The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

Is it for export?

There was no time to think it over; he had little time to hesitate. The feeling of suffocation grew stronger, and his lungs began to burn.

Fight!

He chose to trust that faint feeling, and with both hands he pushed the black iron coffin, diving down into the passage.

The pressure suddenly increased, my eardrums ached, and the light almost completely disappeared, with only occasional glowing creatures providing a faint glimmer of light.

The unusual fluctuation became clearer, carrying a peculiar pulling force.

The passage narrowed until it was only wide enough for the coffin and him to barely pass through.

The jagged rocks on both sides looked as if they might close together at any moment.

In the unknown darkness, an even greater threat seems to lurk.

Just as Chen Guan felt his lungs were about to burst and his consciousness began to blur due to lack of oxygen, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

It wasn't the surface of the water, but a huge, air-filled underwater cavity.

He burst out of the water and crashed heavily onto the dry, cold rocky ground, coughing violently, gasping for breath, and greedily inhaling the damp, mineral-scented air.

The black iron coffin also landed with a clatter beside it.

He collapsed to the ground, and it took him a while to recover before he looked around.

This is a naturally formed cave with luminous moss on the ceiling providing illumination.

In the center of the cave stands an ancient stone tablet. The tablet is engraved with some intricate patterns, and in the center is a palm-shaped groove.

[Underwater maze puzzle solving? Not bad, buddy, you made the right choice.]

Those whirlpools and forks in the road were close; if I'd chosen the wrong path, I would have been done for.

[The stone tablet—this is clearly the next step.]

The time has come to test your intelligence and intuition.

Chen Guan propped himself up and walked to the stone tablet. The patterns looked like some kind of ancient runes, which he couldn't understand at all.

The meaning of the palm groove is obvious; you need to place your hand on it.

What could it be? Identity verification? A spiritual power test? Or triggering a new challenge?

Chen Guan glanced back at the black iron coffin, then at his hands, which were wrinkled from struggling underwater.

He has no special abilities, nor does he have any special energy fluctuations in his body. Will this test directly expose his true nature as just an ordinary person in front of the audience?

But now that we've come this far, there's no turning back; so let it be.

He took a deep breath, dried his hands, and placed his right hand firmly on the groove.

A cool sensation came through.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

The stone tablet did not react at all; the patterns did not light up, and there was no feedback whatsoever, as if he had only pressed on an ordinary stone.

【Huh? No response?】

[This test isn't fair, is it? Everyone else is having such a smooth ride, while we coffin-carrying guys are getting crushed.]

Don't worry, there might be other ways to determine this.

Chen Guan's heart sank slightly. Sure enough...

However, just as he was about to withdraw his hand, something unexpected happened.

It wasn't a stone tablet, but a black iron coffin behind him.

Suddenly, a wisp of extremely thin, almost ethereal gray mist emanated from the seam between the lid and the body of the silent black iron coffin. This mist was so fine that it was almost imperceptible unless one was in a dark cave.

It drifted out, as if drawn by some force, slowly flowing towards the stone tablet and merging into those ancient patterns.

hum...

The patterns on the stone tablet lit up one by one from bottom to top, with a dark golden luster flowing around, finally converging at the groove where Chen Guan's palm was pressing.

A cold, heavy, and desolate feeling surged into his mind through his palm.

It wasn't language, but rather a vague feeling, a fragmented scene, endless darkness, cold metal, a long slumber, and... a faint yet tenacious will to live.

This feeling came quickly and went quickly.

The next second, the light from the stone tablet faded, and it returned to its original state. The wisp of gray mist that had escaped from the coffin also vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.

Chen Guan withdrew his hand, his palm icy cold, but his heart was filled with turbulent waves.

That feeling just now... came from the coffin, or from the real body inside? Can an illusion even simulate this?

Or is it that the system has made its move?

That calm voice echoed in my mind once again:

"Assessment complete. Environmental adaptation and judgment: A-level, crisis intuition: A-level, resonance with special related elements: Special A, overall potential: under reassessment."

"Final test, prepare."

The scene changes for the third time.

The cave, the stone tablet, and the sound of flowing water instantly faded into the distance.

This time, Chen Guan appeared in a pure white, infinitely vast space.

Soft white light filled the surroundings, with no boundaries and no reference points.

Only he, and his black iron coffin, floated in this void.

A pure white space? What kind of test is that?

[Mental fortitude? Willpower? Or the sheer thrill of direct combat?]

What just happened at the stone tablet? Was the coffin smoking?

[Special Armor Rating: Awesome! The first one besides Xiao An to get a Special Armor.]

[To the person upstairs, if you've watched the whole episode, let me tell you, Xiao Su and Ao Ge also got special armor.]

Ignoring the comments, Chen Guan cautiously looked around.

Having experienced the beast tides of the wasteland and the underwater labyrinth, he knew that this illusion test was by no means simple, with each level pointing directly to different aspects.

This pure white space, seemingly peaceful, is probably the most dangerous obstacle.

Sure enough, the voice rang out, no longer an assessment, but a question, echoing throughout the space and his mind:

"Why are you carrying a coffin?"

Chen Guan was startled. He could be vague with An Changqing and Su Yuehe about this question, and he could be cryptic with the comments, but in this illusion, which seemed to be a test that pointed directly to his true self, he could not avoid it.

If he were to conceal anything, he probably wouldn't be able to enter the Tian Shu Class.

Why?

For popularity? For revival? For survival in this world?

These are the goals, the motivations, but not the deepest reason for the burden itself.

What does a coffin mean to him?

He remained silent, his hand gently touching the cold coffin lid.

Inside the coffin lies his past, which he can never return to; it is his sleeping self; it is the reason for the existence of the "Chen Coffin".

What he was carrying was not a coffin.

It is from a past life.

This is Chen Guan's present.

It is an unknown future.

It is one soul watching over another.

It is an existence that is persistent in its own origins.

He raised his head, looked up at the boundless pure white, and slowly spoke, his voice calm yet carrying a penetrating power.

"Because he's inside."

"Because I can't let go."

"Because...this is 'me'."

There are no fancy words, no tragic embellishments, just the simplest and most direct statements.

The moment the words left his lips, the pure white space seemed to tremble slightly.

Then, like a faded oil painting, the white quickly dissipated.

Chen Guan found himself sitting in a chair in the auditorium again.

Around him were other freshmen who were also waking up one after another, each with a different expression.