Except for Yao Mei, everyone else had at least a high school education, so “time dilation” wasn’t hard to grasp. With Xu Fang’s explanation, they understood it quickly.
If they followed Xu Fang’s method, not to mention dragging things out for five hours—even five years was theoretically possible. The spacetime distortion near a black hole was so extreme that, from the outside, anything approaching it would seem to enter a state of “immortality.”
Yet the fact that a fragile human body could get close to that terrifying celestial object and still live left everyone stunned. At the same time, they were shaken by Xu Fang’s madness.
That guy… is a lunatic.
Zhu Chengtao secretly decided that once he got back to the real world, he’d talk to his parents about transferring schools. He absolutely did not want to attend the same university as this psychological freak Xu Fang. If K City Transportation University suddenly blew up one day, or just vanished, he wouldn’t be surprised at all—because there was a monster like Xu Fang on campus.
“Xu Fang, really, thank you.” Yue Yang didn’t have as many complicated thoughts as Zhu Chengtao. His heart was full of nothing but gratitude and admiration, and the teenager even felt a sudden urge to keep adventuring with Xu Fang.
Compared to his boring, tasteless school life, these horror-filled adventures, while nerve‑wrecking, carried a kind of special thrill. The boy felt he might be similar to some novel protagonists—unwilling to live an ordinary life, only able to find the meaning of existence on the border between life and death.
Just then, Xu Fang spoke again.
“Everyone, it’s almost time. I’ll give you a piece of advice. After you return to the real world, run. Run as far as you can. The examiner’s already memorized your names. If he’s the petty, narrow‑minded type, maybe…”
“Hold it, your business between ‘authors’ has nothing to do with us, right?” Zhang Wanling shouted, cutting him off, her gaze cold on Xu Fang.
Xu Fang shrugged and didn’t intend to continue.
“Brother Xu Fang, why don’t you give us your contact info? Your phone number or QQ or something. When we get back to the real world, we can team up and take down that damn author together!” Yue Yang clenched his fists, speaking viciously.
“Oh wow, so gutsy now. During the exam, who was it that got scared and hid behind me again?” Yao Mei teased him.
Yue Yang’s face flushed bright red. “Men grow too, you know. Give me some time and I’ll naturally be able to face life and death calmly.”
“Xu Fang, are you planning to stay?”
Xu Fang smiled. “Are you planning to stay?”
Xu Tong hesitated, then nodded, then quickly shook his head. “The rules said before: if a candidate passes, they can choose to become an examiner, and the previous examiner gets demoted to candidate. I figure that’s the best chance to kill that author!”
Xu Tong had no idea Ye Huai was listening to their conversation. Otherwise, even if you gave him three extra lives, he wouldn’t dare say that.
“Don’t stay. Once you’re back in the real world, find a safe place and hide. Hide for at least a month. Don’t go against the ‘authors.’ Normal people can’t beat them.”
“Can you beat that guy?”
“I’m not gonna casually jinx myself.” Xu Fang didn’t answer him directly, and in the end, he also didn’t say whether he’d stay.
…
On the other side of the screen, Ye Huai’s face was ashen. His five bony fingers twisted together, his thin cheeks full of panic. Staring at Xu Fang on the screen, he felt genuine fear.
Every “all‑out attack” of his had landed like a punch into cotton. No matter what schemes or tricks he used, that man would see through them.
(…No matter what it costs, I have to kill him! Otherwise, maybe one day he’ll grow to a level higher than mine!)
“I‑It’s… it’s fine. I’m an E‑rank author. Even if I’m only one rank higher than Xu Fang, the difference in value is worlds apart. Horror Novel Web will side with me. Heh… heh heh…”
“I just hope that guy knows his place and walks away. Then we can all be fine…”
Ding—
[Since Xu Fang chose to become an examiner, the exam will restart. The candidate for this exam is Ye Huai.]
[Number of examiners: 1
Number of candidates: 1]
The echo of the Wraith Examination Room shattered his wishful thinking.
The black space around Ye Huai began to twist and blur. Suddenly the ground vanished under him and he fell down on his butt. When he looked up again, he realized he was back in that familiar, shabby classroom.
That meant he’d become a candidate.
Ye Huai hurriedly stuck his hand into his pocket. When his fingers touched the slightly cold “Death Immunity Card,” he finally let out a breath.
According to the exam rules, the classroom counted as the “waiting area,” a safe zone. As long as he didn’t leave, his life wasn’t in danger.
He could also use the Death Immunity Card right now, but this was his only life‑saving item after the scarecrow. There might never be another chance to get something like it. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he wouldn’t use it.
Ye Huai lifted his head. Through his messy bangs, he stared into the empty air and grinned savagely. “Xu Fang, you think just becoming an examiner means you can kill me? Go ahead and try. If I don’t die, I swear I’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth and torture you to death. But if you let me leave, I swear I’ll never cause you trouble again!”
According to Rule Seven, before the exam officially started, the examiner had the right to decide whether the candidate could leave the Wraith Examination Room.
Ye Huai had no intention of taking the exam—especially with that madman Xu Fang as the examiner. He could already imagine how brutal Xu Fang’s questions would be.
So he wanted to smooth things over, say some nice words to lower Xu Fang’s hostility. Of course, those “nice words” were all lies. Once he returned to the real world, the very first thing he planned to do was kill Xu Fang.
He got no response, but he knew Xu Fang had heard him. During the exam, the examiner could monitor the candidate the whole time. Every word and action of the candidate was perfectly visible to the examiner. But because of the Wraith Examination Room’s restrictions, the examiner could only receive information; he couldn’t talk to the candidate.
Time ticked by, second by second. Ye Huai waited quietly in the classroom, nervous yet faintly excited.
He guessed that Xu Fang was hesitating—if Xu Fang let him go, maybe he could avoid retaliation. If he insisted on setting an exam, that meant tearing things completely apart. Once Ye Huai got back to the real world, Xu Fang would face his relentless pursuit.
Ye Huai was an E‑rank author, higher‑ranked than Xu Fang, and he was also Xu Fang’s “creator.” He had access to all of Xu Fang’s information, so in the real world, Xu Fang had no chance of winning. On top of that, Xu Fang’s only trump card—the little demon—had been moved to the moon. So Xu Fang had nothing that could actually threaten Ye Huai.
Thinking of this, Ye Huai suddenly felt confident again. He pulled the Death Immunity Card from his pocket and waved it in the air, laughing. “Oh, right, I almost forgot. Even if you give me an exam, you still can’t kill me. This card guarantees I won’t die. Xu Fang, you’re a smart guy—you should know what to do, right?”
As if answering his words, the speaker in the corner finally crackled to life.
[Welcome, candidate, to the Wraith Examination Room.]
[The following are the exam rules.]
[Candidate: Ye Huai
Exam duration: 1 hour.
Exam score: total 100, passing score 60.
Exam rules:
1. This is a practical exam. The candidate must explore on his own during the exam to obtain points.
2. If the final score is below 60, the candidate dies. If it’s above 60, the candidate may choose to leave the exam room freely or become an “examiner,” or continue as a “candidate.”
3. If the candidate leaves the classroom, he formally enters the exam area. If he stays in the classroom, he’ll be transported back to the real world after five minutes.
The exam starts now!]
The classroom door silently swung open, revealing a huge crack that led into the deep, dark corridor beyond.
“Heh heh heh… hahaha!!” Ye Huai couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
In the end, Xu Fang had still backed down.
Ye Huai could already picture Xu Fang’s desperate expression.
Xu Fang must have hesitated for a long time before deciding to draft the exam. Then, just as he was about to finish, he learned the despairing truth that Ye Huai had a Death Immunity Card—no matter what Xu Fang did, he couldn’t kill him.
Horror Novel Web was that biased. Low‑rank authors dreaming of fighting higher‑rank authors were delusional. Just the gear high‑rank authors carried was enough to crush those newbie scrubs.
So, once Xu Fang realized this, he added Rule Three at the end—the part about “if he stays in the classroom, he’ll be transported back to the real world after five minutes”—as a sign that he was compromising with Ye Huai.
Smug, Ye Huai stared at a spot in the empty air, knowing Xu Fang was watching. “Nice job. When I’m back in the real world, I won’t come after you. You don’t come after me either. From now on, we’ll never cross paths again.”
(Yeah right. Once I’m out, the first person I’m killing is you. After I kill you, I’ll kill everyone who took part in this exam. None of you are getting away!)
Five minutes later, Ye Huai noticed the space around him was starting to darken and twist. Everything in the classroom became distorted, a shadowy haze settling over every surface. The room itself began to crack apart; the sky dimmed, and the floor and ceiling were torn to pieces by some powerful force, breaking into fragments of all sizes.
The light around him grew dimmer and dimmer, until he was swallowed by pitch‑blackness.
(Am I finally going back to the real world?)
That thought flashed through Ye Huai’s mind, murder glinting in his eyes. He could barely wait to get back to his little room and retrieve his gear.
Wait…
Ye Huai suddenly felt something was off—the Wraith Examination Room’s rules stated that a candidate could leave the exam room before the exam started. But did it ever say you could leave during the exam? Since the exam had already begun, why was he being sent back to the real world?
Ye Huai’s eyes went wide. A cold sweat rushed down his back.
