We stood inside the elevator observing the people coming and going. The elevator's announcement sounded, indicating that we had been lingering for a while. Ji Lin'an walked out of the elevator and successfully stepped out. Ji Lin'an turned and glanced at me. I smiled at him with some delight. We got out of the elevator together, and the elevator doors closed quickly.
I suppressed my unease; we were about to escape. The gate was only about ten meters away. A few people were walking towards us from a distance. The one at the front was wearing a pure white uniform with two words written on the chest: "Future."
The expressions of the people behind him varied, some happy and some sad. A woman in the middle was pushing a wheelchair. The woman in the wheelchair looked young, probably in her early twenties, with a pale face and no expression.
People brushed past us, and I felt something was strange. So many people, yet not a single one turned to look at Ji Lin'an and me. Ji Lin'an and I stood there, frozen in place. Surely at least one person would turn to look at us, but not a single one did. I couldn't help but feel a little flustered. I slowly walked forward, and after a few steps, my nose suddenly bumped into something. I winced and covered my nose in pain. Ji Lin'an grabbed my hand with one hand and reached forward with the other to touch it.
Sure enough, there was an invisible wall in front of us. We could see outside but couldn't get out. Everyone who passed by seemed to be unable to see us. It was definitely a one-way wall. I couldn't help but frown and look at Ji Lin'an. Ji Lin'an was expressionless, as if he was used to such disappointment. He touched the wall and walked to the left. I turned around and touched the wall and walked to the right. After a few steps, we reached the end. Ji Lin'an and I turned around at the same time and looked at each other, walking towards each other silently without saying a word.
Ji Lin'an took out the chip card from his body and, unwilling to give up, slid it around in various corners. The more he slid it, the more anxious he became. But as expected, Ji Lin'an walked back to me in disappointment: "We can't get out. It seems we have to think of another way."
I nodded: "Perhaps this isn't the exit, but just a place for sightseeing."
Ji Lin'an smiled wryly: "What kind of sight is there to see?"
I gave a wry smile: "How about... we go check out the training grounds first?"
Ji Lin'an hesitated for a moment: "Although we haven't been exposed yet, things might be different once we get to the training ground."
I said with a sliver of hope, "If my guess is right, there are not just a hundred survivors, but a thousand. Then there must be more than just a few staff members, at least dozens or hundreds. They might not even recognize us."
Ji Lin'an sighed: "If these two people with these identities don't go up, they'll easily be discovered. Let's go up and take a look; maybe we can find some clues."
After saying that, we went back to the elevator entrance and pressed the elevator button. The elevator came down in a short while. We pressed the button for the 15th floor, and the elevator quickly arrived at the 15th floor. As soon as the elevator door opened, there was a transparent glass door in front of us. The glass was labeled "Training Ground". Through the glass, we could see a dense crowd of people, all of whom were staff members wearing white protective suits and standing neatly in the middle.
Ji Lin'an and I got off the elevator and looked around. The corridor was empty; most people were probably in the training area inside. Ji Lin'an and I hesitated and stood there. Just then, a stern voice came from behind us: "What are you dawdling for? Go train!"
Ji Lin'an and I were stunned for a moment before hurrying towards the training ground. The entrance to the training ground was on the right side of the corridor, and there was a gate at the entrance. I turned my head and glanced at the man who had just urged us. My body stiffened involuntarily. I didn't have a chip card. I didn't find any chip cards on the women changing clothes. Only Ji Lin'an had one. Ji Lin'an hesitated for a moment and wanted to hand me the chip card. I shook my head slightly at him and raised my chin to indicate that he should go into the area first.
Ji Lin'an slowly swiped her card, the door opened, and she walked in slowly, not forgetting to look back at me. I turned my head slightly and glanced at the man urging us. The man was still standing there watching us. I swallowed and slowly walked to the door. Just as I was feeling nervous and at a loss, the door suddenly opened. I was a little surprised, but I still pretended to be calm and walked in.
Ji Lin'an seemed relieved. We quickly walked to stand behind the main training group. We stood there for a long time without anything happening. I looked at the hundreds of staff members in front of us, who were all standing still. Ji Lin'an and I didn't dare to move either. After more than ten minutes, the huge screen in front of us lit up, with the words "Task Distribution Begins" written on it.
I waited for a while but the screen didn't show any assigned tasks. However, I saw people leaving one after another. I nervously approached Ji Lin'an, who nudged me with his elbow to signal me not to be nervous.
I carefully observed everyone around me. People left in the order they were lined up. Ji Lin'an and I were at the back, while the rows in front of us remained standing. I stared at the row behind us who had just left. When it was their turn, they stood there for about 15 seconds before leaving. They must have been distributing tasks then. I continued to observe the next row. When distributing tasks, everyone's uniform action was to put their hands at their sides, their fingers moving as if typing on a keyboard, as if they were controlling something.
I mimicked their gestures a few times, and suddenly a screen appeared in front of me. The screen was very small, about the size of a matchbox, and the words on it were also very small, about the size of half a sesame seed. But strangely, I could see the words on it very clearly.
I think I've accessed the settings menu. The settings menu is just like a mobile phone's, with volume control, notification sound adjustment, and screen adjustment—it's basically a mini-phone! I tried moving my fingers around to see how to control the screen, and after a while, I discovered that lifting my index finger is down, my middle finger is up, my ring finger is left, my little finger is right, and my thumb is confirm.
I immediately touched Ji Lin'an's fingers. He was a little confused at first, but after I nudged his fingers a few times, he understood. Our turn to distribute tasks was approaching. I moved closer to Ji Lin'an. The people in front of us started receiving their tasks and left after 15 seconds. I was so nervous I could hardly breathe. When it was our turn, the screen suddenly went black.
I moved my fingers a few times, but there was still no response on the screen. After a moment, the screen lit up again and displayed the words: "The system has detected an unfamiliar face. Please complete the onboarding task before you can accept the task."
I looked at Ji Lin'an with a puzzled expression, and he looked at me with the same puzzled expression. I moved my finger and moved the selection box to the onboarding task guide...
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