After putting everything away, Hela lay down on her bed and began recalling what Xing Lan had told her before.
"Once you've settled into your dorm, you can ask an instructor or a trainee who arrived earlier to show you around."
Hela turned to look at Keke, who was sitting on the bed opposite hers.
When Keke noticed Hela watching her, she grew a little nervous. Her eyes darted about, and at last she spoke in a timid voice.
"What is it, Sister Hela...?"
"Show me around." Hela sat up, her face expressionless.
"Oh, sure!" Keke stood up and hurriedly led Hela downstairs and around the training camp.
The training camp was much larger than it had looked from the sky. Buildings of reinforced concrete stood in orderly rows on the smooth ground, like towering giants that would never fall.
Clearly marked lines divided the entire camp, making it easy to tell where the dormitory area ended and the training area began.
"Um, this is the cafeteria, where we eat, but it looks like they aren't serving us food yet. We can only get something to eat from the supply station."
"And over there is the training ground. The instructor said we'll spend most of the next year there." Keke pointed to an area not far away, as large as an airport.
"And this is the teaching building, where lessons are held, but the instructor said we won't need it for the first few months."
"This is the shooting range."
"This is the abandoned building area, for combat training..."
"..."
Keke kept introducing every building they came across to Hela, stealing glances at her from time to time for fear that she hadn't explained something clearly.
Hela followed behind her, listening to her explanations as she surveyed their surroundings, paying no attention to the glances Keke occasionally cast her way.
"Hmm... that's about it for the training camp. I think I've covered pretty much everything." Keke stopped, her mouth dry, and looked at Hela, who hadn't shed a single drop of sweat.
"How about we go to the supply station and get two bottles of water?" Keke asked, wiping away her sweat, a little embarrassed.
Hela nodded without the slightest hesitation.
Keke was delighted that Hela had agreed so readily.
Looks like Sister Hela only seems a little aloof on the outside. She's actually pretty nice.
Keke happily thought to herself, then took Hela to the supply station and asked for two bottles of water.
As soon as they left the supply station, Keke eagerly unscrewed her bottle and took several huge gulps. Then she let out a long breath, feeling as if she had come back to life.
Suddenly, a sound caught her attention. Keke turned and saw two people not far from him...
Playing badminton?
One of the people playing badminton had white hair, while the other had black hair. The black-haired person looked taller, while the white-haired person held a very strange badminton racket. Still, Keke didn't know much about that sort of thing and couldn't tell what was strange about it.
But those two looked kind of handsome. Keke's cheeks reddened, and after taking a few more looks, she returned to the dorm with Hela.
Back in the dorm, Hela and Keke lay down on their beds. After all, formal training wouldn't start until three days after the camp began, and there was still one day left.
There was nothing to do in the meantime, so they could only lie in bed and rest.
Keke lay down and soon fell asleep. Only Hela remained awake, lying on her bed and staring at the ceiling with wide-open eyes.
A day passed in the blink of an eye, and all the other late-arriving recruits reached the training camp that day.
Hela climbed out of bed, picked up the washbasin and toiletries from beneath it, and went to the washstand to wash up.
"Yawn~" Keke sleepily rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed like a walking corpse. She looked at Hela washing up at the washstand, then glanced at the watch on her wrist and frowned.
"Sister Hela, it's only a little past five. Why are you up so early...?"
"I'm used to it," Hela replied mildly as she wiped the facial cleanser off her face.
Keke felt a surge of admiration. She usually considered eight o'clock an early start, yet Hela normally got up at five.
"Keke, you can do it too! You can't lose!" Keke quietly cheered herself on, then pulled out her washbasin and began washing up alongside Hela.
Outside the dormitory building, a shrill whistle suddenly sounded.
Keke, who had gone back to sleep, jolted awake and looked around in confusion. "What's going on? What's going on? Why did they suddenly blow a whistle?"
Hela, who had been sitting on her bed in a daze, suddenly remembered what Xing Lan had said: whenever they heard a whistle in the training camp, they had to assemble at the instructor's location as quickly as possible, no matter what they were doing.
"It's time to assemble," Hela said softly.
"Huh?! It's only six! Are they really that inhumane?"
Hela didn't answer her. Instead, she stood by the window and slowly opened it.
A light breeze drifted in, gently stirring the curtains. Hela stood quietly before the window, her long hair snow-white. The pitch-black sky outside formed a striking contrast with her whiteness, like a beautiful painting.
"Sister Hela, what... what are you doing?" Keke asked, somewhat puzzled.
But the next moment, she understood.
Hela placed both hands on the windowsill and gave a light hop, flipping right out of the window.
She did it without a moment's hesitation, like someone who had completely lost hope in the world and was taking her own life.
"Sister Hela!" Keke's eyes widened. She hurried out of bed, ran to the window, and looked down.
This was the seventh floor!
Below, a white figure lay sprawled on the ground, motionless.
Keke's heart went cold in an instant, and her expression froze. A perfectly fine person had just jumped like that.
Was she really that awful? Awful enough to make her roommate get away from her in that way? Was she hated after all?
The next second, Keke's expression changed again. All her sadness and helplessness turned to bewilderment.
The white figure below swayed to her feet, then raced toward the instructors at an incredible speed.
After pondering for a moment, Keke finally came to her senses. She hurriedly changed her clothes and ran for the door.
When she reached the doorway, she suddenly stopped. She glanced at the open window, then at the metal cube tucked into her pocket.
After a moment's hesitation, she chose to take the stairs like a normal person.
Hela raced along the road to the training ground at such speed that his long hair streamed behind him like ribbons.
Before long, Hela stopped in front of a martial arts platform. She thrust out her impressive chest and stood straight.
On the platform, several instructors looked at Hela, the first to arrive, with slightly surprised expressions.
They hadn't expected the first person to arrive on this class's first day to be a female recruit.