Luo Yiyi was a newcomer in this exam period. She had been preparing for a long time, not to get into the top three squads, but just to secure a logistics position. She happened to know someone from the Investigation Corps, and after getting a recommendation letter, she began her preparations earnestly.

Her first attempt was a few months ago. Unfortunately, she was very close to the Happiness Cinema polluted zone when the pollution levels suddenly spiked. She passed out on the spot and ended up with terrible results.

After putting in so much effort, how could she just give up like that?

So, she signed up again. Last time, there was talk about a freakishly strong newcomer who got straight into the First Squad. There was no way another person like that would show up again this time, right? What were the odds of another genius appearing in the same exam as her?

This time, the exam had been going pretty smoothly. On the first and second floors, they had already taken down two slime-type pollutants and were now aiming to challenge higher floors.

Because it was two-person teams this time, the difficulty was lowered, which meant they needed more hauls to get a high ranking.

Luo Yiyi adjusted the heavy machine gun in her arms and turned to her teammate. "We're definitely going to pass this exam. I brought plenty of medicine and weapons."

Her teammate, a tall guy, glanced at her delicate and fragile-looking self. In the end, he chose not to say anything discouraging and just encouraged her, "Let's do it."

Ding! The elevator doors opened, and Luo Yiyi stepped out first.

All the residents of the complex had already moved out a long time ago. The place had been empty for a while, so as soon as she exited the elevator, she opened fire.

Ratatatatat!

The roar of the heavy machine gun echoed loudly in the empty space.

Luo Yiyi blinked, and when she got a clear view of the scene ahead, she flinched in shock.

A woman hanging from the ceiling was hit by the gunfire and was blasted away. Good thing she had shot first, otherwise that woman might have swallowed her whole. 

The woman was dressed in a red dress, stiff like a wax figure, with rigid joints and a straight, tense body.

"The pollutants here are actually humanoid?!" Luo Yiyi was surprised.

Her partner frowned beside her and checked the pollution value on his wristband. "Something feels off."

Luo Yiyi stepped closer and stared at the woman on the floor, her eyes still wide open in death. She felt a creeping fear. "Did we go to the wrong place? This place feels creepy…"

"Let's leave," her partner agreed. "I think we took a wrong turn too."

The pollution value on their wristbands reached a dangerously high number, posing a significant risk during an exam.

Even at the edge of a polluted zone outside, this would be considered abnormal.

Luo Yiyi was about to go back to the elevator, but her steps suddenly froze. Her face was filled with terror. "Y-you, behind you!"

A chill ran down her teammate's spine as he suddenly felt a rush of wind approaching.

He spun around and saw that the corner above the elevator was filled with black hair, like a web, churning and writhing. Something seemed to be struggling inside it, and cold sweat immediately poured out of him.

Bang! A gunshot.

The hair swallowed the bullet, then shot toward him.

He dodged to the side, but was still grazed, causing blood to gush out from the wound.

Then, the wound started to itch and sting. It felt like something was growing there, as if it wanted to crawl out.

He looked down at the injury on his arm and saw countless thin black threads squirming out like iron worms. They wriggled through the wound, swam in the blood, tugged at his muscles, and even poked out, swaying in the air.

Luo Yiyi turned pale when she saw it. “That… that looks like hair…”

Hair?!

The boy panicked and immediately pulled out a knife, trying to slice the flesh off. But he was too slow.

The strands of hair at the wound acted like blood with a mind of its own. They turned and burrowed deeper into his body. Black lines began to appear across his arm, marks left behind as the hair wriggled inside him.

The black lines spread through his arm and soon across his whole body. Luo Yiyi watched as the veins in his neck were replaced by those black threads. They quickly reached his cheeks, and then his lower eyelid.

Then—pop!—a few thin strands of hair poked out from his eye socket. They twisted together, flailed wildly, and stabbed straight into his eyeball, bursting it.

Luo Yiyi screamed.

The boy's limbs stiffened. His eyes turned pitch black as he reached toward her. "H-help me…"

It would have been better if he hadn't spoken. The moment he opened his mouth, it was packed full of black hair. His mouth, teeth, and throat were stuffed with an endless mess of strands.

It had already taken over from the inside, even when they couldn't see it.

Soon, he could no longer speak. The hair had completely taken over his body, turning him into a monster. Everything visible was consumed by black.

Then, the hair became unsatisfied and burst through his skin one strand at a time. It pushed through his pores, grew longer and started to tremble in the air.

It was like his entire skin had turned into scalp, sprouting shiny black hair from every surface.

He became a hair-being and his stiff limbs no longer moved on their own. It was the hair that slithered and dragged him forward like cilia on a single-celled organism. Her teammate had become a massive, horrifying single-celled creature.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye, causing Luo Yiyi's pupils to tremble.

Inside the mass of hair in the elevator, she saw a faint human figure. It looked like someone who had been taking the exam with them earlier.

So there really had been a person inside that hair.

Behind her, the woman in the red dress suddenly stood upright and grinned eerily. "Little sister, it's time for a haircut. Let me take you to see Mr. Tuo."

Luo Yiyi turned around in fear. A hair monster in front and a humanoid monster behind. What now?

—

Ruan Xing stopped in his tracks. "Gunshots."

Ming Rui tilted his head. "Heavy machine gun. Looks like other candidates are trapped too."

Fu Gui: [Should we go?]

Just as Fu Gui finished speaking, a scream rang out. It was a young girl's voice coming from the floor below, by the elevator.

Ruan Xing quickened his pace. "Let's go."

Fu Gui flapped his wings. [I want to be the hero that saves the beauty!]

They opened the emergency stairwell door and were met with an endless sea of black hair. Not far away, two male candidates were already entangled, and a girl was being suspended in the air, wrapped by a pollutant in a red dress. The woman dragged a long, sharp nail across the girl's cheek and poked at her scalp.

The girl trembled violently. She could feel her hair being slowly pulled tight. Then, a strong force yanked her backward. Luo Yiyi's head was thrown back, exposing her fragile neck.

"I can't help it anymore. I am going to peel your scalp right here," the red-dressed woman whispered.

Luo Yiyi was terrified. If this went on, her neck would snap before her hair even fell out!

Shhhk! A cold glint flashed, and Luo Yiyi suddenly felt the tension in her scalp vanish.

She fell hard to the ground along with a cascade of broken black hair.

Luo Yiyi used to have long hair, but now it has been cut to just above her shoulders.

"Ow!" Her backside felt like it had been shattered on impact. Startled, she looked at the scene before her.

Two black arrows had already shot through the sea of hair, corroding it and exposing a gaping hole beneath, revealing a candidate who had completely transformed into a hair monster.

She heard a crow caw and turned to see a long-haired youth, wearing a loose T-shirt and carrying no equipment. He stepped into the scene and looked completely out of place.

Unless you counted the plastic bag in his hand as equipment.

The crow perched on his shoulder and locked eyes with her. Its beady green eyes were oddly expressive.

"Th-thank you," Luo Yiyi said politely, then looked past the youth. She recognized the other candidate, and he still had his teammate slung over his back.

The young man raised a finger, and black arrows appeared out of thin air, shooting toward the long-haired woman.

She screamed and tried to wrap herself in her hair for protection. But the arrows seemed to be made of something unnatural and tore through everything. Black mist spread over the woman's pale face.

"Over here!" the boy called to her.

Luo Yiyi looked around, confirmed it was safe, and quickly ran over. "You're a candidate too? Then who is he?"

Ming Rui replied, "I don't know him either. But he can get us out of here. We're trapped in a polluted zone right now. It's hard to escape on our own."

Luo Yiyi's teeth chattered. "We're in a polluted zone? That explains it!"

She looked toward the fight. The young man had already forced the red-dressed woman into a corner. That thing was trembling, though she guessed it was more like the hair was shaking.

He didn't hold back, and soon, an arrow pierced straight through the woman's head. The surrounding black hair ignited without fire, turning into floating black ash. The air became thick with the smell of burnt protein.

As the black flakes slowly drifted down, the young man stood calmly among the dark "snowflakes," completely at ease.

"A-amazing…" Luo Yiyi's eyes widened. She'd never seen anyone handle a pollutant that easily.

And this was a polluted zone!

"Excuse me, are you with the Investigation Corps?" she asked while they were heading downstairs together.

The young man, walking in front, replied, "No."

Luo Yiyi was a little disappointed but also stunned. If someone not in the Investigation Corps was this powerful, then how strong were the actual members?

Ming Rui had the same thought. As they stared at the youth's back, both of their eyes gleamed.

Ruan Xing had a headache. The number of people following him was growing. Did he have to keep rescuing candidates and end up with a whole train of them tagging along?

Fu Gui: [Sexy senior carries you through the exam! Only 998! Just 998 to bring home a job qualification!]

But Fu Gui's business didn't take off. And Ruan Xing's worry turned out to be unnecessary because they didn't encounter any more candidates on the way.

—

They reached the first floor, which was the commercial level of the complex. This was usually the most profitable area. But in this complex, the stores were located inside the gated community, only serving residents. Business was probably not great. Otherwise, Ruan Xing wouldn't have seen so many "For Rent" signs.

Fu Gui: [Lemme see… Got it! Golden Scissors Hair Salon!]

Actually, Ruan Xing already noticed something strange.

The once-empty ground floor was now filled with a long line. It looked like the entire community had shown up to get haircuts. It was a black, dense crowd.

Everyone in line had their backs to them. Regardless of age or gender, they all had long, straight, jet-black hair. Shiny and healthy-looking.

And now, those heads of hair, still facing away, slowly began to form faces… smiling at them.

 

 

Authors Note:

This bald author drooled with envy.