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Chapter 30 - Chapter 30: Twenty Points Deducted – The Death Mechanism of the Copy

1.0. A large sheet of black cloth slowly descended from the ceiling, draping over the four transparent water tanks.

> "Please listen carefully to the question. Candidates only have one chance to answer…"

One chance?

Lucas frowned and set his pen down.

This entire exam reeked of traps. Nothing about this setup felt like a normal test. Even breathing felt like it needed to be done cautiously.

As the radio fell silent, the air in the classroom grew heavier.

The previously lifeless, expressionless students now had their eyes fixed on the black curtain with an almost obsessive intensity.

No one blinked. No one spoke.

They were all waiting, holding their breath.

Lucas stayed still. So did Rex beside him.

But after what felt like forever, no sound came from behind the black cloth.

Then—

BANG!

A loud, sudden thump rang out, as if someone had slammed hard into one of the tank walls.

Then, once again, silence.

Time dragged. The oppressive stillness returned.

And then—

Zhi——

The intercom flared up again.

> "Candidates, please begin answering."

The black cloth began to rise slowly on its own.

What Lucas saw next made his eyes narrow.

---

The four tanks were fully visible again.

Two of them—A and C—were now smeared with dark, viscous blood, their interiors violently altered. At the bottom of each, a scene so grotesque it would have to be censored on any broadcast.

The other two tanks—B and D—still contained their original occupants, who were now curled up into trembling balls of fear.

One man. One woman.

They shook violently, clutching their limbs close, their faces contorted in terror.

---

Two people were dead. Just like that.

In what was supposed to be an "exam."

Yet none of the other candidates so much as flinched.

No gasps. No panic. Not even surprise.

Lucas glanced at their faces.

All he saw was deep concentration.

They were simply thinking—calmly analyzing the listening test.

> "This exam doesn't treat human life like it matters at all..."

Lucas spun his pen slowly between his fingers.

---

When the black cloth had dropped earlier, there was no sound of tanks being opened, no indication of violence.

And yet, when it lifted—two people were dead.

It wasn't just murder.

It was clinical. Quiet. Precise.

And worst of all—deliberate.

Lucas scanned the front of the room again, analyzing:

---

[Faceless Female Teacher: Intermediate Danger]

[Ordinary Sealed Water Tank: No Danger]

[Corpse A in the Water Tank: No Danger]

[B in the Water Tank: Low-Level Danger]

[Corpse C in the Water Tank: Low-Level Danger]

[D in the Water Tank: Low-Level Danger]

---

"Wait… C's body still shows danger?"

His eyes narrowed.

That meant C wasn't dead? Or something else was off...

---

Beside him, cold sweat rolled off Rex's forehead, dripping onto his answer sheet.

A sudden panic hit him as he noticed and quickly tried to wipe it off with his sleeve.

Whatever confidence Rex had about copying answers earlier was long gone.

He didn't dare cheat anymore.

Even if someone handed him the correct answers, he wouldn't trust it now.

This wasn't a test you could wing. This was a test with a death toll.

---

Still, Rex was determined to answer.

"At least the first question's obvious," he muttered, thinking aloud.

"I remember those multiple-choice listening questions in school..."

On the answer sheet, under Question 1: 'Who died?', Rex boldly wrote: A, C.

---

"Now, for the second one… who moved whom?"

He bit his lip and squinted.

"B is between A and C. D couldn't have reached through B to kill A. That means… it had to be B who moved!"

His expression sharpened.

"No matter how terrifying the scene is, analysis based on facts always leads to the right conclusion."

Pleased with himself, Rex scribbled down B for Question 2.

---

Suddenly, without warning, the faceless female teacher stepped down from the podium.

Her movements were deliberate, slow, and eerie.

She walked straight toward Rex's desk.

She stopped just beside him and said in a raspy, throat-born voice:

> "You may hand me your answer sheet now."

Her voice didn't come from her mouth—it came from somewhere deeper.

Rex stiffened.

"But… the exam isn't over yet," he said nervously. "Why are you collecting my sheet now?"

> "Candidates have only one chance to answer," she replied flatly. "Once completed, answers may not be modified."

Rex's eyes widened.

"What?! I—I didn't even hear that on the broadcast!"

But before he could react further, the teacher reached forward and plucked the answer sheet from his desk.

She turned to face the sheet with her blank, faceless mask.

One second passed.

Then her voice emerged again, lifeless and cold:

> "Twenty points will be deducted for incorrect answers."

Rex blinked.

"Wait, I didn't have any points to begin with! How can you—"

BOOM—

Before he could finish his sentence, his head exploded right above his neck.

Blood sprayed over the desk.

His body slumped forward.

The students around him didn't even glance.

Not one person reacted.

The faceless female teacher calmly brushed her clothes, turned back toward the podium, and walked back with Rex's answer sheet in hand.

---

No points to deduct? Then your life will suffice.

---

[System prompt: Player Rex has died. Cause of death – failed examination. He has now been assimilated into a native dungeon creature.]

---

The live chat watching Lucas's stream exploded.

> "What the hell?! This question's impossible!"

"I saw other 'Exam' scenarios before, but none were this psychotic!"

"Don't you get it? There's a dungeon mechanic at play!"

"What mechanic?"

One experienced player explained in chat:

> "In second-tier dungeons, the death rate is always between 30% to 50%. When high-level players enter, the system increases the difficulty to balance out that mortality rate."

> "So the harder the player, the deadlier the test?"

> "Exactly. And with Lucas here—rated high by the system—the difficulty spike is brutal."

> "Fk… The tank… the trap… This is next-level sadistic."**

---

Back in the exam room, the horror lingered thick in the air—but only for Lucas.

To everyone else, it was just another step in the test.

The black cloth, the tanks, the deaths… nothing shook them.

They weren't thinking about trauma or fear.

They were solving problems.

---

And Lucas?

He tightened his grip on the pen and stared forward.

There would be no mistakes.

Not if he wanted to live.

---

To be continued...

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