"Executed by firing squad?"
The interviewees at the National Security Bureau looked on with stunned expressions. You Jilong's face turned cold as he barked, "Who said that? Step forward!"
Ren Suo turned his head and caught a glimpse of a figure that made his heart skip a beat, but there were too many people, and he couldn't see clearly.
You Jilong scrutinized the over two hundred interviewees in the hall, his face darkening as he continued, "All interviewees must now proceed to a training base for five days of foundational training. During this period, all internal and external communication will be cut off. Anyone unwilling may forfeit their interview opportunity and leave now."
"Five days?"
"And cut off from communication?"
This sudden announcement shocked all the interviewees. Someone asked, "We weren't told about this before!"
At this point, Ren Suo had a sudden realization—No wonder they were asked to bring a change of clothes.
You Jilong stated indifferently, "Yes, because these were instructions issued from above just three hours ago. We're skipping the tedious interview screening and moving directly to foundational training for joint assessment. We aren't forcing anyone; those who want to leave can do so and will be returned to their original posts."
Li Qingxuan raised her hand. "We're going to live there for five days, but we didn't bring any luggage—like toothpaste, toothbrushes, towels, and such. We only brought clothes…"
"The base has uniforms in all sizes, and all living necessities are provided. You can even purchase underwear immediately," You Jilong said blandly. "Everything is sold at half the market price of similar products, as they are internally supplied and unavailable elsewhere. We support UnionPay and Alipay, so don't worry about that."
Another person asked, "What exactly is the position we're interviewing for?"
You Jilong replied, "You'll be informed at the training base. All I can say is that it's a profession within National Security Bureau Eighteen. Now, those unwilling to go may leave. Those who are willing, step forward when your name is called and line up."
The crowd exchanged looks, and many began to leave the National Security Bureau. These were newcomers from other units, some of which possibly offered better benefits than the National Security Bureau. They had come to the interview somewhat cluelessly, so upon hearing these terms, they no longer hesitated and relinquished their so-called interview opportunity.
They already had good jobs; why endure this hardship?
Within a few minutes, several dozen people had left the hall. Ren Suo, naturally, did not leave. He was becoming more and more interested in National Security Bureau Eighteen. Besides, the benefits at the National Security Bureau were indeed better than those at a street office!
Li Qingxuan didn't leave, nor did Xie Qiansi, Qiao Muyi, and others. Perhaps they had their own little schemes in mind. It was unclear whether the remaining people stayed out of sheer curiosity or because of the 'rumor' Xie Qiansi had mentioned.
Looking at the roughly one hundred people remaining, You Jilong's expression remained unchanged. He took out a list and started calling names: "Wang Fugui, Linghu Yao, Lai Haiwen… step out!"
Eight men stepped forward one after another, presented their IDs to the officers in black body armor for inspection, and were then led to the buses outside.
The officer checking Ren Suo was Li Dan. He still looked drowsy, with dark circles under his eyes, yet he recognized Ren Suo. "It's you," he said.
Ren Suo smiled. "So, can you answer the question I asked last time?"
"Hmm?" Li Dan was momentarily startled. "Oh, you asked how that person knocked out the others… Wait a few more hours, and you'll know. Get on the bus. Remember, you're in Team Eight."
Only one bus remained outside; the ones already full had departed. When Ren Suo boarded, he saw Qiao Muyi already seated inside. His eyes lit up, and he was about to head over without hesitation when—
"Girls should sit with girls; it's better that way." Li Qingxuan pulled Ren Suo back and sat down beside Qiao Muyi with a smile.
Ren Suo sat behind Qiao Muyi, pondering how to 'touch' her for over two hours in order to get her Key. Just then, Xie Qiansi surprisingly sat next to him. Ren Suo naturally showed a disgusted expression. "You know, it's not quite proper for guys to sit together, is it?"
Xie Qiansi couldn't be bothered with him and kept chatting with Li Qingxuan and Qiao Muyi in front. He took out his phone to add Qiao Muyi on WeChat, repeating his earlier line: "If we all discuss together, we can exchange ideas and help each other out..."
Although there were quite a few women among the interviewees, Li Qingxuan and Qiao Muyi stood out with their above-average talent, which explained Xie Qiansi's eagerness.
At this moment, the bus was full. An officer in black body armor boarded and announced loudly, "If you need to notify your families, do it now. Once we enter the base, all mobile phones will be collected."
"We can't even use our phones?" The reaction on the bus was strong. Everyone knew the Mysterious Country had fully entered the age of smart devices. For these young people, going a day without their phones was as unthinkable as online players skipping their daily login rewards.
They had assumed being cut off from the outside world merely meant not using their phones regularly, but they hadn't expected to be barred from even possessing them. Those who had hastily subscribed to short-term data plans to download movies and novels stopped, realizing they wouldn't even get to be offline players now.
Xie Qiansi looked as though he'd bitten into a bitter gourd. He had just set up a WeChat group for communication, but with phones being confiscated, the group was now useless.
Ren Suo, who lived alone, wasn't too concerned. He just posted on his Moments to inform his family that he would be attending civil servant training for a few days.
「Five hours later」
Ren Suo and the others had completely left the Lianjiang City area and entered the vicinity of the Qingping Mountain Range. Sitting in a bus for hours on end could easily make people tired and sleepy. Most passengers had already adjusted their seatbacks and fallen asleep. At this moment, Ren Suo saw that nearly everyone around him had dozed off. He stealthily stretched his nefarious hand from beneath his crotch towards Qiao Muyi…
"Key detected."
"The Key is in a state of Sleep. Beginning retrieval."
"Key formation detected. Retrieval will take 303 seconds. Continuous contact must be maintained during this time. 302, 301, 300..."
What? So, if Qiao Muyi was in a state of Sleep, Ren Suo could obtain her Key in only about five minutes?
However, at that moment, Qiao Muyi stirred and mumbled something. She turned her head and saw a hand resting on her shoulder. Behind her, Ren Suo was leaning against her chair, apparently fast asleep, his wandering hand resting lightly on her shoulder. Qiao Muyi extended a finger and flicked his hand away.
"Search interrupted."
Ren Suo grunted, pretending to resettle uncomfortably in his sleep, and lay back down. He pondered: Did she wake up by coincidence, or did I wake her by touching the Key?
Nonetheless, discovering that the retrieval time for a 'Key' from someone in a state of Sleep was significantly shorter was a massive surprise for Ren Suo. He still had a Treasure Box at home to open. Now that he had found Qiao Muyi, he definitely wouldn't miss this chance. During the next few days of training, he would have more opportunities.
The sky outside gradually darkened, and Ren Suo's stomach rumbled, signaling dinnertime. Just then, the bus finally passed through a military checkpoint and drove into a hidden base nestled in the mountains.
After sitting on the bus for hours, Ren Suo finally disembarked. He stretched lazily, feeling his bones crackle.
"There are quite a few buses here."
Ren Suo noticed at least a dozen buses parked inside the base and commented thoughtfully.
"It's not just us from Lianjiang City," Xie Qiansi said, also somewhat surprised. "The license plates are from nearby Yuanshan City and Pingjiang City... These buses were all temporarily hired by the National Security Bureau."
Ren Suo said, "Does this mean all civil servants from across the province who meet the National Security Bureau's requirements have been gathered here?"
Suddenly, they overheard someone nearby say, "With so many people here, and the place being so remote, they could just execute us all and save the trouble of disposing of the bodies."