The doctor briefly told the rest of the people what he had found. Riko looked indifferent, and I don't know if she listened to the doctor's explanation. I've heard it once, so I turn my head to see if the girl with glasses is there. But the girl with glasses kept standing at the end of the hallway, and it was too far away for me to make out her silhouette. I think someone should have informed her that it was now possible to pass through the metal cylinder without having to find the victim. However, the rules clearly state that the trialists can only go forward, not backward. None of the communication tools we had on us seemed to be brought to this hall, and there was nothing we could do about it.

At this point, the doctor's explanation ended.

"So, these metal cylinders won't be an obstacle anymore?" said the balding middle-aged man, touching his bulging belly.

"Not necessarily. The doctor said indifferently.

"Does that mean we don't have to go together?" said the baseball cap girl.

In the next moment, everyone's eyes were focused on her. The girl in the baseball cap stalked her neck and glared back at each other. By now, even the most stupid people understand that the baseball cap girl is targeting the doctor. If everyone goes the normal way, the doctor will definitely be the last to be injured, and I'm afraid it will only be a little better than the glasses girl who stayed at the finish line.

"The situation ahead is not clear, and I suggest that even if you want to go separately, the distance between the two people should not be too long. The doctor calmly said, "At least two people should be able to communicate." In this way, we can ensure that there is an open communication channel and that we can better respond to danger in the event of a crisis. ”

"Of course you would say that. The girl in the baseball cap sneered, "Besides, the biggest danger we encounter is that we go too slowly. If you want to limit everyone's speed, you are making enemies of everyone, and you want everyone to die with you. ”

"I didn't mean that. The doctor shook his head, "I just hope more people survive." According to the third rule of the law: 'But be careful, there are difficulties and obstacles on the way to migration.' Only those who are cautious and careful can go to the end. And don't forget that the three demons who wander in terror and covet people's lives. I think it's important to keep in communication. Furthermore, there are three 'demons' waiting for us. If this metal cylinder is the first demon, then there are two more. The first demon has already caused us to lose so many people, so the remaining two demons may be even more terrifying. ”

The doctor said that the remaining two demons obviously made the people around them shiver. The girl in the baseball cap stared at the doctor as she suddenly began to walk on her own. This act made the air people feel panic again. If you don't stop, you'll be brutally eliminated at the end of the trial, and if you're not careful, you'll be killed by two demons lurking in the unknown. The doctor sighed, I understood what he was thinking.

Compared to the demon that did not appear, people were more afraid to see the real back of the girl in the baseball cap.

Before the baseball cap girl could walk past a few tiles, the air people were already scrambling forward. Invisibly, the girl in the baseball cap led the crowd, so in order to keep in touch with the collective, I had to move forward together. The so-called "collective" is undoubtedly the most annoying word. In order to cater to the needs of the collective, what is wrong can be turned into right. The doctor's figure unsurprisingly lagged behind, but Riko's condition was also very worrying. I know that most high school girls are weak in athleticism, but Riko doesn't look fat and has long legs, so she shouldn't be so weak.

"Sulfona, you go ahead first. Beads of sweat trickled down Riko's cheeks.

"How could I have left you. I shook my head, "You didn't have to participate in this trial at all, and even if I died, you couldn't just die." You've just become an air man, and you still have a long way to live. I'll tell you about the best convenience stores in the city in a moment, and you'll be sure to try them all once you've passed this trial. I don't think you have experienced the feeling of eating rice balls in the container without caring about the clerk and money. ”

"That sounds great. ”

Riko smiled weakly and moved on. Soon, there were a few people around me who surpassed me and Riko. Riko looked unwilling, but I vaguely guessed the reason in my heart. It must be the spot of light behind Riko that is eating away at her physical strength.

While we, the air people, parasitize in the void of the city, the sunlight also parasitizes Riko. It grows slowly until one day it devours its host. I turned my head away, unable to bear to look at Riko again. As long as you pass this trial, you will get better together after passing. During my last trial, I was forced to fight others in the narrow tunnels, bruised by the hard, cold stone walls. But when I returned to the real world, I found that all the wounds on my body had disappeared without a trace.

As long as Riko passes this trial quickly, she will definitely be fine. She wouldn't even realize that she had been eroded by the sun.

That's for the best.

The road soon stretched to the end. I vaguely remember that the men in black turned to the left when they got here, so it was supposed to be a rather winding track? I carefully touched the tiles on the ground, and it was cold. We may be in a building, and the track is the corridor that runs through the building. Indeed, such a statement is more reasonable. When in the hall, the cloister linked to the hall is also circular.

Gradually, I learned the way of thinking as a doctor and Riko. If our trial was just a game for the gods, then the lobby might be a "teaching level", and now we are in the game itself. The elements that have appeared in the real trial must find some kind of correspondence in the teaching level. From metal cylinders, black and white tiles, to this cloister. I think this must have been a hint left by the gods.

- The scales of black and white are always swinging, giving equal weight to wisdom and strength.

Only those who have a truly keen understanding of what the "Teaching Pass" is trying to convey can be called wise. With that, we made the first turn, a quarter of the way through the race. I see, we've come so far. I thought it was going to be a scary marathon. Great, isn't it enough to walk three equal distances calmly like this?

As I crouched on the ground and pondered my questions, Riko silently walked past me. She didn't look at me, no, she didn't look anywhere. She just stared blankly at the black and white tiles on the ground. I've heard of people playing Go with the illusion that they're stuck in black and white. Perhaps Riko is in this situation. She must have found out, I was waiting for her on purpose. In order not to damage her self-esteem, I deliberately pretended to be studying the ground. No, I do study the ground. But I shouldn't be doing that when everyone is trying to run forward. It's all too obvious. Did my kindness hurt Riko?

The crowd stopped. There shouldn't be a crowd, everyone should be called a small group. Just like long-distance running in middle school, there should be a person every short distance. But everyone got together. I stepped forward cautiously, taking care not to touch anyone. The hallway is fast, and there are a lot of ground and black grids, so I can walk to the front. No, it's not just that there are a lot of black checks. In fact, there is a whole row of black grids, and in front of the black grids is a regular white grid. It's all white grids, and I counted them, and there are 27 white grids. These 27 white grids are practiced in a row, just like a row of black grids. In front of this row of white grids is a white grid, 27 rows of white grids. And then there was white lattice, white lattice, white lattice.

The entire corner is covered in white latticework.

I can see why everyone is here. Because no one can pass through this sea of white latticework. Although it is only about seven or eight meters away, it is a moat for the air people. No one has the physical strength to jump eight meters at once. Runners can do it, but there is not enough space here, and those who remain here are weak people who are not confident in their physical strength. There was a metal cylinder waiting around the corner of the hallway, and they must have thought the white lattice was cute. As long as you wait next to the white grid, you can sweep away the garbage next to it.

The air of silence seemed to freeze. The girl in the baseball cap is at the forefront. She wanted to speak, but couldn't. Everyone was looking at the doctors, and at this time the doctors were again leaders. This leadership position was not achieved by his eloquence, his charisma, or anything else. He is by wisdom, and to have wisdom in this trial is to have power. The one who has power leads others, this is an iron rule that has been passed down from ancient times.

The doctor spoke.

"I see through God's scheme. ”

No one spoke, everyone was thinking about the doctor's words. God's conspiracy? What is God's conspiracy? And why is he saying such a thing at this time? Nobody can figure out why, but everybody is forcing themselves to think. Everyone who walks in black and white understands that God's rules are flawed. No, to be precise, people who are smart enough can take advantage of these rules. If you don't use your brain at this time, it's like giving up hope of survival.

"It's a game, or a game. The doctor said, "This white lattice is something we can't get around, so someone has to sacrifice." All rational people don't want to die, which leads us to a kind of deadlock. Everybody's going to stop here. ”

Everyone nodded. But I can see that everyone is very puzzled. Why do doctors say such basic things? You can understand the crux of the problem long ago. This is also the reason why the baseball cap girl told the glasses girl to sacrifice.

"So some 'smart people' will tell other people to die. The doctor seemed to see through our suspicions and continued, "They think they are smart, so they don't have to die, they are stupid people who want to die." But everybody thinks so, everybody thinks they're not the stupidest one. There will be contradictions between us. Note that the rules do not specify the penalties for 'interfering with others'. I don't think there's a worse punishment than death. So the one who is chosen to die will rebel, he will rebel against the wise man. There will be infighting between us—that's what the gods want to see. ”

The doctor took a look at me. I felt a shudder, his eyes were unfamiliar. It wasn't the doctor I had seen before, he seemed to have become a different person. If I'm not mistaken, he's not speaking as a doctor. He has become the real world, and he has not yet become himself as an air man. He is now a patient.

The patient continued.

"I was in a trial where everyone was locked up in a cave. We couldn't decipher the rules of the trial, and there was an unkillable monster chasing us. "There are a lot of swords stuck in the walls. We were all in a panic that everyone took up arms and killed each other. If you use a weapon to cut a monster, then the first person to do so will die. But if you cut someone, then you can make the monster eat the injured person. Most of us died in that trial. ”

Patients are telling my story. He deliberately withheld my name, presumably to protect me.

"And how did you survive?" said the girl in the baseball cap mockingly, "you killed all the others?"

"No, I defeated the monster. The monster is not invincible, and I defeated it. The patient looked at me deeply and said, "That cowardice full of despair is also part of the monster. I also defeated that monster. ”

I stared blankly at him.

"I've just combined my past experiences to understand God's intentions. The patient pointed to the metal cylinder and said, "Look at this mechanical monster, no one wants to fight it! This black and white floor tile, he objectively exists here. Have any of us ever thought of dyeing white tiles black with paint?"

"We all don't have fuel, we can't do that. The office worker said.

Yes, it can't be done—it's not that it's the kind of ideas God wants to impose on us. Because we can't change the rules, we can't change the floor tiles, we can't change the metal cylinder, so it's reasonable to let others die. There is nothing that can be done about those who are chosen to be sacrificed, so it is reasonable to attack others. This is what God wants to achieve. ”

The patient said in an indifferent tone.

"The monsters from the last trial can easily kill us one by one. But it's too boring for God. He wants to see us killing each other, he wants us to die at the hands of our own people. So he deliberately created a desperate situation, made us fight among ourselves, and then appreciated our ugliness. ”

Everyone looked at each other, and everyone was thinking about the meaning of the patient's words. Is he right? I can't say for sure. The patient cites my example, but he is only his interpretation of the last trial. This is not necessarily true. Although the premise is not solid, his final conclusion is very reasonable. I agree with him, and I think it's stupid to fight each other for everyone. Is he deliberately using my experience to promote this kind of thinking?

"Even so, what can we do?" asked the oldest balding middle-aged man, "I admit you're right, but we have to die alone." For the sake of the collective, one person must be sacrificed. That person will also rebel. ”