When the middle-aged man heard this, the corners of his mouth drooped slightly, but he quickly put on a smile and said, “Let me introduce myself first.” 

Song Qingxiao was still on edge due to being in an unfamiliar environment, and she hadn’t relaxed her guard regarding her entry into this mysterious space. 

Her upbringing and the life-and-death experience she had just gone through made her very sensitive to subtle expressions in others. She noticed that the middle-aged man with glasses had a somewhat disdainful and unfriendly attitude towards the burly man, mixed with a hint of fear. 

“I’m Zhou Jing, and I work at the Municipal Center in Dongji Province. I have many years of work experience,” the middle-aged man said confidently. He was well-dressed and had a refined appearance, fitting the image of someone working at a municipal center. After he finished speaking, many people looked at him with less suspicion. 

In this unfamiliar environment, where no one knew each other and everyone was on guard, at least having a government employee among them provided some comfort. 

Even the fierce burly man, upon hearing Zhou Jing’s introduction, became somewhat less hostile. 

Zhou Jing felt emboldened by the effect his identity had on everyone, and when he suggested that they all sit in a circle again, people were less resistant to his words this time. 

Song Qingxiao’s body was still not entirely under her control, and her hands were still trembling. Her appearance had already attracted a lot of attention. She had arrived last and was drenched and covered in bloodstains. Consequently, people were more visibly repulsed and wary of her. 

With some effort, she moved closer and sat down. Zhou Jing spoke again, “Let’s start by sharing our backgrounds and how we came here. After all, this place is quite strange.” There were no doors or windows, and aside from the nine people present, there was no other sound. 

“I’ve tried,” Zhou Jing continued, and the young male doctor in the white robe took his hands out of his pockets, holding a new-generation smartphone in his palm. “There’s no signal here. We can’t make calls with our phones.” 

As soon as he finished speaking, panic appeared on the faces of everyone present. 

In this day and age, with advanced technology and global satellite coverage for network signals, not having a signal on their phones was a serious problem. 

People immediately became agitated, with many belatedly checking their phones. The woman in the red dress who had entered the space without a phone bag looked to the young man next to her, who had a backpack, and watched as he took out his phone, fiddled with it for a while, and finally raised his head in disappointment, shaking it. 

“My phone has no signal either,” he said. 

After those with phones checked and confirmed that their phones had no signal, Zhou Jing put down his phone. “I suspect we might have been kidnapped by criminals, and these criminals had already taken certain measures to cut off the signal before the abduction.” 

His words triggered panic in several people present, but Song Qingxiao felt that something was amiss. 

Leaving aside the mysterious voice that had sounded in her mind, the method by which she had entered this space was beyond the scope of scientific explanation. Kidnappers couldn’t have executed something that would transport someone from the alley where she had been returning home to this place without her realizing it. 

Just as this thought was forming in her mind, someone quickly raised a question. “Impossible,” the male doctor who had earlier mentioned losing his phone signal said with a serious expression. “I was at work when I suddenly arrived in this place. If it was a man-made abduction, no one has the ability to do this!” 

When Zhou Jing heard someone objecting, it seemed like a challenge to his authority, and he became somewhat impatient. “There’s nothing that’s impossible,” he said, standing up straight. “Judging by your attire, you should be a doctor, and you should have some knowledge of drugs. If the criminals used hallucinogens to make you lose consciousness in a very short time and then moved you to this prepared location, your brain and eyes, affected by the drugs, could create hallucinations of you being in this place while you were still awake.” 

Zhou Jing spoke with certainty, his voice low and powerful, and his body language emphasized his emotions. Many people were influenced by him and appeared to agree with his speculation. 

Impossible! Song Qingxiao lowered her head, and when she heard those words, she pressed her lips tightly together. 

From an emotional standpoint, she was willing to believe what Zhou Jing was saying. However, from a rational perspective, she couldn’t agree with it. 

Before entering this mysterious “God’s Trial Space,” she had been killed by a stranger and, at the moment of her death, had chosen to enter this trial. She had then found herself resurrected, with her wounds disappearing. This situation didn’t feel entirely real; it was dream-like. However, the bloodstains on her body and the mud between her fingers were proof that her previous ordeal hadn’t been an illusion. 

Furthermore, based on the information she had gathered so far, Zhou Jing was from Dongji Province, while she herself was from the Imperial Capital’s West Street. This indicated that the nine people, including herself, might have come from different regions of the empire. 

Even more daringly, looking at her hair and uniform, which had been soaked by the rain, it was clear that the people here not only came from different locations but likely also had different ages and genders. Their arrival points and environments were not consistent either. 

After entering the space, from the moment Zhou Jing spoke to when the doctor discovered the loss of cellphone signals, not much time had passed. So, before that, no one had paid attention to the signal issue. 

Taking all of these factors into account, Song Qingxiao boldly speculated that no one could gather people of different times, places, environments, ages, and genders at roughly the same time, even with prior preparation, unless the other party was a god! 

She once again thought of the voice that had echoed in her mind, “Are you willing to enter God’s Trial?” and shivered. 

“Impossible!” 

The doctor once again refuted Zhou Jing’s words, this time with a more serious tone. He repeatedly challenged Zhou Jing, which made Zhou Jing somewhat displeased. Especially when everyone around was agreeing with his speculation, the doctor’s repeated objections put Zhou Jing in a bad mood, and he raised his voice. 

“Why do you say that?” 

The atmosphere on the scene became a bit tense, and everyone exchanged glances. In this situation, no one dared to speak rashly. The gazes of the people shifted between the doctor and Zhou Jing, as if they were looking for a leader. 

The doctor glanced at Zhou Jing, who seemed agitated, then put his smartphone back into his white doctor’s coat pocket. He raised his wrist, revealing a wristwatch. 

“Because cellphone signals can be intentionally disrupted, but I’ve found that my wristwatch has also stopped working.” He sighed and tilted his wrist so that everyone could see more clearly. Song Qingxiao also lifted her head and saw that the watch’s hands were spinning out of control. 

“This should be due to the influence of a magnetic field. I suspect that we are currently in a mysterious space.” The doctor’s words immediately caused panic among everyone. For some reason, when Song Qingxiao heard this, it felt like it was confirming her long-standing suspicion. Her body, which had been tense all along, unexpectedly relaxed a bit.