Gaokao: Rules of Survival - Chapter 3

The blood-red Gaokao Survival Rules vanished from my paper.

Bathed in holy light, I worked on the questions, reassured.

“Bzz… bzz…”

After a brief burst of static, the English listening test stopped. In its place came an old man’s loving voice.

“My child, please believe me. Outside lies purgatory. This is the only pure land.

“Only by obeying the following rules can you remain here forever.

“First: Once daylight comes, you must write your Chinese essay.

“Second: The proctors have three eyes. Two see the mortal world; the third communes with spirits. They wear white and carry disciplinary rulers, symbols of authority, as well as exam papers, symbols of wisdom.

“Do not trust anyone carrying a red pen. Red pens stand for deception, temptation, sin, and slander.

“Fourth: Stay away from the devils dressed in red!

“Fifth: Do not work on English after daylight comes.

“Sixth: Goat hooves are a mark of evil. If you see them, notify a proctor immediately. They will kill the devils and protect you.

“Seventh: No one wears black. If you see someone who does, report it to a proctor in white immediately and ask to be taken to a doctor.”

The announcement was interrupted.

The proctors had discovered someone dressed in red among the candidates in our room.

“All candidates, stop writing now.”

At the announcement, every student in the room set down their pen and sat up straight in perfect unison, like robots receiving the same command.

Among them, I unconsciously copied their movements, straightening my back like a primary school child.

Only the candidate in red kept writing furiously.

I tried to glimpse his paper from the corner of my eye.

“You there.” The female proctor, as holy as an angel, walked up to me with a smile. She pulled a stun baton out of her tight skirt.

Wait. A stun baton?

My scalp prickled.

How had she fitted something that big inside a skirt that tight?

She smiled at me. On her chest, the bloody, knife-wound eye slowly appeared.

“No cheating during the exam.” Electricity crackled around the baton.

Before I could react, she pressed its tip against my waist, still smiling.

Burning pain shot through me. I screamed.

At the same moment, the Gaokao Survival Rules on my paper flashed into my mind.

—3. Do not make a noise. Stay quiet, or you will die.

“Aah!”

I howled in agony.

At last, the female proctor took away the baton. I collapsed on the floor.

Still smiling, she held the baton in one hand and cradled an envelope of exam papers in the other, looking down at me gently. “No cheating during the exam.”

“Don’t… kill me… Please…” I gasped for air.

She watched me with that smile for a long moment. Finally, she crouched and gently stroked my head. “Do not make a noise. Stay quiet. Otherwise…” She leaned close and smiled, her voice low enough for only us to hear. “You will die.”

I froze. The two sets of rules suddenly filled my mind.

—1. Do not write your Chinese essay during daylight hours.

—First: Once daylight comes, you must write your Chinese essay.

—2. The proctors have two eyes. They wear red and carry red pens, not stun batons or exam papers.

—Second: The proctors have three eyes. Two see the mortal world; the third communes with spirits. They wear white and carry disciplinary rulers, symbols of authority, as well as exam papers, symbols of wisdom.

—4. Do not refuse anything the devils ask of you, especially when they are dressed in white and carrying exam papers.

—Fourth: Stay away from the devils dressed in red!

—5. Do not work on English after dark.

—Fifth: Do not work on English after daylight comes.

—…

The Gaokao Survival Rules on my paper and the old man’s instructions corresponded point for point. Every one contradicted the other!

But the old man’s announcement had no “Third.”

And the third rule on the paper was: [3. Do not make a noise. Stay quiet, or you will die.]

Exactly what the female proctor had said to me!

What had happened to the old man’s third instruction?

Why had the female proctor quoted the third Gaokao Survival Rule?

Did she know I could see those rules appearing and disappearing?

Or did this particular rule apply to both sides, for some reason?

I didn’t know!

My thoughts were a tangled mess.

According to the Gaokao Survival Rules, the people in white with three eyes were devils.

“Come on.” The angelic devil held out a pale hand to me. “Get up. Have some fruit and relax. Then concentrate on your paper.”