( sorry for the late update guys, something came up and I’ve been very busy ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ)

so here it is, enjoy reading!! ✨

Chapter 8

The broadcast was loud and clear, spreading the announcement throughout every corner of the hotel.

Everyone was shock whether they are in dining restaurant or resting in their rooms.

“A bomb in the hotel? Is it a terrorist attack?”

“Oh my god! I’ve never even seen a real gun before. And now, just staying at a hotel, I’m this close to a bomb.”

“Is this a drill? Or is there really a bomb?”

“Stop talking and run!!”

The hotel descended into chaos.

People leave their meals and ran out.

Someone was taking a shower, heard the broadcast, quickly dried off, threw on their pajamas, wrapped themselves in a blanket, and ran out.

Another person opened their door, grabbed a hotel staff member nearby, and asked while yawning, “What’s going on? It’s so noisy outside, I thought an army was attacking.”

Of course, they were joking.

There used to be many countries in the world, but after wars broke out, one would fight another, the winners continued fighting, and the losers were absorbed, until only the final victor—the Federation—remained.

Although there were occasional terrorist attacks within the Federation, he had only ever read about them in the news, never experienced one himself. So, he thought the hotel was conducting a realistic drill and wondered why there hadn’t been any notice a day earlier.

“It’s real! We received a call from the police and are arranging for guests to evacuate quickly,” said the staff member, flipping their wrist to break free. “Please leave as soon as possible.”

Before the guest could react, the staff member was knocking on room doors one by one.

At the same time, someone with a megaphone announced repeatedly, even louder than the broadcast, “There is a bomb in the hotel, it could explode at any time, please evacuate immediately. This is not a drill!!”

“Shit!” The guest was stunned. Not caring that he was only wearing shorts, he immediately headed for the emergency exit.

When he got there, he saw many people running down. He quickly joined the crowd to escape.

As he ran, he thought, “Isn’t our country gun-free? How could an ordinary person get a bomb?”

Someone next to him said, “Maybe it’s a homemade bomb.”

That made sense, and the guest was left speechless.

The thin guy next to him was running fast and light, still having the energy to talk, “Stop thinking about it and just run! The police will figure out the truth.”

The guest realized he was right and kept quiet.

Three minutes passed.

A group of people successfully reached the open ground.

They gasped for breath, feeling relieved that they were safe.

“Manager, besides the broadcast, each floor has staff with megaphones knocking on doors,” the front desk reported the latest progress. “Some room doors couldn’t be opened, maybe the guests had left and weren’t in their rooms.”

“Since everyone has been notified,” the manager spoke quickly, “the staff should start evacuating!”

With that, he led the way out.

More and more people gathered in the open space.

They formed small groups, sharing their relief at surviving the ordeal.

Yun Xin scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar face.

Before long, she heard a familiar voice from a distance.

“That was terrifying! The boss is stingy, cutting corners is bad enough, but someone actually planted a bomb in the hotel! What kind of grudge…

“What grudge?”

“Luckily we ran fast…”

“No, we should say it’s lucky the boss is on a business trip. If he were here and got the police notification, his first reaction might be to make all the employees stay and protect his property with their lives.”

Everyone had a “that’s crazy” look on their faces.

But then they thought, the boss might actually do something like that.

So they all felt fortunate, “It’s good he’s not here, and the manager isn’t here either…”

Yun Xin stood and gazed into the distance. Once she confirmed that her apprentices were safe, every single one of them having escaped, she smiled with relief and turned to leave without saying a word.

Her principle was always to extend a helping hand to those who needed and deserved help. Whether or not they chose to grasp it was their decision.

Yet, there were always some people who made her want to reach out a second, third time.

Eight minutes after calling the police, Tong Jia still hadn’t calmed down. After all, as a good citizen, she had never done anything as thrilling as making a false report before.

Noticing Yun Xin returning to her side, she said quietly, “I’ve been thinking, and I feel like I might have been set up.”

“Survived a traffic accident by luck, narrowly escaping death, and gained a sixth sense.”

“Wang Ze was bitten by a stray cat, confirming the sixth sense was correct.”

“All of it seems like a setup, just to make me step up and do whatever it takes to prevent something bad from happening when I sensed the hotel was in danger.”

Yun Xin said softly, “You didn’t have to do it, but you did.”

“Yeah, this damn conscience.” Tong Jia smiled self-deprecatingly. “Before this, I didn’t even know I was such a conscientious person.”

As they talked, the sound of police sirens blared.

Moments later, police cars arrived, and officers got out.

“What’s done is done; there’s no turning back.”

Tong Jia took a deep breath, raised her hands high, and walked over with a tragic resolve, voluntarily confessing, “Officers, I made a false report! I’m guilty, I’m turning myself in, I admit my mistake!!”

The police were momentarily stunned.

Then they quickly reacted, aiming their guns and shouting, “Stop! Crouch down! Hands on your head!”

Tong Jia complied immediately.

Those who had barely escaped and were now watching from a distance were bewildered by this confession. “??? What’s going on?” they wondered in confusion.

A female officer, after ensuring Tong Jia wasn’t carrying any weapons or bombs, swiftly handcuffed her.

The captain asked, “What’s going on?”

The female officer, equally puzzled, replied, “She says she just made a false report.”

But the whole situation felt inexplicably odd. For instance—

Why did this person intentionally make a false report?

Why did she use her own phone to call, not concealing her identity at all?

Why didn’t she run when she saw the police but instead voluntarily turned herself in?

Before they could figure it out, a loud “boom” erupted as the six-story New World Hotel began to collapse.

The sound startled Tong Jia, making her heart race. Yet she forced herself to be  negligent internally scoffing—it’s not much different from a block castle collapsing. Just bigger, dustier, and louder…

In the end, Tong Jia trembled so violently that she couldn’t fool herself anymore. She finally admitted: it really was terrifying.

Tong Jia had a premonition and was somewhat mentally prepared, but the others had none.

People watched in shock as the hotel collapsed, their bodies shaking and their voices quivering, “It collapsed, it really collapsed…”

“Oh my god!”

“From start to finish, it took less than 60 seconds! If anyone was still inside, how could they have escaped?”

“They couldn’t, there’s no way. What can you do in that time? Jump out the window?”

As a matter of fact, some people did try to jump out of windows as the building collapsed. However, the building fell faster than they could jump, and they ended up buried. From the rubble, faint cries of pain could still be heard.

“You said you just made a false report and did nothing else?” the female officer angrily questioned.

Tong Jia loudly protested her innocence, “That’s because the boss cut corners when building! I’m a hotel staff member. I saw cracks in the pillars, and the boss refused to repair them. So I made the false report to get the customers out first. If it weren’t for me, everyone would be buried under the rubble right now!!”

The female officer and the captain exchanged a look.

The captain signaled, “Keep an eye on her, don’t let her run. The rest of you, focus on the rescue.”

As soon as the captain finished speaking, the police team sprang into action, methodically beginning the rescue operation.

At that moment, a transparent panel appeared in front of Tong Jia.

“`

【Welcome to the Evolution Game.】

【Congratulations, player, on surviving in instance 113680—”Hotel Collapse Incident”.】

【Because you saved seventy-eight humans, your evaluation is “S”, and you are awarded attribute points: Strength +0.3, Agility +0.3, Constitution +0.3, Spirit +0.3.】

【Note 1: To learn about the existence of the Evolution Game, a player must achieve an evaluation of at least “A” in one instance.】

【Note 2: An evaluation of “B” or below only grants attribute points without revealing the existence of the Evolution Game.】

【Note 3: Standard attribute values for an adult female: Strength 0.5, Agility 0.5, Constitution 0.5, Spirit 0.8. Special abilities are unlocked when any attribute exceeds 3, 6, or 9.】

【Note 4: You must not reveal the existence of the Evolution Game to non-players or players without an “A” evaluation. Violations will result in unknown severe consequences.】

【Your current attributes are: Strength: 0.8, Agility: 0.9, Constitution: 0.8, Spirit: 2.7.】

【Due to the emotional shock of witnessing the hotel collapse, your potential was stimulated: Strength +0.1, Spirit +0.5.】

【After updating, your current attributes are: Strength: 0.9, Agility: 0.9, Constitution: 0.8, Spirit: 3.2.】

【Surpassing 3 in any attribute grants a special ability.】

【Congratulations, player, you have gained the superpower “Insight”.】

【Insight: Concealment, lies, and deception—nothing can escape your ability to perceive the truth behind events.】

“`

Reading these lines, Tong Jia was stunned.

At this moment, only one thought filled her mind: If the content on this panel is true, this planet might be too dangerous to live on.

At the same time, a panel appeared before Yun Xin:

“`

【Congratulations, player, on surviving instance 113680—”Hotel Collapse Incident”.】

【Because you promptly informed someone, directly saving one human (Tong Jia) and indirectly saving seventy-eight humans, your evaluation is “A”, and you are awarded attribute points: Strength +0.2, Agility +0.2, Constitution +0.2, Spirit +0.2.】

“`

Since there were victims buried under the rubble, the rescue team couldn’t use heavy machinery to dig directly and had to clear the debris bit by bit.

The rescue operation lasted for three days before it finally concluded. According to statistics, 26 people died, and 7 were injured. 

Some victims had slept through the broadcast, others were trapped in fully loaded elevators and couldn’t escape in time, and some were injured jumping from windows—each had their own unfortunate fate.

On the other hand, Tong Jia’s false alarm claiming there was a bomb in the hotel had prompted most people to evacuate in time, greatly reducing the burden on the police rescue operation.

However, until the investigation was complete, Tong Jia was temporarily detained. The police needed time to determine whether she was a civilian hero who lied to save lives or the primary culprit responsible for the accident.

A week later, the investigation results were released.

The hotel collapsed because the owner, trying to save money, hired an unqualified draftsman to design it. Since the draftsman was not a professional structural engineer, he miscalculated the weight that the columns and walls could support. The building couldn’t bear its own weight and collapsed.

As for the bomb, it was purely a fabrication. The police searched the rubble multiple times and found no bomb fragments.

“So, Tong Jia is innocent?” the female officer asked in surprise.

“It seems so. But there are some things in this report that don’t add up,” the captain said, perplexed. “How did she know the building would collapse?”