When the first ray of dawn pierced the sky, gentle sunlight once again bathed the earth, bringing with it a brand new day.
Xina slowly opened her eyes. With just a flick of her finger toward the curtains, two ice-blue hooks materialized out of thin air, gently pulling the drapes to either side.
Outside the window, birds hopped up and down among the branches, chirping and chattering noisily.
Xina sat up straight in bed. After a brief moment to collect herself, she rose and walked to the window.
Opening the window, the fresh air unique to early morning rushed in to greet her.
"I'll spare your lives." Xina raised her right hand, aiming it at those noise-makers disrupting her dreams. After holding it in the air for a moment, she silently lowered it again.
Knock knock knock...
"Xina, are you up?"
A knock sounded at the door. Xina turned and walked over to open it, immediately spotting Mei in an apron: "Oh, it's you, Mei! You're up so early..."
"Early to bed, early to rise makes a person healthy!" Mei smiled. "How did you sleep last night?"
Aside from that unscrupulous boss constantly urging me to hurry up and work, pretty well.
Wanting to cry but having no tears, Xina scratched her head and gave an awkward smile: "Thanks for asking, I slept great last night... Slept like a log."
Mei gave a faint smile upon hearing this: "That's good. After breakfast, Teacher Himeko will take you for your Entrance Exam. Make sure to do your best!"
"Okay, got it. Thanks."
Thinking about that exam—where she had to hold back without being underwhelming, stay low-key yet still look impressive—Xina silently let her Herrscher face fall as she probed sideways: "By the way, Mei, you must have taken that test too, right? Can you give me any hints about what's in it?"
"The test content, huh..." Mei seemed surprised that Xina was so direct in asking for advice. She seriously began recalling the various situations she'd encountered during her own test, intending to summarize them for Xina.
"Usually, this kind of test takes place in a dedicated Testing Ground. The testing ground is inside a special barrier space constructed from Honkai energy. No matter how severe the injuries you sustain during the test, your body will recover to its pre-test state once you leave."
"Most importantly, the testing ground can construct Honkai Beasts and Death Stalkers that have appeared in reality. Although they're all virtual modules, they're simulated using combat data from those actual Honkai Beasts, so their strength isn't too far off from the real thing."
"For example, when I took the assessment, my opponent was a simulated Honkai Beast. But... I remember you don't have any foundation, right? If that's the case, I suggest you start by challenging Death Stalkers!"
Fighting simulated Honkai Beasts and Death Stalkers, huh?
Doesn't seem too hard. As long as I hold back properly, I can definitely bluff my way through!
At this thought, a barely perceptible hint of delight flickered across Xina's face. She nodded at Mei and smiled: "That's really helpful. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome. I'll go wake Kiana and Bronya now. Those two must have stayed up late gaming together again if they're not up yet... You can head downstairs for breakfast after you wash up."
By the time Xina had freshened up and walked out of her room, Himeko and Fu Hua were already seated at the dining table, having started their meal. Seeing Xina come downstairs, Himeko raised her hand and waved: "Dig in, new classmate! After we eat, it's off to the Entrance Exam!"
"Okay." Xina took a seat beside Himeko and silently focused on eating, fueling up for her future good figure.
After the group finished breakfast, Kiana and Bronya—who had nearly pulled an all-nighter—finally stumbled downstairs, bleary-eyed, driven along by Mei.
Honestly, seeing those two with their eyes barely open, Xina was genuinely worried they might trip and tumble down the stairs.
Since they were heading in different directions, Himeko and Xina set off first, making their way to the Testing Ground—renowned as the nightmare of underachievers.
On the way, Xina looked down at her empty hands and realized a very serious problem: she couldn't exactly just point her fingers like a little gun and go pew pew pew at the targets during the test!
Not that it was impossible, but... at least it shouldn't be done.
"Teacher Himeko, do we have to test empty-handed?" Xina probed quietly.
"No. If you need one, you can use a weapon for the test... Actually, since we still have time, I'll take you to the standard armory first to pick something that suits you. You can swap for better weapons later once you pass higher-level assessments."
Himeko considered for a moment, then led Xina in another direction.
Himeko guided Xina through a research and development area bustling with scientists coming and going, finally arriving before an unadorned silver-gray metal door.
Xina touched the door with her hand and immediately formed a basic judgment about the security level of this place:
The clearance level for this area wasn't high—even the door was just a normal security door.
"Beep—"
"Fingerprint identity verification in progress. Clearance confirmed. Welcome, Major Himeko."
With a pleasant electronic voice, the sealed metal door slowly swung open before the two of them.
Himeko pressed the light switch beside the door and led Xina inside.
As the room's lights flickered on, what greeted Xina's eyes were weapons glinting faintly under the illumination.
Katanas, greatswords, gauntlets, scythes, pistols...
Several pieces of each type of weapon were laid out on racks, dazzling Xina's eyes.
And in front of each weapon type stood an upright sign, seemingly providing an introduction to the weapon.
"These are standard-issue weapons for adaptive training. Pick whichever one you like!"
Having been blown sky-high by an Anti-Entropy missile back in North America due to her own pathetic physical condition, Xina had a pretty good idea of her own limits.
She was certain that she needed something light and agile. The massive swords and scythes propped against the wall over there clearly weren't for her.
As for the small-caliber cannons and gauntlets, after a brief moment of hesitation, Xina crossed them off the list along with the greatswords and scythes.
That said, finding a weapon that suited her wasn't easy.
Xina looked at the remaining katanas and pistols, finding neither particularly appealing. But since she was already here, she couldn't exactly go back empty-handed!
"Sigh... I'll go with this one!" Xina let out a long sigh and turned toward the weapon cabinet displaying several types of pistols.
She casually picked up a pistol with a suitable weight, intending to call it done. But as she turned, the corner of her eye was instantly caught by an object hanging in a corner of the wall.
It was a jet-black whip. Judging by the two rows of blade-like barbs running along its length, it wasn't hard to imagine the gruesome scene of this thing beating down on organic life.
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