Deliverance

Hurried footsteps rang out.

Tap, tap, tap—

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in."

An aged, authoritative voice answered.

The door opened.

A cultivator in Daoist robes practically burst in, rattling off his report:

"Someone is rapidly approaching the heart of the incident!"

Inside the spacious conference room,

two rows of high-ranking cultivators sat at a long table and turned toward him.

The old man presiding over the meeting stood at the head of the table. He had just lit a cigarette. After taking a deep drag, he said,

"Don't rush. Tell us slowly."

The cultivator swallowed nervously and said in a trembling voice,

"Twenty-one groups have entered subway stations to seek shelter."

"Of those, nine groups successfully fought off the monsters."

"All nine groups expended a great deal of spiritual energy. Nearly all of them are resting where they are, replenishing their energy and reinforcing their defenses."

"But three groups sent scouts into the subway tunnels to investigate."

"Three scouts are feeling their way through the tunnels right now. They're about to run headlong into the heart of the incident!"

Expressions grew complicated around the table. Eyes flickered.

Yet the conference room remained perfectly quiet.

No one said a word.

Only the old man spoke. "Exploring the subway tunnels is the key to this entire city-destroying incident. They're quite impressive."

The cultivator continued his report:

"What should we do next? Please give your orders."

The old man pondered for a few breaths, then asked, "What do you all think?"

He looked around at the cultivators on both sides of the table.

But everyone lowered their heads and said nothing, as though they hadn't heard him.

What a pack of slippery foxes!

The old man cursed inwardly, though his expression did not change. He went on,

"Are the arrangements to conceal the core event in place? They won't see through it, will they?"

The cultivator replied at once, "My lord, we followed the original plan. We swapped the two's genders and changed all their distinguishing features."

"Their Highnesses' true identities will never be exposed!"

His hands flew through a spell gesture.

Three screens of light appeared in the air.

Sure enough, three examinees were making their way through long, dark subway tunnels.

They were carefully probing the way ahead.

"Young people grow up fast."

The old man smiled.

The cultivators on either side of the table seemed to spring to life and chimed in one after another:

"Yes, it's about time we brought in some fresh blood."

"I thought we'd made it hard enough. I never expected them to reach the core event so quickly."

"They call this the Eight-School Joint Examination, but the whole country is taking part."

"Young people really are remarkable."

The old man watched the three figures on the screens and said,

"Pass on my order. Begin the second phase early. Let's see what happens."

"Yes!" The cultivator answered at once and withdrew.

A moment later,

the exact same event appeared on all three screens.

Three groups.

Three scouts.

All three stopped in their tracks and looked into the darkness.

Under the gaze of every examiner,

they entered the same event at once.

The first was a boy. He quietly raised his spear as he asked,

"Who's there?"

The second was a girl. She, too, called warily into the darkness:

"Come out. I've already seen you!"

The third—

was Xu Yuan.

"What's wrong? Do you need help?" he asked softly.

In the tunnel,

a tall, handsome boy aimed his spear at the shadow in the darkness.

"Enough playing tricks! Come out, or I'll attack!"

He took a stance and shouted in a low voice.

The shadow hurried out. "Don't attack! I'm human!"

The boy looked closely. It was a child of five or six.

In a place like this,

there was a little boy?

"Who are you? Where are your parents?"

the boy asked.

"I got separated from my family, and I don't have any strength left. Can you take me out of here?" the child asked.

The examinee studied him carefully.

He was an ordinary human child.

How strange.

The exam had already posed a question about rescuing civilians.

He had even led his classmates in setting up a temporary shelter where civilians could rest and take refuge.

Why was there another question just like it here?

Or...

Did I misunderstand the question?

"I have a mission. I need to scout ahead. How about coming with me?"

the examinee said.

"I don't want to—I want to go up to the surface!" the child said.

"Don't worry." The examinee smiled. "If we keep following this tunnel, we'll reach the next subway station. I'll take you there for a look, and then we'll come back."

"No..." Despair crept over the child's face. "Could you please take me out of here right now?"

This question is shrouded in cloud and mist.

The examinee glanced at the pleading child, then looked into the darkness deeper in the tunnel.

His mission was important.

He had to find another safe place for his team, gather intelligence, and look for a way out of the city.

How could he stop for one child?

So this question is testing how students handle a dilemma.

That has to be it!

Everything became clear to the examinee. He stepped forward, patted the child's head, and said,

"Don't cry. I'll finish scouting as quickly as I can, then take you somewhere safe."

Without waiting for another word, he picked up the child and ran ahead.

The two vanished into the darkness.

The examiners turned their attention to the second screen.

The girl knelt before the child, took out a handkerchief, and wiped away his tears.

"Why are you here?"

"I got separated from my family. Can you take me to the surface, big sister?"

"It's dangerous up there. There are monsters," the girl said.

"But my family is waiting for me up there. Please, big sister," the child begged.

"...All right. I'll take you there," the girl said.

She picked up the child and was about to leave when her radio crackled.

"Wang Jia'er, are you there?"

"Sir, I'm listening."

"There's a child separated from his family in the subway tunnel. He's about 1.4 meters tall, with long hair, a red coat, and white boots. Please search for him."

"If you find him, take him to Drum Tower Street Subway Station. His family is waiting for him there."

"Over."

The girl glanced at the child.

1.4 meters tall. Long hair, red coat, white boots.

"Your family is at Drum Tower Street Subway Station! I'll take you there now."

The girl patted his head and smiled.

"No... My family wouldn't be there... Please take me to the surface."

The child pleaded with her.

"Don't worry. The officer who contacted me is with the Government Army. He wouldn't lie about something like this," the girl said.

She picked up the child and darted deeper into the tunnel.

"Both examinees did well,"

one examiner commented.

"They reunited Their Highnesses in the shortest possible time," another examiner said. "I'll give them high marks."

"This year's cohort is overflowing with talent," a third examiner said.

The others nodded.

On both screens,

the examinees brought the children to a subway station.

Powerful cultivators had erected a large defensive formation there.

It was safe!

Each child was brought before a woman.

The exam ended.

The two examinees were immediately teleported back to reality.

The examiners began assigning scores.

After a while,

everyone suddenly remembered the remaining examinee.

Why hadn't he come out?

More and more examiners turned toward the third screen as they chatted.

On the screen,

Xu Yuan was making his move, too.

"What's wrong? Do you need help?" he asked softly.

The little shadow came into view.

It was a young boy.

"I got separated from my family, and I don't have any strength left. Can you take me out of here?" the child asked timidly.

He spoke slowly, but a faint anxiety ran beneath his words. Without listening closely, it was almost impossible to hear.

Xu Yuan crouched and looked at the child, trying to work out what kind of question he was facing.

"Of course I can help—"

His voice abruptly caught.

Behind the child,

not far away,

in the dim subway tunnel,

a three-meter-tall woman hung upside down from the tunnel ceiling.

She had seven or eight long black legs.

But—

The vast, invisible thing Xu Yuan had been chasing was prostrate on the ground, bowing over and over to the woman.

The woman slowly crawled down from the tunnel ceiling and opened her mouth.

Her mouth stretched wide, like a snake's, and she began to swallow the invisible thing.

Cold sweat broke out across Xu Yuan's back.

He pulled his gaze away and looked at the little boy.

Stay calm.

This is an exam.

The examiners should all be able to see that monster.

Right?

Of course they can.

But—

What if they can't?

What if they can't see it—

"Of course I can help you, but what happened to your family? Why are you here alone?"

Xu Yuan asked.

The boy's voice trembled. "There's a monster up ahead—I don't know what it is, but my family insisted on investigating it."

"I was terrified, so I ran away on my own."

"Please get me out of here. I'm begging you!"

Xu Yuan smiled.

I can do this.

Even after watching that terrifying woman eat with my own eyes, I can still smile.

My RPG social skills really are improving!

Come on.

Say the right lines, damn it!

He took a deep breath, kept his voice steady, and said deliberately:

"It's dangerous outside. How about I take you back to your family?"

At a time like this, anyone qualified to investigate what was happening in the subway was bound to be someone formidable.

So to anyone watching, his choice should look like this:

Take the boy back to his family, and every problem will be solved.

He needed to keep exploring the tunnel anyway.

Two birds with one stone.

So that's how I have to play it!

Whether the examiners can see it or not, I won't go wrong!

"No!" the boy suddenly screamed. "I want to get out of here, but I can't walk anymore. Please take me away! Please!"

He began to cry.

Xu Yuan tilted his head slightly, as though studying the child.

He had encountered plenty of similar scenarios in games.

In a situation like this,

a child cried to express displeasure, to protest, to get something he wanted.

So he would usually wail without tears, roll on the ground, and throw a tantrum.

Some children could even shed tears and sob their hearts out, making it all the more affecting.

That was as far as it went.

But—

This boy had his eyes shut and his hands over his face, with tears streaming down silently.

He cried so quietly.

Like someone who had lost all hope, weeping for the end that was about to come.

He wasn't trying to sway anyone with his tears!

Damn, I know exactly how he feels.

When I saw that monster just now, I wanted to cry too.

Wait!

Could it be—

A thought flashed through Xu Yuan's mind. He asked, sounding puzzled:

"You're terrified... What are you afraid of?"

The little boy looked back at the dark tunnel and sobbed:

"You always pretend you can't see it—all of you do. What am I supposed to do?"

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

This kid can see it!

He can see that terrifying woman!!!