After we arrived at the dormitory complex, we changed our clothes back to what we wore in the morning, leaving the previous outfits in the laundry room around our dormitory. As we checked the leaderboard, we figured out that our group was still among the top groups among the participants, with no one receiving a yellow armband.
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"So Okuri, do you know where your other group members are?" Sukeo asked.
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"I was with them at the beginning of the biking activity. However, as you know, those two girls didn't really put their effort throughout the exam, which they only stayed at the very end of the convoy just not to be eliminated. While for the other guy, it seemed to be that he just couldn't bike, so he just skipped to the running and the swimming activities." Okuri explained.
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"Okuri, I'm here," just as we were talking, a young man that was around our age approached us. He was wearing a pair of glasses, while his belly was a bit thick.
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"Ah, it's Minkaon. Hello," Okuri greeted him and introduced him to us, "This is Ku Minkaon (顧 明康), and he is from Chinsytson (清水莊). He was the other group member I was talking about."
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"Hello," he greeted us, "nice or meet you."
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"Hello, I'm Tenka, and this is Sara," Tenka also introduced herself and me.
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"Wait, you're Tenka, or Dancer Ten-cha?" Minkaon seemed to recognize Tenka, "the one who makes dance videos on Videflax?"
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"Finally, someone also recognized me," Tenka seems to be very proud, "yes, but I no longer make these videos as I'm getting busy now."
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"Actually, it's not me who is interested in these videos. It's my older sister who is interested in. She said she really like your videos," it was a bit surprising that Tenka also got some fans.
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"I see. But unfortunately, since I'm now joining the SAIR, I may no longer make videos as I need to maintain my privacy."
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"It's not a problem, actually." Minkaon suggested, "Because my sister is also in the SAIR. She's about to graduate from the internship program. Trust me, she's a strong woman unlike me."
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"I see. So how do you think about what you did?" Okuri asked.
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"It was not that bad, since I mainly wanted to apply for the research branch of the SAIR," Minkaon said.
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"So what's your special skill?" Sukeo got straight to the topic.
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"I'm good at memorizing, navigating, and reading people's mind. It's not just an observation skill, but it's an actual ability. You can me whatever you think I would know."
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"So Minkaon, can tell me more about myself?" Tenka was the first one to ask for a trial.
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"Um. So you're born on May 6th, 3516, as you said on the stream I watched at 11:30:12 AM on May 6th, 3514 at 1:30: 'That's right, today's my birthday, yay!' At this point, you're thinking 'Does this guy made all these up?'. Well, you can check my phone, which I have the exact record in this application I made to keep track of all my activities. Then you will say: 'You made all of these, you're so cool!' around 3 seconds after me showing the screen."
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Tenka was surprised by Minkaon's special skill: "Wow, this is the exact sentence I was thinking."
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"But still, I think you lied about your special- " As soon as Minkaon started talking about Tenka's secret, Tenka distracted him for not spilling the beans.
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"How about me?" Jun asked, "My name is Jan Jun, and I'm from Bakju."
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"So I have seen you before, though there was no record of direct conversation. I've seen you during the robot convention held at Zenju on June 15th last year, in which I remembered you're having conversation with this girl here, who seemed to be known as 'Araka'" Minkaon said while pointing at me, "now, you would say 'How did you know that Araka was also there?'"
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"How did you know that Araka was also there?" It was the exact same sentence Jun said only 1 second later. I couldn't believe that this type of person actually existed. "So you really have the ability to memorize and read minds," Jun was also amazed.
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"Yes, that's true. That's why I don't need any introduction if I had met you by any chance. For example, I know the guy in blonde hair here is Yoiki Sukeo, who's from the same school you're in."
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"That's amazing. They should let you get in," I said.
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"So actually Okuri, I had made some analysis on the behavior of those girls based on the information I extracted," Minkaon told Okuri and all of us, "It seemed to be you guys are also interested in why, so let's head to the empty space there."
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As we found a space with no one, Minkaon decided to reveal his discovery: "Turned out, those girls were actually the children of a commander in the SAIR Central, who's also in the staff of this exam. They thought that they will eventually pass as long as they don't get a red armband, since base on the rules, the staff could use 'professional judgements' to overturn the yellow armband."
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"That's actually what I was thinking," Okuri said, "Normally you don't get that confident if you don't have solid connections within the exam staff."
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"And the thing is, the SAIR may have noticed it and planned to remove that person from the grading team for the following activities," Minkaon stated.
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"That means they may actually fail if they don't try hard enough," I concluded.
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"That is pretty much the case. I hope they've noticed it now. Anyway, I don't want them to fail because of that, so I'm going to reach them as soon as possible."
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After dismissing Minkaon and finishing our lunch, didn't take long for Janmin started the announcement for the next activity.
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"Hello everyone, I'm going to tell you a bit more about the upcoming activities. This part will be the last of today's exam. As you have changed back to your own clothes, you will head to the training facility in the main complex and perform some examinations on your physical strength and your special skills. This included muscle endurance, reaction time, and performance of special skills under different environments. While during the activity, again, even though they're individual activities, it's important to help each other whenever it's necessary, and please respect each other. Any assaults on the other participants has never been tolerated."
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After arriving at the main complex, Tenka and me were separated from the others and headed to the same room, which was a room with large dorm at the top and different training equipments. One of them that caught my eyes were a set of capsules with wires connecting with it. Is this some type of simulation machine, I thought, it would be pretty cool.
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While I was thinking, I was called by Jinhui, who just came to us.
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"Hey, Jinhui, how's everything?" Tenka asked.
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"It was all good, as I was having a great time with my older sister," Jinhui replied, smiling, "I really hope I can be the same good agent like my sister."
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"Haha, that's good. It's always good to have some motivation," I said.
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As we reached the destination, we found a very strong woman standing in front of us - she had a slightly darker skin and a sharp chin; even though she was not very tall, her muscles looked very tough and solid. For reason, she reminded me of Okinari Anikara (衛前 安貞), who was my track and field team teammate and also one of my first friends. Maybe that was because based on her name, she may also came from the south.
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"Hello! I'm Ukiyori Yoka (藍羽 由佳), the second head of Physical Instructive Team of the SAIR and an agent of the SAIR South. I will be your head instructor and supervisor of this activity, while my team will assist you throughout the activity. The first part of today's activity is the basic exam, in which you will do some measurements, push-ups, and other full body motion exercises. The second part, as you may have already found, you will enter the simulation machine there and we will give you scenarios based on the profile you handed in and take a look at your performance. This could be everything, including not limited to reaction time, endurance, environment adaptation, and even your mental status. Now my team will give more specific instructions during each activity. Please follow them carefully, as reckless behaviors may resulted in unnecessary injuries."
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As such, the first part of activity started.
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The first exercise was the strength measurement, which we were put a machine to test our body strength and performance using pressure as well as breath testings. It was an interesting experienced, as I could feel myself using all my forces without moving. After the test, the staff told me that my muscles on my legs and my abs were in a very good shape, while my endurance was also on the good side.
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However, it didn't seem to be the case for Tenka, as the result said her endurance and mobility was on the lower side, while there were also some fat on her lower body.
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"Ughh, I don't know, maybe I just ate too much recently- " Tenka said, "but still, there is no way for me to compete with you guys."
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"That's okay, Tenka, the machine result was actually quite strict. If you meet all their criteria, then you must be an athlete like Araka," Jinhui said.
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Right after this exercise, the push-up test started. The staff told us that there was no threshold, as there were people who couldn't do any still performed well during the missions.
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Same as before, I was the first one who take the test. It was an easy task for me, as it was included in the warmup in every training I received. At the end, I did 30, which staff told me to stop due to time constraints. The next one was from Jinhui. Since she was also an athlete, it was also a easy task for her, as she also did 30 in no time. As for Tenka's turn, as expected, it was a bit challenging for Tenka, as she was only able to do 5 while not in very good form.
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After this small test, we were sent to a Hehlook ball exercise. It was the exact same activity I did in the PE class in my class, as I needed to throw the ball as far as possible after rotate with the ball for three times. The staff said that the red line to pass was 15 blocks, or 10m.
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I was the first one who made the turn. While on the position, I calmly stretch my arms and wrists for the warmup. As the staff signaled me for making the start position, I grabbed the ball and made three steady rotations, just like what I did when I was school.
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"Hehh," as the ball gained enough momentum, I let the ball leave my hand at the exact time when it reached its projectile.
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"30 blocks (20m)." The machine beside me reported.
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"Let's go, Sara-cha!" Tenka looked very happy about my results. It was a big relief for me, as it was somehow better than what I normally do.
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After my turn, it was Jinhui who took the next turn. Her preparation looked very solid and stable, and I was expecting she also made a pretty good run.
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"Hikuri Taaa!" As Jinhui made out her nonsense call, she threw the ball out. Surprisingly, the ball hit the ground instead of flying off, resulted in a "No Result" rating. This could happen as if the ball didn't leave the hand at the right time.
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"No way. But why?" Jinhui looked very down.
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"It's okay," the staff told her, "You can try another one since this one doesn't have a result."
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It was Jinhui's second turn. After she adjusted her self for a bit, she made a successful throw for the second trial.
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"35 block." It was another surprise, as she outplayed me
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"Kaita(Hooray)!" Tenka was also very excited about Jinhui's accomplishments. That was also one thing I really like Tenka, which she always brought the positive energy not only with herself, but also to everyone around her.
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"I did it - I did it!" Ever since Jinhui stayed away from the "guys" in her group, she had been increasingly confident about herself. She was very lucky that she met with us at the right time.
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Finally, it was then Tenka's turn. As I was standing on the side, I was able to take a closer look at how she did. Even before throwing the ball out, I could see that her arm had struggled a bit. It was not fully her fault, as the ball here was indeed slightly heavier than the ones in the typical schools, though our school used the ones the same here. While I was expecting her unable to make a throw, Tenka's muscle suddenly stressed up and her eyes became stead - she was using her full strength.
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"Gooooooo!!!!" As she finished the preparation, she made her throw that looked almost as perfect as mine. The ball flew for a quite long distance and landed somewhere far away from the starting point.
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"25 blocks." It was not even that bad, I thought, as I was previously expecting Tenka unable to make the throw.
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"Aghhhh," Tenka looked very tired after the throw.
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"Great job, Tenka-cha," I gave Tenka a thumb up for her performance.
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"That's right, Tenka, you've already passed this activity!" Jinhui also gave her some courage.
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After the Hehlook ball activity, for the full body motion exam, we were tasked with doing some full body lifting. It was still not a very hard task for me, as I also do some workouts like this when I was at the gym or even at the school. I was able to made 25 raps, each with 10 second without a lot of effort. When comes to Jinhui, it was also pretty good, as her movement looked even more natural than mine. However, when came to Tenka, it was a bit trouble some.
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"Ughh, I made five, right?" Even though it seemed to be she wanted to do more, her face had looked very intense and seemed to be she was about to lost.
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"Yes, you can continue," the staff told Tenka.
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"Six- ughh, I couldn't do it," she lost her grip and fell onto the ground.
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"Are you okay?" the staff asked.
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"No- I just couldn't mor- ", Tenka exhaled heavily.
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"It's okay, you can go ahead. Next one please."
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"Ahhhh- Why you guys can do this while I couldn't?" Tenka looked slightly disappointed. "I will received a yellow armband after this."
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"It's okay, Tenka-cha. You had already tried you best," I said.
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"That's right, Tenka. Plus, I heard from my sister that the Research Branch didn't really require much about physical performance. As long as you can do several max you will be okay," Jinhui added, "she also said her entrance exam was also not very smooth, as she was also not very good at sports."
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As such, after Tenka finished this exercise, our first part of this activity had completed.
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After the first part, we came back to the center of the room, where we found Yoka and her staff had took off all their clothes and only leaving their underwear.
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"I have seen you folks tried very hard during the exam, which I'm glad to see that. As you have already known, the next part the simulation activity. These state-of-the-art machines you found there were pretty much similar to some of the training machines we used for our training as well. Before you get into the capsules there, there are several things I want to remind you. First, as you can see here, we have taken off all clothes, which you should do it too. The reason for it is that we will connect your body directly with the machine via some wires and censors. To make sure the signal is not distorted, we have to minimize the intermediate."
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"Haha, now you get why my outfit works!" Tenka seemed to be very happy, as she was only wearing a sport bra for her top. It would be a bit troublesome for Jinhui, however, as she was wearing the full outfit with full length leggings.
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"Second, the contents you will see is based on your memories, as we'll start your neuron extraction after all the connection were established. To make sure the extraction was complete, we will apply a low concentration of sleeping gas to the capsule, such that we can dive deeper into your memory. Please do not be panic if you see something or someone you have met, as we would try our best to create a comfortable environment; third, everything you see after the capsule being activated are AR effects (CGI), which means you will not be injured by any of the objects or incidents during the simulation. However, to make the simulation as realistic as possible, these capsules will still give you shocks and some pain. Please do not panic, as these were only safe electric pulses that were applied to your body; And the most important one, in case of any emergency, such as strong nausea, long lasting headache, high blood pressure, and significant loss of vision, please use the button that was attached to the right, which you will also see it during the simulation. We will reassess your results and adjust the machine to make the environment as comfortable as possible."
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"It sounds pretty cool, isn't it?" Tenka looked very excited, "at least I can try these new AR machine for free. There is no way my family could afford one at home."
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"Haha. Actually, these are not even that new," Jinhui said, "at least my sister told me when she was taking her entrance exam, they had already started using these machines." It was true, as I heard from Uncle Nakuo, they developed some kind of simulation machine with the help of the University of Niangkee and National Defense Research Institute.
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"Um, but that's still cool, isn't it? As you can experience it firsthand" I said while taking off my clothes.
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After getting ourselves ready, we entered our assigned machine. While right before the simulation started, the staff reminded me of putting up special pads below my lower body. As they set up my connections and closed the entrance, I found the surroundings being completely black. There was no light but endless darkness. However, it was not completely silent, as some sleeping rhyme was playing in the background. It didn't take very long for me to fall asleep, which I found the surrounding was very relaxing.
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After a while, I was awaken by some noise. I looked at the ceiling and realized that it was my school, and I was lying on the bed in the infirmary.
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I slowly got up and looked at a mirror in front of me - even though the school was similar to my school, the uniform I was wearing was not the exact same one, as it was just some default Se-raa school uniform that il could be find in video games. While in the mirror, I also found a button on my right hand. "Make a tap to press the button," a small message displayed above my right hand.
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After walking around for a bit, I found the surrounding a bit eerie - even though there were belonging on the desks and writings on the blackboards, there was no one but me in the building. Where did everyone go? I asked myself.
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Just as I was trying to gain a grip on what was going on, something broke into my mind- it was nothing but the nature's calling, I may drink too much during my lunch, and I always felt more urgent after these workouts. That's bad, I thought. What should I do!?
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While trying to resolve this "emergency", I found a washroom in front of me. Maybe I can use this one, I thought, even though I knew it was just a simulation.
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As I entered the room, I quickly noticed that it was actually a men's washroom, as there were urinals on the wall, even though the sign on the door said it was for women. I tried to unlock one of the doors for the toilet, only realizing all of them were locked. Without any other option, I decided to use one of the urinals.
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Just as I took off my skirt, I heard some noises on the upstairs. It didn't sound like walking, but crawling, and it also came along with roaring. Was the school occupied by some beast? I thought, I must find a way to escape from here.
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I left my thoughts on peeing aside and immediately put myself on alert. With full silence, I was able to take advantage to rjje grasp the situation - indeed, the noise I heard was not some illusion, but an actual being crawling around and even getting closer.
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I walked my way away from the washroom and found out the whole building had changed - the corridor in front of the toilet was littered with books and belongings that clearly belonged to students; there were also some blood stains on the wall, hinting that there had been something horrible happened; the windows and the lights were all broken.
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Out of sudden, I sensed a being approaching me from distance. It was unclear whether it was human or the beast, as there was a hint of smell of blood in the air.
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"Araka, help- help me," there was a voice came from the same direction I found the movements. It was indeed a voice from human, and it was from someone I'm familiar. I turned my head around and figured out it was from "Leana" - it was a girl who looked a lot like Leana I knew, but it still missed a few detail, such as her iconic flower hairpin as well as the fact that she called me Sara instead of Araka.
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I immediately ran toward "Leana" and realized she was severely injured - her white uniform was covered with blood and some slimes, while there were some injuries on her arms that looks like forceful scratches.
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"Leana, What happened?" I asked her.
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"There- there is a - mutated here. She had bit several - several of us that - almost no one escaped. Please, Araka - just bring me to the front gate. There will be SAIR agents there," as she finished her sentence, she collapsed onto my body and almost lost her consciousness. I need to save her, I thought, even though she was not the real Leana.
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I grabbed her body and put her right arm on my right shoulder. Even though "Leana" was still alive, it was still quite heavy to carry her along the way. As I slowly walked down the stairs, I realized that the lower level was worse than the previous level I was in, as there were more traces of blood on the ground. There were some phones on the ground, which many of them had broken screens. There must be something very bad happened here, I thought, but the upper must not be good either.
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While I was trying to figure out what I should do, a being was approaching from somewhere far away. It looked like a human, but it was also making some sharp noises like a beast. To make sure I was able to take a fight with that "human", I placed "Leana" inside another other washroom and blocked the door with a chair I found in the messy corridor. Now I also need to find some weapon, I thought, better to be some stick or pipe.
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Fortunately, there was a fluorescence lamp pipe that fell from the top. I could at least put up some fight with this pipe, I thought while trying to give me some confidence.
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I put my head straight and held the pipe to the position I could fight. It's just like video game, you will not die from this, I told myself. Meanwhile, the being also noticed and started crawling toward me. The scream it made me sweat for a bit, as I could hear the sound of death and unwillingness beyond these noisy, wordless roar.
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"Ugahhhhhhhhhh." Just as the being was able to put me down, out of my own instinct, I made a swift move to the left avoiding being caught by the being. It was only a small inch away that could face the same fate as the others.
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As expected, the being did not stop after its first failed attempt. Instead, it regained the grip on a backpack on the ground and made its another move toward me. For this time, I was not that lucky, as it stranded me onto the ground using its arms, and the only line of defense between its bloody mouth and my face was the pipe I found.
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What should I do now? I asked myself while trying make distancing me from the being. Will I die here?
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Suddenly, another light on the ceiling above my head fell onto the ground. It created a loud noise that I could see the being was slightly distracted. It was the final chance.
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I used all my strength on my leg and made a strong push onto the being's body. It was successful, as I partially escaped the being's tight grip. Following the hit, I was able to reposition myself to the upper hand position, as I had put my feet onto the being's belly.
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While taking a closer look and about to made my final hit, I made a shocking discovery - turned out, the being that attacked me was actually a mutated girl, though her original face was no longer visible; the being was partially naked, as if she was attacked in the changing room.
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"Hweeel- "At the point, the being was able to make some "human" like voices. However, the flashback on the attacks it made minutes ago did not give me any chance of mercy. I have to do it now, I told it through my heart.
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As the pipe sticked into her throat, the slimy blood spewed out like a hot spring. It was indeed a bloody job, I told myself, that I had to "kill" someone at this age, even if it was just a simulation. Even after the "kill", I was still in shock, as if I had killed a girl in real life. It was just too realistic.
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After finishing beating the being off, I walked my way to the washroom I hid "Leana" in. Luckily, "Leana" was safe and she even recovered for a bit.
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"Leana, are you okay?" I asked, while breathing heavily .
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"I'm okay. Is it safe outside?"
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"I think so- at least so far. We need to hurry now."
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As such, I grabbed "Leana"'s hand and continued our journey downstairs. However, it didn't take very long for me to realize that there was something wrong with the staircase - while I was on the second floor of the building, I noticed the level below the previous floor was also two, and this loop continued as I got myself lower on the staircase. It also became increasingly annoying to see the body of the being again and again.
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"Are we there yet?", "Leana" asked.
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"We're figuring the way out soon," I tried to pacify "Leana".
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Out of sudden, the floor below me started trembling. It could be an earthquake, I thought. While I was trying to stabilize myself my lowering my body, "Leana" was about to fall onto the ground, while a light on the ceiling was able to hit her.
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"Leana watch out!!" Just as I warned her, I used my full speed to push Leana away from the falling light. Leana was safe, but my right calf was slight scratched by the glass shards from the falling lamp.
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"Araka, are you okay?" "Leana" asked.
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"I'm okay," I replied as I removed the glass dust on my body. It was a very close call, as if my reaction was one second slower, Leana would have been found dead.
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As the ground stopped trembling, I grabbed "Leana" again and headed down the corridor. After the earthquake, everything in the classrooms fell onto the ground, and there were broken pillars and falling objects all along the way. There were even electrical wires hanging in the middle of the corridor, which could be problematic if there were water leaks around the place.
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I continued my way forward and stopped, as our path was blocked - there was a pile of rubbles in front me that completely blocked the path. Seeing the charges electric wire and the dripping water from the ceiling, I understood that there was not much time left, and the only way out was to remove all these rubbles.
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Removing these rubbles were easier to be said than done, as most of them were heavy objects that came from the upstairs - chairs, desks, book shelves, collapsed pillars and decors, and even a projector. It was a workout for me to carry them away restlessly, as I also had to climb up the pile in order to remove the objects.
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After a while, a narrow path was cleaned out - it was a space just wide enough for the clearance of one person at one time. I let Leana came through and continued my way down the corridor. Turned out, there was a staircase just behind the rubbles, which was very convenient. This one would work, I said to myself.
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However, just as I made my way downstairs, there was a loud sound of explosion took place somewhere above me. Came along with the sound were a string of fire and a strong wave of heat - it was apparent that the gas pipe of the building had collapsed. It didn't take too long for the fire to reach the ground, and it spread out quickly as the paper on the ground serves as the medium.
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If we didn't act fast enough, we may all consumed by the fire, I told myself.
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While on the way down, I founded myself immediately surrounded by the fire. The heat and smoke from burning made breathing a challenging thing that I was almost choked. At the same, the building itself was also collapsing under high heat, and I also need to make sure not hit by falling objects. As such, I had to use my cloth as an air filter while only moved in a slow pace, even though I knew we were not far from the destination.
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While I slowly moved my way forward, all of sudden, I felt the ground below me was shaking. As soon as I realized that, I pushed "Leana" forward and told her to run forward. After a while, the floor below me collapsed - it quickly sunk into the lower level while I was standing on top of it. Everything in front me were became blurry as they were covered by the falling dust, and I quickly became weightless as I fall into the darkness below me. Is it over for me? I thought.
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Just as I was falling into the darkness, I found a steel pipe sticking out from the floor that I could grab on. I quickly grabbed the pipe and held tightly, while seeing the whole ground disappeared into the darkness leaving myself hanging on the single pipe. Even though it was just a simulation, I could feel the wind blowing me like a stream of pressurized water, and the weight of my body pulling me downward.
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However, my grip didn't last long, as I saw the cracks on the wall that held the pipe - it was a sign that the pipe itself could no longer hold my weight. I needed to find somewhere to land myself.
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Fortunately, the pile of rubbles had previously fell created a small hill that was not very far from me. It could be a risky jump, but not a deadly one.
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As such, I let go of my hand and made myself land on the rubble. It was very painful, as I landed on my knee, but still far from deadly. As soon I landed, I made myself rolled down the hill, which on the way I also got some scars on my legs due to scratches.
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"Ah, ahhhh," I cried out as my pain had dragged me down.
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While I was still in the pain of the fall, I heard a string of noises approaching me. It was the exact same sound I heard from the washroom and that "Anikara". If that was the case, then it was over for me, I thought, or really?
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I used all my strength trying to get up from the rubbles, and surprisingly, my legs were healed. With my legs in full strength, I made my way forward and ran into the darkness of the tunnel.
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Even though the entrance of the tunnel was very dark, there were still some lights in the tunnel that seemed to be automatic ones. Meanwhile, I noticed that it was very humid in the tunnel that I could feel my body sticked with moisture. Even given that, I still managed to make several jumps to pass the barriers along the way, and made my move as quick as possible.
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As I made my way forward, I soon realized a serious problem - while I constantly turned back and take a look at where the beings were, I soon figured out that even though I had used my full speed for running, it was impossible for me to fully outrun these beings, as they were in group while moving in a fast speed. What should I do, I asked myself, while trying to make my way forward.
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As I was thinking, I saw a rope hanging on the top. It was reachable, but I was not sure whether it could take my weight. This would be the final chance, I tried to convince myself.
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"Hahhhh!" As I shouted out, I placed my step on a fallen concrete block and made my jump. I used most of strength and put all of them onto my legs and my feet. In a swift move, I found myself shooting upward and my body floating above the ground. I couldn't believe I made such a good jump, even when I was at the school, as I felt I was much lighter than I actually was. As I was approaching the rope, I pushed my arms forward and made my rope clipped into my hand - it was successful, as I made myself hanged on the rope.
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I looked at the horde came through and heard the roar echoed all along the tunnel. It was a close call, I thought, while enjoying the short relief I hadn't experienced for a while.
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Suddenly, I felt the rope was pulled up someone. Who was doing this? Would it mean-
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Just as my doubts remain unresolved, I found myself bathing in the light. It was the light I hadn't enjoyed for a while during my run underground. However, the light was different from what I saw before descending into the underground tunnel, as I couldn't see anything the light. Maybe it means that-
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"Excellent!" While I was still trying to figure out what was going on, a sound from somewhere outside the space I was in kicked in. It sounded like a machine talking to me.
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As the light slowly washed off, I found myself in the same place I entered the capsule. I front me, I found both Tenka and Jinhui standing in front of me.
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"Ah, Sara-cha finally wake up," Tenka looked very excite. "Hello, Sara-cha!"
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"Hi, Tenka-cha and Jinhui-cha," I greeted them and waking myself up.
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"You seemed to be the only few people that actually made it," the staff beside me told me, while showing her smile to me.
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As we got our clothes changed, we shared our experience during the simulation. Even though it there were some difference between each machine, I found that all of them containing parkour as well as some weight and mental tests. The staff suggested us to enter the relax booth after the activity, as it could relief the stress during the simulation
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"Ughh, I just lost my 'life' when the cube hit me," Tenka told me her experience, "but eventually they still give me a 'good' rating, which is fair."
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"Wow, Sara is amazing," Meanwhile, Jinhui was also excited by my experience. "I don't know if I can make it."
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For me, I was amazed by the realism of the machine, as the senses as well as emotions were carefully crafted to the point that I still thought I was stuck in the simulation even after exiting from it for a while. However, one thing still bothered me for a bit, as if the 'realism' in the machine was not following the protocol, it could be a disaster as it could create mental issues given such realism. Maybe I have thought too much, I tried to make myself get back to the reality.
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