The result bell rang in the examination courtyard just after noon. Yan had been sitting on the low wall with his palm tucked inside his sleeve. He stood with everyone else, careful not to pull the fresh wrap. His new foundation felt steady, as if his breath had found a wider place to settle. He did not hide the cut from the people watching.
Qinghe carried the corrected injury notes in a cloth case. Bai held the sealed order packet under one arm. They stayed beside the infirmary table while Examiner Luo stepped onto the platform. The candidates gathered in rows, and the people who had failed to advance were not sent away.
Luo waited for the last conversation to stop. “The final ruin stage remains suspended until a full safety review. Today’s results cover the completed examination stations and the control-panel intervention. No one will lose points for stopping when the route was declared unsafe.”
Yan heard a few candidates shift behind him. The ruin had frightened them, but the result would not pretend they had failed a test they had never been allowed to finish.
Luo read the rankings from the top. Wei’s name came first. Yan’s followed. He stepped forward when called, taking the candidate sash from the examiner with his uninjured hand.
