Immediately, a violent dizziness emanates from deep within the brain.

The golden sun hanging high in consciousness flickers urgently, the light suddenly dims, becoming extremely faint.

At the same time, the scene in front begins to spin wildly, the edges of the vision rapidly swallowed by the darkness rushing forth.

This frail body, having forced an explosion of power far beyond its own limits due to extreme anger earlier, has already been pushed to the brink.

Now, as the danger lifts and the Spirit relaxes.

Fatigue hidden deep in the muscles and marrow surges in like a tsunami, instantly breaching all physiological defenses.

Fang Cheng opens his mouth, wanting to say something.

But before a sound comes out, his legs suddenly go weak, and he collapses straight forward.

"Fang Cheng!"

"Hey! Fang Cheng, what happened?"

"Everyone, come over, he seems to have fainted!"

Amidst Zhou Ming and Wang Lan’s frantic cries, Fang Cheng’s consciousness completely plunges into boundless darkness.

The body seems to lose all weight in an instant, rapidly sinking through a funnel-shaped black vortex.

The surrounding space spins madly.

No wind, no sense of gravity.

Only countless distorted, bizarre fragments of images flash by swiftly from the inner walls of the vortex.

They are fragments of decayed bones, writhing black flesh, and faces swollen from soaking in black water.

These faces turn in unison, stiff necks, staring dead at the descending Fang Cheng.

"Cackle, cackle, cackle..."

They emit sharp, penetrating laughter.

Near and far, surging from the deepest part of the vortex.

Like countless rusty iron nails, fiercely scraping his nerve endings.

The falling speed accelerates, sinking deeper.

Until all senses are completely engulfed by this suffocating abyss of blackness.

.........

"Whoosh——"

Fang Cheng suddenly opens his eyes, expelling a long breath.

No bottomless black vortex, no nauseating decay in the water plant.

Strong pure white LED light beams down, causing his pupils to contract intensely.

He pants slightly, his vision gradually focusing.

Surrounded by walls covered with grey soundproof foam, the air faintly smells of disinfectant.

The low-frequency hum of the central air conditioning reverberates in his ears.

This is the interrogation room for the Special Search Team’s interview.

A torrent of memories, like a flood bursting through a dam, instantly overwhelms the false cognitive barrier, pouring back into his mind.

The memory of "Fang Cheng" as a middle school pupil fades rapidly, the true identity of Candidate "Fang Cheng" No. 263 reassumes dominance.

"Deep breaths, relax your muscles, gradually adjust to the feeling of reality."

A young examiner in uniform strides forward, reaching to unfasten the heavy metal helmet secured on Fang Cheng’s head.

Then, he removes the electrode patches one by one, tidying up thoroughly.

Fang Cheng leans back against the cold metal chair, catching his breath, adjusting to the disparity between the two worlds.

Opposite on the long table, Chief Examiner Chen Bingzhong sits upright.

He looks down at the timer on the tablet on the table, removes the cap of a fountain pen, and writes on the paper examination sheet in front of him:

"Candidate 263. Illusion Realm endurance duration: Twenty minutes and fifteen seconds. Rating: Excellent."

Chen Bingzhong finishes writing, then looks up.

His sharp eyes sweep over Fang Cheng, a flicker of disappointment flashing deep in his gaze.

He initially held high expectations for the candidate recommended by his old friend.

Twenty minutes is indeed quite excellent among ordinary candidates, but definitely not extraordinarily outstanding.

It’s worth noting that Shi Chengyi had praised this kid highly, lauding him as a martial arts genius not seen in a century, with the potential to pursue the former chief and Special Search Team’s foremost expert Li Guizhen.

Being a genius, spiritual will shouldn’t be lacking.

At the least, a performance of around thirty minutes would be reasonable.

"What level of abnormal phenomenon did you encounter in that world? What was your response strategy?"

Countless thoughts rapidly flash across Chen Bingzhong’s mind, then he routinely inquires, his tone formal and business-like.

Before Fang Cheng can respond, the young examiner beside him glances at the computer screen and cannot resist interjecting:

"Your physiological data was really abnormal just now. The brainwave curve was extremely chaotic, with heart rate surging to 180."

"The strangest thing was that your body temperature was quite high, skin was flushed all over, sweating profusely, as if you were locked inside a high-temperature steam chamber."

Fang Cheng calms his spirit, looks down.

Noticing his shirt completely soaked with sweat, sticking wetly to his back, with skin still emitting a wave of hot air.

Echoes of classmates’ cries linger in his mind, as if all scenes remain before him.

Fang Cheng raises a hand, wipes off sweat on his forehead, calmly explaining:

"I encountered a group of shadow-like abnormal phenomena without physical form. To rescue possessed companions, I resorted to close combat."

"Perhaps the intensity of combat plus excessive emotional agitation caused an extreme response in the body."

Fang Cheng speculates they must have some monitoring indicators or special methods, thus he leaves nothing concealed.

Chen Bingzhong slowly nods, his pen scratching lightly across paper, making soft sounds. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"The examination’s Illusion Realm directly triggers subconsciousness. Under extreme anger or fear, the body in reality shows sympathetic nervous excitement, a normal physiological feedback."

He closes the folder, crosses his hands on the desk, his tone returning to level official intonation:

"Alright, Fang Cheng, your interview segment is entirely finished. Stay communicable after returning, await detailed score notification patiently, you may leave now."

Fang Cheng braces on the armrest of his chair and stands, nodding to the examiner in salute.

Then he turns, pushes open the thick soundproof door, striding out.

The incandescent lights in the corridor shine rather glaringly.

The corridor carries an atmosphere of oppression and tension.

Dozens of candidates waiting for interviews sit on chairs, some mumbling to themselves, others nervously shaking legs.

A few who’ve just exited other examination rooms stand pale, leaning against the wall near trash cans, retching.

Clearly having also experienced a scenario akin to Fang Cheng’s Illusion Realm.

By the water dispenser ahead, Ma Donghe clutches a crumpled paper cup, spitting saliva as he boasts to the thin Hou Peng.

"Back in the day on East Capital Road, even alone I was a fearsome figure chasing dozens! A mere Illusion Realm scene like that, can it scare me?"

Hearing the door open, Ma Donghe turns his head, eyes lighting up, tossing aside the paper cup, strides forth eagerly.

"Fang Cheng, you finally came out!"

Ma Donghe pats heavily on Fang Cheng’s shoulder, inquiring with concern:

"How about the result? How long did you last?"

"Twenty minutes and fifteen seconds."

Fang Cheng casually replies.

"Amazing! A minute more than me, I barely lasted nineteen."

Ma Donghe grins wide, face filled with relieved delight:

"That damned Illusion Realm is just too sinister, entering it everyone forgets their original self, like directly formatting memory."

"Luckily, upon returning, I recalled everything anew."

He says, plopping onto an empty chair beside, arms wide open, raising his voice to complain:

"Fang Cheng, let me tell you, I turned into a forty-year-old bald security guard, patrolling a morgue at midnight."

"Thankfully, the Illusion Realm assigned me the identity of an adult man, with enough strength to handle danger."

"I heard in the adjacent fourth examination room, an unlucky guy turned into a crawling baby, waking up after falling off a bed not half a day in."

"And even more absurd, a big man turned into a woman, collapsing in fright before even any monster showed up!"

Ma Donghe grows more excited as he speaks, gesturing energetically in the air:

"Fang Cheng, guess what I encountered?"