"What a chilling fog."
The Ability Institute wasn't experiencing any rain. Instead, it was shrouded in dense fog with visibility of less than ten meters. The temperature in September was actually below 20°C here.
Fortunately, Yu Jing was wearing a hooded sweatshirt that wrapped him up tightly, with both hands tucked into his pockets to ward off the cold.
"What was that?"
As Yu Jing proceeded along the road on the right side of the signposts, he felt that countless eyes were watching him from within the thick white fog surrounding him, making him deeply uneasy.
The longer it continued, the more distinct that feeling became.
"From the moment you set foot in this Ability Institute, death has been lingering around you. Don't pay attention to your surroundings. Just keep walking toward your destination."
Just then, a voice came from beside Yu Jing. Yu Xiaoxiao, half a head shorter than him, passed by.
It was merely a reminder, like when she had warned him during the test not to choose the Shattered Mirror. She then continued forward alone.
"Thanks."
Aside from Special Commissioner Liang, Yu Xiaoxiao might have been the only person Yu Jing knew in this Ability Institute. But since she didn't want to interact with him, Yu Jing would never force her, even though Special Commissioner Liang had mentioned this beforehand.
No longer distracted by the "observers" in the surrounding fog, Yu Jing walked straight toward the new student registration area.
Before long, a medium-sized abandoned building came into view. It occupied approximately two thousand square meters.
When Yu Jing pushed open the somewhat dilapidated doors with both hands, the scene inside finally looked somewhat like the start of a school term.
As Yu Jing swept his gaze across the building, he saw approximately three hundred people gathered inside. However, he didn't see any registration points for the various institutes.
There was only a cylindrical metal device standing in the center of the building.
Most of the newcomers there were leaning against the walls or casually finding a patch of open ground to rest.
These resting disciples seemed to be preparing in advance for the physical training that would begin in the early hours of the morning.
Others were walking around, trying to talk to the other newcomers, apparently attempting to form teams or arrange something else.
The newcomers gathered here also weren't all nineteen-year-old graduates of the Advanced Potential Institute like Yu Jing.
Most were between fifteen and thirty years old, with a small number over thirty.
"Excuse me, where do we register as new students?"
When Yu Jing asked a burly man in his twenties about the registration point, the newcomer examined Yu Jing's slightly over 1.7-meter-tall, frail body.
But when he saw the research institute work badge hanging from Yu Jing's neck, he immediately asked with interest, "You work for a research institute. You should have undergone some bodily modifications, right?"
"Would you be interested in joining my team during the physical training? That way, your chances of surviving would be a little higher. My name is Jiang Pengyu, and I'm a new student of the Physical Training Academy."
Yu Jing had no intention of forming an alliance yet. There were still ten hours to go.
He planned to consider forming a team with others only after he understood the current situation. Besides, judging from the movements on the man's face, he seemed to have another motive.
"Sorry, I don't intend to form a team for now."
"No problem. You can contact me anytime before midnight."
"As for the new student registration you asked about, just insert your Credit Card into the central device to activate it. If you have any other questions, you can ask me anytime."
This newcomer from the Physical Training Academy named Jiang Pengyu was quite smooth in dealing with people, while also doing Yu Jing a small favor.
"Thanks."
Yu Jing tugged down the brim of his hood, making himself as inconspicuous as possible as he walked through the crowd toward the center.
Following Jiang Pengyu's instructions, he inserted his Credit Card into the slot at the top of the device. Less than a second later, the card was ejected from inside.
However, when Yu Jing took the card back, a stream of verbal information passed through it and entered his mind.
"2139 Gene Academy Phase One Disciple—Yu Jing, registration successful. Welcome to the Dihua Ability Institute. The storage space within your Credit Card has been activated. It can currently store three cubic meters of objects. You may use credits to upgrade the storage capacity in the future. There are currently 532 people who have yet to register. The system will shut down completely before 23:00."
When the system voice ended, Yu Jing discovered an additional string of digits on the back of his Credit Card: student ID 2139-3220-0213.
"Storage space?"
Yu Jing still didn't understand exactly what it meant or how to use it, so he temporarily set this feature of the Credit Card aside.
It seems the details regarding the physical training will be explained after 23:00 today or after all the newcomers have registered.
I'll try to gather some information during this time. If I can't find out anything, I'll rest for a while and prepare for the physical training that Special Commissioner Liang emphasized so seriously.
After putting away his student card, Yu Jing looked around. His gaze quickly landed on Yu Xiaoxiao, who was alone and motionless in a corner.
What was unusual was that no disciple had approached within five meters of the corner where Yu Xiaoxiao sat.
Yu Xiaoxiao's background seems to make others wary. Should I try contacting her? If the physical training takes place at night, the plant inside my arm won't be able to photosynthesize. That will also be when I'm in the greatest danger.
"During the physical training, stay with the little girl from the Yu family as much as possible. Your chances of staying alive will be much higher."
Special Commissioner Liang's reminder echoed in Yu Jing's mind.
After some thought, Yu Jing finally walked toward Yu Xiaoxiao's position. During the process, however, he also noticed quite a few unusual gazes directed at him from nearby.
Yu Xiaoxiao had been leaning against the corner with her eyes closed, resting. When someone approached, a sharp blade slid out from between her fingertips behind her back.
But when she opened her eyes and saw that it was Yu Jing, the blade between her fingers immediately slipped back into her sleeve. She muttered in a low voice, "I still can't determine things accurately through aura..."
"Can I stay here?"
Yu Jing wasn't good at talking to begin with, and he seemed slightly bashful in front of the delicate and adorable Yu Xiaoxiao.
Yu Xiaoxiao merely gave a slight nod. Yu Jing immediately leaned his suitcase against the side, keeping a distance of about thirty centimeters between them.
"My mom won't let me interact with you too much, but you're different from the others. You're a good person," Yu Xiaoxiao suddenly said softly beside him, in a voice only Yu Jing could hear.
"It's fine. Heh."
Yu Jing didn't know how to respond to her words. Somehow, he had also been given a "good person" card without understanding why.
"Um... did you bring anything to eat? Mom won't let me eat, but I'm really hungry," Yu Xiaoxiao asked in a lowered voice, somewhat embarrassed.
"Uh..." Yu Jing froze for a long moment, then realized something. Their two encounters both seemed to involve food.
"I brought some spare instant noodles in my suitcase. Do you want some?"
To be safe, Yu Jing had packed several buckets of instant noodles in his suitcase.
"Instant noodles? What are those?" Yu Xiaoxiao seemed to be hearing the term for the first time. Her curious expression was exceptionally cute.
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