Shades of Wolves

Chapter 14: The Talking Numbers

November 13th, 2100.

It's past two o'clock in the morning. I still can't sleep. My mind can't stay still, since it's waiting for what's going to happen next. If we guess wrong, is there a chance for us to live?

I'm thinking about Mom, Dad, Mahoney, Kiki, even the people who died in this game. Every time I look at their blood, I automatically think that my own blood might be pouring out like that.

Sammul can be a good companion. But he is not a simple person. However, I have no choice. Mahoney and I are alone. We need to find exceptional individuals to lean on. Samumul, Nabeya or that musician Peccinini are not bad either. The power of unity can help us win, at least at this hurdle.

Honestly, if given the chance, I'd like to take off those dark glasses off to see if he's really blind. If Sammul wasn't blind, he'd clearly be the worst cunning wolf here.

Hoa

Day 4, 6:30, 30 minutes before the first qualifying round

Hoa looked at the flashing electric squares on the seat matrix. Today her position had changed again. She sat next to number 038. If she remembered correctly, it was Nabeya's number, the girl with long legs, a pretty face, purple hair, and a green parrot that had squealed to kill someone.

Mahoney hit her shoulder, bringing Hoa back to reality.

"Why are you looking so pensive?" Mahoney said as she handed her a box of milk.

"Nothing? It's fun to see them flicking!" Hoa found an excuse to let this go. Mahoney did not want to ask anything more either anyway.

“It’s fun huh?” A voice behind them raised up.

"Hello, Hoa. Look, we’re sitting next to each other today." Nabeya walked over to Hoa’s side. She also looked at the signboard. She was one head taller than Hoa. Her eyes were as charming as a lake in autumn, and her smile was also very beautiful. Nabeya made people feel safe and comfortable around. At least, Hoa had good feelings towards this girl since she had saved Hoa earlier before.

“I hope so too!” Hoa smiled but when she saw Sammul passing by, her smile suddenly was gone. Hoa looked up at the control panel one last time before entering.

Those flashing numbers had kept her awake last night. Sammul had asked her to remember them well.

………………….

Day 3, rooftop, 11pm, 8 hours before the first qualifying round.

“The matrix of seats?”

Hoa suddenly remembered. It was true that she had forgotten it. Beside the lecture on the blackboard and the exam code, the matrix could also be seen by anyone. But the thing was… it's outside the exam room, so did that also count as well?

“There’s no one said that the test had to be in your hand, right before your eyes. When you walk in here, it's already a contest!" Sammul understood Hoa's concerns.

“What do you see from those square boxes?”

“The watchers, or, in another word, the decay teeth, they must be different from us. From the moment I entered here, you and I and the players were constantly being swapped and tossed around. Why is that? Don’t you find it strange?” Sammul asked.

Hoa agreed. It's a bit unusual indeed. Looking back, with the rules of the game not so strict, changing seats was a bit unreasonable. To avoid fraud? No, everyone brought the answers out, she even wrote them on the board in the cafeteria for everyone to use. So why didn’t WIC let players sit still? Or was there another reason?

“Toothless, or decay tooth, means they are different from us. Remember these three days with this matrix of seats again. Generalize all of its changes.”

Hoa closed her eyes. The electric squares flew up and down like swiftlets. They were all around her. She reached out her hand to feel each flow. She’d doing that for a moment until they flew slowly, slowly and then perched on the nearby trees. Hoa suddenly opened her eyes. She had just realized something.

“On the second day, the seating matrix started to change, but 25 positions remained the same. Today, the third day, 15 positions remain unchanged.”

"That's right. The decay teeth, those who are different from us, that are among them!"

Sammul confirmed. Hoa was completely hooked on this theory. She was also very afraid that, once they were wrong, they would have no way to turn the situation back.

…………....

Hoa sat down at her assigned location. Next to him was Nabeya. She stroked her hair. They still had 15 minutes until the time. So it's okay to talk a little bit.

“Your parrot…” Hoa was a little shy.

“He flew away…”

“Did you really let him go?” Hoa was a bit surprised.

“My friend gave him to me. I didn’t mean too much to him either way. He will live just fine without me” Nabeya smiled back. Her eyes were a little sad.

"Why did you look at the matrix of seats for so long?"

Nabeya looked over to Hoa. Her sudden change of question surprised Hoa a bit.

“I want to know where I am going to sit” She forced out an answer with a bit of awkward.

"Really? But you have looked at it for more than 15 minutes. Someone with a good memory like you do needs to look at it for that long? Or... is there something special in it?”

Nabeya continued with another question. There was a sudden ache in the beat in Hoa's chest. She automatically glanced at Sammul and immediately returned. She doubted that Sammul would tell this to Nabeya. He's not the type who liked to brag or anything, let alone talk to other people. But this girl asked her like that, could it be…

"The exam starts now!"

The signal came really in the nick of time. It helped her stop this conversation right here. Hoa immediately turned around and focused on the electronic board.

“Question #1: Calculate the area of the figure based on the following integral? A, B, C, D?”

A complex integral. She thought Felix wouldn't be able to solve it in time which lasted only one minute. Sure enough, the moment the first question showed up, Ander turned to her and told her to memorize the question carefully.

“Question #2: Please tell the number that is in the 100th place in the decimal part of Pi? Answers A, B, C, D?"

A type of memory puzzle. This is a familiar type of problem for players in the super memory contest. Write the correct number in the decimal part of Pi.

“Sorry, but I knew it!” Nabeya laid her head down on the table. She turned her sight to look at Hoa with a cheerful smile.

"Knew what?" Hoa found herself a little bit confused.

“Yesterday, when I went to the rooftop to cool off, I accidentally overheard you and that blind man talking. I didn't mean it, but you and he didn't take any precautions."

Cold sweat started to drip down on the back of Hoa’s neck. Nabeya smiled even more. Her black eyes seemed to see right through Hoa's heart.

“I really like it. Can I join you?” Nabeya suggested, a very straightforward offer.

“But that's just a guess! What makes you think that I’m right?" Hoa frowned and asked.

As Nabeya leaned over, she put a piece of gum in her mouth and started chewing.

“Because I believe in this” She said as she pointed her finger at her own head.

Trust her intuition?

“Question #3: What is the structure of Buckminsterfullerene? A, B, C, D?”

“We should be a team, so we can avoid being annihilated?”

Hoa looked at the other girl. She was really attractive, beautiful, also very strong. Proof was that she could block Ander's punch easily. If Hoa could use an element to define her, then Nabeya was like mercury. She was soft and calm. She got this aura showing up around her appearance as if it was like the silver of mercury. It was not as gorgeous as gold but had a noble vibe. And deep inside, the high possibility was that she’s extremely dangerous.

“You still haven't found the supervisors, have you? I have a way.”

Nabeya laughed happily. She blew the gum between her lips before swallowing it in back again in her mouth.