The Second Test

This is not easy, there are only a few ways to wake up from the dream.

Either it's an external factor, like being woken up by someone else, or having to go to the bathroom, physically...

Or it is an internal factor, such as encountering fearful stimuli or dangerous factors.

This kind of external factor probably doesn't work, because Colin has been in this dream for so long. As for the internal factor, Colin here also got scared a few times, but still nothing happened.

"No, there is still another way."

Thinking about this, Colin became a bit hesitant.

Because this is such an extreme way, if he chooses wrong, not to mention failing the test, he may not wake up in this world again.

Faced with such a risky choice, for a moment Colin couldn't decide what to do. But when he remembered his father's face, Colin made up his mind.

He sneaked out of the room. After making sure no one was watching, Colin snuck into the bathroom and locked the door, even using an object to block the handle. After finishing, he took out a small razor.

Hot water was poured into the tub, just waiting for him to perform the final step.

The small blade cut through the artery, so deep that blood splattered, Colin tried to endure the most terrible physical pain he had ever had to endure and dipped his hand into the bathtub. Causing blood to start staining the water surface red.

"Son, you in there?"

His father's call rang out from outside the bathroom, along with the sound of banging on the door. For a moment, Colin showed hesitation, but in the end, only determination remained.

"Son, come out here!"

"Son, come out here!"

"Son, come out here!"

His father kept repeating the same sentence like a machine. At the same time, the pounding on the door became louder and louder, to the point that the door's hinges were shaking. Colin is now completely unable to pay attention to that anymore.

He felt his body gradually losing temperature, his vision became more and more blurry, his body fell down making a loud noise, his consciousness was about to collapse.

The sound of banging on the door turned into the sound of breaking the door, the door became distorted over time, and when it was completely opened, Colin's consciousness was completely plunged into darkness.

Maybe just a second has passed, maybe a very long time has passed.

Colin awakens.

He jumped up, the feeling of fear still lingering in his mind. Even though the memory of the dream is constantly disappearing like the words written in the sand at high tide.

By the time Colin stabilized, he could barely remember that extremely long dream.

But Colin knew one thing.

That's why he made the right choice.

"Are you okay, man?"

It was Matthew's voice.

Colin looked over and discovered Matthew was also sitting not far from his seat. And it's not just the two of them here, the remaining nine people from bus number seven are also here. Except for Colin and Matthew, the rest still seem to be in a coma.

And their current location is off the coast, not sure if it is a deserted island or the mainland.

"Have you also experienced a very real nightmare?"

"Yeah, it seems like we're all the same."

"And the same goes for the rest."

Colin looked towards the people who had not yet woken up, Matthew spoke up to remind him.

"There's no need to waste time waking them up, I've already tried. It seems like we can't rely on other solutions except ourselves."

"You're right."

This is frankly very absurd.

Even if you use a certain chemical that prevents the brain from being awakened by external factors. So why can Colin think in such a complicated way in his dream?

The reason a dream is a dream is because it is vague.

"Perhaps they somehow controlled our consciousness. Or trapped our consciousness in a dream while still keeping it awake."

"That sounds so delusional, man."

"I know, super powers, demons or something… I didn't even believe they existed until a few days ago."

He exclaimed.

Seeing that there was nothing he could do right now, Colin searched for his phone. When he looked at the time displayed on it, he realized that more than half a day had passed since he took the test.

There was nothing around to check, because except for the sand where they were thrown, everything was covered in gray fog, even the sky was hidden. That's why from the beginning Colin couldn't determine whether this was an island or just a coastal area.

Matthew said he went into the fog, and after walking for a while, he found himself circling back to his original position. Regardless of whether Matthew goes straight, sideways or diagonally, the result is still the same position.

The only passable path was the area behind Colin, which was clear of fog and led straight into a forest.

"It seems this is the second test."

"You sure?"

"Not really, but if all of this isn't a coincidence, then it must be part of the test."

"It's very possible that we are still in another illusion. Don't trust your senses, after all, in the previous dream you probably knew that your senses deceived you into thinking that this was reality. ."

Matthew nodded as if he understood, but then blurted out something that made Colin fall backwards.

"Sounds great, I don't get it."

Colin covered his face and sighed, it seemed like Matthew's assertion that "I'm very smart" when they first met was just to show off.

"So… do you think we should go into that forest first? Or wait until the others wake up."

"I think we should wait. Gathering in a large group is still safer."

Colin glanced at the deep forest, speaking with some uncertainty.

This is a general ability assessment test.

If dreams are about testing a person's determination and judgment, then this forest will definitely test a certain aspect of them as well.

Ability to survive? Leadership? Teamwork?

There were so many options, but Colin thought they were gathered together for a reason.

About an hour later, the remaining people also woke up one by one. They all experienced nightmares.

Although some people later argued about how the school could do that. But there is one thing that everyone agrees on.

The nightmare is part of the test.

Another hour passed, and two people still hadn't woken up. Makes others gradually lose patience.

After all, this is a test, and no one knows whether waiting too long will affect the final score.

Before, few people could wait, but now there are so many people that no one wants to wait any longer.

"We should go first. If these two continue to sleep all day, or even a few more days, will we still have to wait?"

A male student named Brad spoke up, his opinion received a lot of agreement from others.

Colin doesn't like this guy very much. From the moment he woke up until now, he's always shouted loudly to go first. Furthermore, he always spoke in a commanding tone, reminding Colin of Jenny.

But Brad is right.

No one wanted to wait any longer, including Colin.

A team of nine people walked into the forest together. While walking, they talked about things related to this test.

"Perhaps this second test is to help us survive in the wild? Does anyone bring anything useful?"

A male student named Antonio said, at the same time groping inside himself.

"I have this lighter."

Matthew took out a zippo, then ran it around his fingers, ending with a small flame.

"With this, we can camp."

Hearing Antonio's words, the rest of the people laughed out loud. This made him clearly uncomfortable.

"What are you guys laughing at? Otherwise, why would the school throw us into these desolate mountains and forests? What better way to test a person's will than survival in the wilderness?"

Antonio doesn't think he's wrong.

It seems that this guy is quite passionate about "survival".

Colin thought that in his heart, but Antonio's analysis also made him pay attention.

Over time, the group of nine people divided into three different divisions. Talk to others, keep moving forward, be aware surroundings.

Colin is always alert to his surroundings.

From the moment he stepped into this forest, Colin always felt a vague uneasiness. It wasn't as intense as the time he encountered the haunted bus, but this feeling did still exist.

He observed the surrounding trees, realizing that each tree was very tall, some were leaning, some were bending to the ground, a bunch of vines were braided and hanging down like a woman's hair. The deeper he looked into the woods, the more Colin felt like they were giants standing still in place, watching him.

Even though it was still light, the big trees covered almost the entire sky, making the scene look extremely gloomy.

Gradually, the voices in the group became less and less, eventually disappearing completely.

Being without water or food for a long time causes everyone's strength to be depleted. Of course, no one had much energy to talk.