She stepped forward and picked up the energy crystal dislodged by the spearhead from a corner of the simulated battlefield.
Behind her, the long centipede-like creature curled up in retreat.
Slowly, it melted away.
It merged completely with the blackened ground.
The holographic simulation began to fade from the training room.
The energy crystal in Chen Sui's hand dissolved along with the scene. Her mecha began to heal from its battle damage, leaving behind only the lingering sensation of neural burn across her limbs.
She waited for a moment but heard no commentary from the short-haired instructor. Instead, the synthetic voice of the training room rang out:
"Assessment complete. Please exit the training room and remove your mecha suit. Wishing you success."
"It's over?"
The short-haired instructor frowned slightly at the vanishing hologram, somewhat dazed.
That quickly?
Chen Sui walked to the door and asked over the comm channel, "Instructor, the assessment is over, correct?"
"It is."
The instructor quickly composed herself, returning to a stern and professional demeanor as she opened the door.
Chen Sui lingered for a moment after stepping out of the combat-grade mecha, gently running her fingers over the seat.
High-grade mechas really were something else.
She wondered when she might be able to afford one of her own. When the time came, she hoped to replicate her old partner—the one who had fought by her side during the apocalypse.
She thought for a moment, then added her long spear—Red General—to the list.
She would rebuild everything and make it into a customized personal mecha.
Setting herself a small goal to work toward, Chen Sui turned to the instructor. "Excuse me, when will the assessment results be released?"
"Before ten o'clock the day after tomorrow, the results will be sent via your neural comm." The instructor then asked her to verify her contact ID. After a pause, she added, "If you pass the assessment, make sure to visit the academic office to complete your enrollment before noon. If you are late, you'll need to wait until after two in the afternoon. Plan accordingly."
There was a subtle shift in her tone. Chen Sui noticed it but did not think too much of it. As she turned to leave, the instructor offered a rare word of concern:
"Your physical condition is still poor. You are undernourished. Make sure to eat more and focus on improving your physical fitness. With time, you will definitely reach a higher level."
The short-haired instructor had served in the border forces. She could easily pinpoint Chen Sui's biggest weakness during the assessment.
Her explosive power was strong, but her endurance was lacking.
That was due to insufficient physical conditioning.
Given Chen Sui's current physical state, what she had managed to achieve was already remarkable—and genuinely surprising to the instructor.
After leaving the Seventh Academy, Chen Sui looked down at her arms and body.
Back in the post-apocalyptic world, food was scarce. But as a core member of the Light Beacon squad—a team responsible for exploring underground resource vaults—she had already eaten better than most.
She had grown to nearly 1.7 meters tall, and people often complimented her vitality and spirit.
Yet, here in this world, now that she thought about it, quite a few people had commented on her lack of stamina and poor physical condition.
On her way back to the commercial district, Chen Sui pondered this while observing the physiques of the local interstellar citizens. It hit her belatedly: maybe she really did need to bulk up.
Building more muscle would also improve her power output.
In her mind, she quickly assembled a training plan. The key would be to improve her diet. With that in mind, she chose a hotel known for its excellent food service and booked a room for the night.
Before sleeping, she browsed the interstellar network and made a hefty investment—purchasing a full semester's supply of high-concentration nutrient fluid.
As she lay in bed, Chen Sui recalled the day's assessment. She felt that her performance had been decent overall.
—Except for falling behind in physical stamina during the second and third segments, and intentionally resting during the robot combat portion. Other than that… everything had gone fairly well.
Surely she would be admitted?
By the end of January, the Interstellar League was drawing to a close. The final match shattered previous duration records, lasting a full twenty days.
The league ended only when the energy-monitoring instrument had been placed at the lowest energy fluctuation point.
This year, the defending team—the Seventh Academy, who held the instrument—proved stubborn beyond belief. Even though only two of their members remained, they managed to hold out until the very end of January.
The next morning, Chen Sui went down to the hotel dining hall. She was pleasantly surprised to find solid food on the menu and ordered a bowl of noodles. As she sipped the steaming broth, she looked up at the central projection screen.
It was a replay of the final segment of the Interstellar League from two days ago.
Chen Sui had missed the live broadcast due to her teleportation jump and had not followed up since. She had no idea whether the Seventh Academy had managed to survive.
In the replay, she saw Jin Yu, the academy's main DPS, being pinned down by layers of spirit vines summoned by the Third Academy's commander, Jiang Tianyi.
Elsewhere, Bai Li and Tian Ran—two other DPS—were ganging up on the Seventh Academy's analyst.
She shook her head.
There was no escaping that situation.
"Looks like the luck of the Candle Thorn Pavilion has finally run out," a diner nearby remarked.
Others quickly joined the discussion.
"Who would've thought they could last this long with only two people left?"
"I think it all started when Commander Yun acted too aggressively in the catacombs. If even one less person had been eliminated, things would not be this bad."
"Yeah, if they had kept one more player, it wouldn't have been just one academy ganging up on Candle Thorn. But we were the final defenders. All the other teams wanting to double their points to grab the top three spots were targeting us. We were easy prey."
"What's their final ranking?"
"Let me check," one of them said, putting down his bowl and opening the StarNet app.
Another interjected, "Why bother? Last place again. Isn't that the usual?"
"You don't have to be so harsh."
"Am I wrong? The Council only cares about the Inner Star Ring. They don't care about our Fourth Ring. It's perfectly normal for Candle Thorn to rank last. Poor student sources, lack of resources and funding—falling behind is inevitable. Honestly, they're doing well just to qualify each year. Even if they get no resources from the energy field, at least they are not kicked out of the Seven Military-Direct Academies."
The top three schools in the Interstellar League earned the right to choose high-grade energy fields and gain priority in military resources.
"But if their luck runs out, what then?"
"What then?" The man chuckled and sipped his soup. "Chairman Gu would be delighted. That way, they could kick Candle Thorn out and replace them with an Inner Ring academy."
"Ahem," an elder nearby gave a slight cough and nodded toward the loud group. "Be mindful of your words in public."
At his warning, everyone fell silent out of respect. They lowered their voices and turned their attention back to the league analysis.
On the final day of January, after waking up, Chen Sui logged into her StarNet account.
At the top of her homepage was a celebratory banner: "Interstellar League Concludes—All Academies Returning Home".
She clicked into her personal account. Seeing a blinking red notification dot, her eyes curved with delight.
"Dear Chen Sui, congratulations on passing the entrance assessment. You are now officially a student of the Seventh Academy of the Fourth Star Ring, Interstellar Alliance. Please report to the Academic Office to receive your student ID and complete your enrollment."