Chapter Sixteen: Defying the Heavens?

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Wang Yiran bit her lip, her eyes locked tightly on Qin Anyi inside the transparent chamber. She had seen people pass the seventh stage of the beginner evasion test before; in fact, not just the seventh, but even those who had cleared the advanced stages. The problem was, all those individuals had already awakened their physical potential. They could no longer be judged by the standards of ordinary people.

But Qin Anyi clearly wasn’t one of them. The fierce brawl after school had proven this: anyone who had unlocked their potential would never be injured by a dozen or so thugs—there was a qualitative difference. Yet, without having awakened that potential, passing the seventh stage of the evasion test should have been impossible. According to calculations, with the physique and reaction speed of a normal human, the utmost limit before awakening potential was the sixth beginner stage. Was he defying the very limits of possibility?

Wang Yiran swallowed unconsciously, her gaze never leaving Qin Anyi’s every subtle movement inside the transparent room.

The eighth stage began.

From all directions, two tiny apertures each started to focus beams of light. The focusing time was 0.5 seconds, and the laser arrival time was also 0.5 seconds—meaning, the test subject had a total of one second to judge and react accordingly. In earlier stages, when there were fewer beams, this wasn’t too difficult; a rough estimate sufficed to react in advance. But from the fourth stage onward, everything changed dramatically.

The number of lasers increased to four and beyond, forming a simple network of crisscrossing paths within the chamber. Within a single second, it became nearly impossible to judge where to dodge to avoid being hit. The demands on physical reflexes soared. From her experience, Wang Yiran knew that everyone who had participated in this test, once the lasers could form crossing paths, had to wait until the beams fired and their trajectories were fixed before making their first move. As the number of lasers increased, not even the brightest mind could calculate the safe path in less than a split second. For humanity as they were now, the body’s development would always be a limiting factor.

“Test level: Beginner, stage ten. Begin!”

Qin Anyi’s attention was completely absorbed by the transparent chamber. He had no idea about Wang Yiran’s series of reactions after she left the changing room. The lasers emitted from the holes in the walls appeared to have no discernible pattern, but as their numbers increased, they inevitably created crossing points that were impossible for a normal person to evade.

If it weren’t for Kirin’s godlike computational and analytical abilities, given Qin Anyi’s current physical responses, he would have been eliminated by stage three. Even so, he felt he had reached a certain limit. Although the number of lasers and their intersecting paths were not yet beyond his brain’s computational capacity, his body was struggling to execute the orders his brain issued. The transmission through his nerves had surpassed the limits of his body’s ability to react. This was the problem Qin Anyi now faced.

Ten beams of laser. Four directions. Twenty-four crossing points. Even the simplest calculated evasion plan required him to dodge seven times in one second.

Qin Anyi’s eyes narrowed slightly. Every muscle in his body tensed, and he began to move with unprecedented efficiency, weaving rapidly—once, twice, three times...

“Stop! Master! Your current movement speed has exceeded your body’s tolerance limit by a factor of 2.8. Should you complete the final move, there is a 98.2% probability of causing irreparable harm to your body!”

Kirin’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind, a blow that jolted Qin Anyi out of his total immersion in the evasion process. He forcibly halted his final move, and the crossing point of two lasers struck him directly in the abdomen.

“Evasion ability test. Final evaluation: Beginner, stage ten. Score: 63 points. The full score for the beginner level is 65. You are but a step away. Please continue to work hard.”

Qin Anyi paid little attention to the loudspeaker’s announcement. As he emerged from his state of extreme focus, all he felt was an indescribable exhaustion. Only then did he realize that at some point, his clothes had been soaked through with sweat. His body felt utterly drained, as if he had overdrawn all his strength.

“You finally... finally stopped...” Wang Yiran walked over, her face openly displaying shock as she looked at Qin Anyi as if she were staring at a creature never seen before. Beginner stage nine cleared, stage ten failed... Yet Wang Yiran knew perfectly well that Qin Anyi had ample time to clear the tenth stage. For some reason, though, he had mysteriously stopped just before making his last evasive move, allowing the two lasers to hit him and thus failing the test.

What on earth was the structure of this person's mind?