In the office, Yu Jing looked at the two girls who entered together, her expression slightly odd.
She had originally assumed that the two had skipped their nap to do extra training together. Shen Ning, of course, was well-known for her diligence, practically the “try-hard queen” of the school. As for Xu Chuyao, she had talent but had always been lazy about cultivating it. Now that Shen Ning had overtaken her in strength, maybe the girl was finally motivated to work harder.
And then she saw Xu Chuyao standing sweetly next to Shen Ning, dressed in a lovely white spaghetti-strap sundress. No matter what else, that outfit was definitely not for fighting.
“You two… never mind.”
Yu Jing didn’t want to interfere with her students’ private lives. She had them sit down, poured two cups of tea, and then said, “You remember the matter we discussed in the conference room before, right?”
“Of course,” Xu Chuyao said, accepting the teacup with both hands, completely composed. “What, are they running into trouble again?”
Yu Jing chuckled at her little adult-like attitude. “There are always problems, but that’s not why I called you here today.”
She then gave them a brief overview: After a few days of deliberation, each major city decided that the matter would be handled by their respective academies.
Though the “Spire Graffiti Hypothesis” had its logic, so far, the only enemy to appear was the Crown Gang—an organization composed mostly of Tier 1 and a few Tier 2 fighters—not enough to justify large-scale force mobilization. The real issue was this: Why couldn’t they win despite having equal strength and greater numbers?
To address the problem, the academy would be reforming its curriculum to strengthen students’ combat power. Additionally, they would form special task forces composed of strong students to take the initiative against the threat.
Xu Chuyao nodded quietly. After some detours, the plot had finally returned to the right track. In the original story, this happened right after the first mall attack—Shen Ning’s surprise counterattack had only delayed it.
“Sounds good to me. No problem,” she said, giving her review.
Shen Ning, however, asked the key question: “Why are you telling us this specifically?”
“Because both of you have been preselected, and your positions in the team will be special,” Yu Jing said, looking at her two top students. “It was your performance during the mall incident that inspired the whole task force initiative.”
As if. Xu Chuyao snorted silently. In the original novel, Shen Ning wasn’t even involved in the mall attack—they still formed the task force anyway.
“What about me?” she asked aloud. “Am I special too?”
“Of course,” Yu Jing said, returning to her desk and sipping her tea. “In some ways, you’re even more special than Shen Ning.”
…
On another floor of the admin building, Luo Kangsheng listened wearily as Helena stormed into his office.
“What is it this time?”
“It’s Shen Ning again! She blatantly violated school rules today, wandering around during lunch instead of returning to the dorms!” Helena couldn’t wait to report her.
But Director Luo only gave her a sideways glance. “You’re too late. That kind of minor issue doesn’t matter anymore. The school has other plans for her.”
The decision to militarize the school had been a heavy blow for conservatives like Luo Kangsheng. He had voiced strong opposition during the meetings, but clearly, the conservative camp had lost.
Helena hadn’t expected this reaction and grew furious. “How could this happen… Oh, and there’s this other girl, Xu Chuyao. I’m sure she’s having a negative influence on Shen Ning! She even disrespected you—said you weren’t the one in charge of the school!”
Luo had initially been unfamiliar with the girl, but Xu Chuyao’s distinct appearance made her easy to identify.
Upon hearing her name, Luo Kangsheng’s expression grew even more apathetic. “Then you’d really better forget about her. She’s way beyond your control.”
“…Why?”
…
Back in Yu Jing’s office, Xu Chuyao understood the situation now.
It was simple: during the earlier meeting, the higher-ups had concluded that while she wasn’t suitable for major leadership roles, she was clever and insightful—too talented to waste. So, they placed her into the special team, where she could shine on a tactical level.
“So I’m the IGL now?”
“IGL?” Yu Jing blinked.
Neither she nor Shen Ning understood the term.
“In-game leader,” Xu Chuyao explained, shrugging her small shoulders. “It’s the shot-caller in esports teams. Or, in other words—battlefield commander, tactical director, or student council president.”
“Anything but that last one,” Yu Jing smiled. “That’s all I wanted to tell you. You can go now. Details about the special team will be announced in a few days.”
And so, the two girls left the office, walking down from the admin building and pausing by the road.
“Not bad,” Xu Chuyao said, stretching. “At least now I can go out and shop.”
She turned to remind Shen Ning, “You should buy a phone too. Then I can send you all the photos from today.”
Shen Ning nodded lightly, her gaze falling on the cuff of her sleeve. She thought to herself that she should probably get new clothes.
A hoodie, shorts, and black tights. Sure, it looked decent, but she couldn’t wear this forever—for class, for errands, for fights, for killings, and even for dates.
“By the way,” she asked curiously, “how did you know Director Luo would lose influence?”
Just moments earlier, Chuyao had confidently predicted Luo Kangsheng’s decline—and then their homeroom teacher had immediately summoned them to announce a major shift in policy. While she didn’t mention Luo by name, anyone with half a brain could guess that he’d been sidelined.
“I analyzed it,” Xu Chuyao replied smugly. “The academies all suffered major losses. Change was inevitable, and change is a good thing. Luo Kangsheng and his crew? They’re the ones most opposed to change.”
No one could prove she had foreknowledge—so she called it wisdom.
Shen Ning thought it over. Honestly, it was the most logical explanation. What else could it be? Surely not that Xu Chuyao’s soft little hands were secretly pulling all the strings?
“I’m going to the classroom. You?” Xu Chuyao asked.
Their teacher had said class was canceled, but there wasn’t much else to do. Going back to an empty dorm sounded boring. At least in the classroom, she could hang out with her roommates.
“I’ll go too.”
At this point, the other students still had no idea the curriculum was about to change. For now, it was still self-study, so they could relax and slack off.
Shen Ning returned to her seat and noticed that Little Snow in the back row looked different from the others. Everyone else was happily slacking—but he looked miserable, clutching his homework notebook.
“What are you writing?”
“Oh, Shen Ning, you’re back.” Little Snow sighed and showed her his homework. “My diary entry from last week got rejected.”
She looked at the page. It only had one sentence:
‘During combat practice in gym class, I encountered a certain Shen-class student. Her Tier-2 spiritual power was monstrous. I gave it my all and still couldn’t win.’
“…”
You seriously turned that in?
“I wouldn’t even mind if they just said it wasn’t enough words,” Little Snow said glumly. “But the teacher wrote a note saying, ‘You didn’t go all out,’ and told me to rewrite it with a reflection. Apparently, they even checked with the gym teacher! I have to promise I won’t slack off in practice again.”
“Got it.”
Shen Ning understood now. Looks like they already had their first victim of the new curriculum.
Elsewhere, Xu Chuyao had regrouped with her roommate. Mi Xiaolu asked all about the lunch date and even worriedly asked if she got hit again.
“Do I look like that kind of girl?” Xu Chuyao crossed her arms seriously. “I’m telling you, today’s date can be summed up in one sentence: ‘I pointed east, and Shen Ning dared not go west. I walked south, and she didn’t dare step north.’ Got it?”