Chapter 2

　　Having accepted her current circumstances, Bai Yi began learning about the Imperial Academy’s entrance examination. Although she had no idea how she’d arrived in this world, she had even less idea how to return. Since she was already here, she might as well make the best of it and try living here for now. Before transmigrating, she’d been a first-year university student. Now, she was simply starting over as a new student, which was something she could accept.

Her current identity was surprisingly uncomplicated. She had no social connections and maintained no contact with anyone. Her biological parents had disappeared into an uninhabited region of space shortly after she was born. Her maternal family paid her no attention, while her paternal family, the imperial family, had practically forgotten she existed. Apart from the living expenses deposited into her account by both families every month, there was no interaction whatsoever.

She went through everything on her optical computer and found that it was practically as empty as a brand-new device. Her only contact was the manor’s butler, and their conversations were limited entirely to matters of food, clothing, accommodation, and transportation. Beyond that, there wasn’t a single unnecessary word.

There were advantages and disadvantages to everything. Although Bai Yi couldn’t obtain much useful information, she also didn’t have to worry about arousing suspicion because of her sudden change in personality. After all, nobody cared about her existence in the first place. This meant she could pretty much do whatever she pleased.

Bai Yi looked up the Imperial Academy’s entrance examination on her optical computer. Since the results of the earlier written examinations had already been released, only the practical assessment remained. The Duote Imperial Academy was essentially a comprehensive military institution divided into various specialized fields. Its admission regulations stipulated that fifty percent of admitted students were to be Alphas, more than forty-seven percent Betas, while the remaining two or three percent could be allocated to Omegas at the academy’s discretion, or not at all.

According to the Duote Empire’s current population statistics, Betas generally accounted for more than ninety percent of the population, Alphas around six or seven percent, and Omegas were the rarest, making up approximately three or four percent.

Although Alphas and Omegas seemed to make up only a small portion of the population, the empire’s enormous population meant that their actual numbers were still considerable. Combined with the academy’s limited enrollment capacity, competition was naturally fierce. Admission was even more difficult for Betas, with only one in a million being accepted. The increasingly stringent admission standards only made the Imperial Academy an even more coveted institution in the eyes of countless students. Anyone who managed to graduate from it was practically guaranteed a smooth and promising future.

After presenting, Alphas experienced dramatic improvements in both physical fitness and intelligence, and their powerful mental manifestations gave them an overwhelming advantage in combat and mecha piloting. This made them the preferred candidates for military combat programs. Most Betas were concentrated in fields that required large numbers of technical and support personnel, such as [Read on BaiLianTales]mecha maintenance, logistics, meteorology, programming, and warship manufacturing. As for the rare Omegas, they were almost exclusively found in programs related to journalism, publicity, and military performing arts troupes.

Students would be assigned to specific programs based on their performance in the practical examination. After reviewing the available specializations, Bai Yi turned her attention to military combat. This was a broad field containing numerous subdisciplines, including combat command, frontline operations, and mecha piloting. Because these specialties frequently needed to coordinate with one another and often shared overlapping courses, they were grouped together under a single college.

Based purely on her personal interests, Bai Yi decided to aim for mecha piloting. In her previous life, she’d only ever controlled mechas in video games. Now that she had the chance to experience the real thing, there was no way she could pass it up.

She remembered that the protagonist, Ye Sheng, had chosen combat command. That meant they could still become roommates. The only question was whether something unexpected might change that outcome.

In the original novel, the two of them had been randomly assigned to the same dormitory. Bai Yi wasn’t sure whether they’d end up together this time. She didn’t particularly believe in the power of the plot. After all, she hadn’t done anything, yet the protagonist who was supposed to appear at the interstellar terminal had inexplicably vanished. The scene at the beginning of the novel, where the protagonist walked alone through the pouring rain, hadn’t happened at all.

Wasn’t the power of the plot supposed to be overwhelming and irreversible? Why was this plot so fragile?

Bai Yi felt frustrated for a moment, but quickly composed herself. For now, she’d make sure she was fully prepared and deal with everything else when the time came.

Drawing on her inherited memories, she threw herself into learning everything she could about this world while also making sure to intensify her physical training. She had to admit that this body’s natural potential was excellent. Although it looked slender and frail, it had inherited the exceptional genes of two powerful families. After presenting at sixteen, it had developed the innate physique and aptitude of an S-rank Alpha. Even a little exercise produced astonishing improvements. Her five senses, agility, strength, endurance, and virtually every other physical attribute seemed to have been enhanced beyond reason, much to Bai Yi’s delight.1

On the day of the examination, Bai Yi woke up early and completed her training routine before boarding [stolen content]her aircraft with a lightly packed suitcase. Once she passed the examination, she wouldn’t be returning for quite some time. After instructing the butler to take good care of the manor, she activated the aircraft and departed.

The Imperial Academy possessed staggering financial resources. On the Capital Planet, where every inch of land was worth a fortune, it had secured an entire archipelago of thirty-six islands. The largest island in the center housed the military combat college, while the remaining islands were allocated to the other colleges. The islands were connected by bridges spanning the sea. Of course, some people claimed those weren’t actually bridges at all, but emergency interstellar warships, so enormous that their size was almost impossible to comprehend.

There were all kinds of theories, but ordinary people had no opportunity to approach the Imperial Academy and verify them. Even prospective students like Bai Yi, who were going there to take the entrance examination, had to travel to the interstellar terminal first and wait to board the academy’s designated starship. Otherwise, they would have no way of passing through the photonic energy barrier surrounding the academy.

For the second time, Bai Yi’s aircraft came to a stop outside one of the interstellar terminal’s entrances. The weather was pleasant today, and the number of people coming and going was many times greater than on her previous visit. The moment she stepped out of her aircraft, countless gazes turned toward her.

With a raise of her hand, Bai Yi stored away the luxurious aircraft, transforming it into an inconspicuous black bracelet decorated with golden patterns around her wrist. Under the envious and astonished gazes of the crowd, she walked into the VIP lounge.

Influenced by the original novel and the memories of her counterpart’s invisible existence, Bai Yi had almost started believing she really was an ordinary, unremarkable passerby. She had forgotten, however, that both the memories and the novel revolved around elite academic institutions attended by members of the imperial family, the highest-ranking nobles, and society’s most exceptional talents. Someone considered perfectly ordinary among such people was already far beyond the reach of the vast majority of commoners.

Bai Yi sat down on a sofa in the lounge and looked at the exquisite tea and pastries arranged before her. Perhaps life in this world offered far more choices and possibilities than she’d originally imagined.

She had calculated her arrival time before setting out, so she’d barely finished eating a cookie when someone came to inform her that the Imperial Academy’s starship had arrived.

A designated attendant led the way, guiding her through a special passage that bypassed the crowded terminal and allowed her to board without difficulty. Once aboard, however, there was no distinction between passengers. All seats were treated equally. Bai Yi casually chose a seat toward the back, near the side of the cabin, and [unauthorized copy]began watching internal video footage of previous Imperial Academy entrance examinations on the screen provided at her seat.

She’d already watched all of these videos, but they were good enough for passing the time.

Absorbed in the footage, Bai Yi failed to notice the subtle change in atmosphere as more and more people boarded the starship. The number of furtive glances directed toward her had increased considerably.

One seat after another filled up, yet the seat beside Bai Yi remained empty. Just as the starship was about to close its doors, someone hurried inside. The newcomer glanced around the cabin, spotted the handful of remaining empty seats, and decisively headed toward Bai Yi.

When someone sat down beside her, Bai Yi lifted her head from the screen and glanced over. Only then did she realize that the person looked somewhat familiar.

“You…”

“What a coincidence! We meet again.”

The other girl greeted her openly before she could finish speaking. Bai Yi immediately recognized her as the girl she’d given a ride from the interstellar terminal to the temporary reception center a few days earlier. She nodded politely. That was right. The girl had been heading to the Imperial Academy’s temporary reception center, so she must have been there to take the entrance examination too. It was perfectly reasonable that they happened to be aboard the same starship.

Bai Yi was about to look away when the girl suddenly seemed to remember something. She rummaged through the cloth bag she was carrying, took out the rain shield from that day, and held it out to Bai Yi. “Perfect timing! I can finally return this to you. Thank you so much for the other day.”

Bai Yi hadn’t expected her to still remember something so minor. She glanced at her empty hands. Her luggage wasn’t with her, and she hadn’t even brought a bag.

“It’s yours. You don’t need to return it.”

“No, I can’t. This is too expensive. I can’t accept it.” The girl pressed the device into Bai Yi’s hand. “I’m from a frontier planet. Before, I didn’t know what this was or how expensive it was, so I accepted it without thinking. Once I found out, I felt terrible about it. I’ve been wondering every day how I could return it to you, and now I’ve finally gotten the chance. There! I can finally put this matter to rest.”

Holding the rain shield, Bai Yi looked at the girl in surprise. She hadn’t expected her to come from a frontier planet just like the protagonist. What a coincidence. She wondered whether the girl happened to know Ye Sheng.

The thought lasted only an instant. The Duote Empire’s borders stretched across an enormous distance, with countless frontier planets scattered far apart. The chances of the two knowing each other were far too small.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Bai Yi glanced down at the device in her hand. “I don’t have a bag with me, so I have nowhere to put it.”

“That’s easy.” The girl took the rain shield back from Bai Yi. “I’ll hold on to it for you and give it back once we get off the starship.”

The girl was even more considerate than Bai Yi had expected. Unable to argue with ​stolen content​her, she could only nod in agreement.

The girl glanced at the screen in front of Bai Yi and tried to switch on the one at her own seat. However, despite feeling around and trying several different things, she couldn’t get it to turn on.

Watching her struggle, Bai Yi reached over and used her own fingerprint to unlock the screen for her. “This requires fingerprint identity verification. Your information probably hasn’t been registered in the system yet. Once we reach the academy, you should be able to register it again.”

The girl’s fingertips curled slightly. She lowered her gaze for a brief moment before looking up with a smile. “So that’s how it works. Thank you. You’ve helped me again.”

Bai Yi raised her hand. “This time, it really was nothing. There’s no need to keep thanking me.”

Relationships often grew closer through just a few exchanged words, especially since this girl was the first person Bai Yi had met in this world who wasn’t someone she already knew through her inherited memories. And now they’d encountered each other twice in succession. Perhaps there really was some kind of fate bringing them together.

Moreover, they were both taking the same entrance examination, so the conversation naturally turned toward that topic. The girl knew very little about the Imperial Academy’s examination, so Bai Yi began explaining everything she’d learned in detail. Worried that her explanation might not be thorough enough, she activated her optical computer. “Open your optical computer. I’ll just send you the information directly.”

As she spoke, Bai Yi brought up the relevant files on her device. Outside her field of vision, the girl, who had just raised her wrist to activate her own optical computer, glanced at Bai Yi’s display. Her expression stiffened for an instant, and she quietly lowered her hand again without drawing attention to it.

“There’s no need. My optical computer is too old to establish a connection with yours, so [bailiantales.com]let’s forget about it.”

Bai Yi turned to glance at the girl, accepting her explanation without suspicion. “I have a spare in my suitcase. I’ll give it to you when we arrive.”

The girl looked directly into Bai Yi’s eyes. “You’re going to give me another one?”

“Mm.” Bai Yi nodded.

For a moment, a complicated expression crossed the girl’s face. “Why?”

“Because you need it,” Bai Yi answered.

“Just because I need something, you’re going to give it to me?” An expression of incomprehensible bewilderment appeared on the girl’s face. “Are you always like this?”

Bai Yi could sense the displeasure and wariness in her words. She recalled something her master’s wife had once told her: when dealing with others, she couldn’t simply do whatever she personally believed was right. She also had to consider how other people felt.

With that in mind, Bai Yi withdrew her gaze and put some distance between them. “I’m sorry. You can watch internal footage of previous examinations on the read the original at bailiantales.comscreen. You should be able to analyze the general content of the examination yourself. I won’t disturb you anymore.”

Bai Yi switched on the screen in front of her and resumed watching the examination footage. Still, she couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. She’d thought she’d finally learned how to get along with other people and might even have managed to make her first friend on her own.

Neither of them spoke again. The starship traveled quickly, and before long, the academy instructors responsible for collecting the prospective students began reminding everyone to gather their belongings, as the ship was about to land. The previously quiet cabin grew lively. At the thought of finally seeing the legendary Imperial Academy, most of the students could barely contain their excitement.

The starship descended below the clouds and slowly came to rest at the entrance to the examination grounds. As the hatch opened, a fierce gust of wind carrying fine droplets of rain rushed into the cabin, accompanied by the salty, fishy scent of the sea. It was almost as though the academy were delivering an intimidating first warning to these reckless youngsters who had yet to learn their limits.

Clearly, however, the wind only heightened their excitement. It did absolutely nothing to make them realize that danger was already upon them.

The academy instructors disembarked first. The students hurriedly gathered their belongings and followed, eager to get outside. Bai Yi’s seat was near the back and farther inside the row, so she was in no hurry to stand. She waited until everyone else had moved ahead before she and the girl beside her finally brought up the rear.

Outside, wind and rain raged relentlessly. The excited students had no intention of seeking shelter. Instead, they stood in the wide-open square, letting the wind whip around them and the torrential rain soak them to the skin, reveling in the exhilarating freedom of it all.

Standing at the hatch, Bai Yi was just about to ask an instructor whether she could retrieve her luggage when she realized that all the teachers who had been there moments earlier had vanished without a trace. A faint, unsettling sense of unease stirred in her heart.