The Threshold Between Humanity and Technology

Chapter 8: The Seven Abandoned

The system's broadcast blared out suddenly: [Left Chamber: No behavioral value. Sample transfer complete. Refrain from meaningless actions.][Transfer complete: 7 individuals.][Maintain order at all times.][Original samples filed: Individual Lu Zhibai, young man in black jacket, short-haired female, young woman, young man, two girls.][Affiliation determination in progress.] No sooner had the words faded than a side door slid open. Seven figures filed in one after another, their steps slow, as if still reeling from the last round of high-pressure trials. Some hung their heads, bloodshot eyes peeking out from under their lids; others stared off into space, stumbling unawares with no time to react. They looked like test subjects just released from a failed experiment, reeking of the cruelty of the system's screening. The air stilled in an instant. The group that had only just grown accustomed to one another all turned their gazes to the newcomers. They did not know them, only that they were the small group from the Left Chamber earlier. Yet every single one of them stepped back instinctively, putting distance between themselves and the seven. Then the last person walked in. Her movements were unhurried, yet exuded an overwhelming aura of pressure. Pale porcelain skin, immaculate clothes, a calm, unwavering gaze. It was a face most had only caught a fleeting glimpse of in the chaos of the opening. A woman who'd been injured, yet had remembered the system's chamber rules. Lu Zhibai. The moment she stepped into the chamber, the very air in the room seemed to shift. No one dared approach her of their own accord. The six original occupants pulled back from her even more instinctively. They exchanged furtive glances—some filled with fear, others with unease, all plain in their desire to keep their distance. Murmurs broke out: "She's the one who was marked…""How is she still alive?" Ji Yuan's brows furrowed. He looked at her the second she entered, yet made no move to draw near. He could feel the oppressive aura she exuded. He curled his fingers around the pen in his hand, drawing a small mark on his palm in silence. It was a code he used to mark key variables when the system's communications were cut off. Lu Xu's fingers stilled for a heartbeat, and he scrawled a note in the corner of his notebook:[Chamber air pressure shift: Caused by the entry of a High Cognition Individual.] Yi Ran leaned in closer to Ji Yuan instinctively, as if sensing danger yet unwilling to pass hasty judgment. Xie Chuan watched it all unfold, eyeing the newcomer with a hint of curiosity. Shen Zheng and Cui Xun exchanged a quick, wordless glance, their wariness spiking silently. Just as everyone kept their distance, leaving her all but isolated in a corner of the room, Lu Zhibai spoke. She offered no explanation for where she'd been, no response to the whispers around her. She stood in the west corner, less than three meters from the half-concealed corpse, and cast a single glance over the scene. The corpse lay where it had fallen, no one daring to go near it. Yet she spoke after just one look, without touching it, without drawing an inch closer: "He was not rummaging for survival—he was in the habit of seeking out loopholes. He did not fear death; he had a natural aversion to order." She glanced at the scratch marks on the wall and the position of the bloodstains on the floor, then continued:"Of the three people who rummaged through non-designated areas, he was the only one who repeatedly triggered the system's warnings."The deceased tested the system's limits more than once. He belonged to no group, nor did he know how to hide himself." A collective jolt ran through the crowd. Yet she went on:"The attack came from behind, at a slight right angle. The blade was short, and the strike was far too precise… it was someone who had been close to him for some time."This was no accident, and no impulsive act."And all of you—you dare not even approach the corpse, only point fingers at one another." Having spoken, she fell silent once more, walking straight back to the corner to sit. She leaned against the wall, arms folded across her chest, and closed her eyes to rest. Silence descended. No one spoke up to question her, yet no one agreed with her either. She had not laid a finger on the corpse, yet she'd recounted the deceased's behavioral logic, his character flaws, and the manner of his death with perfect accuracy. It was not guesswork. It was judgment. Some held their breath, others shot her sidelong glances, and still others dropped their eyes, pretending not to have heard. Shen Zheng watched her, a faint, unreadable smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Ji Yuan fell into thought, as if looking at this woman—someone he'd never interacted with before—for the very first time. Yi Ran stared in her direction, her voice a soft murmur:"…Is she really here for the first time? That judgment was so precise." No one answered. But from that moment on, no one dared regard her as a mere bystander. Her eyes were closed, yet not a single person in the room dared meet her gaze. Even Xie Chuan finally wiped the smile from his face.