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Chapter 24: The Overly Friendly Little Boy

Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr

Ling Lan assumed that the following tests would still be conducted individually, but unexpectedly, she found that that wasn't the case when she arrived at the site of the next test.

Both the stamina test and the speed test would be held at the same place — the academy's large field.

When Ling Lan and Ling Qin arrived at the field and tried to enter, Ling Qin was immediately stopped by one of the waiting staff members at the entrance. He told them that parents and guardians were not allowed to accompany their child into the testing area.

Ling Lan did not need Ling Qin's company to begin with; she had only let him tag along since she wasn't able to refuse his kind intentions. Now, seeing Ling Qin's worried eyes, she hurried to reassure him before saying a firm goodbye and entering the field. These thoughtful actions were noted by the staff member escorting Ling Lan into the field.

"You are surprisingly considerate …" praised the staff member. Among the many children who came for testing, he had seen many who cried and fussed, threw tantrums, or clung to their guardians — in contrast, Ling Lan's mature handling of the situation amazed him.

Ling Lan merely smiled without saying anything in reply. She couldn't very well say that she was already over 30 years old, which was why she wasn't going to cling to her parents like other children, right?

Ling Lan's calm and even-tempered attitude may have endeared her to the staff member, for he decided to provide an explanation as he pointed out the other children waiting ahead on the field grounds. "There are the children waiting to be tested. That group on the far right with less people is the commoner children, the middle group consists of children from military backgrounds, while the largest group on the left is made up of the descendants of the elite families."

Ling Lan looked towards where he pointed, and saw that there were already a lot of people gathered on the grass, all of whom were children enrolling for the year.

On the planet of Doha, there were countless scout academies just like this one; however, the one Ling Lan was trying to enrol in was reputed to be the best in Doha, with no close competition. Just to qualify for the enrolment tests, one had to either be from an elite family or a military family with a reserved spot, or else they would have to be like Ling Lan, who was an inheritor of premium military benefits. Those who inherited premium military benefits could come from commoner families, elite families, or even military systems, so the children on the field had knowingly or unknowingly drifted into three distinct camps.

Of course, if any of them failed the enrolment tests here, they would have to settle for the scout academy closest to their residence. This was the harsh reality of the matter — the Central Scout Academy of the Planet of Doha only accepted the best; they would not lower their standards just to boost their enrolment rates.

However, it should be noted that a large majority of the children who failed were those from the commoner families. The academy had released a statement to the public explaining that these children's physical fitness was not up to the academy's standards. Whether that was true or if there was something fishy behind the matter, we will never know.

Because every year, this academy which claimed to only accept the best would still open two 'Exception Classes' for enrolment … to qualify, you'd have to have wealth, power, and status!

Ling Lan knew the staff member was trying to help her, so she responded with a bright smile. "Thank you!"

It should be noted that Ling Lan had a beautiful smile. This smile had been deeply ingrained into her bones, and as long as someone treated her well and with sincerity, she would be generous with it. In her past life, this smile had earned her the good will and affection of all the doctors and nurses who had treated her. And now, combined with the attractive face born from her good genes in this life, the sweetness of her smile had only intensified.

The staff member stared for a long moment, besotted. And then, he rubbed his nose lightly, peering around to the left and right. When he saw that no one else was paying attention, he said to her, "Little boy, don't smile like that in the future. It's for your own good."

If this child did not have enough social and political clout, it was better if he was more careful with his smile. Perhaps it wasn't as dangerous now due to his young age, but in another five or ten years, this smile of his could very well be a problem.

Ling Lan was taken aback by this unexpected advice. But before she could ask about it, they had arrived at the fringes of the crowd and it was no longer safe to ask. Ling Lan could only wave goodbye under the staff member's fond and worried gaze.

"Little Four, what do you think that person wanted to say?" asked Ling Lan with a slight frown on her face.

Little Four said nothing, but played a recording of Ling Lan's previous smile within her mind. Till now, Ling Lan had never seen her current smile, though she knew that her original smile had been sweet enough to make people lower their guard and ease their spirits. However, looking at her smile now … she finally understood why that staff member had tried to warn her.

Dammit, looks like beauty is also a burden. In the past, she could only be considered pretty at most, with a sweet smile that could warm people's hearts. But now, her androgynous appearance and her very attractive face somehow made that same sweet smile even sweeter, adding an almost seductive quality to it. And this was still as a six year old, if she were a little older …

Ling Lan was not so naïve as to believe that gay relationships did not exist in this era. Although she was a girl in reality, she still did not want a gay man to confess feelings for her.

Right then and there, Ling Lan decided that she could never smile like that again.

As Ling Lan neared the three groups, the children in all the groups started looking over at her curiously. As mentioned earlier, Ling Lan was a really good-looking child — even among the multitude of handsome men and beautiful women in this world, she would still be considered a top-notch beauty. With the honesty of youth, the children directly expressed their appreciation of her beauty with their focused attention. A pretty child was always popular.

In this manner, before Ling Lan could decide which group she should join, a well-built boy from the middle military group had started waving enthusiastically at her, shouting, "Here, here! Come quick!"

Ling Lan was nonplussed. Who the hell was this passionate fellow? He didn't look familiar to her at all.

Still, his greeting helped her solve one of her worries, so she started walking slowly in his direction. Her slow pace was intentional — what if she had mistaken his greeting when he had actually meant it for someone else behind her? She wanted to avoid that embarrassment if possible.

However, it was soon proven that Ling Lan's caution was unnecessary. That boy really had been calling out to her, because he had already run over to grab her hand in impatience before she had covered half the distance.

Ling Lan stared at the hand that covered her own with some consternation. Who the hell was he? How could he just grab her hand without asking as if they were familiar friends?

Hehe, don't judge Ling Lan for her reaction. In the history of both of her lives, this was the first time a strange man, erm … little boy, had held her hand. Our intrepid little student Ling Lan was actually feeling shy.

They entered the group to the place the boy had run out from, but before the boy could say anything, a sulky voice could be heard saying, "Qi Long, who's he?"

Ling Lan looked towards the voice and saw that it was a plump little girl who had spoken. The girl glared at her fiercely, as if she had taken away her favourite possession.

Ling Lan was rendered speechless once again. Did all children in this time go through puberty so early? This girl had already learned how to be jealous? That aside, shouldn't she take a closer look before getting jealous? Couldn't she see that 'he' was a little boy right now?

Ling Lan was also a little puzzled, as she felt that she probably looked better than Qi Long in her current body. Why did the plump little girl not seem to notice this, but had chosen without question to be jealous of her instead of wanting to get close to her? Could it be that she was just not the girl's type?

What Ling Lan did not know was that this world was no longer like her previous world where leanness was considered attractive. Here, the children were all raised with the understanding that stoutness, bulk, and health were beautiful, so Ling Lan's weak and fragile beansprout look was not going to appeal to most of the female population, no matter how attractive her features were.

Qi Long had no idea that his little follower was jealous, focusing instead on introducing Ling Lan to his friends, "He was the one who was being tested before me in the strength test. Don't look down on him 'cause he's skinny, he's really strong!" Qi Long liked to befriend those who he felt were stronger than him, as he felt that he could become stronger by mingling with them.

Ling Lan blinked. So that's how Qi Long knew her.

Chapter 25: Companions in the Same Group

Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr

Ling Lan couldn't suppress her curiosity. "How did you find out?" The results were supposed to be confidential, only known by the examiners. Also, those examiners had been enlisted from various military regions, and so knew how to keep their mouths shut.

With some embarrassment, Qi Long replied, "Actually, when I went in for my test, the two examiners were talking about you, saying that you were a rare genius with unparalleled strength. I figured that if even the examiners said so, your strength must be ginormous!"

Fine, looks like the examiners got carried away in their excitement and accidentally revealed some hints. But this gregarious fellow was also surprisingly observant, having managed to grab hold of the most important information immediately.

"Oh right! What's your name? I'm Qi Long, he's Han Jijyun. We grew up together, and he's the bestest of my best friends." Qi Long had no sense of the typical first-time reservations when meeting strangers; he had jumped straight into an enthusiastic introduction of the little boy standing beside the plump little girl. His expression as he spoke seemed as if he were showing off, causing Ling Lan to throw a curious glance at this boy who Qi Long seemed proud to know.

The little boy seemed very serious, giving no outward reaction to Qi Long's enthusiasm other than to slightly nod at Ling Lan, although his eyes held an unmistakable trace of appraisal. Of course, this was due to his young age — if he had been just a bit older, he might have been able to do so more subtly.

However, his assessing gaze did not make Ling Lan uncomfortable, because Ling Lan knew that he meant no harm by it, and that he was only trying to decide if Ling Lan was someone worthy of being befriended by his good friend Qi Long. Thus, Ling Lan was instead touched by this act of concern, proof of the deep friendship between the two boys.

Looking at the beaming Qi Long standing at her side, Ling Lan recalled the novels she had read in the past. So it was true that every happy-go-lucky boy would have a cautious and thoughtful bro by his side — even now, she could see the strong bromance between the two little boys … God was indeed fair and kind, and would protect those who were pure of heart.

As her impression of Qi Long and Han Jijyun rose, Ling Lan's demeanour softened considerably. She greeted Han Jijyun amicably, "Hello, I'm Ling Lan, it's nice to meet you."

"Ling Lan, she is Jijyun's younger cousin Han Xuya. She always likes to hang out with us, don't take her words too seriously." Qi Long did not wait for Jijyun to respond, interrupting to introduce the plump little girl.

Qi Long did not notice that his words had irritated the plump little girl so much that she was gnashing her teeth, while Han Jijyun threw a somewhat apologetic look at Ling Lan. Looks like he was used to playing the mediator for his best friend and his cousin sister.

Ling Lan smiled but did not respond in any way to Qi Long's words. This somewhat placated the angry little girl, who felt that that Ling Lan at least knew his place, and as such didn't find him as annoying as before. The emotions of girls were truly a fickle thing, regardless of their age.

And so the group of children conversed like they were little adults, but they hadn't conversed for long before they heard one of the other children yell out, "The exam is starting!"

It turned out that the examiner for this test had appeared on the field, and the staff members had begun separating the children into smaller groups.

The way they grouped the children was simple — according to their registration number, every ten numbers became one group. Ling Lan looked at her number, 7253, and then turned to look at the numbers of the children in Qi Long's group, and was immediately struck dumb. Dammit, wasn't this too coincidental?! Their numbers turned out to be right behind hers — 7254, 7255, 7256 …

Ignoring Qi Long's excitement, Han Jijyun's surprise, and Han Xuya's mild discomfort, Ling Lan could do nothing but look up at the sky, the corners of her mouth twitching. Was this the rumoured Laws of Dimension Travel? Would anyone fated to connect with her be naturally drawn to gather around her? Just like how Qi Long had just bulldozed his way into her life?

Besides the four of them, the six other people who belonged in their group had also gathered around them. This was only natural as their group had the most people to begin with, so the others who were scattered had automatically come to join up with the largest party.

The newcomers consisted of five boys and one girl, and one of the boys looked very similar to the girl, so they were probably twins.

Although there were hardly any ugly people left at this time, the twins were still extremely good-looking by current standards. They were like porcelain dolls, with clear skins glowing with health — the boy looked dignified and confident, while the girl looked shy and adorable. Two almost identical faces with two distinctly different dispositions — Ling Lan couldn't help but steal a few extra looks.

Ling Lan's gaze was perhaps a bit too intent, for the twins seemed to sense it and looked over. The princess-like girl smiled at Ling Lan bashfully, which Ling Lan returned on reflex. When the boy saw this, he glared at Ling Lan, as if warning her not to even think about flirting with his sister.

Ling Lan rubbed at her nose, speechless. Fine, so she had been labelled as a little lecher with just one smile. Still, wasn't this little boy's guard a little too high at this age? Wasn't it a little too early to even worry about defending his sister's honour from lechers?

Qi Long noticed the boy's glares, and glared back fiercely in return as he tried to comfort Ling Lan, "Ling Lan, don't mind it. Luo Lang's just like that, his sister is the centre of his universe."

Looks like Qi Long was also familiar with the twins, or else he wouldn't have been able to call out the boy's name so easily.

Ling Lan said helplessly, "Oh, so he has a sister complex! A sis-con!"

"Sis-con?!" Qi Long paused for a moment, bemused, before bursting out into laughter. "Ling Lan, you're just too talented. How did you manage to describe it so perfectly? Sis-con … why didn't I think of that?"

Qi Long's exaggerated reaction surprised Ling Lan. The term 'sis-con' had been so popular back in Ling Lan's original world that it had almost become a cliché, so almost everyone knew it. Who knew that it didn't exist in this generation …?

A thought rose up in Ling Lan's mind. Could it be that, over the years, due to several catastrophes and major disasters, there had been some heavy losses in culture? In that case, the books and other reading materials Little Four had saved might truly be an invaluable pot of gold …

Qi Long's unusual reaction piqued the interest of the other children, who quickly asked him what was going on. Soon, the term 'sis-con' spread like wildfire among the kids, until everyone in the group except the twins had learned about it, and were giggling behind their hands.

Though they tried to hide it, their laughter was still obvious enough that Luo Lang, the male twin, couldn't pretend not to see it. His face grew darker and darker, until finally, he could bear it no longer and went right up to Ling Lan to ask, "Hey, what bad things did you say about us?"

Ling Lan, face full of angelic innocence, pointed at herself and said, "Me? Say bad things about you? Why would I do that?" She wasn't even laughing with the others — if he was looking for someone to blame, shouldn't he look for Qi Long? Without his big mouth, how would the other children have found out and started laughing at Luo Lang?

"Then why are they laughing at me?" accused Luo Lang angrily. He had seen very clearly that the whole thing had started with Ling Lan. It was Ling Lan's words that caused Qi Long and the others to start laughing at them.

Ling Lan really didn't know what to do with this accusation. "… Do you have paranoia syndrome?"

"Paranoia syndrome …" Pfft, stifled laughter once again broke out from behind her. From the moment Luo Lang started talking to Ling Lan, the other children had been paying attention to them, and as expected, they once again heard something really interesting. They discovered that this weak-looking little fellow before them was a great wordsmith, using strange terms they had never heard of before but which fit perfectly with the situation, causing them to laugh uncontrollably. Heavens, he was really too talented.

Qi Long was laughing the hardest, while even Han Jijyun couldn't help but smile like the kid he was, breaking up his usual serious façade.

This new bout of laughter made Luo Lang even angrier. He pointed at them all, so angry that he couldn't even speak — Ling Lan heartlessly wondered if he would get angry enough to faint.

Chapter 26: The Exam Begins

Translator: ryuxenji Editor: mjn0898

It was evident that the physical endurance of the bodies of children in this time period was very high. No matter how angry Luo Lang was, his stance was still tall and steady. The only sign of his building anger was the stormy expression on his face.

Seeing Luo Lang's expression, Ling Lan felt a little bad. After all, she was already over 30 years old if you counted the span of both her lives, which meant she could already be considered a weird auntie of sorts — how could she bully a young child like this?

A little remorsefully, Ling Lan smiled at Luo Lang and said, "I was just joking. Please don't be mad."

Ling Lan's smile startled Luo Lang, and her sudden submissive attitude also threw him for a loop. He stood there gaping, nonplussed, and the other children burst out laughing once again. There was no helping it really, for his bewildered look was just too adorable — even his sister had started giggling softly. She quickly stifled it, however, and lowered her head bashfully, chastising herself mentally for her actions. How could she laugh at her brother who had always watched out for her?

Meanwhile, Ling Lan was having a headache over her reflexive smile. It was so troublesome. After she had accidentally revealed her 'seductive' smile once again, Little Four had gone ballistic, and she now had her hands full trying to calm him down.

Leaving Ling Lan aside, who was busy with the ballistic Little Four, Luo Lang had been shaken out of his stupor by the others' laughter. When he found that he had once again embarrassed himself, two splotches of red flushed over his ivory skin, spreading all the way to the roots of his ears.

Then, he channelled his embarrassment into anger and lunged at Ling ... uh, Ling Lan's side where Qi Long was standing, and pushed him to the ground. Just like that, the two of them began to wrestle as they rolled around on the field.

Qi Long and Luo Lang were all tangled up with one another — Qi Long's friend Han Jijyun did not try to help, only pulling Ling Lan and Han Xuya aside to watch as they fought. Meanwhile, Luo Lang's sister had also silently retreated a few steps out of the way, but she continued to watch her brother with worried eyes.

With some difficulty, Ling Lan finally managed to calm Little Four, only to return to awareness to find that no one was trying to stop the fight. This baffled Ling Lan. In her past world, if any children started to fight, they would be pulled apart as soon as possible to resolve their problems peacefully. But here, although there were staff members on the field not far from them, they just continued with what they were doing as if nothing was happening — what exactly was going on? Ling Lan felt that her world view was being challenged by this new world's order.

Ling Lan was not someone who could suppress her curiosity. She immediately turned to ask Han Jijyun about the situation, earning yet another appraising gaze from him. However, when he saw that Ling Lan really did not understand what was going on, he was rather stunned. This was pretty basic general knowledge that should have been taught by a father. Had Ling Lan's father not told him about it?

Even though Han Jijyun had his doubts, he still explained to Ling Lan, "This is a habit we've learned since we were little. If we need to resolve a problem with someone, fighting is permitted. However, no matter who wins or loses, the matter is considered closed after the fight."

What a strange way of educating their children ... are they not afraid of encouraging violence? Once again Ling Lan was struck by how different the values and principles of her previous education were compared to the survival of the fittest mentality of this world. For example, no matter the origins of a child – whether he was a commoner, an elite, or a noble – the first ambition of all the children here was to join the military. The second ambition was also to join the military, and the third ambition ... was still to join the military. Because strength was might, and military men were the strongest, especially if they managed to become a mecha operator. Only those whose bodies did not meet the requirements would give up on this dream of the military and reluctantly choose another profession.

Since young, the education Ling Lan received was geared towards preparing her to become a mecha operator, the strongest of the strong. Everything she learned worked towards this goal, while her mum and Chamberlain Ling Qin had never even thought to ask her whether she wanted to be one.

Honestly, she was rather apathetic towards the idea of becoming a mecha operator. She was a girl, after all, with very little interest in fighting. She could never have guessed that she would travel to this warring world where the people were militarised, and, even more unexpectedly, that she would have a mecha learning device as a contracted follower ...

Ling Lan couldn't help but rub her jaw thoughtfully. Could it be that this was fate? Was everything that had happened trying to tell her that she was destined to walk the path of a mecha operator?

Qi Long and Luo Lang were still fighting neck and neck — although Qi Long was actually slightly better in terms of fighting power, Luo Lang had stubborn determination on his side. So, although Luo Lang was slightly disadvantaged, he was still managing to hold his own against Qi Long.

Ling Lan really wanted to know the outcome of their fight, but when she saw that the staff member in charge of calling out the test groups was getting closer and closer to their numbers, she knew that there was no chance the fight would end in time. With some regret, she called out, "It looks like it'll be our turn soon. Are you guys sure it's alright to continue fighting like this?"

The two boys froze at the same time, but Luo Lang reacted faster than Qi Long. He shoved Qi Long aside and scrambled off the ground, and started to fix his clothing and appearance. Although he could no longer revert to his initial pristine princely presence no matter how hard he tried, his proper upbringing would not allow him to face the examiner in such a dishevelled state.

Qi Long was caught unprepared and was sent tumbling twice over by Luo Lang's push. He quickly clambered up as well and said huffily, "Wait till the test is over, let's continue our fight then." He was utterly unconcerned with his mussed up appearance, only swiping at his forehead twice to get rid of some sweat before letting it be.

Naturally, Luo Lang refused to back down as well, so the two agreed that they would determine the true winner after the testing ended.

Oh, such spirited and competitive young children! Ling Lan felt old, for she could not find any sense in their random fight. By this time, Ling Lan had forgotten that she was actually the culprit who instigated Luo Lang's fight with Qi Long.

The testing proceeded rapidly — Qi Long and Luo Lang had barely caught their breath when their group was already being called up by the staff member. The ten people in Ling Lan's party dared not dawdle and quickly ran over.

The ten of them stood on the race track and made their final preparations. Then, an examiner walked over to explain how the testing would go. He asked them to get ready to run from the start line, and explained that they would have to safely arrive at the end line to complete this test. As for scoring, that would depend on how much time they took to complete the course.

As Ling Lan got ready, she did not forget to keep an eye on the group of testees before them. This was a habit she had developed after multiple encounters with Number One — every time Number One appeared, his every action could be a test, so Ling Lan always had to be on her toes, making sure she caught every little hint in his actions and his words. This strict caution had become a part of her basic instincts.

Ling Lan saw the previous group speed off at the examiner's command, and soon she could no longer see their silhouettes ...

"Do you see it?" Han Jijyun leaned close and whispered to her. He had also noticed something strange.

"Hn, even though the sun is shining brightly in the sky, there is fog on the track ... " Ling Lan pointed out the problem, which explained why the group before them had disappeared so quickly before their eyes.

"Looks like the track here is under some area-of-effect illusion technology — this test is not as straightforward as it seems." Han Jijyun was an intelligent boy who had a deep understanding of advanced technology which other kids (like Ling Lan) may not have.

Han Jijyun's warning made Ling Lan secretly raise her guard.

Very soon, the examiner at the starting line called Ling Lan's group over. Once he had confirmed they were ready, he gave the command, and they were off.

Qi Long immediately rushed forward at the head of the group, with Luo Lang close on his heels. It seemed like the two of them were determined to make a competition out of this as well.

Ling Lan was third, and Han Jijyun was right behind Ling Lan. This strategic child had the same idea as Ling Lan — they were planning to follow behind Qi Long for now as they observed their surroundings. Meanwhile, the other kids were all following at various paces behind Han Jijyun.

Chapter 27: The True Intention of the Test

Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr

They hadn't run for long when the sunny skies above them turned dark and foreboding. Storm clouds gathered, and thunder rumbled ominously. Right at the front, Qi Long cursed, "Damn our luck! Why did it only start to rain when it's our turn? Hurry up, everyone, or else it'll be even harder to run once it really starts raining, and our results will definitely be affected."

After he finished speaking, Qi Long was just about to speed up when Han Jijyun called out from behind, "Long, don't speed up. Just keep your current pace."

Qi Long was confused. He didn't understand why Han Jijyun wanted to stop him from speeding up; if it really started to rain, they would have to expend much more energy running through the rain, and the rain would affect their speed as well … Their score in this test was based on how quickly they could arrive at the end point, so shouldn't they try to cover more ground now before it rained?

Although Qi Long's mind was full of doubts, one of his strengths was self-awareness. He knew that his blood-sworn brother Han Jijyun was much smarter than him, so much smarter that he could only look on in envy. Since his sworn brother had said so, there must be something that he missed — it had been proven enough times in the past that it was never wrong to listen to Han Jijyun, so he would put his faith in his brother.

And so Qi Long decisively dismissed his worries, and kept running at his original pace. It had to be said that none of the children in Ling Lan's group were particularly competitive in nature, other than Luo Lang. And although Luo Lang was prideful, he was also an intelligent boy, so when he heard Han Jijyun's advice to Qi Long, he also decided not to speed up, merely keeping pace behind Qi Long.

Among their peers, Han Jijyun's intelligence was publicly acknowledged. Even Luo Lang admired Han Jijyun for his intelligence, but unfortunately, Han Jijyun had befriended that idiot Qi Long before he could get to know him. He was full of regret that he had moved too slowly and felt that it was such a waste — if he had managed to get to Han Jijyun first, Qi Long would never have had a chance.

The other kids also maintained their original pace, keeping close to the group so that they weren't left behind. Anyone who could attend the enrolment tests of the Central Scout Academy of Doha was no idiot — Qi Long and Luo Lang's fight had shown them that the two were much stronger than them, so if the two of them weren't afraid of wasting time, why should they be afraid?

Han Jijyun quickened his steps to catch up to Ling Lan, and jogged by her side. In low tones, he asked, "Ling Lan, what do you think?" Han Jijyun's gut just told him that Ling Lan knew something.

"Didn't you already notice it yourself?" asked back Ling Lan with a wounded gaze. Dammit, this was truly what was meant by heaven-blessed. Han Jijyun was only six years old, but he was already observant enough to discover something wrong with the situation — she felt pitiful in comparison.

She had only noticed the problem thanks to her experience of two lifetimes, as well as the intensive training and trials provided the learning mind-space. This year especially, Ling Lan had been free of any specific training menu or missions, but had been tormented by Number One via all sorts of methods, causing her to view everything with suspicion now. Looking deeper into everything by at least several layers had become her default reaction.

Han Jijyun was oblivious of Ling Lan's hurt little soul, continuing in a stern manner, "Hn, it won't matter whether we speed up or not, what will come will come. Perhaps they want to see how we react under pressure."

"The examiner did not set a clear path for us, I suspect that … this test might not have a typical finish line," admitted Ling Lan. Han Jijyun's intelligence allowed Ling Lan to speak freely without worry.

She could finally throw off her sheepskin of a child! Hanging out with such a talented child meant that her own talents would seem less freakish as well. Ling Lan was so happy she could cry — these six years of playing a kid hadn't been easy.

Han Jijyun turned thoughtful at Ling Lan's words. After a while, he responded, "Possibly, the test had already begun the moment we stepped onto the field."

"What do you mean?"

"Is this really a field?" Han Jijyun's words jolted Ling Lan into awareness. She thought back to when she first entered the field — that entrance had not at all been like a regular entrance to a field.

"Wait and watch," said Ling Lan and Han Jijyun in almost perfect unison as their eyes met. Since they had already been caught up in the illusion, all they could do was continue and take things as they came.

After that, they had only run a little bit further when it started raining cats and dogs. Ling Lan's party of ten were quickly soaked to the bone, and the rain obscured their vision while turning the earth beneath their feet into mud. The clothes on their body became heavy with rainwater and clung to their bodies, dragging them down. Under these conditions, having run for several thousand metres, lethargy started settling in. The two girls were hit especially hard and had already started to pant.

"This is real water, not an illusion," Ling Lan concluded after paying close attention to the signals her body were sending her. It looked like the setting of this test was using a combination of illusions and real props. There was no doubt that in this space they were occupying, there were sprinklers equipped all over the ceiling overhead …

Since they already knew that they were walking within a virtual environment within a room, Ling Lan decided to ignore what she could see as she tried to construct an image of the underlying room in her mind.

Admittedly, the virtual field presented to everyone had been nicely done — the racetrack of a field was just a large circular circuit, so even if those caught within the illusion ran multiple laps around the track, they would still never suspect that they were merely within an enclosed room.

Ling Lan's group ran another few thousand metres — although it felt like they had run countless circles around the track, not a single examiner came to inform them about how many laps they had left. This seemingly endless test began to cause the hearts of some of the weaker children to waver. In particular, the two girls' speed had dropped considerably, and they had fallen behind till they were at the very tail end of the group.

The two boys who were related to the girls, Luo Lang and Han Jijyun, merely turned a blind eye to this, however, continuing to run forward at a steady pace.

Seeing this, Ling Lan frowned. Shouldn't they try to help the girls?

Han Jijyun seemed to notice Ling Lan's hesitation, and quickly explained, "To become a proper soldier, one has to rely on one's own strength. Helping her would be harming her instead. On the battlefield, you can't rely on others to survive."

Han Jijyun's words made a lot of sense, and Ling Lan was not a saint who would insist on helping. She was just about to ignore the girls when a thought flashed through her mind, causing her to pause in consideration.

Was this truly just a test of stamina and speed? If that was the case, the objective could just as easily be achieved on a regular field — was it really necessary to use such precious illusion technology to create this virtual environment? Furthermore, why split them into so many groups?

She recalled the marathons she had seen in her previous life, where tens of thousands of people could run together at the same time. Ling Lan had taken note of the width of the race track — it was about 50 metres wide. Even if not everyone could run at the same time, the track could still easily handle up to several hundreds or thousands of people. Wouldn't doing so speed up the testing process and save time?

Perhaps, the test was meant to test something else as well — what was the true intention of the test? Ling Lan knew that the answer to this question was probably the key to this test. If she could figure it out, then she would know how to pass the test.

What other hints had there been in the examiner's speech? Sensing Ling Lan's thoughts, Little Four helpfully provided a replay of what the examiner had said.

Tsk, only revealing what he wanted you to know, while keeping everything else a mystery — as expected of special examiners handpicked from the military forces …

Wait a minute. Handpicked from the military forces? Military forces? Realisation sparked in Ling Lan's mind — she got it! Since all their examiners were from the military forces, was this in itself a hint? Moreover, a group of ten men was precisely the smallest possible military unit in the military forces!