Chapter 2

The old-fashioned clock on the wall ticked forward, broadcasting the slow passage of time.

The first six hours were a breeze. People were even chatting, cracking jokes, and telling funny stories. Everyone had relaxed, joyful expressions.

But the following six hours hit human’s natural sleep biological clock. From 3:00 AM to 9:00 AM, sleepiness washed over us like a tide. The talking gradually died down. Those with weaker constitutions were already yawning non-stop. They were forcing themselves to hold on, knowing that completing the experiment meant an extra hundred thousand dollars.

And it was during this timeframe that the first batch of eliminated participants emerged.

Five people secretly fell asleep and were escorted out by the staff in black. Some tried to argue their way out of it, but the footage captured by the cameras left them speechless. Thinking back on it later, they were probably the luckiest group of people, because they escaped this horrifying experiment completely unharmed.

At 9:00 AM the next day, someone brought in food and water. After a night of bitter endurance, everyone’s face showed signs of exhaustion. I gradually began to understand the purpose of this experiment. It’s incredibly hard for humans to fight against their own instincts. When you’re hungry, you have to eat; when you’re tired, you have to sleep. Using money to apply pressure, these people were testing our limits in resisting our primal instincts.

“Do you know about the Black Room Experiment?” Just as I was drinking some water, the man sitting next to me inexplicably struck up a conversation.

“What?” I was a bit confused.

“I read about it in a banned book a while ago. It’s a long-circulating urban legend. In the 1940s, foreign scientists conducted an inhumane experiment. They had a sudden whim: they wanted to see what would happen if a person didn’t sleep for 30 consecutive days. They successfully recruited six death row inmates, using unconditional release as bait, promising them freedom if they could stay awake for a full month.

“Those scientists placed the inmates in a cramped, sealed room equipped with plenty of food, a toilet, books, and so on. Since closed-circuit television didn’t exist back then, all observations were done solely through microphones. The outside world couldn’t see what was happening inside, which is why it was called the Black Room Experiment. Additionally, to ensure the subjects wouldn’t sleep, the scientists secretly added stimulants to the ventilation system, creating a nerve gas that kept them in a hyperactive state.”

“And then?” My voice trembled slightly. I turned to look at the man beside me. He had a very ordinary appearance, but his eyes were sharp and intelligent, making him feel reliable.

“For the first few days, everything was fine. The five subjects were able to go completely without sleep, spending their time reading, chatting, and playing cards. They generally maintained an optimistic attitude towards the experiment and were excited about their imminent release. But starting on the fourth day, the topics of their conversations shifted to sadness and anger. They constantly talked about the horrors of war, their dissatisfaction with the world, past traumas, the helplessness of life, and so on. By the sixth day, a bizarre change occurred. The subjects stopped talking to each other altogether. Instead, they gathered around the microphones, muttering aimlessly.

“Facing this strange situation, the researchers suspected it might be related to excessive nerve gas. On the ninth day, one of the death row inmates suffered a mental breakdown. He began running frantically back and forth across the sealed room, letting out bloodcurdling screams as he ran. He ran like this for a full seven hours, until his vocal cords literally tore apart, rendering him unable to scream anymore, leaving him only capable of producing squeaking gasps. The chilling part was that the other subjects gave absolutely no reaction to their companion’s crazed behavior. Soon after, the madness began to spread, and the black room was filled with screams and howling.” The man toyed with the cap of his water bottle, narrating the wild legend in a low voice.

“What was the result of the experiment?” Cold sweat soaked my back.

“This bizarre situation lasted for about two days. Suddenly, at a random point in time, the sealed room fell dead silent. All the screaming and groaning were abruptly cut off. This terrifying silence lasted for one day, two days, three days… Until the fifteenth day, the scientists felt the situation had spiraled out of control, fearing the subjects might all be dead. They wondered how five people could be continuously silent for so long. However, readings from the oxygen consumption monitors indicated that the people in the black room were engaging in extremely intense physical activity.

“More and more scientists and high-ranking military officials arrived at the laboratory, all drawn by the subjects’ strange behavior. Finally, they couldn’t hold back anymore and decided to break the pre-established rule of not communicating with the subjects. They turned on the intercom and announced: ‘Technicians will now enter the laboratory for a microphone test. All subjects must move away from the exit and lie flat on the floor. Violators will be shot immediately. If everyone complies, we will release one of the subjects immediately.’ They waited quietly for a response, expecting their announcement to trigger a strong reaction in the sealed room. After a long wait, an impossibly cold and terrifying voice shattered their illusions with an incredibly horrific answer.”

“What was the answer?”

“‘We no longer need freedom. Do not come in, or we will kill you all!'”

“In the end… what happened to those people?” I stammered.

“Don’t drink too much water,” the man said, screwing the cap back on his bottle and tossing out a completely unrelated sentence, leaning back against the wall on his own.