Chapter 127

Chapter 127

Twenty-three days passed in the blink of an eye.

After it was confirmed that the Battle of Academies was real, students from various countries, under the guidance of their respective national commands, began to probe the Hungry Academy’s stance on the Battle of Academies.

Even JiuZhou asked Ji Xinghai for his thoughts on it—this was crucial because he was likely the one who could make the application.

"Compared to the school instances, perhaps I look forward more to those outside."

Ji Xinghai told them, "Mice and humans share 90% of their genes, and humans share 99% of their genes with each other. Living beings are inherently selfish, but occasionally they will make altruistic acts that harm their own interests for the sake of genetic kin, ultimately for the survival of the group.

"I can understand, but I don't like feeling constrained."

In essence, he had always been looking after the other human students, so even if he could plunder everything, he would consider others' survival and refrain from doing so.

But if it were the Battle of Academies, where everyone around him would be different, he could go all out.

With Ji Xinghai's answer, JiuZhou had reached a unified decision internally. They conveyed their intentions: JiuZhou would unite and strive to participate in the Battle of Academies.

The official bodies took everything upon themselves without revealing Ji Xinghai's thoughts to the public. At times like this, he should keep a low profile, as the state would handle public opinion and pressure.

During this period, the real-world coalition government established an international research institute led by JiuZhou, consisting of the top scientists specializing in biology and genetics from various countries. Their sole task was to study the evolution potion.

Firstly, they needed to achieve mass production of the evolution potion; secondly, they aimed to increase the success rate of its effects, ideally making breakthroughs.

In short, both inside and outside the academy, everyone was quite busy, except for Ji Xinghai, who was munching on a childhood-flavored lollipop, wandering around looking for sunny spots for afternoon naps.

"His mindset is truly remarkable." Both humans and anomalies in the academy would genuinely say this.

Perhaps this was the demeanor of a strong person who remained calm even when the building was about to collapse.

Finally, the first day of June arrived.

At 5:30 AM, after a good night's sleep, Ji Xinghai stepped out of the washroom into a small, empty room.

All sides were gray concrete, with a door on each of the four walls, and an old flickering fluorescent light overhead.

He wasn’t in a hurry to explore, so he sat on the ground, turning his neck to examine every corner.

The room was tiny, about four square meters, with a height of two and a half meters. When he lay down with his arms spread wide, he filled the entire space.

Apart from the flickering light that seemed straight out of a horror movie, there was nothing else, not even a switch.

The floor and walls were the simplest, roughest concrete, with a noticeable graininess. Lying down was definitely uncomfortable, and there was a damp smell nearby.

What type of instance is this?

Have all the students entered such small rooms?

Curious, he opened his mission watch:

Student: Ji Xinghai

Credits: 60

Theme of This Exam: Survival Routine in the Rubik's Cube Building

Content of This Exam: You are an ordinary person accidentally brought here. Survive until the rescue team arrives in this special dormitory complex.

Exam Start Time: June 1st, 6 AM.

Participants: 282/282

Passing Criteria: Survive until the rescue team arrives (60 points).

Excellence Criteria: Create a safe and harmonious living environment.

Bonus Points: Not triggered.

This exam is a joint test among three academies with limited scope to ensure fairness. All equipment is suspended during the exam.

Huh, a new type of instance?

Ji Xinghai keenly noticed some changes, such as the emphasis on being 'an ordinary person,' the omission of the game duration, and the final hint about the joint exam among the three academies.

Emphasizing 'you are an ordinary person' not only restricts the use of equipment but also suggests other hidden challenges. There would likely be further instructions once the exam officially begins.

The omission of the game end time is the real hidden danger.

Previous exams had clear end times, giving students a sense of certainty. They could push through and possibly make it to the end. But now, without knowing the time, fear would amplify.

Ji Xinghai had a premonition that this exam might last longer than fifteen days.

Lastly, the notification about the joint exam among the three academies.

He guessed this was a change based on the previous instance, specifically due to the 'Battle of Academies.'

Ji Xinghai didn’t know the Hungry Academy’s purpose, but it was clear that it wanted students and their civilizations to get a glimpse of the harshness of external civilizations and the rigor of the exams.

Therefore, the difficulty of this exam would be increased.

Having reviewed all the available mission information, Ji Xinghai lay back down, sprawled out like a fish, and closed his eyes, waiting for the exam to begin officially.

Thirty minutes passed.

By six o'clock, a white flash appeared, and the same-sized square rooms appeared on the walls of the Command Units of various countries. Simultaneously, the live streams of the students underwent strange changes.

Apart from the previously existing Mental Value and Fear Value, there are now Hunger, Cleanliness, and Health indicators. Are these referring to the students' conditions? What does this have to do with this instance of the game?

All students start with an initial value of 10, seemingly unrelated to their physical fitness.

Is this the dark room? There's nothing in here; it looks quite terrifying.

To be precise, it's the gray room.

The audience focuses on observing both the students and the environment.

Ji Xinghai's live stream has the most viewers, with billions of eyes scrutinizing the bare room, yet they couldn't find anything unusual.

This is just an ordinary room with four doors and no windows.

At this moment, a voice appeared.

"Every day at six o'clock, the Rubik's Cube Building completes its rotation.

"Tenants entering the building, please note that from nine PM to six AM is rest time. Do not go out during rest hours.

"Please abide by the rules of different rooms.

"Do not enter others' rooms without invitation. The building will not be responsible for any consequences.

"Sometimes messages will appear on the walls of your room. Do not panic; it's just the room reminding you of something.

"Lastly, the rescue team will arrive at any time but will only stay for one hour. Pay attention to the knocking. If you miss it, you will remain here forever."

The true nature is revealed.

This was Ji Xinghai's first thought upon hearing the last sentence.

The end goal of this game is to be rescued by the rescue team, not to wait until a certain time. Therefore, even to leave eventually, the students must constantly pay attention to the outside world. They can't feel safe when going out or sleeping soundly.

The most troublesome part is how to confirm that the knock is truly from the rescue team and not an NPC tricking them out to kill them?

Ji Xinghai reopened his mission watch and found three new indicators: Hunger, Cleanliness, and Health. Below these, there were also three data points for Room Comfort, Room Safety, and Room Functionality.

The former corresponds to the students' conditions, while the latter corresponds to the room's state.

It seems that this time, it's not just about feeding oneself; the room needs to be upgraded as well.

"Will there be messages in the room now?" he wondered, beginning to meticulously examine every corner.

While Ji Xinghai conducted a thorough search, the other students had already loudly read out the mission prompts, helping the outside world understand the situation inside.

"A joint examination by the three academies? Whose DNA moved? Mine! It reminds me of those district-wide, city-wide, and province-wide mock exams."

"All equipment is unusable? This is bad, we're in trouble this time."

"Hai Ge seems to have discovered something."

Everyone looked at Ji Xinghai and saw him looking up at the light fixture on the ceiling.

No, he wasn't looking at the light, but at the shadow it cast. His eyes unflinching against the glare, he then smiled slightly.

The viewers in the live stream were startled; this smile felt eerily reminiscent of a horror movie.

No one knew what Ji Xinghai saw, and the camera didn't move.

Room prompts would appear on all cement surfaces except the floor. Ji Xinghai's room prompt was relatively hard to find, but he was still the first to discover it and act.

He opened one of the doors. When closed, the outside was silent, but when opened, he saw a rustling autumn forest under a blue sky, with red, yellow, and brown leaves layered over grass, shrubs, and trees.

A screen appeared before him.

"This is the orchard. You are lucky; the orchard is full of fruits.

"You can choose any path forward, but you must continue straight ahead and cannot turn back or change paths until you find your treasure or reach the end.

"There are many treasures along this path. These are gifts from the land. You may take one. Do not be greedy; you can only take one.

"After obtaining your chosen treasure, immediately turn around and run back to your room without stopping or looking back.

"Remember, wasting is shameful. Once chosen, you cannot change or discard it."

So this door leads to the "orchard," and these words are the rules of the orchard.

Ji Xinghai thought for a moment and stepped through the door. As soon as he set foot on the soft ground, many more doors appeared around him, all similar to the one behind him, but closed while this one remained open.

These doors might lead to other students' rooms.

"Do not enter others' rooms without invitation," he recalled the rule.

These doors stood haphazardly like tombstones, almost identical. If he mistook his room and entered someone else's, what would happen?

Before fully understanding the situation in this instance, he didn't want to challenge the rules. He left a slight handprint on his door. After waiting for a few seconds and seeing the mark hadn't disappeared, he closed the door and chose one of the paths.

There were three paths, all hidden within dense woods, indistinguishable from each other. He chose one randomly.

The worst outcome of venturing out would be finding something of little value, whereas staying put would yield nothing.

This was a gravel path covered in golden leaves and sunlight, occasionally revealing glimpses of something moving, perhaps a brown rabbit or a large field mouse.

In the tall tree canopies, squirrels occasionally peeked out, perhaps preparing food for winter.

Ji Xinghai slowed his pace, letting the fruit-scented breeze caress his face. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, his eyes shone particularly bright.

Up ahead is an orchard!

The audience watched as Ji Xinghai strode forward. He soon discovered a fruit orchard, with apple trees, pomelos, grapes, pomegranates, and more in plain sight.

These fruit trees shouldn't be standing together on the same land, but in such a place, it's hard to talk about science and logic.

"Tense! The fruits inside look delicious. Should we stop and pick one?"

"If you pick one, you might worry about missing out on bigger and better fruits ahead. But if you don't pick, you fear that only smaller and greener ones will remain. Ah, what a dilemma. No wonder philosophers use this to metaphorize love."

"What love?"

"It's the rule of this orchard. The path that can't be retraced is life, and the chosen fruit is love."

Amidst the audience's chatter, Ji Xinghai stopped in front of an apple tree.

It was a short apple tree with a trunk as thick as a bowl, its branches weighed down by heavy, bright red apples. Each one looked so sweet and juicy, their fragrance almost seeping through the screen into the noses of the viewers.

"The one on the left is bigger."

"The one on the right is redder."

The audience debated endlessly, all hoping Ji Xinghai would choose the one they had picked. Then he bent down and hugged the trunk.

One, two, three.

He uprooted the apple tree and, carrying it, turned and sprinted away. His long, straight legs moved like a fan at high speed.

The audience heard the whooshing wind and the roaring voice from behind: "Stop! Thief!"

Ji Xinghai's upper body remained steady enough to hold tofu, while the fruits on the tree swayed but didn't fall. His legs were moving so fast they left afterimages.

"Stop, I'll forgive you if you put down the apple tree!"

The pursuer was panting heavily and had to change tactics, but this trap-laden approach had no effect on Ji Xinghai. He had already run back to the starting point and kicked open the door, rushing inside with the tree. The door expanded into a circle just as he entered, returning to its original shape once the tree's canopy was inside.

As soon as he crossed the threshold, he took a moment to look back—there was nothing behind him.

"Holy crap."

The passersby were stunned.

But the surprises weren't over yet. They saw Ji Xinghai place the apple tree down, dust off his hands, and then open the door again.

It was still the autumn orchard.

His smile was as bright as the sky: "Hi, I'm back."