The First Day of Military Training

Within an hour, the global anomalous casualties reached thirty percent.

The cold numbers made everyone in the arena hold their breath.

They, too, were anomalys. At least sixty percent of them had been eliminated in the first wave of the strength-matching competition.

So at this moment, they felt a deep empathy.

They recalled the overwhelming attacks at dawn, the suffocating ambush firepower net…

So the ancestors had also gone through this—facing an enemy that crushed them in both intelligence and strength.

“And the result? What happened after?”

Someone wanted to ask, but quickly realized the outcome of that war was already obvious.

The fact that they could stand here, experiencing the competition firsthand, was the best testament to the war’s result.

“I’m not saying this to be dramatic, but to explain the meaning of this competition,” Leng Qianhua said loudly.

She didn’t hold a microphone, yet everyone could hear her.

“Last time, we won a bitter victory. But what about next time? No one can guarantee we won’t face an opponent like the Phantom Cloud Illusory Realm again.”

“And the deeper we study the illusionary realms, the more we feel our own insignificance. Among countless illusionary realms, the powerful ones like the Phantom Cloud Illusory Realm are by no means few! For example, last year’s Shepherd’s Sea, the Hundred Battles Illusory Realm that always holds martial arts tournaments…”

“If we want humanity, and the present world, to continue existing, the only way is for us—and you—all anomalys, to find a path to victory under any unfavorable circumstances.”

“Whether crushed in information, technology, or strength.”

Leng Qianhua suddenly smiled. “Exactly the same!”

*****

The afternoon mobilization and results announcement meeting ended.

Even after Huang Mi and her five roommates returned to the dormitory, she was still pondering Leng Qianhua’s words.

The First Full-Scale War. The Phantom Cloud Illusory Realm that crushed them on all fronts…

Such a disadvantageous situation—how did they achieve victory?

And… would there be a Second Full-Scale War in the future?

If that day really came, could she find a way to win under any unfavorable circumstances?

“Damn, overthinking. My head hurts. I’m growing a brain!”

Huang Mi felt she had just experienced a helpless strength-matching competition, leading to empathy and resonance.

That’s why she was thinking so much without reason.

She was just a Mercury-rank newbie. She didn’t even know how long it would take to become as strong as the teachers.

Even if a Second Full-Scale War came, there would be the top of the Hundred Saints Ranking to bear the burden.

She didn’t need to worry so much.

“But the [Shushan] Illusory Realm waits for no one. I still need to hurry up and improve my strength.”

Huang Mi shook her head and started packing her luggage.

With the current rankings announced, they were immediately ordered by Leng Qianhua to change dormitories that same night.

She wondered if the second-place dormitory was any good.

Huang Mi sighed, reluctant as she touched her new bed she hadn’t slept on yet.

Bed, oh bed, wait for me. When we reclaim the top spot, I’ll definitely come back to you.

She put the chair in place, dragged her luggage to the middle of the dorm, and her roommates had also finished packing.

After all, they hadn’t slept last night, having been dragged into a tense and exciting strength-matching competition.

The six of them went downstairs together, where the captain had been waiting.

Seeming bored, she was poking the ground with her toe, looking up at the bright moonlight.

“Sorry to keep you waiting…” Huang Mi said.

“No worries.” The captain withdrew her gaze and signaled Huang Mi and the others to line up according to their previous formation.

Once everyone was ready, she led them to the Phase I dormitory building not far from the Phase II building.

The Phase I building seemed ancient, its age quite apparent.

The outer wall had been stripped of its plaster layer by wind and sand, revealing an uneven gray-yellow sand layer.

The sand embedded in the walls glittered faintly under the moonlight.

“Hmm, it looks nice, has a rustic charm,” Huang Mi nodded.

This building reminded her of the houses in her father’s hometown, similar in architectural style.

As expected, the interior was equally old. It was still a six-person dorm—that was the biggest good news.

The air conditioner was gone, replaced by two oscillating fans.

The bathroom had changed from private to public, and the shower area had become a communal bathing room.

“Bad.” Huang Mi’s face fell, like a kitten’s. She could accept all disadvantages.

After all, she used to be a guy, not so delicate.

But a communal bathing room was too much!

Thinking about having to be bare-faced with other girls, Huang Mi felt the sky was falling.

“Wow, this bed board is wobbly. It won’t collapse, will it?” Zhong Zimei pointed at her bed.

There was a conspicuous crack on the board, reinforced with two long wooden strips nailed to the back.

“How much do you weigh? I don’t think it will collapse if you’re under 140 jin,” Chi Xue analyzed rationally.

“That’s fine, I’m only 123 jin.” Zhong Zimei patted her broad chest, making it jiggle.

“You’re only 123 jin?” Jiang Qing stared at Zhong Zimei’s chest and shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t believe it. Those big boobs of yours must weigh at least five jin!”

“Aiya, you fox-eared girl, weight is a girl’s secret!”

Zhong Zimei squealed and pounced on Jiang Qing, who easily dodged and frowned. “You all saw, didn’t you?”

“Mm, we saw,” Huang Mi and Chi Xue nodded.

“Fox girl!” Wen Zhan’s eyes sparkled.

“I didn’t see, but I heard…” Jiang Qing looked curiously at Wen Zhan’s fisherman hat.

She seemed to have permission to wear the hat even during military training.

“Forget it. If you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it.”

Jiang Qing shrugged helplessly. “Anyway, we’re roommates living under the same roof. Honestly, I don’t think I can hide it for long.”

“But, I need to clarify something.”

She looked at Wen Zhan and shook her head. “I’m not a fox girl. I’m just a unlucky gambler who lost a bet.”

“Then what about your fox ears?” Huang Mi asked curiously, her gaze involuntarily drifting to Jiang Qing’s hips.

Jiang Qing sensed her gaze and said irritably, “I don’t have a fox tail! Maybe I will in the future, maybe not. As for how the fox ears came about, I can only say it’s a personal secret, not to be revealed!”

“I’m not curious about how your fox ears came about.”

Zhong Zimei rushed forward, grabbed Jiang Qing’s hand, and rubbed it earnestly.

“I just have one thing to ask you!”

Having become a girl, Jiang Qing wasn’t used to shaking hands with other girls. After being rubbed by Zhong Zimei, her face instantly turned red.

She pulled her hand back, coughed twice, and said, “Go ahead.”

“Since you have fox ears, doesn’t that mean you have four sound channels? Is your hearing much better than ours?”

Zhong Zimei spoke rapidly. “And if you wear earphones, which ears do you use?”

“?” Jiang Qing was stunned by the question.

She hadn’t thought about it before.

Thinking carefully, she answered uncertainly, “My hearing is probably a bit better. I definitely use my own ears for earphones. My fox ears only appear when my ether energy fluctuates greatly.”

So she doesn’t have fox ears all the time… Huang Mi increasingly felt that Jiang Qing resembled Chen Molian.

She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could finish, Jiang Qing, as if prescient, shook her head and denied, “Shush, you don’t need to ask. It’s not what you think.”

Alright… Huang Mi had to shut her mouth.

Hearing their conversation, Jia Qianrou narrowed her eyes. She was now certain.

These two were not just gaming buddies; they shared a common secret.

And that secret likely lay in the question that wasn’t asked.

“Alright, stop talking. Let’s quickly wash up and sleep. Military training starts officially tomorrow morning!” Jiang Qing, annoyed by the questions, quickly used the military training as a distraction.

The tactic worked well.

Thinking about the miserable military training starting tomorrow, everyone groaned.

Huang Mi, on the other hand, was thinking about tomorrow’s shower, filled with dread.

She swallowed and looked at Jiang Qing, who seemed to read her mind and turned around.

Their eyes met in the air, communicating silently.

Huang Mi: “What about bathing?”

Jiang Qing: “Inevitability!”

Huang Mi winked: “Aren’t you afraid?”

Jiang Qing nodded: “I am!”

Sighing, Huang Mi withdrew her gaze, ending the conversation that had taken place in her head.

What will be will be. There’s no avoiding the bathhouse anyway. She’d see if she could find a time when no one else was there.

They made their beds, washed up in the common area, and after the lights were out, the six roommates lay on their beds with mixed thoughts.

Outside, the moon and stars were numerous, and the northwest Gobi seemed to have a constant eerie wind blowing fiercely.

Every now and then, sand and wind would hit the windows, making a clattering sound.

The clock in the dorm ticked slowly, a steady sound.

So, on the first day of leaving Kyoto University and coming to the far northwest for military training, Huang Mi had insomnia.

Even though she closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind,

her thoughts were like boiling water, with bubbles constantly rising and popping.

Her mind involuntarily wandered back to the dawn’s competition, to what Leng Qianhua had said.

To everything she had experienced in the past.

Huang Mi tossed and turned in bed, trying to find the most comfortable sleeping position.

But the creaking sound made her worry about waking her roommates, so she had to give up turning.

She sighed quietly, and then heard Wen Zhan from the opposite bunk whisper, “Shushu, you can’t sleep either?”

“That ‘either’ is used very well.”

Huang Mi suppressed a laugh and nodded, but then heard a series of creaking sounds from beside her.

“I can’t sleep either!” Jiang Qing raised her hand.

“Add one.” Jia Qianrou buried her head in the blanket.

“I usually sleep late. It’s only eleven now, I really can’t sleep a wink,” Chi Xue sighed.

As for Zhong Zimei…

She was already snoring, sleeping soundly, not even woken by their conversation.

“Then, shall we chat?” Wen Zhan suggested in a low voice.

“Okay,” Huang Mi approved.

“What shall we talk about?” Jiang Qing thought for a moment. “How about I tell you how to play Texas Hold’em? Oh, it’s a pity we’re not allowed to bring cards, or I could play with you.”

“There’s a supermarket here. Maybe we can buy some,” Chi Xue referred to the one they saw when they got off the plane.

“That supermarket should only be for veterans. We probably can’t go in,” Jia Qianrou stuck her head out from the blanket. “And how dare you guys bet against Jiang Qing, and talk about this kind of topic here!”

“I promise I won’t use my ability!” Jiang Qing retorted immediately. “I never use my ability when I gamble.”

“So you lost that one time?” Huang Mi raised an eyebrow.

“…” Hearing this, Jiang Qing turned her head away silently, and after a long silence, said, “I used it that time, but I still lost.”

“Is it possible that you actually won that time, but just thought you lost?”

Zhong Zimei had woken up at some point, without any morning crankiness, and enthusiastically joined the conversation.

“Impossible. Absolutely impossible!” Jiang Qing shook her head vigorously, then quickly changed the subject.

And so, the six of them chatted freely, topics jumping around. One moment it was gambling, the next it was abilities, and then how they could have achieved better results in the competition.

But no one brought up the typical topics girls would discuss. This surprised Huang Mi, but she quickly understood. With her and Jiang Qing as two former guys, the conversation naturally veered elsewhere.

They talked until about one in the morning, deep into the night. Finally, all tired, they stopped the dormitory night talk, shut their mouths, closed their eyes, and began to sleep.

The dorm became quiet again, only faint breathing and the ticking of the seconds hand.

After an unknown amount of time, it was still pitch black outside, with the wind and sand howling against the windows.

Suddenly, an exceptionally urgent alarm sounded.

Woo-woo-woo-woo!

At the same time, the dark night sky was dyed with a touch of red, the red from the alarm signal lights.

Red warning lights flashed outside the window, flickering throughout the buildings of Observation Base No. 1.

What happened? Night raid?

Wen Zhan was startled by the alarm and sat up straight, her green hair falling over her chest, clothes disheveled.

“What’s wrong?” Huang Mi asked, still groggy.

She heard the alarm and vaguely sensed something was about to happen.

But because she was too tired, her brain seemed frozen, unable to figure out what it was.

Could it be an emergency assembly like in the movies? Zhong Zimei, who had also woken up, offered her opinion.

“No way? We just finished the competition in the wee hours!”

Jiang Qing, a bit grumpy from being woken, slammed the bed angrily.

As if too agitated, she also activated her ether energy. A flash of white light, and a pair of snow-white fox ears popped out.

“Whatever it is, I’ll go out and take a look first?”

Jia Qianrou threw off the blanket, wearing only a thin pajama, and barefoot stepped on the iron railing to get off the bed.

She was about to walk to the back window to see what was happening.

Bang! The door was pushed open.

The female captain, dressed in military uniform and holding two long blades, looked at them with ice-cold eyes.

“Due to a sudden riot in the [White Bone Plain], the base has temporarily entered a state of martial law. For your safety, you are not allowed to leave the dorm until the martial law is fully lifted.”