Chapter 1: Test

They were in a dark box.

It had a tough interior and its corners were sealed off. All four corners had a chandelier, and if it were examined closely, the chandeliers seemed to be quaking a bit for some reason.

More than 30 university-looking students who all seemed to be around the age of 20 were inside the box.

Ever since they entered the box, everyone had yet to communicate, and instead silently observed one another and their surroundings.

Until a young man sporting a crew cut took the initiative to speak, “Before I got in, I passed the preliminary entrance exam and the interview. How about y’all?”

The people with him responded, happy to break the silence. “Someone chatted with me online and invited me to take an exam, the same as yours . He told me he was the Dean.”

“I got recommended, but I still had to take part in their interview assessment.”

“My parents are internal active-duty employees so they have referrals. I also passed the interview.”

“The enrollment ad posted outside my school gate says that you can apply without taking an entrance exam.”

Multitude of heads turned towards the speaker. It was a beautiful young man roughly in his 20s, with striking yellow hair and pale skin, but he seemed to be lacking spirit, like a shut-in otaku that had stayed up all night playing games.

Someone whispered, “MU also put up posters to recruit students?”

“Maybe.” The referred vermillion-leather jacket that had passed the interview said, “My parents told me that this year, MU set up centers somewhere in the regions of Europe, Asia and North America, and they increased their admitted students to 30,000. Freshmen had to pass their entrance exam, interview and the overtime test to smoothly enter the school, during which a lot of participants were knocked off. I heard there were more than a hundred students ahead of us, and we’re the fifth batch of freshmen who arrived here in New Haicheng’s exam room. My bold guess is that MU’s short of students. Because they didn’t know where to find students, they casted a wide net to fish.”

“What good fish can they catch by casting a wide net other than a mob of smelly fish and rotten shrimp.”

“MU keeps changing their attitudes.”

“We took the entrance exam honestly and overcame difficulties to get to this overtime test. How can this nine leaky fish1 be admitted without taking any exam!!!”

“MU’s impressiveness2 is dead to me.”

“Third-rate technical schools still have the ability to impress?”

Everyone speechlessly looked at the depressed-looking yellow-haired youth whom they had just ridiculed. They wanted to refute his remark, but when they thought about the usual four-year undergraduate course and the three-year vocational schooling, MU’s only requirement for studying was indeed just three years.

There was a well-known saying that an undergraduate’s brainstorming starts at technical schools. MU seemed to be a bit more hands-on.

MU claimed to be a famous school in America but in fact, it couldn’t produce thousands of degrees, so it really wouldn’t be wrong to call it a third-rate technical school.

But they just said MU wasn’t that impressive, so why do they bother fighting for the freshman spot?

On the contrary, this depressed-looking yellow-head who probably couldn’t even remember MU’s full name, not only was he able to get the qualifications for a free admission, but he had also been baited in by a fucking roadside ad!

How could this not make them mentally unstable?!

For a while, no one rebutted. They didn’t want to lower their value and take care of the “fish” caught by that wide-spread net. The freshmen started a new topic as if nothing had happened, but this time they subconsciously lowered their voices, not wanting that depressed-looking yellow-head to spit out words that would hurt their hearts after hearing it.

“Speaking of which, MU has opened pilot schools in Europe, Asia and Africa this year. For Europe, it’s in Great Britain and the brown bear3. Asia’s in China and Bharat and for Africa, it’s in Rahab. This is also the reason why the admission has been expanded this year.”

“This was in the news section of the forum. Some speculated that MU suddenly opening the five pilot branches was due to the frequent outbreak of visions4 around the world in recent years, and the institutions need to import more new blood.”

“It turned out to be like this. “Someone suddenly raised his voice and thought of something, “Speaking of visions, do you guys know about the ‘Red Shoes Incident’5?”

“What red shoes? Never heard of it.”

“It was a weird incident that happened in a small city in Europe called Strasbourg last year. 1,405 people in the village collectively fell into a state of madness and excitement, jumping for seven days and seven nights. By the time the investigation team arrived, more than 700 people had already died from exhaustion.”

“The follow-up report in the news forum said that it was a mass hysteria, also known as a dancing hysteria. It didn’t say what caused it, but until now there have been investigative missions. Even the Vatican was stationed there.”

“I also know about this, and it’s strange that there were similar events that have been recorded in Europe in the 14th and 16th centuries. Hundreds of people suddenly danced until they died of exhaustion, and when they died, their expression was distorted and full of pain, just like the little girl who was cursed by the red dancing shoes in Andersen’s Fairy Tales, so it was dubbed the ‘Red Shoes Incident’.”

Cen Jin squeezed his palms, his gaze erratic and atheistic. He didn’t want to listen, but they were too loud.

The content of the chat kept drilling into his ears, from the main topic “red shoes incident” in Europe, where the dancing hysteria killed more than 700 people last year, to the “shoreline of death” in Africa, where in this year’s early spring, a cruise ship got stranded and the 200 people on board were beheaded. Their bodies were hung on the shore to dry, but the murderer was nowhere to be found.

In recent years, visions that couldn’t be explained scientifically have frequently occurred around the world.

In the beginning, officials from various countries would fabricate explanations, until the two visions of the “Red Shoes Incident” and the “Shoreline of Death” were exposed one after another, and when folk speculations followed suit, the silent officials no longer covered it up.

At the beginning of the year, someone broke the news on the internet that there was a special organization dedicated to eliminating visions in various countries. Some even candidly spread that the worldview of Cthulhu Mythology, which emerged in the early 20th century, was real and that gods would be restored on earth…

These two breaking news posts were up on the internet and have not been deleted, which was tantamount to an official agreement.

However, these visions were too far-fetched for ordinary people, and most people do not believe in them. Cen Jin had a neutral attitude and had no interest in it.

He got into New Haicheng University last year on a work-study program. Last week, he was accused of having taken exams for students outside school and was withdrawn from the university.

With a large bag of luggage in tow as he left the school, he saw a small enrollment ad posted on the streetlight post at the gate.

As stated in the advertisement, the technical school had no entrance exams, that was, if you pass a pop test, three years of tuition and miscellaneous fees would be free and a double degree certificate would also be given, as well as various scholarships, poverty subsidies, etc.

It was an absolutely irresistible temptation for Cen Jin!!!

As for his diploma mill whose full name was Miskatonic University6, he had no interest. As long as he possessed his diploma in hand, it’s enough to guarantee that he’d be able to land a stable and easy job.

Cen Jin had little ambition. He would be satisfied with only a salary of three thousand.

Therefore, he paid more attention to MU’s increasing admissions than the vision.

Daring to recruit 30,000 new students and open 30 examination centers in one go showed that the university indeed had deep pockets. The amount of poverty subsidies and scholarships would absolutely be a satisfactory figure. As long as he worked hard, maybe his college life would be easier.

Cen Jin partly tilted his face, his eyes flashing with a faint longing.

Suddenly, the chandelier’s swaying above his head increased, and an augmented shadow appeared. No one saw except for Cen Jin, who looked up.

Cen Jin thought to himself, it should be a small earthquake.

New Haicheng was close to the seismic zone. Small earthquakes were frequent every summer but there were never any major disasters.

Just as Cen Jin let his mind wander, a three-dimensional sound effect suddenly reverberated from the box. “Good morning, candidates, and welcome to the annual overtime test of Miskatonic University.

“This quiz will determine whether or not you are qualified to enter the new world and become a part of MU—of course, it will also determine the classmates, teachers and resources you will be allocated to after you become an official freshman.”

The freshmen stopped talking instantly. There was silence in the box, as if only cicadas had started singing. Only a female voice broadcasted from nowhere.

“Without further ado, you will soon arrive at your examination center.”

The faces of the new students changed imperceptibly as they heard its words, and those who had just been exposed to the new worldview were so nervous they didn’t know whether to cry or not.

Cen Jin was indifferent. The MU’s examiner’s game was psychological oppression, to which he was familiar with. Whoever was nervous first would lose.

“You can rest assured that MU would guarantee the safety of your lives and assets. And now, I will be announcing the test problems and instructions, please bear them in mind—

“Instruction number 1, do not trust the Gods. 2, support can be requested as appropriate. The student’s test results will be determined by the school at its own discretion. 3, teamwork is allowed. And 4, which is the most important point; If you or your companion experienced anger, irritability, hallucinations, or mental instability, withdraw from the test at once and return. If you cannot return independently, immediately request for assistance.”

“Announcing the test problem: Please pick up the pollutants in the river. Time limit: 10 minutes. Requirements: None.”

At this very moment, a 4,000-horsepower giant mining truck carried an airtight box. The pure noir dark box, made of special metal materials, was being driven on the road leading to one of New Haicheng’s unmanned restricted areas, followed by three modified SUV vehicles and a military helicopter in the sky.

The middle modified SUV vehicle had satellite monitoring devices inside, with LCD panels on both sides. Hundreds of buttons densely covered the console, and the two observers’ fingers flew, almost creating afterimages. The LCD panels quickly brought up satellite maps of New Haicheng, the remote sensing maps around the no-man’s land, and the surveillance video inside the dark box.

Shi Shahai7, MU’s dean, placed his hand behind his back and said, “As soon as the freshmen entered the dark box, they all showed vigilance and a sense of competition. They assessed the situation individually, and evaluated who and which their companions and competitors were when their peace was broken, and formed small groups either consciously or not. When it was announced that they could work as a team, these small groups immediately agreed to work together.”

Observer: “The newbies are quite excellent!!”

Shi Shahai said coolly, “Yet we have our examiner mixed in with the freshmen.”

Observer: “…”

Shi Shahai: “In fact, whether it’s the entrance exam, interview or overtime test, it’s only the threshold to evaluate their personal quality and whether they’re eligible to become MU students, which is only the first step to determine whether or not they can get in touch with the real world. Moreover,”

He revealed a good-natured smile. “Have you ever seen a school where there’s teamwork in an entrance exam?”

Observer: “….” Which school would do such a thing as deliberately enticing students to form teams and planting spies?!

“But this batch of freshmen does have great potential.” Shi Shahai said sunkenly, “Last year, after MU consulted with the institution, it released the mark of the Grim Reaper’s spiritual force, which was scaled as high risk, worldwide. Only children with B-grade potential and above could see it, but so far, only 364 people have been recorded, and there’s only 67 in China’s district. Among this group of freshmen, 8 people were found to have more than B-grade potential.”

The higher their potential level, the higher the index of mental pollution they could endure. And it’d be easier to get rid of the indescribable peculiarity that existed in the human world compared to ordinary people.

They were natural fighters.

And MU would pick out children with such potential from the crowd, accept them as students, and train them into becoming professional fighters.

This group of freshmen had boundless potential, so Shi Shahai took time out of his busy schedule to serve as an examiner.

He scanned the faces of every freshman in the surveillance video one by one, until he saw the depressed-looking yellow-haired in the corner. He couldn’t help but be surprised. “Who is this?”

Observer: “His name is Cen Jin.”

And then?

“That’s it.” The observer said, “His name is in the admission entry system. Do you want me to transfer the file?”

“Forget it.”

Shi Shahai shook his head. The admission system wouldn’t make mistakes. It might be that his performance was too ordinary that’s why he failed to remember his face.

Observer: “Distance of the location: Sihai Cave, an unmanned restricted area of New Haicheng, is still 200 meters away. All units pay attention to deceleration. Please do a field survey, risk control, mental pollution index records… and other security preparations.”

After three consecutive notifications, the giant heavy truck carrying the dark box slowed down visibly to the naked eye and stopped in the open space in front of the no-entry sign in the unmanned restricted area, followed by helicopters hovering above. Three SUV vehicles stopped in the open space one by one.

The huge black box collapsed rapidly, and the freshmen who were locked in it were shocked to find that they, who were originally in the city, now appeared in a primeval forest with thick towering trees, where eternal solitude and its primitive simplicity blew against their faces. What’s more, they were shocked by the dark box, the giant mining truck and the heavily armed soldiers surrounding them.

“Where is this place?” Someone whispered.

The vermillion-leather jacket that entered with a referral was stunned, then recited as if he was a popular science textbook, “Sihai Cave, an unmanned restricted area in New Haicheng. It had several strange incidents in 1981 in which tourists bumped into corpses floating in the air and went insane. It was later taken over by the investigation team and soon listed as a restricted area. Its name came from the homonym for the corpse cave8, which was rumored to have an underground water reservoir filled with the corpses from various dynasties, like a large water burial tomb. ”

“But I remember that Sihai Cave was listed at the level-4 high-risked forbidden zone’s archives!”

_{The author has something to say:}

_{Open the text la~~ Seeking collection and comments~~hearteu.}

_{Grim Reaper: The Death God}

_{Bharat: India}

_{Rahab: Arabia}

_{We both know which country is brown bears and Great Britain.}

_{MU’s name: Miskatonic University. Just borrowing the name and place in Cthulhu Myth. It’s a fictional university and address. There’s no other similarities other than this. Just paying tribute.}

_{There isn’t even 1 subbing test that happened outside of school. The MC is ‘especially’ law-abiding.}

_{The energy-level distributions of potential and worldviews will be introduced after everything’s established.}

_{Mine clearance: will use a lot of legends and unofficial history. They’re essentially re-creation/derivative work and personal settings. If you are an atheist or a believer, I advise to view prudently.}

_{1. Red Dancing Shoes: In 1374, 10 people on the riverside of the Rhine suddenly danced and died of exhaustion. In 1518, a French woman painfully danced. A month later, 400 people danced together to convulsions, completely out of control. After that, the “Dancing Plague” incidents occurred in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, etc. One after another.}

Translator’s Footnotes

九漏鱼 is an internet catchphrase, its full title is nine-year compulsory education fish that slipped through the net, that is, people who have not completed nine-year compulsory education: primary and junior middle schools. Basically an insult.¹

逼格- “逼” is short for “装逼,” which means to “pretend to be classy,” and “格” means “level” or “grade.” Therefore, this term, coined by Chinese netizens and popular for a while, refers to the level of pretending to be classy. People pretend to be classier or richer than they actually are to satisfy their need to feel superior to others. You can call it vanity, but it’s also rooted in human nature. Netizens coined the phrase as if some kind of hierarchy exists in faking one’s taste or social status, although everyone knows such a thing is so very superficial. Simply put, “逼格” means “the ability to impress.”²

it’s just 棕熊 but idk if it refers to 欧洲棕熊 which is the european brown bear. I’m not sure if this is a place?³

异象 or vision is a common word in the Bible , referring to special revelation and guidance from God, and its meaning is similar to other words such as “revelation” the Bible.⁴

One of the stories in Andersen’s Fairy Tales. The story is about a girl forced to dance continually in her red shoes. Read the full story here.⁵

Miskatonic University is not a real university – it was a fictional university invented by H.P. Lovecraft. Cthulhu Myth was basically based on his book. Read more here.⁶

literally means “the lake of ten temples” lmao it’s also a scenic spot in Beijing.⁷

尸骸窟 / shihai cave⁸

Translator’s Corner:

A new novel aaAaaA this is comedy, supernatural, action, mystery, problem solving, etc. stuff stuff~ I haven’t finished reading yet but it’s so fun to read hehe. Just fair warning that there will be a LOT of footnotes as there are a lot of references from myths and worldwide history. Welcome to the pit~ Updates will be sporadic atm since it’s just my side project. While I’m at it, I’ll share the fanarts of Cen Jin that I found on weibo: