August 1

August 1...

Ring-ring-ring!!!!!

Smack!

Xu Ai smacked the alarm clock away, then slowly opened her bleary eyes. Still a little groggy, she pushed back the covers and sat up.

"Yaaawn~~~ I'm still so sleepy..."

There was no sense of fatigue in the conscious space, and it didn't affect the outside world, but the outside world itself remained unchanged.

Last night, she'd gone out to eat with Xu Xin and Liu Ting. They'd ended up having so much fun that before they knew it, it was already two in the morning. By the time they got back, it was past three...

She patted her cheeks to wake herself up, jumped out of bed, and rummaged in the closet for a sports bra, a T-shirt, and a tracksuit. Then she went into the bathroom.

"Liu Ting?"

Xu Ai stared in astonishment at the girl sitting on the toilet and couldn't help calling out.

Oh, right! They'd stayed out so late last night that Liu Ting had simply spent the night at their house.

Mm, sharing a bed with her!

"Oh, I forgot to lock the door."

Liu Ting gave an awkward smile. She was so sleepy she was a little out of it. Fortunately, there were only girls in the villa.

"It's fine, it's fine. Go ahead."

Xu Ai waved her hand calmly, set her clothes on the rack, and started brushing her teeth and washing her face.

After using the toilet, Liu Ting came over to help. First, she combed Xu Ai's messy hair, and then...

Xu Ai looked in surprise at the hand pressed against her chest.

"I'll help you. It'll be quicker."

Liu Ting slipped both hands under Xu Ai's arms and unbuttoned her pajamas.

Really? Why did this feel a little off?

At Liu Ting's somewhat forceful insistence, Xu Ai brushed her teeth while obediently spreading her arms to make it easier for Liu Ting to take off her pajamas.

She wasn't wearing anything underneath. Once her pajamas were off, Xu Ai's impressive upper body was exposed, and Liu Ting covered it with the sports bra.

Wait, her pajama pants... Forget it...

Before Xu Ai could stop her, Liu Ting had already pulled down her pajama pants, so she could only lift her feet to let Liu Ting take them off.

With Xu Ai's enthusiastic cooperation, she got her tracksuit pants on. But she put on the T-shirt and tracksuit herself after brushing her teeth and washing her face.

After getting ready, Xu Ai and Liu Ting went to the dining room, where Xu Xin had already prepared breakfast.

"Ai, are you all set?"

"You should ask yourself that..."

Xu Ai gave Xu Xin a speechless look. After Xu Ai had spent every waking moment teaching her, Xu Xin had finally learned the Micro Level movement technique in time for the actual combat assessment. She still hadn't managed to reach a Force Amplitude of 2, though...

But never mind. It was just an actual combat assessment, and all the monsters were H-level, the weakest kind. With a Micro Level movement technique and the battle suit the Xu Family had prepared, she could easily pass as long as she didn't do anything stupid... probably?

"Sis, you can't hold back when you're killing monsters..."

"I won't. Don't worry."

Given her cooking skills, Xu Xin had truly seen blood. Mm, she'd killed fish!

Xu Ai gave Xu Xin a big hug and a good-morning kiss on the cheek...

"Wow, that's quite a spread!"

Looking at the three breakfasts on the table, each one a feast for the eyes and the appetite, Liu Ting headed for the one with the most food.

"Hey, wait."

Xu Xin stopped Liu Ting, then nudged Xu Ai toward that seat.

"This one's for Ai. She has her actual combat assessment today."

"Then I won't hold back."

Xu Ai sat down, picked up a piece of bacon and a fried egg, and grinned smugly at Liu Ting.

Liu Ting rolled her eyes and sat down in front of the other breakfast.

"When it's my turn to take the actual combat assessment, I want Sister Xin to make me a special breakfast too!"

"Sure. I'll make you a big breakfast on the day of your assessment."

Xu Xin smiled and nodded.

Ever since they'd moved out for school, Xu Ai had insisted on being the first to take her—cough, to taste her first attempt at cooking.

After that, Xu Xin had been in charge of feeding Xu Ai every day. What was one more person to feed? Easy.

Xu Ai checked the time. It was still fairly early, but she had to allow for the trip, so they'd better get moving.

"Sis, let's eat faster."

She picked up her chopsticks and quickly ate her porridge and fried dough sticks!

Xu Xin was a little slower, but she finished soon enough.

"Sorry for the trouble, Xiao Tingting. Keep an eye on the house!"

"Call me Sister Ting!"

Liu Ting hurled a pillow at Xu Ai's closed door with a smack.

By the time Xu Ai reached the lobby of the Martial Artist Building, many Quasi-Martial Artists had already gathered there. Xu Gang was among the group leaders.

"Bro!" ×2

"You two finally made it."

Xu Gang smiled and walked over. Before he could say much, a young man jogged up to him and said:

"Mr. Xu, the leader says it's time. The two young ladies are here too. Let's set off."

"Okay, let's go."

Xu Gang nodded, then led Xu Xin and Xu Ai back into the lobby and took the large group of Quasi-Martial Artists who'd been waiting for a long time to the train station.

The station was already crowded with Quasi-Martial Artists. Xu Ai looked around and saw that the group leader among them was a Martial Artist from the Thunder Dojo.

"Looks like we got here pretty early."

The only group missing from the actual combat assessment was the Extreme Martial Arts Hall.

As for the military, most of its soldiers had the strength of Advanced Students when they joined the main forces in clearing out monsters. They'd already gained plenty of experience fighting monsters. So, as long as their physical fitness met the Quasi-Martial Artist standard, they didn't need to take the actual combat assessment; they could be issued a Martial Artist License directly.

The HR Alliance's group leader was clearly acquainted with the Thunder Dojo's group leader. After greeting Xu Gang and asking him to watch over his group, he went over to chat with the other man.

They waited alongside the Thunder Dojo's Martial Artists for a while before the Extreme Martial Arts Hall finally arrived.

Luo Feng and Yang Wu were at the very back of the group, making them easy to spot. After all, Luo Feng was a prodigy the Extreme Martial Arts Hall had recruited ahead of time.

The Thunder Dojo's group leader waved to the Extreme Martial Arts Hall's group leader. The two exchanged a few pleasantries, then each led their group onto the train.

The three groups had separate carriages. The Extreme Martial Arts Hall was at the front of the train, the Thunder Dojo in the middle, and Xu Ai's group at the back.

Xu Ai sat with Xu Xin. The screens in the carriage showed recruitment ads from various organizations, each boasting about its advantages.

The Extreme Martial Arts Hall had the world's strongest fighter, Hong, who possessed a Domain. The Thunder Dojo had the world's second strongest, Thor, whose Force Amplitude ranked first in the world. The military offered the best benefits and the greatest security. The HR Alliance had the most money.

Come to think of it, the HR Alliance sounded kind of lame...

Xu Ai couldn't help giving an awkward smile at the thought. As a member of the Xu Family of the HR Alliance, she really shouldn't be thinking that.

But her family really was rich...

The train traveled for more than an hour before reaching its destination. The carriage doors opened, and the Quasi-Martial Artists filed off one by one. Xu Ai and Xu Xin waited until the end, then slowly climbed down with Xu Gang.

"This way. Don't wander off!"

Guided by a squad of soldiers, the vast crowd of Quasi-Martial Artists entered the military camp where the actual combat assessment would take place.

After the officer's welcoming speech, the Quasi-Martial Artists naturally found somewhere quiet to wait, while the group leaders went to the hall where the military received visiting Martial Artists.

As for Xu Xin and Xu Ai, of course they went with Xu Gang. There was no reason to stay out in the sun on the parade ground.

"Second, long time no see."

Xu Gang laughed and went up to hug an officer. The one stripe and two stars on the man's shoulder identified him as a lieutenant.

"Call me Second Brother. Stop calling me 'Second' all the time."

The officer punched Xu Gang in the chest, then laughed too.

"Right, let me introduce you."

Xu Gang pulled Xu Xin and Xu Ai over and said to the officer, "These are my younger sisters, Xu Xin and Xu Ai. They're here for the Quasi-Warrior Assessment today. They're both under eighteen, and they're geniuses from our family, so keep an eye on them for me."

"Of course. Your sisters are my sisters. Leave them to me."

The officer smiled and nodded at Xu Xin and Xu Ai.

"I was your brother's roommate in college. My name's Jiang Zheng. Just call me Zheng."

"Nice to meet you, Zheng."

Xu Xin and Xu Ai smiled and shook Jiang Zheng's hand. Xu Gang continued introducing him:

"Second here was the most successful one in our dorm. He's already a Low-level War General, unlike me. I've had so many resources poured into me, and I'm still only an Advanced Student. It's embarrassing."

"I told you to call me Second Brother. And I became a Low-level War General a month ago. I'm an Intermediate War General now."

"An Intermediate War General at twenty-five, huh? Tsk, tsk. Just earn a few more merits and you'll get promoted again," Xu Gang said with a laugh.

"It's not that simple. I'll have to work my way up slowly." Jiang Zheng smiled.

In Swallowed Star, most military officers were promoted based on their strength. After all, in an era overrun by monsters, only those strong enough had a chance to earn merits. For a War General, earning enough merit to reach the rank of lieutenant was easy.

But the rank of colonel was more difficult. With Jiang Zheng's strength as an Intermediate War General, the only safe way to get promoted was to work his way up slowly.

There was a faster way, though: he could risk taking part in one or two tide battles, drive back the monster tide, and survive. That would earn him enough merit for a promotion to colonel.

"By the way, did you get the battle suits and weapons I asked you to bring in?"

"Of course. How could I forget something you asked me to do?"

Jiang Zheng made a phone call. Before long, a dashing female soldier came over carrying two suitcases and two long swords.

Xu Ai could clearly sense that Jiang Zheng's mood brightened for some reason when the female soldier appeared.

If even Xu Ai could tell, then Xu Gang, Jiang Zheng's best friend, had definitely noticed the change in him too.

He looked at the beauty, who could easily have been called the flower of the military, then at Jiang Zheng. His spirits lifted, and he waggled his eyebrows at him.

"L—cough, cough... Second Brother, who's this?"

"Come on, cut out the clowning."

Jiang Zheng rolled his eyes, then pulled the female soldier over.

"Let me introduce you. This is my girlfriend, Wu Rui. And these three are my college buddies, Xu Gang and his two younger sisters, Xu Xin and Xu Ai."

"Hello. I'm Wu Rui, Jiang Zheng's girlfriend."

Wu Rui smiled at Xu Gang and Xu Ai.

"Hello, Sister-in-law."

Xu Gang shook Wu Rui's hand with a cheeky grin, then quickly let go.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Jiang Zheng said to Wu Rui:

"Rui, take Xin and Ai to your room. The battle suits and weapons are for them; Gangzi prepared them for the Quasi-Warrior Assessment."

"Mm, all right."

Wu Rui smiled, greeted Xu Xin and Xu Ai, then led them to her room.