Outside the training camp.
Instructor Hong looked at the middle finger on the screen, sighed helplessly, then looked down at the scoring sheet in his hand and silently wrote "-1" next to the name "Shen Qingzhu".
"He's hot-tempered and acts impulsively, so deducting a point is only natural," he muttered to himself.
"Instructor Hong, is it alright to leave three mysterious creatures at the 'Chuan' realm in the training camp?" Instructor Han Li couldn't help but walk over. "The highest realm among the recruits is only the 'Chi' realm. What if there are casualties?"
Instructor Hong smiled slightly. "Don't worry, this is one of the traditional projects of our training camp every year. These three 'mysterious' creatures have been shackled, which has weakened their strength. Moreover, when it really comes to a critical moment, we can remotely control their life and death."
"Besides, there are some people hidden in the camp, the 'atmosphere team,' who can step in if needed, so nothing will go wrong."
"Atmosphere Team?" Instructor Han Li asked blankly, "Why is it called that?"
"You'll find out when the time comes," Instructor Hong said with a mysterious smile.
...
Inside the camp.
Lin Qiye stood by the bed, scanned Deng Wei's body with his mental energy, and nodded.
"Like Baili Pangpang, he is in a state of deep sleep."
"Is it a forbidden ruin?"
"It should be." Lin Qiye walked into the corridor, a hint of doubt appearing in his eyes. "But... why did they fall into a deep sleep, but we didn't...?"
At this moment, all the waking recruits in the dormitory building were gathered together, numbering about thirty. After all, Lin Qiye was the agent of the two gods and the holder of the "Star" medal. Under these circumstances, he was perhaps the only one qualified to convince everyone.
Lin Qiye glanced at the crowd out of the corner of his eye; Cao Yuan, Zheng Zhong, and Li Shaoguang, whom he had seen that morning, were among them...etc!
Lin Qiye seemed to have thought of something and suddenly asked, "What time do you all get up?"
Everyone was taken aback, and Cao Yuan spoke first:
"I got up at 5:20, went to wash up, and that's when I ran into you."
"I'll be around 5:22," Li Shaoguang replied hesitantly.
"I'm a little past 5:40," Shen Qingzhu said.
"5:16."
"5:50."
"5:54."
"..."
As the thirty-odd people present took turns stating the time they woke up, Lin Qiye's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and a guess began to form in his mind...
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be related to the time we woke up." Lin Qiye sighed. "Among everyone present, not a single person got up after six o'clock."
"Six o'clock is very likely a key point in time. People who haven't woken up before six o'clock have their minds dragged into some place and remain asleep..."
Everyone frowned.
"Was this also done by the instructors?" Shen Qingzhu asked.
"I don't know, but this 'no good end for those who sleep in late' mentality sounds like something the instructors would do..." Lin Qiye shook his head.
"So what do we do now?"
Lin Qiye fell into deep thought. If all of this was a "rehearsal" given to them by the instructors, then what exactly were the standards for completing this "rehearsal"...?
Wake up the others?
It is virtually impossible without someone possessing a "Forbidden Ruin" ability—like Lin Xi Chen—or someone with mental-type powers.
But if the instructors themselves created that mental trap, how can they dispel it...?
Or perhaps, what dragged the other recruits into the dream was not the instructors, but something else entirely?
Thinking of this, Lin Qiye suddenly asked, "Where's Mo Lan?"
When he went to wash up this morning, Mo Lan had already gotten up, but why was he not among the thirty-odd people present?"
"I don't know. I didn't see him after I finished washing up this morning," Li Shaoguang shook his head.
"Could it be that he went to practice shooting?" Cao Yuan said.
"He went there at 5:30, trained for so long, and yet there's still no movement in the camp. Isn't that strange?" Lin Qiye turned to look in the direction of the training ground. Under the silent sky, the entire training camp seemed to exude an eerie atmosphere...
Cao Yuan understood his implied meaning: "You mean... there are enemies in this camp besides us?"
"This possibility cannot be ruled out; otherwise, this exercise would be meaningless."
"So what should we do now?"
"Does anyone have any forbidden techniques related to mental attacks?" Lin Qiye pondered for a moment before asking.
After a two-second silence, everyone shook their heads.
"I know someone who has it," Li Shaoguang suddenly spoke up. "There's a girl named Zhang Xiaoxiao, and her forbidden realm is related to the mental realm."
"Girls..." Lin Qiye turned to look at Shen Qingzhu, "By the way, how are the other two dormitory buildings?"
There are three dormitory buildings for new recruits in the training camp. Lin Qiye and his group are in Building 1, and there is Building 2 opposite them. The girls all live in Building 3, which is located on the side of Buildings 1 and 2.
"The people in Building Two have also noticed something's wrong and seem to have started searching other parts of the training camp, but there hasn't been any movement from Building Three, where the girls are staying..."
"No movement? Are none of them awake?"
"No, anyway... the atmosphere in the girls' dormitory feels weird. You'll see for yourself." Shen Qingzhu shrugged.
Lin Qiye walked through the corridor and came to the east corridor of the dormitory building. His gaze fell on the three buildings in front of him, and his brows furrowed slightly.
Three solitary buildings stood there, all the doors and windows tightly closed. Sunlight fell on the window surfaces, but no light was reflected out, as if the abyss swallowed up the surrounding light.
Normally, if you stand here, you can clearly hear the girls laughing and joking coming from Building 3, but at this moment... it's deathly silent.
"Something must have happened to Building Three," Lin Qiye said with a slightly grim expression.
However, he didn't need to worry too much, as Lin Xi Chen was there; he was confident that her quick wit would allow her to help them without much difficulty.
He turned around, thought for a moment, and quickly gave the order:
"Leave a few men to guard this building. The rest of you come with me to the warehouse to get weapons, and then we'll go see what happened in Building Three."
"Okay."
After a brief discussion, they decided who would stay behind in one building, and the rest of the people followed Lin Qiye and ran quickly toward the warehouse.
The warehouse was not close to the dormitory area. They had to walk through most of the training camp to reach the warehouse. Just as Shen Qingzhu had said, the entire camp was empty, without a single person in sight.
Lin Qiye and the others stood at the warehouse door. Behind them, Shen Qingzhu gently chewed his gum and then spat out a bubble that floated to the metal door of the warehouse.
Pop—!
He snapped his fingers lightly, and the air inside the chewing gum exploded, blasting two metal doors away and sending billowing dust flying.
The group quickly entered the warehouse, grabbed their weapons, and then walked out.
Just then, several shrill screams came from afar, echoing through the sky.
"Aaaaaaahh..."
Lin Qiye and the others' expressions changed drastically, and they all looked in the direction from which the sound came.
"That's... the cafeteria?" Shen Qingzhu frowned, turning to look at Lin Qiye. "Which way are we going?"