Chapter 315: Risks and Opportunity
Previously, there was a total of 26 recruits, who had joined the training camp. But after the elimination that occurred during the combat assessment the previous day, only 21 recruits remained.
From the previous 26, recruit number 5, number 7, number 16, number 20 and number 23, they had all been eliminated.
So, after recruit number 1 to number 4 said out their decisions, it was the turn of recruit number 6 to do so. With a total of 3 people eliminated, previously holding a smaller number than her, Kate was the 14th person in line.
When it was her turn, she said, "I will proceed with the test."
When she said those words, she showed a determined expression, and her voice was firm, unlike a few that had decided to stay, yet their voices trembled as they spoke.
It was clear that they were either unsure about the decision that they had made, or they were afraid of what would happen during the test.
The way that Kate responded, and her demeanor as she spoke, made Peter nod slightly. And Kate could swear that Richard gazed her way slightly, before shifting his attention elsewhere.
Immediately after Kate was Lina. The two of them had joined the training camp on the same day, with Lina being recruit number 18, but this time, she was 15th in line.
Just like Kate, Lina also decided to stay. But from the way that she spoke, it was as if she was nonchalant about the dangers that had been mentioned by Peter.
This of course earned her a few gazes not only from the fellow recruits, but from some of the higher-ups.
Even Kate could not help but gaze at Lina, wondering, how could she be so carefree about this? Was she not worried about death?
Having interacted with each other for over a month now, of course, the two of them were quite familiar with each other. It was just that, while Kate had already revealed to Lina why she came here, Lina never said why she did so.
Even though she said that she was here because she was invited, and just wanted to have some fun, Kate would not believe that. At least, from a few conversations that she had listened in on, she knew that most of the people had joined here with a goal in mind.
How could it be possible that Lina only came here because she wanted to have fun? Therefore, Kate believed that Lina was holding back the reason.
Of course, Kate did not try pushing for an answer, as she thought, since Lina was not willing to reveal it, it was better not to be aggressive. At least, they currently could be considered as friends.
Instead of ruining this relationship, it would be better to maintain it. But of course, Kate reminded herself to be cautious about Lina.
While all of Lina’s actions were mostly to help Kate out, including during the time that they were confronted by Yvonne, Evan, Kate felt that she could not fully trust Lina.
At least, she had to maintain some vigilance against her, in case of anything. At least, for now, it was clear that Lina did not trust her fully, and neither did she.
Regardless, the rest of the recruits made their decisions known to everyone. Though, Kate wondered, why did Peter not just ask those who wanted to stay to raise their hands up, or move to one side, while the others did the opposite?
Despite her confusion, she did not voice them out. Instead, she listened as Peter begins speaking as soon as the final recruit made his decision.
"Okay, for those that have decided to stay, you can continue staying here. As for those that have decided to leave, go back to your dormitories, and you will be informed on what you are supposed to do next." Peter said, his voice stern.
Immediately after his voice fell, the recruits that had decided to leave immediately departed. And in just a while, from the initial 21 recruits, only 9 of them remained.
A total of 17 recruits were immediately eliminated, from the initial 26. It was only at this point that Kate finally began understanding why the number of members of Nexus never exceeded 50.
During the first assessment, there was a total of 26 recruits. But even before the second assessment began, only 9 remained.
And from what Peter had said, it was clear that there was a high probability of dying during the next assessment. Therefore, out of these 9 people, how many would remain in the end?
If this was how it really worked, then it was clear that the information that had been accessed by Michael was not completely accurate.
This made Kate a little worried. Could it be possible that most of the information that Michael had informed her was flawed?
Regardless, she had already made her decision. Since she had decided to join this organization, then she would go to the end. She was not willing to quit halfway.
"Now, for you who are remaining, since you have already made your decision, then you cannot change it. Even if you want to, you will be forced to undergo the next segment!" Peter then addressed the remaining recruits.
His words left every recruit stunned, wondering what kind of logic this was. How could they force them to do something? If they did not want to, could they not just be dismissed from the training camp?
But of course, while some of the recruits were thinking about this, quite a number of them, including Kate, thought differently. They had made the decision, already understanding that there was a risk.
Moreover, they had already been previously informed by Peter that once they made the decision, they could not change it. So, they had already expected something like this to happen.
But of course, it was inevitable that they would have some questions as well, but they kept silent, without much shift in their expressions.
Peter was silent for a moment, as though he wanted his words to sink into the minds of the recruits.
And a while after, he continued, "So, for the next segment of your assessment, you are going to be given a chance. It will be a chance for you to rise to a level beyond what you could have ever dreamed of.
But of course, this chance, it doesn’t come without its own risks. There is a not so low probability of death, with the probability being as high as 42%, and this is just an estimation.
Simply put, there is a probability that none of you will make it out alive. So, you should be prepared mentally.
On the other hand, if you succeed, you can gain greater benefits. I believe that you saw what Alex did the previous day. The strength and ability to jump that he demonstrated, I believe that you all know that it is unreasonable for a human to be capable of doing that.
But if you succeed, you can do that. But of course, it is not guaranteed that you will gain the same ability, as there is a probability that you can gain a different type of ability.
Still, I have to warn you, success does not guarantee that you will gain an overpowered ability. It implies that there is a probability that you can succeed, but the level of the ability that you would be able to gain would be quite low.
There is even a chance that the ability that you will gain will be completely useless. And at that point, you will unfortunately have to be dismissed from the organization.
But of course, you will be given compensation, and your future can be guaranteed to be carefree, as long as you ignore the side effects of what might have happened to you.
You will be giving a maximum of 1 hour to prepare yourselves, before heading to the infirmary building. Make sure that you are not late, or you will be punished for that.
You are all dismissed, you can go back to the dormitory, or you can loiter around the training camp, but make sure not to barge into the restricted areas!"
Immediately after he said those words, Peter turned around and gazed at Richard, who simply nodded, before he turned around and left.
The others in the group also left alongside Peter, leaving behind a group of dumbfounded recruits.
While Kate was wondering why all the others came alongside Peter, when it was only Peter who spoke, she had a small frown etched on her face.
"Hey, are you worried? If you are, why don’t you try to submit an appeal, and see if they can allow you to leave? At least, before the next segment of the assessment begins, maybe there is a chance for you to leave?" Lina suddenly spoke next to her ear in a teasing voice, bringing Kate back to her senses.
"Hmph! Do you take me for an idiot?" Kate snorted as she responded. Of course, she understood that Lina was just joking with her.
In any case, she had not really considered leaving. Instead, she was wondering, was there a chance, within this 1 hour, for her to be able to contact Michael?
At the moment, her phone had already been confiscated the moment that she entered the bus that was supposed to take them back to the recruit camp.
"Do you think there is a possibility that we can be allowed to make a call to someone now?" After looking around to make sure that nobody was close to them, Kate suddenly whispered to Lina.