"What the heck are you talking about! I have no brother, and I would never kill anyone!" Long Chen said though he kept his voice down as there were so many people nearby.
"Ahahah, think of it like that then. Anyway, I have your little girl with me. She's sleeping comfortably, but if you don't do one thing for me, she might fall asleep forever, and I would slit her throat," the person on the other side said.
"What crude joke is this! Stop it immediately and give the phone to her before I call the police!" Long Chen bellowed. He didn't control his voice this time, and everyone heard his voice.
"Yo, kid! Can you stop screaming? We are trying to have a conversation here!" said the girl that was sitting on a nearby table, but Long Chen ignored her as he focused on the call because the other person was saying something.
"I'm not joking, and you can try going to whoever you want, but if you don't do as I saw in 20 minutes, then your friend will die, "
"What do you want me to do?" Long Chen asked.
"Nothing much. I just need you to come to the red tent that you see straight ahead. I'm waiting for you inside with your girl. If you delay or bring anyone else, she will die," the man replied.
"I'm coming. Don't do anything to her," Long Chen said as he started walking towards the red tent. He left the ice cream on the table.
It took Long Chen only a short instant to get to the tent, but as soon as he entered, his eyes opened wide in shock.
He saw two chairs present there, and two girls were sitting in the chairs. There was a bomb tied to both the girls.
One of the girls was Su Min, whereas the other girl was someone Long Chen didn't know, but he felt like she was someone he knew really well.
The second girl was Mingyu that he didn't recognize at the moment.
"Welcome little brother," A boy came out of the shadows. The boy had long black hair, and he looked to be 20 years old.
"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" Long Chen asked the boy.
"Hmm? Did you forget me, little brother? I'm Long Su, and don't worry, I won't let you forget the name," Long Su said to Long Chen.
"Are you a terrorist? Why are there bombs on them? What do you want from me?" Long Chen asked questions one after another.
"Of course, I called you out to play a game. It's to test your morals. On one side is your classmate and the girl you like and on the other side is a complete stranger. You can only save one person,"
"Both their bombs are connected. The bombs can be diffused by removing the red wire on it, but as soon as you remove the wire of one bomb, the other bomb will explode, killing the other person. If you moved the chairs or if you removed the wires of both the bombs, then instead of being diffused, they will all blast,"
"Also, if you don't do anything, then in 5 minutes, both the bombs will blast. The decision is yours. Which girl do you want to save? Although the decision is simple, I'm quite curious if you will go with the usual option or not," Long Su said as he started laughing.
"You bastard! Stop playing and stop both the bombs!" Long Chen stepped towards Long Su and caught his collars as he commanded him.
"Little brother, I can't do anything even if I want. The bombs are already set, and they don't have a remote. It all depends on you now. Which one to save and which one to let die. Do it fast, only 4 minutes are left," Long Su said as he started laughing like mad.
Long Chen released him as he ran to the girls. Both the girls were unconscious.
"Sorry, Miss, but I can only save her," Long Chen muttered as he looked at Mingyu before he walked to Su Min.
He got down to his knees and found the red wire on the bomb.
Long Chen caught the wire, and he got ready to remove it, but no matter what he tried, he wasn't able to move his hand. It was as if his body didn't want to remove the wire.
Long Chen had a feeling that if he did it, he would regret it. He felt like it was wrong, and it was not something he wanted to do.
He glanced at Su Min and knew that he loved her. That was what his brain was telling him, but when he looked back at Mingyu and felt a sense of happiness coming from his heart. It had suddenly become a fight between the heart and brain.
His brain was telling him to save Su Min whereas his heart was telling him to save the girl that was stranger yet familiar
In this confusion, three more minutes passed away.
"Only 1 minute remaining," Long Su said.
"Fuck it,"
Long Chen stood up and ran towards Mingyu and removed the red wire from her bomb.
"Congratulations. You passed the test," Long Su laughed out loud as he said.
"A love that can be forgotten but not forgotten at the same time. A love that can make its way in your heart even with all the darkness residing there. A love that can make you choose a stranger that you do not even remember. You have passed the trial of love. Remember, boy, there can be darkness in the works, but when you let it consume your heart entirely, that's when you've really succumbed to it," Long Su said before he disappeared.
Long Chen found himself back in the real world. He was standing on the Stair of Heaven.
He took the final step and got on top of it.
He looked down and saw that Dai Hu and Chu Miao were still in their test. While Dai Hu was facing the trial of the 4th step, Chu Miao was facing the trial of the 6th step.
There are also the disciples of the other sect there. A few of them passed the test, whereas some of them failed the test and disappeared forever as if they were destroyed by the Stairs of Heaven.
Amongst the five disciples that had gone to Mu Zheng's team, three were dead, whereas only two succeeded. Su Zhen and Mu Zheng also passed the test, although both of them faced the test of the lower step.
After half an hour, Chu Miao passed the test as well, and after another 20 minutes, it was Dai Hu.
Most of the people had reached the top of the test, and the remaining were dead. Almost all the teams lost members except two teams. All the Members of the True Dao Sect and the Heavenly Slaughter Sect had passed the test.
The teams started advancing deeper into the sect.
"What test did you face?" Chu Miao asked Long Chen as she walked behind him.
"I think it was called the test of love. I had to save a girl," Long Chen replied.
"What about you two?" He asked her.
"Mine was a test of courage. I was getting arranged married, and I had to gather courage and voice my opinion against my father. The fake memories were so real. I still can't believe that I passed the test," Chu Miao chuckled as she said.
"What about you?" Long Chen asked Dai Hu.
"Mine was also called the test of courage. I was a Prince, and our kingdom was under attack. It was a supreme sect that was attacking us. I had to be courageous and go out to fight even when I knew that it would result in my death. There was also an escape path there, but now that I think about it, I would have failed if I had escaped," Dai Hu replied.