After returning home, Ren Yi went to bed early to prepare for the next day's test.
In the early morning, Ren Yi was awakened by the clattering sounds coming from the kitchen.
He rubbed his eyes, sat up, threw off the covers, and changed his clothes. The moment he opened his bedroom door, the aroma of sizzling oil and steam wafted in from the kitchen.
Ren Man stood before the stove, flipping fried eggs.
His movements were clean and efficient. The stove was scrubbed spotless, and even the steam seemed confined within an invisible boundary.
Breakfast was Yangchun noodles. Once Ren Yi sat down, the two brothers immediately began to eat.
As Ren Yi slurped his noodles, he marveled at his brother's culinary skills. In this life, he truly hadn't suffered at all when it came to food.
"Brother, the test takes about three hours. The sleep pod will sound an alarm when it's over. If I haven't woken up by then, just move me to the bed."
Ren Man nodded, holding his bowl and chopsticks as he gazed steadily at him.
Ren Yi gave his brother a confident smile and got up to leave.
Entering his room, he saw an object beside the bed that looked like a high-end gaming pod from a movie in his previous life.
Ren Yi muttered, "Equipping every graduating student with a high-end sleep pod... The Alliance is way too rich."
He lay down in the sleep pod. As the door closed, an electronic screen appeared before his eyes.
【14 minutes and 27 seconds until the test begins. Please read the examination information in detail first.】
With a flicker of Ren Yi's eyes, his report card immediately appeared on the screen.
The education system of The Alliance was vastly different from his previous life. The main subjects were divided into three categories: Physical Education, Science, and Life Skills.
According to The Alliance's educational positioning, all subjects revolved around practical content.
For example, Physical Education included "wilderness survival" and "combat"; Science included "common knowledge" and "electronics repair"; Life Skills included "cooking" and "first aid"... It was hardcore to an absurd degree.
Ren Yi's scores in the three categories were 91, 99, and 100. According to Ms. Zhang, he was ranked in the top three for the entire grade.
Ren Yi closed the report card, and a page of examination information popped up.
【I. About the Test Itself】
【The test is one of the core public systems of the new era Alliance, designed to help every new citizen find the most suitable direction for their development.】
【The test will be completed through a deep sleep network pod.】
【You only need to follow the prompts to relax your mind and body and enter sleep.】
【II. About the Purpose of the Test】
【The test will activate your most important future talent.】
【You do not need to understand how the test works.】
【You only need to believe: it will make you better.】
【III. After the Test】
【When you wake up from the sleep pod, there may be slight side effects.】
【Some citizens may experience brief mental fatigue, dream confusion, or distortion of time during the test.】
【Please do not worry; this will not affect your body.】
【Please rest well; the side effects will disappear within seven days.】
【We look forward to your growth.】
After reading everything in detail, Ren Yi checked the "read and understood" box and waited quietly.
The countdown quickly reached zero. In the next second, Ren Yi felt as if a switch in his consciousness had been gently flipped.
Snap—
The entire world was like a candle flame pinched out by fingers.
He sank into darkness.
...
Ren Yi was awakened by the sleep pod's alarm. He didn't know how much time had passed.
He felt as exhausted as if his strength had been drained, and his head throbbed heavily. The pod door was already open, and a red low-battery warning flashed faintly in the corner.
Ren Yi sat up slowly, rubbing his temples.
"...Is it over, Brother?"
Enduring the buzzing in his head, he sat up, turned off the sleep pod's power, and slowly shuffled out of the room.
The living room was silent. A reddish-purple light shone through the window at an angle; it seemed to be evening already.
"Brother...?"
There was no response. Ren Man should have taken time off specifically to look after him. Had he gone out to buy groceries?
Ren Yi shook his head, feeling incredibly dizzy. The living room floor seemed to slant, making him feel like he might fall at any moment.
Ren Yi sat at the dining table for a while, then fumbled to call Ren Man.
"The number you have dialed is out of the service area, please redial later—The number you have..."
No signal.
He proceeded to call Lu Zihan and other classmates he knew, receiving the exact same prompt.
"Did a signal base station explode?" Ren Yi wanted to joke, but found he couldn't laugh at all.
Unease washed over him like cold water.
Something seemed wrong.
He looked around, his gaze finally settling on the window.
The sunset.
It had been nearly half an hour since he came out of the room, sat down to recover, and then made over a dozen calls.
However, the light coming through the window seemed frozen, showing no change at all.
Ren Yi looked outside. Their balcony faced east, so the sun couldn't be seen in the evening.
The balcony faced a lake. The water was reflected in a shimmering reddish-purple, appearing otherwise normal.
Ren Yi stood up, took a few steps, and slowly moved toward the door.
The door wasn't locked. He gave it a push and found that it seemed to be blocked by something.
Fortunately, the object didn't seem too heavy. Ren Yi exerted all his strength and finally pushed the door halfway open.
Their home had an external corridor-style layout. Outside the front door was an open walkway. After pushing the door open, he finally saw... the sunset.
A massive, dark purple rift spanned across the sun. The sky was like a giant curtain, and now that curtain had been torn to shreds.
Black liquid poured down from the sky through the rift, forming massive black waterfalls.
Beneath the waterfalls, the neighborhood he knew so well had been reduced to ruins.
Ren Yi finally understood why he felt the floor was slanted.
It wasn't because he was dizzy; it was because their entire building was leaning precariously against the one next to it, on the verge of collapse.
Ren Yi's mouth hung open.
I wake up from a nap and the world has undergone a hardcore makeover into a fantasy apocalypse?
No, that wasn't important. What mattered was...
"Brother...!" Ren Yi's cry was cut short, as if someone had seized him by the throat.
His peripheral vision caught the obstacle that had been blocking the door.
A pair of legs protruded from behind the door.
Ren Man lay there at an awkward angle.
He must have been leaning against the door, but had slumped to the side when Ren Yi pushed it open.
"Brother!" Ren Yi's voice trembled.
He quickly propped up Ren Man's body. The sunlight hitting Ren Man's skin gave Ren Yi the fleeting illusion that he was still warm.
There were no wounds on Ren Man's body; he looked as if he were simply asleep.
No, this is fake.
Ren Yi thought.
In that case, I should be waking up soon.
Unfortunately, his prayers had no effect.
The distant roar of the black waterfalls hitting the ground echoed from the sky. Aside from that, there was only silence. It was as if he were the only living person left on the planet.
Looking around, all paths of escape had long since been severed.
Ren Yi felt a wave of exhaustion and loneliness.
He sat beside Ren Man, waiting for the sun to completely sink into that purple-black rift, waiting for the two artificial moons of this world to rise and crumble before him, waiting for the world to fall into total darkness.
After a long, long time, the black tide slowly rose. Their building finally succumbed to the weight, plunging into the black tide with a dull roar.
Ren Yi died on this day.
Rate on N.U.
