Beaten Like a Dog

Zhen followed Xi Xiu and Xue Fanhui every day, doing whatever they did and never complaining about the long training sessions.

Finally, Xi Xiu couldn't stand it anymore and decided to change the training plan.

Zhen's physical fitness should be fine, but her Mental Power level was likely a bit lacking.

Xue Fanhui also noticed Zhen struggling. She hadn't expected the quiet girl to grit her teeth and persevere like this.

Xi Xiu and Xue Fanhui discussed it via their terminals and reduced the daily training time from three hours to two and a half. They also cut half an hour from the theoretical lessons, leaving one hour for playtime.

When Zhen received the new schedule, she was a bit overwhelmed. After all, it was the first time someone had truly considered her feelings since her parents were gone.

At night, Zhen secretly cried under her covers, vowing to never be a burden again and to repay Xi Xiu and Xue Fanhui with everything she had.

Vivian, who silently observed all of this, remembered her childhood with Wei Lanshan and the others.

It was probably the same with Xi Xiu and the others back then; those were very gentle, very gentle times.

Two months after returning from the pink-purple coast, Xi Xiu received the first payment for her labor on her terminal.

The Shulai Stones they had found on the beach were all sold by Shally. Today, the Star Coins were deposited into the children's accounts.

Xi Xiu looked at the balance on her terminal and grinned widely. She was going through a growth spurt, so her smile looked a bit funny. Xue Fanhui sighed, seeing herMoney-grubbing expression.

She was usually such a steady little girl, why did she love Star Coins so much? Contributing to the Alliance would naturally bring Star Coins once her contribution points increased.

Xue Fanhui shook her head. Zhen transferred one-third of the Star Coins she received to Xi Xiu.

Xi Xiu refused. "Zhen, why are you giving me Star Coins? You should save them; you'll find uses for them later."

"Xiu Xiu, it was you who told me the method, so I found so much. These Star Coins rightfully belong to you." Vivian, the dean, had told them to be grateful.

"Alright, no need to give them. Zhen, keep them yourself. We'll use them when we go traveling together in the future."

Hearing this, Zhen's eyes lit up instantly.

"Go, go traveling?"

"Mm. When Vivian thinks we can go out, we'll travel."

This was what Xi Xiu and Xue Fanhui had planned. After they turned ten, they would have much more freedom and could explore within Ningkui Star, instead of staying in the orphanage to study.

Between the ages of twelve and sixteen, they would have a mandatory outing lasting over three months to assess what they had learned over the years.

These experiences would be recorded in their files. The orphanage would submit an outing application annually, and the list would be handed over to the Ningkui Star Children's Management Office.

Upon approval, these children could directly go to the starport and take the office's Star Shuttle to their destination. To ensure safety, they would also return via the office's Star Shuttle.

They would have a mark indicating their fieldwork experience. Anyone who encountered them could give them a rating on the Star Net, which was very important.

This was a mandatory experience for every child in the Alliance. Xi Xiu and Xue Fanhui had decided that after Xi Xiu turned twelve, Xue Fanhui would submit the application with her, and they could go to their chosen star system together.

Now, with Zhen added, the three of them could go together.

"Okay, thank you, Xiu Xiu," Zhen said, her voice trembling slightly.

Xi Xiu was helpless. Zhen was a sentimental beauty who especially loved to cry when she was moved. Xi Xiu didn't know what to do with her.

Xue Fanhui had an even bigger headache. Usually, in such situations, Xue Fanhui would leave it to Xi Xiu to handle, as Xi Xiu had the patience to care for others!

And so, time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, it had been three years since Xi Xiu arrived at the orphanage. Xi Xiu was now over eight years old, and her physical combat had reached level eight.

After discussing with Xue Fanhui, they decided to find opponents online for virtual combat to improve their skills, so they each entered a different virtual combat space.

The opponents in the combat space were randomly matched. Here, Xi Xiu was matched with a formidable opponent.

She checked the opponent's profile. The opponent's information was also very simple, with only their real age, an option that couldn't be hidden, being visible.

The rest, such as gender and star system, were kept secret. If it weren't for the age mismatch, Xi Xiu would have thought she had encountered Ye Zhenwei on the virtual network.

Although she had hidden some of her strength, it was still possible to be utterly defeated, but not to this extent.

To think that she, Hong Xixiu, had experienced ten consecutive losses since arriving at the Alliance!

Xi Xiu was constantly being defeated. This was the first time she had been completely overwhelmed in every aspect since starting to learn in the Star Net virtual space; her opponent was simply terrifying.

Every time Xi Xiu finished training, she felt like she had no will to live, yet she had to remind herself to become stronger.

She told Xue Fanhui and Zhen about her opponent on the virtual network, vividly describing how the opponent had completely dominated her!

Xue Fanhui and Zhen also thought this person was incredibly powerful. They even discussed privately what would happen if this person fought Ye Zhenwei, the genius girl of the Alliance. They guessed it might be a draw.

Zhen had made rapid progress under the guidance of Xi Xiu and the others over the past two years. Her physical combat had reached level six, and she was close to level seven.

Xue Fanhui and Xi Xiu were quite satisfied with her progress. She was no longer a little crybaby and had become much brighter, as if she had found hope in life.

Vivian watched the growth of these three children and nodded secretly.

With their current level of effort, Ningkui Star would produce several legends. She was very much looking forward to it.

Wei Lanshan finally sent Vivian a message after three years, with just a few words: "Message received. All is well, do not worry."

That was truly Wei's style, Vivian thought as she stared at the screen.

Robot 08 was still taking care of Xi Xiu and the others. However, Alliance technology had developed rapidly in recent years, and 08 had undergone several upgrades. It was now an almost all-around robot, except for combat.

On Ningkui Star, in the afternoon, Xi Xiu had just finished showering and nimbly climbed up to their secret base.

Zhen and Xue Fanhui were already waiting for her.

"Xiu Xiu, hurry up! These snacks are delicious. I saved some for you, otherwise Fanhui would have eaten them all." Zhen handed the snack in her hand to Xi Xiu.

Among them, Fanhui was already ten years old and could access her savings, so she had entered a crazy online shopping mode, letting loose and constantly buying snacks.

The orphanage organized them to go to the coast to find Shulai Stones every year, so the three of them had accumulated a considerable amount of Star Coins through their efforts over the past three years.

"Thanks, Zhen. Zhen Zhen beauty treats me the best. Fanhui just bullies me, hmph." Xi Xiu hugged Zhen, eating the snacks, and complained that Xue Fanhui wasn't being fair.

"..." Xue Fanhui raised an eyebrow fiercely. "If that's the case, should we cancel the snack purchasing project from now on?"

"No, no, no, Fanhui is the best, the best in the world!" Xi Xiu quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Alright, what's up? Did your opponent completely crush you?"

"Don't even talk about it, the gap is too big." Xi Xiu said with tears streaming down her face.

The age gap was one thing, but the gap in strength was the most depressing. Even though she had hidden some of her strength, if she unleashed her full aura, she estimated she could only win about four rounds.

She hadn't heard of any fifteen-year-old genius emerging in the Alliance recently. Could it be that all geniuses were hiding their strength and mingling with the common folk, just like her?

The more Xi Xiu thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

"Fanhui, what about you? Did you defeat your opponent?"

"Of course. But your opponent, based on your description, their Mental Power is probably more than 3S, right? Could they be a genius like Ye Zhenwei of the Alliance?" Xue Fanhui hit the nail on the head.

"I guess so. So it's perfectly normal for me to be completely crushed..."

Xi Xiu felt that even if she used her true full strength, she wouldn't have a chance against that person. It was too terrifying.

She needed to work even harder!