Ye Tiancheng had considered asking someone a few questions, but upon entering the classroom, he noticed that as the three of them walked in, students closer to them would merely glance up before discreetly stepping back.
It seemed difficult to get any information.
Ye Tiancheng abandoned the idea.
As they entered the examination hall, they could see a clock mounted on the wall above the center of the front of the classroom. The time displayed was 23:58.
With two minutes left, the formal examination was about to begin.
However, the classroom did not resemble a typical exam setting.
The students inside the classroom maintained a conscious distance from each other. Although this separation was likely a form of self-preservation, it was evident from their demeanor and actions.
They did not group together. Ye Tiancheng speculated that this might be due to the high degree of randomness in the examination assignments, meaning that students in the same hall might not know each other, or might not be paired with friends. In a place where danger could be encountered, if they had previous experiences and were unwilling to associate with non-companions, it would be perfectly understandable.
After all, if one's companions were unknown, not close, and potentially even rivals, one might be betrayed.
In that case, their wariness would be entirely reasonable.
However, these students were not seated in designated spots as they would be in a normal exam. Some were standing, even far from any seats, simply to distance themselves from other classmates.
It was likely that the exam itself would not proceed like a normal one.
With over twenty people each keeping to themselves, the trio of Ye Tiancheng, the little fox, and Long Miaomiao, sticking together, appeared exceptionally conspicuous.
Ye Tiancheng could clearly sense that while these students were already on guard, their defenses had significantly heightened upon seeing them. In fact, much of their increased vigilance was directed specifically at the three of them.
As time passed, the hour, minute, and second hands of the clock all pointed to the number twelve. Ye Tiancheng felt a blur before his eyes, and then, the world in front of him completely transformed.
Ye Tiancheng looked again and found himself on a bustling street. The little fox and Long Miaomiao were still beside him. Looking around at the scenery, the streetscape was that of a typical commercial street, with many shops lining both sides, offering a variety of goods.
Many pedestrians were walking on the street, and these pedestrians appeared very lifelike.
However, Ye Tiancheng heard a familiar broadcast voice in his ear, "Exam duration: seven days. Exam prop: one thousand yuan."
Yet, the pedestrians on the street seemed oblivious to these announcements.
But Ye Tiancheng was certain that the little fox and Long Miaomiao could hear it, judging by their expressions.
So, where was the test?
"Where is this?" the little fox asked.
"Heh, playing mysterious," Long Miaomiao looked at everything around them with a very cold gaze, but she answered the little fox's question, "We are still in that classroom; we haven't been teleported anywhere else."
The little fox said, "So, everything we're seeing now is an illusion?"
Long Miaomiao replied, "A rather realistic illusion, I suppose. We shouldn't suffer any real harm here. At the very least, after leaving, our bodies should remain normal. However, when injured within this place, the experience of injury, the pain, and the severity of the wounds will be reflected in our bodies, precisely and without any deviation."
The little fox exclaimed in surprise, "So, if someone dies in here, they might not actually die in reality, but they would experience the pain of true death?"
Long Miaomiao thought for a moment before explaining to the little fox, "If injured, one will eventually recover, and it won't have a significant impact on one's actions outside. However, death is another matter."
The little fox asked, "What do you mean?"
Long Miaomiao continued to explain.
"How to put this? For sentient beings with thoughts, thoughts can bring about peculiar consequences. For example, many people have likely heard the saying, to use a simple analogy, in medical psychology, maintaining a positive mindset is beneficial for physical recovery and healing."
"If someone can firmly believe they are not sick, then perhaps they will truly recover without medication."
The little fox nodded, "There is such a saying."
Long Miaomiao said, "So, in this kind of illusion, if someone dies, under their own mental suggestion, they feel utter despair, see no hope, believe they are surely going to die, and absolutely cannot survive, then upon leaving here, they might very well be truly dead."
"If one greatly fears death and thinks they don't want to die, then they won't die. After all, regardless of the experiences within this illusion, outside the illusion, everyone is unharmed physically."
Ye Tiancheng listened for a long time and suddenly grasped a key point.
"Unharmed physically?"
Long Miaomiao nodded at Ye Tiancheng and said, "This illusion can't just be for people to experience once and then come and go as they please, right? It must cause some harm, but not physically, rather in other ways."
"If one is injured within this illusion, a portion of their vital energy and life force will be absorbed by the owner of the illusion. This life force refers to lifespan. One could say that person's lifespan has been stolen."
"And to move within this illusion also requires the consumption of vital energy."
Ye Tiancheng's brow furrowed instantly.
He hadn't expected such a situation, and the people affected by this were all the students of this university. The scope of this harm was too vast. A university has so many people, especially a good university, with tens of thousands of students.
He didn't know what entity was behind this, calculating the vital energy and lifespans of these students, manipulating so many people, and making them participate in some kind of examination, causing them anxiety.
Such a perverse amusement.
This was likely no small matter and needed to be dealt with seriously. Even if they obtained the Fuxi Qin fragments, they had to resolve this issue.
However, it was also highly probable that the Fuxi Qin fragments were related to this matter.
The little fox stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and then said, "This feels like a novel's plot. Could it be that the entity controlling all of this has read too many 'infinite flow' novels and come up with this setup?"
At this, both Ye Tiancheng and Long Miaomiao looked at the little fox with some confusion.
Very well, neither of them had read many novels and didn't quite understand the concept of infinite flow.
Seeing their reaction, the little fox thought for a moment and briefly introduced them to the definition of infinite flow novels and the common tropes in most of them.
Ye Tiancheng and Long Miaomiao exchanged glances and found that it was indeed the case.
So-called infinite flow novels were merely products of human imagination, but here, the unknown entity behind it had realized them through supernatural and metaphysical means.
Ye Tiancheng first asked Long Miaomiao, "Miaomiao, do you think we can directly break through this illusion?"
Long Miaomiao heard Ye Tiancheng's question and shook her head, saying, "It's possible to break it, but I have the same premonition as when I tried to tear open the realm before. The consequences of a violent breakthrough might be quite severe."
Ye Tiancheng then abandoned the idea.
He said, "Then it seems, for now, it's best for us to 'take the exam' honestly. Let's experience it first, see what happens, and deal with other matters after we understand the situation and leave."
Long Miaomiao and the little fox both nodded.
Ye Tiancheng pondered for a moment and then said, "Given the wide scope of this incident, it seems that after we leave, we'll need to contact Nie Chongyang and inform the Special Operations Team about what's happening here and have them handle it."
"Too many people are involved, and the consequences are not trivial. They must be informed."
The little fox blinked, "Looking for Captain Nie again?"
"Alright, alright, this matter might indeed require notifying him. However, I think their task of apprehending that mountain spirit and wild monster is still ongoing, and I don't know if their work is finished. We have new issues here, and I wonder if they're too busy."
Ye Tiancheng thought for a moment and said, "We've been away for quite a few days. We rushed all the way here, rested for a day, then spent four days searching for our target, and arrived at this university. We've already spent five days here alone."
"No matter how slow Nie Chongyang's progress is, they should have resolved those matters by now?"
"And even if they are too busy, there's nothing we can do. Such a major event, even if they are overwhelmed, they must come."
The little fox said, "This is too unlucky... But, Big Brother, have you noticed that this world seems to be becoming increasingly strange? There weren't so many bizarre things before, especially this time, the scope of involvement is so large. Even if we resolve this incident, it's likely to cause a sensation in the outside world, right?"
The state of this world seemed to be deteriorating unnoticed.
Ye Tiancheng frowned, his expression also somewhat serious.
He said, "The situation is likely indeed not optimistic. I suspect it's related to the deterioration of the Pure Land. If we can't collect all the Fuxi Qin fragments soon, who knows what this world will become."
The little fox was stunned, "That's really troublesome."
After discussing for a while, they still had to turn their attention back to the current matter.
Ye Tiancheng looked around. He had noticed before that it seemed only the three of them were here, but the more than twenty students from the classroom earlier were nowhere to be seen. He didn't know where they had been sent.
Furthermore, there were no test questions, only the exam duration and the prop were mentioned. What should they do now?
Ye Tiancheng recalled that the voice at the time had said the exam prop was one thousand yuan.
Where was that thousand yuan?
After Ye Tiancheng and the others appeared in this illusion, not only had the surrounding scenery changed, but their clothes had also been transformed into very similar casual wear. However, with the overall changes, these were not points that would cause particular surprise or attract special attention.
He searched his person and finally found a bank card.
The bank card looked like an ordinary bank card. Except for the position of the card number, the card number was clearly different from reality. The words "Exam Number" were printed on the card, followed by a few numbers, which should be their candidate numbers.
Seeing Ye Tiancheng find a bank card, the little fox also searched himself and found a bank card. The number on it was different from Ye Tiancheng's, but everything else was the same.
Ye Tiancheng held the bank card, studied it carefully, and then said, "I'm not sure what will happen next. Let's withdraw the money first."