Chapter 7: Anomalous Objects
After dropping off the young participants, the government vehicle continued for over a thousand meters and came to a stop in front of an ordinary street lamp.
Director Qin stepped out of the car, reached out to fumble on the surface of the street lamp, and activated the hidden authentication device.
Click~
A staircase leading underground opened up beside the road.
The end of the staircase corresponds to a research institute hidden fifty meters underground, primarily responsible for the management and dispatch of the current practice.
"Director Qin, good to see you!"
"How's everything prepared? Those young people should have started climbing the mountain by now."
"All departments have conducted self-checks more than three times, all equipment is in green status.
Additionally, the health check parameters of the four young participants are all above average, with one person's parameters close to excellent.
This practice is bound to succeed.
Right! Director Qin, would you like to join our luck game?"
The staff member held a transparent cube in their hands, already filled with quite a few folded slips of paper.
The seemingly serious Director Qin did not decline; he threw in a slip of paper with information already written on it, betting a thousand Rubles.
The betting content was the[object]that the four high school students would soon choose, considered a leisure activity besides work.
Although Director Qin participated in the betting, he still emphasized seriously, "Entertainment is entertainment, but it's imperative to ensure the perfect progression of the simulation. Any error, and I will hold the responsible person accountable."
"Understood."
At this moment, the surveillance department announced, "They have started ascending the mountain!"
All employees, who were currently unoccupied, instantly gathered around,
The monitoring area presented an open Ring shape, with a large number of electronic screens arranged horizontally and vertically, allowing easy access to the entire practice region's information from in front of the screens.
Hundreds of surveillance feeds were controlled by AI algorithms, with important feeds automatically moved to the center.
Screens monitoring the participants would always remain in the central region, with additional screens assisting in observation and recording for the researchers.
In everyone's hearts, silent prayers were held,
Some prayed for the smooth progress of the practice, while others hoped that their bets would be chosen by these four young people.
[Five minutes earlier]
Beside the road, at the foot of the mountain.
The class president was performing standard stretches, eyes fixed on the 35° inclined slope, "If we start timing once we step onto the slope, we could get prepared in advance right here by the roadside."
Following the class president's suggestion, they each took out the climbing equipment they might need,
After all, it was the heat of summer, the temperature was high, and everyone was wearing shorts and short sleeves, prone to being scratched by the dense trees.
The class president's preparation was quite complete, including knee pads, leg bindings, gloves, and a telescopic climbing pole.
Luo Di, however, hadn't considered these and had no relevant equipment.
The 'fully armed' president continued, "Should we split up to search for the[object]or act together later?
According to Director Qin, the practice officially begins only after finding and activating the relevant objects, and that's when we might encounter danger. Splitting up isn't out of the question.
After all, we only have half an hour to search for the object, and I suggest we search separately first and meet up in the last ten minutes."
There was no issue with the president's proposal; they first gathered together to activate the "real-time location sharing" feature on their wristbands.
[07:10]
The ascent began.
The four participants began to climb in completely different directions; given the time constraint, they all moved at their respective speeds.
Blonde-haired Anna was the quickest, with movements that were quite professional, being the first to vanish from everyone's view.
As Luo Di marveled at her physical strength and professional skills, the class president's voice reached him from the side.
"Hehe~ Our Anna is quite formidable. She's not only excellent in sports but also skilled in various wilderness survival techniques. Don't let her outperform you later."
Luo Di made no response, simply accelerating in the direction he had selected for the climb.
Once he had completely separated from his teammates and could no longer see anyone else around, Luo Di actually became more relaxed.
His thoughts drifted back to years ago, when he had gone hiking with his family, a rare smile gracing his face.
Such fond memories did not last long,
as a chilling wind suddenly swept through the mountains, skimming over his body,
His exposed arms felt as if icy fingers traced over them, every hair standing on end.
Wary, he halted and observed.
His finger was already on the chainsaw's start button.
Looking around, he saw no 'creatures,' but his attention settled on a particularly odd tree,
distinctly different from the other trees in the mountains,
this tree was larger, thicker, and more sinister, its trunk twisted and bent, commonly known as a locust tree.
It seemed as if the gusts of cold wind that swept through the mountains originated from this tree.
Luo Di's cultural studies grades were mediocre, but he recognized this type of tree; it was indeed a locust tree.
The cold wind continued to blow as if the tree itself was beckoning to him.
Such strangeness almost assured Luo Di that this tree was certainly connected to the object of their present exploration.
Approaching carefully,
his gaze fixed upon a pitch-black hollow in the trunk of the tree,
from where the cold wind continuously poured out, accompanied by a hissing sound when blowing, reminiscent of the sighing of an old man taking his last breath.
He retrieved the flashlight from the side of his backpack,
and the strong beam pierced through the hole, infiltrating its interior, and caught sight of a box hidden inside the tree hollow, made of redwood and inlaid with gold.
Considering the potential risks within the hollow, Luo Di did not reach inside but instead used a suitable branch to attempt to move the wooden box, taking great effort to finally extract it.
As the wooden box left the hollow, the cold wind also stopped at once.
As if the old man had breathed his last sigh, he passed away peacefully at that moment.
...
Elsewhere.
Anna, the fastest and most experienced in the wilderness, stopped and immediately looked at the shared tracking device on her wrist, realizing she had left the others far behind.
"Ha, that guy Wenwen always brags about doesn't seem all that impressive."
Just as she planned to search this forest region,
Click~
A distinct sound of a flickering tongue came from the woods.
"Who's there?"
It couldn't be someone else catching up; she had just checked everyone's position a few seconds ago.
She wasn't scared as a high school girl should be, but instead was on high alert, gripping her tactical axe.
Her thoughts were clear; the expedition followed the institution's rules, and since it hadn't officially started yet, there shouldn't be any immediate dangers.
The sound was most likely associated with an object of interest.
Anna followed the sound's direction and quickly uncovered a clearing in the woods. It was a real clearing, devoid not only of trees but even weeds, exposing extremely dry soil that made her feel oddly parched.
The slightly elevated ground also featured a clear crevice, just wide enough to allow an arm to fit through.
Click~
The flickering tongue sound came again,
confirming that the sound emanated from the Seam.
Anna also took out a flashlight from the side of her backpack, cautiously approaching the Seam.
The beam of light from her hand tilted as she drew closer,
and when the light was pointed straight down, Anna's gaze also plunged into the deepest part of the Seam,
where for a moment she saw a charred black tongue wriggling below, startling her into stepping back.
Shaking her head and looking again, there was no tongue inside, but rather a metal box inscribed with a Hexagram and a goat head symbol.