Chapter Eight: The Remarkable Written Examination

“Driver, just stop here,” Yue Lie called out from the front passenger seat, signaling the taxi to a halt. He pulled out a bill to pay the fare and got out naturally. Qi Chen, seated in the back, immediately pushed open his door and followed after. After all, he never had a fixed place to stay anyway; he might as well seize the chance and hurry to the recruitment with Yue Lie.

Miss this opportunity, and there might not be another. The bellowing voice in his mind had, at some point, quieted down, and he was grateful for the peace.

“Here, take this and just go straight in. There should be staff inside who’ll take you to the exam site.” Yue Lie handed him a small card, grinning as he gave Qi Chen a heavy, encouraging pat on the shoulder and raised his brow, signaling him to go.

Finally clutching a chance at employment, Qi Chen was full of motivation. After a quick word of thanks, he strode toward his destination. But standing before the imposing gates, a wave of anxiety washed over him.

To be honest, the so-called Logistics Management Center of City Three was the most meticulously maintained building he’d seen since arriving in this world. Compared to the dilapidated, moldy tenements where he’d previously stayed, this place seemed to resurrect the splendor of his former life.

Would such a place really want someone like him?

“Well, I’m already here. Might as well see it with my own eyes.” Gripping the card tightly, Qi Chen stepped through the entrance.

The moment he entered, a young woman in a professional suit greeted him with a sweet smile.

Qi Chen immediately revealed the card in his palm, glancing upward in an attempt to mask his nerves.

The guide, displaying consummate professionalism, continued to smile as she led him to an elevator.

“Wait—um, could I… not take the elevator?” Qi Chen’s face flushed, knowing how odd the request sounded.

The guide simply nodded and turned toward the stairwell.

“Mr. Qi, you’ll take the test in here. We’ve placed the exam inside; all you need to do is answer the questions.”

“Please keep it within two hours.”

“Oh, yes! Thank you!” Bidding farewell to the guide, Qi Chen couldn’t wait to step into the exam room—a lecture hall in the classic amphitheater style, all too familiar to him.

The place was empty. At the center row sat a sealed brown envelope and a few pens laid out beside it.

“It’s been so long since I’ve felt this way.” His palms were sweating as for a fleeting moment, he was transported back to his student days in his previous life. These tests were once the most ordinary part of existence.

He simply hadn’t expected that, in this fog-shrouded world, his first exam would let him relive such memories.

“No proctor? They sure trust me.” He plopped down and, with a sigh, carefully unsealed the envelope. Inside was a test paper with only ten subjective questions.

“So few? Are they looking down on me?” He scoffed, but picked up a pen and prepared to answer. Yet the moment he read the first question, his hand froze.

“When eating tomato and egg stir-fry, do you often worry about whether to eat the tomato or the egg first?”

What kind of question was this? Baffled, his hand hovered in midair, unable to understand. He decided to skip it and look ahead, only to discover that the next three questions were equally absurd.

“Fine, I’ll just answer honestly.” With a carefree shrug, Qi Chen wrote the same reply for each: “It depends.”

Meanwhile, in another room, several people were observing him closely.

“Who came up with these questions?” Fu Ying asked, veins throbbing on her forehead as she glared at the others.

“They’re from City One’s latest directive… According to Alliance protocol, the first four questions must use City One’s template,” a staffer replied meekly.

“So what’s City One focusing on these days?” Fu Ying shook her head and turned back to the surveillance feed. The cameras in Qi Chen’s room left nowhere to hide—they could see his every reaction, expression, and answer live.

“Focus the analysis on his responses to the later questions.”

…

“What does this one mean?” Having sped through the initial string of nonsensical questions, Qi Chen’s attention was suddenly seized by a question of a wholly different nature.

“Do you like the fog? Do you long to leave the city and enter the fog?”

Staring at the stark black print, Qi Chen’s eyes grew distant. A strange feeling rose within him. For the first time, he genuinely contemplated the question.

The fog? Since arriving in this world, he’d heard and seen the term countless times; he’d often gazed from the streets toward the misty world beyond the towers’ lights.

Did he like it?

He didn’t even know what it was… But what was in the fog? He found himself deeply curious.

His hand rose mechanically, pen gripped tightly, ready to answer. Behind the corner camera, the observers tensed, the analysis team working in tandem.

“Subject exhibits marked psychological instability when exposed to Type 297 Free Anomaly derivatives. We can infer his mental resistance is—”

The analyst cut off mid-sentence, as the next moment on the monitor left everyone speechless.

A second ago, Qi Chen’s gaze had been vacant, but now his eyes were crystal clear, even brimming with anger.

“What a garbage question!” A surge of irritation rose for no reason; an indistinct image of the Tyrant flashed in his mind. His grip tightened, and with a sharp crack—

Snap!

The pen shattered in his hand.

“Subject displays strong aggression—requesting an escalation of his threat level!”

“Silence!” In the observation room, Fu Ying cut the analysis short with a cold snort, her eyes fixed on the screen, lost in thought.

Startled, Qi Chen jammed the pen fragments into his pocket, casting a cautious glance toward where he suspected a camera might be.

“Tyrant, don’t get me in trouble—don’t yell,” he willed silently. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to act nonchalant, picked up a spare pen, and continued.

But just then, a voice sounded from the speakers—a woman’s voice, clear and direct.

“Mr. Qi, your written test is over.”

Whoosh!

Qi Chen’s expression changed in an instant, and one thought echoed in his mind:

Isn’t there still time left?

Is my job already gone...?

…