I think this is probably the punishment for changing the answer.”
