A Funeral Offering

The half-hour search period had only ten minutes left.

The four quickly regrouped using location sharing. Just as Anna was about to show off, she discovered that everyone had found an item suspected of being able to initiate the exercise.

Based on their brief descriptions, finding the items had not been difficult. Once they approached where an item was located, they could clearly sense the changes it brought to the environment, even a very direct pull.

The four items were:

The "gold-inlaid redwood box" found by Luo Di, The "metal box with a goat-headed hexagram" found by Anna, The "ancient book sealed with bones" found by Gao Yuxuan, The "red umbrella tied with ink-marker cord" found by Wu Wen, As soon as the four items were brought out, the institute's surveillance feeds immediately focused on them.

The employees who had placed bets on the corresponding items all showed excited expressions, but there could only be one ultimate winner. It all depended on how these young people chose.

Director Qin's bet was among them as well, However, her attention was not on the final wager. Instead, she wore an unusually worried expression, as though one of the four items was particularly dangerous.

Wu Wen's father had a fairly close relationship with their institute and could be considered a major benefactor. She had to ensure that nothing went wrong during this exercise.

"Let's hope they don't choose that thing~ Otherwise, we'll have to notify the city medical team to stand by in advance."

The four different items were placed atop a smooth stone.

With eight minutes remaining, they would choose one of them to initiate its corresponding event.

"Should we vote?" Class monitor Wu Wen asked for everyone's opinion.

Vice class monitor Gao Yuxuan took the initiative to offer his suggestion. "I suggest we quickly explain these items based on the knowledge each of us has.

"I'm inclined to choose an item of moderate difficulty. After all, this is our first exercise, and it's also the first time we're working together.

"My personal feeling is that the red umbrella may correspond to an Anomaly that cannot be killed, perhaps even one with a spirit-body structure. We shouldn't choose it.

"And the ancient book may correspond to an Anomaly involving a summoning ritual or a curse. That would be just as difficult to deal with.

"I suggest choosing one of the two boxes."

"Don't choose this metal box! I have a really bad feeling about it..."

The usually bold blonde Anna recounted her experience of finding the metal box, especially the "tongue-clicking sound." Even recalling it now still sent chills down her spine.

Luo Di was quite interested in Anna's account and offered his own thoughts. "Goat head, hexagram... perhaps it corresponds to some kind of Devil. A typical Western exorcism type. If we choose this item, possession may occur. I really wouldn't recommend it."

Although he loved B-movies, he had also watched other Western horror films and understood a thing or two.

The class monitor looked at everyone with a gratified expression, especially pleased that the two boys who usually did not speak much had both actively joined the discussion.

"Based on everyone's discussion, we eliminated three at once. That only leaves the wooden box Luo Di found as an option? By the way, Luo Di, did you encounter anything strange when you found the wooden box, or feel anything like the unease Anna felt?"

"There was only some cold wind. I'd guess the Simulated Anomaly behind the wooden box is of moderate difficulty."

The class monitor glanced at the little time they had left. "Then it's decided! Who wants to try activating this wooden box?"

"Wenwen, I remember you seem to know quite a bit about these little things."

"Tch~ Anna, I just wanted the two gentlemen to participate more. Fine, I'll do it."

Wu Wen took out a Swiss Army knife and pressed her ear to the surface of the wooden box. After a series of practiced movements—click! The locked wooden box opened.

Inside the wooden box was an old bronze key.

At the same time, a broadcast echoed through the forest.

§Anomaly Event initiated. Please proceed to the mountaintop area as soon as possible.§

Inside the institute, Three employees had made the correct choice and excitedly split the money they had won.

Although Director Qin had not chosen correctly, she was still relieved. The four had not selected that troublesome and dangerous item.

In a place within the institute where no one noticed, an ordinary-looking employee silently watched everything, muttering nonstop:

"They already had it... Why didn't they choose it? Why didn't they choose it?"

In the mountains

Anna stared at the unchosen items on the stone. "What should we do with these? It doesn't feel right to just leave them here."

The class monitor nodded. "It really isn't right~ How about we return these things to where they were while we're heading up the mountain? It'll only take a few minutes."

"Mm."

The red umbrella had been found beneath a huge boulder, whose surface still bore symbols painted in cinnabar.

The ancient book had been found among abandoned tents covered in moss, with scratch marks left by fingers all around it.

All that remained was the metal box in Anna's hands. After climbing uphill for a while, the group arrived at a barren clearing in the woods.

Not only did no plants grow here, but there was also an inexplicable dry heat. The temperature was clearly several degrees higher than in the surrounding area.

Anna slowed her pace, carefully edging closer to the crack in the ground. Just as she was about to put the sinister thing back where it belonged...

Tap~

The strange tongue-clicking sound came again, seeming to resound directly inside Anna's skull.

Clear, sudden, and chilling.

The shock of it made the iron box slip from Anna's grasp.

The iron box happened to Fell Into the crack, dropping roughly Half Meter.

With a bang!, it hit the depths below.

The sight frightened Anna into quickly pulling out her flashlight to inspect the situation below. Fortunately, the iron box had neither cracked nor deformed. Its metal construction was of exceptional quality.

That made sense. A metal box meant for storing objects must have undergone special processing; there was no way it would shatter so easily from a fall.

Perhaps considering how sinister the thing was, Anna bent down, preparing to move the iron box back to its original position.

Just as she was about to reach her hand over the crack, a figure suddenly lunged at her and, with a smack!, grabbed her arm.

It was Luo Di.

He had noticed that something was off with Anna earlier. Out of concern for safety, he had stepped in, also bringing over a branch and handing it to her.

"Don't use your hand."

"Okay."

Anna took the branch and used it to move the metal box back to where it had been. The tongue-clicking sound by her ear did not return.

Just as she was about to thank Luo Di for helping her, a pair of hands pushed against her back, driving her quickly up the mountain.

The person Behind Him was the class monitor. "Don't waste time. Let's hurry up the mountain."

After the four left this patch of woods where even weeds could not grow, the branch previously used to move the metal box remained discarded there. Before long, it completely withered, even carbonizing entirely before vanishing in the wind.

Item Activated

The two girls walking together were discussing the new type of simulation.

"Wenwen, how do you think the institute simulated such realistic Anomaly Events? Some brand-new biotechnology or something?"

"Maybe corpses?"

"Corpses? You mean the institute took the corpses of those killed Pseudo-Humans and remade them into controllable practice units?"

"Yeah~ That's what makes it realistic."

"Eww~ If that's true, it's pretty disgusting. But after we move on to higher education, we'll need to try facing real Anomaly Events, as well as Pseudo-Humans that could appear around us at any time. Getting used to it beforehand is probably a good thing.

If this kind of practical training becomes widespread, people's survival rates in the future should increase dramatically too."

Climbing this hundred-meter hill took more time than they had expected.

Moreover, the closer they got to the summit, the lower the temperature gradually became.

Chilly gusts occasionally swept through the woods, while the clouds thickened and gradually obscured the bright daytime sun.

At last, the four crossed the final ring of trees before the mountaintop, and an old Chinese-style mansion came into view.

It consisted of a front yard, a back yard, surrounding walls, and a two-story main building.

A conspicuous white lantern hung from the gate directly before them.

The funeral character written on the lantern's surface made the three with Chinese blood in their veins deeply uncomfortable.

Anna had also learned about the relevant culture from textbooks. She only knew it was related to the dead, so she did not feel much about it.

The solid redwood doors, adorned with gold fittings, had a large bronze lock hanging from them.

Wu Wen took out the bronze key she had retrieved from the box earlier. Click~ It fit perfectly, and the lock sprang open.

At the same time, it meant that this field exercise had officially begun.

This book has been contracted, so everyone can vote with monthly tickets now. Also, below the synopsis is the book's general patient discussion group, and you're all welcome to join and chat. A deeper patient discussion building is still under construction; when it is ready, severely ill patients will be welcome to move in.