Yun Ruoxi didn’t have trouble adjusting to new beds, but every time she closed and opened her eyes, sleep seemed just out of reach. It clearly wasn’t that easy.
Especially after more than a month of interstellar travel, having been in stasis for such a long time, she had developed “Insomnia of Oversleeping.”
The principle of this illness was simple and very common in the interstellar era: prolonged stasis disrupted the biological clock and caused abnormal brain activity, making it difficult for space travelers to fall asleep for days or even weeks on end.
Here.
Fortunately, the combat camp seemed to have anticipated this. Yun Ruoxi found a small bottle of Rapid Sleep Spray—commonly used to treat Insomnia of Oversleeping—right beside her pillow.
She inhaled the spray, her vision darkened, and she almost instantly lost consciousness.
When she woke up, the time displayed on her personal collar showed 6 a.m.
But looking out the window beyond the base, the sky was still drowned in deep, inky darkness.
As a resident of Tatooine—a planet in a binary star system—Pandora-35’s rotation was extremely irregular.
Day and night cycles were almost unpredictable.
Without medication, maintaining a normal routine here was nearly impossible.
“No wonder the camp was so kind…” Yun Ruoxi muttered softly, getting up to wash and follow her squad to the mess hall.
Since the groups had already been divided, this time the dining hall seating was no longer assigned by numbers.
After taking her seat,
though not at the same table, she had the chance to see 9993 once again.
They exchanged a glance and smiled at each other before being seated.
Breakfast was still bloodied raw meat patties.
But after yesterday’s punishment and the raw meat they had for dinner, most trainees couldn’t help but vomit once they returned to their dorms.
So at this moment, everyone was so hungry that they barely cared about the gamey smell and simply buried their heads in their meals.
Though occasional retching could still be heard, the overall atmosphere was much quieter, as if everyone was forcing themselves to adapt.
In the midst of this silent dining, Yun Ruoxi noticed an anime clip appearing in the upper right corner of her vision.
“Stakeout success!”
“I’ve waited an entire week! Do you know how I survived this week?”
“Familiar big mess hall meals, familiar no intro scenes, familiar pure music BGM—I finally made it back!”
“Is the first thing I see my wife’s stunning beauty? prprpr”
The screen slowly brightened from black, freezing on Yun Ruoxi’s exquisitely delicate face.
Her red eyes half-closed, carrying a sleepy daze and laziness, with a cherry-red tint at the corners like eyeshadow.
Her hair was mostly neat, except for a small strand of blue that rebelliously stuck up.
She took small bites of the raw meat, an act primitive and brutal on the surface, yet somehow exuding a natural grace and elegance, completely different from the little crybaby who had eaten while sobbing yesterday.
***
A timestamp appeared at the bottom of the screen.
【Day 2, 6:00 a.m.】
“Wait, where’s my crybaby? Who’s this new person? (laughs)”
“This is the second day, you know.”
“Maybe check if she’s been possessed? (doge)”
As the comments flashed by,
the camera suddenly zoomed out to capture everyone from a bird’s-eye view, then switched to a kaleidoscope-like multi-perspective shot.
Lin Zhen, Zhi Jiu, the main party, Yun Ruoxi, and the main supporting characters from the past two episodes all appeared.
Finally, Lin Zhen’s image enlarged, filling the entire screen.
“Raw meat again… it’s making me want to vomit, but thankfully no diarrhea. I guess I’m getting used to it.”
Lin Zhen complained, frowning as he swallowed the raw meat.
His condition was poor, with obvious dark circles under his eyes.
He had also discovered the Rapid Sleep Spray last night.
But never having experienced interstellar travel before, this was his first encounter with Insomnia of Oversleeping, and his reaction was intense.
Even with the spray, he spent last night half asleep, half awake.
Breakfast ended with only a few people receiving electric shocks.
Today marked the start of formal training, and the combat camp clearly didn’t want to waste time.
They stuffed the injured into treatment pods, and the soldiers escorted the squads to the training ground.
Formal training had begun.
“9999… that guy got shocked again.”
Watching number 9999 being carried away by a robot, legs weak and eyes vacant, Yun Ruoxi couldn’t help but chuckle and shake her head.
She picked up the dark gray virtual helmet beside her seat and weighed it in her hand.
In this era, virtual technology was fully matured, capable of precisely capturing the user’s brainwaves and subconscious, creating virtual worlds with 99% realism.
Because of this, the virtual world had become humanity’s second home.
Learning, entertainment, socializing—whatever humans desired could be fulfilled there.
However, since the combat camp and its backers were criminal organizations, they certainly wouldn’t allow the helmets to connect to the Metaverse Public Network run by the Empire; they most likely used their own Local Virtual Network.
The helmet provided by the camp resembled a motorcycle helmet, thick and heavy, with a thin cable extending from the back down beneath the table.
Yun Ruoxi instantly recognized it.
This was the most widely sold wired Beta Edition Virtual Helmet on the market, though it seemed to have some minor modifications.
Overall, it was a cheap model, with a maximum realism of only 90%, nowhere near her own Starlight Collector’s Wireless Edition at home boasting 99% realism.
Yun Ruoxi sneered and pressed the power button on the side of the helmet.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
A faint humming sound emerged from inside the helmet, carrying a peculiar soothing sensation.
Yun Ruoxi’s vision darkened from the edges as if she had been squatting too long and suddenly stood up.
She gradually sank into total darkness, with only the anime clip still visible in the upper right corner.
After a moment, her vision returned.
Yun Ruoxi blinked a few times and realized she was standing beneath a dazzling starry sky.
A soft glowing screen floated before her:
【Combat Camp Leaderboard】
【Combat Simulation】
【Course Learning】
【Entertainment】
【Points & Permissions】
【Friends】
【Home Customization】
“Welcome, trainee 4424, to the Combat Camp Virtual Network.”
A gentle female AI voice announced, “According to Instructor Behemoth’s customized training schedule, during your first academic year, you will need to complete ninety-eight theoretical courses and fifteen practical combat courses.”
“That many courses…”
Yun Ruoxi clicked on 【Course Learning】.
The list expanded swiftly, and the scrollbar on the right visibly sped up.
“A study plan has been tailored for you based on the first month’s assessment content. Current progress: 0%. Fifteen percent of trainees have surpassed you.”
“Please note: Since your number is 4424, if your study progress consistently lags behind 56% of trainees, you will face disciplinary actions including but not limited to point deductions and electric shocks.”
“So 15% have already started competing seriously?”
Yun Ruoxi had originally wanted to explore other modules and see how the camp’s Local Virtual Network differed from the Empire’s Metaverse Public Network.
But seeing how far behind she already was, she sighed and obediently opened the study list.