Chapter 1 Awakening

　　He didn't know how long it had been, but Jiang Cheng's remaining consciousness began to awaken. He was exhausted, indescribably so, like a person struggling to swim forward in the midnight sea, without direction, without purpose, and without end.

　　He could feel someone calling him.

　　The voice was urgent, and at the same time, very familiar.

　　It was someone he knew, and... someone close to him. Several images flashed through Jiang Cheng's mind, but they were all fragments, and even pieced together, they couldn't form a complete picture.

　　His breathing gradually became rapid. After all, his world was filled with darkness, below him, above him, all around... everywhere was the same. The darkness enveloped him like viscous asphalt, causing him to sink deeper and deeper.

　　"Doctor!"

　　"Doctor!"

　　……

　　This person was still calling him, annoyingly so, the kind of annoyance that came from familiarity. Jiang Cheng frowned. He subconsciously felt that this person calling him would bring him trouble.

　　He was a person who hated trouble. He didn't want to trouble others, nor did he want others to trouble him. He was a cold-blooded person, he had already defined himself as such in his heart.

　　But strangely, the voice calling him seemed to be an exception.

　　He was just annoyed, but not disgusted.

　　Moreover, the voice had a kind of magic, gradually pulling him out of the viscous darkness. If he had to describe it, this voice had a healing power.

　　When he was completely separated from the darkness, a light fell.

　　Jiang Cheng fluttered his eyelids and slowly opened his eyes.

　　A large face was close to him.

　　"Doctor!"

　　The fatty shouted excitedly, the flesh on his face trembling with excitement.

　　"Cough cough..." Jiang Cheng was almost knocked unconscious again by this shout. In a daze, several more figures came over, and a pair of delicate, but slightly cool hands helped him up, and fed him a few sips of water along his lips.

　　When he was fully awake, everything around him gradually became clear.

　　He was lying on the ground. The fatty was squatting beside him, looking at him with concern. Seeing that he was awake, he quickly asked, "Doctor, how do you feel?"

　　Jiang Cheng had just woken up, and it was still difficult for him to speak. His throat seemed to be filled with burnt ashes, very dry, so he had to shake his head, indicating that he was fine and telling the fatty to rest assured.

　　"Don't worry, he's fine." A gentle female voice came. "We all woke up like this. As long as people wake up, there will be no danger, but these people..." The woman paused and didn't continue.

　　After resting for a while, Jiang Cheng stood up. He was currently in a relatively large room with a long table in the room. A kerosene lamp was lit on the table.

　　Several people were sitting around the table.

　　Including the one standing next to him, there were a total of 9 people.

　　4 men, 4 women, and one person that Jiang Cheng was unsure of.

　　This person had a buzz cut and was wearing sportswear. He was about 25 years old, with a slender figure, handsome features, and very white skin. Jiang Cheng had rarely seen a person so white, like a corpse that had been frozen in a morgue for an unknown amount of time.

　　"Put away your curiosity, don't ask me useless questions, it's good for both of us." The person with the very white skin spoke, the voice wasn't cold, but very individualistic.

　　Hearing this, Jiang Cheng judged from the voice that it should be a woman.

　　Jiang Cheng didn't need to offend such a person. Soon, he shifted his gaze and looked at another woman closest to him. This woman was undoubtedly very eye-catching, because she was wearing a white coat.

　　It was this woman who had just fed him water.

　　"Thank you." Jiang Cheng nodded and thanked her.

　　The woman didn't have any extra expression on her face, she just nodded. She looked very capable, and even the loose white coat couldn't hide the woman's impressive figure.

　　"Time is probably running out. If these people can't escape from the illusion, I'm afraid..." Someone spoke, a hint of worry in his voice. It was a man wearing a security guard uniform.

　　Jiang Cheng followed the man's gaze and saw several people lying behind them.

　　There were men and women.

　　These people were all in the same position, lying flat on the ground with their hands flat on their chests. Jiang Cheng was very familiar with similar movements. In the Roman Hotel, the unidentified corpse was in this posture.

　　"If they can't escape from this level of illusion, then it's not a bad thing for them to die in that hotel." Someone continued, the voice slightly immature. "In this way, the previous illusion was a selection for all of us, or to put it more clearly, a preview before the real mission."

　　"Only those who survive are qualified to carry out the next stage of the mission, and those who are eliminated can only say that their abilities and qualifications are too poor. I don't want to be with idiots, because they not only can't help, but will only ruin things."

　　Jiang Cheng looked at the person who was speaking, a look of surprise appearing in his eyes, not only because of the person's rather arrogant tone, but also because of the person's appearance and dress.

　　This person had dyed yellow hair, bangs, and an earring on his right ear. Most importantly, he was wearing a school uniform and carrying a backpack. On closer inspection, the words "Mob North City No. 7 High School" were printed on the chest of the school uniform. He was obviously a delinquent high school student.

　　If he was holding a basketball, he would look even more like one.

　　Seeing that someone was looking at him, the person couldn't help but shrug his shoulders, grinning, and smiling indifferently, as if he was used to everyone's gaze.

　　If Jiang Cheng were to meet such a person in life, he wouldn't care at all, but this person was able to appear here, and had woken up before him, which was enough to show his ability.

　　This was a very powerful person, and Jiang Cheng guessed that this person was very likely a disciple.

　　Through the exchanges of these people, Jiang Cheng had a rough idea of the situation. These people were like him, having passed the first level of test.

　　These teammates were very strong, which was also a good thing for Jiang Cheng. After all, the road ahead was extremely dangerous, and if he really encountered a teammate who messed up at a critical moment, the consequences would be unimaginable.

　　But the most important thing right now was to confirm the identities of these people, whether they were real people, or whether everything in front of him was still an illusion, and the "teammates" who appeared were still ghosts!

　　This was what Jiang Cheng was most worried about.

　　Because there was one thing he couldn't figure out at all, and that was why the fatty was able to pass the last level smoothly, and... even see through the disguise of the ghost before him, waking up from the illusion.

　　He had no prejudice against the fatty, he just couldn't figure it out.

　　"Fatty." Jiang Cheng first chatted with the fatty about some random things, and then very naturally changed the subject and asked about the fatty's experience in the Roman Hotel.