The war camp’s three-year cycle always managed to nurture quite a few Star Energy Users who achieved perfect awakening.
But the key point was this.
All of them only stepped closer to perfection after awakening, honed step by step by the camp’s star energy technology and brutal training.
Cases like Yun Ruoxi, who stepped onto the path of perfection right from the moment of awakening, were extremely rare even within the war camp.
This meant their natural talent and potential far surpassed others—they were, in the truest sense, “monsters.”
Among the five war camps of the Asa Star System, it was considered extremely fortunate if even one or two such existences emerged in each session.
Not to mention, Yun Ruoxi’s number was beyond 200—she wasn’t one of those highly anticipated genius students at all. No wonder even the seasoned instructors couldn’t hide their astonishment.
“And if I’m not mistaken, her mental strength and Brain Domain Computation far exceed those of her peers.”
Dr. Forefinger tapped the holographic projection lightly with his fingertip.
“When 219 had just awakened, the strength of her psychic power was no different from other A-grade psychic users, but she still managed to easily subdue 1242, who was much stronger than her. She relied on the terrifying ability control provided by her computational power.”
Behemoth pondered, “It’s probably thanks to the Stardust Frost.”
On the surveillance screen, 319 was about to be crushed by Yun Ruoxi.
At that moment, her team’s instructor, Mori Eiji, finally couldn’t hold back.
“Doctor, Behemoth, 319… she’s about to be killed. Her bloodline concentration is A-, and her abilities have a lot of potential for growth. Shouldn’t we intervene and save her?”
Behemoth didn’t answer, but turned to look at Dr. Forefinger.
An A- grade bloodline was a good seedling, but a seedling that could not grow would always be just a seedling.
This vast sea of stars never lacked for geniuses.
Under everyone’s gaze, Dr. Forefinger didn’t even hesitate as he said:
“Forcing 219 to keep advancing toward perfect awakening is already her greatest value.”
“If we save her and interrupt 219’s perfect awakening, when she finds out herself, I fear she’ll only regret that she couldn’t become a stepping stone for a genius to reach the top.”
Dr. Forefinger wore a smile, but his words sent chills down the spine. In his eyes, just being able to serve as a stepping stone for a genius’s rise was something to celebrate.
“So rather than saving her, what I want to know now is how much 219 has developed her bloodline.”
“Xiaguang!” he called softly.
“I’m here, Doctor.” Xiaguang stood up slowly.
“Go, inject a detection probe into 219.”
“Understood.” With a flutter of her butterfly wings, Xiaguang’s figure vanished from the surveillance room in an instant.
Dr. Forefinger looked at Behemoth again and ordered:
“219 needs even greater pressure to force her to continue excavating her bloodline potential.”
“These students are many in number, but their combat power is too weak. Even if we send more of this level, it would be useless. Bring in the other strong students.”
Instructor Behemoth nodded, raising his hand and tapping in midair.
“Are you serious? You’re going to ramp things up for Xiaoxi again?”
“If Lao Xi grabs Lin Zhen, wouldn’t that cause chaos?”
“This war camp’s training is just brutal!”
With the command given, the entire Despair Maze began to rumble and transform.
This time, the transformation encompassed—the entire maze!
Countless alloy walls moved and shifted like living things.
Amid swirling dust, a brand new, wide passageway extended from Yun Ruoxi’s compartment all the way to the end of the maze.
“In every other compartment with a powerful awakened being, small branch corridors also appeared, each connecting to the “main thoroughfare.”
At the end of these side corridors stood an Alloy Gate, equipped with red and green indicator lights.
At this moment, every indicator light was red.
“Broadcast beginning now.”
“All Awakened Students, please pay attention!”
“The task for this assessment has changed. From this moment, your only objective is to stop 219.”
Instructor Behemoth’s voice echoed throughout the maze.
The Awakened Students, who had been engaged in combat, all stopped at once and looked toward the suddenly-appearing new passageway.
219?
They instantly memorized the number.
A flash of curiosity or surprise crossed many faces. This student could actually make Behemoth change the assessment’s objective—
Just who was she?
But compared to fighting people they knew, stopping a single person sounded much easier.
A lot of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“219… Her number’s a bit low, but she seems like a good hunting target,” muttered a red-haired boy, number 0012, shaking out his collar.
He glanced at a nearby thin, pale-faced boy—number 29—whose expression changed slightly, and grinned:
“What, you know her?”
“She’s from my class,” 0029 said softly, his upper body glinting with a metallic sheen. “She’s really strong. Don’t underestimate her.”
“Is that so?”
The red-haired boy smiled, an electric spark flashing in his eyes. “No matter how strong your ability is, you can’t beat absolute speed. Just wait and see.”
With that, his body flickered, leaving only a burst of crackling lightning, and in the next instant, he was at the end of the corridor.
He leaned against the wall, arms folded, quietly waiting for the gate to open.
“How could it be her?” A burly, fierce-looking male student muttered in shock.
His muscles rippled across his body like flowing water.
At the moment, his hand was gripping the neck of a boy with triangular eyes.
But the boy being strangled didn’t seem at all short of breath. Instead, he laughed loudly, “Is this the girl you mentioned? I’d better take a look—just who is it that stays on your mind even on the brink of death?”
As he spoke, his body twisted like soft mud, slipping easily out of 498’s grasp. Then one leg suddenly extended, snapping him like a rubber band straight into the corridor.
“Six-six-six—first the Lightning Kid, now Mr. Fantastic!”
“Isn’t that Luffy? Does he have Gear Five? Is he the son of a vice admiral? Are you sure you want to mess with Xiaoxi?”
“Why does 498 still keep thinking about Xiaoxi? Did something happen between them?”
“Lin Zhen: Damn, a love rival? He’s here for me!”
The bullet comments flew past as the view shifted again.
0001 strode thoughtfully toward the end of the corridor, trailed by the ever-chatty white-haired, cat-eared 0003, while 0002 ran ahead, laughing.
Zijiu silently looked at the end of the corridor but didn’t move.
Kaos and Yun Che frowned, exchanged glances, and finally stepped into the corridor with some hesitation.
Finally, the camera focused on the main protagonist who hadn’t appeared for a while—Lin Zhen.
After awakening, the fighting between the two hadn’t been so intense. It was more like they were both adjusting to their newfound abilities.
Because Lin Zhen had already figured it out.
The so-called life-and-death battles of the war camp were really just an excuse to force them to awaken their bloodlines through pain.
Now that he was awakened, the mission was essentially complete. Naturally, he couldn’t be bothered to fight 518 seriously any longer.
However—
the moment the number “219” was announced, the fighting rhythm Lin Zhen had deliberately maintained collapsed instantly.
“Xiaoxi? It’s her again?!”
His breath caught, and his mind trembled. The laser gun he’d conjured with his power instantly fell apart, scattering in pieces across the floor.
He whipped his head around and silently stared at the tightly-shut Alloy Gate at the end of the corridor.
Not far away, 518 quietly asked, “So, are we going?”