Suddenly, a whirlwind knifes across the arena, the gale scooping the flame maze into a dragon of fire.

Worry pricks my chest; their wind-type Abnormal’s sharp. She’s read Chen Ying’s Anomaly Power, pushing her flames past control. Bold, with teammates still trapped inside.

Dispel the maze. Keep this up and Beibei and the others will get scorched.

Got it.

Chen Ying dissolves the flame maze; four figures step out, smoke curling off them like ghosts from ash.

Li Jing’s stare cuts like a blade; she turns and walks off the platform, stunned to be first out.

Change of plan. I’ll backline like a shadow. Chen Ying, tie up the one in the middle. Beibei, tangle the wind girl. Yuanyuan, hit the array caster; her defense is the thinnest reed.

Okay.

The three split like birds from a tree. Beibei unleashes a water prison, grappling the wind girl in crashing spray. Water meets wind, neither crest nor trough.

Chen Ying struggles; earth spikes lance up, forcing her to dance away like a leaf in a storm. My Mech drops a single supporting shot when danger brushes her, a thunderclap in steel.

My easy pace tastes like tea on a slow afternoon; it makes them seethe, yet they can’t touch the clouds.

Bang!!!

The support Abnormal’s defense bracelet flares like a sudden sun; Yuanyuan’s ambush lands true.

Good, one more out. We’re basically steady as a mountain.

Really, beating Li Jing alone would’ve been enough to soothe the heart.

Ten minutes later, the fight ends; four against two, their loss lies carved like characters in stone.

Wow!! Sis Coco, we won!

Beibei clings to me, eyes shining like star-sparks.

Mm-hm. Good work, warm as fresh tea.

It’s thanks to your command; we used to fight like loose sand, no tactics, no weave.

It’s fine; it’s your grit that threads the loom.

Yo~ All done?

Why are you here again?

Mo Zitong’s voice floats from the crowd like a teasing breeze.

I’m curious—who coined that team name?

…

That name makes my temples throb like drums in mist.

If you’re free, head back. We need to prep for the next bout.

Wow, so cold, like frost on bamboo.

She clutches her chest in theatrical heartbreak; I roll my eyes, a lantern flicking.

I’ll go. Oh, right—free the day after tomorrow? Come home with me.

Okay, ping me then.

Gotcha~

Mo Zitong smiles like a crescent moon and drifts off.

On the dais, among leaders and teachers watching like cranes, two middle-aged instructors murmur about Tang Coco.

How about the white-haired girl?

Hard to read. She spent this round on support, barely lifted a hand. The file says she’s not Summoning-type. She’s hiding her edge.

Hiding strength, or guarding some darker thread?

Who knows. Let’s wait for the next match; that road won’t be so smooth.

We sit in the rest area, waiting for Chen Ying to return with the matchup list, time ticking like rain on tiles.

Sis Coco, who’s our next dorm?

How would I know, like guessing clouds.

Beibei, you dense? Sis Coco doesn’t know our school’s maze.

Oh right, I forgot. I treated Sis Coco like one of us, haha.

…

We trade looks at Beibei like two owls spying a chick.

Huh? Ying’s back.

Yuanyuan points; Chen Ying walks in with steps heavy as wet rope.

Ying, how is it?

Sigh…

Her eyes carry a bruise of mood.

What happened?

We drew the most hated dorm in the school.

Hm? Don’t tell me…

Yuanyuan’s mind flashes one name like lightning on ink.

Yeah. The boys’ dorm, calls itself Hunt.

They famous?

Yes. Strong, yet last exam they only placed fourth. Their fighting style is the academy’s least loved—they toy with foes, treat them like quarry under moonlight. Except for the top squads, everyone hates facing them.

And they’re dirty—ambushes, traps, snares in tall grass.

Oh…

I feel nothing sour; ambush and traps are the teeth of real combat. When lives hang by a thread, only the kill settles the wind.

Know their Anomaly Powers?

Let me think… One fire-type, two speed-types, and one Summoning-type.

Two speed-types?

That catches me off guard like a sudden gust. I watched other platforms; almost every dorm fields one speed-type Abnormal. Two in one team is a crooked branch.

Alright, I’ll sketch a simple plan.

As a former captain of the strongest merc squad, quick tactics come like ink to brush.

Forty minutes later, the second bout rises like dawn.

On the field, the rank-four dorm finally stands in sight. All four youths are slender reeds, each around one-eighty, their Anomalous Energy a similar scent, like smoke from the same kiln.

Yo~ a cute chick, huh~

Heh, boys, go slow. I want to play longer with the cutie.

Two of them eye me with greed, pupils like hooks.

Focus! We don’t know their strength. Don’t float on pride.

Their leader’s voice stays cool, like water on stone.

Hmph! Aside from that one girls’ dorm, I fear no other waves!

Countdown… ten… nine… three… two… one… begin!

Set the array!

The Summoning-type Abnormal calls; a dark violet array blooms, painting the ground like night lotus.

Huh… folks here love this opener?

I tilt my head. Do teachers here all preach, “Open with an array”?

Two and Four, on standby. I’ll go first!

The commander raises both hands; purple-black netherfire curls like dead leaves, then he slaps it into the array. Fire pillars surge up, spearing toward us.

Spread! Beibei, right flank with Ying; break their rhythm like snapping reeds. Yuanyuan, dive for the rear caster.

Okay.

Oh? The cutie’s the commander…

A youth watches me with interest, eyes glinting like coins.

Two and Three, delete the water and fire ones. The speed-type is mine. Ignore the commander for now.

Aye!

The two speed-type Abnormals blink out, like shadows snuffed by a hand.

Swish—

A flying knife whistles from behind Beibei, slicing air like a hawk.

Beibei, watch out!

I react fastest; my Mech drops in like iron rain, catching the knife. The two speed-types vanish again, footsteps swallowed like sand.

We need to drop the Summoner first.

Yuanyuan tries, but the ground turns traitor; she’s speed-type, yet she needs earth underfoot. Each landing triggers a fire pillar, teeth snapping up; she’s forced to weave away.

Ah!!!

Beibei screams; her right arm splits hot, blood like a red thread. The attacker cuts once and vanishes, a ghost in grass.

Limiters off. System, let the Guardian push.

Understood.

The black Mech tosses its rifle like a shed husk, draws a lightsaber from its shoulder, and jets particles from its back, streaking for the Summoner like a comet.

Hmph! Number Three.

Got it.

Roar!!!

A giant purple lion crawls out of the array, mane like smoke, eyes like coals.

Bang!!!

The lion slams the black Mech, impact ringing like a temple bell.

Tch…

I click my tongue; blue particles flare at my flanks like fireflies. Four identical black unmanned Mechs bloom in formation.

What?! She can summon that many?

From dais to floor, mouths open like clams. Summoning that many means an S-class summoner, a star in storm.

Cheap, maybe… but this is battle.

I speak calm as snow; the four new Mechs vomit fire—energy cannons, micro-missiles, machine guns—full coverage like monsoon rain.

Two youths drown in the barrage; the fire-type Abnormal raises a huge fire shield, a blazing wall. He holds, yet his breath rasps like bellows, Anomalous Energy overdrawn.

Yuanyuan!

At my call, Yuanyuan streaks behind the Summoner, dagger poised like a fang, thrusting for soft rib.

It should land; the arc writes triumph. Suddenly, my pupils shrink like pinpoints; I whip left, Armor slamming over my right shoulder like a steel tide.

Clang!!!!

A pitch-black dagger bites the Armor, sparks spitting, and I snap a left kick, boot sending him flying like a broken kite.

…

I steady, heart sinking like a stone into a well.

What’s going on… why didn’t I sense it…

Yo~ you actually dodged~

He flips back, lands light as a cat, grin crooked like a crescent.

…

I glance at my right shoulder Armor, doubt thick as fog. Cracks spiderweb again; last time, an A-level flame broke it. This time, a dagger chews through the shield.

A bad premonition coils like a snake.

I cut stray thoughts; focus sharpens like a whetted blade. End this, then find the rot.

System, launch the Assassin.

Understood.

Bang!

While every gaze sticks to me like rain on glass, the Summoner’s defense bracelet flares. Space behind him ripples like heat haze; a purple-black Mech steps out, holding a blood-red mechanical dagger.

Optical camouflage disengaged. Mission complete.

Once their summoning-type Abnormal went down, Yuanyuan slipped in like a moonlit blade and assassinated the fire-type Abnormal.

With the energy array shattered, the two speed-type Abnormals lost their veil; Chen Ying and Beibei closed in and beat them, a net tightening in the rain.

This fight hit harder than Tang Coco expected; weariness clung to the three like damp fog after rain.

“Sis Coco, we did it again!”

Her voice bubbled like spring water.

Beibei’s heart lit like a lantern; she hadn’t thought they’d win.

“Mm. Good work.”

Tang Coco’s voice moved like a warm breeze.

“All thanks to you, Sis Coco.”

Yuanyuan smiled, petals bright as peach blossom.

Tang Coco turned back and caught a thin smile on Chen Ying’s tired face, like dawn edging a cloud.

“Alright, no exam today, right? Head to the dorm and rest. I’ve got something to do; I’ll come back later.”

She smiled, but strain creased it like a paper fan.

“Oh. Okay.”

Beibei blinked like a startled sparrow, then nodded.

“Mm, bye.”

Tang Coco waved, a willow branch swaying, then turned away.

“What’s up with Sis Coco?”

Beibei asked Yuanyuan, eyes bright like wet glass.

“No idea…”

Yuanyuan shook her head; her voice drifted like smoke.

Chen Ying kept her gaze on Tang Coco’s fading back, thoughts pooling like rain in a deep well.