Chapter 3: A TEST

“Are you so cynical? That's right, we need people like that!"

I respond to him through my thoughts:

“I still haven't said I will ever agree. What if I refuse?”

The man then laughs, his laugh makes me feel uncomfortable. He says confidently:

“But I trust you will not refuse such a tempting offer. Don't you hate studying the most? Since the time to use such brain communication is limited, see you another time!”

As soon as he finishes speaking, the sound disappears. I admit that he is right, I have not liked studying even a little, all because my mother forced me. But I come to such a dubious organization as a gamble, so I decide to try my luck. Who knows, I might be freed from my mother's restraint. I look at the camera, then carefully sign and stamp it. Suddenly, behind my earlobe hurt as something stabbed, I go to look in the mirror and discover there is a small hole in it.

“Do you hear me?” - A man's voice rings out. My room suddenly becomes dark, I close my eyes.

After looking back, there is a man with purple-blue hair and a beanie, wearing a blazer and putting his hands in his pockets, he looks at me carefully.

“As mentioned in the letter, to officially join our organization, you will have to participate in a final competition to judge.”

“You can manipulate space?”

He pushes up his glasses and replies:

“Nope! Right now my brain is connecting directly with you.”

“Does that mean only a few people agree to participate?”

When I ask this question, the man looks at me and asks me why.

“I guess this letter will likely self-destruct within a certain amount of time, so you guys will schedule a time to get everyone else like me to sign at the same time. But according to what BB said, every ability has a limit, if there are too many people, I don't think you will be able to connect at the same time"

“Fortunately, our experiment was successful. But why don't you think otherwise?"

I glance around and reply:

“Because the actual assessment test is this dialogue! I'm sure your organization will ask questions or have us ask questions to test our reasoning abilities. And I believe there is still one more physical exam to pass this round. In addition, are the aliens you mentioned in human form?

“Can you give a reason for that question?”

I reply him:

“BB said that you guys can't tell them apart and use conventional weapons to destroy them all. The most likely thing is that they take on human form and blend into society. And your abilities are limited, so you can't tell them apart. Therefore, there is no news of strange creatures!”

The man claps his hands, but his face remains cold and unapproachable. He says in a raspy voice:

“With just those suggestions, you already answer. It's commendable! Congratulations as you will be preparing for the next round – the physical exam.”

“What is my body like right now talking to you like that?”

“Your body will enter a state of restlessness, but only temporarily.”

Fortunately, I have finished all my homework so I can rest a little bit, hoping that my mother will come home a little late. This is quite interesting. But I also don't know if I can complete the last challenge because I rarely exercise. After all, my mother thinks this will waste my study time. Now maybe I'm just counting on luck.

I think the physical test would be a bit combined with reasoning ability but unfortunately this time I am wrong. This is pure exercise. Luck didn't smile on a weakling like me. During all the rounds I do not complete anything, so I fail miserably.

“I regret the result this time!” – The man says.

"But you'll agree and put me in your organization"

Looking at his face, I know that he is surprised by my statement.

“Why are you so confident?”

“Boys will be better physically, I guess not every girl can finish this round. There is still a round of qualifications, right? And this is the real deciding factor.”

Receiving his nod makes me more confident. But until now I don't know what hidden power is. Does a boring person, without dreams and hobbies like me have any strength? I am not the kind of person favored by God. If I were, I would not have been born as a child of my mother.

“Do you want to participate in the final round? Because it will affect your life”

How's life? So he doesn’t know that I tried to commit suicide many times but failed. I also want to end my life so that I don't have to worry about it from day to day. But I don’t dare to die. My life is hell, I want to end it, but I don't have the courage. In the end, I am still a shy and weak person.

"If that's the case, then great!" – I smile and answer the boy.

"You're quite special. Compared to others, you're the calmest. I hope you'll pass and become a member of ARXX"

The man hands me a beaker containing a somewhat strange liquid. Then suddenly beside him appears another girl. I think it is a member of the organization but he says:

"Do you see anything strange?"

I shake my head, in front of me is just an ordinary human. The man just nods and tells me to drink that black water, he does not forget to remind me to think carefully because it can be dangerous to my body. I hesitate for a bit, but then drink it all down. At the last drop of water, my mind is dizzy, my body is hot and my eyes become blurred, the glass of water keeps falling with me. My heart suddenly tightens and beats faster, I gasp and turn my eyes to the man. He is looking at something, and then I swoon.

When I wake up, I find myself in my room. I look around with my tired eyes as if I escaped from that space. Maybe I failed. I am a bit disappointed and bored. Was that a dream? I lie on the floor, put my hand on my forehead and think. I don't even care if my mom is watching me through the camera or not. Looking at the clock, I realize that more than 4 hours have passed. So that means I was unconscious for about 3 hours.

I sit up and check my desk again, but the letter is nowhere to be found. I ask myself: Does this mean that the letter has self-destructed or is it all just my delusion due to the heavy studying? Unknowingly, I burst out laughing in sadness because I am quite happy with the compliments that the man gave me. I rarely get recognition from people…

I lie face down on the table, suddenly a cool breeze blows on my face. This is quite strange since I have closed the window and am using the air conditioner. A crazy thinking flashes through my mind:

“Could it be… is this true?”

So, out of excitement and curiosity, I try again in many ways but to no avail. Or it's just a wind that's exaggerated by me. It's stupid, I've always been stupid like that myself. Superpower? What am I looking forward to?

"Oh, you're awake?" - A familiar voice pops into my head again.

"What happened?... Why did I faint?”

The man whose name I do not know explains that it was just a side effect of the drug. Even if the body cannot absorb that water, the internal organs will gradually decompose and die.

“Fortunately you are still alive! We thought you wouldn't make it from fainting longer than we had planned."

"What time?"

"That's right," he replies - "For others, they only pass out for 45 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. Some people can even absorb it as soon as it is put into the body. We congratulate you on becoming the 5th member of our organization!”

For the first time, I feel joy beyond receiving a high award in my studies. Now I can convince that they are not scams. Because no one can penetrate anothers’ mind like that. But I still feel a bit confused, so I ask the man about my hidden powers.

"I'm sorry but we can't confirm it yet, which is quite difficult"

"Is it... the wind? Just now a strange wind blew in my face… I'm not sure either!"

"Maybe so. But maybe we need to monitor you more through the brain to come to the right conclusion"

If that's the case, will I be like the superheroes in movies? My life has never been useful. It's been a long time since I've felt proud of myself again. It turns out that this life still has many strange things that I cannot predict. Everything happens so quickly and strangely. But I still accept all despite the danger. I am a madman!

But if I join that organization, I won't have to go to school anymore. So what about my mother? I'm sure she would never agree to such a myth. She even put me in a mental hospital because she thinks I am crazy so I talk nonsense. It's hard to convince someone as stubborn as my mother.