Chapter 16

“What does that mean?” Bai Wei asked seriously.

“The notes clearly state that to pass the evaluation and achieve an ‘A’ grade or higher multiple times, players can discover the existence of the evolutionary game,” Yun Xin said calmly. “So, if you haven’t obtained an ‘A’ grade but were informed unexpectedly, you need to update the evaluation to reflect that, right?”

“With this speculation in mind, I selected several relatively reliable elderly individuals and hinted to them that they might encounter emergencies, asking them to help when necessary.”

“After the fire, most could only escape themselves and had no energy left to save others. Even if they could, it would only be one or two people. Luckily, there was an old soldier among them whose physical fitness was much better than the average elderly person. From the start of the fire to its extinguishing, he managed to rescue exactly ten people.”

“He told me that using unconventional means to find out early results in receiving the ‘Misfortune’ debuff. Achieving an ‘A’ grade or higher multiple times automatically removes the ‘Misfortune’ debuff.”

“I’ve already told you the solution; the rest is up to you.”

“So, you’re just going to stand by and watch all those elderly people die?” Bai Wei refused to let Yun Xin go. “Without your warning, they won’t last long before they succumb.”

Yun Xin sighed softly, then…

“Did I tell them about the evolutionary game?”

“Did I make them participate in the experiment?”

“I carefully selected a few relatively reliable ones. Only the old soldier got an ‘A’. How do you expect me to save the others?”

“You’re the one who put these elderly people in mortal danger in the first place. Now you’re asking others to help save them with just your words.”

Yun Xin chuckled softly, “Is your mental state still intact? Do you think others are gods, able to be saved just because you wish it?”

Bai Wei was speechless.

“I won’t argue with you. You conveniently forget that I was deceived into coming here,” Yun Xin laughed.

Bai Wei opened her mouth as if to speak but was interrupted.

“Your lofty ideals, your grand goals, your tough situation… Take it up with your superiors. I don’t want to hear it,” Yun Xin turned away, “I used to think the elderly could be saved, but now I know they’re all sacrifices. There’s no point in staying.”

“This sacrifice is unavoidable,” Bai Wei’s expression was bleak, her gaze determined, “Everything I’ve done is for the continuation of the human race.”

“In any case, I don’t want to be a participant in this experiment. Consider me never here,” Yun Xin concluded without bothering to argue further, and she left without Bai Wei trying to stop her.

Firstly, she knew she couldn’t stop her. Secondly, the recording had already been verified by someone else, and everything Yun Xin said was true. She had no right to restrict the freedom of a law-abiding citizen who insisted on leaving.

“You want to leave?” Wu Peng was shocked when he heard that Yun Xin planned to leave.

“Do you want to come with me?” Yun Xin asked.

“Huh? That wouldn’t be right… The curse on the elderly hasn’t been lifted yet,” Wu Peng hesitated.

He almost forgot that this guy only knew part of the truth.

Yun Xin briefly described the situation, emphasizing that “the curse on the elderly was caused by the director,” “the director used the elderly for experiments for the sake of humanity, and the elderly participated voluntarily,” and “the curse is unlikely to be lifted. Preventing accidents only gives the elderly a few more days, and the process of prevention could cause them more suffering.”

Wu Peng was stunned. His first reaction was, “Would anyone really volunteer for this? Could the director be lying?”

“It’s true,” Yun Xin told him. “If someone lies to my face, I can sense it.”

“This, this…” Wu Peng was at a loss for words.

The complexity of the entire situation far exceeded his imagination, and he didn’t know what to do. After all, he was just an ordinary person and had never encountered such a scenario before.

“If you don’t leave with me now, you might not be able to leave on your own later,” Yun Xin warned.

Wu Peng struggled for a long time before finally deciding, “I’m not leaving. I still want to save them! I don’t know if I can do it, but I have to try. Saving one more person is still saving someone.”

Then he gave a series of numbers and asked Yun Xin, “This is my phone number. Please call me in half a month. If everything is safe, I’ll answer. If something goes wrong and I don’t answer, report to the police and tell them my disappearance is related to the director.”

“Is it worth risking your life to save those elderly people?” Yun Xin asked softly. “It’s really hard to break their curse; it’s almost like creating a miracle.”

But miracles are called miracles because their occurrence is extremely rare, almost negligible.

The hardest part isn’t predicting or avoiding disasters, but getting the elderly to save themselves while also saving others.

“If they can’t save more than ten people at once and get an A rating, all efforts will be in vain.”

Wu Peng smiled, “I was raised by my grandparents. I can’t just watch elderly people, who are around the same age as my grandparents, die like this.”

“But if something happens to you, won’t your grandparents be sad?” Yun Xin asked.

“They passed away several years ago,” Wu Peng replied. “I’m single and have no attachments, so I can do whatever I want.”

Yun Xin looked at Wu Peng and suddenly felt that he was also a hero.

After leaving the nursing home, Yun Xin took a taxi back to her rental apartment. When she arrived at the neighborhood, she was stunned—the building was gone! She had only been away for four days, and now the place where she rented her apartment had turned into a heap of rubble and bricks.

“What happened?” Yun Xin asked around.

A small shop owner nearby told her, “A tenant tried to save money by cooking with gas. Whether due to improper operation or something else, the gas exploded and destroyed the entire building.”

Yun Xin suddenly remembered her grandmother’s words: that witches in their lineage are naturally drawn to disasters and unknowingly get close to them.

Could this be an instance of being attracted to the gas explosion? She might have been able to prevent it, but she was too busy dealing with a more severe disaster elsewhere and missed the chance to save them?

In this light, it seemed she really did have a disaster-attracting constitution. After all, the gas exploded even though she wasn’t there.

Just as this thought arose, Yun Xin wondered if she wouldn’t bring disasters to others. Would it be too dangerous for her future partner to live with her?

Occasionally going on a business trip, only to come back and find the house blown up. Worse yet, if her partner were home, they’d get blown up together too.

“Too complicated,” Yun Xin gave up thinking about it.

Since she couldn’t find a suitable rental immediately, she decided to stay in her family’s mansion for a while.

Living in the mansion and snacking on treats, Yun Xin started looking for a new job. Before applying, she modified and polished her resume.

Three jobs ago, the boss turned into a candy figurine, and the workplace was flooded. Two jobs ago, the boss ended up in jail, and the building self-destructed. In her last job, the boss was still there, and the building was intact, but the clientele (elderly residents) were expected to disappear soon.

If she wrote these achievements truthfully, Yun Xin was confident she wouldn’t find a job for the next year or two. So, appropriate editing and embellishment were necessary.

For example, for the job three positions ago, she wrote that due to a syrup accident, the workplace was flooded, so she decided to change jobs. 

For the job two positions ago, she hadn’t even worked a month before both the boss and the building were gone, so she just ignored it and didn’t mention it at all.

For the last job, she only worked four days, and a significant portion of the clientele disappeared, with the rest about to follow. She didn’t mention this either, just added that she had experience in caregiving from her university part-time jobs.

Of course, if anyone read that and wanted to hire her for a similar companion role, Yun Xin, who wasn’t picky about jobs, would firmly refuse. It was just to add some variety to her resume, nothing more.

After making these modifications, her updated resume was ready, and Yun Xin continued to send out applications en masse.

Half a month later, Yun Xin dialed the phone on time. After a short wait, the call was answered.

“It’s me,” came Wu Peng’s hoarse voice from the other end.

“Are you really Wu Peng?” Yun Xin asked.

“Yes,” Wu Peng replied.

Her sixth sense didn’t detect any lies, so Yun Xin felt relieved. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up.”

“Wait!” Wu Peng called out, hesitated, and then said with a bitter smile, “Sis, it turns out life really needs an A. It can’t be a B or a C, and there’s no room for negotiation.”

Yun Xin paused, “You figured it out?”

“Yeah,” Wu Peng’s voice carried an indescribable weariness. “The experiment is over. Only one veteran survived, the one you saved.”

Yun Xin thought to herself, unsurprised. It was expected that self-rescue would be difficult for the other elderly, and expecting them to save ten more people besides themselves… Without considering miracles, respecting objective facts led to the conclusion that it was impossible.

“Can you tell me about these things?” Yun Xin asked suspiciously.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Wu Peng shrugged off, “I’m not even afraid to stay alone in the nursing home, so why would I be afraid to tell you and violate regulations?”

Yun Xin thought it over and agreed, “Go ahead then.”

“After you left, the director suddenly said we should try to let the elderly self-rescue and help each other as much as possible,” Wu Peng recalled carefully, his mood heavier. “At first, I didn’t understand why, and I even opposed it. But what I say doesn’t matter; everything was done according to the director’s instructions.”

“After the old people died or got injured, many became scared. At that point, some suggested leaving the nursing home and going back home. The director refused, saying their departure could affect and harm others. The elderly didn’t believe her and united to resist, but they were suppressed by the staff.”

“Sis, didn’t you say the elderly went there voluntarily? It doesn’t look like it to me,” Wu Peng questioned.

“There are two possibilities,” Yun Xin pondered, explaining, “The director believes the elderly volunteered, but she was deceived.”

“There’s another possibility: the elderly were willing at first, but when death actually came, they got scared, regretted it, and didn’t want to anymore.”

“Ah,” Wu Peng sighed heavily, “Anyway, after a week of turmoil, only that veteran survived.”

“I watched anxiously, and my abilities finally manifested accurately once. After saving many people, I finally understood what was really going on.”

“You were right to leave. Watching the elderly pass away one by one is too heartbreaking.”