Seven-Person Test

"The research institute's sign was displayed outside, and with such a distinctive metal building, this had to be the institute."

Yu Jing looked around at the bustling streets and the occasional patrol officers passing by. If this were a fake institute, the government would have shut it down long ago. No matter how bold they were, they could not openly pass off a fake as the real thing on a street this close to the city center.

As Yu Jing examined the institute, a mature woman in a white turtleneck sweater approached the entrance, swaying her hips. She held an A-Class Shengyuan City map in her hand.

After confirming that the location on the map matched the institute's name on the metal plaque, she stopped and turned to look at Yu Jing, who was dressed in cheap clothing.

The woman asked with faint disdain, "Are you one of the selected research subjects too?"

"Yes."

Yu Jing stared at the heavily made-up woman before him. Though her looks and figure would indeed be enough to captivate plenty of men in society, Yu Jing easily noticed the disgust in her eyes.

"So you're a competitor too? Kid, hurry home and study. This money isn't so easy to earn."

The woman swayed up to the metal door and knocked on it, but after quite a while, there was no response from within.

"What kind of shithole is this? They made it sound so impressive over the phone, but nobody even opens the door when we get here?" The woman had quite a temper. She directly slapped the bronze door with her handbag, but still received no response.

"Let me."

In daily life, Yu Jing was accustomed to reading people's expressions and observing small details in his surroundings.

While the woman was pounding on the bronze door, Yu Jing noticed several points worth attention.

First, there was a narrow slit beneath the bronze door's handle, seemingly meant for inserting a card. In addition, a bell was tied to the upper left corner of the door for visitors to ring.

As Yu Jing stepped forward, the woman immediately moved aside with a look of disgust, as if afraid he would dirty her clothes.

Yu Jing swiftly reached out and rang the bell in the upper left corner. A liquid crystal display immediately appeared on the bronze door, though its power did not seem to be connected.

Next, Yu Jing took out his identification and inserted it perfectly into the slot beneath the door handle.

"Beep, beep!"

The liquid crystal display swiftly activated, and something like scanning rays swept over Yu Jing's face.

"Facial authentication successful. Iris authentication successful! Test participant Yu Jing, welcome to the District 19 Life Research Institute!"

"Please take your test participant ID badge from the right side after entering. Your identification will be kept by us during the test. Do not worry; electronic communication devices will not be collected before the test begins. You may contact your family and friends during this period."

"Creak, creak!" After the mechanical announcement ended, the door automatically opened inward.

Yu Jing deliberately turned back to look at the beautiful woman beside him. After gesturing briefly at the bell and card slot with his finger, he entered through the bronze door. The woman, wearing a disdainful expression, tried to follow him inside, but the bronze door immediately shut and blocked her outside.

"A woman dressed so flamboyantly came here for money. She probably has some urgent need as well."

Inside the bronze door was a long corridor before Yu Jing. A wooden door stood tightly shut more than ten meters away. The walls around the corridor were covered in wallpaper patterned with colorful wheels, and staring at them for too long created the illusion that the wheels were turning.

Rather than moving forward immediately, Yu Jing took out his phone to check the signal.

"My identification was taken, but as they explained, communication devices can indeed be used."

Yu Jing first sent his mother a text telling her that he would be staying at a friend's house overnight and asking her to eat something after she got up. Then, following the instructions, he found seven hooks on the wall to the right of the corridor. One of them held his test participant badge, the photo apparently being his one-inch formal portrait from his medical examination.

"Test participant Yu Jing, number Pro-031." A simple description was engraved on the badge.

Besides the badge Yu Jing took, there were already two empty spots on the hooks, indicating that two people had arrived ahead of him.

"A seven-person test. If there's competition involved, a one-in-seven chance of getting more than three million is actually quite a high probability." In Yu Jing's own view, aside from being slightly disadvantaged in physical strength, his nineteen-year-old self was no weaker than others in observation and reaction speed.

At this moment, the bronze door behind him opened again, and the woman who had looked down on Yu Jing entered from outside. She took the badge numbered Pro-035.

Perhaps because Yu Jing had opened the door earlier, the woman looked at him somewhat differently now.

"My name is Jiang Tian. I'm from B-Class Muqiu County."

"Yu Jing, C-Class Pingxiang County."

Although the beautiful woman was willing to strike up a conversation, Yu Jing had no interest in her. He also guessed that her initiative probably had some ulterior motive.

After introducing himself, Yu Jing proceeded down the long straight corridor before him and pushed open the wooden door at the end.

A fragrance first rushed into Yu Jing's nostrils. In the hall before him stood a spacious square table, covered with delicacies Yu Jing had almost never seen in all his life. They were wrapped in a thin film, allowing only the aroma to seep through while keeping the food inside out of reach.

Two test participants who had arrived earlier were already seated around the square table.

One of them was a man around thirty years old. He looked refined, wore glasses and a neat suit, and greatly resembled the office workers Yu Jing had seen walking around when he first arrived in the A-Class city.

The other was a maiden who appeared to be about the same age as Yu Jing. She wore light, fitted sportswear and had deliberately chosen a seat in the corner. When Yu Jing entered, she did not react at all and did not even shift her gaze to look at him.

"From the side, she seemed like quite an unusual maiden."

Yu Jing did not let his eyes linger on the maiden for long. He casually found a seat, sat down, and pulled his hat over his head. Still unaccustomed to interacting with strangers, Yu Jing considered his doubts about the research institute alone.

As he thought, Yu Jing swept his gaze across the hall. Aside from the wooden door they had entered through, there were no other exits. The only other place connected to the outside world was the central air conditioning overhead.

In addition, there was a surveillance camera in each of the hall's four corners, monitoring the situation here in real time.

"From the moment we entered until now, not a single institute staff member has appeared. The dishes must have been placed here before everyone arrived. The film covering them preserves heat and will be removed once everyone is here. That must be why they required us to arrive before 6:00 tonight."

Soon after, Jiang Tian entered the hall, followed by the final three of the seven participants, who all arrived before the agreed time...