A series of green patterns appeared on the display screen, and a few seconds later, a voice from the display announced, "Fingerprint verification successful."

The calm surface of the lake suddenly rippled, waves surging as a small submersible ghosted up from beneath the water.

George Hill moved in a flash, soaring through the air like a great bird, crossing more than ten zhang over the lake, and landing lightly atop the submersible at the center of the lake.

"Jump over yourself."

George Hill looked coldly at Ethan Brooks, who stood by the lakeshore, and said, "This is the first test that every trainee must pass."

Ethan Brooks hesitated as he looked at the wide expanse of water. Such a distance—crossing it by sheer human power seemed utterly impossible. He hadn't expected that the chief instructor of this base, George Hill, would actually be a human with superhuman abilities.

"Hurry up and jump."

George Hill urged expressionlessly.

Ethan Brooks frowned slightly, then suddenly pushed off with his toes. A strange heat surged up from beneath his feet, piercing into his core, and his body leapt up high involuntarily, heading toward the submersible in the center of the lake.

Wind howled past his ears as Ethan Brooks leapt nearly twenty zhang in a single bound, instantly overshooting the submersible. Just as he was about to fall into the lake, his body paused in midair, his waist twisted, and he flipped backward, landing precisely on the submersible with both feet.

The entire sequence of movements seemed like a performance, as smooth and natural as flowing water.

A hint of surprise appeared on George Hill's face. "You're Chinese—have you studied martial arts?"

"I know nothing about martial arts."

Ethan Brooks shook his head, feeling a bit puzzled himself. "It seemed to be instinct."

George Hill said nothing more. He lifted the glass cover of the submersible and led Ethan Brooks inside. With a slight vibration, the submersible broke through the lake's surface and began to sink slowly.

Ethan Brooks looked back once more, but the display screen by the lakeshore had already quietly disappeared into the stone stele.

Chapter Five: Virtual World

The scene beneath the lake was even stranger. Looking out through the glass cover, there were no living creatures in the emerald water, only crisscrossing blue beams of light weaving a tight net.

A peculiar sense of warning arose in Ethan Brooks's mind. Instinctively, he felt that these beautiful, dazzling blue beams were filled with deadly danger.

The submersible deftly navigated through the light net, heading toward the bottom of the lake.

"During training, no trainee is allowed to leave here without permission. Otherwise, if you touch the high-voltage electric net set up in the lake, you bear the consequences yourself."

George Hill said coolly.

Ethan Brooks asked curiously, "Are there other trainees being trained here as well?"

George Hill nodded, pulled the control lever, and a conical spiral drill suddenly extended from the front of the submersible. The submersible changed direction, rapidly accelerated, and charged forcefully toward the lakebed.

With a rumble, mud and stones at the bottom of the lake scattered in all directions as the submersible drilled downward. At first, it was pitch black ahead, but after about a hundred meters, it suddenly opened up, the light brightened, and a long, cylindrical tunnel appeared to the right.

The submersible entered the tunnel, gliding for several kilometers before coming to a slow stop in front of a tightly closed metal door.

George Hill lifted the glass cover above his head. "We've arrived at the base."

Ethan Brooks stepped out of the submersible, curiously observing his surroundings. The tunnel walls were embedded with honeycomb-like dense firing ports, clearly some kind of powerful weapon system.

"George Hill."

Standing before the metal door, George Hill called out in a deep voice.

"Voiceprint verified. Please enter."

Lights flickered along the ceiling of the tunnel, and a mechanical voice sounded as the tightly closed metal door opened automatically.

A novel world unfolded before Ethan Brooks's eyes.

It was like a vast labyrinth—passageways of all sizes crisscrossed the entire space above, ahead, and below, as dense as a spiderweb, dazzling to behold.

Countless small mechanical vehicles darted through the passageways like fish. One vehicle quickly pulled up in front of the two, and the driver stood up and saluted George Hill, saying, "Greetings, sir."

George Hill returned the salute. "Take us to the assessment hall."

The vehicle carried the two of them, sometimes darting up high bridgeways, sometimes twisting left and right into tunnels. After more than half an hour, they arrived before a silvery, crescent-shaped door.

"All the trainees have arrived. Notify the others—the training begins now."

After instructing the driver, George Hill led Ethan Brooks inside.

The room was extremely spacious, covering several hundred square meters, and was arranged like a fantastical palace. Statues of legendary mythological figures stood all around in marble, the walls were hung with bizarre masks and animal heads, and a giant pentagram-shaped fountain sat in the center of the hall, its milky water shrouded in mist, the pool walls covered in strange symbols.

A few minutes later, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside.

A tall, athletic blonde woman entered first, eyeing Ethan Brooks curiously, her emerald eyes sparkling.

"Trainee Linda reporting in."