The next day.
Colin followed the instructions of the loudspeaker and left the hotel and entered a large building divided into many classrooms.
There were more than thirty people in the room, all gathered in the first row. Colin didn't see Matthew here, it seemed like the blonde man was in the other room.
This is not dividing classes, it's just separating new students into small groups.
However, Colin had never encountered such a strange way of welcoming new students like this.
He glanced at his other classmates, some were nervous, some were worried, obviously not much different from Colin right now.
When the number of people was quite large, the loudspeaker mounted in the corner of the room emitted a man's voice.
"Hello everyone."
"I'm the principal."
"Before starting the related projects, I will have to correct one thing. That is, this place... does not exist."
"That's right, everything recorded on the documents is fake, because this is a top secret place that no normal person is allowed to know. Of course, everyone can rest assured. Although this place does not exist, it is still a university that educates elites."
"As for the reason why its existence cannot be revealed to the outside, everyone will understand after passing the test."
"Regarding the welfare of new students, once you pass the test, not only do you not need to pay any tuition, on the contrary the school also provides you with a monthly salary, plus housing and the whole car."
When the principal said that this school actually did not exist, most people in the room seemed extremely uneasy. But when they heard that studying here not only cost nothing but also had a family with a car and money, everyone became excited.
They have never seen a university with such good welfare.
Colin was no exception.
However, not everyone is blinded by benefits. A part of people still remains skeptical, because in this world, how can you give anything for free?
As expected, the principal continued.
"When I talk about salary, some of you must be happy, and some of you are skeptical."
"That's right, there is no such thing as a free lunch."
"Receiving these benefits is not easy, everyone needs to pass a test first. This is not an ordinary test, it is a comprehensive test of each person's potential. "
"During the test, there will be some danger that may occur. So those who want to continue will have to sign a contract. Those who do not sign will be considered to have given up and lose the opportunity to participate in the test."
"Time limit is ten minutes."
Right after the loudspeaker turned off, a man walked into the room, holding a stack of files in his hand. This person did not say any word, quietly handed out documents to each person. Their names were already filled in there.
Colin opened the file bag, there was only one page inside.
The terms and conditions are also very normal, there are not too many twists and turns, and there is no intention to mislead students. Colin carefully read it over and over again, there was only one thing to pay attention to.
During the learning process, there will be dangerous factors taking place.
During the learning process, students must unconditionally follow the school's instructions.
During the learning process, do not reveal anything internally, if you do not comply, you will be severely punished.
Except these, the contract also clearly writes about benefits. To be honest, Colin couldn't help himself, because the benefits were really too good, and those dangerous reminders weren't enough to shake his determination. Colin also did not want to back down and throw away this God-given opportunity.
So Colin signed.
The people around him weren't much different from him, they only hesitated a bit and then quickly signed.
No one can resist the appeal of money. Especially a group of young people who have just grown up.
Ten minutes quickly passed, and the loudspeaker turned on again.
"Time is up, those who did not sign the contract please leave."
The whole room remained silent, obviously no one felt that anyone would give up this life-changing opportunity.
But at that moment, a male student stood up and quietly walked out of the room. This person is also the only person in the room who chooses to give up.
"The contract signing has been completed, now the person in charge will randomly assign each person to each group. After grouping, a staff member will take everyone to the seat corresponding to that group. Good luck."
After the principal finished speaking, the man from earlier also began to group each person by random drawing.
Colin drew number seven.
After drawing lots, he was led to a bus also numbered seven. Besides Colin, there were ten other people, including Matthew, suddenly.
"Dude! What a coincidence!"
"Yes, what a coincidence."
After both of them greeted each other, they sat down next to each other and started chatting about random things. About a minute later, the bus started rolling.
"I wonder how the test will go..."
"I don't know, but if it's a comprehensive ability test, it probably won't be easy."
The bus also does not go outside the school area but goes deep inside. After walking a while, Colin saw that not far from the bus was a dark tunnel. He slightly frowned, suddenly feeling extremely wrong.
Since the haunted bus incident, Colin has become extremely sensitive to this feeling. Because it represents that he is probably in danger, or that danger is approaching him.
But now it was too late to do anything, the bus went inside the tunnel where there was no light. Let the darkness inside swallow everyone.
"... painful…"
Colin held his head, feeling like his mouth was as dry as a desert. The body is also extremely uncomfortable when covered in sweat, causing clothes to stick to the body and feeling extremely itchy.
"What… is going on?"
Colin opened his eyes, the blurry scene gradually became clear, but it made Colin feel unbelievable.
Because standing in front of him was his father.
"Dad?"
"Colin, you scared me to death, how do you feel now, does it hurt anywhere?"
Look at the concerned face of his closest family member. Colin still hasn't recovered from his bewilderment.
No, this is not correct.
He was taking an exam at university, how could his father be here?
Besides, where is this? Hospital?
Why is he at the hospital?
Colin wanted to sit up, but his whole body felt as heavy as if an invisible rock was placed on his chest. Moving even a little would waste a lot of energy.
"Dad, why am I here? Why can't I move like this?"
"You've been in a coma for a whole day. If you haven't eaten anything, you'll get sick. Of course you don't have any strength."
"Coma? How is that possible, I'm taking a test at the university!"
"Son, yesterday you suddenly had a high fever and fainted. You didn't wake up until now. You must have dreamed about some competition."
Colin did not accept this explanation. He gently grabbed his thigh, but the pain he felt was extremely real, not at all like a dream. It doesn't even need to feel pain, but even the sound of your stomach growling is real enough. Everything that was happening seemed to be telling Colin this was reality.
Lying on the bed, Colin closed his eyes, but he did not go to sleep, he was reliving everything that had happened.
The car ride, school, Matthew, dinner, along with the contract.
Colin realized he still remembered it very clearly, and the more he thought about it, the more complete the details became.
This is not at all like a dream, because by the time you wake up, memories of dreams will always pass extremely quickly. Basically, normal people don't have the ability to remember every detail as clearly as Colin does now.
A moment later, the doctor approached Colin's bedside, giving his father something.
It turned out that a tumor had appeared in Colin's brain, which was causing his headaches, coma, and symptoms of memory loss and paranoia.
His father was not reassured and decided to have Colin examined again. As expected, the tumor in Colin's brain was still there, and the doctor's results were not wrong.
Regarding this result, Colin was stunned, like a dry corpse that had lost all vitality.
Because it is like affirming that everything that happens in the big city is just an illusion. Thinking back, Colin thought it wasn't impossible. Why wouldn't it be like a dream to go to college without having good grades and having money, having a house and a car?
After a few days at home, Colin's body got better, but his mind did not.
Colin stared at the ceiling like a psychopath, but he could confirm that his will was completely normal.
And the strange thing is, the memory of the university experience at that time did not disappear but became a normal memory that existed in Colin's head. These past few days, he's been thinking about a possibility.
Could it be that the entire event he was going through right now was also part of the test?