Chapter 6: The Rules of Practice

The next morning
[05:30]
Luo Di, with his backpack packed and a silver metal case in hand, left the residential area.
He had already informed the community of his 48-hour absence for the upcoming practical exercise, during which the community's duty personnel would monitor the lighting conditions in his home.

The main entrance of the local research institute bore a conspicuous brass plaque with engraved lettering.
A black seven-seater business van was parked by the roadside early on, the designated vehicle for transporting participants to the exercise.

Although Luo Di had arrived half an hour early, a figure was already standing at the institute’s gate—Deputy Squad Leader Gao Yuxuan.

Their personalities were such that conversation was unlikely, so to avoid awkwardness, Luo Di stood under a streetlamp ten meters away, double-checking the contents of his backpack to ensure nothing was forgotten.

During this inspection, Luo Di noticed Gao Yuxuan behaving somewhat oddly—his left arm was stiff and his fingers appeared inflexible, likely due to a two-week leave of absence.

Five quiet minutes passed before Gao Yuxuan unexpectedly approached, finally producing a small green metal box from his pocket.

“Uh... want one?”

“Thanks.”

Luo Di took two sugar-free mints, appreciating the wakefulness they could provide.

As they exchanged mints, a distinguished black sedan pulled up.

Wu Wen and Anna stepped out from the rear seats, wide-eyed at the unusual scene. “Hey! Since when did you two get so close?”

At the captain’s comment, Gao Yuxuan immediately turned and walked away.

Luo Di remained indifferent; he never cared about others’ opinions.

At that moment, a middle-aged woman in a white lab coat emerged from the institute. Her stern, authoritative visage could make anyone sweat with just one glance.

“Since you’re all here, get on the vehicle early.”

“Understood, Professor Qin.”

Wu Wen seemed acquainted with her and instantly became compliant. The group loaded their luggage into the van’s trunk and boarded one after another.

The doors closed.

At that moment, all four inside the vehicle felt a measure of tension.

As the van started moving, Professor Qin’s voice came over the onboard speaker:

“The trip will last one hour. After I explain the practical details and some rules, you will have the opportunity to ask questions.

What I’m about to say will impact your success rate in this exercise, even your survival rate, so please pay close attention and remember every word.

The practical zone is located 30 kilometers outside Jupiter City.

1. The total expected duration of the exercise is 48 hours.
If you manage to address the root cause of the incident early, you may end the exercise and leave ahead of time.
However, as long as you endure the full 48 hours, regardless of whether anomalies are resolved, the exercise will be considered complete.

2. The difficulty level will be randomized to better simulate reality and train your ability to face the unknown.
Once the exercise begins, unless you suffer life-threatening injuries, the research team will not intervene. Any intervention will result in exercise failure.

3. Leaving the exercise area by any means is strictly prohibited.

This exercise uses the “Simulated Anomaly” technology developed by the Joint Research Institute. The regional changes, strange events, and attacks by doppelgängers and anomalies you encounter will closely mimic real incidents.

Now, I will explain the exercise details.

1. Multiple random “objects” exist within the exercise area. Upon finding and activating one, a corresponding anomaly event will be triggered.
The time to locate and activate must not exceed 30 minutes.

2. The difficulty of events will not be disclosed in advance. You must face, investigate, and handle the unknown.

3. Any effective subjective action may improve your personal evaluation in this exercise.

4. The Simulated Anomaly technology has only been in use since last year. While most systems are stable, minor glitches remain. If you discover abnormal conditions during the exercise, you may report them to us at any time, which will also enhance your personal evaluation.

Now it’s your turn to ask questions.”

Wu Wen raised her hand first, as if in a classroom, and asked,
“Are there relatively safe periods during the exercise? For example, for sleeping or eating?”

“No. Once it starts, you will be in danger at all times.”

“Oh.” Wu Wen looked disappointed but quickly recovered.

Gao Yuxuan, eyes on his fully written notebook, posed his question:
“If we trigger an anomaly event by activating one object, will the other objects in the area be collected by you, or can we trigger them a second time?”

“Good question. You need not worry about that.
The ‘anomaly events’ are directly controlled by our institute. You can only trigger each event once. Even if you find other objects later that seem triggerable, we will not activate them.
You will face only one event.”

Blond Anna rested her chin on her fist, sweat pressing out from her forehead, but failed to think of a good question and remained silent.

Luo Di, sitting in the last row, waited until everyone else was done before asking:
“If we engage in conflict with the simulated anomalies, causing environmental destruction that results in a dark ‘corner’ without light, will the exercise be terminated?”

This question made Professor Qin’s expression sour.

“Theoretically, this should not happen. The experimental area has been specially treated to prevent the formation of dark corners.
All corners have been rounded off. Door and window hinges are reinforced cylinders, and the environment itself is hard to damage.

Moreover, over 300 hidden cameras are installed throughout the area, and modified wild hornbills perch among the branches. Any formation of unlit corners will be detected immediately.

Of course... you should avoid causing such situations.
If your actions create dark corners and unforeseen dangers, even if you complete the exercise, your personal report will not be approved.”

“Understood.”

With no further questions, the van arrived at the city’s exit.

Jupiter City was surrounded by fifty-meter-high luminous walls. Numerous watchtowers, drones, and patrol teams ensured security.

The exit resembled a highway checkpoint, with eight stations in total.

During the National Founding Festival, many private cars sought to leave, but all had to queue for mandatory health inspections before departure.

The research institute’s vehicle was classified as special and used the dedicated lane on the far side.

Once out of the city, the highway retained the same dense street lighting as within the city. The forest on both sides was lined or buried with power cables to ensure continuous illumination.

Some trees had even been biologically modified to emit light naturally.

Occasionally, high-paid forest rangers could be seen moving through the woods.

The van sped along the main road, where buildings became scarce after leaving the city limits.

At most, there were service areas and watchtowers. Few people lived willingly in the outskirts, and those who did were often reported missing.

There were no rural villages or small towns—everything centered on the city.

After a while, the van left the main road and turned onto a narrow country lane.

To the right, a steep hillside pressed close to the road; to the left, dense trees nearly blocked out the sky.

Light density dropped noticeably but remained above safe levels.

Contrary to expectations, the vehicle’s destination was not a research facility in the woods or a countryside building for the four participants.

The van stopped at an unremarkable roadside spot.

Professor Qin, who had been speaking through the microphone, finally turned to face the four young people behind him.

“From here, ascend the hill. This small hill, less than a hundred meters high, is the ‘experimental zone.’ Stepping onto its soil marks the official start of the exercise.

All the trigger objects are scattered across this hill.

Remember, you have only thirty minutes to find and activate events.”

The four retrieved their luggage and stepped down, gazing nervously up at the densely vegetated, dimly lit hillside.

Their first real social exercise was about to begin...