Ma Ran stared expressionlessly at the "mask" used as the detection device.
The voices of the club members' discussions reached his ears.
"What is this thing? It's kind of evil!"
"Just looking at it once makes me feel like I'll die on the spot... I don't want to experience that again."
"Don't you want to awaken your superpower? This thing is used as a qualification detection tool, right?"
"If you make enough mental preparations... you should be able to hold on a bit longer?"
Ma Ran knew that this thing was not a mask at all!
It...
was the facial skin peeled off from the corpse of a WG76 alien, processed with alien technology.
If an ordinary person put it on their face, in the blink of an eye, they would turn into a pool of blood and die instantly.
As for high-cell-activity life forms, such as Black Rock Martial Arts cultivators of the Third Rank of Inner Qi and above...
After wearing this "mask," their own memories would be completely overwritten by the information stored in the "mask," becoming a spark to restart an extraterrestrial civilization.
This sounds a bit like the "possession" mentioned in xianxia novels.
But in essence, it is completely different.
The original owner of this facial skin will not truly resurrect.
The newly born life form also has significant intellectual deficiencies and cannot bear the responsibility of reviving a civilization.
(The above experimental data comes from heinous involuntary volunteers, death row inmates, and the like.)
After all...
The WG76 civilization was just one of countless losers in the cosmic war.
The hastily left means of survival and demise by the defeated side have many deadly loopholes.
As long as one finds these loopholes, uses their ingenuity and a bit of courage, one can take it as a tool and make full use of it.
This "mask" is a typical positive example.
The spark left by the WG76 civilization was used as a device to detect the qualification for superpower awakening.
"Everyone should now be able to feel the power hidden inside this mask, right?"
President Huang clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention.
After giving everyone some time to think, he continued, "Researchers believe this mask is a creation left by an extraterrestrial civilization before its destruction."
"It can let the observer see the scenes before that civilization's extinction, recreating the scenes of that time."
Speaking of this, President Huang sighed, his tone somber: "Meanwhile, it emits an electromagnetic wave named 'Class B Radiation,' inducing the observer to put it on."
"If one can defeat this desire with their own will, the mask will automatically change its form."
"Please pay attention!"
Suddenly raising his volume, he said sternly: "Regardless of whether you can resist the urge to put on the mask, you must never wear it!"
"The consequence of putting on this mask is only one!"
"Death!"
"The relevant experimental documentation will be sent to everyone shortly."
"Please take it seriously and do not disregard my words."
Even so, the risk factor when using this alien mask is still very high, and it cannot entirely rely on the test subject's self-consciousness.
The military personnel on site, fully armed, with sharp eyes, their lean frames exuding explosive power, provided an aesthetic of agility.
Obviously, they have all been specially trained, ready at any moment to intervene and interrupt this dangerous testing process.
Before long, everyone present received a dossier related to the alien mask.
Its function, its risks, and even the initial death case during testing were all presented in detail before everyone.
The members of the Grass Hut Academy are young people born and raised in New China.
To be honest, matters of death still feel relatively distant to them.
After seriously reviewing these materials, many started having second thoughts.
Old Huang also showed great understanding, clearly telling everyone present that the test is voluntary, not mandatory.
Eight members immediately said they didn't want to take part in this test and preferred to be bystanders.
Superpowers are great, but one must be alive to enjoy the beauty of life.
Staying safe and growing, waiting a few years for the superpower detection technology to mature with no risks, then coming to test would be ideal, wouldn't it?
President Huang Weiguo remained calm.
Superpowers, which aren't scientific, are more suited for the bold and the reckless.
Those now voluntarily withdrawing are ninety-nine percent unlikely to pass the test.
At this moment, workers in protective clothing had placed the mask in a special transparent tempered glass box.
"Alright."
After triple confirming all members had carefully reviewed the material, President Huang picked up the amplifier and said: "From now on, everyone, according to the tag you received, will start the test in order."
"The qualification standard is..."
"Withstanding for thirty seconds!"
Dong Huaiming was lucky, getting the number one tag.
Guided by a military sister, he sat on a heavy sandalwood chair two meters from the alien mask, concentrating intensely, his gaze shifting.
Ten seconds later.
Dong Huaiming's face turned pale, panting heavily and drenched in sweat, he was exhausted like a dog, sticking out his tongue with no dignity, collapsing onto the chair.
"I... I can't do it!"
It's terrifying!
At first glance, it didn't feel like much, but once focused on that bizarre mask, Dong Huaiming felt as if a pair of invisible hands from behind kept nudging him to put on the mask.
Can this work?
If he hadn't seen the materials and those gruesome photos, he might have gone along with it and put on the mask.
But knowing everything now, Xiao Ming would never choose to court death!
Using all his strength, he barely resisted that invisible force, actively diverting his gaze from the alien mask.
"Huff... Huff... This thing... is terrifying! Don't... be careless!"
Xiao Ming, after all, was a member who self-refined Inner Qi early on, and his physical energy was relatively good. After a few deep breaths, he even had the strength to warn his fellow comrades.
No one laughed at him.
Everyone was serious, feeling heavy, raising their vigilance once more.
"Members with the number two tag, please start the test."
The number two Grass Hut member held on for only seven seconds before sliding off the chair.
He lay on the ground as if all his bones were pulled out.
Then number three, four, five...
Up to number thirty-eight, none reached the minimum standard to successfully pass the test.
The best performance was actually by the first tester, Dong Huaiming.
Not a single other member lasted ten seconds.
Most of them performed like Wan Haihao, only holding on for five or six seconds before dashing toward the alien mask in the glass box in a daze.
But all of this was under control.
The members who lost their minds were almost immediately pinned down by the nearby vigilant military personnel as soon as they left their chairs, not even touching the glass box.
President Huang looked grim.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a tissue, taking out a small notebook and began to scribble rapidly: "Double protection is simply not enough!"
"Protective measures are inadequate!"
"Responsible for each member's safety..."
"In future superpower awakening qualification tests, the testers must wear full-body restraint suits, and the chairs must also be fully confined."