My Apocalypse Territory

"Almost all of the survivors in the Sanctuary will participate in the test, some in the morning and some in the afternoon," said the team leader of Group Seven, who finally asked, "So, are you all taking part in this test?"

Faced with the temptation of a high salary, no one refused.

In fact, they couldn't wait.

The test site was at the nearby labor center.

When the miscellaneous workers of Group Seven arrived at the lead of their team leader, many people were already waiting inside.

The various service windows, where people normally processed paperwork and received work, had now been temporarily converted into testing windows.

"To speed up efficiency and ensure order, the test is conducted by groups and carried out collectively," the team leader explained. "Our group is ranked towards the front, so we likely won't have to wait long."

They didn't know.

The big fuss to get the groups to participate in the test together, instead of releasing new job information at the labor center for survivors to attend individually, was because Tang Yu was worried about efficiency being too slow and also worried about what if too many people ignored the recruitment information?

Right now, most of the survivors in the Sanctuary had their own jobs, some of the diligent and physically strong ones earned a decent income every day, not to mention those working in various departments had even higher earnings...

Some people might find it troublesome, or think they had no chance of being selected. Such thoughts could lead some survivors not to participate in the test.

Tang Yu remembered, Kevin had said, "With the current number of residents in the Territory, gathering fifty people is still possible."

This meant that among nearly two thousand survivors in the Territory, finding fifty who met the criteria was a bit difficult, and it would be even harder if some survivors were to be excluded.

Yang Wei observed the testing windows not far away.

Some survivors left with drooping heads, some shook their heads, not minding the failure too much, and some, with joy on their faces, were guided by the staff to the second floor.

There were quite a few of these people.

He was somewhat puzzled, and by this time, someone in his group had already started asking those who had just finished the test.

"...What's the content of the test you ask? There's no harm in talking about it, supposedly the test is divided into three parts," the first part is what I've just done, and only after passing that can you go to the second floor for the next part of the test..."

"The first part is somewhat similar to a color blindness test, but much more difficult, you have to discern the numbers or patterns on the test drawings, and not just a single pattern, but many interwoven together. I actually spotted two patterns, but unfortunately, such a result still doesn't meet the passing standard."

"The second part, they say, is a test of spatial imagination. As for the third part, it's very mysterious, no matter how you inquire about it, you can't find out. It seems only those who have passed the first two parts qualify to know the content of the third part of the test."

After waiting more than half an hour, it was finally Yang Wei's group's turn.

Twenty group members, plus the team leader, lined up at one of the windows for testing.

Yang Wei was towards the back and soon saw several people ahead of him, all disheartened.

"I don't know how many patterns you have to see to pass," someone grumbled unsatisfied.

"It's hard to say, I saw there were many different test drawings, maybe the difficulty isn't the same for each, and the passing standard is different too."

These people were from the same group, and even if they didn't pass, they didn't leave right away but stood not far away waiting for the others to test.

With complex looks in their eyes.

After a while, Yang Wei stepped forward, his heart uneasy.

The staff member behind the window had already passed him a test drawing, and at first glance, it did look a bit like a color blindness test; the entire drawing was larger than an A3 paper, full of densely packed fragments like shattered glass tiles.

"Say what patterns you see and outline them with the sensor pen," said the staff member. "Don't hope to just guess a few patterns randomly; even if you name the right patterns, if you don't trace their correct trajectory, it doesn't count as a score... Okay, you can begin now."

Yang Wei suppressed the nervousness deep inside him, steadied his mind, and looked at the test drawing.

"Uh, is this a horse? Also, a candle? Bear's head? Flip-flops?"

His voice grew softer with each item he listed.

It wasn't that he hadn't discovered anything, on the contrary, he found it too simple!

Even if the patterns were overlapping, he saw many at just a glance. It wasn't as hard as others had said, right?

Perhaps, all these were wrong, maybe he was confused?

The staff member glanced at him, expressionless, "Trace the patterns you see, yes, use that sensor pen to draw the lines of the patterns you see on the paper..."

Hesitantly, Yang Wei picked up the pen and finally began to slowly trace, the pen's sensor brushing against the paper.

After he finished sketching one figure, he would pause for a moment, wanting to check if it looked any different than what he had initially seen.

One, two, three, four...

With each pattern he finished tracing, the shock on the staff member's face behind the window grew as they checked with the answer sheet.

After outlining six patterns, Yang Wei finally stopped, unable to resist asking, "Um... are the ones I drew right or wrong?"

He had expected the staff member to refuse to respond with cool detachment, but,

He saw the other person nodding repeatedly, "Right, they are all right. Is your answer a total of six correct?"

Yang Wei was stunned.

"Right? Um... wait, I haven't finished. There's also a key, tissue, light bulb..."

Worried that six wouldn't be enough to pass, Yang Wei quickly listed several more patterns he had spotted. This time, he picked up the sensor pen, and his pace was visibly faster.

One after another, he traced without stopping, only ceasing after drawing thirteen patterns, then took a breath of relief.

"I... did I pass?"

"Yes," the staff member hesitated before nodding.

Apart from Yang Wei in his group, there was another survivor who passed the first test, but compared to him, the other person only got five symbols right.

The gap was a bit big, so the others couldn't believe that Yang Wei, who was unremarkable and had always been inconspicuous, could perform so strongly.

However, it was only the first test; only those who passed all three would qualify for that mysterious position.

Yang Wei, having performed well in the first test, felt hopeful but didn't dare to take things lightly. He feared that in the following two tests, he might be ruthlessly eliminated.

The second test was on the second floor of the labor center.

The survivors who passed were led there by the staff.

Yang Wei glanced around and noticed there weren't many survivors left. The first test had already weeded out many, and while some of the failed survivors had left, there were still a few waiting there. He didn't know if they had already passed or were just there to watch the excitement.

There weren't many people taking this second test, and it didn't take long for Yang Wei's turn.

As rumored, the second test indeed assessed spatial imagination ability.

Yang Wei sat at a desk as if he was back in pre-apocalypse examinations. He had to get enough questions right in five minutes.

Knowing there were rare opportunities, Yang Wei concentrated intensely and stared at the figures on the exam paper, writing his answers in the blanks or checkboxes.

Finally, he submitted his exam paper. The proctor checked against the answers and quickly announced the result.

"Nine correct answers, passed. Hmm, the third assessment won't start until everyone has completed the first two tests. You can wait in the adjacent rest room..."

Yang Wei responded, carrying both a nervous and delighted heart.

The other survivor from his group who ascended with him wasn't so lucky. He could only envy Yang Wei with one glance before leaving downstairs, disheartened.

...

...

When Yang Wei entered the room, he saw about twenty survivors there.

The room was large, with rows of seats neatly arranged. Other than that, there was just a water cooler in the corner. The twenty or so survivors sat scattered throughout the room.

He pushed open the door and entered. Some looked at him with a hint of wariness, while others rested with closed eyes, completely indifferent to the newcomer.

Time ticked away.

At noon, staff brought simple box meals. Yang Wei devoured his quickly, then refilled two cups of water at the cooler and took a bathroom break.

The rest of the time was spent in anxious waiting.

Waiting for that unknown third test.

More and more survivors passed the first two tests and arrived in the room.

"Hey, do any of you know what the third test is?"

"No idea. I asked the staff, and they just shook their heads. It's not clear if they really don't know or can't say. Brother, do you know?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking. It seems like quite a few people passed the first two tests. I wonder how many the position will recruit... I heard it pays dozens of Source Crystals. If I had that kind of salary, I would wake up laughing from my dreams!"

With more people, the atmosphere became noisy. Perhaps, some were probing their competition.

They continuously inquired about the others' performances in the tests.

Although Yang Wei was just sitting in a corner, he listened intently.

It seemed... in the first test, getting four symbols correct was enough to pass, and in the second, answering five questions correctly was necessary.

Most people here had barely passed.

But there were also those with high scores, like someone who got twelve answers right in the second test, which made him feel inferior.

Finally, it was five o'clock in the afternoon.

All the survivors who participated had already completed the first two tests.

Yang Wei looked around. About two hundred survivors had entered the room.

Several staff members pushed open the door and came in, "The third test will not take place here. Everyone please follow me, we'll take the bus there."

"But before that, everyone present must sign a confidentiality agreement. No matter what you see in the third test and whether you pass or not, you must not disclose any test-related information."

As they spoke, the staff members presented printed "confidentiality agreements" for the survivors to sign and fingerprint.

"Agreements" had no legal force post-apocalypse, but agreements with the Sanctuary were not to be violated by any survivor in their right mind. This formality simply underscored the importance of keeping secrets.

Chen Haiping suggested this, and Tang Yu found it very necessary.

After all, the third test touched upon the secrets of runes, which in pre-apocalyptic times were considered core intellectual property, not so easily disclosed to others.

The survivors soon to take the test did not hesitate and quickly signed their names.

And they became even more curious.

What could this upcoming test be that made the Sanctuary so cautious?

It seemed... some people's hearts began thumping excitedly, sensing they were about to touch upon some of the Sanctuary's secrets. If they could pass the final assessment, perhaps they, too, might become core members of the Sanctuary?

The thought excited them tremendously, to the point that even a high salary seemed less important.

However, after putting down their fingerprints, a very few individuals had their eyes darting around, seemingly deep in thought.