"It might even make us lose our sense of direction, wandering helplessly inside."

Coupled with the mysterious explosion at West Mountain and the rumored military research on ancient civilization relics.

Fang Cheng’s vigilance had already reached its peak.

This test is definitely more perilous than the previous Illusion Realm test.

Perhaps, there might even be casualties.

Hou Peng swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his thin cheeks trembling, with a fine layer of sweat on his forehead:

"Brother Fang, don’t scare me. This is a military restricted area, not even a fly can get in. Surely, there aren’t a few man-eating bears hidden in the woods?"

Ma Donghe, on the other hand, perked up in spirits.

He grabbed the tactical backpack on the ground, his eyes sparkling with excitement:

"Hey! Who cares, if a couple of bears really appear, we’ll just have an extra meal tonight, making some roasted bear paws to replenish ourselves!"

Fang Cheng shook his head, sliding the short knife back into the scabbard on his tactical thigh strap.

His gaze moved beyond the perimeter of the training ground, finally settling on a lookout tower towering above the treetops.

In this austere military camp, the atmosphere over there seemed particularly unusual.

.......................

At the top of the lookout tower, the view was expansive.

The evening mountain breeze swept by, taking away some of the daytime heat.

A black folding table was placed right in the center.

Qin Wenxuan leaned against the cold metal railing, his body slightly leaning forward.

He was holding a high-magnification tactical binoculars, overlooking the candidates on the training ground from a high vantage point.

The lens slowly panned and suddenly fixed on a young figure sitting on a cement block, checking a standard issue short knife with his head down.

Qin Wenxuan’s lips tightened slightly, pondering silently.

This is the Fang Cheng that the old superior insisted on bringing in.

Although this kid’s performance in the Black Rain World was impressive, earning an excellent score.

But the interview ultimately tests spiritual will, and with the protection of the Soul Suppressing Bell, the strange occurrences have limited harm to the candidates.

Now in the real West Mountain Forbidden Area, they face mutated monsters and unknown dangers.

Scoring high won’t be that easy.

All I can do is ensure he passes the background check smoothly.

Whether he can truly enter the Special Search Team and become a colleague depends on his own fortune.

"Old Qin, you’ve been staring at that bunch of greenhorns below for half the day, can you spot anything interesting?"

Beside the folding table, a man with a scruffy beard and a physique as sturdy as an iron tower pulled out a chair and sat down grandly.

The man’s name was Lei Zhen, the Director of the Intelligence Department of the Special Search Team.

His face was full of rough flesh, with a hideous scar from the corner of his left eye to his chin, like a badge flaunting battle achievements.

At this moment, he picked up an enamel tea cup, blowing away the floating tea leaves atop the water.

Next to Lei Zhen stood a cold and beautiful woman in a white dress suit and gold-rimmed glasses.

She was the chief researcher of the Special Search Team’s research department, Shen Zhiwei.

"Director Qin, can you disclose to us now?"

Shen Zhiwei held a military-grade tablet terminal, sliding through the data model on the screen, speaking coldly:

"There’s fifteen minutes left until the scheduled start time of the test, the sun is about to set, and the Yin energy and spatial fluctuations of West Mountain are about to reach their peak."

"Director Ling specifically moved the originally scheduled physical test at headquarters to the perilous B3 district of West Mountain, for what reason?"

Director Qin put down his binoculars, slowly turned around, his expression growing more solemn.

He walked to the folding table, placed both hands on the tabletop, and his gaze swept over Lei Zhen and Shen Zhiwei.

"Since you both are the joint invigilators of this exam and have signed the confidentiality agreement, I’ll be frank."

Director Qin’s voice was particularly deep and serious:

"You’re probably both aware of the ultra-ancient civilization relic hidden deep in West Mountain, right?"

Lei Zhen’s tea-drinking motion paused, he banged the cup heavily onto the table, snorted coldly, and said in a rough voice full of displeasure:

"How could I not have heard? The military has sealed West Mountain like a steel barrel, relying on the existing tunnel from the Yu Dynasty’s Underground Palace a thousand years ago, eating alone and leaving us Special Search Team with nothing."

"Our people have been camping in the outer forbidden area for months, and yet we haven’t even touched the relics."

"The thought of it makes me angry, we’re just working for them for free!"

"Director Lei is not wrong, that’s exactly the issue here."

Director Qin nodded, his tone solemn:

"Director Ling definitely won’t stand idly by as the military holds all the power. If we can’t find a new entrance of our own to the relic, in the future distribution of extraordinary resources, the Special Search Team will be subjugated. This is very detrimental to our future development."

Shen Zhiwei adjusted her glasses, a glint of cold light reflecting off the lenses:

"So, what’s the connection with that group below, most of whom are ordinary people without any awakened abilities?"

"Are we really counting on them to trample out a new path in the mountains with their feet?"

Lei Zhen echoed with a cold laugh, clearly finding this plan fanciful.

Director Qin

"You might think it’s absurd, but this is precisely the brilliance of Director Ling’s strategy."

"Researcher Shen, you are an expert in the theory of repulsion between the Otherworld and the real dimension, so you must be well aware."

"The military can enter and exit the Yu Dynasty’s Underground Palace stably because they rely on the arrays and broken spells left in the ancient tomb, which negate the repulsion."

"To find a new entrance outside the blockade, we must take an unusual route!"

He paused for a moment, walked to the folding table, and operated on Shen Zhiwei’s tablet, pulling up a holographic terrain map of West Mountain.

One after another, faint blue ripples illuminated a certain coordinate on the map.

This was the objective of the cross-country run for the candidates below—Black Wind Gully.

Director Qin folded his arms, continuing with the explanation:

"According to the data from Director Ling’s previous two secret expeditions, the spatial rift at this new entrance lingers within this wilderness survival area."

"However, due to the presence of high-dimensional repulsion, the rift is like a mirage, always hovering on the brink, near yet far."

"If we were to deploy heavy forces and force our way in, it would surely result in us being torn apart by spatial turbulence."

Director Qin observed Shen Zhiwei’s pensive expression and continued speaking:

"Hasn’t the Research Department been testing various instruments to capture spatial frequencies? You’ve long discovered that this repulsion phenomenon has significant randomness."

"A very few individuals seem to naturally possess a ’high-dimensional affinity constitution’. When faced with spatial rifts, they are not repelled but can see them clearly and even approach safely, as if summoned by destiny."

Shen Zhiwei nodded, a spark of enthusiasm flashing in her eyes.

As a researcher, she naturally knew how rare this affinity constitution was.

"So..."

Director Qin spread his hands, a glint flashing in his eyes:

"Since we can’t fully grasp the fundamental principle of spatial repulsion with current technology, let’s take advantage of this large-scale physical test to scatter this group of over seven hundred young, vigorous candidates into the West Mountain."

He pointed to the dense crowd below:

"Surely, one of them will have a spiritual resonance with the latent rift."

"As long as they act as a ’guiding light’ and trigger the manifestation of the entrance, our goal will be achieved."

Qin Wenxuan picked up the tea cup on the table to soothe his throat, his lips curving into a meaningful smile:

"At the same time, this operation is perfectly justified, even if the military’s satellites detect the large-scale personnel movement and come to question us, we have ample reasons to gloss over it."

"After all, isn’t the Special Search Team conducting normal recruitment selection, and incidentally, letting newcomers train their courage with the mutated monsters in this forbidden area?"