Word spirit test

Early morning.

A pleasant alarm rang through Room 403.

For the first time, Caesar found the blaring alarm so pleasing to the ear, because once Day of Freedom ended, he would move out of the dorm and take Li Lin to live with him in Amber Hall or Norton Hall.

Though the price had been getting dragged into the banquet hall by Xia Mi and beaten senseless, his shoulders still felt numb and powerless. That little girl had such tiny fists and thin arms, yet the excruciating pain she inflicted when hitting someone was comparable to taking a Frigga bullet from a Magnum revolver head-on.

"Brother, now I understand why your face twisted in pain after Xia Mi casually smacked you during that combat video."

While washing up, Caesar sighed as he and Li Lin reviewed last night's encounter.

Unless he had a Desert Eagle and his beloved hunting knife in hand, he absolutely would not dare appear within seventy feet of Xia Mi.

People said a gun was faster beyond seven steps, but Caesar felt seven steps were still too close. Seventy feet was barely acceptable.

Li Lin had actually wanted to say that Xia Mi had held back last night, but remembering that she might take advantage of Day of Freedom to beat Caesar up again in a few days, he swallowed the words.

Sometimes, he could not tell what exactly Xia Mi's complicated possessiveness meant.

It was hard to feel much romantic ambiguity from it. It was more like she expected him to fulfill some overly heavy destiny, or had placed some extraordinary long-cherished wish upon him. Yet it was also difficult to sense any intention of "using" him from Xia Mi.

Perhaps even Xia Mi herself had not figured that out.

The only thing Li Lin could be sure of was... Xia Mi probably wanted more than anyone else for him to live well and rapidly grow stronger.

For some reason, a fan story circulating around campus popped into his mind: Ximen Chuixue, peerless in martial arts and lonely as snow, met Ye Gucheng, whose swordsmanship was equally unmatched. They became acquainted through a fight. As the saying went, high mountains and flowing water met a kindred spirit. From then on, they set aside their struggle of life and death, became lifelong rivals, and left behind a celebrated tale in the martial world.

Of course, because the story had originally spread through the notebooks of several female students, Li Lin selectively ignored those "Boys' Love" details.

"Boss, I'm planning to report to the Executive Department today for the word spirit test. Is there anything I need to pay special attention to?"

Li Lin had constantly heard comments on the Night Watchers Forum such as, "Everyone in the Executive Department is a lawless killer," and "A bunch of arrogant violent terrorists."

Since he had become familiar with Caesar, he simply asked this second-year senior directly.

Hearing Li Lin's question, Caesar pinched his chin and thought for a moment. "Precautions... Prepare for explosions."

"Though you're reporting to the Executive Department, the actual testing process is generally carried out using equipment provided by the Equipment Department. The Executive Department only provides the venue and records the data."

"What does that have to do with explosions?"

"The Equipment Department likes to give everything they make an explosive function. If you find yourself surrounded by blast-proof glass during the test, be careful."

The moment they left the dorm, they ran into Xia Mi, who had been waiting outside in advance.

The Forbidden City heroine had always slept very little. It looked like she had been waiting for quite some time.

When she saw Li Lin approaching, she directly handed him a box of chocolates and a cup of fermented mung bean juice.

"You're finally falling into the world of dark cuisine?"

Li Lin was baffled by the bizarre combination.

Xia Mi stepped on the top of Li Lin's foot, then handed him the chocolates. "They're from Kyla, a second-year senior. Apparently, she stayed up all night carving her love letter into the chocolates."

"Oh, then where did the fermented mung bean juice come from?"

"I wanted to bring you breakfast. I got fermented mung bean juice and fried dough sticks, but I got hungry while waiting downstairs and couldn't resist eating the dough sticks."

Xia Mi handed the steaming cup to Li Lin. "Please enjoy."

Li Lin returned the chocolates to Xia Mi and silently drank the fermented mung bean juice. Having grown up in Beijing, he was long accustomed to the distinctive drink, but he still could not stand the devilish combination of fermented mung bean juice and chocolate.

Xia Mi accepted the chocolates. "You're not eating them?"

"Hurry up and eat them. They'll melt once it gets hot."

"Fine, fine. Looks like I'll have to beat up quite a few 'love rivals' from now on."

Xia Mi caught the implication in Li Lin's words. He wanted her to act as his shield. Since they had grown up together, she might as well do it.

With that thought, Xia Mi skillfully opened the gift box and stuffed the love-letter-covered chocolates into her mouth.

The person who made the chocolates must have put a great deal of thought into them. They contained not only nuts and condensed milk, but also a generous amount of white sugar.

"Are they good?"

"Way too sweet." Xia Mi gave her brief assessment, then continued stuffing chocolates into her mouth. They apparently suited her taste quite well.

The two walked side by side toward the Executive Department's office building. Paparazzi from the News Department flashed past among the nearby bushes with cameras in hand, but neither of them cared. They were already used to having rumors about them spread throughout the school.

Nearly half an hour later.

Li Lin and Xia Mi, both taking the entire day off, leisurely swiped their student cards and entered the special passage the Executive Department had arranged for freshmen. As Cassel College's only openly violent department and a semi-military organization, it held far too many secrets that could not be revealed to ordinary students.

They followed the enclosed, narrow passage forward until they saw a fellow countryman in a suit and tie.

"Ye Sheng, intern commissioner of the Executive Department. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

The man calling himself Ye Sheng was tall and thin, with a refined demeanor, dressed in a Cassel College uniform.

He briskly finished introducing himself, then led the way ahead. His manner was efficient and without delay as he explained the upcoming procedures to Li Lin and Xia Mi.

"Considering that your word spirits are both relatively rare types capable of activating elements within a domain, the Executive Department has decided to provide you with a location temporarily unaffected by Discipline. You will be tested in areas such as control, destructive power, and duration."

"Hybrids who have just awakened their word spirits are still in an adjustment period, so it is perfectly normal to feel unable to use them effectively or have trouble controlling them. If the elements in your domain go out of control and form turbulent currents later, do not force yourselves out of pride. You must immediately stop releasing your word spirit and call for staff assistance."

"I remember that a few years ago, a senior who had just enrolled possessed King's Flame. He was too proud, and during the test, he directly burned himself into a lump of charcoal with his own flames..."

Ye Sheng tried earnestly to persuade them, only to discover that the two preparatory students were not listening at all. They were still discussing A Certain Magical Index behind him.

He was out of options.

Did these two kids really think controlling word spirits was as effortless as using superpowers in anime?