After Qin Wenxuan finished speaking, the two examiners present fell into brief contemplation.

Shen Zhiwei furrowed her brows, adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on her nose, and then asked coldly:

"How are we ensuring the safety of these candidates? If someone triggers a spatial rift, the moment the two worlds connect, it will likely be accompanied by the arrival of numerous creatures from the Otherworld."

"Director Qin, there are over eight hundred lives at stake here. Does your intelligence department intend to treat them as cannon fodder for mine clearance?"

"Researcher Shen, you misunderstand."

Facing the skepticism, Qin Wenxuan quickly waved his hand, the seriousness on his face slightly dissipating, replaced by a calm expression:

"Our intelligence department would never treat the lives of candidates as a joke."

"As you know, the most dangerous part of the entire West Mountain is the area surrounding the Underground Palace controlled by the military. The test site we’ve currently designated is on the fringes, where the spatial fluctuations are relatively minor."

He picked up the teacup on the table, gently blew away the tea leaves on the surface, took a sip, and continued:

"Although these monsters might take advantage of the chaos when the repulsive force weakens to smuggle into our world, the probability of such occurrences is extremely low. Moreover, constrained by high-dimensional laws, they cannot stay on Earth for long."

"Unless someone has incredibly bad luck and happens to stumble into the core vortex of an entrance to the ruins, they can’t possibly lose their lives in there."

"As for dealing with the ordinary mutated beasts contaminated by high-dimensional energy on the periphery, this is actually a part of assessing their physical strength, courage, and survival ability."

"Besides..."

Saying this, Qin Wenxuan put down the teacup, his gaze sharp as he looked at Lei Zhen and Shen Zhiwei across from him:

"If they indeed encounter threats from creatures of the Otherworld, won’t you two examiners personally intervene?"

After speaking, he turned around, bent down, and retrieved two black metal briefcases from under the table.

He then lifted the heavy cases with both hands and pushed them respectively in front of Lei Zhen and Shen Zhiwei.

"Click."

The metal latches on the briefcases were unlatched by Qin Wenxuan in succession.

The case lids opened, revealing inside two pieces of sophisticated equipment emitting a faint blue glow, resembling armillary spheres.

"This is the High-dimensional Energy Anchor Point Instrument."

Qin Wenxuan pointed at the items emitting a cold light and introduced them.

He then put away the casual attitude from before, placing both hands on the edge of the table, leaning slightly forward, and his tone became extremely solemn:

"Gentlemen, I must emphasize once again the orders personally issued by Director Ling."

"In this physical fitness test, although the main purpose is to utilize the candidates to find the coordinates of new entrances, absolutely no casualties are allowed, to prevent situations from getting out of control."

"Therefore, later I trouble you both, as the chief examiners, to each lead an elite special task force into the test field for covert monitoring and protection."

"Of course..."

Qin Wenxuan heavily patted the metal shell of the briefcase, making a dull sound:

"Most importantly, if any candidate triggers a spatial rift, immediately use this anchor point instrument to lock and record the precise coordinates of the entrance, and establish initial contact, so that our main forces can officially station there next time."

Having said that, Qin Wenxuan straightened up, revealing a faint smile on his face:

"Colleagues, if you have any further questions or confusion about the arrangements by the Director, feel free to bring them up now."

"Our Special Search Team always advocates for democratic consultation and collective wisdom, ensuring each phase of the evaluations is foolproof, progressing steadily, and never disappointing the trust placed in us from above..."

Before Qin Wenxuan could finish his formal speech, Lei Zhen impatiently interrupted him.

The burly man stood up, rotating his thick neck from side to side, causing his joints to emit a series of crisp cracking sounds.

He grinned, revealing a row of menacing white teeth.

The scar running across half of his face twisted and contorted with the movement of his muscles, emanating an intimidating aura:

"Put your mind at ease. I once led a team into the Otherworld in my early years and slaughtered numerous interdimensional creatures. Now that these little bastards’ lives are in my hands, no King Yama is going to take them away."

He grabbed the multifunctional harness on the table, fastening it around his waist.

Evidently, he was well-acquainted with the routine of being an undercover examiner, having done it numerous times before.

Shen Zhiwei was uninterested in their chatter.

She directly reached out and, with a "click," fastened the metal latch of the briefcase.

Then, picking up the case, she briskly turned and walked toward the stairwell of the watchtower.

The heels of her slender high-heeled shoes clicked crisply against the metal steps, producing a series of sharp "tap tap" sounds.

In the early summer’s sultry evening, only a cold voice drifted back:

"Let’s go, Lei Zhen. The sun has set; let these lab rats take the stage."

Lei Zhen grabbed the wide-brimmed hat and placed it on his head, then casually picked up the dark green tactical jacket draped over the back of the chair, slinging it over his broad shoulders.

The hem of the jacket lifted in a sharp arc as he extended his long legs, striding down vigorously.

..................

At five-thirty in the afternoon.

The sun had already completely slipped behind the ridge, and the light dimmed at a visible speed.

The sky exhibited a purplish-red hue, akin to clotted blood.

"Beep——"

A piercing assembly whistle suddenly shattered the tranquility of the West Mountain’s evening.

"All personnel, fall in!"

A cold-faced chief examiner, holding a loudspeaker, stood on the hood of an armored vehicle and shouted loudly.

On the field, over eight hundred candidates had already changed into the full combat suits uniformly issued by the Special Search Team.