[Beep]The sharp tone echoed through every contestant's wristwatch, followed by a holographic projection flashing in front of their eyes:
Real-Time Rankings (Top Ten)Aurora: 40 pointsKaiser: 7 pointsNicholas: 7 points…
Within minutes, the name spread to everyone.
"What? The match just started, and she already grabbed an advanced flag?""Twenty points at once? That's insane!""Advanced flags are supposed to be hidden in dangerous zones. How did she even find one?"
The observation decks outside the arena erupted with noise. Instructors from different academies exchanged glances, some raising their brows, others whispering in low voices.
"Her perception and execution are beyond expectations. She didn't even probe, she went straight for the key.""An S-class mecha? Or is it her personal mental power? No wonder she got the advanced flag first.""Record everything. Aurora's movements need a full analysis."
Inside the control room high above, the exam overseer narrowed his eyes at the red dot pulsing on the screen, Aurora's position.
"Interesting," he murmured. "She entered the danger zone willingly. Not only did she survive, she came out with the advanced flag… That kind of nerve and calculation is rare."
The system broadcast rang out again:
[Student Aurora, 40 points. Current Rank: 1][Special Notice: As the first contestant to secure an advanced flag, her signal will be broadcast to all participants.]
The moment the announcement ended, Aurora's name lit up across every contestant's interface like a beacon in the dark.
Her presence instantly became everyone's target.
Bai Tou sucked in a sharp breath as the glowing name hovered before his eyes. "Aurora… now the whole planet is watching you."
But Aurora only lifted her gaze toward the roiling energy storm in the distance, the corner of her lips curving slightly.
She had expected this. The hunt had simply changed hands.
When the [Global Broadcast] alert echoed through every wristwatch, Aurora had already stopped moving. The wind howled around her, trees in the distance shuddered under the storm's lingering shockwaves.
Her name hung above them all, bright and unmissable, a signpost declaring—the prey has been marked.
Yet her heart was calm. If anything, a razor-sharp clarity cut through her thoughts.
"As expected, the system forces the strong into the open."
She pulled up her holo-map. The signal marker was locked onto her, impossible to hide. Which meant every opponent could track her.
Her first reaction was not to run, but to calculate.
Two points stood out on the map:
Within ten kilometers, three standard flag sites. They would draw crowds.
On the edge of the star chart, a ruined research facility. The energy signature there was chaotic, likely enough to disrupt tracking.
"If I can't hide, then I'll use it."
Her fingers pinched the projection, locking onto the research facility.
Her second reaction: set a trap.
She typed a few coded messages into the communication channel, leaving behind false coordinates that suggested she was heading toward the flag sites.
"If they want to hunt me, they'll have to pay for it."
With that, she tuned her mech's output lower, cutting noise, and veered off into the wasteland.
Inside the control room, the overseers leaned closer to their screens.
"Oh? She isn't rushing for more flags. She's moving in the opposite direction.""Looks like she's… searching for a place to mask her trail.""This girl… not just bold, but calculating."
Meanwhile, squads of competitors locked onto her public signal, closing in quickly.
Bai Tou's voice burst through the comms. "Aurora! Being marked like this makes you a walking target! Shouldn't you stay put and wait for the others to fight it out first?"
Aurora shook her head. Her tone was steady."Standing still is death. The system put me under the spotlight. If I don't turn it around now, I won't last."
She lifted her eyes toward the storm ahead, her gaze sharp."If I'm the prey, then I choose the hunting ground."
The desert winds roared as her mech raced across the barren plain, energy output steady at seventy percent—fast enough for speed, low enough to keep her energy field from flaring too bright.
[Warning! Multiple signals detected. Distance closing.]
Aurora glanced at the radar—three squads, at least seven or eight people, encircling her trail.
"They're teaming up to take me down."
The squads stormed toward her false coordinates.
"There! Her signal's clear as day!""Take her flag, and we're guaranteed a spot in the top hundred!""Remember, it's an advanced flag. She won't let go that easily!"
But when they reached the ravine, all they found was empty terrain and a trail of faint energy residue.
"Wait… this is wrong."Cold realization struck one of them."This is bait!"
The ground erupted. Energy crystals planted around the ravine exploded in blinding bursts, throwing shockwaves that knocked mechs off balance. Shields flared unsteadily.
From a ridge above, Aurora's mech stood poised, bowstring drawn.
"The first wave," she whispered, loosing a volley.
The arrows of light tore through the air, striking one mech's power core dead-on. With a roar, the machine was forced to eject its pilot.
The others reeled, furious."It's her! She never ran!"
When they looked up, they caught a glimpse of her mech's wings flaring, riding the storm's current as she vaulted away, her figure swift and untouchable.
On the overseers' bench, whispers passed between officials.
"She laid a trap before they even arrived. Used the terrain to turn the tables.""More than that—she eliminated only one, conserving her strength, avoiding too many enemies.""This girl… her mind runs deeper than her actions show."
Bai Tou's voice rang again, half disbelief, half awe. "Aurora! You're fishing for them!"
Aurora's reply was cool."This exam isn't about fighting. It's about strategy. Flags are just tools. The real goal is ranking."
She cut the channel and fixed her gaze on the research facility ahead.
The ruin loomed before her, half-collapsed domes and cracked steel walls, its flickering energy barrier broken in places.
[Warning: Signal interference zone. Location tracking disabled.]
Aurora's eyes narrowed. Just as she predicted.
She folded her wings, her mech stepping into the dark. The air reeked of rust and old chemicals, the smell of a long-abandoned lab.
Elsewhere, her pursuers stumbled to a halt.
"The signal's gone?!""Impossible! It's a full-planet broadcast!""Unless… it's the research facility."
The squads hesitated. Everyone had heard the rumors—that this place once housed experiments on mental resonance. Shut down after an "incident," its warped energy field still lingered, unsolved.
Some faltered. Others pressed on.
Inside, Aurora moved with care, her sensors sweeping across shattered consoles and broken data crates. Faint labels clung to the walls:
[Mental Resonance Laboratory][Stability Testing Chamber]
Her pulse quickened.No wonder it disrupted signals. They had been experimenting with mental overflow here.
But before she could go further, a shrill hum split the air.
[Warning! Residual energy entity detected—unknown beast form.]
In the darkness, a pair of glowing eyes slowly opened. The aura was chaotic, violent, and uncontrolled, like a failed creation left behind.
Aurora drew a sharp breath, her expression hardening.
"So this… is the real trial."
On the overseers' bench, one examiner frowned. "She actually went into the research facility? That zone isn't even on the safe list."Another smirked. "Which is exactly why it will show us her true potential."