Two days later, Jiang Yue and Song Yang arrived in Liyue and rented a very cheap small hotel.
The original owner of the body had good grades, so Jiang Yue submitted her transcript to the Federal Military Academy and then slept soundly in the small hotel.
She carried a door stopper with her and would brace the door every night before sleeping. Song Yang was someone who couldn’t sit still and wandered around Liyue every day, while Jiang Yue stayed in the hotel, diligently catching up on world knowledge to avoid making any blunders.
Song Yang didn’t expect Jiang Yue to be such a homebody, so he went out shopping by himself.
At noon, Song Yang came back covered in injuries.
There was a bloody gash on his left cheek, with the flesh turned inside out. The wound was so deep that his white cheekbone was visible.
Jiang Yue felt a shiver run down her spine. “How did you get hurt like this?”
Song Yang collapsed onto the bed and lifted the hem of his shirt. Jiang Yue saw that his abdomen was bruised and obviously had been severely beaten.
Song Yang winced and inhaled sharply through clenched teeth, his face contorted in pain as he said, “I accidentally stepped on an alpha’s shoe while shopping, and this is what happened.”
He sneered, “A bunch of noble family alphas, their shoes are worth a fortune. I couldn’t afford to pay, so I just got a beating instead.”
“Would calling the police help?”
Song Yang gave her a look as if she were an idiot. “If I were an Omega, those alphas with their noses in the air might get some meaningless slap on the wrist.”
Jiang Yue winced in empathy and, feeling heavy-hearted, took out some iodine to clean Song Yang’s wounds.
Song Yang let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered and cursed under his breath. “I knew an alpha who got into the Federal Military Academy. Everyone thought he would have a smooth ride to the top, but guess what happened?”
“What happened?”
“Do you know about campus bullying? He got depression and later dropped out. At the Federal Military Academy, which is filled with children from noble families, alphas from the lower social strata can only follow behind them, serving tea and water, being their lackeys. This way, when someone kicks the dog, they at least think about who the owner is[mfn]A metaphor that implies people are cautious about mistreating someone (the dog) if they know that person has powerful or influential connections (the owner). In a place like the Federal Military Academy, if a lower-status alpha (dog) aligns themselves with someone from a noble family (owner), others might think twice before bullying or mistreating them.[/mfn].”
Alphas are inherently strong, domineering, aggressive, and combative. They have boundless energy and desire to control everything, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of others submitting to them.
Big fish eat little fish, and little fish eat shrimp. Poor kids with no background suffer the most.
Jiang Yue said, “Then why are you so eager to get into the Federal Military Academy?”
Song Yang chuckled, “Even a salted fish wants to turn over occasionally.”
Jiang Yue sighed, “If you do get into the Federal Military Academy, you must be careful. No matter what, you have to finish your studies.”
“You too. If you get in, you must stay strong in the future.”
Jiang Yue shook her head. She was just going through the motions; she couldn’t handle this psychologically or physically. She saw herself as a delicate, peace-loving person who refused all negative pressure.
The population ratio of ABO is 3.5:4:2.5.
Alphas, making up 35% of the total population, contributed to 93% of the crime rate. In Jiang Yue’s view, alphas were several times more vicious than men.
Being an alpha — she felt sorry.
The alpha’s survival-of-the-fittest society didn’t suit her. She was more suited to living among betas.
In just one night, the wounds on Song Yang’s face had already healed significantly, and the bruises on his abdomen had faded considerably. Seeing Song Yang so lively and energetic, Jiang Yue was deeply shocked by the healing abilities of alphas.
This extraordinary healing ability, combined with their exceptional physical qualities and bloodthirsty, combative genes, made it no wonder that the crime rate among alphas was so high.
After breakfast, the two went to the Federal Military Academy’s entrance exam. After filling out forms for fifteen minutes, they faced their first exam item: dynamic vision tracking.
Jiang Yue put on the holographic helmet and entered the virtual examination hall. It was an incredibly magical experience; despite being in a virtual world, she felt as if she were a real, flesh-and-blood person within it.
In front of her was a vast starry sky, and a pink spherical object slowly rotated before her, marked with yellow fluorescent numbers — 179956.
A serious, deep female alpha voice echoed through the stars, “The dynamic vision tracking exam is about to begin. Each examinee has a flying ball in front of them. Remember the number on your flying ball. In the upcoming test, you must keep your eyes on your flying ball amidst a series of distractions. The sensor on the flying ball will continuously track your gaze. Examinees who maintain their gaze on the flying ball for more than thirty minutes will proceed to the next test.”
The flying ball in front of Jiang Yue spun lightly, and as the exam bell rang, the ball traced a graceful arc in the air and flew into the distance.
Jiang Yue’s gaze stayed fixed on it.
Soon, the flying ball picked up speed, and the starry sky was suddenly filled with many fast-moving celestial bodies. The small pink flying ball darted through these moving stars along an incredibly erratic path.
Jiang Yue had to focus completely because any lapse in attention could cause her to be distracted by the other celestial bodies, making it impossible to track the flying ball’s movements again.
More and more celestial bodies filled the sky, and occasional bursts of intense light and dust from exploding stars disrupted Jiang Yue’s vision.
The small pink flying ball became an almost imperceptible pink dot, making Jiang Yue dizzy and disoriented, yet she continued to strain to keep it in sight.
At this moment, the speed of the flying ball suddenly slowed down, and Jiang Yue’s gaze finally caught up with it. She could clearly see the number marked on it.
Before she could even breathe a sigh of relief, something even more excessive happened: numerous pink flying balls suddenly appeared in the sky, each with a different number.
It was like finding a firefly with a unique number among thousands.
Jiang Yue felt overwhelmed, as if she had become a rooster in a cockfight. The flying balls in the sky multiplied, and their speed increased. They crowded together densely, leaving Jiang Yue numb. Mechanically, she stared at the string of numbers on her flying ball until the bell rang, and all the flying balls descended.
She had actually made it to the end of the exam.
Only after emerging from the holographic chamber did she realize that the exam duration was an hour and a half.
Out of thirteen thousand examinees, only fifteen alphas persisted until the final minute of the exam, and Jiang Yue was one of them.
Song Yang held on for fifty-four minutes. When he emerged from the holographic chamber, his eyes were filled with tears, and he staggered like a drunkard.
Jiang Yue wasn’t faring much better. She endured for an hour and a half, but after leaving the holographic chamber, she collapsed to the ground and vomited violently. Her vision blurred, her head throbbed, and she felt like she was about to die.
The examinees gathered around Jiang Yue, who was hunched over and vomiting. They chattered amongst themselves.
Jiang Yue’s hearing far surpassed that of an average person. Even in such a terrible situation, she could hear their discussions clearly.
“Is she a commoner alpha?”
“Looks like it. Her clothes don’t lie.”
“To persist until the very end, her dynamic tracking ability is truly insane. Seems like this alpha might be able to cross social barriers in the future.”
“Haha, I’ll bet a dime that even if she gets into the Federal Military Academy, she’ll still end up serving as a grandson to the aristocrats.”
Two proctors walked through the crowd.
A male alpha in military uniform held Jiang Yue’s shoulder. Perhaps noticing her plain and humble attire, he asked, “Have you never used a holographic chamber before?”
Jiang Yue shook her head.
It’s highly unlikely that Jiang Yue, as a non-native, would have ever used a holographic chamber before. While she might have been able to navigate the virtual world, upon exiting the chamber, she would have felt a profound sense of physical and spiritual discord. Her soul would have felt torn, oscillating between states, before finally returning to her body, akin to spinning in a dryer for ten thousand years.
Assisted by two proctors, Jiang Yue was helped out of the examination room and slumped onto a bench outside, utterly drained.
Song Yang was very concerned about whether she could endure the second round of exams.
The second exam was about nerve endurance.
People with strong nerve endurance can pilot mech suits with greater ease, commanding them as if they were an extension of their own limbs. On the other hand, those with weaker nerve endurance piloting mech suits are akin to an uncoordinated person attempting ballet; the mech suit simply doesn’t respond to commands.
Jiang Yue felt dizzy throughout the morning but managed to attend the second exam.
In the second exam, held in a different room, the examinees’ heads and heart areas were connected to numerous electrode-like devices.
This time, they didn’t enter holographic chambers. Instead, each examinee had a screen in front of them. They sat on specially made metal chairs, quietly awaiting the exam.
Jiang Yue continued to feel intensely dizzy, on the verge of vomiting.
This exam might mark the end of her journey to the military academy.
Thankfully, they should just let her go back already. Just one exam had drained her completely, and she couldn’t bear to imagine what it would be like if she actually made it into the academy.
The large screen in front of her lit up, displaying a large silver scale with a pile of weights of various sizes beside it.
“The nerve load capacity exam is about to begin. We will activate the pressure valves. Your task is to place the weights from the screen onto the tray. Examinees whose tray reaches one ton will proceed to the third exam.”
Using mental strength to carry one ton?
Jiang Yue found it utterly absurd.
As the bell rang, the electrodes on her head tightened instantly. Jiang Yue felt a strange, almost ethereal force gradually solidifying.
She strained to visualize this force as a hand and effortlessly lifted the lightest weight, placing it on the scale.
The scale displayed a row of silver digits.
10kg.
Jiang Yue stared at the screen, using her imagined large hand to lift a medium-sized weight and place it on the scale.
60kg.
Jiang Yue then lifted an even larger weight and placed it on the scale.
160kg.
…
360kg.
660kg.
1060kg.
Jiang Yue’s head began to ache again. Her greatest strength was her unwillingness to force herself.
But after sitting quietly for a while, she started feeling bored. So she decided to pick up a few more weights and place them on the scale.
Until the number on the scale reached 1111kg.
1111 was Jiang Yue’s birthday. This birthday also had a special nickname: Singles’ Day.
Jiang Yue, despite being a standard in terms of her fair, slim figure, remained single. She firmly believed that her single status wasn’t due to being too picky or dramatic but rather attributed it to her birthday.
The proctor stopped beside Jiang Yue. It was evident she wasn’t giving her all. Though her complexion was pale and she didn’t seem to be in the best shape, someone who had reached their nerve carrying limit wouldn’t exhibit this state.
The proctor asked, “Why stop at this number instead of continuing to carry weights?”
Jiang Yue replied awkwardly, “Because it’s my birthday.”
The proctor’s expression was difficult to interpret.
A faint chuckle broke the silence of the examination hall.
Jiang Yue glanced subconsciously in the direction of the sound.
Behind her, a male alpha was turning to look at her.
It was a strikingly handsome face, with features made more distinct by his excessively pale skin. His intense and beautiful brows and eyes stood out even more vividly against the pallor, yet his expression remained icy and indifferent.
His disdainful and indifferent gaze felt like a cold steel needle piercing into Jiang Yue’s eyes. She quickly averted her gaze after just one glance.
He seemed like a beautiful yet venomous snake, with its alluring body adorned with icy, shimmering patterns akin to frost.
Too beautiful, yet too dangerous.
Jiang Yue looked at the screen in front of her. The scale displayed a weight of 2000kg, the total weight of all the weights combined. And this serpent before her appeared effortlessly relaxed, evidently handling the situation with ease.
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