Anomalous Object

After dropping off the young people, the official vehicle drove on for another thousand meters before stopping beside an ordinary streetlamp.

After getting out, Director Qin reached out and felt around the surface of the streetlamp, activating a concealed verification device.

Click~

A staircase leading underground opened by the roadside.

At the end of the stairs was a research institute hidden fifty meters belowground, primarily responsible for managing and coordinating this exercise.

"Hello, Director Qin!"

"How are preparations on this side? Those young people should already be heading up the mountain."

"All departments have completed more than three self-inspections, and all equipment is in green status.

"Additionally, the physical examination indicators of the four youths participating in the exercise are all above average. One of them is even close to excellent.

"This exercise will definitely succeed.

"Oh, right! Director Qin, would you like to join our luck game?"

The employee held a transparent box in his hands, already filled with quite a few folded slips of paper.

Despite his serious appearance, Director Qin did not refuse. He dropped a slip with information already written on it into the box and placed a bet of one thousand rubles.

The bet concerned which objects the four high school students were about to choose. It was simply a little pastime outside of work.

Although Director Qin joined the betting, he still sternly emphasized, "Entertainment is entertainment, but the prerequisite is ensuring that the simulation proceeds perfectly. If anything goes wrong, I will hold the person in charge of the relevant project strictly accountable."

"Mm."

At that moment, a report came from the monitoring department. "They're heading up the mountain!"

Any employee who was temporarily free immediately gathered around.

The monitoring area was an open circular space, with countless electronic screens arranged horizontally and vertically. Standing before them made it easy to read information from the entire exercise zone.

As many as three hundred monitoring feeds were controlled by AI algorithms, with important footage automatically moved to the center.

The feeds focused on the participants would remain in the central area at all times, assisted by secondary screens for the researchers' observation and record-keeping.

Everyone silently prayed in their hearts.

Some prayed for the exercise to proceed smoothly, while others prayed that their own bets would be chosen by the four young people.

Five minutes earlier

By the roadside, at the foot of the mountain.

The class monitor was performing standard stretches, his eyes fixed on the thirty-five-degree slope. "If the timer only starts once we step onto the slope, then we can get ready here by the road first."

At the class monitor's suggestion, everyone took out whatever equipment they might need for climbing.

After all, it was the height of summer. The temperature was high, and everyone was dressed in short sleeves and shorts, making them vulnerable to scratches from the dense trees.

The class monitor was thoroughly prepared, with knee pads, leg wraps, gloves, and even a telescopic hiking pole.

Luo Di had not considered any of that at all, so naturally, he had no related equipment.

Fully equipped, the class monitor continued, "So, should we split up to look for the objects, or act together?

"According to Director Qin, the exercise won't officially begin until we find and activate the relevant objects. Only then might we encounter danger, so splitting up to search wouldn't be a bad idea.

"After all, we only have half an hour to find them. Personally, I suggest we search separately first, then regroup for the final ten minutes."

There was nothing wrong with the class monitor's suggestion. Everyone first gathered together and activated the "real-time location sharing" function on their wristbands.

07:10

The climb began.

The four of them headed up the mountain in completely different directions. With limited time, everyone moved at an appropriate pace.

Blonde Anna was the fastest, and her movements were highly professional. She was the first to disappear from the others' sight.

Just as Luo Di was surprised by her physical stamina and professional technique, the class monitor's voice came from the side.

"Hehe~ Our Anna is amazing. Not only is she excellent at sports, she's also proficient in all kinds of wilderness survival skills. You'd better not lose to her in the later stages."

Luo Di did not reply. He simply headed quickly up the mountain in the direction he had chosen.

Once he had completely separated from the others and there was no sign of anyone around him, Luo Di instead relaxed.

His thoughts drifted back to several years ago, when he had gone hiking with his family, and a rare smile appeared on his face.

That pleasant memory did not last long.

A gust of chilling wind suddenly blew through the mountains and swept across his body.

It felt as though icy fingers had swiped across Luo Di's exposed arms, making every hair stand on end.

Alert. Stop. Observe.

His finger was already resting on the chainsaw's start button.

He found no "creatures" when he looked around, but his gaze fell upon a peculiar tree.

It was clearly different from the other trees on the mountain, This tree was larger, thicker, and more sinister. Its trunk bent in an almost twisted shape, commonly known as a crooked-necked tree.

The chilling gusts spreading through the mountains seemed to originate from this tree.

Although Luo Di's grades in cultural subjects were average, he happened to recognize this type of tree: a locust tree.

The cold wind kept blowing toward him, as though the tree were actively calling out to him.

It was so strange that Luo Di was almost certain this tree was connected to the item involved in this practical exercise.

He approached cautiously, his gaze locking onto a pitch-black hollow in the surface of the trunk.

The cold wind was continuously spilling out from inside the hollow. As he drew closer, he could even hear the hissing produced by the wind, like the groans of an elderly man on the verge of death.

He took the flashlight from the side of his backpack.

The powerful beam pierced through the tree hollow and illuminated its interior, revealing a square box hidden inside, made of redwood inlaid with gold.

Considering the possible dangers inside the hollow, Luo Di did not reach in. Instead, he picked up a suitable branch and tried to move the wooden box. After quite a bit of effort, he finally managed to pull it out.

The moment the box left the tree hollow, the cold wind stopped as well.

It was as though the old man had exhaled his final breath and peacefully died at that moment.

Elsewhere.

After stopping, Anna—the fastest and most experienced in the wilderness—immediately looked down at the shared locator on her wrist. She had already pulled far ahead of everyone else.

"Ah, so the person Wenwen said was so impressive doesn't seem all that impressive after all."

Just as she was about to search this patch of forest, Click~

A crisp tongue-click came from within the woods.

"Who's there?"

It couldn't be the others catching up; she had checked everyone's positions only seconds ago.

She did not show the fear one might expect from a high school girl. Instead, she gripped her Tactical Axe and went on high alert.

Her thinking was clear. The practical exercise followed the institute's rules. Since it had not officially begun, there could not be any obvious danger.

The tongue-click most likely corresponded to some kind of item.

Anna immediately followed the direction of the sound and soon found a clearing in the mountains. It was a true clearing—there were not only no trees, but not even weeds. Nothing but extremely dry, exposed earth remained, making her feel inexplicably hot and restless.

A distinct crack ran through the slightly raised soil, just wide enough for an arm to fit inside.

Click~

The tongue-click came again.

She could now confirm that the sound was coming from the crack in the ground.

Anna likewise took a flashlight from the side of her backpack and cautiously approached the fissure.

The beam from her hand gradually tilted as she drew closer.

When the light became vertical, Anna's eyes also stared straight into the deepest part of the crack.

For an instant, she saw what appeared to be a charred-black tongue wriggling below, startling her into taking a sharp step back.

She shook her head, then leaned closer and looked again. There was no tongue inside at all—only a metal box marked with a six-pointed star and a goat's-head symbol.