Reacting Too Fast

An elevator that had long been out of service, a building that had already been evacuated of all staff.

So, who else would come out of the elevator? Or rather, was it still human that came out of the elevator?

Han Su didn't know. When he asked the question, the little fatty visibly tightened his lips. But looking at his expression, it wasn't that he didn't want to answer, but rather it seemed as if he didn't know either.

Han Su was beginning to understand the mission of a Disaster Management Bureau executive: no matter how strange or absurd the mission, they had to execute it strictly, and that was all they needed to do.

However, a thought suddenly occurred to him: if it was just about execution, then perhaps people like the camouflage man and well-trained agents would be better suited. Why was the Disaster Management Bureau recruiting outsiders?

Could this be related to some deeper issue?

Was his mission just to stand guard, and if something came out of the elevator, was he really supposed to open fire?

Or, not only open fire, but could the spell he had mastered also be used at a critical moment?

Thinking this to himself, Han Su's head was about to explode. Undertaking such a strange mission often led to this situation, where more and more questions seemed to arise.

"Time's up."

But he hadn't gotten all his answers. The little fatty, just as he had said, answered when he felt it was necessary, and merely shook his head and remained silent when it wasn't.

It wasn't until exactly ten o'clock in the evening that he quietly reminded them, gripped the gun in his hand, aimed it directly at the elevator, and fell silent.

Han Su and the other trainees followed his example, turning their direction and aiming at the elevator.

For a moment, the surrounding air seemed to suddenly fall silent. The lights nearby were not bright to begin with, and now there was an atmosphere of stiff solemnity, which, along with the silence, permeated their surroundings.

This feeling made Han Su feel utterly uncomfortable.

He stared intently at the elevator as required by the mission, feeling that the more ordinary something was, the more bizarre it became at this moment.

It was as if the elevator door could open at any moment. Gradually, he even had the feeling that no matter what emerged from the elevator, he wouldn't be surprised.

But time, it just passed by, second by second.

Over the walkie-talkie, every half hour, a reminder of the time and precautions would be given. The little fatty would pick up the walkie-talkie to respond, while Han Su and the camouflage man remained silent, as if they had turned themselves into clay figures in the night.

Their hands remained on their gun grips, and even the cold gun grips were warmed by their hands, and then gradually, soaked by the sweat that seeped from their palms.

The mission briefing didn't say they weren't allowed to use the restroom.

But after the mission began, all the trainees, without exception, didn't move.

Whether it was the strangeness of the mission or the seemingly important rating, both put immense pressure on them, both internally and externally. They would rather endure the suffocating stiffness and remain silent and vigilant in this bizarre environment.

Until three o'clock in the morning.

Nothing appeared.

"Mission complete. Personnel are to return to base immediately."

It wasn't until that hoarse voice suddenly came from the walkie-talkie that Han Su and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He glanced sideways at the little fatty and saw that he had already stood up. Han Su then followed suit, moving his long-stiffened waist and numb backside, and asked with a look of surprise, "It's over just like that?"

"How... we stared all night, and nothing happened?"

"..."

Beside him, the other trainees clearly had the same thought, their eyes filled with a strange mixture of vigilance and unwillingness to give up.

They had a feeling that this kind of assessment wouldn't be so simple, that there must be more to it.

"What did you expect to happen?"

The little fatty next to him heard this and his eyebrows twitched. He looked at Han Su with a strange expression and said, "This state of nothing happening is the normal state of our work, isn't it? Once something actually happens, you might not know if you'll ever get off work in this lifetime."

Han Su was stunned for a moment, but he understood his words. He stood up, stretched his back, and said, "So, we can go back now?"

"How will our evaluations be calculated?"

The little fatty said, "I will submit a report based on the performance of you few, but the final decision isn't mine. I just know the mission is finally over, so let's go grab some late-night snacks."

As he spoke, he had already put his own walkie-talkie into his backpack.

And at this moment, perhaps because they had been staring at the elevator for too long and were all too exhausted, they finally had a chance to move. They all quickly got up, stretched their bodies, and twisted their stiff backs. Coincidentally, they all turned around.

Behind them, the unattended elevator's dark control panel suddenly flickered with a faint red light.

It was like eyes, quietly opening in the darkness.

The elevator car trembled slightly, and the faint sound of steel cables being pulled could be heard. Silently, the elevator they had guarded all night had, at some point, slowly opened a crack.

It was pitch black inside, and nothing could be seen.

But a pale hand slowly emerged from the elevator and slowly, slowly, moved towards the little fatty's shoulder...

The camouflage man reacted the fastest. As his eyes caught a glimpse of a pale color from the elevator's direction, his spine suddenly jolted. As if by instinct, he abruptly turned, drew the pistol from his waist, and held it with both hands.

"Bang!"

He fired.

With flashes of fire, he aimed at the hand emerging from the elevator and fired repeatedly.

The bullets struck the hand incessantly, tearing the entire arm, along with the palm, to shreds. The violent gunshots made their eardrums ache.

However, they heard the gunshots, and even the sound of bullets ricocheting off the elevator's metal door and the nearby concrete floor.

But no screams were heard.

During this process, let alone Han Su, even the little fatty beside him didn't react. He was even startled, covering his ears and taking two steps back.

Only after the camouflage man emptied his gun did he stop. He drew the magazine with one hand to reload his pistol. Throughout the entire process, he still steadily aimed at the elevator, his face showing no hint of panic.

But the gunshot had also lit up the voice-activated lights in the elevator lobby, making everything in front of the elevator visible.

The stopped elevator door was covered in several bullet holes and metal fragments. The gunpowder smoke seemed to be slowly dissipating, but besides that, there was nothing.

There was no elevator that had started operating on its own, nor any abnormal arm reaching out from inside the elevator.

The camouflage man stared for a while, confirming that no other anomalies appeared. Then he slightly turned his head and asked the little fatty, "What's going on?"

"You reacted quickly..."

The little fatty also looked at the elevator for a while before slowly replying, "Your aim is also very accurate, especially since you weren't panicked. When you saw that thing appear, you didn't falter at all. Drawing your gun, shooting, reloading – you were steady as hell."

The camouflage man's expression remained blank, as if such praise was beneath him.

Then the little fatty shook his head and said, "In the report later, I'll recommend you for a B-class."

The camouflage man didn't hear clearly at first. When he finally reacted, his face, which was like a clay sculpture, finally showed a change.

He blinked and stiffly turned around, "What?"

"The mission is over..."

The little fatty was startled by him and took half a step back, but still said, "The mission is over, so everything that happened here has nothing to do with us. We should withdraw as quickly as possible."

"Even if an anomaly was observed, shouldn't the first step be to report to the captain and only open fire after receiving orders?"

"These are clearly stated in the rules. Didn't you remember them?"

The camouflage man was still in extreme shock and slowly shook his head. Of that thick stack of rules, he had only memorized two sections.

The little fatty wasn't surprised. He shook his head and said, "Even if you didn't memorize them, your instructor should have at least reminded you of two words."

"Obey!"

He carefully scanned the trainees, "During the mission, you can only do what I say."

"So..."

He finished speaking in one breath, feeling that he had explained clearly enough. He then nodded at the camouflage man and said, "At most, I can only recommend a B-class evaluation for you in the report."

"You guys are different..."

He looked at the other trainees and said, "You didn't violate any rules during the mission. When faced with an unexpected anomaly with unclear circumstances, although you promptly drew your guns, you didn't fire when you saw I hadn't given the word."

"Excellent performance."

"..."

Upon hearing this, smiles involuntarily appeared on their faces, though they were somewhat forced:

What if we just didn't react in time?

"But the Disaster Management Bureau is really something. For the field personnel, understanding the procedures is enough. It's just a running errand, yet they actually arranged for illusions to test you..."

The little fatty thought to himself as he packed his things. He casually turned around and said, "Let's go, time for a late-night snack."

Many of the others felt relieved, some even looking at the camouflage man with schadenfreude. They were about to follow him to leave when they heard a clear and long "ding" sound behind them.

The little fatty froze for a moment, then turned around. He saw that all four elevators had lit up red, and the displayed floors had reached their current location.

His expression became a bit strange, "Did one of you guys touch the button out of boredom?"

No one spoke around him. They all inexplicably felt their bodies stiffen.

It was as if winter had suddenly descended upon the elevator lobby. An invisible chill slowly crept up their spines.